Dr. Ann Burgess

Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess is a pioneer and leader in forensic nursing and victimology whose work transformed how the world understands sexual violence. Her groundbreaking research shifted the view of rape from a sexual act to a crime of power and control, coining the term "Rape Trauma Syndrome" and establishing the scientific framework for understanding victim psychology — now recognized as the foundation of modern forensic psychology.

A Professor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at Boston College's Connell School of Nursing and professor emerita at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Burgess has personally interviewed both victims of sexual assault and violent serial offenders. Her collaboration with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit produced actionable criminal profiling tools still in use today, an unprecedented partnership that inspired the Netflix series Mindhunter.

Dr. Burgess actively supports the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), advancing victim services, specialized forensic training for clinicians, and DNA testing to identify offenders. Named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing in 2016, she remains one of the most decorated and influential figures in forensic science.

Dr. Burgess is the author of numerous influential works, including Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives (co-authored with Robert Ressler and John Douglas), the Crime Classification Manual, A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind (2021), and her most recent book, Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance (2025). Her publications have been instrumental in bringing behavioral science into mainstream law enforcement practice.

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