Forensic Anthropology

One important focus within biological anthropology is forensic anthropology, a synergistic science encompassing evolutionary biology, anatomy, and ecology. UF’s forensic anthropology program includes coursework in biostatistics, water and soil sciences, human gross and functional anatomy, biomechanics, radiology, osteology, and genetic analysis.

Most importantly, we emphasize a hands-on approach to forensic anthropology. The department has a working forensic anthropology laboratory, the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, which focuses on service to the State of Florida and outside agencies.

Collaboration among the laboratories and the Departments of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Soil & Water Science, Entomology, and the College of Health and Human Performance maximizes graduate student research opportunities.

The Graduate Program in Forensic Anthropology

Graduate students work closely with Dr. Michael W. Warren in all aspects of casework, including the search and recovery of human remains at clandestine sites, trauma analysis, and video superimposition techniques. Graduate students participate in death investigation through internships at the District Medical Examiner’s Offices in Gainesville and Miami.

Students interested in pursuing the PhD in Anthropology with an emphasis in forensic anthropology must apply to the graduate program in Anthropology.

The forensic PhD concentration is highly competitive, with 3% or fewer applicants receiving offers of admission.
Your Statement of Purpose should describe a specific interest in physical or biological anthropology with an emphasis on applied skeletal biology or forensic anthropology.
Successful candidates demonstrate excellence through their grade point averages (>3.5 on average), GRE scores (1320 on average), publications, and presentations at regional or national meetings.
Successful applicants usually have an MA in anthropology with a concentration in physical anthropology, although previous students have come from backgrounds in the forensic sciences, zoology, and biology.
Prospective students are encouraged to visit the University of Florida prior to the admission deadline and should arrange their trip with Dr. Warren directly.

The C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory

Mission

The primary mission of the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory is to provide forensic anthropology services for medical examiners and coroners. The laboratory also provides anthropological, legal and technical laboratory-based education and training to graduate students and professionals in the fields of anthropology, medicine, medicolegal death investigation and law enforcement. The laboratory and its faculty and graduate analysts serve as a resource for pathologists, scientists and technical experts practicing in communities and various jurisdictions in the state of Florida.
Although service to the State of Florida and outside agencies is the major focus of the laboratory, graduate student education intersects and complements the research of the teaching faculty. Graduate students work closely with Dr. Michael Warren, the laboratory’s program director, in all aspects of casework, including the search and recovery of human remains, trauma analysis, and video superimposition techniques.

History

The history of the laboratory dates back to 1972, the year the laboratory’s founder, Dr. William R. Maples, consulted on his first forensic case. Maples conducted casework in the Florida Museum of Natural History until 1991, when the university received an endowment for a new forensic anthropology laboratory from C. Addison Pound, Jr., a generous benefactor of the University of Florida. The C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory was built on Radio Road on the UF campus and operated as an extension of the Florida Museum of Natural History. Dr. William R. Maples served as the laboratory’s first director from 1991 until his death in February of 1997. During that time, he was involved in the investigations of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of such notable figures as President Zachary Taylor, Francisco Pizzaro, the family of Czar Nicholas II, and civil rights advocate Medgar Evers. In 1996, the C. A. Pound Laboratory formally moved its administration to the Department of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

What We Do

Today the C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory performs analyses of skeletal remains for many of the 24 medical examiner districts in the State of Florida. Although most of the cases received at the laboratory originate from law enforcement agencies and medical examiners within the State of Florida, laboratory personnel, including graduate students, have been involved in numerous cases of national and international interest.

Location

In June of 2006, the laboratory moved to new quarters in the Cancer and Genetics Research Complex on campus. The lab occupies 2400 sq. ft. with separate laboratory, graduate student and administrative offices.

Affiliations

The C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory is an element of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida. The laboratory’s long partnerships with other forensic professionals, both at the University of Florida and elsewhere, have aided its growth and success.

Students

The graduate program in Biological Anthropology at the University of Florida includes a sub-specialty in skeletal biology in forensic and paleoanthropological contexts. Students within this unit are offered graduate level courses in human variation, human gross anatomy, comparative anatomy, human growth and development, archaeological methods and techniques, biophotography, and forensic entomology. Students interested in graduate training in forensic anthropology at the University of Florida are encouraged to contact Ms. Juanita Bagnall, the Graduate Program Assistant, for detailed application information.

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