Simona Francese
Sheffield Hallam University
Biography
Simona is a Professor of Forensic and Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), UK. She is the Lead of the Sheffield Multi-Modal Imaging Centre and Head of the Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging at SHU.
She is an expert in the development of MALDI MS Imaging applications and has pioneered its development for the analysis of latent fingermarks and blood to profile offenders. More recently, she has engaged in research at the interface between forensics and clinical diagnostics using blood and sweat in fingertip smears to detect cancer and other pathologies. She has generated a combined total of 97 publications and has been awarded a total of more than £1.8 million worth of research grants and contracts to date.
Simona's research has been implemented in police casework in the UK and Europe and has been partly funded by the Home Office, West Yorkshire Police and The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, UK. She engages in public dissemination at all levels, including with the media.
Two exemplary endeavours are the delivery of a TED talk in Vancouver in 2018 and at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 2023 on molecular fingerprinting. Simona has delivered over 200 lectures, of which more than 60 have been on invitation.
RSC affiliations
Editorial board, Analyst