Dr. Jasmine Drake is reappointed to Texas Forensic Science Commission
October 29, 2020
A Texas Southern University professor and faculty research fellow at the Center for Justice Research, Dr. Jasmine Drake, has been reappointed to the Texas Forensic Science Commission. She was first appointed to the commission in 2016. The commission also oversees Texas crime labs and entities that use forensic sciences in criminal proceedings. The commission also has an accreditation mandate, where it is responsible for establishing procedures, policies, and practices to improve the quality of forensic analyses conducted in Texas.
The term expires Sept. 1, 2022.
Dr. Drake is an associate professor in the Administration of Justice Department at TSU. As a research fellow with CJR, Dr. Drake conducts evidence-based research on drug policies that disproportionately impact minority communities and collaborates with researchers and students.
Dr. Drake has over a decade of experience in forensic science and has served as a Governor-appointed commissioner on the Texas Forensic Science Commission since 2016. A native of Baton Rouge, La., Dr. Drake obtained her Bachelors of Science Degree from Southern University and later obtained her Doctorate in Chemistry from Louisiana State University. Upon the completion of her graduate studies, Dr. Drake received a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from the National Research Council to work for over 3 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for neutron research in Gaithersburg, MD.
After completing her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Drake worked as a forensic chemist for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) South Central Laboratory in Dallas, TX. Prior to joining CJR and TSU, Dr. Drake worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Tx.
Dr. Drake is one of the inaugural fellows for the Fellowship of the Future with 500 Women Scientists. The fellowship helped her create a CSI-themed summer science training academy at the Texas Southern University Forensic Science Learning Laboratory, with the intent of getting more Black girls interested in science, math, technology and engineering professions.
Gov. Abbott also reappointed Patrick Buzzini, Ph.D., Bruce Budowle, Ph.D., and Nancy Downing, Ph.D. to the commission.