Emerging Technologies for the Analysis of Forensic Traces

Simona Francese holds a degree in Chemistry awarded by the University of Salerno (Italy) in 2000 by successfully completing a 5 year programme Upon successful completion of further chemistry exams, she was awarded the "abilitation to undertake the profession of Chemist" by the same University. She was subsequently awarded a PhD in Chemical Sciences in 2004 by the University of Salerno by successfully completing a 3 year research programme. PhD achieved excellence as ratified by the awarding academic panel. Francese was awarded a short post doctoral fellowship between March 2005 and June 2015 and subsequently held a 3 year research fellowship at the Interdepartmental Centre for Mass Spectrometry, University of Florence, Italy. She was then employed at Sheffield Hallam University in 2008 as Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences. At Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), Dr Francese is Reader since 2014 and the deputy Head of the Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging since 2016 within the Biomolecular Research Centre. At SHU She has pioneered the use and development of MALDI MSI strategies to extract additional intelligence from latent fingermarks starting October 2008. She is part of the International Fingermark Research Group (40 members worldwide on invitation only) and currently the worldwide leader in the application of this technology to ridge impressions, publishing 17 peer reviewed papers to date. Together with the group that she leads, she has built unprecedented knowledge on the use of MALDI MS based strategies to derive additional forensic intelligence from the chemical content of a mark; this ranges from specific detection of blood through detection of haemoglobin and haem, determination of the suspect's sex, separation of overlapping marks, to the detection of ingested substances and external contaminants including drugs of abuse making possible the integration with currently employed forensic workflows. She leads multidisciplinary work cross Faculty which led to a prototype being licenced to Consolite Forensics l.t.d.

Mass spectometry methods for the recovery of forensic intelligence from fingermarks.- Novel technological applications for latent and blood-stained fingermark ageing studies.- Bioanalytical Advancements in the Reliable Visualization and Discrimination of Bodily Fluids.- Investigating the age of blood traces: how close are we to finding the holy grail of forensic science?.- Recent technological developments in MALDI-MSI based hair analysis.- Emerging approaches in the analysis of inks on questioned documents.- Advances in Analysis of Gunshot Residue.- Advances in the analysis of explosives.- The Application of Forensic Soil Science in Case work and Legal Considerations.