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.
Cameron Filipe, MS
Clinical Instructor
Mr. Filipe is a Forensic Scientist II in the DNA Unit of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory and has been in the unit since 2023. He received his B.S. in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven and his M.S. in Biomedical Forensic Sciences from Boston University. At the MSPCL, he performs DNA testing on casework samples and reference standards, assists with internal validations, and provides assistance with quality control tasks and instrument maintenance. Mr. Filipe teaches the Forensic DNA Analysis Laboratory course.
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.