Ashraf Mozayani
Professor and Executive Director of Forensic Science Learning Lab
Texas Southern University, United States
Expert in Forensic Toxicology, Pharmacology and Laboratory Management
Ashraf Mozayani, Pharm.D., Ph.D., F-ABFT, is a Professor at Texas Southern University and Executive Director of its Forensic Science Learning Lab. A board-certified forensic toxicologist, she previously served for sixteen years as Laboratory Director and Chief Toxicologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Her expertise spans forensic toxicology, laboratory accreditation, quality assurance, expert testimony, and international forensic laboratory standards. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Toxicology. At MALPRACTICE 2026, she will deliver a keynote on specimen misidentification, reporting errors, and the laboratory director’s role in patient safety.
Biography
Ashraf Mozayani, Pharm.D., Ph.D., F-ABFT, is a Professor at Texas Southern University and Executive Director of its Forensic Science Learning Lab. She is an internationally recognized forensic scientist with extensive experience in forensic toxicology, pharmacology, forensic laboratory management, quality assurance, accreditation, and expert testimony.
Dr. Mozayani received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Tehran and her Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Toxicology from the University of Alberta in Canada. She is a board-certified forensic toxicologist and a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.
Before joining Texas Southern University, Dr. Mozayani spent sixteen years as Laboratory Director and Chief Toxicologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, one of the largest county forensic laboratories in the United States. In this role, she was responsible for major aspects of forensic toxicology and laboratory operations and built testing programs to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. She has also served for many years as an accreditation assessor and inspector and previously held the position of Chief Toxicologist in Washington, D.C.
Her professional career has included leadership roles across forensic and clinical laboratory environments and extensive involvement in laboratory accreditation, quality assurance, forensic consultation, and professional education. She has served as President of the Southwestern Association of Toxicologists and as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. She also served as a member of the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
Dr. Mozayani has extensive courtroom experience and has testified as an expert in forensic toxicology and pharmacology in civil and criminal proceedings in state, federal, and military courts throughout the United States. Her expertise includes postmortem toxicology, drug interactions, drug-facilitated crime, human-performance and behavioral toxicology, impaired driving, workplace toxicology, and the interpretation of alcohol and drugs in forensic and medico-legal contexts.
Her international work has also been a significant part of her career. Dr. Mozayani has advised the U.S. Department of Justice on forensic laboratory standards in more than ten countries, contributing her expertise in laboratory management, toxicology, accreditation, and quality systems to the development and strengthening of forensic services internationally.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and has contributed extensively to forensic science through publications, professional presentations, teaching, and training. She is the author of Forensic Evidence Management from the Crime Scene to the Courtroom, reflecting her longstanding work in evidence management, laboratory practice, and the reliable communication of forensic findings.
At MALPRACTICE 2026, Dr. Mozayani will deliver a keynote addressing specimen misidentification, reporting errors, and the laboratory director’s role in patient safety, bringing a forensic laboratory perspective to the prevention, recognition, and management of errors with potentially serious clinical and medico-legal consequences.