David Rivers Ph.D.

Director of Research and Academic Safety at Hackensack Meridian Health

David Rivers is Professor of Forensic Science at Loyola University Maryland, the founding Chair of the Department of Forensic Science, and Graduate Director of the Biological Forensics M.S. program. He received his B.S. in Biology from Ball State University, a Ph.D. in Entomology with a concentration in Insect Physiology from the Ohio State University and was a NIH post-doctoral fellow in Cellular and Molecular Parasitology at the University of Wisconsin. He has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses in Biology and Forensic Science over the past 31 years, including Forensic Entomology, Veterinary Forensics, and Cold Case Investigations. He is a member of the Entomological Society of America, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, International Association of Identification, International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, Council of Forensic Science Educators, and the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association. Dr. Rivers has published 90 research articles, book chapters, and reviews and is co-author of the critically acclaimed textbook The Science of Forensic Entomology, now in the second edition. He conducts research, provides legal expertise and offers workshops in several areas involving insect pattern evidence and necrophagous flies and parasitic wasps. Dr. Rivers was recipient of the Harry W. Rodgers III Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999, the award for Excellence in Transformative Teaching in 2019, and the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2019 from Loyola University in Maryland. Recent publications: Rivers, D.B., M. Ferrone, D. Mulroy. 2023. The effect of postmortem penetrative trauma on oviposition behavior of Calliphora vicina. Forensic Science International 346: https:doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111647. Rivers, D.B., K. Waters. 2023. Characterization of insect stains produced by two species [Necrobia rufipes (F.) (Family Cleridae) and Dermestes maculatus De Geer (Dermestidae)] of Coleoptera after feeding on human blood. International Journal of Legal Medicine 1-8. Rivers, D.B., 2024. Development of a Baltimore (MD) population of Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) reared at several temperatures and estimations of developmental limits and thresholds. Journal of Medical Entomology, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae145 Rivers, D.B. A comparison of drying patterns between insect stains created by the blue blow fly, Calliphora vicina and human bloodstains. Forensic Science International, In press. Rivers, D.B. and J.R. Wallace (editors). 2025. The Calliphoridae of Forensic Significance, Academic Press, Cambridge, MA.