Dr Alan Langford

Dr Alan Langford is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Sciences.  He studied BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences at Napier Polytechnic, followed by a PhD at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Post-doctoral research followed at the Forensic Medicine Department, University of Dundee investigating the phenomenon of post-mortem drug redistribution and alternative post-mortem samples to blood for toxicological analysis. He was also authorised as a reporting forensic scientist for the Scottish Courts in routine and criminal casework.  

He then moved to the Lothian & Borders Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Edinburgh as a reporting forensic scientist in the Toxicology section – responsible for the evaluation, interpretation and analysis of biological samples for drugs.  Being classed as an expert witness in this field he has given evidence numerous times in the Scottish Courts.  He was also one of the ‘on-call’ scientists for the analysis of illicit bulk drugs within the Chemistry Unit.  

In 2002 he took up post of Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Northumbria University and has led in the development of the forensic cluster of programmes offered.  Primary research interests remain in the area of post-mortem toxicology (drug redistribution, tolerance and interpretation of drugs).

As the use of technology has rapidly expanded in higher education, his current focus predominantly lies in developing novel innovative practice based distance and blended learning materials to enhance the student learning experience including for example:

• virtual crime scene investigation - interactive theory, tutorials, animation and self-evaluation tools that have been embedded into a police operational case management tool (R2S™) to allow ‘virtual’ processing of crime scene examination
• e-tutorials for the operation of analytical chemistry instrumentation and interpretation of analytical data