Tracking, Tracing, and Following the Evidence is All in a Day’s Work for Andrew R. Guajardo, M.D. '13

“Being part of public health, the medical examiner is in a position to discover emerging trends in infection or trying to make changes in broader community health issues,” said Dr. Guajardo. “For example, it can be as simple as we’re noticing a lot of pedestrian accidents in this area of town, we can ask whether there’s a need for a traffic light. That's the kind of simple, real-world impact this work can have.”

Though he didn’t always plan a career in medicine, Dr. Guajardo has always been drawn to the world of forensics. “I like to say I came in before the ‘CSI effect,’ because it wasn’t my favorite show. I didn’t really know about it, honestly,” he said.

Dr. Guajardo received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a major in forensic science and toxicology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. During his undergraduate studies, he grew interested in the medical applications of science, which led him to pursue his medical doctorate at New York Medical College (NYMC).

Having grown up in nearby Ossining, the locality and familiarity of NYMC played a significant role in Dr. Guajardo’s decision to attend the College. However, Dr. Guajardo also had experience with the Westchester Medical Examiner’s forensics division.

“As an intern, I would peek in their morgue out of curiosity to see what cases I could observe, and eventually I did a formal rotation with them,” Dr. Guajardo said.

In his career, Dr. Guajardo has performed approximately 2,000 patient examinations and additionally approximately 1,000 neuropathology exams, which are more specialized than a typical autopsy.

Dr. Guajardo is board-certified in anatomic pathology, neuropathology, and forensic pathology, a rare combination of specialties in his field. But for Dr. Guajardo, rarity isn’t the main appeal; it’s complexity. As a medical examiner, Dr. Guajardo applies his medical training to fields beyond his own, including criminal investigations, public health, law and the judicial system, and even managing grief of his patients’ loved ones.

“One of the most satisfying things is to hear a family say, ‘Thank you for taking care of my son,’ or ‘I appreciate you finding what happened to my mom,’” Dr. Guajardo said. “We provide a service that is really helpful for them in this difficult moment that people don’t really prepare for.”

After graduating from NYMC and completing training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, Dr. Guajardo moved to Utah and joined the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner as an assistant medical examiner in 2019. He was later promoted to deputy medical examiner in 2024. In addition, he served as an adjunct instructor of pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine and as director of the institution's forensic pathology fellowship program. This year, he returned to Dutchess County as chief medical examiner.

Dr. Guajardo sees his new role as an opportunity to incite change and continue to better the practice. One of his greatest interests is educating students. Dr. Guajardo acknowledges that the integration of pathology throughout medical school curriculum is commonplace now, noting that pathology is increasingly woven into various courses, as opposed to having its own program at medical institutions across the country.

“I find that medical students don’t realize that they can go into pathology until it’s too late. They've already decided on specializing in something else,” Dr. Guajardo said. "Because I will tell you, more often than not, I have senior medical students destined for clinical medicine doing a rotation, they come in to see autopsies and they’re like, ‘I wish I knew about this sooner.’”

Dr. Guajardo continues to advocate for increased interest in forensic pathology. “While satisfying, forensics itself can be very difficult. We can potentially see the worst of humanity,” he said. “We really need people to be in the field. We're probably at half the number of forensic pathologists in the country than we really need to adequately serve the country.”