Forensic Medicine

Head: Professor S M Cordner

Address: Department of Forensic Medicine, 57-83 Kavanagh Street, Southbank, 3006

Phone: (03) 9684 4301

Fax: (03) 9682 7353

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 tranquilizer 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.

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