Laura Donato is an italian Forensic Anthropologist.
She graduted from “La Sapienza” University of Rome on the Science Applied to Diagnosis and Preservation of Cultural Heritage Course with biology specialization. Her training in physical anthropology began to practice for five years at the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology at the Luigi Pigorini Prehistoric Ethnografic Museum in Rome.
She attended several training in Forensic Sciences at Ra. Se. T. Formation centre, the “Accademia Internazionale di Scienze Forensi” in Rome and at LABANOF (Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense), Forensic Pathology Section, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Milan. She attended an intership of 9 monthes at the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology of the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, mastering the extraction, amplification and sequencing of ancient and modern DNA under the supervision of professor Olga Rickards. From 2014 to 2017 she deepened her knowledrge in Forensic Pathology as an internship at the Departmental Section of Legal Medicine at the University “La Sapienza” of Rome. She pursuited autopsy room activities and devoting herself to the study of unidentified bodies and skeletal remains. From october 2016 to october 2018 she was researcher of Forensic Anthropology at the Section of Forensic Pathology, Depatment of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Parma, Italy. In 2013 she was entered in the Register of Assessors of the Rome Criminal Court. She attended as speaker wih poster and oral presentations at many coferences: Symposium of the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM) in 2016, American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) in 2016, 2017, 2020, and at 24th National Conference of Forensic Science and 7th International Congress of Criminal Experties, Florianopolis, (Brazil).
In 2019 she attended the Museum Support Center of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, United States, as voluntary resercher under the supervision of Professor Douglas H. Ubelaker and Professor David Hunt.
As for her devotion to the study of unknown human remanins, she attended first and second level training on Forensic Facial Reconstruction at Visual Forensic in Strasburg and in 2019 a Forensic Imaging training held by forensic artists of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at the Homeland Security Centre in Fairfax, United States. In 2020 she attended an internship at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, United States as to improve her skills in forensic imaging, photographic manipulation techniques, facial reconstruction techniques, adult age progression and photo repair.