Meet TIAFT’s Executive Board—those leading our mission to foster collaboration and advance the forensic toxicology field worldwide.
TIAFT President
Simon Elliott, PhD (United Kingdom)
A TIAFT member since 1998, former member of the Young Scientists Committee and Board member for 6 years, Simon Elliott has 30 years’ experience in forensic toxicology and is a Consultant Forensic Toxicologist and Director of Elliott Forensic Consulting and Toxicology UK as well as a Visiting Professor in Forensic Toxicology at King’s College London. He was previously Director of Global Forensics at Abbott (2017-2018) having been the founder and Managing Director of Forensics Ltd (Alere Forensics, formerly ROAR Forensics) in the UK (2008-2017). Dr Elliott previously worked as a Clinical Scientist in the NHS at Birmingham City Hospital for over 10 years specifically involved in clinical and forensic toxicology as Section Head of Forensic Toxicology. He holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Bath and a PhD in Biochemical Toxicology (studying GHB) from the University of Birmingham. He is a Chartered Scientist and European Registered Toxicologist as well as being a member of a number of professional organisations additional to TIAFT, including the LTG, Chartered Society for Forensic Science, Association for Laboratory Medicine and Royal Society of Chemistry in addition to being a founder and past Chair of the UK & Ireland Association of Forensic Toxicologists (UKIAFT). As well as being an Associate Editor of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology and an Editor of Clarke’s Analysis of Drugs and Poisons, he is the author of over 90 scientific publications, articles and book chapters. Dr Elliott has presented at many national and international meetings (including invited speaker) as well as presenting expert evidence for many years in Coronial, Civil and Criminal Court. A member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, he also advises the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and formerly the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA, now EU Drugs Agency), especially regarding New Psychoactive Substances. Lastly, Dr Elliott was the organizer of the 2019 TIAFT Meeting in Birmingham in the UK and now looks forward to serving as the President of TIAFT.
TIAFT President Elect
Sarah Wille, PhD (Belgium)
Sarah Wille earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Analytical Toxicology) from Ghent University in 2008. She heads the Forensic Toxicology Department at the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) in Brussels and serves as a registered toxicology expert for Belgian judicial authorities. Her research focuses on New Psychoactive Substances, alternative matrices/techniques, drugs and driving, and analytical method development and validation. Dr. Wille has published extensively in toxicology, co-edits WIRES Forensic Toxicology and the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, and received the TIAFT Achievement Award in 2017. She is a board member of the Royal Society of Legal Medicine Belgium and president of the Toxicological Society of Belgium and Luxembourg.
TIAFT Past President
Dimitri Gerostamoulos, PhD (Australia)
Dimitri Gerostamoulos is the Head of Forensic Sciences and Chief Toxicologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Melbourne, Australia. He is a Toxicologist and Pharmacologist and holds a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) in the field of Forensic Toxicology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree, both from Monash University. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University.
Dr. Gerostamoulos is also a member the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association of Australasia (FACTA Inc) and The Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS). He is an approved assessor for the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) in Forensic Science. Further, Dr. Gerostamoulos was awarded the TIAFT Award for Excellence in Hamamatsu in 2012 and is a Founding Fellow of the Faculty of Science, Royal College of Pathologists Australasia. He is currently the President of Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association of Australasia (FACTA Inc.).
Dr. Gerostamoulos has given evidence in numerous cases in many courts and inquests in the field of forensic toxicology and pharmacology and has provided opinions on a number of other cases around Australia in relation to the pharmacology of drugs, effects of drugs in drivers, analytical and toxicological issues. He has published many papers in peer reviewed journals, book chapters, e-book and drug monographs.
As a TIAFT member since 1993, he attended his first meeting in Leipzig. Since that time, he has been an active TIAFT member attending many meetings and expanding his connections with many friends and colleagues. Dr. Gerostamoulos recognizes that TIAFT is a very special organization that seeks to advance the science of forensic toxicology through annual meetings, workshops, regional meetings, funded scholarships and collaborations. He has served as a past bulletin editor and has contributed to the history of TIAFT.
Dr. Gerostamoulos looks forward to serving the TIAFT membership and Executive Board for the benefit of the organization.
TIAFT Secretary
Simona Pichini, PhD (Italy)
Simona Pichini is an Italian pharmacotoxicologist at the Italian National Institute of Health, where she serves as Acting Director of the National Centre on Addiction and Doping.
She is a recognized expert in pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of classical drugs of abuse, new psychoactive substances, and doping agents, analyzed in both conventional and alternative biological matrices. She is regarded as an authority on ethanol exposure biomarkers in newborns, children, adults, and pregnant women; linking biomarker monitoring with clinical outcomes.
Dr. Pichini holds a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology (Sapienza University of Rome, 1986, cum laude), a Master’s degree in Pharmacy (Sapienza University of Rome, 1987, cum laude), and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2005, cum laude).
She is the author of more than 400 scientific publications (H-index: 54), as well as book chapters and technical reports. She also serves as a technical and scientific advisor for Italy’s national helplines on alcohol, drugs of abuse, tobacco use, doping, and gambling. In addition, she contributes to the Italian National Early Warning System on New Psychoactive Substances and acts as a scientific expert at the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
Dr. Pichini is a member of the editorial boards of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. An active member of TIAFT since 2004, she received the TIAFT Achievement Award in 2010 – the first woman ever to do so. She also co-organized the TIAFT 2023 meeting in Rome, Italy.
TIAFT Treasurer
Christophe Stove, PhD (Belgium)
Christophe Stove is associate-professor at Ghent University, Belgium, where he heads the Laboratory of Toxicology at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He entered the field of (forensic) toxicology in 2007 and attended his first TIAFT meeting in Geneva in 2009. Since 2012 he has attended all TIAFT meetings, and co-hosted the TIAFT 2018 Meeting in Ghent. He serves in the TIAFT Board since January 2018.
After his PhD in 2004, he embarked upon 2 successive postdocs, being appointed as a professor in 2013, and succeeding Willy Lambert -former TIAFT Alan Curry Awardee- in 2014. He teaches some 5 courses (amongst which toxicology, drug toxicity and bioanalysis) and steers the lab’s service activities, which cover both reference lab activities (Ref4U) and forensic toxicology. The latter is primarily conducted for the Department of Justice and includes post mortem work, as well as analysis for alcohol & driving and driving license regranting cases. Dr. Stove is a registered expert in forensic toxicology and has served as expert witness in court in numerous instances.
Christophe Stove’s research activities cover applied cell biology, as well as bioanalysis, with a particular interest in applying bio-assays for characterization and detection of new psychoactive substances, and the use of microsampling. These activities have resulted in several national and international awards and prizes and over 250 publications, many of which are in leading journals in the field of Toxicology, Analytical Chemistry and Clinical Chemistry. He serves as a corresponding author on the vast majority of these publications and his work has been cited >8000 times, yielding an H-index of 49 (Google Scholar). He is editorial board member of several journals, has served in over 75 (inter)national PhD evaluation committees as well as in numerous (inter)national selection committees, and has been closely involved in the organization of international scientific meetings by TIAFT, IATDMCT, EBF, MSACL and CPSA. He was the promotor of 20 defended PhD’s and currently supervises 9 PhD students. Besides TIAFT, he is also Board/Council Member of 2 national (BLT, KBGGG) associations and President-Elect of IATDMCT (International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology).
TIAFT Board Members
Board Member - Asia
Serap Annette Akgür, PhD (Türkiye)
Serap Annette Akgür received her medical degree from Ankara University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in medical pharmacology and obtained a PhD in forensic toxicology. She has been involved in the fields of drug addiction, drug testing, and forensic toxicology at Ege University for more than 25 years.
She is the founder of the Institute on Drug Abuse, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where she serves as Professor in the Department of Addiction Toxicology. As Director of the university’s toxicology laboratory, she oversees routine drug testing related to the probation system, clinical services, and workplace monitoring. Beyond academia, she advises a wide range of organizations on the development and implementation of workplace drug testing policies.
Dr. Akgür has collaborated extensively with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Health on forensic toxicology projects, and she continues to serve on scientific committees within these ministries. She is also the founder and current president of the Society of Forensic and Clinical Toxicology in Türkiye, as well as a board member of the Turkish Pharmacology Society’s Clinical Toxicology Group.
An active and contributing member of TIAFT since 1998, Dr. Akgür has also served on the Young Scientists Committee. She has organized several Regional TIAFT Türkiye meetings since 2014 and will host the 64th TIAFT Annual Meeting in Türkiye in 2027.
Internationally, she is a board member of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society (EWDTS) and the International Association of Medical Review Officers (IAMRO), as well as a legal committee member of the International Forum of Drug and Alcohol Testing (IFDAT/SAPAA). Through these national and international roles, she actively contributes to advancing forensic toxicology applications and shaping regulations aimed at preventing drug abuse.
Board Member - Europe
María A. Martínez, PhD (Spain)
María A. Martínez obtained her BSc and MSc degrees in Chemistry from the Complutense University of Madrid, School of Chemistry, in 1983, and earned in 1991 a Diploma in Toxicology from the same university (School of Medicine, Department of Toxicology and Health Legislation). She received her PhD in Analytical Forensic Toxicology (cum laude) in 2000, also from the Complutense University of Madrid, with a doctoral thesis on analytical techniques for the determination of antidepressants in blood. Her research was carried out at the Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses (INTCF).
In 1987, María joined the INTCF, an advisory body of the Spanish Ministry of Justice. Over her career as a forensic toxicologist, she has authored more than 60 000 toxicological reports for the Courts of Law, covering postmortem toxicology, human performance cases, drug-impaired driving (DUID), drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), hair analysis for drugs of abuse, and other judicial investigations. She has also served frequently as an expert witness in forensic toxicology before Spanish courts.
In 2002, María held a research appointment at the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, College of Medicine, University of Florida (Gainesville, USA), under the supervision of Professor Bruce Goldberger, PhD. Her research focused on developing and validating analytical methods for detecting and quantifying xenobiotics in biological specimens using advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques. She has also mentored doctoral and scholarship students, contributing to the training of future professionals in toxicology.
In recognition of her professional contributions, María was awarded the “Cruz de San Raimundo de Peñafort” by the Spanish Ministry of Justice in 2019.
She is the first author of 29 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented over 40 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings, including case studies and specialized topics in forensic toxicology. She has also chaired workshops in both Spain and the United States.
María is an active member of several professional societies: TIAFT (since 2001), SOFT (since 2003), SoHT (since 2015), EUROTOX (since 2003), and AET (since 1989). She serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, Forensic Science International, Journal of Chromatography B, and Clinical Toxicology, and is a member of the editorial board of the Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences.
She currently continues her work at the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, Ministry of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Courts.
Board Member - South America
Jose Luiz da Costa, PhD (Brazil)
Jose Luiz da Costa is an Associate Professor of Toxicology and Analytical Toxicology at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Head of the Campinas Poison Control Centre, Campinas-SP, Brazil. He worked as a Forensic Toxicologist at the São Paulo State Police for 14 years (2002–2016) and served as President of the Brazilian Society of Toxicology (2012–2013). He holds a Master’s in Toxicology and Analytical Toxicology (2004), a PhD in Analytical Chemistry (2008), and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA-NIH, 2014, under the supervision of Dr. Marilyn Huestis). His research focuses on NPS investigations in Brazil and the development of analytical methods using microextraction techniques as greener strategies for forensic toxicology. Dr Costa has published over 105 papers and 12 book chapters. Jose Luiz has been a TIAFT member since 2007, and since then, he has attended 12 TIAFT meetings and several TIAFT Latin American Regional Meetings (the first in 2006). He co-hosted the TIAFT Latin American Regional Meeting in Águas de Lindóia, Brazil (2019), and will host the TIAFT Annual Meeting in 2028 in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. He has been the TIAFT Regional Representative for Brazil since 2018. In 2021, Jose Luiz da Costa became the first Latin American to receive the TIAFT Achievement Award.
Board Member - Africa
Sara Abdennour, PhD (Algeria)
Sara Abdennour is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at Setif University and heads the Laboratory of Toxicology at the University Hospital of Setif, Algeria. She specializes in clinical and forensic toxicology and collaborates with several hospitals in Eastern Algeria. She is also an expert for the Algerian Health Research Agency.
Dr. Abdennour earned her Doctorate in Pharmacy in 2007, followed by a specialized degree in Toxicology in 2010. In 2020, she completed a Doctorate in Medical Sciences with a thesis on the toxicological study of plants containing toxic heterosides. Additionally, she holds a Diploma of Specialized Studies from the European Drug Winter School 2022, focusing on cannabis practice, policies, and debates in the EU and beyond (EMCDDA, Lisbon), as well as a Diploma of Advanced Studies Inter-University in Forensic Biology from Aix-Marseille University, France (2015).
She has been a member of TIAFT since 2014. She is also a member of other scientific organizations and societies, including the Algerian Society of Toxicology (Satox), the French Society of Analytical Toxicology (SFTA) and the British Toxicology Society (BTS).
Board Member - North America
Marta Concheiro-Guisan, PhD (USA)
Marta Concheiro is an Associate Professor of Toxicology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. She received her PharmD in 2002 and her PhD in Toxicology in 2006, both from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). During her PhD, she performed research projects at other European institutions, specifically at the Institut de Médicine Légale et de Médicine Sociale in Strasbourg (France) and at the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal in Lisbon (Portugal). She did her postdoctoral training (2008-2009) at the Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in Baltimore (USA), where she worked as Research Scientist until 2014. Dr. Concheiro has received several awards, including the 2020 Faculty Scholarly Excellence Award from the Office for the Advancement of Research-CUNY, and the 2018 Achievement Award from The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT). Dr. Concheiro is Associate Editor of the Journal of Forensic Sciences and the Director of the Masters in Forensic Sciences Program at John Jay College. Dr. Concheiro has more than 95 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and she has participated presenting her work at more than 50 professional toxicology meetings.
Board Member - Oceania
Jennifer Schumann, PhD (Australia)
Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann is Head of the Drug Intelligence Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine. She is a forensic pharmacologist and toxicologist, with over two decades of experience interpreting the involvement of alcohol and other drugs in death.
Jennifer is Co-Chair of the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia (EDNA)’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Translation group (EDNA-MET), and Forensic Lead on the state-based project, EDNA-Vic (EDNAV). She led the world’s first research program on coward punch assaults in partnership with the Stop the Coward Punch Campaign, which was instrumental in changing Australian legislation. Her work was also pivotal in the 2018 rescheduling of codeine to prescription-only, and the introduction of Drug Checking Services to the state of Victoria.
Dr. Schumann has published extensively, presented her research throughout the world, and received a number of awards and travel grants in recognition of her work, including a prestigious 2019 Churchill Fellowship and the 2024 TIAFT Achievement Award.
In 2014, Jennifer was a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute and National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, supported by a Victoria Fellowship. Jennifer is President of the Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association (FACTA), on the Board of Directors for Stop the Coward Punch foundation, an Adviser for Pill Testing Australia, and Chair of the FACTA Drug Checking Committee. She is an Editor for Toxicology Communications and served as Editor of the TIAFT Bulletin from 2016-2024. Her research has stimulated public debate, engaged media and been directly responsible for changes in Australian policy and practice.
Past Executive Boards
Executive Board 2022 - 2024
- President: Dimitri Gerostamoulos, PhD, Melbourne (Australia)
- President Elect: Simon Elliott, PhD, Birmingham (UK)
- Past President: Marc LeBeau, PhD, Quantico (USA)
- Secretary: Carmen Jurado, PhD, Sevilla (Spain)
- Treasurer: Christophe Stove, PhD, Ghent (Belgium)
- Board Members:
Jean-Claude Alvarez, PhD, Versailles (France)
Nikolas P Lemos, PhD, San Francisco (USA)
Sarah Wille, PhD, Brussels (Belgium)
Executive Board 2018 - 2021
- President: Marc LeBeau, PhD, Quantico (USA)
- President Elect: Dimitri Gerostamoulos, PhD, Melbourne (Australia)
- Past President: Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
- Secretary: Carmen Jurado, PhD, Sevilla (Spain)
- Treasurer: Robert Kronstrand, PhD, Linkoping (Sweden)
- Board Members:
Simon Elliott, PhD, Birmingham (UK)
Donata Favretto, PhD, Padova (Italy)
Christophe Stove, PhD, Ghent (Belgium)
Executive Board 2014 - 2017
- President: Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
- President Elect: Marc LeBeau, PhD, Quantico (USA)
- Past President: Alain G. Verstraete, MD, Ghent (Belgium)
- Secretary: Daniel S. Isenschmid, PhD, D-ABFT, Detroit (USA)
- Treasurer: Robert Kronstrand, PhD, Linkoping (Sweden)
- Board Members:
Dimitri Gerostamoulos, PhD, Melbourne (Australia)
Carmen Jurado, PhD, Sevilla (Spain)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans H. Maurer, Homburg (Germany)
Executive Board 2011 - 2013
- President: Alain G. Verstraete, MD, Ghent (Belgium)
- President Elect: Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
- Past President: Olaf H. Drummer PhD, BAppSc, Melbourne (Australia)
- Secretary: Daniel S. Isenschmid, PhD, D-ABFT, Detroit (USA)
- Treasurer: Marc LeBeau, PhD, Quantico (USA)
- Board Members:
Carmen Jurado, PhD, Sevilla (Spain)
Robert Kronstrand, PhD, Linkoping (Sweden)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans H. Maurer, Homburg (Germany)
Executive Board 2008 - 2010
- President: Olaf H. Drummer PhD, BAppSc, Melbourne (Australia)
- President Elect: Alain G. Verstraete, MD, Ghent (Belgium)
- Past President: Pascal Kintz, PhD, Oberhausbergen (France)
- Secretary: Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
- Treasurer: Daniel S. Isenschmid, PhD, D-ABFT, Detroit (USA)
- Board Members:
Marc LeBeau, PhD, Quantico (USA)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans H. Maurer, Homburg (Germany)
Anya Pierce B.Sc, Dip. Med Tox, MBA, Dublin (Ireland)
Executive Board 2005 - 2007
- President: Pascal Kintz, PhD, Oberhausbergen (France)
- President Elect: Olaf H. Drummer PhD, BAppSc, Melbourne (Australia)
- Past President: Marilyn A. Huestis, PhD, MS, BS, Baltimore (USA)
- Secretary: Alain G. Verstraete, MD, Ghent (Belgium)
- Treasurer: Daniel S. Isenschmid, PhD, D-ABFT, Detroit (USA)
- Board Members:
Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans H. Maurer, Homburg (Germany)
Anya Pierce BSc, Dip. Med Tox, MBA, Dublin (Ireland)
Executive Board 2002 - 2004
- President: Marilyn A. Huestis, PhD, MS, BS, Baltimore (USA)
- President Elect: Pascal Kintz, PhD, Oberhausbergen (France)
- Secretary: Alain G. Verstraete, MD, Ghent (Belgium)
- Treasurer: Olaf H. Drummer PhD, BAppSc, Melbourne (Australia)
- Board Members:
Heesun Chung, PhD, Seoul (Korea)
Prof. Dr. Manfred R Möller, Homburg (Germany)
Anya Pierce BSc, Dip. Med Tox, MBA, Dublin (Ireland)
Executive Board 1999 - 2001
- President: Prof. Dr. Robert Wennig, Luxembourg, (Luxembourg)
- Secretary: Mark B. Lewis, BS, D-ABFT, Albany (USA)
- Treasurer: Olaf H. Drummer PhD, BAppSc, Melbourne (Australia)
Executive Board 1996 - 1998
- President: Prof. Dr. Robert Wennig, Luxembourg, (Luxembourg)
- Secretary: Ilkka Ojanperä (Finland)
- Treasurer: Mark B. Lewis, BS, D-ABFT, Albany (USA)
Executive Board 1993 - 1995
- President: Rokus de Zeeuw (Netherlands)
- Secretary: Vina Spiehler (USA)
- Treasurer: Ilkka Ojanperä (Finland)
Executive Board 1990 - 1992
- President: Rokus de Zeeuw (Netherlands)
- Secretary: Vina Spiehler (USA)
- Treasurer: Kneale J Kimber (UK)
Executive Board 1984 - 1989
- President: Vin Mc Linden
- Secretary: Neil Dunnett
- Treasurer: Kneale J Kimber (UK)
Executive Board 1978 - 1983
- President: Hans Brandenberger (Switzerland)
- Secretary: Neil Dunnett
- Treasurer: I Martin
Executive Board 1975 - 1977
- President: Brian S Finkle (USA)
- Secretary: Neil Dunnett
- Treasurer: I Martin
Executive Board 1973 - 1974
- President: Alan S Curry (UK)
- Secretary: Neil Dunnett
- Treasurer: I Martin
Executive Board 1969 - 1972
- President: Alan S Curry (UK)
- Secretary: DJ Blackmore
- Treasurer: I Martin
Executive Board 1966 - 1968
- President: RB Forney
- Secretary: Frederic Reiders (USA)
- Treasurer: Lowell Bradford (USA)
Executive Board 1963 - 1965
- President: ECG Clark (UK)
- Secretary: Alan S Curry (UK)
- Treasurer: Ian Holden (UK)