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Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
From the Director’s Desk:
Dear Centre’s Members, Associates, Colleagues and Friends,
While many of you are about to travel to Auckland for the 23rd Symposium on the Forensic Sciences hosted by the Australian & New Zealand Forensic Science Society, this issue of the UTS Centre for Forensic Science’s Newsletter will hopefully keep you informed about many exciting developments and recent successes. While there are many reasons to cheer up and many CFS members and students deserve an accolade, the following deserves a special mention:
CFS members will deliver 33 oral presentations in Auckland (8.3% of the complete oral program!), many of them as keynotes, along with co-authoring a plenary, presenting many posters and delivering a workshop; all this in front of more than 800 delegates coming from all around the world.
Our recent fantastic grant success in the last Australian Research Council Linkage scheme delivering a total research value estimated at more than $3M and representing half of the university’s Linkage success in the 2016 round.
The approval of our renewed and integrated forensic science degree to start in early 2017.
However, the recent achievement I am mostly excited about and proud of is the recent paper entitled “Forensic Science: Current State and Perspective by a Group of Early Career Researchers” and published by our early career researchers in Foundations of Science. Not only does this piece of work highlight the trans-disciplinary nature, excellence and impact of our research, it also identifies a clever path to address many of the current challenges faced by forensic science worldwide through the language of the trace. The need to develop holistic models to provide strategies to integrate technologies in the end-to-end process (from intelligence to court) is more important than ever. This will only be effective if the right culture, that is the culture of the trace, is further developed and more globally accepted.
Once again, I am grateful for leading such a talented and committed team. I also take this opportunity to thank all our partners in Australia and overseas.
Professor Claude Roux
Seminar – RibLock Tour Down Under
The hidden value of forensic science
Prof. Olivier Ribaux, School of Criminal Justice,
University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Dr. Eric Lock, Forensic Science Department, Police of
Geneva, Switzerland
When: 3pm-4pm, September 15, 2016
Where: Room 310, Level 3, Building 4, UTS
Abstract: Forensic science contributes to a safer society. This statement is not as easy to demonstrate as it may appear. Indeed, it seems to be refuted by studies measuring consistently poor effectiveness and efficiency of forensic science, as well as by the closure of many forensic science laboratories and departments around the world.
We suggest that there is a great confusion in how to express the value of forensic science. The use of common sense knowledge ignoring the nature of crime systems for interpreting information conveyed by traces, considerably biases the definition of indicators. Examples of how usually hidden contributions of forensic science can be valorized in better formulated models will be provided. To illustrate these arguments, this presentation will focus on the analysis of serial crimes, as well as the intelligent triage of biological specimen collected from crime scenes.
SUPPORTED BY
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Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
Grant Success
The UTS Centre for Forensic Science, in collaboration with academic and industry partners, has been successful in securing three Australian Research Council (ARC) grants in the last Linkage round totalling $890K from ARC + $639K cash from partners (i.e. more than $1.5M cash) for a total research value estimated at more than $3M. This corresponds to half of the university’s Linkage success in this round. The projects are as follows:
Rapid CYBERNOSE® detection of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, led by Prof. Shari Forbes with Prof. Chris Lennard (Western Sydney University) and in collaboration with CSIRO, Grey Innovation, Australian Federal Police, NSW Forensic & Analytical Sciences Services and Victoria Police.
Illicit drug profiling in forensic intelligence, led by Prof. Claude Roux with A/Prof. Alison Beavis and assistance of Dr. Marie Morelato (Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow and in collaboration with Prof. Pierre Esseiva (University of Lausanne), Australian Federal Police, NSW Forensic & Analytical Sciences Services and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Next-generation latent fingermark detection using functional nanomaterials, led by Prof. Claude Roux with Prof. Christopher Lennard, A/Prof. Andrew McDonagh, Dr. Xanthe Spindler and assistance of Dr. Sebastien Moret and in collaboration with Rofin Australia, Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police.
A/Prof. Shanlin Fu is a Chief Investigator in Prof. Dayong Jin’s ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub ($3.7M in total) to usher in the next-generation of primary care health detection devices. A/Prof. Barbara Stuart is a Chief Investigator in a successful ARC Linkage grant administered at the University of Melbourne. This further strengthens the strong 2015 year which saw CFS totalling a total of $1.5M of external research earning. Congratulations to all parties concerned and warm thank you to our industry partners for their ongoing support and trust. More information is available here.
New Forensic Science Program
2017 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Centre for Forensic Science with the introduction of the new forensic science degree program. After significant discussions with industry partners and within the university, we are expanding our forensic science offerings beyond the traditional forensic science degree program. The main focus of the new degree is to make forensic science the enabling discipline (rather than the traditional chemistry or biology), where students are taught the fundemental skills and knowledge to aid them in their future forensic careers. Students are given a strong foundation in forensic science principles, and from these they build on that knowledge with a specialisation in either chemistry, biology, crime scene investigation or digital forensics (the last two being completely new offerings from CFS). The new degree introduces a suite of exciting new subjects which cover areas such as homicide investigation, forensic intelliegence, next generation sequencing and digital trace and identity, Another exciting change is the new double degree offerings, with potential for students to combine their degree with either a Bachelor of Arts and International studies, Bachelor of Law or Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation. These degrees will give students the oppurtunity to develop their skills and knowledge outside of the forensic realm and potentially introduce some exciting transdisciplinary opportunities. Based on the feedback and interest from our recent Open Day, the new degrees looks like they will be very popular with potential students. We hope this change will be a world leader in educating the forensic scientists of the future. For more information on the degrees, please view the UTS Handbook avaliable here.
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
Visiting Scholars: Professor Oliver Hofstetter Prof. Oliver Hofstetter, Northern Illinois University, is
currently visiting us for the second time. He is spending
two months with the Fingerprints Group to share his
expertise on bio-recognition and contribute to two
projects, namely the ARC Linkage project on
immunogenic detection and the project funded by the
US Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office and
the Defence Science & Technology Group on novel
fingermark lifters.
Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid, from the University of Dundee (a
Key Techonolgy Partner with UTS) visited the Centre in
January of this year. Professor Nic Daeid is the Director
of Research at the Centre for Anatomy & Human
Identification at the University of Dundee. During her
visit she was also engaged with the research students
discussing and sharing ideas on current forensic projects.
She also gave two lectures; one highlighting the current
research directions of the University of Dundee; and the
other a public lecture called ‘Using Science to Combat
Crime – What Does the Future Hold?’ This visit reflects
the beginning of an exciting partnership with Dundee
University and UTS, which will provide many
opportunities for exchange and collaboration. More
information on this collaboration can be found here.
Associate Professors Zhiwen Wei & Liang Meng The Drugs and Toxicology Group has been hosting two
Visiting Scholars this year. Associate Professor Zhiwen
(Jack) Wei from Shanxi Medical University China spent
one year (June 2015-May 2016) at UTS, developing
methods for the investigation of organophorous
poisoning cases. Associate Professor Liang Meng from
Fujian Police College China will stay for a year (June 2016
to June 2017) at UTS to work on a project concerning
detection of new psychoactive substances from
biological matrices and police seizures.
Congratulations
Rebecca Buis, Nathan Charlton, Kylie Jones, Verena Taudte and Maiken Ueland on their admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Well Done!
Associate Professor Shanlin Fu was elected Vice President of FACTA (Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association) at the last FACTA general meeting held in Brisbane on 1 September 2016.
PhD candidate Morgan Philp's recent publication in the 1st issue of Forensic Chemistry on colour test of cathinones, a class of new psychoactive substances also marketed as "bath salts", has drawn considerable interests in the field of drug intelligence and drug testing and produced a number of media stories including ScienceAlert
PhD candidate Shimpei Watanabe had the opportunity to spend 8 weeks as Visiting Researcher in the laboratory of National Board of Forensic Medicine, Linköping, Sweden, working on metabolism of new psychoactive substances (July 2016 to August 2016).
PhD Candidates Matheiu Maitre and Dilan Seckiner were chosen as UTS representatives for the annual UNIL Université de Lausanne École des Sciences Criminelles Doctoral School in Switzerland. Their full account will appear in the next newsletter.
CFS members were highly successfully in obtaining ANZFSS Executive Travel Awards and NSW Branch Awards. CFS was awarded 23.3% of the Executive Travel awards and 79.1% of the NSW Branch Awards. This is an outstanding achievement for CFS and further cements our standing as a world leading centre in forensic science research.
Professor Shari Forbes, Dr Maiken Ueland and Ms Prue Armstrong were recently featured in Australians Women’s Weekly discussing the new AFTER facility, this was excellent exposure of this exciting new facility.
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
National Science Week
Women in Forensic Science
As part of National Science Week, the UTS Library recently curated an event showcasing the work of young women in forensic science. Ms Mackenzie De La Hunty, Ms Morgan Philp, Dr Verena Taudte and Dr Maiken Ueland all had aspects of their research on display. The interactive exhibit allowed visitors to perform a presumptive drug colour test, view and compare fingerprint development techniques and see the effect of decomposition on textiles. This was an excellent opportunity for the wider university community to learn more about recent forensic research. Special congratulations must go to Ms Mackenzie De La Hunty for her organisation and coordination of the exhibition in conjunction with library staff.
UTS Speaks – Inside the Forensic World Another exciting event during national science week was a public lecture given by Professor Shari Forbes and Dr Xanthe Spindler. During this lecture Professor Forbes and Dr Spindler were able to share their research and provide the audience with an overview of forensic taphonomy and fingermark detection. The whole lecture can be found here.
Out and About 3rd Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, The Hague, 16-17 June 2016 The 3rd meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of
the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) was held in the
stunning new permanent premises of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) on the outskirts of The Hague. After
an official welcome by Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart,
the SAB members focused on the review of two Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs), namely on “Handling of
Medical Information” and on “Satellite Imagery Use”. As
it was the third such meeting for most SAB members this
year, the meeting was particularly effective and solid
progress could be achieved. In addition to developing
and reviewing SOPs, the future involvement of the SAB
in the OTP casework and training sessions for ICC judges
were other topics discussed during the meeting.
Australia was represented by NIFS-ANZPAA Director, Dr.
Linzi Wilson-Wilde and UTS CFS Director, Prof. Claude
Roux.
Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW) Workshop, Helsinki, 20-22 June 2016.
The Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW) Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) held a workshop
in cooperation with VERIFIN entitled “Chemical
Forensics: Capabilities across the Field and the Potential
Applications in Chemical Weapons Convention
Implementation”. Dr. Marie Morelato and Prof. Claude
Roux were invited to this workshop to present and
discuss challenges and opportunities of forensic
intelligence relevant to the Chemical Weapons
Convention, asking the question: “can we learn from the
illicit drug profiling experience?”. The presentation
provided an overview of forensic intelligence and the
role it plays in forensic science through its extension of
the forensic case-by-case approach (i.e., evidential focus)
into a more phenomenological and proactive approach.
The workshop was a success and allowed UTS CFS to
develop further collaborations.
Prof. Shari Forbes and Dr Xanthe Spindler taking
questions during ‘Inside the Forensics World’
Out and About
The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists
(TIAFT) - By Mr Daniel Pasin
This year the 54th Annual Meeting of The International
Association of Forensic Toxicologists was held in
Brisbane, Queensland (28th August – 1st September) in
association with the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) and
the Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association (FACTA).
The meeting drew over 500 delegates from over 50
countries and provided an insightful scientific program
with presentations on drug metabolism, novel
psychoactive substances (NPS) and hair testing in forensic
and clinical toxicology. CFS had a significant presence
with a total of 4 delegates from UTS, including A/Prof.
Shanlin Fu, Shimpei Watanabe, Morgan Philp, Daniel
Pasin and 2 international delegates currently conducting
research at UTS, A/Prof. Liang Meng (Fujian Police
College, China) and Dayanne Bordin (University of Sao
Paolo, Brazil). CFS showcased some of its novel research
with oral presentations from Shimpei, Morgan and Daniel
on a variety of different topics. They have done UTS
proud by showcasing the high quality forensic science
research programs at the Centre for Forensic Science
UTS.
Out and About
13th GC×GC symposium and 40th International
Symposium on Capillary Chromatography–By Dr Katie
Nizio
LaTara Rust and Dr. Katie Nizio recently attended the
joint 13th GC×GC Symposium and 40th International
Symposium on Capillary Chromatography (ISCC) in Riva
del Garda, Italy. During this symposium they were able
to network, present, and attend numerous oral and
poster presentations, while also giving young scientist
keynote lectures. While in Europe, LaTara and Katie
also enjoyed a wonderful week in Belgium visiting our
colleagues (Prof. Jef Focant, Dr. Katelynn Perrault, Dr.
Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto and Lena Dubois) at the
University of Liège. Over these two weeks LaTara and
Katie were also fortunate enough to immerse
themselves in the local culture tasting plenty of local
food and drink including but not limited to a fine
selection of Belgian beers, Belgian waffles, vol-au-vent,
boulet liégeois, various pastries, Italian wines, wood-
fired pizzas, gelato.
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
Shimpei Watanabe, Morgan Philp, A/Prof Shanlin Fu and
Daniel Pasin at TIAFT 2016
Latara Rust and Dr Katie Nizio presenting their research at
the 13th GCxGC symposium and 40th ISCC
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
Out and About
6th Annual Forensic Science Research Students
Symposium – By Dr Xanthe Spindler
On the 7th July, UTS hosted the 6th annual Forensic
Science Research Students Symposium, and our second
with the forensic science team at Western Sydney
University. While the students, partner university and
diversity of research topics have changed since the first
meeting at the Australian Federal Police College in 2011,
the philosophy of the symposium remains the same: to
provide a stage for our research students to present
results, share ideas and talk to our industry partners.
31 students across the two universities showcased their
research projects in 10 minute conference-style
presentations. Every forensic science discipline was
represented, from toxicology and taphonomy to
intelligence, criminalistics and human identification. The
symposium also brought together representatives and
collaborators from our industry partners, including a
number of Centre for Forensic Science alumni, and
academics from across the School of Mathematical and
Physical Sciences. Going by the break-time discussions,
the spark of new projects and the smiles on everyone’s
faces, it was another successful year for the Forensic
Science Research Students Symposium.
Out and About
New Collaboration and International Exposure –By Ms Rolanda Lam
We all know that research can take us in different
directions, and for one of our PhD candidates, Ms
Rolanda Lam, it actually took her back home! In August
2014, Rolanda joined an ARC Linkage Project in
fingermark detection after making the long trek from
Canada. However, from January to May this year, she
was back on Canadian soil (in her hometown no less),
conducting research at Carleton University. She was
unaware that the specialised lab even existed until
reviewing literature. This is a great example of how
forensic science research is interdisciplinary, as
Carleton University does not have a forensic science
program. Rolanda’s project was the first forensic
application in their lab and it was a great learning
experience for all involved. Prior to returning to UTS,
Rolanda was able to present her findings at the 60th
Annual Canadian Society of Forensic Science
Conference. She was also the keynote speaker at the
University of Toronto Mississauga (where she earned
her Honours BSc)’s Annual Forensic Science Day to talk
about forensic science at UTS and in Australia.
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
Research students, academics and industry representations who attended the Forensic Science Research Student Symposium
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
Publications
Jones K., Benson S., Roux C. The forensic analysis of office paper using oxygen isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Part 1: Understanding the background population and homogeneity of paper for the comparison and discrimination of samples. Forensic Science International, 2016, 262, 97-107.
Khuu, A., Chadwick, S., Spindler, X., Lam, R., Moret, S., & Roux, C. Evaluation of one-step luminescent cyanoacrylate fuming. Forensic science international, 263, 2016, 126-131.
Lam, R., Hofstetter, O., Lennard, C., Roux, C., & Spindler, X. Evaluation of multi-target immunogenic reagents for the detection of latent and body fluid-contaminated fingermarks. Forensic science international, 2016, 264, 168–175.
Lewis, J., Molnar, A., Allsop, D., Copeland, J., Fu, S. Rapid elimination of Carboxy-THC in a cohort of chronic cannabis users (2016) International Journal of Legal Medicine, 130 (1), pp. 147-152.
Molnar, A., and Fu, S. Techniques and technologies for the bioanalysis of Sativex®, metabolites and related compounds. (2016) Bioanalysis 8, 829-845
Maitre M., Kirkbride K.P., Horder M., Roux C., Beavis A. Current perspectives in the interpretation of gunshot residues in forensic science: A review. Forensic Science International, 2016, Article in Press.
Morelato M., Barash M., Blanes L., Chadwick S., Dilag J., Kuzhiumparambil U., Nizio K. D., Spindler X., Moret S., Forensic science: current state and perspective by a group of early career researchers, Foundations of Science. Article in Press
Moret S., Bécue A., Champod C. (2016), Functionalised silicon oxide nanoparticles for fingermark detection, Forensic Science International, 259, 10-18.
Newland T.G., Moret S., Bécue A., Lewis S.W., Further investigations into the single metal deposition (SMD II) technique for the detection of latent fingermarks, Forensic Science International. Article in Press.
Publications
Armstrong, P.; Nizio, K.D.; Perrault, K.A.; Forbes, S.L. Establishing the volatile profile of pig carcasses as analogues for human decomposition during the early postmortem period. Heliyon 2016, 2, e00070.
Bruenisholz, E., Prakash, S., Ross, A., Morelato, M., O’Malley, T., Raymond, T., Ribaux, O., Roux, C.P. & Walsh, S. The intelligent use of forensic data: an introduction to the principles. Forensic Science Policy & Management: An International Journal, 2016, 7(1-2), 21-29.
Cawley, A., Pasin, D., Ganbat, N., Ennis, L., Smart, C., Greer, C., Keledjian, J., Fu, S., and Chen, A. The potential for complementary targeted/nontargeted screening of novel psychoactive substances in equine urine using liquid chromatography-high resolution accurate mass spectrometry. (2016) Analytical Methods 8, 1789-1797
Chua L., Head K., Thomas P. and Stuart B.H., Micro-characterisation of the colour palette of ceremonial objects from the Papua New Guinea Highlands: transition from natural to synthetic pigments, Microchemical Journal 124, 547-558 (2016).
Chua L., Maynard-Casely H., Thomas P., Head K. and Stuart B.H., Characterisation of blue pigments from ceremonial objects of the Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea using vibrational spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction, Vibrational Spectroscopy 85, 43-47 (2016).
Evans, E., Costrino, C., do Lago, C.L., Garcia, C.D., Roux, C., Blanes, L. Determination of Inorganic Ion Profiles of Illicit Drugs by Capillary Electrophoresis (2016) Journal of Forensic Sciences, . Article in Press.
Forbes, S.L.; Troobnikoff, A.N.; Ueland, M.; Nizio, K.D.; Perrault, K.A. Profiling the decomposition odour at the grave surface before and after probing. Forensic Sci. Int. 2016, 259, 193-199.
Fu, S. (2016) Adulterants in urine drug testing. Advances in Clinical Chemistry. in press.
Hunt A., Thomas P., James D., David B., Geneste J.-M., Delannoy J.-J. and Stuart B.H., The characterisation of pigments used in X-ray rock art at Dalakngalarr 1, central-western Arnhem Land, Microchemical Journal 126, 534-529 (2016).
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
(Oct - Dec) 2015
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
(Oct - Dec) 2015
Publications
Nizio, K.D.; Cochran, J.W.; Forbes, S.L. Achieving a near-theoretical maximum in peak capacity gain for the forensic analysis of ignitable liquids using GC×GC-TOFMS. Separations 2016, 3(3), 26.
Nizio, K.D.; Perrault, K.A.; Troobnikoff, A.N.; Ueland, M.; Shoma, S.; Iredell, J.R.; Middleton P.G.; Forbes, S.L. In vitro volatile organic compound profiling using GC×GC-TOFMS to differentiate bacteria associated with lung infections: A proof-of-concept study. J. Breath Res. 2016, 10, 026008.
Perrault, K.A., Forbes, S.L. Elemental analysis of soil and vegetation surrounding decomposing human analogues (2016) Journal of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, 49 (3), pp. 138-151.
Perrault, K.A., Stefanuto, P.-H., Stuart, B.H., Rai, T., Focant, J.-F., Forbes, S.L. Reducing variation in decomposition odour profiling using comprehensive two- dimensional gas chromatography (2016) Journal of Separation Science, 38 (1), pp. 73-80.
Philp, M., Shimmon, R., Tahtouh, M., and Fu, S. (2016) Development and validation of a presumptive color spot test method for the detection of synthetic cathinones in seized illicit materials. Forensic Chemistry 1, 39-50
Ribaux O., Roux C., Crispino F. Expressing the value of forensic science in policing, Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2016, Article in Press.
Ribaux, O., Crispino, F., Delémont, O., Roux, C. The progressive opening of forensic science toward criminological concerns. Security Journal, 2016, 1-18.
Rust, L., Nizio, K.D., Forbes, S.L. The influence of ageing and surface type on the odour profile of blood-detection dog training aids (2016) Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, pp. 1-12. Article in Press.
Schwendener G., Moret S., Cavanagh-Steer K., Roux C. Can ‘contamination’ occur in body bags? - The example of background fibres in body bags used in Australia. Forensic Science International, 266, 2016, 517-526.
Stuart, B.H., Notter, S.J., Dent, B., Selvalatchmanan, J., Fu, S. The formation of adipocere in model aquatic environments (2016) International Journal of Legal Medicine, 130 (1), pp. 281-286.
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
September 2016
Publications
Talbot-Wright, B., Baechler, S., Morelato, M., Ribaux, O., & Roux, C. Image processing of false identity documents for forensic intelligence. Forensic science International, 2016, 263, 67-73.
Taudte, R.V., Roux, C., Blanes, L., Horder, M., Kirkbride, K.P., Beavis, A. The development and comparison of collection techniques for inorganic and organic gunshot residues (2016) Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 408 (10), 2567-2576.
Ueland M, Blanes L, Taudte RV, Stuart BH, Cole N, Willis P, Roux C, Doble P. Capillary-driven microfluidic paper-based analytical devices for lab on a chip screening of explosive residues in soil. Journal of chromatography. A, (2016), 1436, 28-33.
Ueland, M., Ewart, K., Troobnikoff, A.N., Frankham, G., Johnson, R.N., Forbes, S.L. A rapid chemical odour profiling method for the identification of rhinoceros horns (2016) Forensic Science International, Article in Press.
Wenholz, D. S., Luong, S., Philp, M., Forbes, S. L., Stuart, B. H., Drummer, O. H., and Fu, S. A study to model the post-mortem stability of 4-MMC, MDMA and BZP in putrefying remains. (2016) Forensic Science International 265, 54–60
Watanabe, S., Kuzhiumparambil, U., Winiarski, Z., and Fu, S. Biotransformation of synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018, JWH-073 and AM2201 by Cunninghamella elegans. (2016) Forensic Science International 261, 33–42
Centre for Forensic Science
Newsletter
(Oct - Dec) 2015
www.forensics.uts.edu.au
