Roger Byard


Roger William Byard is an Australian forensic pathologist, academic and medical researcher. He is an emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Adelaide and a Senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist at Forensic Science South Australia. His research has focused on sudden infant death and forensic pathology. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2025 for eminent service to medicine, forensic pathology and tertiary education.

Early life and education

Byard was born in Hobart, Tasmania and he grew up in the town of Wynyard, in north-west Tasmania.
He studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medical Science in 1978. His postgraduate clinical training included aeromedical work with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the Northern Territory, and he trained in family practice and pathology in Canada, qualifying as a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada in 1982.
He also holds advanced degrees: a Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Science from the University of Tasmania.

Academic and professional career

After qualifying as a general practitioner in Canada, he returned to Australia. In 1985 while working as a hospital registrar, he developed an interest in forensics when he was tasked with performing his first autopsy.
Byard served as the George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide from 2006 until he retired in July 2023, when he was appointed emeritus professor by the university's Council.
He has been a Senior Specialist Forensic Pathologist with Forensic Science South Australia since 1998, and he has visiting academic positions, including as visiting professor at the University of Belgrade and as professorial fellow at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.
He has been editor-in-chief of the international journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology since 2008.

Research

Byard's principal research has looked into sudden infant and early childhood death, particularly sudden infant death syndrome, and he contributed to defining risk factors and preventive approaches which are used internationally. His research has also investigated accidental deaths, histologic methods for dating injuries, and markers for freshwater drowning.
His SIDS research built on the epidemiological investigations of the paediatrician Susan Beale, to establish the links between babies sleeping on their fronts and sudden death. In 1991, he co-chaired a scientific review meeting with Fiona Stanley to address the issue. In the 1990s and 2000s, he collaborated with Harvard University to identify a neuropeptide chemical called "Substance P" which occurs in five areas of the brainstem. This chemical helps to control the response to low oxygen levels and head and neck movement. This chemical was lacking in some infants, meaning that babies with low oxygen levels to the brain were not able to lift their heads, contributing to SIDS cases in infants who sleep face-down.

Well-known cases

In addition to his academic research, he has worked with forensic teams in Australia and internationally. This started during his first week on call as a resident, when the police Major Crimes unit requested that he assist with examining human remains which had been found in barrels, in what came to be known as the “Snowtown murders”. He assisted with victim identification efforts following the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. He has also been called to act as an expert witness and a proponent in judicial systems, including as an expert witness in the re-trial of Sally Clark in the UK - she had been convicted in 1999 of killing her two children. The original conviction was based on the opinion of a paediatrician who claimed that a double cot death would only occur once every hundred years. Byard's analysis showed that significant information had been missed, and that infection was involved in the babies' deaths. Clark's convictions were overturned in 2003.

Published works

Byard has published extensively, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and textbooks. The specific number of publications is given differently by different sources., Researchgate lists 1,378 publications by Byard.
Meanwhile, Scopus lists 1,150 publications and calculates an h-index of 56, while ORCID lists 846 publications of his.
He also co-hosted his own true-crime podcast, Guardians of the Dead, in conjunction with The Advertiser and the University of Adelaide.
His published books include:

  • Honours and recognition

Byard's honours include: