Marie Mc Nerney

Associate Professor Marie Mc Nerney is a faculty member at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, where she serves as Associate Professor and Course Director for the Bachelor of Forensic Science program. She is affiliated with the Centre for Forensic Science (CFS) at UTS and has established herself as a leading researcher in forensic intelligence and drug market analysis.

Dr. Mc Nerney completed her Bachelor and Master's degrees in Forensic Science at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) in 2009. After working as a forensic scientist with the Wallis State Police in Switzerland, she moved to Australia to complete a project on gunshot residues at the UTS Centre for Forensic Science in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police. She earned her PhD on drug intelligence at UTS in 2015, which was a collaboration between the Australian Federal Police, the University of Lausanne, and UTS. In 2016, she was awarded a prestigious Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from UTS.

Her research focuses on the use of illicit drug data from multiple sources for intelligence purposes, with particular expertise in analyzing drug markets through the triangulation of data from cryptomarkets, drug seizures, wastewater analysis, and governmental sources. She has extended this approach to other organized systems such as organized crime and security. Dr. Mc Nerney has made significant contributions to forensic intelligence methodology, particularly in document examination and the application of forensic science for proactive crime prevention.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on applying forensic science to intelligence gathering, with recent work examining drug trends among people who inject drugs, dark web market analysis for fraudulent documents, portable technology for drug identification, and the utility of trace evidence for intelligence purposes. Her research shows a clear trajectory toward developing systematic methods for transforming forensic data into actionable intelligence for law enforcement and public health agencies.

• 2024 UTS Medal for Excellence in Research and Teaching Integration
• Citations for outstanding contributions to student learning (2024)
• UTS Teaching and Learning Award - Team Teaching (2022)

Dr. Mc Nerney has secured significant research funding, including the 'Residue and Post Overdose Substance Testing (RePOST)' grant (2024-2025), 'Understanding emerging opioid-related harms through improved surveillance, drug checking and information sharing systems' (2020-2021), and 'The use of forensic case data in an intelligence perspective' (2015-2019). She serves as Associate Editor for Forensic Science International and edited the 23rd Meeting collection for the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS). As Course Director for the Bachelor of Forensic Science program, she has developed and taught courses including 'Foundations of Forensic Science,' 'Forensic Intelligence,' and 'Introduction to Forensic Science.'

Her work with the Centre for Forensic Science has positioned her at the intersection of academic research and practical forensic applications, collaborating with multiple agencies including the Australian Federal Police. She has been instrumental in developing the forensic intelligence approach that shifts forensic science from a purely reactive service to a proactive contributor to crime prevention and disruption.