Forensic Toxicology

Dr. Robert H. Powers has directed forensic toxicology laboratories throughout the United States and is an associate professor at the University of New Haven, Connecticut, where he has taught forensic toxicology at the graduate level for more than 10 years. He completed his PhD in biochemistry at Michigan State University, working on the mechanism of dioxin, PCBs, and similarly acting toxins. He is board certified as a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicologists and is a consultant for civil and criminal cases, with a particular focus on questions of drug involvement in death cases and alcohol impairment. His current research focuses on the effect of ethanol on phase I and phase II metabolism of selected drugs and drug classes, decompositional drug metabolism and postmortem changes, and glycoprotein-based species differentiation.

Dr. Dorothy E. Dean is a deputy medical examiner in Akron, Ohio. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Toledo Medical Center in Ohio. She acquired additional training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Cincinnati and completed a fellowship in forensic pathology at the Hamilton County Coroner's Office in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is board certified in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology. Dr. Dean is a member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the National Association of Medical Examiners. She is also a member of the federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and its Ohio counterpart (OMORT). Her special interests include teaching medical students and medical residents, identification of unidentified remains, and evaluating drug- and poison-related deaths.