������Ƶ

Julia Morelli ’26, a forensic science major on the pre-med track, is researching a chemical imaging technique to better analyze fingerprints and detect document��forgeries.

Through UTampa’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, she and her mentor, Kenyon Evans-Nguyen, director of forensic science and professor of chemistry and��biochemistry, researched how a desktop laser-emitting system could give forensic scientists new tools to identify individuals and uncover��tampered documents more efficiently.

The approach is called matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization��(MALDESI), and it’s usually used to illuminate the chemistry inside body tissues to uncover disease.

“We had this really nice laser and thought, what can we do with it?” Evans-Nguyen said.��“MALDESI has been used in medicine but never in forensics. We saw a gap and asked if we��could apply this technique to forensics.”

MALDESI allows forensic scientists to examine the��chemical composition of fingerprints, going beyond what can be determined from traditional fingerprint analysis. It could help determine whether a��person came into contact with drugs or potentially uncover one’s age and sex, Morelli explained.

The technique could also affect how document forgeries are uncovered. By detecting chemical differences in ink, the system could uncover alterations that would otherwise be invisible to the��naked eye. “If someone tampered with a legal document or passport by writing over the original��text, MALDESI could pick up the different ink compositions,” Morelli said.

Building the MALDESI system in the UTampa lab presented some challenges. Morelli had to assemble the laser from scratch, learning everything from circuitry to operating a drill press.

“There was a lot of trial and error,” she said. “Every time we fixed one problem, another one came up. But that was part of the learning experience.”

The research is ongoing. Morelli is continuing the project for her honors thesis with hopes of��submitting findings for publication and presenting at the American Chemical Society and��American Academy of Forensic Science conferences next spring.��

She plans to pursue medical school and forensic pathology, and the project has��impacted her academic and career outlook, she said. “Doing this research taught me how to adapt and��think critically. It’s made me consider an M.D.-Ph.D. path, so I can keep research as a��part of my future.”

Evans-Nguyen said the project’s biggest impact could be its accessibility for real-world��application. Unlike other advanced forensic techniques that require expensive equipment,��MALDESI uses materials already familiar to forensic labs.��

“Our goal was to build something that fits into what forensic scientists already do,” he said.��“That’s what makes this research practical and exciting.”