Dr Julio Ponce

Assistant Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

Dr. Julio de Carvalho Ponce is currently an Assistant Professor in Forensic Science at Northumbria University.

He previously worked for 13 years (2009 - 2022) as an Official Criminal Expert in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has held positions as a Crimes Agains Life Field Officer, Forensic Toxicology Lab Analyst, Volume Crimes Field Officer, Biology and Biochemistry (DNA) Lab Analyst and became the Head of the Seized Drug Analysis Laboratory in 2019 (staying at that position until leaving the police force).

He has also published articles on the epidemiology of drug use (especially alcohol and traffic) and the discovery of New Psychoactive Substances in seized materials.

Email Julio

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

I'm currently interested in

- the analysis, detection and monitoring of New Psychoactive Substances in seized (non-biological) and biological matrixes

- epidemiological evaluation of substance use, including analysis of sub-populations, as well as alternative methods for populational evaluation of exposure (wastewater based epidemiology and contaminated surfaces)

- machine learning applied to spectroscopic methods for the identification of New Psychoactive Substances on different substrates

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Classification of commercial inorganic acids used in vitriolage from fibres analysis via FTIR-PCA, Hutchinson, S., Perdue, B., Ponce, J., Railton, J. 14 Nov 2025, In: Forensic Science International
Novel strategies in drug concealment, de Carvalho Ponce, J. 17 May 2024, Cases on Forensic and Criminological Science for Criminal Detection and Avoidance, Hershey. US, IGI Global
The use of prodrugs as drugs of abuse, de Carvalho Ponce, J. 1 May 2024, In: WIREs Forensic Science
The mystery behind the apprehensions of the selective cannabinoid receptor type-2 agonist BZO-HEXOXIZID (MDA-19) as a drug of abuse, de Araujo, K., Fabris, A., Neves Júnior, L., de Carvalho Ponce, J., Soares, A., Costa, J., Yonamine, M. 1 Jan 2023, In: Forensic Toxicology
Detection of cocaine crystals dispersed on non- Erythroxylum herbs, de Carvalho Ponce, J., Neves Junior, L., da Silva, A., Liberatori, L., de Medeiros, P. 1 Mar 2022, In: Forensic Science International
Lucy is back in Brazil with a new dress, Junior, L., Fabris, A., Barbosa, I., de Carvalho Ponce, J., Martins, A., Costa, J., Yonamine, M. 1 Dec 2022, In: Forensic Science International
Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists profile in infused papers seized in Brazilian prisons, Rodrigues, T., Souza, M., de Melo Barbosa, L., de Carvalho Ponce, J., Júnior, L., Yonamine, M., Costa, J. 1 Jan 2022, In: Forensic Toxicology
Determination of the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 and 33 compounds from eight different drug classes in whole blood by LC-MS/MS, Jørgenrud, B., Skadberg, E., de Carvalho Ponce, J., Furuhaugen, H., Berg, T. 1 Jan 2021, In: Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods
Alcohol Consumption and Violent Deaths in the City of Sao Paulo in 2015, Gonçalves, R., de Carvalho Ponce, J., Leyton, V. 3 Aug 2020, In: Substance Use and Misuse
Comparison of traffic data and blood alcohol concentration among fatally injured drivers in Norway and Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2005–2015, Ponce, J., Andreuccetti, G., Gonçalves, R., Gjerde, H., Bogstrand, S., Valen, A., Leyton, V., Carvalho, H. 3 Oct 2019, In: Traffic Injury Prevention