Vienna C. Lam

Vienna C. Lam is the Forensic Entomology Laboratory Manager at Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Centre for Forensic Research, a Joseph Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholar (SSHRC CGS-D) at the SFU School of Criminology, and a University Research Ethics Board member.

Her research involves aquatic human body detection, decomposition, and repatriation. These studies include geospatial analyses of drowning data, examination of water safety awareness among vulnerable populations, and aquatic body decomposition from a medicolegal and forensic anthropological perspective. More recently, Vienna has been leading a project that examines how the COVID-19 global health crisis has impacted medicolegal investigations. In her spare time, she shares her love of human anatomy at public libraries and schools as a community scientist with Science World and several non-profits that support equitable access to STEM education.

Vienna attributes many of her technical skills to her time spent as an SFU Archaeology student and Laboratory Manager for Dr. David V. Burley’s South Pacific Archaeology laboratory. It was through the practical, hands-on experience gained both in classes and during excavations that she has been able to lead her own award-winning field work for her graduate research on aquatic body decomposition - research that has earned her several distinctions, including 1st place in the Forensic Science Foundation/American Academy of Forensic Sciences Travel and Book prize, two Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences Education Awards, and the prestigious Joseph-Armand Bombardier SSHRC doctoral scholarship.