Denise Gemmellaro, Ph.D.

Dr. M. Denise Gemmellaro received her PhD in Entomology from Rutgers University, with a dissertation in Medico-Legal Forensic Entomology, which is the application of the study of insects to criminal investigations. She has been involved in the field of forensic entomology for several years, during which she has trained state police, FBI, pathologists, lawyers and other professionals in the field of forensics, as well as undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Gemmellaro’s research is focused on using insects (maggots) in forensic investigations to establish time of colonization, movement of the bodies and potential presence of illegal substances in the body; moreover, she is conducting research in other areas of forensic, such as BPA (Blood Pattern Analysis), forensic molecular biology and forensic entomotoxicology. Dr. Gemmellaro is a member of the American Board of Forensic Entomology, and of several forensic societies, among which the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), the Entomological Society of America (ESA), the North America Forensic Entomology Association (NAFEA), the European Association for Forensic Entomology (EAFE). Dr. Gemmellaro is also the current president of the European Society of Forensic Science (EUSFS).