FASE 2026 is honoured to welcome two internationally recognizd experts in forensic sciences as our keynote speakers. Discover their professional backgrounds and learn more about the experience and expertise they will bring to this year's symposium.
University Of The Witwatersrand, School Of Biomedical Sciences
Johannesburg, South Africa
Presentation:
Reflection on Forensic Anthropology
Practice: A Profile of 500 Cases from South Africa
Maryna Steyn is a Biological Anthropologist who qualified as a medical doctor in 1983. She joined the University of Pretoria in 1988 and obtained a PhD in 1994.
She was employed as head of school (Anatomical Sciences) at the University of the Witwatersrand (2015-2020) and was then the director of the Human Variation and Identification Research Unit (HVIRU) until her retirement end 2024.
Maryna’s research focuses on human remains from archaeological and forensic contexts.
She consulted to the SAPS (police) and Forensic Pathologists on skeletonized human remains found in forensic contexts (where she completed about 500 forensic anthropological case reports) and in this capacity serves/served on the boards of two international professional associations.
She is a past president of both the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA) and the International Association for Craniofacial Identification (IACI).
Maryna’s research on archaeological remains focuses on health of past populations, and she has a specific interest in skeletal manifestations of disease.
She has published more than 180 scientific papers and several book chapters, as well as a co-authored book.
Medical University of Pleven, Bulgaria
Presentation:
Forensic Imaging and CSI/DVI
Dr Yanko G. Kolev, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the District Hospital of Gabrovo, Bulgaria, an Associated Professor and senior lecturer of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Pleven, and a national consultant of forensic medicine at the Bulgarian Ministry of Health. He is a specialist in forensic medicine (forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine) and medical imaging (radiology).
Dr. Kolev's practice areas include forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine (since 1998), forensic anthropology, forensic entomology, crime scene investigation (CSI), forensic imaging and radiology, 3D imaging and reconstruction, alternate light sources (ALS), DVI, medico-legal investigation, and expert-witnessing. He is a lecturer at the National Institute of Justice, Bulgaria, and gives lectures on diverse forensic subjects, including forensic entomology, CSI, postmortem CT, forensic and 3D imaging at the National Forensic Sciences University in India, as well as in Italy, China, Turkey, Greece, Uzbekistan, Croatia, South Korea, Mexico, Sri Lanka and other countries.
He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals, including Forensic Sciences Research, the Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences, Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine, Turkish Journal of Forensic Medicine and the Zagazig Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.
Dr. Kolev is a member of the Presidential Council of International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS), a delegate from Bulgaria to the European Council of Legal and Forensic Medicine (ECLFM), member of the Executive Board of the International Society of Forensic Radiology and Imaging (ISFRI), member of the Executive Committee of the Indo-Pacific Association of Law, Medicine and Science (INPALMS), honorary Fellow of the Sri Lanka College of Legal Medicine. He is also the secretary and a member of the executive board of the Bulgarian Association of Forensic Medicine and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM), the European Association of Forensic Anthropology (FASE), and the European Association for Forensic Entomology (EAFE).
Dr. Kolev has received several national and international awards. He has been the president of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) since November 2023 till May 2026.He is the newly elected President of the Balkan Academy of Forensic Sciences (BAFS).