Pekka J Saukko

Dr. Saukko is currently Professor of Forensic Medicine and Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Turku, Finland.

He graduated in medicine from the University of Vienna, Austria in 1975 and was certified as a Specilist in Forensic Medicine in 1981 by the National Board of Health, Finland. In 1983 he received a Doctorate in Medical Science (MD) by thesis in Forensic Pathology by the University of Oulu, Finland and was appointed Adjunct Professor of Forensic Medicine of the same University in 1986. From 1978 to 1989 he held the position of the Provincial Medical Officer, Medico-legal Expert, Provincial Government of Oulu. In 1989 he was appointed the Professor of Forensic Medicine of the University of Tampere, Finland and since 1992 he holds the current position at the University of Turku.

He has published widely as an author, co-author in scientific journals, book and encyclopedia chapters and is the co-author of the "Atlas of Forensic Medicine" (CD-ROM) (Elsevier Science, 2003), "Knight's Forensic Pathology" (Arnold, 2004) and "Forensic Medicine in Europe" (Schmidt-Römhild, 2008).

Dr. Saukko is the recipient of the Ajtai K. Sandor Medal and an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine (Dr. h.c.) from the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. His expert work as consultant includes needs assessment of the forensic facilities in Cambodia for the UNDP (1996), the Working Party on the Harmonization of Autopsy Rules for the Council of Europe (1997-1998), quality assessment of the Portuguese Departments of Forensic Pathology, as a member of an international team of experts (2001), the external case review panel for the Office of the Chief Coroner, Toronto, Canada (2006) and the consultant panel and expert witness for the Inquiry Into Pediatric Forensic Pathology In Ontario, Canada (2007) and forensic expert for the UNDP/NHRC in Kathmandu, Nepal (2008).

Since 1993, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Forensic Science International, by Elsevier, and Editorial Board Member of a number of other national and international scientific journals of forensic medicine and science.

He is a Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Forensic Science Society, the Royal Belgium Society of Forensic Medicine, the German Society of Legal Medicine, the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine and a Founding and Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians (London).