Faculty and Staff

The Biomedical Forensic Sciences faculty consists of full-time and part-time instructors and professors trained in various fields of forensic science, including but not limited to, the fields of forensic DNA analysis, chemistry, trace evidence analysis, biology, arson and explosives, toxicology, pathology, medico-legal death investigation and pattern evidence.

All faculty have been recruited from local, state and federal forensic laboratories as well as the law enforcement and legal communities.

Directors

Robin Cotton, PhD
Associate Professor, Director Biomedical Forensic Sciences

Dr. Cotton is an expert in the fields of DNA identification and analysis of biological evidence, and teaches courses in forensic DNA analysis. She has testified in over 200 cases around the country, including numerous high profile cases. Previous positions held by Dr. Cotton include Laboratory Director and DNA Technical Leader at Orchid Cellmark, and elected member of ASCLD/LAB Board of Directors; she currently serves on the Journal of Forensic Sciences Editorial Board, and was co-chair of the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on the Forensic Analysis of Human DNA. In October of 2006 Dr. Cotton joined the faculty at the Boston University School of Medicine to be the first Director of the Biomedical Forensic Sciences Program. (rwcotton@bu.edu)

Amy N. Brodeur, MFS
Assistant Professor, Associate Director Biomedical Forensic Sciences

Prof. Brodeur teaches in the areas of crime scene investigation and forensic biology, and is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminalistics. She has a background in general criminalistics and forensic DNA analysis, and has worked for forensic laboratories in both the private and public sector. Her research interests focus on optimizing presumptive biological testing and collection of material from crime scenes. In addition to teaching, Prof. Brodeur is the faculty co-advisor for the student forensic science organization, chair of the program admissions committee, and founding Associate Director of the BMFS program. She recently served for two years as President of the Council of Forensic Science Educators. (abrodeur@bu.edu)

Full-Time Faculty

Celeste M. Wareing, MS
Instructor, Biomedical Forensic Sciences

Prof. Wareing teaches forensic toxicology and is a board-certified forensic toxicologist by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology. Prior to transitioning to academia, she was employed for 17.5 years with the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory in the Toxicology Unit performing both qualitative and quantitative case work in post-mortem, DUI, and inmate/probation/parole analysis. She is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists Drug Facilitated Crime Committee and is a technical assessor in toxicology for the American National Standards Institute – National Accreditation Board. Current research interests include emerging issues related to forensic toxicology with an emphasis on drug facilitated crimes. (cwareing@bu.edu)

Adam B. Hall, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Forensic Sciences

Dr. Hall is a forensic chemist specializing in the areas of fire debris and explosives analysis. Prior to his current appointment he served as the Director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility within the Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis – Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Stonehill College, a Master’s degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, from Northeastern University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Hall was employed by the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory as a forensic chemist and crime scene responder. (adamhall@bu.edu)

Part-Time Faculty

Ursula Knight, JD
Clinical Instructor

After obtaining her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1990, Ms. Knight began her career in prosecution and for a decade served as both an assistant district attorney and an assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Throughout her tenure as an assistant district attorney, she prosecuted a full range of felonies including crimes against children, arson, sexual assault and murder. As a member of the Corruption, Fraud and Computer Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General, Ms. Knight specialized in prosecuting crimes committed over the Internet. Ms. Knight spent ten years in the private sector, litigating medical malpractice cases and specializing in white-collar criminal defense and civil litigation. In that role, she served as co-counsel on the largest personal injury verdict in Massachusetts history. Ms. Knight is currently the Chief of the Elders and Persons and Persons with Disabilities Unit for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, which includes the city of Boston. Previously, she was assigned to the Homicide Unit, prosecuting murder cases from response to crime scene to resolution, and was a Supervising Attorney in the Chelsea District Court. She co-teaches the Criminal Law I and II courses, providing testimony skills coaching, ethics education and expert witness training.

Alexis Flaherty, MS
Clinical Instructor

Alexis Flaherty is a Criminalist at the Boston Police Department Crime Laboratory. Her responsibilities include conducting and performing routine and specialized forensic examinations of physical evidence for a variety of cases, processing crime scenes, and she has qualified as an expert witness in superior court many times. Ms. Flaherty also re-analyzes cold cases as well as post-conviction cases for the Innocence Project. Prior to attaining this position, she worked as a Forensic Technologist at the Boston Police Department Crime Laboratory. Ms. Flaherty earned her bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University in Biochemistry with a concentration in Forensic Science, and holds a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Forensic Sciences from Boston University. She also holds a certification from the American Board of Criminalistics and is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Kenneth Martin, MS
Clinical Instructor

Kenneth Martin retired as a Detective Lieutenant and Commanding Officer of the Crime Scene Services Section (CSSS) of the Massachusetts State Police after serving with the department for almost 33 years. Mr. Martin then became the Quality Assurance Manager for the New York City Police Department Latent Fingerprint Section for two years. Mr. Martin is a past president of the International Association for Identification (IAI) and is presently the IAI’s representative to the Consortium of Forensic Sciences (CFSO). In addition to lecturing to various audiences and having been published in the Journal of Forensic Identification, he is certified by the International Association for Identification as a Footwear Examiner, Bloodstain Pattern Analyst, Senior Crime Scene Analyst and Crime Scene Reconstructionist. He has served as a member of various working groups including the Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST). Mr. Martin has also served as a member of the Scientific Working Group on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (SWGSTAIN), and the NIJ/NIST Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis. He currently serves on the Bloodstain Pattern Analysis and Crime Scene Investigation working groups of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ Academy Standards Board. Mr. Martin has a B.A. in Biology; a B.S. in Criminal Justice; a M.S. in Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy 192nd session. Currently, he works as a private examiner with Bevel, Gardner and Associates. He has taught Bloodstain Pattern Analysis for the Biomedical Forensic Sciences Program since 2007.

Stephen Ostrowski, MSFS
Clinical Instructor

Mr. Ostrowski is the Supervisor of the Pattern Evidence Unit of the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory in Concord, and he teaches in the Pattern Evidence Analysis lecture and laboratory course. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Dickinson College and a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven. He performs casework in the disciplines of firearms, toolmarks, physical match, fingerprints, obliterated serial number restoration, gunshot residue/shooting distance determination, and crime scene processing. Mr. Ostrowski is a Certified Latent Print Examiner through the International Association for Identification. Additionally, he holds certifications in the areas of Firearms, Toolmarks, and Gunshot Residue through the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners.

Emily Runt, MSFS
Clinical Instructor

Ms. Runt teaches the Trace Evidence Analysis lecture course. She holds a B.A. in Chemistry and German Area Studies and a M.S. in Forensic Science. She is currently employed as a Criminalist III within the Trace Evidence and Criminalistics sections at the Boston Police Crime Laboratory. Ms. Runt performs casework in the trace evidence, general criminalistics, impression evidence and crime scene processing disciplines. She previously performed casework in the area of latent print processing. Ms. Runt is a certified hair and fiber examiner with the American Board of Criminalistics (ABC), and a certified footwear examiner and crime scene investigator through the International Association for Identification (IAI). Ms. Runt has also published and presented at conferences in the area of chemical enhancement of footwear impressions.

Claire Rimkus, MS
Clinical Instructor

Ms. Rimkus received her B.A. in Chemistry from Wellesley College and her M.S. in Biomedical Forensic Sciences (with a concentration in Forensic Chemistry) from Boston University School of Medicine. She is currently employed as a Unit Supervisor at the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory in Sudbury, Massachusetts where she oversees casework conducted in the Drug Identification Unit. In addition to supervising and conducting casework in controlled substance analysis, she also participates in clandestine laboratory response. She has provided expert testimony in controlled substance analysis in district, superior, and federal courts throughout the Commonwealth. Ms. Rimkus teaches the Analysis of Controlled Substances lecture course.

Joseph Ross, MS
Clinical Instructor

Mr. Ross has been employed in the Boston Police Department Crime Laboratory DNA section since 2009. He earned his B.S. in Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut and his M.S. in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven. Mr. Ross performs DNA testing on casework samples, runs the training program in the BPD DNA section, and provides expert testimony in district, superior, and federal courts in the city of Boston. He has been the instructor for the Forensic DNA Analysis Laboratory since 2017.

Thomas Andrew, MD
Clinical Instructor

Dr. Andrew completed a fellowship in forensic pathology with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York City in 1992 and was subsequently named Acting Deputy Chief Medical Examiner of Richmond County (Staten Island). In 1997 he was named New Hampshire’s Chief Medical Examiner and served in that position for 20 years. He is board certified in pediatrics, anatomic pathology and forensic pathology, and has performed over 5,800 autopsies for purposes of investigating sudden, unexpected or violent death. He is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of SIDS and Infant Mortality Programs and the College of American Pathologists. Dr. Andrew has held numerous academic appointments throughout his career and began teaching Forensic Pathology & Medicolegal Death Investigation for the BMFS program in 2023.

Ioan Truta
Clinical Instructor

Mr. Truta has been a Senior Criminalist with the Latent Print Section at Boston Police Department since 2005. He started his forensic career in 1996 at Cluj-Napoca Police Department in Romania, where he worked in the fields of crime scene investigation, forensic photography and pattern impression identification (fingerprints, footwear imprints, tool marks and questioned documents). In 2001, he worked for United Nation Peace Keeping Mission in Kosovo as a crime scene investigator and latent print examiner. He lectures frequently on different forensic topics at conferences and other professional meetings. Mr. Truta served as a member of the Forensics Identification for Standardization Committee of the International Association of Identification (IAI), and he is a Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE), a Certified Forensic Photographer (CFPH) a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (CSCSA) and a Certified Footwear Examiner. He earned a Licentiate Degree in Judicial Sciences (JS) with a concentration in forensics/criminalistics in his home country of Romania.