Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine

Jason Payne-James is a Specialist in Forensic & Legal Medicine and a Consultant Forensic Physician. His clinical, research and academic interests are broad-ranging include documentation and interpretation of injury; evidential sampling; wound and scar interpretation; complaints against healthcare professionals; sexual assault; non-accidental injury; intimate partner violence; non-fatal strangulation; restraint and less-lethal systems; miscarriages of justice; healthcare in detention; cause of death; death investigation; medical negligence; death and harm in custody; and torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

He is Honorary Clinical Professor, William Harvey Research Institute, Centre for Clinical Pharmacology and Precision Medicine, Queen Mary University of London; Lead Medical Examiner at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals University NHS Trust; adviser to the UK National Crime Agency; Chair of the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal weapons; member of the Specialist Advisory Committee of the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board on forensic & legal medicine; President of the European Council of Legal & Forensic Medicine. He is director of Forensic Healthcare Services Ltd.

He is past-President of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and past-President of the World Police Medical Officers. He was founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forensic & Legal Medicine.

He has published widely and co-authored or co-edited (amongst others) the Encyclopedia of Forensic & Legal Medicine (1st & 2nd editions); the 13^th and 14th Editions of Simpson’s Forensic Medicine, three volumes of Current Practice in Forensic Medicine; the Oxford Handbook of Forensic Medicine; The Medical Examiner System in England & Wales: A Practical Guide; Symptoms & Signs of Substance Misuse (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd editions) and Forensic & Legal Medicine: Clinical & Pathological Aspects. His clinical and expert practice is based in the UK but he reviews many cases including those in the criminal justice system, deaths and care in state custody and possible miscarriages of justice, in the UK and internationally.

Roger Byard is a Senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist. He qualified in medicine in 1978 and then undertook five years of clinical practice including Flying Doctor work in Arnhem Land and qualifying in family practice, as well as studying anthropology at McMaster University, Canada. He is an alumnus of 6 universities: Tasmania, Adelaide, South Australia, McMaster, Toronto and Ottawa. In November 2021 in the Australian National Research Awards he was named a world leader in forensic science and was one of the 12 Australian Global Leaders in research across all disciplines.

In 2004 he was awarded the Australian Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding service to pediatric pathology, and in 2013 became an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to medicine in forensic pathology. In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences for distinguished professional achievements and outstanding leadership. In 2018 he received the John Harbor Phillips Award from the National Institute of Forensic Science for outstanding achievement and excellence in the advancement of the forensic sciences. He was registered as an Expert with the International Criminal Court in 2009.

In 2016 he received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal/Infant Death. He has received 18 awards for published works from the National Institute of Forensic Science, Australia.

He has published over 1,000 chapters and papers/short communications/letters in peer-reviewed journals (>650 first authorships) and in 2021 was in the top 10 of the elite group of highly cited forensic practitioners (out of 100,000 scientists) (Int J Leg Med 2021;135:701-7). He has coedited/written 11 texts.

He was the Editor-in-Chief of Forensic Science Medicine and Pathology (2008-2021). He was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for "humanitarian service overseas in hazardous circumstances"), the RCPA medal and the Australian Federal Police Operations Medal for disaster victim identification work in Bali after the bombings (2002) and in Thailand after the tsunami (2004). He has given invited educational forensic workshops/presentations in 34 countries.

In 2024 he was nominated in the Australian of the Year Awards and was ranked by ScholarGPS (ID 29056650139391) as leader in both Forensic Science (lifetime) and in Medical Jurisprudence (prior five years).