Marla Fiorelli, a forensic biologist with the Illinois State Police in Chicago, conducts the laboratory work that can put a suspect behind bars-or set him free.

"Forensics is definitely a big-city business," she says. In a city like Chicago, police departments never have to worry about a shortage of work. Cases ranging from burglary, to sexual assault, to homicide keep Fiorelli busy every day.

Fiorelli came to Kenyon intent on studying biochemistry and piano and then continuing into medical school. She lost her interest in pursuing medicine but found an interest in forensics. She found her current job after earning a master's degree in forensic science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Forensic testing, Fiorelli says, is not a glamorous job. "Every once in a while, something will come across your desk that you can't cope with," she says, noting that even a technician with the strongest stomach might be unable to handle insects, decomposing bodies, rank odors, stray hairs, or bodily waste.

Investigators collect all available evidence at the crime scene and return it to the crime lab, where Fiorelli and other scientists "weed through evidence to find what's important." She has handled evidence from a wide range of crimes, including some well-known cases that have made headlines around Chicago.

"They've had enough faith in me to put me on higher-profile cases under some public scrutiny," she says.