TFSC MEMBER & STAFF PROFILES

July 2012

Dr. Vincent Di Maio, Chair

• Dr. Di Maio was the Chief Medical Examiner in Dallas Countyfrom 1972 to 1981 and the Chief Medical Examiner in BexarCounty from 1981 to 2006.

• He obtained his medical degree from SUNY—Downstate MedicalCenter—in Brooklyn, New York in 1965. He is board-certifiedin Anatomical, Clinical and Forensic Pathology.

• Dr. Di Maio received the Jean R. Oliver, M.D. Master TeacherAward, presented by the Alumni Association of SUNY—DownstateMedical Center.

• He also received the Milton Helpern Award, presented by thePathology/Biology Section of the American Academy of ForensicSciences and the Milton Helpern Laureate Award, presented bythe National Association of Medical Examiners.

• Dr. Di Maio is the author of many scientific publications,articles, letters and medical school textbook chapters.

Mr. Richard Alpert

• Richard Alpert is an Assistant Criminal District Attorneyfor the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

• He has been an ADA in Tarrant County for the last 25 years,and for 19 of those years, he has served as Chief of theMisdemeanor Division.

Mr. Alpert received his undergraduate and Juris Doctordegrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

He has published two books, DWI Investigation andProsecution and Intoxication Manslaughter Investigation andProsecution. He has also taught at numerous schools andseminars on all aspects of trial advocacy, including theuse of blood evidence in trial. Those efforts have broughthim both state and national awards.

For the last 13 years, he has been Course Director for theTexas District and County Attorney Association’s TrialSkills Course and Intoxication Manslaughter School.

Dr. Jeffrey Barnard• Dr. Barnard is the Chief MedicalExaminer in Dallas County at theSouthwestern Institute of ForensicSciences.

• Dr. Barnard obtained his undergraduateand medical degree at Texas A&MUniversity and completed his ForensicPathology Fellowship at the SuffolkCounty Medical Examiner’s Office inHauppage, New York.

• Dr. Barnard is licensed by theAmerican Board of Pathology inAnatomic and Clinical Pathology andForensic Pathology.

• He has also served as a Professor ofPathology and Director of AutopsyResidency Training at the Universityof Texas Southwestern Medical Centerin Dallas.

• Dr. Barnard is the author of manypeer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Arthur J. Eisenberg• Dr. Eisenberg is Chairman and Professor of the Department of Forensic and Investigative Genetics at UNTHSC. He is also the Co-Director of the Center for Human Identification.

• He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from SUNY at Albany in 1984. He helped establish some of the first DNA Paternity and Forensic Labs in the world.

• Dr. Eisenberg’s lab has been funded by the National Institute of Justice to perform DNA Analysis on Unidentified Human Remains and the Family Reference Samples required for missing persons.

• He has served on several committees, including for the United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, the American Association of Blood Banks Parentage Testing Standards Committee, and the College of American Pathologists Histocompatability/Human Identity Testing Proficiency Committee.

• Dr. Eisenberg has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. He has received the Healthcare Hero award from the Fort Worth Business Press, the Award for Significant Contributions to the Field of DNA Forensic Science and the Fitzco/Whatman BioScience Distinguished Lecture Series award among many others.

Dr. Jean Hampton• Dr. Hampton is Chairman and Associate Professor of the Department of Health Sciences at Texas Southern University.

• She has over 28 years of experience as an environmental toxicologist and a registered respiratory therapist.

• She has completed several post-graduate programs, including the two-year post-doctoral fellowship at NASA Johnson Space Center, the NIH sponsored Ruth Kirschstein Training program at Baylor College of Medicine, and the AAAS/National Academies Senior Scholar program.

• Dr. Hampton has authored various publications on environmentally related human health risk assessment and asthma.

• Dr. Hampton’s research and scholarly interests involve environmental health risk assessment with a focus on respiratory disease.

Dr. Brent Hutson

Dr. Hutson is a forensic odontologist and director of Clinical Fixed Prosthodontics at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Baylor College of Dentistry.

He also serves as attending clinical staff at the Baylor University Medical Center, Charles A Sammons Cancer Center.

Since 1995, Dr. Hutson has served, with Dr. William Schell, as the Forensic Dentist for the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

In 2007, Dr. Hutson began working as a consultant to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Williams.

Dr. Hutson is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a seventeen-year veteran of the United States Navy. He currently holds the rank of Captain/O6.

Dr. Sarah Kerrigan• Dr. Kerrigan is a Professor of Criminal Justice at SHSU, where she directs the Forensic Science Program.

• She is also the Director of the SHSU Regional Crime Lab in The Woodlands, TX.

• Before moving to Texas, Dr. Kerrigan served as the Bureau Chief for the New Mexico Department of Health.

• She has been a contributing author for several toxicology textbooks, including the Encyclopedia for Forensic Science.

• Dr. Kerrigan received the Outstanding DRE Program Innovation award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 2003, and the Irving Sunshine Toxicology Award from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 2002.

Mr. Robert Lerma• Robert Lerma is a criminal defenseattorney in private practice inBrownsville, Texas. He has over 25years of experience in criminal andfamily law.

• He received his Juris Doctor degree fromthe South Texas College of Law inHouston, Texas.

• Mr. Lerma is on the Board of Directorsfor the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’Association. He also serves asPresident of the Cameron County CriminalDefense Lawyers’ Association.

• Before entering private practice, Mr.Lerma worked as an Assistant CityAttorney for the City of Brownsville.

Dr. Nizam Peerwani• Chief Medical Examiner in Tarrant, Parker, Denton and Johnson Counties, TX and Adjunct Professor at Texas Wesleyan University.

• He received his Undergraduate degree from American University in Beirut, medical degree from American University in Beirut, completed his residency at Baylor University Medical Center and is board certified in Anatomic and Forensic Pathology.

• Dr. Peerwani was Professor Of the Year at UNTHSC three times. He worked for the FBI in 1993 after the Waco disaster and received the Humanitarian Award from the Physicians for Human Rights in 2006.

• He is on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.

• Dr. Peerwani is an advocate of human rights with missions to various parts of the world.

Lynn Robitaille, General Counsel• Lynn M. Robitaille joined the FSC as General Counsel on December 14, 2010.

• In addition to assisting with investigations, she provides legal advice, tracks developments in legislation relevant to the FSC’s mission, ensures compliance with the Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act, and represents the Commission at various conferences and stakeholder meetings.

• Ms. Robitaille has over 11 years of experience conducting internal investigations in response to criminal and civil actions, developing legal compliance and training programs, and advising clients in litigation.

• Her work has included responding to allegations of professional misconduct by whistleblowers, law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and collaborating with forensic experts.

• Ms. Robitaille graduated from UMass Amherst with honors, and obtained her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Leigh Tomlin, Commission Coordinator

• Ms. Tomlin was the first staff member of the Texas ForensicScience Commission.

• She oversees all of the Commission’s administrativefunctions and assists the FSC’s General Counsel in theCommission’s investigative research duties.

• Ms. Tomlin received a BA in Business Administration fromTexas State University in 2005, an MA in Legal Studies in2006 and is currently in her first year of law school at St.Mary’s University in San Antonio.

• She began her career as a commercial litigation paralegal.She has extensive training in legal writing, legal theory,and legal research. Ms. Tomlin also serves as a childadvocate for the Court Appointed Special AdvocateAssociation (“CASA”).