Forensic Scientist

Forensic Scientist

LIsa Black

Cape Coral, FL

Female, 49

I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.

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Last Answer on July 21, 2022

Best Rated

I want to be a forensic scientist, but I wanted to know do you need to carry a gun

Asked by Anna over 4 years ago

Some law enforcement agencies still require their forensic staff to be sworn police officers as well, but most have civilian staff for the forensic support. I have always been a civilian and therefore cannot carry a gun.

I would like to know if an autopsy conducted on a woman buried in dry soil for three years
could determine if she had an abortion, being the cause of her death.
Thank you
Karen

Asked by karen_west@bigpond.com over 3 years ago

That’s a good question…I know that the human body will either decompose or desiccate, so if the conditions were right and she dried out instead of breaking down, then the body might be largely preserved. But what could be determined from an autopsy would be a question for a pathologist, I’m afraid. Sorry I’m not more help.

CN you really find anyone like in NCIS?

Asked by May over 4 years ago

Nope!

Is there anyone who you have known do this job because it looked good on TV? How did it go for him or her?

Asked by Bart over 4 years ago

Probably everyone gets interested in the field because it looked interesting in a TV show. But by the time you’re sufficiently trained to actually get a job, you’d know that it’s not like TV.

I have to choose my major so are there branches of this career like examining bodies etc or does a forensic scientist have to do it all and what subjects should i take in school the subjects that my school provides are phys bio maths chem

Asked by dania over 4 years ago

All of those are good. Take as many science courses as you can. Much depends on where you want to work and what you want to do. If you want to do DNA analysis and testify in court about it, you may need a PhD in genetics. If you want to work at crime scenes bagging and tagging evidence, you may need only a high school diploma, with added hireability for advanced degrees. The only way to know is to check job opening notices or call the agencies and ask. I would also suggest that you look for schools that have hands-on lab work with forensic topics such as fingerprints or crime scene work. Best of luck to you.

Does gas chromatagraph/chromatagram data always show peaks relative to the solvents used with samples to perform gc/ms analysis?

Asked by Answer Seaker over 4 years ago

That is a great question that I can’t answer! So sorry, but I never worked with a GC or Mass Spec. That was the toxicology department.

How can we detect the GHB from urine sample by LCMS?
Is there any simple method?

Asked by Eman over 4 years ago

I’m sorry but I’ve never worked in toxicology. Sorry I couldn’t help!