Professor Sue Black and colleagues take to Twitter to engage with prospective students

Published On Wed 8 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill

World-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black, from the University of Dundee, will next week take to Twitter to lead a live Q&A session with prospective students.

Professor Black, Director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID), and colleagues Dr Craig Cunningham and Dr Lucina Hackman will answer tweets from potential applicants using the hashtag #CAHIDQ&A between 4-5pm on Monday, 13th October.

Participants will be able to find out more about the University, which achieved record results in the 2014 National Student Survey, and was rated top in Scotland and joint 4th in the UK in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) Student Experience Survey. They will also learn more about the innovative work taking place at CAHID, which was awarded a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education last year.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with one of the world’s top scientists in her field,” said Dr Hackman. “Professor Black is an inspirational figure who has pushed the boundaries of forensic anthropology and made a real difference to the lives of thousands of people across the world.

“Dr Cunningham and I will also be talking about some of the world-leading work taking place at CAHID as well as answering questions about student life at Dundee. We would encourage anyone thinking about studying for a forensic degree to take part and find out the exceptional opportunities that the University offers. All you need to do to take part in the live discussion is direct your query to our twitter feed using the correct hashtag.”

CAHID is one of the world’s foremost institutions for the study and application of human anatomy, forensic human identification, disaster victim identification and forensic and medical art. It has developed new techniques, including identifying perpetrators from images of their hands in photographs, that have led to successful prosecution in a significant number of cases of child sexual abuse.

The Centre has devised and implemented the world’s first training programme for police officers and professional experts in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI). The training programme has helped build a crucial response capability to major disasters. CAHID is also a partner in the creation of the FASTid system that has been adopted by Interpol.

CAHID is recognised as an international leader in craniofacial identification and forensic facial reconstruction for the identification of the living and the dead, the latter more recently including King Richard III.

The Centre’s work has also rejuvenated the study of human anatomy and its application in teaching, training and research.  For example, the introduction of the Thiel ‘soft fix’ method of embalming produces lifelike flexible cadavers that facilitate the development of new surgical procedures and approaches, new devices and more realistic training.  This is the only centre to adopt this approach in the UK.

Professor Black was awarded an OBE for her services to the subject following the war crimes investigations in Kosovo and was also awarded the Lucy Mair medal in recognition of the humanitarian aspect of her work. She is lead forensic anthropology adviser to the Home Office of the UK Government and she is the lead for the subject on the DVI standing committee at Interpol.

Dr Cunningham is the programme director for the MSc Forensic Anthropology. He works closely with undergraduate and postgraduate students in anatomy and forensic anthropology and his research involves investigating the development of the human skeleton and applying this knowledge to the identification process.

Dr Hackman is the programme leader for the MSc in Anatomy and Advanced Forensic Anthropology, and is also involved in police and CSI training. Her research interests include Age Estimation in the Living and she undertakes regular forensic case work.

To take part in the session, please tweet your questions to @CAHIDuod from 4-5pm on Monday, 13th October.

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
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