Governor Abbott Appoints Four to Texas Forensic Science Commission

Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Patrick Buzzini, PhD; Michael Coble, PhD; Nancy Dowling, PhD; and Jasmine Drake, PhD, to the Texas Forensic Science Commission for terms set to expire on September 1, 2024. The Commission provides oversight over Texas crime laboratories and other entities conducting forensic analyses for use in criminal proceedings and provides an accreditation mandate responsible for establishing procedures, policies, and practices to improve the quality of forensic analyses conducted in Texas.

Patrick Buzzini of Spring, TX, is an Associate Professor in Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University. He was the 2019–2020 Chair of the Criminalistics Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a member of the Materials Subcommittee with the Organization of Scientific Areas Committees for standards development in forensic science, and a member of the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners. Dr. Buzzini received a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Forensic Science from the School of Criminal Sciences at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Michael Coble of Fort Worth, TX, is Executive Director and Associate Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Center for Human Identification. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Washington Academy of Sciences and a member of International Society of Forensic Genetics. Dr. Coble received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Appalachian State University and a Master of Forensic Science in Forensic Biology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics from The George Washington University.

Nancy Downing of Bryan, TX, is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University School of Nursing and a forensic nurse at Baylor Scott & White Hospital in College Station. She serves as Vice Chair of the Forensic Nursing Subcommittee for the National Institute of Standards and Technology Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science. She is former president and director-at-large on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) and member of the IAFN Research Committee. She serves on the Texas Office of the Governor Sexual Assault Survivors Task Force Campus Sexual Assault Working Group. In 2019, Dr. Downing was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, nursing's highest honor. Dr. Downing received a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Iowa and joined the Texas A&M faculty in January 2016.

Jasmine Drake of Houston, TX, is an Associate Professor and the Interim Chair of the Department of Administration of Justice in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. Previously, she served as an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University in the Department of Forensic Science in the College of Criminal Justice. Additionally, she served as a forensic chemist at the Drug Enforcement Administration's South-Central Laboratory in Dallas, TX, and as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD. She is also a Criminalistics Section member for the American Academy of Forensic Science. Dr. Drake received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Southern University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from Louisiana State University.