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Dr. Frade serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University. He received his doctorate in analytical chemistry from Wayne and, after 28 years as a senior analytical toxicologist in the Department of Pathology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, returned to an academic position. As a faculty member, Prof. Frade teaches basic and advanced forensic science courses, introduction to anatomic forensic pathology, thanatochemistry, and directed study courses in the Post Bachelor Forensic Investigation program. His area of specialization includes hyphenated instrumental techniques as applied to clinical and forensic protocols. He is widely published and serves on several peer review committees of scientific journals as well as the on the Editorial Board of Forensic Medicine, Annals of Pharmacotherapy. He is a member and fellow to several scientific and honorary scientific societies. Direct correspondence to Dr. Peter D. Frade. |
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Forensic Science at Wayne State University
Upon my arrival at Wayne State University as a full-time faculty member at the Associate Professor level in the fall of 1996, Wayne State University did not have a formal forensic science or separate forensic crime investigation program in place. In fact, television programs dedicated to crime scene investigation were not popularized and available as noted in current listings. In collaboration with the late Dr. Mary L. Williams, a dream of creating an effective didactic/experiential program for students desiring to advance their education at the post bachelor level was envisioned. Once passing various college curricular and faculty committees and approved by the Graduate Council at the University, a Post Bachelor Forensic Investigation program was formally in place in the former Department of Mortuary Science. Most recently and following the successful launching of the post bachelor forensic offering, a graduate certificate program in Analytical Toxicology for Forensic and Environmental Health Sciences was accepted by the Graduate Council with residence in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, now part of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Post Bachelor Forensic Investigation Program: Student Focus and Content
Originally, the certificate program in Forensic Investigation was designed for students who had obtained either a 4 year bachelor’s level or higher degree in another discipline from an accredited institution. While this program offering was not specifically focused to train individuals at entry level careers in a lock step manner, it was designed with its aims and purposes to educate personnel whose professional scope and practice interfaced with the criminal justice system. Currently, we find that this program extends to address the needs of students whose goals are to be addressed by further education at the graduate level in a variety if areas including but not limited to criminal justice, psychology, molecular diagnostics, and law. It is not unusual to find individuals whose educational strategy involves obtaining a post bachelor certificate in forensic investigation as a part of their pre-law initiative prior to entering law school. Other individuals are interested in entrepreneurial endeavors and present with degrees in English and Journalism with the objective to gain further insight in crime scene and forensic investigation. Still others use the program as a graduate level cognate at the Ph.D. level to enhance disciplines related to pathology, molecular biology, and chemistry. While the program was designed to meet the needs of part-time students, we currently find that better that 90% of our students are either gainfully employed full-time and use the certificate program as career enhancement or are full time students and part-time employed where the certificate serves are a education enhancement to further education objectives.
The total didactic and experiential course requirements of this certificate program address a minimum of 24 hours spread over core and experiential elective sections. Required core courses are achieved by satisfying topics covering investigation/criminalistics, ballistics, forensic anatomic pathology, basic and advanced forensic analysis, as well as interview and interrogation. As an enrichment to their present studies, students pursuing other disciplines within the department, i.e, Anatomic Pathologists’ Assistants, populate certain courses such as forensic anatomic pathology allowing for effective exchanges in discussions of topics presented from outside experts in the areas of forensic odontology, disaster management, homeland security, medicolegal autopsies, forensic and physical anthropology, forensic entomology, arson and forensic photography among others. Students in ‘Basic’ and ‘Advanced Forensic Analysis’ courses are introduced to a variety of topics and experiences ranging from visits to the forensic and medical examiners offices to the study of hyphenated analytical technology, quality control and management of forensic evidence processing, to the creation of comprehensive logic trees as applied to contemporary forensic cases.
Elective course requirements include a minimum of six semester hours including but not limited to expert witness, directed study, internship, seminar and grief and loss. The internships allow for students with varied backgrounds to select from a variety of regional sites including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) of the Treasury Department of the US Government, State of Michigan Crime Laboratories, and Offices of Wayne and Oakland County Medical Examiners. Internships allow students to work one on one with investigators on challenging cases first hand. Directed Study course offerings present to students challenging topics to be investigated in collaboration with program faculty. Areas addressed fall within the domain of novel homicidal agents, exotic poisons, contemporary forensic assessments of historical forensic cases, and future challenges in forensic medicine among others. Additional information is available on the departmental website at www.cphs.wayne.edu.
Graduate Certificate Program in Analytical Toxicology for Forensic and Environmental Health Scientists:
Student Focus and Content
Following in the footsteps of the highly visible and successful launch of the Post Bachelor Forensic Investigation program, the Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences program proposed and launched a graduate certificate program championed under Bonita Taffe, Ph.D., MPH. The focus of this forensic graduate certificate program was either bachelor or graduates degreed students who desired to gain educational breadth in their chosen disciplines with emphasis on sub-specialities in analytical chemistry, environmental and forensic sciences as well as public health. This program allows for enough flexible experience to gain entry level posturing in specialized laboratory environments. Credits in this curriculum ranges from 18-21 hours depending on the track specific elective courses. Currently, five tracks exist in addition to a 12 credit hour core. Elective tracks allow students to select from a DNA track, a histology track, a toxicology/chemistry track, a forensic analysis track or alternative track electives. Core courses with a forensic focus include those centering on laboratory approaches to analytical and forensic toxicology as well as forensic analysis for toxicologists with research electives in contemporary forensic analysis. This program is geared for the graduate student who possesses a strong scientific background with an interest in cutting edge technology applicable to forensic efforts or allied interests and challenges in the workplace. Future professionals addressing work place issues including forensic environmental toxicologists as well as industrial toxicologists or those desiring a future slant in public health efforts can tailor fit courses and experiential to meet their educational demands and focuses. Additional and more specific information is available at www.cphs.wayne.edu.
It is not unusual to find that contemporary professionals and students in criminal justice, medicolegal, and scientific endeavors consider forensics important in their educational development and future career growth. Individuals who graduate from mortuary science and anatomic pathologists’ assistants programs consider readmission to complete either of the two forensic offerings to expand their career objective. We have found that the incorporation of forensics allow these select bodies of individuals the opportunity to develop synthetic logical thought processes necessary in clear thinking in the analysis of real life case studies. The key features of the two programs offered within the structure of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences within the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University offer convenience, growth, integration of programs, and contemporary education with flexibility for future educational development.
Copyright 2005 by Peter D. Frade, Ph.D.
"Oh what a tangled
web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
Sir Walter Scott
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