Chairs
Brigitte Desharnais
Born in Montréal, Canada, Brigitte obtained her B.Sc. in Chemistry with great distinction in 2011 from Concordia University (Montréal). She has been a TIAFT member since 2015 and is now the Communications Committee co-chair as well as the Regional Representative for Canada.
Brigitte has been awarded an NSERC Vanier scholarship, the highest level of doctoral funding in science in Canada, and has received the TIAFT Young Scientists Award for Best Oral Presentation in 2015. She is also a member of SOFT.
Brigitte is currently completing her PhD while holding a position as a forensic toxicologist at Montréal's forensic sciences laboratory, the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale. Her research focusses on the application of mathematics and statistics in analytical chemistry and the use of proteomics in forensic toxicology.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org
Rebecca Hartman
Born in Rochester, NY, USA, Rebecca received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry cum laude from Cornell University in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, she worked as a forensic toxicologist in the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office (Rochester). She completed her PhD in toxicology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2015. Her research, conducted at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (USA), focused on drugged driving. Since 2016, she is the Chief Toxicologist at the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Rebecca has been a member of TIAFT since 2010 and currently serves as co-chair of the Communications Committee. She is also a member of SOFT and AAFS. She received the SOFT Educational Research Award in 2013 and the AAFS June K. Jones Scholarship in 2015.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org
Webmaster
Gianpaolo Brusini, PhD
Born in Mantova, Italy, Gianpaolo is a TIAFT member since 1994. He received his degree from the University of Padova in 1985 in pharmaceutical chemistry. From 1986 to 1991 he was mass spectrometry application manager at FISONS instruments. From 1991 to 1999, he worked as a researcher at the Centre of Behavioural and Forensic Toxicology of the Hospital and University of Padova, Italy. During this period he developed several informatic tools for scientific applications and created dozens of web sites for local and international scientific societies. From 2000 to 2012, he was the Scientific Manager of San Patrignano, the world's largest community for rehabilitation of drug addicts, where he also managed the multimedia department. In this office he created WeFree, an international network developed in collaboration with the UN which includes hundreds of Communities, Scientific Institutions and local and international Governmental Organizations.
In 2013, he moved to Turin where he started Bibibus, a communication and event creation agency passionate about working in the Arts, Science & Culture fields.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org
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Lars Ambach
Born in Berlin, Germany, Lars graduated in Chemistry in 2009 at Humboldt University Berlin. From 2009 to 2010, he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Toxicology, Clinical Toxicology and Poison Information Center Berlin. From 2011 to 2015, he did his PhD at the Institute of Forensic Medicine Bern (Switzerland) in the Department of Forensic Toxicology and Chemistry. Since September 2015, Lars is a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Toxicology at Ghent University, Belgium.
Lars has been a TIAFT member since 2011 and has received the TIAFT Young Scientists Award for Best Oral Presentation in 2012. He is also a member of AAFS, GTFCh and BLT.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org
Nikolas Lemos
Born in Athens, Greece, he received his bachelor of science in forensic chemistry/criminalistics from the State University of New York in 1993, his master of science in forensic science specializing in criminalistics and forensic toxicology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York in 1996 and his doctorate degree in forensic medicine and science from the University of Glasgow in 1999. From 1999 to 2003 he worked in London, England first as a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Sciences at London South Bank University and then as Head of the Forensic Toxicology Service of St. George’s Hospital Medical School of the University of London. From 2003-2016 he was the Forensic Laboratory Director and Chief Forensic Toxicologist for the City and County of San Francisco, and in 2011 he advanced to Full Clinical Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He is active in many aspects of forensic toxicology including teaching, service and research and has published and presented on numerous occasions at TIAFT and elsewhere. He has been a TIAFT member since 1995 and has received numerous grants and awards including the Outstanding Speaker Award of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (2005 and 2009) and a Proclamation by the 109th Congress of the United States of America in 2005. Among other professional activities, he spearheads the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (USA), the Ethics Committee of the California Association of Toxicologists (USA) and the Forensic Toxicology Committee of the National Association of Medical Examiners (USA).
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Mateus Bergamaschi
Born in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil, Mateus received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and Biochemistry from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2008. He completed his PhD in toxicology with honors from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2012. His research, conducted at the University of Sao Paulo and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Baltimore, USA), focused on cannabinoids quantification in human specimens and anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol in humans. From 2012 to 2014 he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mateus has been a TIAFT member since 2012.
Svante Vikingsson
Born in Åtvidaberg, Sweden, Svante obtained his MSc in Chemistry from Linköping University in 2007. He obtained a PhD in Medical Science from Linköping University in 2012. He is currently employed as a Toxicologist at the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, and also holds an associate professor position in Forensic Toxicology at Linköping University. His main research interest is Novel Psychoactive Substances.
Svante has been a member of TIAFT since 2014 and received the TIAFT Young Scientists Award for Best Oral Presentation in 2016. He is also a member of SOFT and the Nordic Association of Forensic Toxicologists (NAFT).
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Amine Larabi
Born in Algiers, Algeria, Amine received his PharmD in 2007 and his degree in Toxicology in 2010, both from the University of Pharmacy of Algiers, Algeria. After that, he continued his toxicological studies in France where he completed a one-year internship in forensic toxicology before getting his MSc in Toxicology and Risk Assessment from the University of Paris Descartes in 2014. Now a French citizen, Amine is currently completing his PhD at Versailles University of Medicine while holding a position as a toxicologist at the laboratory of Pharmacology Toxicology in Garches (France). His research focuses on the study of new psychoactive substances (prevalence, metabolism, analytical methods) using hair analysis.
Amine has been awarded by the French Society of Analytical Toxicology (SFTA) for the best publication in the journal ToxAc (Analytical and Clinical Toxicology) in 2016 and received two travel grants from the SFTA board to attend TIAFT meetings. He also received Elsevier Reviewer recognition in 2017 and 2018. He is a member of SFTA, TIAFT and SOHT.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org
Alain G. Verstraete, MD
A TIAFT member since 1988, he studied Medicine at Ghent University, Belgium and specialized in Clinical Chemistry and in vitro Nuclear Medicine at Ghent University Hospital. He obtained a PhD in the biomedical sciences in October 1994. Since 1987, he is responsible for the Toxicology Laboratory of Ghent University Hospital. He is part-time senior full professor at Ghent University. His main research interest is in drugs and driving and therapeutic monitoring of beta-lactam antibiotics in critically ill patients. He is president of the Toxicological Society of Belgium and Luxembourg. He received a 2002 AACC outstanding speaker award, the 2002 ICADTS (International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety) Haddon award (given to scientists who take research findings and make changes in public policy), the 2002 TIAFT achievement award, the 2005 Grand Prix of the French Society of Analytical Toxicology and the 2017 Irving sunshine award from the IATDMCT.
e-mail: communications@tiaft.org