The Forensic Toxicology Unit was established by Bronwen Davies in 2015. This Unit is a collaborative entity between Forensic Pathology Services and UCT and serves as a Service, Research and Teaching laboratory in forensic toxicology.

The Unit strives to be at the forefront of Forensic Toxicology research and development in South Africa, particularly within post-mortem toxicology. With a newly refurbished laboratory and equipment, including GC-MS and LC-MS/MS technology, the unit provides a strong platform for training current and future scientists in the field of forensic toxicology. Research within the unit is geared towards post-mortem toxicological investigations, drug-facilitated crimes and epidemiological investigations.

• Post-mortem toxicology:

  • Role of drugs in violent fatalities

  • Detection of genetically-altered drug metabolism in toxicology-related fatalities

  • Drugs and alcohol in road-traffic fatalities

  • Paediatric toxicology

  • Toxicity in fire-related fatalities

  • Pesticide-related fatalities

• Drug-facilitated crimes:

  • Investigating drug-facilitated sexual assault in dedicated forensic units

• Analytical toxicology:

  • Method development and validation in various biological specimens using chromatography and mass spectrometry

• Other topics:

  • Entomotoxicology

  • Drug-related death scene investigation