Recipients of the Order of B.C. are recognized for their community service, contributions in their respective fields, and work in sports, the sciences and arts
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It’s hard for Gail Anderson to believe that her childhood fascination with insects has led to her investiture as a recipient of British Columbia’s highest honour, the Order of B.C.
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Anderson, Canada’s first academic forensic entomologist and developer of the world’s first comprehensive database of insects, is one of 12 remarkable British Columbians whose appointments to the Order of B.C. were announced on Monday.
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Anderson, a professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University, and co-director of the Centre for Forensic Research, has been a trailblazer in the field of forensic entomology, the use of insects in criminal investigations, and the use of forensic science in court.
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“It’s amazing,” said Anderson of the honour. “I’m not from Canada originally. This is the province and country that I chose, and that I love.”
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Anderson fell in love with B.C. when she came on a visit from England at the age of 17. No one in her family had been to university before, and she was unsure of what she wanted to do. In exchange for airfare to visit family in Canada during a gap year, she promised her parents that she would apply to university and give it a shot.
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Anderson spent five months on the beach in White Rock, and fell in love with B.C. She returned to the U.K., but promised herself she would be back.
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That promise was fulfilled when she returned to do a master’s degree at SFU, studying insects that cause diseases. During the course of her studies, she created a cure for “sweet itch”, or the hypersensitivity to Culicoides bites in horses.
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Although her research was groundbreaking, and she was an expert in the field, there was no employment in veterinary insect research of that kind.
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“It didn’t go anywhere,” said Anderson, who recalled the lack of opportunity after so much study “heartbreaking.”
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When another professor at SFU approached her to ask if she was interested in forensic entomology — the study of insects to aid in criminal investigations, including determining length of time of death — she wasn’t sure. “I said it sounded a little gross.”
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What she discovered, however, was work that mattered. “I had always wanted to do something that was useful. When I’m working on a case, my work matters. It might help convict or exonerate someone. It was wonderful to be able to do something that was really practical.”
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Her work is now globally recognized, and she has been honoured with the Award for Achievement in Forensic Life Sciences (Biology) presented by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the dean’s medal for academic excellence at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Burnaby Mountain Endowed Professorship.
