Introduction
Barbara Sampson is a forensic pathologist in the United States who has served as the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City since February 2013. She is the first woman to lead the agency since it was created in 1918.
Biography
Sampson joined the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York as a Fellow in Forensic Pathology in 1998. She later served as a Cardiovascular Pathology Consultant, a Senior Medical Examiner, and First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner before being appointed as the Acting Chief Medical Examiner in February 2013 when Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch announced his retirement. She was formally appointed as the Chief Medical Examiner on December 10, 2014.
During the COVID-19 pandemic
Sampson was the Chief Medical Examiner during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Trailers had to be set up for the overflow of dead. The New York National Guard was in charge of helping collect and store bodies of the dead in the trailers, prior to burial.