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Forensic Anthropology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
From 2008 to 2024, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) offered one-month rotations for Visiting Scientists. Over 100 individuals participated in this Forensic Anthropology training program. Beginning in 2024, the Visiting Scientist Program was replaced by a Postdoc Fellowship Program.
About the Program
The Forensic Anthropology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at the NYC OCME is an immersive, hands-on, training program designed to expose an emerging forensic anthropologist to the role of forensic anthropology in a large medical examiner’s office. The Forensic Anthropology Unit is actively involved in the interpretation of skeletal and cartilaginous trauma, decedent identification, cold case work, and the ongoing identification efforts of World Trade Center victims. The laboratory holds ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accreditation (ISO 17020) and is also accredited by the New York State Commission on Forensic Science.
During the program, the selected Forensic Anthropology Fellow will:
- Participate in casework, attend and process certain death scenes, assist with identifying unknown decedents (including work with NamUs), be exposed to legal/judicial proceedings, and assist with World Trade Center projects.
- Be introduced to the extensive quality management system required for forensic analysis, including competency testing, proficiency testing, peer review process, and detailed standard operating procedures.
- Have access to various educational opportunities in medicolegal death investigation and the forensic sciences through a lecture series and Grand Rounds presentations, as well as engagement with other medicolegal professionals at scenes, in the autopsy suite, or during the daily case conference with the medical examiners.
- Work alongside staff forensic anthropologists who are involved in the instruction and supervision of the Fellow.