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Student Opportunities

  • The Radford University Forensic Science Institute delivers educational instruction and training in forensic science by administering and overseeing the Interdisciplinary Forensic Science Minor and the Forensic Anthropology Concentration in the Department of Anthropological Sciences;
  • It provides high impact student opportunities for research and training, both within the FSI and with its partners at a high volume. This has included numerous student Internships (e.g., with the VOCME) as well as over 200 collaborative student/faculty research projects mentored through the Student Engagement Forum, SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships), ARO (Accelerated Research Opportunities), Research Rookies, and the RU Honors program, regularly providing students with opportunities for professional publications and presentations at national meetings and clinical experience in a professional forensic science laboratory;
  • It facilitates and oversees funding for student forensic science research (through the Boyd Anthropological and Forensic Science Student Scholarship) annually;
  • Forensic science instruction is provided by award-winning faculty, including RUFSI Director, Dr. Donna Boyd (recognized for outstanding instruction through receipt of the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty and Carnegie Case U. S. Professor of the Year awards in 2006 and Dalton Eminent Scholar award in 2019-20);
  • In preparation for these opportunities, academically, students ideally should:
    • Major in Anthropological Sciences, with a Forensic Anthropology concentration
    • Have taken (and performed well) in:
      • ANSC 210 (Introduction to Forensic Anthropology)
      • ANSC 320 (Human Osteology)
      • ANSC 420 (Advanced Forensic Anthropology)

Examples of Recent Student Research in the Forensic Science Institute

2024

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    Natalie May “The Effect of Cleaning Agents on Blood Chemiluminescence Detection” (Presented at the 33rd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 18, 2024).
  2. Leila Ledoux “Beyond the Blade: Dismemberment Through Comprehensive Tool Mark Analysis” (Presented at the 33rd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 18, 2024).
  3. Kiana Hunsaker “The Effects of Freezing on Fatal Sharp Force Trauma”  (Presented at the 33rd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 18, 2024).
  4. Madelina Yates “Application of Forensic Nursing to Mitigation of Suicide Risk After Sexual Assault” (Presented at the 33rd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 18, 2024).

 

2023

  1. Kimber Cheek: Boyd DC, Cheek KG, Boyd CC.  2023  Fatal Non-Accidental Pediatric Cranial Fracture Risk and Three-Layered Cranial Architecture Development. J Forensic Sci 68(1):46-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15183. (originally an Honors capstone project).
  2. Victoria Pate (Honors capstone project and winner of the King Award for Scholarly Excellence): “Evaluation of Blunt Force Trauma Mechanism Interpretations Inferred from Skeletal Fracture Morphology and Patterning.” An abstract for this co-authored presentation (Boyd and Pate) was accepted by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and was co-presented at their 75th annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, on February 16, 2023.
  3. Hailey Argonis – “Bilateral Asymmetry in the Scapula Between the Sexes” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  4. Megan Brown -- “Differentiating Sharp Force Trauma and Carnivore Scavenging Impacts on Bone” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  5. Kaitlyn Edwards – “The Effect of Household Chemicals on Sharp Force Trauma Cut Mark Visibility in Bone” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  6. Cameryn Paczosa –The Effect of Carnivore Body Weight on Postmortem Scavenging and Human Bone” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  7. Summer Rowland– “Interobserver Error in Classifying Skeletal Fractures” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  8. Kyasya Seams – “The Effects of Blunt Force Trauma Soft Tissue Injury on Skeletal Fractures” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
  9. Jaila Woodbury—“Diversity and Inclusion in Forensic Anthropology: Its Effects and Applications for the Future” (Presented at the 32nd Annual Student Engagement Forum, April 20, 2023).
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