Lerah Sutton, PhD

Dr. Lerah Sutton is the Director of the Forensic Medicine Program at the University of Florida College of Medicine and the Assistant Director of the Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. She is an award-winning educator, teaching both academic and continuing education courses related to her areas of specialization. As Program Director she teaches numerous academic courses on topics including Artifacts of Decomposition and Principles of Crime Scene Investigation within the Forensic Medicine Master’s Degree Program – a program for which she was instrumental in the design and development – and manages other program faculty, instructors, and staff. As Assistant Director of the Maples Center she oversees the creation, implementation, and instruction of continuing education courses for law enforcement and forensic science professionals.

Dr. Sutton is a Medicolegal Death Investigator within the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System (FEMORS) and serves as Deputy Commander during incidents, deployments, and trainings. She serves as the Executive Director of the International Forensic Medicine Association, a Fellow of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, the Chair of the Higher Education Committee of the Council of Forensic Science Educators, and is an active member of numerous other forensic-related professional organizations. She actively consults for over 100 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners’ offices on both active and cold cases related to forensic taphonomy, clandestine gravesite detection and excavation, comparative osteology, human decomposition, and estimation of the postmortem interval.

0000-0002-2082-9436