Rate My Professor Adam Stern

Adam W. Stern, DVM, DACVP, is Professor of Veterinary Forensic Pathology in the Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island in 2007, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from The George Washington University in 2003, and completed his residency in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology at Oklahoma State University in 2009. A board-certified veterinary pathologist by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and a Founding Fellow in Veterinary Forensic Pathology, Dr. Stern joined the University of Florida faculty in 2018 after establishing a forensic pathology service in Illinois where he taught veterinary students about forensics. He directs the UF Veterinary Forensic Sciences Laboratory (VFSL), the first full-service veterinary forensic laboratory in any North American veterinary college, providing services including crime scene documentation, evidence collection and processing, animal forensic autopsies, forensic DNA analysis, photogrammetry, and forensic toxicology.

Dr. Stern's academic interests encompass the development of minimally invasive veterinary autopsy techniques, investigation of causes of death in unowned stray cats and dogs via the 'A Cat Has No Name' program, novel approaches to estimating time of death in animals, ecotoxicology related to lead and pentobarbital, and artifacts of decomposition. His clinical responsibilities include performing veterinary forensic autopsies and postmortem examinations of racehorses. As principal investigator, he leads grants such as the FWC/UF Forensics Program Partnership (2024-2027, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), Establishment of Systemic Data Standardization for Artificial Intelligence-Implemented Veterinary Forensic Investigation and Animal Disease Diagnostics (2024, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency), and A Multidisciplinary Approach to Marine Mammal Death Investigations Using Forensic Science (2022, US Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service). He teaches courses including ENY6707 Forensic Entomology, VME6575 Veterinary Forensic Medicine, VME6576 Veterinary Forensic Pathology II, and VME6577 Practicing Pathology (Veterinary Forensic Pathology I). Notable publications include the book Veterinary Forensics: Investigation, Evidence Collection, and Expert Testimony (CRC Press, 2017) and "Veterinary forensic pathology of animal sexual abuse" (Veterinary Pathology, 2016). Dr. Stern serves as Director of the International Society for Animal Forensic Sciences, chair of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists Fellowship Training Committee, and maintains leadership positions in three Florida animal cruelty task forces, while delivering lectures to veterinarians, investigators, and attorneys locally, nationally, and internationally.