PS That bit about Vecchiotti being a coroner was hilarious
(Hint: a coroner is a government-appointed person with judicial powers who investigates and reports deaths on behalf of the state. As far as I know, there's not even any such position as "coroner" (or equivalent) in Italy. Perhaps "reporting pathologist" might be more appropriate. But even then, Vecchiotti's CV and published history makes it more than clear that her entire academic career has been in microbiology, genetics and forensic investigation. Not in adjudicating causes of death. And not in cutting open bodies.)
PS That bit about Vecchiotti being a coroner was hilarious
(Hint: a coroner is a government-appointed person with judicial powers who investigates and reports deaths on behalf of the state. As far as I know, there's not even any such position as "coroner" (or equivalent) in Italy. Perhaps "reporting pathologist" might be more appropriate. But even then, Vecchiotti's CV and published history makes it more than clear that her entire academic career has been in microbiology, genetics and forensic investigation. Not in adjudicating causes of death. And not in cutting open bodies.)
In fact the position "coroner" doesn't exist in Italy meant as a governmental post, but the specialty "Medicina Legale" exists, and means exactly the specialization (and therefore a certification) to the work funcions that are equivalent to a coroner.
This is why I say
Vecchiotti is a coroner.
Medicina Legale is codified as "MED 43" (formerly "F 22 B").
It is not
pathology; expertise as pathologists equates to scientific-diciplinary academy branches "MED 04" or "05" or "MED 08".
Microbiology instead refers to either fields "MED 07" or "BIO 19", while research in Genetics would refer to either fields "MED 03" or "BIO 18" or "BIO 11".
Vecchiotti has always only held the title of "researcher" in "MED 43", and that field alone.
Moreover, the assertion that Vecchiott's CV would show that throughout her whole history she focused on microbiology, genetics and forensic investigation, and
not on cutting and opening bodies, is just false.
Her only training specifically focused on Forensics was a short course she attended in Budapest in 1986.
Between 1983 and 1991 she did her work entirely, and only, at the
Struttura Semplice di Medicina Legale within the
Dipartimento di Medicina Legale of La Sapienza.
In 1991 she got a promotion, yet even since 1991 and at lest until 2007, she
always remained at the S.S. di Medicina Legale, where she was a Medical Doctor working as
Medico Legale.
Then in 2007 she became
associated professor, this only after having reached the age of 57 and having spent 21 years as a researcher in field "MED 43" (or "F/22B")
Medicina Legale working at the autopsy facility known as "S.S. di Medicina Legale".
Her teaching subject was "Medicina Legale" but she tought to students of a post-degree specialization course in
Orthopedic Techniques, in the small town of Latina (those who study to become Orthopedists, kind of students who are hardly interested in Forensics).
Orthopedists would be interested in physical anatomy, things about cutting and opening bodies, not in Forensics or DNA.
Carla Vecchiotti has an interest in Forensic Hematology and Haemogenetics, as well as in the general aspects of "Legal Medicine" that she frequently taught.
But that doesn't take away that for decades she has always worked at the S.S. di Medicina Legale, a place where they basically do one thing: autopsies. There they issue papers such as death certificates and authorization to transplantation (and this is what Vecchiotti was doing for about 25 years). To the present day Vecchiotti is still there, not as a physician in the Struttura Semplice but in the same institute always within the same Dipartimento di Medicina Legale.
So she is a
coroner, I can say this meaning she is the equivalent of a coroner as for what her work and specialty is (the public position of coroner doesn't exist in Italy).
Institutes of Legal Medicine in Italy investigate bodies, they have developed within them their own DNA/serology/microbiology laboratories dealing with toxicology as well as genetics, because those disciplines are also
techniques part of the set tool to perform their tasks by those professionals who investigate bodies, carry on autopsies or deal with other legal things. Think about how the 9/11 victims were identified through DNA for example, you can understand how genetics is nowadays ecessary part of scientific investigation carried on by "coroners" or any equivalent professional in charge to identify or investigate a body.
This is what Vecchiotti does: she investigates bodies. She always did so. Her training is focused on issues of Medicine, not Genetics or biology, nor on practice of biological laboratory work.
And she has always been working in a facility where they store and analyze corpses.
Think about that between 1991 and 2007 Vecchiotti was in charge of the
Consulenza Generale Trapianti (counsel to authorize transplant). She was not working on DNA filaments and forensic analysis, but dealing with warm bodies elected for organ transplants.
Within the same facility where autopsies are performed, medical certificates are issued and bodies are checked for transplant, there is a laboratory for DNA analysis. Those laboratories are run by the departments themselves, are built within the facilities of Medicina Legale all over Italy, but they are also kind of self-made, to the present day they don't have certification of sorts, are meant to serve the sole purposes of the depertments they are part of and are ruled by those departments.
It is sure and obvious from her CV that Vecchiotti used to work with bodies and autopsies ad that was her job. She testified in fact on many cases as the equivalent of a coroner: together with Arbarello on the Cucchi case or on the Orlandi case in Rome (those are examples where Vecchiotti was called as an expert not specifically about DNA). It's clear her interest is oriented towards DNA and Haematology Forensics more than on bones and blood spats, but she did testify on bones and blood spats and it's obvious she always worked with bodies at the Medicina Legale facility, both through her work as counsel for transplants as well as during her activities with DNA and blood samples.
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