Theresa Stotesbury, Ontario Tech University

Research

Read how they describe their research on their Ontario Tech University profile.

Bloodstain formation Bloodstain degradation Time since deposition Chemical profiles of trace evidence Forensic blood substitutes

Latest papers

Impact of 2'-fluoro nucleobase modifications on CD detection, sensitivity and specificity of short oligonucleotides bound to alginate hydrogels.
Journal of materials chemistry. B · 2026 · senior author
DNA methylation and epigenomic profiling post-mortem of human remain analogs (Sus scrofa) in southern Ontario, Canada.
Journal of forensic sciences · 2026
Encapsulation of degraded DNA in alginate hydrogels: Rheological characterization and applicability to forensic science.
Science & justice : journal of the Forensic Science Society · 2026 · senior author

All 16 publications

Latest funding

EngAging Older Adults in Citizen Science - A Co-Creation and Feasibility Project
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$100,000
OUT OF THE MUSEUM AND INTO THE FUTURE: OLIGOSYNTHESIZER REPLACEMENT
NSERC · 2024 · Co-investigator
$150,000
Discovery of biomarker signatures to accurately estimate time since death
NSERC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$297,100

All 9 grants and awards

16 publications.

01

Impact of 2'-fluoro nucleobase modifications on CD detection, sensitivity and specificity of short oligonucleotides bound to alginate hydrogels.

Lubrin DK, Elliott CI, Desaulniers JP, Stotesbury T

Journal of materials chemistry. B2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1039/d5tb02880a PMID: 42052678

02

DNA methylation and epigenomic profiling post-mortem of human remain analogs (Sus scrofa) in southern Ontario, Canada.

Badell I, Hewett L, Stotesbury T, Forbes S, Shafer ABA

Journal of forensic sciences2026

DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.70304 PMID: 41834177

03

Encapsulation of degraded DNA in alginate hydrogels: Rheological characterization and applicability to forensic science.

Elliott CI, Stotesbury T

Science & justice : journal of the Forensic Science Society2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101378 PMID: 41932790

04

Technical note: The impact of image size on bloodstain pattern analysis using machine learning.

Alavi A, Stotesbury T, Lewis PR

Forensic science international2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112728 PMID: 41242137

05

Unsupervised machine learning for the detection and interpretation of key features in drip patterns.

Pachong SM, Alavi A, Kannan S, Stotesbury T, Lewis PR

Forensic science international2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112669 PMID: 41033067

06

Alginate-based forensic blood substitutes mimicking whole blood clotting and drying properties in drip stains and pools.

Giroux E, Kannan S, Stotesbury T, Jermy MC

Science & justice : journal of the Forensic Science Society2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101374 PMID: 41506833

07

Development of Enzyme- and Protein-Functionalized Alginate Hydrogels with Luminol Catalytic Functionality for Use as Forensic Blood Substitutes.

Giroux E, Westerik M, Stotesbury T

ACS applied bio materials2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.5c00945 PMID: 40739876

08

A dataset of drip patterns for teaching and research purposes in forensic bloodstain pattern analysis.

Kannan S, Pachong SM, Lewis PR, Stotesbury T

Data in brief2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2025.111352 PMID: 39996050

09

Integrating time since deposition estimation of bloodstains into a DNA profiling workflow: A novel approach using fluorescence spectroscopy.

Elliott CI, Simmons DBD, Stotesbury T

Talanta2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.127234 PMID: 39603014

10

Optical profilometry for forensic bloodstain imaging.

Vale B, Orr A, Elliott C, Stotesbury T

Microscopy research and technique2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1002/jemt.24338 PMID: 37133225

EngAging Older Adults in Citizen Science - A Co-Creation and Feasibility Project

Co-investigatorCIHR2024Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Population and Public Health - General

Principal investigators: Dogra, Shilpa

Keywords: Active Aging; Age-Friendly Environments; Citizen Science; Community Science; Healthy Aging; Physical Activity; Sedentary Time; Social Isolation

$100,000

OUT OF THE MUSEUM AND INTO THE FUTURE: OLIGOSYNTHESIZER REPLACEMENT

Co-investigatorNSERC2024Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Desaulniers, Jean-Paul

Keywords: Chemical Modification; DNA; Forensic Biomaterials; Gene Silencing; Nucleic Acids; Oligosynthesizer; Organic Chemistry; Phosphoramidite; RNA; Wastewater Detection

$150,000

Discovery of biomarker signatures to accurately estimate time since death

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Discovery Horizons

Principal investigators: Forbes, Shari

Keywords: Biomarkers, ; Time since death; Metabolomic; Isotopic; Genomics; Forensic pathology; Forensic anthropology; Forensic odontology; Missing persons; Death investigations

$297,100

Reimagining Forensic Bloodstain Pattern Analysis From the Bottom Up

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Stotesbury, Theresa

Keywords: forensic science pattern evidence bloodstains fluid mechanics criminal justice artificial intelligence unsupervised learning machine learning explainable artificial intelligence

$125,000

Reimagining Forensic Bloodstain Pattern Analysis From the Bottom Up

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Stotesbury, Theresa

Keywords: forensic science; pattern evidence; bloodstains; fluid mechanics; criminal justice; artificial intelligence; unsupervised learning; machine learning; explainable artificial intelligence

$125,000

State-of-the-art all-in-one spectrometer for materials characterization and performance testing.

Co-investigatorNSERC2021Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Zenkina, Olena

$144,322

Characterizing the local environment of films created from natural and engineered biofluids

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: Stotesbury, Theresa

$12,500

Characterizing the local environment of films created from natural and engineered biofluids

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Principal investigators: Stotesbury, Theresa

$120,000

Characterizing the local environment of films created from natural and engineered biofluids

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Stotesbury, Theresa

Keywords: materials science; films; aging and degradation; non-newtonian fluids; whole mammalian blood; biofilms and hydrogels; time since deposition; high-speed video; high-resolution mass spectrometry; forensic chemistry

$220,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Forensic Science
Biology Department
Chemistry
Chemistry and Biochemistry

Co-authors at Ontario Tech University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Paul Wilson

Biology Department

2 shared papers, latest 2023

Jean-Paul Desaulniers

Chemistry

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Shari Forbes

Chemistry and Biochemistry

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Write to this professor

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Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2022

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Bloodstain formation Dear Professor Stotesbury, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Impact of 2'-fluoro nucleobase modifications on CD detection, sensitivity and specificity of short oligonucleotides bound to alginate hydrogels." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Reimagining Forensic Bloodstain Pattern Analysis From the Bottom Up" (2022), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]