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.
I think that's what I'm doing most of the time when I answer questions on this site. If you look over the previous Q&As you'll probably see a lot of homework questions.
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Possibly, I suppose. If they were swabbed thoroughly and the swabs picked up a few skin cells, then it would be within the realm of possibility.
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Yes, of course! You often have to be a little flexible in your schedule, but it's no more a problem than in any other job.
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I don’t know what you mean by that.
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Huh, that's a good question. I hope my books show what it's really like, except, of course, that my protagonist spends much more time out of the lab than in it, which is not at all realistic.
The non-fiction TV shows and books show reality, however, you have to remember that they're presenting cases that most investigators may come across once or twice in a lifetime.
Fiction shows, like "CSI" in which they have computerized databases of every substance in the world including toothpaste and wall paint, or ones in which female pathologists wear cocktail dresses to work. are definitely not realistic at all.
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That's an awfully broad question. What do you think are the physical and chemical properties? Blood has hemoglobin. Hair grows out of your head. Footprints are impressions in the dirt. I'm pretty sure you could write a good answer to this question yourself.
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Medicine. Forensic pathologists are doctors and go to medical school. So I would suggest you take every science course you can, especially biological sciences. Best of luck to you!
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