Forensic Pathology Fellowship

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in conjunction with the  West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center (WTRFC) offers a 1-year forensic pathology fellowship.

The fellow will perform 200-250 autopsies under the mentorship of six American Board of Pathology certified forensic pathologists. The WTRFC performs approximately 1,400 autopsies per year for most of the counties west of the Tennessee River. The fellow will encounter a wide variety of cases ranging from traumatic deaths, toxicological deaths and natural deaths. The trainee is expected to gain experience as an expert witness in court proceedings. Being affiliated with the UTHSC Department of Pathology, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Methodist University Hospital allows consultations in many pathology subspecialties including pediatric pathology, and all of the surgical pathology subspecialties, as well as access to medical microbiology and clinical chemistry. A forensic odontologist is on staff at the WTRFC to provide consultation and training in forensic odontology. The WTRFC also has a full time in-house forensic anthropologist. 

A two week course in forensic toxicology is provided at NMS Labs in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. The trainee will attend courses in forensic science at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations in Nashville, Tennessee, and a course in forensic anthropology at the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Research Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The fellow will take calls with ABMDI registered death investigators and attend death scenes throughout Memphis, Shelby County and most of West Tennessee. The fellow will attend a national forensic pathology conference and present research performed during the fellowship.