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Dr. Virginia Maxwell joined the University of New 51���� in 2007 after a 15-year career at the State of Connecticut Forensic Laboratory in the Trace Evidence Section. Prior to joining the Forensic Laboratory, she worked at Yale University and the Royal Military College of Canada. During her time at the forensic laboratory, she worked on many high-profile cases in the state and was admitted as an expert in both State and Federal court. From 2011 to 2014, she was the Associate Dean of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal justice and Forensic Science, returning to the faculty in 2014 to pursue her interest in animal cruelty investigation.

At the University she has taught many classes in the Forensic Science program and in the Honors Program. She is the assistant chair of the Forensic Science Department and coordinator of the FEPAC-accredited M.S. in Forensic Science. She is also the current Henry C. Lee Endowed Chair of Forensic Science. Her research interests are in the degradation of physical evidence, including trace evidence, tool marks, and DNA, and using crime data to predict hot spots for crimes against animals. She is part of the Collaboration for the Investigation of Animal Maltreatment with UCONN School of Law, and has recently published the book “Investigating Animal Abuse Crime Scenes: A Field Guide”.

Dr. Maxwell has a BSc(Hons) in Chemistry from Liverpool University, UK, and a DPhil in Physical Chemistry from Oxford University.