Born in Ukraine, Mariya Goray joins the College of Science and Engineering from Victoria Police. We ask Mariya why she has stepped into the classroom after a career that included visiting major crime scenes.

What is your role and what does your work focus on?

I’m a lecturer in Forensic Science and joined the College of Science and Engineering in June. Before coming to Flinders University, I worked as a senior case manager for the Biological Sciences Group of the Victoria Police Forensic Services Department for more than 10 years. In this role, I managed major crime cases, which included attending crime scenes and giving evidence in court.

My research areas are studying trace and touch DNA, DNA persistence, prevalence transfer and recovery and bloodstain pattern analysis. I’m also interested in the validation work that looks at the expertise required to provide activity-level assessments and opinions on DNA – and, in particular, DNA transfer.

What journey brought you to this point in your career?

After finishing my undergraduate degree in human genetics and my honours project, on the immune response in mice, at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, I didn’t have any major plans. All I knew was that I wanted to invest more time in research related to human genetics.

Then I heard about forensic DNA research projects conducted at La Trobe University, done in conjunction with Victoria Police. It caught my interest and I embarked on a PhD in forensic genetics.

I built great working relationships with Forensic Services and, after completing my studies, I remained at Victoria Police as a senior case manager. While I loved my job and have learned a lot of practical skills, I missed the teaching and research aspects of an academic career and when an opportunity presented itself I applied for a lecturer position at Flinders.

Can you describe a challenge in your life and how you dealt with it?

I’m originally from Ukraine and made the big move to New Zealand in my final year of high school. I left all my friends behind, and my English skills weren’t great, so it was a difficult experience. I did learn how to be resilient and to not take myself too seriously. I’m now the first one to make fun of my own accent and some of the challenges this presents, such as giving evidence in court.

What is something you are most proud of?

It’s the times when I’ve overcome something that scared me. I had a terrible fear of public speaking, which is not very useful for someone whose job requires giving evidence in court! I found that if you don’t give up, you can overcome most of your fears.

I’m also very proud of my son and how funny, creative and artistic he is – something that is definitely not my strength.

What does a normal day look like for you?

It’s a healthy mixture of teaching and research, both of which I love.

How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?

I’m very new to my job, so much of my spare time is spent working. But generally, I like to read, learn new things and to travel. I do miss my annual trips to Thailand.