PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The New England Journal of Medicine shines spotlight on forensic pathology

2025-07-02
(Press-News.org) Forensic pathologists play a unique role in monitoring and responding to public health threats and advancing our understanding of human disease and injury, according to a new review article published July 3 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Recognizing that there is little understanding about this key medical subspecialty among the public and even among physicians, the journal asked several forensic pathology leaders to write an overarching review of the field.

“Many people may picture forensic pathology as forbidding and dark, focused on death and criminal investigation the way it’s portrayed on popular television shows like Bones and CSI,” said Rebecca Folkerth, MD, Principal Core Scientist with the Neuropathology Brain Bank and faculty member of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai. Dr. Folkerth is also a former neuropathologist for the New York City chief medical examiner and lead author of the review.

“While that is part of our role, the scope of forensic pathology goes far beyond autopsy examinations,” Dr. Folkerth continued. “In addition to performing the final diagnostic evaluation of a person who has died, forensic pathologists play a unique role in monitoring and responding to a myriad of public health threats. We are dedicated to implementing extensive laboratory analyses in order to provide answers for families at times of loss and fear, supplying objective facts for use in the justice system, contributing to public health vital statistics, and assisting in research that advances our understanding of human disease and injury.”

Forensic pathologists are physicians who undergo extensive postdoctoral training. In the United States, forensic pathologists are certified by the American Board of Pathology after completing at least three years of training and examination in an accredited anatomical pathology program or combined anatomical and clinical pathology program (such as the one offered at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai), followed by one year of training in forensic pathology. Only 50 forensic pathology training programs, including the program at the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, are recognized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Importantly, forensic pathologists operate completely separately from law enforcement and the courts, and are therefore able to remain independent and objective. They are the last physician to see a person who has died, often unexpectedly or violently, to perform the final diagnostic evaluation and determination of the cause of death. They provide much-needed support to those grieving the loss of a loved one, may direct interested family members to follow-up care for themselves in the event that their loved one died of a heritable disease that might place them at risk for sudden death or illness, and can refer families to research centers for donation of their loved one’s tissues for medical research.

Researchers at Mount Sinai’s Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center are conducting the Late Effects of TBI (LETBI) study to identify the clinical and neuropathological signatures of post-traumatic neurodegeneration, and have collaborated with the New York chief medical examiner’s office for many years. Their work focuses on the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury and how in some people, brain trauma may trigger a cascade of events that lead to neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease.

“We aim to develop tests (biomarkers) that can be done in living people with traumatic brain injury to help monitor and prevent negative long-term effects,” said Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD, Director of the Brain Injury Research Center of Mount Sinai. “To detect these biomarkers, which are based on cell and tissue changes in brain tissue following trauma, we need to look directly at the human brain postmortem at autopsy. Our forensic pathology colleagues are essential and valued partners in achieving this goal, as they often are the ones to see individuals who have passed away from a TBI and who meet with families to discuss the findings. For those families who donate their loved ones’ brain tissue, there is a commitment to furthering scientific research and, often, a desire to understand what their loved one was experiencing towards the end of their life. Forensic pathologists provide that important bridge between the family and the science.”

Forensic pathologists also contribute to accurate public health vital statistics, which are required for the tracking of disease and the allocation of government funds. They work mostly behind the scenes to help manage mass catastrophes related to weather, terrorism, or infectious disease, for the protection of the public’s health. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, forensic offices, such as the New York chief medical examiner’s, functioned as disaster mortuaries when local hospitals, nursing homes, and funeral directors became overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths. Without the expertise of forensic pathologists in management of rapid increases in fatalities, burdens to affected families would have been unthinkably worse.

Study authors note that the field of forensic pathology has a workforce shortage and express hope that better understanding of their role may encourage young physicians in training to consider it as a rewarding subspecialty choice.

About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

###

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists discover protein that helps lung cancer spread to the brain

2025-07-02
Researchers at McMaster University, Cleveland Clinic and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered how a protein long associated with Alzheimer’s disease helps lung cancer spread to the brain – a discovery that offers hope that existing Alzheimer’s drugs could be repurposed in preventing cancer’s spread. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine on July 2, 2025, details how the protein (BACE1) is instrumental in the development of brain metastases – tumours that ...

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

2025-07-02
Women who see themselves as having lower social status are more likely than other people to show early signs of heart stress linked to future disease risk, according to a new study led by researchers at McGill and Concordia universities. “One in three women in North America die from heart disease. Yet, women are less likely to receive important cardiac interventions or therapies than men. This highlights the need to rethink how we assess cardiovascular risk in women,” said co-lead author Dr. Judy Luu, Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Medicine ...

Brain tumor growth patterns may help inform patient care management

2025-07-02
As brain tumors grow, they must do one of two things: push against the brain or use finger-like extensions to invade and destroy surrounding tissue. Previous research found tumors that push — or put mechanical force on the brain — cause more neurological dysfunction than tumors that destroy tissue. But what else can these different tactics of tumor growth tell us? Now, the same team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston University has developed a technique for measuring a brain tumor’s mechanical force and a new model to estimate how much brain tissue a patient has ...

This might be America's first campus tree inventory

2025-07-02
Ask anyone what comes to mind when they think of Northern Arizona University and they’ll probably say something about the trees. NAU's Flagstaff mountain campus is home to an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 trees—most of them ponderosa pines. This precious resource is worth protecting. That’s why, this summer, students, faculty and staff at NAU are working together to take stock of the campus tree collection. Slowly but surely, a team of forestry and environmental scientists will collect information about the health, ...

Emoji use may impact relationship outcomes

2025-07-02
The use of emojis in text messaging improves perceived responsiveness and thereby enhances closeness and relationship satisfaction, according to a study published July 2, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Eun Huh from The University of Texas at Austin, U.S. Text-based messaging is a primary use of smartphones, with near-universal adoption across age groups. The use and variety of emojis in such messages have also surged, particularly among young adults. Defined as digital representations of emotions and ideas, emojis enrich text-based communication by conveying emotional nuance and increasing expressiveness. ...

Individual merit, not solidarity, prioritized by early childhood education policies

2025-07-02
Do we climb the social ladder alone or with help from our communities? Early childhood education (ECE) policies are betting on the former, according to a study published July 2, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Katarzyna Bobrowicz from the University of Luxembourg and University of Liège in Belgium, and colleagues. A 53-country survey of global ECE policies indicates favoritism of competition over cooperation, individualism over solidarity and talent over luck. Recent decades have seen a rising belief in meritocracy: a 1950s-era Western ideal that one’s individual merit (i.e., their skill and talent), begets success rather ...

Preclinical study unlocks a mystery of rapid mouth healing

2025-07-02
Your mouth is a magician. Bite the inside of your cheek, and the wound may vanish without a trace in a couple of days. A preclinical study co-led by Cedars-Sinai, Stanford Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has discovered one secret of this disappearing act. The findings, if confirmed in humans, could one day lead to treatments that enable rapid, scarless recovery from skin wounds on other parts of the body. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. “Our research began with two ...

Extraterrestrial habitats: bioplastics for life beyond earth

2025-07-02
Key takeaways SEAS researchers grew green algae inside shelters that recreated pressure conditions on Mars. The shelters were made from bioplastics derived from algae. The experiments demonstrate the possibility of closed-loop, sustainable habitats in space. If humans are ever going to live beyond Earth, they’ll need to construct habitats. But transporting enough industrial material to create livable spaces would be incredibly challenging and expensive. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) think there’s a better way, through biology.  An international team of researchers led by Robin Wordsworth, ...

U.S. military spending reductions could substantially lower energy consumption

2025-07-02
A new analysis suggests that reductions in U.S. military spending could result in significant decreases in energy consumption by the Department of Defense, leading to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Ryan Thombs of Penn State University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Climate on July 2. Of all the world’s institutions, the U.S. military produces the most greenhouse gas emissions. This occurs through such activities as maintaining bases, continual preparations and training, research and development, and transporting people, supplies, and weapons worldwide. According to military ...

Air pollution is linked to adverse birth outcomes in India

2025-07-02
Prenatal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and climatic factors, such as temperature and rainfall, are associated with adverse birth outcomes in India, according to a study published July 2nd, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Mary Abed Al Ahad from the University of St Andrews, U.K. Ambient air pollution poses a global threat to human health, with a disproportionate burden of its detrimental effects falling on those residing in low and middle-income countries. Referred to as the silent killer, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Ships trigger high and unexpected emissions of the greenhouse gas methane

Optimizing laser irradiation: An in-silico meta-analysis of skin discoloration treatment

Climate crisis could force wild vanilla plants and pollinating insects apart, threatening global supply

Teens report spending 21% of each driving trip looking at their phone

Study explores the ‘social norms’ of distracted driving among teens

Diver-operated microscope brings hidden coral biology into focus

Enhancing the “feel-good” factor of urban vegetation using AI and street view images

A single genetic mutation may have made humans more vulnerable to cancer than chimpanzees

Innovative nanocomposite hydrogel shows promise for cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis treatment

2025 Guangci Laboratory Medicine Innovation and Development Conference

LabMed Discovery is included in the ICI World Journals database

LabMed Discovery is included in the China Open Access Journal (COAJ) database

Vaccination support program reduces pneumonia-related mortality by 25 percent among the elderly

Over decades, a healthy lifestyle outperforms metformin in preventing onset of Type 2 diabetes

Mental health disorders, malaria, and heart disease most affected by covid pandemic

Green transition will boost UK productivity

Billions voted in 2024, but major new report exposes cracks in global democracy

Researchers find “forever chemicals” impact the developing male brain

Quantum leap in precision sensing across technologies

Upgrading biocrude oil into sustainable aviation fuel using zeolite-supported iron-molybdenum carbide nanocatalysts

For effective science communication, ‘just the facts’ isn’t good enough

RT-EZ: A golden gate assembly toolkit for streamlined genetic engineering of rhodotorula toruloides

Stem Cell Reports announces five new early career editors

Support networks may be the missing link for college students who seek help for excessive drinking

The New England Journal of Medicine shines spotlight on forensic pathology

Scientists discover protein that helps lung cancer spread to the brain

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

Brain tumor growth patterns may help inform patient care management

This might be America's first campus tree inventory

Emoji use may impact relationship outcomes

[Press-News.org] The New England Journal of Medicine shines spotlight on forensic pathology