In 1987, she was appointed a
lecturer in Anatomy at
St Thomas' Hospital, London, which started her career in
forensic anthropology, serving in this role until 1992. Between 1992 and 2003, she undertook contract work variously for the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the
United Nations involving the identification of victims and perpetrators of various conflicts. In 2003, she undertook two tours to
Iraq. In 2003, Black was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the
University of Dundee. In 2005, she created the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee (CAHID), which runs undergraduate courses in forensic anthropology and postgraduate courses in anatomy and advanced forensic anthropology. Her department trained the UK National Disaster Victim Identification (UK DVI) team for police and scientists in advanced mortuary practices. Black has been an innovator in developing techniques and building databases to confirm or disconfirm someone's identity based on photographs of their hands or arms. This technique has become important for the prosecution of
paedophiles, who often take and share photographs of their actions. In 2009, Black used vein pattern analysis to confirm the identity of a suspected child abuser, who then pleaded guilty. It was the first time that the technique was used in a criminal conviction. Black was a Director of the Centre for International Forensic Assistance and a founder of the British Association for Human Identification and the British Association for Forensic Anthropology. On 23 July 2021, it was announced that she had been elected the next President of
St John's College, Oxford. On 26 April 2021, she was created
Baroness Black of Strome,
of Strome in the County of Ross-shire. On 15 June 2021, she made her
maiden speech in the Lords during a debate on the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill.
Media Black starred in
BBC Two's
History Cold Case, which aired two series between 2010 and 2011. In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the UK by
BBC Radio 4's ''
Woman's Hour and in 2014 was also subject of The Life Scientific'' on the same station. In July 2018, Black was the guest on the BBC's
Hard Talk. Black delivered the 2022 series of
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, with the title "Secrets of Forensic Science". In April 2024 (repeated March 2025), Black contributed to the BBC Radio 3 series
Private Passions, outlining the relationship among her life, her work, and the music she enjoys. == Personal life ==