Faculty & Staff
Experts in anatomy, osteology, anthropology, pathology, crime scene investigation, expert witness testimony and forensic sciences, our faculty have been recruited from the Boston University schools of Medicine and Law and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Program Director, Tara L. Moore, Ph.D.
Dr. Moore is an Assistant Professor in the department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and she teaches courses in anatomy, neurobiology and forensic anthropology. She is a co-investigator on several research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health that investigate the effects of age and age-related disease on the brain. She has recently completed training courses with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Human Remains Recovery and Crime Scene Management and Evidence Collection. tlmoore@bu.edu
Associate Director, Donald Siwek, Ph.D.
Dr. Siwek is an assistant professor in the department of anatomy and neurobiology at the medical school and has been teaching Medical Gross Anatomy and at BUSM for more than 20 years. Most recently he has developed and taught anatomy and osteology courses for the Biomedical Forensic Sciences and Forensic Anthropology programs. His research interests include comparative anatomy, stereology and neuroanatomy. siwek@bu.edu
Forensic Anthropologist, Debra A. Prince, Ph.D.
Dr. Prince is an assistant professor in the department of anatomy and neurobiology and is the Forensic Anthropologist at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. At BUSM, she will be teaching courses in Forensic Anthropology Techniques, Forensic Anthropological Procedures, Osteology, and Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology. Dr. Prince joins the Forensic Anthropology program after serving as a Forensic Anthropologist at the Joint/POW MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for the past four and a half years. Dr. Prince is a member of The American Academy of Forensic Sciences: Physical Anthropology Section, the Society of Forensic Anthropologists, the International Association for Identification, and the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Her research interests include age changes in the human skeleton, skeletal biology, bone trauma, soft tissue decomposition, bioarchaeology, paleodemography, and dental anthropology. daprince@bu.edu
Adjunct Associate Professor, Consultant, Murray Marks, Ph.D
Dr. Marks is an Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor in our Forensic Anthropology program. He is a Board Certified Forensic Anthropologist and is the current Vice-President of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. Dr. Marks will be teaching classes in skeletal biology, forensic anthropology and developing and supervising student research projects. His research interests include skeletal and dental biology and histology, bone trauma, soft tissue decomposition and bioarchaeology.
Associate Professor, Elizabeth Laposata, MD
Dr. Laposata is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Biomedical Forensic Sciences and Forensic Anthropology programs. She is a board certified Medical Examiner and teaches courses in Forensic Pathology and Medicolegal Death Investigation. laposata@bu.edu
Assistant Professor, William J. Powers, JD
Mr. Powers retired from the Massachusetts State Police in September 2007 after thirty-three years of service. During his tenure, he commanded the Detective Units in both the Suffolk and Middlesex County District Attorney’s offices, was the Director of Training for the Division of Investigative Services and later served as Commandant of the Training Academy. His final assignment was as director of the Department’s Media Relations Unit. Bill is an attorney and a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Director of the Professional Studies in Applied Forensic Sciences and Criminal Investigations program at Boston University School of Medicine.
Adjunct Instructor, Franklin Damann, MA
Franklin Damann is the curator of the AFIP National Museum of Health and Medicine Anatomical Division in Washington, DC. As curator, he has oversight of the Anatomical and Neuroanatomical collections at the museum. Mr. Damann holds a master’s degree in physical and forensic anthropology from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in physical and forensic anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His dissertation research involves human decomposition ecology. Prior to his current position at the AFIP NMHM, Mr. Damann served as a forensic anthropologist for the Department of Defense Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Central Identification Laboratory located at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
Adjunct Instructor, Peter Cummings, M.Sc., MD
Dr. Peter Cummings is a Forensic Pathologist and Staff Medical Examiner at Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He is Board certified in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology and is the Director of the Neuropathology Service at the OCME. Dr. Cummings has taught at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and at the University of Maine. Dr. Cummings was a NASA astronaut candidate finalist for 2009 and maintains an active research position investigating the effects of cosmic radiation on astrocyte activation and response of retinal glial cells to space flight. In addition, he also conducts research investigating the forensic implications of pediatric head trauma. Dr. Cummings was a member of the identification teams for the World Trade Center and the SwissAir crash.
Staff
Patty Sterling, Executive Financial Coordinator
Patricia Sterling (Patty) is the Executive Financial Coordinator for the Professional Masters Programs in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. She came to BUSM in December of 1999. For eight and a half years, she worked in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. While working in the Division office, Patty had many different roles. As assistant for the Associate Dean, she coordinated the Mini-Med School and assisted the Registrar. In September 2008, Patty joined the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology working for their Masters Programs in Biomedical Forensics, Healthcare Emergency Management, Bioimaging and Forensic Anthropology. psterlin@bu.edu
