Gail Anderson

Gail S. Anderson is a forensic entomologist, academic, and associate director of the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. She is an instructor at the Canadian Police College, a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, as well as a member of the Canadian Identification Society and the International Association for Identification.

Originally a high school science technician, Anderson went on to become Canada's first full-time forensic entomologist in 1992. In 2001, Time magazine named Anderson one of North America's leading innovators in the field of law enforcement. She has gone on to create the world's first database of flesh eating insects to be used in murder investigations.

Awards and honours In 2026, Anderson received the Order of BC . Anderson received the Derome Award (2001), the top award of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Science and Technology (1999).

Selected publications Anderson, G. S. (2011). "Comparison of decomposition rates and faunal colonization of carrion in indoor and outdoor environments". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 56 (1), 136–142. Anderson, G. (2000). "Minimum and maximum development rates of some forensically important Calliphoridae (Diptera)". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 45 (4), 824–832. Anderson, G., Belton, P., & Kleider, N. (1988). "The hypersensitivity of horses to Culicoides bites in British-Columbia". Canadian Veterinary Journal, 29 (9), 718–723. Anderson, G., Belton, P., & Kleider, N. (1993). "Hypersensitivity of horses in British-Columbia to extracts of native and exotic species of Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae)". Journal of Medical Entomology, 30 (4), 657–663. Anderson, G., & Hobischak, N. (2004). "Decomposition of carrion in the marine environment in British Columbia, Canada". International Journal of Legal Medicine, 118 (4), 206–209. Anderson, G., & VanLaerhoven, S. (1996). "Initial studies on insect succession on carrion in southwestern British Columbia". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 41 (4), 617–625. Hobischak, N., & Anderson, G. (2002). "Time of submergence using aquatic invertebrate succession and decompositional changes". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 47 (1), 142–151. Sharanowski, B. J., Walker, E. G., & Anderson, G. S. (2008). "Insect succession and decomposition patterns on shaded and sunlit carrion in Saskatchewan in three different seasons". Forensic Science International, 179 (2-3), 219–240. Sperling, F., Anderson, G., & Hickey, D. (1994). "A DNA-based approach to the identification of insect species used for postmortem interval estimation". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 39 (2), 418–427. VanLaerhoven, S., & Anderson, G. (1999). "Insect succession on buried carrion in two biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia". Journal of Forensic Sciences, 44 (1), 32–43.