Leesa Ferguson

Leesa Ferguson is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), affiliated with the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Life Sciences School. She teaches undergraduate courses in Crime and Investigative Studies and Forensic Science, as well as the postgraduate Forensic Science program. Her research focuses on analyzing the chemical components of latent fingermarks, enhancing them on challenging substrates, and applying spectroscopic techniques like MALDI-MS, SERS, and ATR-FTIR. Ferguson holds a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University, where her thesis investigated latent fingermark composition using spectroscopic imaging, and a BSc (Hons) in Forensic and Analytical Science. She previously lectured at Sheffield Hallam University before joining ARU.

Research interests include the application of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods to drug detection on paper currency and the optimization of latent fingermark enhancement. Ferguson is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Forensic & Investigative Sciences Research Group at ARU. Her work bridges analytical chemistry and forensic science, with a focus on advancing methodologies for forensic analysis.

Her publications (2010–2020) emphasize MALDI-MS and SERS techniques, exploring topics like paint composition effects on fingermarks, peptide detection in latent prints, and sexual assault suspect identification through biomarker profiling. These studies underscore her contributions to improving forensic evidence collection and analysis.