{"id":25981,"date":"2022-06-28T16:42:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T21:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=25981"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T20:45:08","slug":"a-little-fly-told-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2022\/06\/a-little-fly-told-her\/","title":{"rendered":"A little fly told her"},"content":{"rendered":"

At crime scenes, tiny creatures such as flies can leave giant clues. And a UND forensic scientist is exploring how that works in subzero cold<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"forensic
Lavinia Iancu, director of the Forensic Science Department at UND’s College of Arts & Sciences, recently submitted a $1.9 million grant proposal to the National Institute of Justice. The grant would fulfill her dream to train students who could focus on hands-on forensic research while also getting paid tuition. Photo by Janelle Vonasek\/UND Today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucilia sericata.<\/em><\/p>\n

She wears an iridescent coat of inkjet green as she symbolically stands guard on a sign posted outside Lavinia Iancu\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> high-tech laboratory.<\/p>\n

True to her purpose, the winged wonder signifies both life and death. And to forensic entomologists such as Iancu, she\u2019s not only pretty important but also just plain pretty<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo most people, they\u2019re just a picnic pest,\u201d said the director of the Forensic Science Department<\/strong><\/a> at UND\u2019s College of Arts & Sciences<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cBut if you\u2019re looking at them under a stereomicroscope, I\u2019m going to tell you that they\u2019re very beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucilia sericata<\/em>?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. She\u2019s talking about a fly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably safe to say not too many people can appreciate the insect\u2019s beauty in the same way. Nor do many likely know the common green bottle fly \u2014 or blowfly \u2014 prefers the heat, and the metallic blue fly, the cold.<\/p>\n

Even fewer likely know that the flies can smell decaying flesh 8 to 10 miles away and migrate fast enough to reach the body within a few hours.<\/p>\n

They feed. They lay eggs. And they fascinate.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because when it comes to a suspicious or unattended death, they can leave behind important clues.<\/p>\n

Depending on the surrounding temperature and environment, different species of insects will colonize a decomposing body and cycle through predictable and time-certain life stages, Iancu explained. It\u2019s those stages that can tell forensic investigators and scientists not only how long the person has been deceased but also whether the body may have been moved after death or if toxins are present.<\/p>\n

In a way, Lucilia sericata<\/em> is the proverbial fly on the wall \u2014 or, witness to murder.<\/p>\n

Getting the bug<\/h2>\n

The Romanian-born Iancu says she first had planned to pursue a life in medicine but changed course when she got hooked on forensic entomology research while working at the Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest. At the same time, she earned master\u2019s degrees in medical biology and forensic science.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (the museum) was the place where my passion for forensic entomology really started. It was a place filled with scientists, and it was just a really wonderful place for me to expand my knowledge and collaboration,\u201d Iancu said. \u201cI always wanted to teach, to research and work with students. I don\u2019t know everything, but what I do know I like to share, and I really feel the need to raise awareness about forensic entomology.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lavinia Iancu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crime rate in her native country is very low, she explained, so forensic entomology is not commonly used in criminal investigations like it is in the United States and other countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand that, but I always advocate to at least have it recognized in a court of law,\u201d Iancu said. \u201cYou never know when you\u2019ll need it. Maybe it\u2019s one case in 10 years, but it could make the difference in convicting or exonerating someone. So, I\u2019m always advocating for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how I can benefit people and use my expertise to do some good. It may not be recognized in my country now, but this is why we need more experts and more voices. We need to build a (global) database with strong scientific evidence to back it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iancu did seven years of research at the museum and went on to earn her doctorate in biology \u2014 again, focusing all of her research on forensic entomology and microbiology. Next, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to do research at Sam Houston State University\u2019s Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility.<\/p>\n

There, she investigated the decomposition process of human remains outdoors vs. indoors and with regard to both insect colonization and the human microbiome \u2014 the latter defined as a community of microorganisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that exists in various parts of the body.<\/p>\n

The facility outside Huntsville is one of only six willed-body donor programs in the United States, and it\u2019s where experts in the fields of anthropology, biology, chemistry, forensic science and criminal justice all converge.<\/p>\n

It was an interdisciplinary environment rich for discovery, Iancu said, and that\u2019s the same kind of environment she wants to replicate in her work at UND.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Iancu is an excellent addition to the faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences,\u201d said Dean Brad Rundquist<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cShe brings real commitment to student learning, along with expertise, enthusiasm and a robust research program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though she joined UND only late last summer, she\u2019s already partnering with faculty in Biology<\/strong><\/a>, Chemistry<\/strong><\/a> and Criminal Justice<\/strong><\/a>, and July marks the ninth month of what could be her own groundbreaking research.<\/p>\n

\"Forensic
Lavinia Iancu digs through the wet, heavy snow to reach a pig carcass so she can examine its decomposition and take both photographs and tissue samples. Though the snow sometimes reached close to 4 feet deep, she repeated this process for three separate pig cages each week since November. By studying the outdoor decomposition process over long periods of extreme cold, Iancu hopes to establish a preliminary, first-of-its-kind database. Photo courtesy of Lavinia Iancu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the field<\/h2>\n

That research began in November when Iancu put three swine carcasses in cages and placed them at a remote site outside Grand Forks. She has been collecting weekly tissue samples ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cPigs are the closest to humans, sharing many anatomical and physiological traits,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

And by studying the outdoor decomposition process over long periods of extreme cold, she hopes to establish a preliminary, first-of-its-kind database.<\/p>\n

The database potentially could help forensic teams estimate the postmortem interval, or PMI \u2014 aka, time of death \u2014 in locations where it may be too cold to rely on insect colonization alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, can we look at the microbiome succession in the way we are looking at the insect succession in the summer months,\u201d Iancu said.<\/p>\n

Besides the extreme cold, the decomposition and microbiome can be further impacted by other factors such as the amount of snow cover. To stay one step ahead of that, Iancu planted the cages in close proximity, yet in very different natural environments. To be exact, one was in the wide-open field. Another was slightly protected at the edge of a shelterbelt, and the third was deeper into the trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cLogistically, it was quite difficult because every week I went into the field, I had to dig up the carcasses to get at the front part of the cage,\u201d Iancu said. \u201cI would take my samples, photograph everything and take notes \u2014 everything has to be well-documented \u2014 before covering everything up with snow again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a mild winter, this would be considered hard work. In the harsh winter experienced in 2021-22, it was downright brutal with snow nearly 4 feet deep.<\/p>\n

Even so, Iancu says she was determined to make an impact in forensics by creating detailed reference data to advance forensic investigations in regions with subzero temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy research is fun. It\u2019s like Christmas Day every day,\u201d she said. \u201cI could not imagine doing anything else. I\u2019m sort of a curiosity maniac, and I\u2019m always dying to get everything back to the lab to see what happens each time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Forensic
Lavinia Iancu says she thrives in her research. “I have two hearts \u2014 one for my family and one for my science,” she said. “I just love everything from the field, and then I cannot wait to get back to the lab to start working with my DNA or analyzing the insects. Even writing the research article can be a tedious job. But in the end, it’s like a new baby. This is how it feels for me.” Photo courtesy of Lavinia Iancu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

State of the art for students<\/h2>\n

Though spring and summer finally arrived, Iancu\u2019s work is far from finished. She\u2019ll begin a similar experiment in July to collect forensic entomology data in the warmer months, and she recently submitted an application for a $1.9 million grant from the National Institute of Justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot even tell you how much time it took me to make the budget for that,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019s massive. The grant will be for five years, and it\u2019s going to include a multidisciplinary team of biologists, chemists and forensic scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Iancu is probably even more excited about the impact the grant would have on her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my biggest desires was to create positions for undergraduate students,\u201d she said. \u201cPart of my grant proposal is devoted to undergraduate training. They would be able to focus on forensic research and get better prepared for the job market while also getting paid tuition.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Iancu\u2019s record is any indicator, she stands a good chance of winning the grant. A month into her job, she applied for and won a $40,000 equipment grant from the North Dakota Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research \u2014 better known as EPSCoR \u2014 through the North Dakota University System.<\/p>\n

In February, she was awarded a $30,000 Multi-Investigator Seed Grant from the College of Arts & Sciences for her swine research. The official title of the project, by the way, is \u201cNecrophagous Insect Species Succession and Associated Gut Microbe Communities on Decomposed Swine Carcasses in North Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that sounds like a mouthful, it\u2019s because it is.<\/p>\n

And one could say the same for a first-timer paying a visit to that high-tech lab guarded by Lucilia sericata<\/em>. On a recent tour, it was tough to keep up with Iancu as she rattled off all the fancy names for the sophisticated equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s state of the art,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s what you\u2019d find in any professional crime lab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the equipment, in fact, came from the North Dakota Crime Lab. It was donated to UND after Iancu reached out to the lab director and also made fast friends with the state\u2019s longtime Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Stenehjem passed away in January, but Iancu has maintained a close relationship with state officials and the Crime Lab.<\/p>\n

Showing off her own lab, she pointed out the Eppendorf Mastercycler X50, which can amplify DNA and RNA by a thousand times via polymerase chain reaction. Then, there was the Eppendorf ThermoMixer C and matching Centrifuge 5425R.<\/p>\n

But perhaps her greatest pride and joy is the Caron Insect Rearing Chamber. A company tagline boasts that the glass-front, refrigerator-looking unit is \u201cIdeal for Insects. And Built to Last.\u201d But Iancu prefers to say it\u2019s the \u201cFerrari of insect breeding chambers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love this. I cannot wait,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can set the temperature, the humidity and the light \u2014 everything you want to create your own microenvironment. You can breed insects right here. It even has a safety lock.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the passionate Iancu, flies really are beautiful and forensic research really is just like Christmas.<\/p>\n

IF YOU MISSED IT:<\/strong> Don\u2019t forget to read last week\u2019s story \u2014 \u201cWas it the knife, the candlestick or the rope?\u201d<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 to learn how Iancu\u2019s Forensic Science students are learning how to solve cases like real-life investigators.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At crime scenes, tiny creatures such as flies can leave giant clues. 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