Top Crime Scene Experts Come to SLU to Improve Their Craft

Newswise — CSI may be a fictional TV series, but the characters' real-life counterparts are gathering at Saint Louis University School of Medicine to hone their craft. Serial killers, sports deaths and internet crimes are among the topics as the top death scene investigators in North America meet July 25-28 to learn the latest advancements in forensic sciences.

The meeting " the largest of its kind in North America " gives scene investigators, forensic pathologists, scientists, coroners, emergency personnel, police officers and administrators an opportunity to learn the latest methods of documenting and interpreting crime scenes. The meeting is held once every two years.

More than 300 attendees are expected at the conference, representing 43 states and Canada, said Mary Case, M.D., professor of pathology at Saint Louis University and co-director of the conference. She said the meeting is specifically designed to provide the veteran, trained medicolegal death investigator with the latest advancements in forensic sciences.

"People may not realize this, but Saint Louis University is the mecca of death scene investigation education," said Mary Fran Ernst, director of medicolegal education in the division of forensic and environmental pathology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a conference co-director. "Our conference draws the top investigators from around the country to learn the latest techniques. These skills apply directly to the scenes they see on a daily basis."

Among the topics of this year's conference are "Finding a Serial Killer," "Forensic Aspects of War," "Aviation Disaster Recoveries," "Forensics of Airbag Induced Injuries and Death," "Sports Related Head Injuries" and "Internet Generated Crimes Against Children."

The George E. Gantner Jr. M.D. Memorial Lecture will be on "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Concepts and Approaches," delivered by Randy Hanzlick, M.D., professor of forensic pathology at Emory University School of Medicine and the chief medical examiner for Fulton County, Ga.

For a full list of speakers at the conference visit this site on the World Wide Web: http://medschool.slu.edu/masters/

The Masters Conference is conducted every two years during the late summer to provide a colloquium on a regular basis for those who wish to keep current on issues in the field of death investigation. The topics change in each Masters Conference to reflect new information developing at that time. This specific program will not be repeated again at any future Masters Conference.

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local, national and international level.