VCU Health toxicologist who was topic expert on “Snapped” dies at 71

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Alphonse Poklis, M.D.
Alphonse Poklis, M.D.

Alphonse Poklis, M.D., a VCU Health toxicologist known for his love of family, and an expertise so astute he was consulted on a murder case that appeared on the crime drama “Snapped,” died Sept. 3. He was 71.

Poklis joined the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Pathology in 1987 and was director of its toxicology laboratory at the time of his death. Poklis also taught forensic toxicology courses for undergraduate and graduate students while serving as director of the Core Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the VCU School of Medicine. Poklis received his undergraduate degree in Pharmacy in 1969 and earned a Ph.D. in Forensic Toxicology in 1974. Both degrees were from the University of Maryland.

He is remembered as well-rounded and wise.

“We would talk toxicology, Dante, Grateful Dead, the origins of religion, topics in world history and Woody Allen all in one sitting,” said Susan Roseff, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Pathology. “Dr. Poklis was a force unto himself and a leading expert known worldwide in toxicology. A master storyteller, he was also respected for his work as an expert witness, being able to engage the jury and present his opinion for everyone to understand.”

Poklis provided expert testimony in a nationally publicized trial that accused a woman of poisoning her husband, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, to cash in on his insurance policy. In 2007, Cindy Sommer was convicted of her husband’s murder, but after serving two years in jail her sentence was overturned because no arsenic poisoning was found in her dead spouse’s tissues.

Poklis regularly consulted and lectured on toxicology issues for many organizations, including the FBI Academy, College of American Pathologists and the U.S. Department of Justice. Starting in 2005, he served as a governor’s appointee to the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. He has contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and was a member and past president of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and past chairman of the toxicology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. In 1998, the academy honored him for his, “outstanding contributions in the field and profession of forensic toxicology.”

Close associates describe Poklis as a passionate teacher who lived for fishing and hunting with his children and grandchildren, so much so that he had a “Gone Fishin’” sign on his office door.

“He was more than a boss, he was a friend, a colleague and my mentor for my Ph.D.” said Carl Wolf, Ph.D., forensic toxicology and specialty testing lab supervisor in the VCU Department of Pathology. “He was a dedicated person with a worldly view of what was happening not only in the toxicology field but also all over the globe.”

“Dr. Poklis truly enjoyed life and is one of the most well-read, well-informed people I've ever met,” Roseff said. “For his big heart, humanity and joie de vivre, his memory will live on.”

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph, Mount St. Joseph Convent, 9701 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19118.

 

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