Jan Garavaglia

Dr. Jan Carla Garavaglia (born September 14th 1956) is the medical examiner who performs autopsies at the medical examiner's office in Orlando, Florida. She stars in on the Discovery Health Channel.

Early Life and Education

Garavaglia was originally intent upon studying home economics, but was convinced to take science classes. She eventually considered being either a farmer or a doctor, as she felt that those were two careers that would always be needed, though she jokingly commented that "everything I ever touched died."

Garavaglia attended the the the St. Louis University School of Medicine, and originally planned on specializing in internal medicine. But she realized that she disliked the field, and became interested in forensics after hearing a medical examiner speak during medical school.

She completed her fellowship in forensic pathology at the Dade County Medical Examiner's Office. She is certified by the American Board of Pathology in combined anatomic and clinical pathology, and in forensic pathology.

Family

Her husband, Mark R. Wallace, works as a physician.Fact|date=February 2008 She has two children from her first marriage, Alex (b. 1988), and Eric (b. 1994).Fact|date=February 2008

Career

Prior to joining the the Medical Examiner's office in Florida, Dr. Garavaglia worked as a medical examiner at the Bexar County Forensic Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, for 10 years. She also served at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as the clinical assistant professor for the department of pathology, and as a member of the Graduate Faculty Council for the Graduate School of Biomedical Science.

One of the first cases Garavaglia worked on as a medical examiner was The Morning Glory case, in which thirty-six bodies - many in advanced stages of decomposition - were found in a funeral home. After several caskets that the funeral director had buried were exhumed, Garavaglia determined that the director had placed multiple persons in single caskets, and pocketed the money he received.

Dr. Garavaglia is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and is the recipient of the Hidalgo Award, presented by the Bexar County Commissioners Court in Texas for "outstanding work assisting agencies and providing forensic science services during a multi-jurisdictional capital murder investigation."She has also given numerous presentations and lectures at various institutions, and has been published in media such as the Journal of Forensic Sciences and The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.

External links

* [http://health.discovery.com/fansites/drg/drg-fansite.html "Dr. G: Medical Examiner" official site]