Shirly Berends PhD
I teach “Criminalistics and Analytical Chemistry” and “Chain of Evidence” at the University of Amsterdam. I have a background in physics and chemistry and earned my PhD working with techniques for the (trace) elemental analysis of glass: Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)).
Right after my graduation I worked as a post-doc for the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), where I validated and implemented elemental analysis methods for different traces.
While working as a researcher I became fascinated by the rich interdisciplinary character of the field of forensic science. Nowadays, I’m still working at the NFI but as an educational advisor. With my work I try bridging the communication gap between forensic scientists and the rest of the forensic chain as well as improving the work performance of all the members of the chain.
I expect that the students in forensic science would be curious, motivated, eager to learn and committed to the program.