A comprehensive look at decomposition odor research and the impact of COVID-19 on studies

Research on decomposition odor has evolved significantly since the first introduction of this concept in the literature in 2004. This work is foundational to understanding several areas of forensic science, including insect attraction to human remains, cadaver-detection canine response, disaster recovery, missing persons search strategies, and more. Some researchers have also commented on the potential to use this information for developing handheld decomposition sensors, for estimating postmortem interval, and to identify cadaveric status in a non-invasive way at autopsy. Preliminary work in this area focused predominantly on identifying compounds at specific time points during decomposition. Since then, studies have taken a more comprehensive look at the factors influencing the development of decomposition odor over the entire course of decomposition. This talk will provide an overview of study designs used in preliminary work on decomposition odor and the progression of study designs to date. The progression of analytical strategies from one-dimensional methods to multidimensional separations will also be discussed, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of different techniques based on the study hypothesis. Finally, the major limitations placed on the progression of this research during the COVID-19 pandemic will also be discussed, including challenges such as mobility, supplies, facility access, funding access, personnel, and technical support.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain how decomposition odor is used in forensic science

2. Identify the components of effective research design for decomposition odor research

3. Evaluate the choice of analytical technique based on a research goal