Professor Victoria Gibbon is a biological anthropologist at the Department of Human Biology’s Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology at University of Cape Town, South Africa. She leads a transdisciplinary team of researchers in the Western Cape Cold Case Consortium (W4C) to assist with improving investigative outcomes and forensic identification more generally. Dr. Devin Finaughty is a forensic anthropologist/taphonomist with a particular interest in the decomposition ecosystem. South African-born, he is a centennial postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In this episode we talk about:
- Their research has focuses on “forensic realism”, experiments that replicate common case scenarios, like single, clothed bodies, to help address gaps for local police cases.
- Their goal is to provide investigative leads for police, not just identification. Recovering all remains and personal items can help give closure to families.
- Finaughty is now applying his expertise to wildlife forensics through a postdoc, developing forensic entomology protocols to help investigate poaching cases, and to help address South Africa’s poor prosecution rates for poaching cases.
- Both researchers emphasize the importance of engaging with stakeholders to understand real-world problems and tailor their research for practical applications.
- Both researchers see their greatest impact coming from policy changes informed by their science, rather than the science alone.
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Transcripts are available at yvonnekjorlien.com
Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay
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