Forensic Medicine
Head: Professor S M Cordner
Address: Department of Forensic Medicine, 57-83 Kavanagh Street,
Southbank 3006
Telephone: (03) 9684 4301
Fax: (03) 9682 7353
Email: stephen.cordner@med.monash.edu.au
Research in many areas of medicine and science that deal with the needs of the
law. In addition, the Department houses the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria.
- Forensic pathology Analysis and review of suicides with
particular reference to young people; patterns of injury in homicide; traumatic
neuropathology; a histological approach to the ageing of injuries; studies to
assist with range determination in gunshot wounds from common 0.22 calibre
rifles; mortuary based projects such as spinal injuries in road traffic
fatalities; resuscitation associated injuries.
- Clinical forensic medicine: Issues in breath alcohol analysis and
breath testing equipment; effects of drugs on driving skills; illness and
driving skills; injury patterns in sexual assault; medical aspects of deaths in
custody.
- Forensic toxicology Effects of post mortem interval on drug
analyses; post mortem redistribution of drugs; culpability analysis in motor
vehicle fatalities and analysis of the contribution of drugs to fatal
accidents; development of a national toxicology database; major tranquiliser
use and sudden death; methadone and heroin deaths; the analysis of drugs in
hair.
- Molecular biology Isolation and identification of DNA from
degraded tissues using PCR and other techniques; use of DNA techniques to study
disease diagnosis.
- Tissue banking Studies to improve the understanding of the
biology of allograft incorporation in the host; soft and hard tissue
engineering especially in the design of matrices for tissue formation;
investigation of changes to allograft during tissue banking processes.
- Other Medical law and ethics in relation to the use of human
tissue; forensic odontology; forensic anthropology; medical infomatics.
wwwdev@monash.edu.au
Tue Oct 6 02:34:14 EST 1998