The Medusa Analytical Team
The Medusa Analytical network is a consortium of highly credentialed scientific experts crafted through years of collaborative research, peer-reviewed academic publications, consulting opportunities, and cooperative industrial efforts. Our company is a team of colleagues that have worked cooperatively on high level research making it easy to find the perfect expert witness to suit your needs. Medusa Analytical is unlike other expert witness firms as we are the scientists and NOT A REFERRAL FIRM that sends you several “best fit” options from which to choose. While the Medusa Analytical team is extensive, these are our primary decision makers.
Zacariah Hildenbrand, Ph.D.
Zacariah L. Hildenbrand is the Chief Science Officer of Infinity Water Solutions, a partner of Medusa Analytical, a director of the Curtis Mathes Corporation, and is an Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Hildenbrand’s research has produced more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and textbook chapters. Dr. Hildenbrand has provided expert testimony to various state and federal legislatures, and he has dedicated his career to unconventional fields of research.
A former collegiate golfer at The University of Texas El Paso, he stayed to complete his Ph.D. in Biochemistry before a post-doctoral fellowship at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. When he is not busy with his young family, he remains an avid golfer and is always looking for a new course or challenging opponent.
Kevin A. Schug, Ph.D.
Kevin A. Schug is a partner of Medusa Analytical. He is Professor and Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas Arlington (UTA). He is also co-founder and Director of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) at UTA. Dr. Schug received his B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1998 from the College of William & Mary, and his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Virginia Tech in
2002 under the supervision of Prof. Harold M. McNair. From 2003-2005, he performed post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lindner at the University of Vienna in Austria.
His research has spanned biological, biochemical, clinical, energy and environmental, flavor and fragrance, food science, forensic, pharmaceutical, and natural products analytical determinations. Dr. Schug has served as an expert witness in numerous forensics, environmental, and patent legal cases. He also served as an expert in litigation associated with oil and gas waste characterization and recycling technologies. Most recently, he was named again to The Analytical Scientist magazine’s “Power List” that names the top 100 most influential analytical scientists in the world. In his spare time, Dr. Schug enjoys home renovation, cheering on his three sons, and smoking various hunks of meat.
Danielle Schug
Danielle Schug is the third partner in Medusa Analytical and is responsible for the administrative, organizational, and marketing aspects of the partnership. A 1999 graduate from the College of William & Mary, she has a background in finance that evolved into business development, conference organization, and the operations associated with hosting large-scale meetings. Typically the initial point of contact for Medusa Analytical, Dani has never met a stranger, loves indulging her family, and likes to spend any free time outdoors watching sports, walking her dogs, or pretending to garden.
Melissa Giguere, DFS
Melissa Giguere recently joined the Medusa Analytical team as an Independent Consultant. Most recently, she spent over ten years conducting forensic bench and data analysis on medical examiner and human performance cases. She also participated in internal audits of the ISO 17025 standard and gained significant experience in method validation and development. Before her forensic career, she spent thirteen years in various roles in law enforcement. She received her B.S. in Biology in 2003 and a Masters in Industrial Chemistry in 2013, both from The University of North Texas. In 2023, she was awarded a Doctor of Forensic Science from Oklahoma State University. In her limited free time, Melissa relishes spending time with friends and family and occasionally has the opportunity to do some crafting, especially making custom cups.
Jonathan Thacker, Ph.D.
Jonathan Thacker is an Independent Consultant at Medusa Analytical. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in 2013 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UTA in 2018 under the supervision of Dr. Kevin A. Schug. He was then appointed to two post-doctoral fellowships at The University of Michigan under the supervision of Dr. Subramaniam Pennathur from 2018-2020 and at UTA under the joint supervision of Dr. Kevin A. Schug and Dr. Morteza G. Khaledi from 2020-2021. He is currently a Senior Scientist at Abbott Laboratories.
His research topics have included the analysis of contaminants in groundwater and wastewater, sugar profiling in hard ciders, targeted metabolomics, and protein analysis. In 2019, he was an invited speaker in the Emerging Leaders in Separation Science session at Pittcon, the world’s largest annual conference for laboratory science. In his free time, Dr. Thacker enjoys spending time with his family and playing chess.
Ed Westerfield, M.D.
Dr. Westerfield is an Independent Consultant for Medusa Analytical. He completed his medical degree from UT Southwestern Medical Center and now has 35 years of active practice as an Anesthesiologist which includes over 25 years in trauma medicine. His expertise includes pain treatment and management in addition to dealing with addiction and polypharmacy. Dr. Westerfield has multiple publications focusing on cannabis and opiates and is available for consultation and expert witness testimony. Besides his medical degree, he also holds an MBA from San Diego State University.
