ASCPedia - An Image Library for Pathologists

An experienced forensic pathologist based in Austin, Texas, Dr. Danielo Perez previously served as an assistant medical examiner with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago. Over the course of his career, Dr. Danielo Perez has worked to stay up-to-date in his field through various professional memberships. The Austin resident currently maintains affiliations with several organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). 

Dedicated to advancing pathology and laboratory medicine around the globe, ASCP offers a variety of professional development programs and resources. In addition to online courses, live events, books, and journals, ASCP members can advance their knowledge and skills through learning resources such as ASCPedia. 

Built with the help of pathologists and laboratory professionals, the ASCPedia online reference library features thousands of high-resolution digital images converted from glass laboratory slides. The digital slide library facilitates remote collaboration, virtual training, and information sharing across all disciplines in anatomic and clinical pathology. The library is a great tool for professionals looking for specific diagnosis entry as well as students studying for an exam. 

ASCP members can peruse the library’s contents using a specific search term or a discipline category. Members can also improve ASCPedia by submitting their own digitized slide images of interesting or rare pathologies. For more information, visit www.ascp.org.

NAME Accreditation

An experienced forensic professional with a background in pathology, Dr. Danielo Perez resides in Austin, Texas. He has performed autopsies and offered expert witness testimony. In addition, Dr. Danielo Perez is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME).

One of the activities of NAME has been the creation of accreditation standards that can be applied to US systems and offices that engage in the medicolegal investigation of death. The process involves peer review, and it seeks to improve the performance of systems and offices by foregrounding constructive criticism and objective evaluation. Notably, systems and offices (rather than individuals) undergo the process and ultimately receive accreditation. 

According to policies adopted in January 2017, NAME accreditation lasts for four years, after which the offices or systems concerned can pursue re-accreditation. The population that a given office serves determines its inspection and accreditation fee structure.

The OJ Simpson Trial and RFLP Analysis of DNA

Based in Austin, Texas, Dr. Danielo Perez is a forensic pathologist who has worked with a number of Central Texas counties and also undertaken privately contracted autopsies. Dr. Danielo Perez of Austin developed an interest in forensic science during his high school years, when he became interested in the OJ Simpson trial and the mechanics of how forensics informed the case.

In the high-profile early-1990s case, prosecutors employed restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), a type of DNA testing in which DNA strands are cut at specific spots and the strip lengths analyzed. The length between the target spots within the DNA strand are unique to each person. Thus, when a match is found between strand length for DNA at a crime scene and that of the suspect, it can add to evidence that leads to conviction. 

The issue with RFLP is that it does not meet “beyond-a-reasonable-doubt” standards. In addition to the remote possibility of another person having matching strands, it is necessary to obtain an RFLP sample that is intact and relatively large for it to have value in court. In the OJ Simpson case, blood was taken from a number of sources, including a car and clothes, and it involved a mixture of the victims’ and the suspect’s blood. Since the case, this technique has been supplanted by a superior polymerase chain reaction technique of analyzing and identifying DNA.

Calligraphy

French for nightmare

Calligraphy

Inspired by the Netflix show Castlevania, which I started watching last night. The first episode at least is pretty good.

Calligraphy

That's a neat looking C, one of my favorite letters to trick out

Calligraphy

 Some words lend themselves better than others to the type of calligraphy that I do