Paola A. MagniView profile
Associate Professor
Paola A. Magni is an Associate Professor of Forensic Science at Murdoch University's School of Medical and Molecular Sciences in Western Australia. With extensive expertise in forensic biology, she specializes in applying natural sciences including entomology, taphonomy, and aquatic biology to crime scene investigation. She is recognized as a forensic expert by Italian Courts and the international scientific community, and has been involved in forensic cases in Western Australia and Tasmania. Her research focuses on forensic entomology, aquatic and marine forensics, microbial forensics, and crime scene reconstruction. She has developed innovative tools including the 'SmartInsects – Forensic Entomology' smartphone app with over 10,000 downloads worldwide. Her work spans multiple disciplines, from analyzing barnacle colonization on shoes to studying microbial fingerprints on clothing for individual identification. Dr. Magni has served as an expert forensic witness in homicide, suspicious death, animal cruelty, wildlife, food forensic, and stored products security cases. She has authored numerous scientific papers and book chapters, and was senior editor of a forensic entomology book in 2008. Her recent research includes studies on stabbing crime reconstruction using robotic simulations, marine forensics related to the Melissa Caddick case, and microbial evidence on clothing that can survive for months. Among her notable achievements is the Order of the Star of Italy award. She has also been involved with media production, serving as a forensic character and screenplay consultant for the Italian version of 'C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation' ('R.I.S. Delitti Imperfetti'), and has presented at TEDx events in Sydney and Fremantle. Forensic entomology and insect succession patterns Marine and aquatic forensics Taphonomic processes in different environments Microbial forensics and touch microbiome analysis Crime scene reconstruction, particularly for stabbing incidents Development of forensic tools and applications Her research demonstrates a consistent pattern of bridging theoretical forensic science with practical applications in criminal investigations. Recent work shows increasing focus on interdisciplinary approaches combining entomology with marine biology, microbiology, and engineering solutions for forensic challenges. She frequently collaborates with international researchers, reflecting the global nature of forensic science challenges. Order of the Star of Italy Developer of 'SmartInsects – Forensic Entomology' app (2013), recognized as one of the 'Fantastic 4 apps created by scientists' at Western Australian Universities Dr. Magni actively supervises research students and has been involved in forensic education through student mobility programs in the Indo-Pacific region. Her work has practical applications in crime scene investigation, with several studies directly addressing challenges faced by forensic practitioners. She has collaborated with various forensic laboratories including ChemCentre in Western Australia. Her research has established important protocols for analyzing human remains found in aquatic environments, studying how marine organisms colonize items connected to victims. This work has been applied in high-profile cases like the Melissa Caddick investigation and has been featured in international documentaries.
