Roger Byard

Roger Byard is a Senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist. He qualified in medicine in 1978 and then undertook five years of clinical practice including Flying Doctor work in Arnhem Land and qualifying in family practice, as well as studying anthroplogy at McMaster University, Canada. He is an alumnus of 6 universities: Tasmania, Adelaide, South Australia, McMaster, Toronto and Ottawa. In November 2021 in the Australian National Research Awards he was named a world leader in forensic science and was one of the 12 Australian Global Leaders in research across all disciplines.

In 2004 he was awarded the Australian Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding service to pediatric pathology, and in 2013 became an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to medicine in forensic pathology. In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences for distinguished professional achievements and outstanding leadership. In 2018 he received the John Harbor Phillips Award from the National Institute of Forensic Science for outstanding achievement and excellence in the advancement of the forensic sciences. He was registered as an Expert with the International Criminal Court in 2009.

In 2016 he received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal/Infant Death. He has received 18 awards for published works from the National Institute of Forensic Science, Australia.

He has published over 1,000 chapters and papers/short communications/letters in peer-reviewed journals (>650 first authorships) and in 2021 was in the top 10 of the elite group of highly cited forensic practitioners (out of 100,000 scientists) (Int J Leg Med 2021;135:701-7). He has coedited/written 11 texts.

He was the Editor-in-Chief of Forensic Science Medicine and Pathology (2008-2021). He was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for "humanitarian service overseas in hazardous circumstances"), the RCPA medal and the Australian Federal Police Operations Medal for disaster victim identification work in Bali after the bombings (2002) and in Thailand after the tsunami (2004). He has given invited educational forensic workshops/presentations in 34 countries.

In 2024 he was nominated in the Australian of the Year Awards and was ranked by ScholarGPS (ID 29056650139391) as leader in both Forensic Science (lifetime) and in Medical Jurisprudence (prior five years).