Real Life Professionals

Each of the professionals below are not only forensic scientists, but also our mentors while creating this project and website. They were kind enough to help us verify the information on our website, provide us with credible sources to pull from, and even share their own experiences in forensics for these career spotlights. Mrs. Stubbs specifically, was our main stakeholder and we truly appreciate everything she and our other mentors were able to do for us!

Wesli Kay Stubbs
- Forensic Scientist -
Serologist at Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory (DNA/Biology Section)

Education:

“I personally got a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Texas Tech, and a Master’s of Science in Forensic Biology at Purdue. In total my education took 6 years to complete. I started applying to job openings like crazy a few months before I graduated from my masters and got the job I have now a few months after graduation. It took about 6 months of hardcore applying everywhere to finally get some interviews and job offers. I have had my current job for a little over 6 years.”

Importance of Job:

“I help in the investigation and any crime that may or may not have evidence with biological fluids on it. Sexual Assaults, Homicides, Hit and Runs, Aggravated Assaults, and Burglaries to name a few. I help aid the detection in their investigation to find the suspect who committed the crime as well as aid in the trial with testimony. The analysis I perform can help bring someone to justice and give a victim/family closure, but I can also exonerate those who are wrongly accused.”

Breakdown of Daily Work:

“Every day is different as there are a number of tasks that need to be done throughout the course of working a case. However here is an example of how my day might go (keep in mind all of my coworkers have very different looking daily schedules. This is because we are trusted to complete the work in whatever manner we want. We are adults and don’t need babysitting).”

Day 1:
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Morning

     Clock in and go check my computer for emails or other important information that may have come through between when I left the office the day before and now.
     Pull a batch of submission forms from out file cabinet. The submission forms will list the agency, type of crime committed and date, relevant victim/suspect information, and the list of evidence that needs to be looked at. I try to pull multiple cases at once as most of my coworkers and I are able to work multiple cases at the same time. I usually pick up around 10 cases at a time.
     Request the evidence from the Evidence Receiving Department from the cases I intend to work and go pick it up and sign out the evidence in the chain of custody.

Mid morning

     Write my initials, date I received the evidence, and the associated lab number on every piece of evidence that I have just collected. Then in our management system I open up a specific case one at a time and inventory and describe all of the evidence. I write down what the item is, what it looks like (color, shape, wear and tear), any test I performed on the item (chemical test for possible biological fluids), and if intend to perform DNA analysis on that item.
     Any items that I intend to perform DNA analysis of I then take a small cutting from that item and put that cutting into a test tube for DNA extractions.

Lunch

     Enjoy my lunch time! I either go grab lunch out of office or chill at my desk with something I brought and watch Netflix or Youtube. Lunch time is my time and I take the rest seriously. The work will always be there, no need to work through your lunch.

Early- late afternoon

     Finish up any itemizing/inventorying that I didn’t finish prior to lunch.Usually inventorying items and taking cuttings for DNA analysis can take all day or maybe even 2-3 depending on how many cases you batch together.

Day 2

Morning – mid morning

     Take my prepped evidence samples and perform a DNA extraction on all my samples, once extraction is finished I then quant the samples. You need to know how much DNA is in each sample so using a specific instrument that quantifies the DNA is all of the samples is crucial.

Early – late afternoon

     Amplify all of my extracted DNA samples. In order to make DNA profiles for analysis, the DNA sample must be amplified. This means that in the test tube, a DNA sample is copied millions of times at specific regions using PCR (polymerase chain reaction).
     Then the amplified samples are put into a genetic analyzer that uses gel electrophoresis to track the DNA that is in a sample. The instrument tracks the DNA in the sample and then the computer spits out a DNA profile for me to analyze.

Day 3

     Go through all of my samples and analyze all of the DNA profiles that I generated. This takes time, as I need to go through all of them and check that they: don’t have any contamination, all samples look as expected and nothing looks switched or wrong, and check to see how many contributors are in each sample
     Some samples are clear cut and are from one person but the dirtier samples can have 2 or more people in them. I have to try and separate out the different DNA profiles in a mixture for comparison.
     Check all of my positive and negative controls to make sure all of the chemicals used and instruments used worked how they were supposed to.

Day 4

     Repeat all steps from day 2 but now do it with known standard samples that were submitted from suspects and victims so that I can compare them to the profiles I generated from the evidence samples. You have to work the knowns and the evidence samples separately to ensure no contamination between the two types of samples occur

Day 5

     My final comparisons between all known samples and unknown samples in a case. See what matches or doesn’t. Once this is complete I can write all of my findings in a report This is just an example of how my week can go. I also have random clean up duties around the lab, going to court to testify in trials, and doing outreach and speaking to students.

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Maureen Migliore
- Forensic Scientist II -
The Bexar County Crime Laboratory in San Antonio,TX

Education:

“I got my Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science from Hofstra University in 2018 and myMaster of Science in Forensic Science (Chemistry Focus) from Texas Tech University in 2020. I knew I wanted to be a forensic scientist since I was in high school. I had a chemistry teacher tell me that I should be a scientist and ran with it. So, I got my undergraduate degree in forensic science. I did research and loved my classes. I did not know what specialty I wanted to focus on, so I went and got my master’s degree again in forensic science. I really like the chemistry side of things and though I would do trace analysis. Trace as a discipline is getting harder and harder to find as DNA is taking over. I decided to switch gears to look for drug chemistry or toxicology jobs. I graduated in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, so I was interviewing and job searching for 11 months before landing my job at the Bexar County Crime Lab in Drug Chemistry. I have now been at Bexar County for 3 years.”

Daily Work:

     “In the drug chemistry discipline, physical evidence is submitted as an alleged controlled substance for testing. Drug chemists examine solid and liquid samples (plants, powders, oils,tablets, etc.). Samples are identified by utilizing presumptive and confirmatory tests. Our workflow is straightforward notes are taken electronically about the evidence, the weight is taken of the substance, a sample is collected, and then with that sample depending on if it’s a power liquid plant or other analysts perform specific presumptive and confirmatory tests. After testing is completed, results are analyzed and typed into a report to be used for court purposes. At Bexar County my hours are 7am to 3:30pm five days a week. These hours only change if I have to testify in court. Court hours are 9am to 5pm generally.”

Fun Facts from Maureen:

     “The state of Texas requires licensing for forensic scientists and so myself and all my coworkers are licensed forensic scientists.
    Continuing education is needed to keep one’s license and renewal happens every two years.
     Drug law for possession is dependent on the weight of the substance. The penalty changes federally and by each state.
     Drugs are Scheduled and that is how government agencies classify them and decide penalties.”

Hannah Griffin
- Forensic Scientist III -
Drug Identification, at Bexar County Criminal Investigation laboratory in San Antonio, TX

Education:

“I got my Bachelor of Science in Forensic Chemistry from The University of Mississippi and am currently working on my Master of Science in Forensic Science from Oklahoma State University. I’ve always wanted to help people in some way, but I never felt drawn to a people facing career, i.e. doctor or lawyer. Plus, the amount of schooling required for those careers did not appeal to me… at all. I grew up in the time of CSI shows and crime dramas. To say that didn’t influence me would be a lie, especially seeing strong women characters in these roles. In high school I started seriously researching universities with forensic science programs. I’m from a semi-small town in Louisiana and I knew I didn’t want to stay there forever, but I am extremely family oriented. This all played a part in the university I landed on. Not only did The University of Mississippi have a FEPAC accredited undergraduate program, but it was the perfect distance from home so that I could get out of my hometown but not feel too homesick. My undergraduate degree is in Forensic Chemistry so it focused a lot on the lab side of forensics. I took courses like Quantitative Analysis and Instrumental Analysis and Forensic DNA. It is a well rounded program with exposure to various disciplines. I was initially interested in firearms analysis; however, I did a summer internship following my junior year where I developed an interest in seized drug analysis. After graduating, I was applying and interviewing for jobs for about 8 months before I was offered a job at the Bexar County Crime Lab inDrug Identification. I have now been at the lab for 5 years. I started a Masters program in 2022 to progress in my career. Oklahoma State University offers fully online programs for working professionals in multiple specializations.”

Daily Work:

“Maureen gave a great explanation of what we do in the Drug ID section; we also have the same schedule because traffic is terrible in San Antonio and we are able to be flexible in our schedules within the confines of the lab’s operating hours. Some things I would like to add: With experience comes more responsibilities. I have recently been given the responsibility of training new hires. So, expectations will change the longer you’ve been in your role. It’s important to always be growing and evolving, especially in this field.”

Caitlin Cranston
- Forensic Scientist I -
Drug Confirmation Section of the Toxicology Bureau for the New Mexico Department of Health – Scientific Laboratory Division in Albuquerque, NM

Education and Story:

     “I got my Bachelor of Arts in Forensic Science – Criminology with a minor in biology from St. Mary’s University in 2018 and my Master of Science in Forensic Science – Chemistry from Texas Tech University 2020.
     Growing up, I was strongly influenced by living close to the beach. So much so that I wanted to be a marine biologist, and that stuck with me for a while. When I got to High School, I realized I wanted to do forensics because it was a career choice not many people wanted to do in my school, I grew up with many family members in law enforcement, and I wanted to stick with science. So, I went and got my undergraduate degree in forensic science with a concentration in criminology. I had the idea that I was going to do crime scene investigation. However, when I graduated, I decided that I wanted to go down the hard science route. I had done research on the drug Ketamine for one of my research classes, which was later published, and that really influenced my decision to go to graduate school. Also, the job market at the time was not kind to me. So, I went to Texas Tech and was one of three in my cohort that was on the Chemistry track. I still was a bit lost in what I wanted to do in forensics, and it was my advisor, Dr. Paola Tiedemann, that gave me my epiphany moment. She told me that I was her “drug girl” and that I should use that to my advantage, and I did! I focused on Toxicology and hadn’t looked back. I’m even known as the ‘drug girl’ at work now. When I said the job market wasn’t kind back in 2018, I wasn’t expecting to finish grad school in December of 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing, and the job market was nearly nonexistent. I interviewed for several positions and 8 months later I received my offer letter from the Scientific Laboratory Division and began my job in September of 2021.”

Daily Work:

     “In the Toxicology Bureau, we analyzed blood samples collected from DWI offenders with implied consent. We also analyze urine from drug facilitated sexual assault cases. Within our bureau there are three sections: Breath Alcohol, Drug Screening, and Drug Confirmation. When we receive a sample, whether it’s a drop off or mailed to us, Drug Screening will accept the kit (accessioning), run their screening procedure through an Enzyme Immunoassay (Specifically ELISA) and then the sample will be flagged for whatever drugs it was screened for. It will then be analyzed by confirmation to confirm whether those drugs are in those samples. In the Drug Confirmation Section, our manager will assign analysts to perform certain methods. That is when we go into LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) and populate our ‘batch’ which will contain the cases that were flagged. Each drug will have a specific test assigned to them in LIMS. We then will extract the drugs from the sample using SPE (solid phase extraction) or LLE (liquid-liquid extraction) and then analyze the sample using GC-MS or LC-MS depending on the method. After the run, we will then ‘crunch’ the data determining the concentration and/or presence of the drug in question, and then compile the data into the case folder. This data can then be used when a case goes to court to form an opinion on driving impairment. At SLD, typical hours are 8am to 5pm five days a week. After your probationary period you can elect to have an alternative schedule change. My hours are 7:30am to 4:30pm five days a week, and the state allows us 2 hours a week for fitness and wellness.”

Fun Facts from Caitlin:

     “When you’re beginning your court training, you get sent to Borkenstein which is a week-long class that will be focused on drugs and driving impairment or alcohol and driving impairment. This past October, a couple coworkers and I went to Madison, Wisconsin to attend this class.The samples we analyze are submitted from agencies all over the state of New Mexico, which means if we get subpoenaed for a case, we will have to travel all over the state to attend court.The state will pay for 1-2 forensic organizations to be a part of – I am a member of AAFS, and I’m in the process of applying for a SOFT membership.”