Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome

{{Short description|Scottish forensic anthropologist (born 1961)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = The Baroness Black of Strome

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|LT|DBE|FRS|FRSE|FRAI|FRSB}}

| image = ProfSueBlack2017.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = Photograph of Professor Sue Black

| caption = Black at the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, 2017

| office = Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal

| term_start = 17 May 2021
Life Peerage

| term_end =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| birth_name = Susan Margaret Gunn

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|05|07|df=y}}

| birth_place = Inverness, Scotland

| residence =

| party = None (crossbencher)

| nationality =

| occupation =

| website =

| module = {{Infobox scientist

| embed = yes

| fields = {{Plainlist|

| workplaces = {{Plainlist|

| alma_mater = University of Aberdeen

| thesis_title = Identification from the Human Skeleton

| thesis_url =

| thesis_year = 1986

| awards = {{Plainlist|

Lucy Mair Medal, Royal Anthropological Institute
police commendation for DVI training
Brian Cox Award for Public Engagement, University of Aberdeen (2009)
Stephen Fry Award for Public Engagement with Research, University of Dundee (2012)
Queen's Anniversary Award for Higher Education (2013)
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2014)
25px Life peer }} }}

| honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable

| children = 3

}}

Susan Margaret Black, Baroness Black of Strome ({{née}} Gunn; born 7 May 1961) is a Scottish forensic anthropologist, anatomist and academic.{{Cite web|title=Contact information for Baroness Black of Strome - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4915/contact|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427085351/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4915/contact|archive-date=2021-04-27|access-date=2021-06-05|website=members.parliament.uk|language=en}} She was the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Engagement at Lancaster University{{cite web|title=World-renowned forensic anthropologist joins Lancaster leadership team|url=http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/articles/2018/world-renowned-forensic-anthropologist-joins-lancaster-leadership-team-/|publisher=Lancaster University|access-date=30 January 2018|date=26 January 2018}} and is past President of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.{{Cite web|url=https://www.therai.org.uk/about-the-rai/governance/council|title=Council|website=Royal Anthropological Institute}} From 2003 to 2018 she was Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee. She is President of St John's College, Oxford.{{cite web |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/news/professor-dame-sue-black-appointed-next-president/ |title=Professor Dame Sue Black appointed next President |author= |date=23 July 2021 |website=News |publisher=St John's College, Oxford |access-date=23 July 2021 |quote=}}

She was inducted to the Order of the Thistle in Edinburgh on 3 July 2024.{{Cite web |title=Royal Week 2024 |url=https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2024-07-02/royal-week-2024 |access-date=3 July 2024 |website=Royal UK}}

Early life and education

Susan Margaret Gunn was born on 7 May 1961 in Inverness, Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U45489|title=BLACK, Prof. Susan Margaret (Sue)|format=Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press|date=December 2012|access-date=12 June 2016}}{{subscription required}} She educated at Inverness Royal Academy, a state secondary school in Inverness.{{cite web|title=Professor Sue Black OBE|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5mg3lGX2qnzBrctXkTPfQ9S/professor-sue-black-obe|website=BBC Radio 4 official website|publisher=British Broadcasting Company|access-date=18 January 2015}} She attended the University of Aberdeen where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree with honours in human anatomy in 1982, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree for her thesis on "Identification from the Human Skeleton" in 1986.{{cite web|title=Profile—Prof Sue Black, PhD|url=http://www.academia-net.org/profil/prof-phd-sue-black/1215657|website=AcademiaNet|access-date=19 January 2015}}{{cite AV media |people= Larissa Kennel and Jo Raggett |year= 2013 |title= Interview with Professor Sue Black |url=http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/news/interview-prof-sue-black |access-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118214209/http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/news/interview-prof-sue-black |archive-date=18 January 2015 |location=Dundee, Scotland |publisher=University of Dundee}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYQNW5lGZo Alt URL]

Career and research

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.{{cite web|last1=Bindel|first1=Julie|title=The Bone Detective|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/30/women.gender|website=The Guardian official website|access-date=19 January 2015|location=London|date=30 April 2008}}

Between 1992 and 2003 she undertook contract work variously for UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the United Nations involving the identification of victims and perpetrators of various conflicts. In 1999, she became the lead forensic anthropologist to the British Forensic Team in Kosovo, deployed by the FCO on behalf of the United Nations and later that year deployed to Sierra Leone and Grenada.{{cite book |last1=McDermid |first1=Val |title=Forensics : what bugs, burns, prints, DNA, and more tell us about crime |date=2015 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0802125156 |pages=166–186 }}

In 2003 she undertook two tours to Iraq. In 2005 she participated in the United Kingdom's contribution to the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification operation (jointly led by the Thai and Australian Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams) as part of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami international response.{{cite AV media|people=Amanda Blue|date=14 December 2014|title=After the Wave: Ten years since the Boxing Day Tsunami|medium=DVB|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/12/after-wave-ten-years-boxing-day-tsunami|publisher=Flaming Star Films|id=ISAN 0000-0003-E52D-0000-W-0000-0000-F}}

In 2003 Black was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee.{{cite web|title=The Life Scientific—Sue Black, 25 February 2014|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03w03bb|website=BBC Radio 4|publisher=British Broadcasting Company|access-date=15 January 2015|date=25 February 2014}}{{Scopus|id=22940027400}}{{Cite journal|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20946| title=Sex determination from the occipital condyle: Discriminant function analysis in an Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century British sample|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=138|issue=4|year=2009|last1=Gapert|first1=R.|last2=Black|first2=S.|last3=Last|first3=J.| pages=384–394|pmid=18924165}}{{Cite journal|pmid=16078477|year=2005|last1=Schaefer|first1=M.C.|title=Comparison of ages of epiphyseal union in North American and Bosnian skeletal material|journal=Journal of Forensic Sciences|volume=50|issue=4|pages=777–84|last2=Black|first2=S.M.|doi=10.1520/JFS2004497}}{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00875.x|title=Anthropological Measurement of Lower Limb and Foot Bones Using Multi-Detector Computed Tomography|journal=Journal of Forensic Sciences|year=2008|last1=Robinson|first1=C.|last2=Eisma|first2=R.|last3=Morgan|first3=B.|last4=Jeffery|first4=A.|last5=Graham|first5=E.A.M.|last6=Black|first6=S.|last7=Rutty|first7=G.N.|volume=53|issue=6|pages=1289–1295|pmid=18798776|s2cid=37226316}}{{Cite journal|pmid=16163991|year=2005|last1=Pryde|first1=F.R.|title=Anatomy in Scotland: 20 years of change|journal=Scottish Medical Journal|volume=50|issue=3|pages=96–98|last2=Black|first2=S.M.|doi=10.1177/003693300505000302|s2cid=10820992}} In 2005, she created the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee (CAHID),{{cite web|title=Professor Sue Black|url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/principalsoffice/principalofficers/biographies/professorsueblack/|website=University of Dundee Principal's Office|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=18 January 2015|location=Dundee, Scotland|archive-date=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118201950/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/principalsoffice/principalofficers/biographies/professorsueblack/|url-status=dead}}{{clarify|date=October 2015}} which runs undergraduate courses in forensic anthropology and postgraduate courses in anatomy and advanced forensic anthropology.{{cite web|title=Courses|url=http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/courses|website=Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification official website|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=19 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118204015/http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/courses|archive-date=18 January 2015}} Her department trained the UK National Disaster Victim Identification (UK DVI) team for police and scientists in advanced mortuary practices.{{cite web|title=DVI training|url=http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/courses/cpd-courses/dvi-training|website=Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=19 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118200923/http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/courses/cpd-courses/dvi-training|archive-date=18 January 2015}}

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.{{cite magazine |last1=Benson |first1=Richard |title=To catch a paedophile, you only need to look at their hands |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/sue-black-forensics-hand-markings-paedophiles-rapists |access-date=12 April 2022 |magazine=Wired UK |date=20 September 2017}}

Black was a Director of the Centre for International Forensic Assistance{{cite web | url=http://www.cifa.ac/ | title=Centre for International Forensic Assistance | publisher=CIFA | year=2003 | access-date=16 June 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003083736/http://www.cifa.ac/ | archive-date=3 October 2011 }}{{cite book|author1=Tim Thompson|author2=Sue Black|title=Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2o6iyCnwmDEC&pg=PA384|access-date=18 October 2012|date=14 November 2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-8493-3954-7|pages=384–}} and a founder of the British Association for Human Identification{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.bahid.org/home/about-us/|website=BAHID official website|publisher=British Association for Human Identification|access-date=18 January 2015|quote=In August of 2001 a small group of experts (led by Peter Vanezis the first President of the Association and Sue Black, the first Secretary).}} and the British Association for Forensic Anthropology.

In June 2018, Black left Dundee for Lancaster University, where she had been appointed pro-vice-chancellor for engagement.{{cite web |title=Professor Dame Sue Black OBE leaving |url=https://www.orthopaedics.dundee.ac.uk/news.article.php?id=266 |website=Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery |publisher=University of Dundee |access-date=25 July 2021}}{{cite web |title=University Leadership: Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) |url=https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/leadership/#d.en.399101 |website=Lancaster University |access-date=25 July 2021 |language=en}} On 23 July 2021, it was announced that she had been elected the next President of St John's College, Oxford.

=House of Lords=

In 2021 she was appointed to the House of Lords as a crossbencher life peer.{{Cite web|last=Gleaves|first=Sean|date=2021-04-24|title=Lancaster Professor Dame Sue Black appointed to the House of Lords|url=https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/lancaster-professor-dame-sue-black-appointed-to-the-house-of-lords-3145883|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225114418/https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/lancaster-professor-dame-sue-black-appointed-to-the-house-of-lords-3145883|archive-date=2021-02-25|access-date=2021-06-05|website=Lancashire Post|language=en}} On 26 April 2021, she was created Baroness Black of Strome, of Strome in the County of Ross-shire.{{Cite web|title=Crown Office {{!}} The Gazette|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3792111|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605042733/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3792111|archive-date=2021-06-05|access-date=2021-06-05|website=thegazette.co.uk}}

On 15 June 2021, she made her maiden speech in the Lords during a debate on the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill.{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction= United Kingdom |title= Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL] |url= https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2021-06-15/debates/889AB2D9-A931-49C7-99A7-1B1F30B36B5A/details#contribution-7A102C8A-E4B4-4B4C-91C0-92C9129CF4C3 |house= House of Lords |date= 15 June 2021 |volume= 812 |column_start= 1807 |column_end= 1809 |speaker= Baroness Black of Strome |position=}}

=Media=

Black starred in BBC Two's History Cold Case, which aired two series between 2010 and 2011.{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sbjp7 | title=Ipswich Man | publisher=BBC | work=BBC Two | year=2010 | access-date=16 June 2011}}{{cite web|title=Professor Sue Black|url=http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/staff/sue-black|website=Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification official website|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=18 January 2015|archive-date=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118212620/http://cahid.dundee.ac.uk/staff/sue-black|url-status=dead}} 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{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qj7jd/profiles/professor-sue-black|title="Professor Sue Black OBE" at BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour Power list}} and in 2014 was also subject of The Life Scientific on the same station. In 2014, she appeared in the documentary "After the Wave: Ten years since the Boxing Day Tsunami" examining the forensic response in Thailand to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

In October 2015, Black was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her choices included The Corries, Glenn Miller, Gerry Rafferty, Dire Straits and Cher. Her favourite was "Highland Cathedral" by Lathallan School.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06j0wf3 |title=BBC Radio 4—Desert Island Discs, Professor Sue Black |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=23 October 2015|access-date=31 October 2015}} In July 2018 Black was the guest on BBC's Hard Talk.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct4f6c|title = BBC World News - HARDtalk, Sue Black}}

Black delivered the 2022 series of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, with the title "Secrets of Forensic Science".{{cite web |title=2022 Christmas Lectures|url=https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/secrets-forensic-science |website=Royal Institution |access-date=16 December 2022 |language=en}}

In April 2024 (repeated March 2025) Black contributed to the BBC Radio 3 series Private Passions, outlining the relationship between her life, her work, and the music she enjoys.Radio Times 15-21 March 2025, page 114{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001y2hw|title=Private Passions - Professor Sue Black - BBC Sounds|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}

Personal life

Black married Tom, who attended the same school as she did; they have two daughters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/16173202.professor-dame-sue-black-death-may-best-experience-entire-life/|title=Professor Dame Sue Black on why 'Death may be the best experience of your entire life'|date=21 April 2018|website=The Herald}} Black also has an older daughter from her first marriage to Ian MacLaughlin.

She is patron of a number of charities including Locate International, Escape2Make and Archaeology Scotland.{{cite web |title=Baroness Black of Strome: Experience |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4915/experience |website=members.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=5 September 2024}}

Awards and honours

Black was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2005,{{Cite news|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/sue-black/|title=Professor Dame Sue Black DBE, FRSE—The Royal Society of Edinburgh|work=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|access-date=18 December 2017|language=en-GB}} a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. In 2008 she was awarded the Lucy Mair Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute.{{cite web|title=Lucy Mair Medal Prior Recipients|url=https://therai.org.uk/awards/honours-prior-recipients/lucy-mair-medal-prior-recipients|website=Royal Anthropological Institute official website|publisher=Royal Anthropological Institute|access-date=19 January 2015}} and a police commendation for DVI training. In 2009 she was awarded the University of Aberdeen's Brian Cox Award for Public Engagement.{{cite web|title=Honours and Awards|url=http://www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/awards|website=College of Life Sciences official website|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=19 January 2015}}{{cite web|title=The paradigm shift for UK forensic science—further discussion|url=https://royalsociety.org/events/2015/02/forensic-science-satellite/|website=Royal Society official website|publisher=Royal Society|access-date=19 January 2015}}

Black and her team at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification were awarded the University of Dundee's Stephen Fry Award for Public Engagement with Research in 2012{{cite web|title=Public Engagement Awards|url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/revealingresearch/newsandevents/peawards/stephenfry/|website=University of Dundee official website|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=19 January 2015|date=2014|quote=The Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification were awarded the 2012 Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118201324/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/revealingresearch/newsandevents/peawards/stephenfry/|archive-date=18 January 2015}} and the Queen's Anniversary Award for Higher Education in 2013{{cite web|title=Queen's Anniversary Prize|url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/about/our-reputation/qap/|website=University of Dundee official website|publisher=University of Dundee|access-date=19 January 2015|date=2013}}{{cite web|title=The Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education—Previous Prize Winners|url=http://www.royalanniversarytrust.org.uk/the-prizes/previous-prize-winners |website=The Royal Anniversary Trust official website|publisher=The Royal Anniversary Trust|access-date=19 January 2015|date=2013}} and in May 2014, she was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award for her research into identification from the hand.{{cite web|title=Royal Society announces new round of esteemed Wolfson Research Merit Awards|url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2014/wolfson-merit-awards-may/|website=Royal Society official website|publisher=Royal Society|access-date=19 January 2015|location=London|date=9 May 2014|quote=Professor Sue Black—University of Dundee, The new biometric—your life in your hands}}

In 2001 Black was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to forensic anthropology in Kosovo. She was promoted to Dame Commander of the same Order (DBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to forensic anthropology.{{London Gazette|issue=61608|supp=y|page=B8|date=11 June 2016}}

In 2017 Black was presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine by University of St Andrews for her contribution to science and humanity. She received an honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) from the University of Aberdeen in 2019, at a ceremony in which her daughter graduated in law.{{cite news |title=Aberdeen University graduations: Dame Sue's joy on special occasion |url=https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/aberdeen-university-graduations-dame-sues-joy-on-special-occasion |work=Evening Express |date=19 June 2019}}{{cite news |title=Family delight for law graduate Anna and Dame Sue Black |url=https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/13121/ |date=19 June 2019}} In 2018 her book All That Remains: A Life in Death won the Saltire Book of the Year award.{{cite news |title=Forensic scientist wins book award |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-46407804 |accessdate=3 December 2018 |publisher=BBC News |date=30 November 2018}}

Black features in a larger-than-life portrait by Ken Currie titled Unknown Man which hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/233512 | title=Unknown Man }}

In 2023, Black was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).{{Cite web |title=Sue Black |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/sue-black-13671/ |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=royalsociety.org}}

In 2024, Black was appointed as a Lady of the Order of the Thistle (LT) by King Charles III.{{Cite tweet |author=Majesty Magazine |user=MajestyMagazine |number=1766584836427268227 |title= New appointments to the Order of the Thistle}}{{London Gazette|issue=64354|page=6066|date=26 March 2024}}

Publications

Black has authored and co-authored numerous works including:

1997 Essential Anatomy for Anesthesia (co-author){{cite book|author1=Sue M. Black|author2=W. Alastair Chambers |title=Essential Anatomy for Anesthesia|date=1997|publisher=Churchill Livingstone|location=New York|isbn=9780443050541}}
2000 Developmental Juvenile Osteology (co-author){{cite book|author1=Louise Scheuer|author2=Sue M. Black|title=Developmental Juvenile Osteology|date=2000|publisher=Academic Press|location=San Diego, California|isbn=9780126240009}}
2004 The Juvenile Skeleton (co-author){{cite book|author1=Louise Scheuer|author2=Sue M. Black|title=The Juvenile Skeleton|date=2004|publisher=Elsevier Academic Press|location=London|isbn=9780121028213}}
2009 Juvenile Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual (co-author){{cite book|author1=Maureen Schaefer|author2=Louise Scheuer|author3=Sue M. Black|title=Juvenile Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual|date=2009|publisher=Academic|location=London|isbn=9780123746351}}
2009 "Forensic Anthropology" in Encyclopaedia of Forensic Sciences (co-author){{cite book|author1=Patrick S. Randolph-Quinney|author2=Xanthe Mallett|author3=Sue M. Black|editor1-last=Jamieson|editor1-first=Allan|editor2-last=Moenssens|editor2-first=Andre A.|title=Wiley Encyclopaedia of Forensic Sciences|date=2009|publisher=Wiley|location=Chichester, West Sussex|isbn=9780470018262|chapter=Forensic Anthropology}}
2010 Disaster Victim Identification: The Practitioner's Guide (co-author){{cite book|author1=Sue M. Black|author2=Graham Walker|author3=Lucina Hackman|author4=Clive Brooks|title=Disaster Victim Identification: The Practitioner's Guide|date=2010|publisher=Dundee University Press|location=Dundee|isbn=9781845860363}}
2010 "The Neonatal Ilium—Metaphyseal drivers and neurovascular passengers" in The Anatomical Record (co-author){{cite journal|author1=C. A. Cunningham|author2=S. M. Black|title=The Neonatal Ilium—Metaphyseal drivers and neurovascular passengers|journal=Anatomical Record|date=2010|volume=293|issue=8|pages=1297–1309|doi=10.1002/ar.21182|pmid=20665808|doi-access=free}}
2010 "Applying Virtual ID" in Police Professional (co-author){{cite journal|author1=L. Hackman|author2=Sue M. Black|title=Applying Virtual ID|journal=Police Professional|date=2010|issue=220|pages=16–18}}
2011 Age Estimation in the Living: The Practitioners Guide (co-author){{cite book|author1=Sue M. Black|author2=Anil Aggrawal|author3=Jason Payne-James|title=Age Estimation in the Living: The Practitioners Guide|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc|location=Chichester|isbn=9780470669785}}
2011 Disaster Victim Identification: Experience and Practice (author){{cite book|author1=Sue M. Black|title=Disaster Victim Identification: Experience and Practice|date=2011|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=9781420094121}}
2011 Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010 (co-author){{cite book|author1=Sue M Black|author2=Eilidh Ferguson|title=Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010|date=2011|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=9781439845882}}
2014 "Syrian detainee report" (co-author){{cite web|author1=Desmond de Silva|author2=Geoffrey Nice|author3=David M. Crane|author4=Stuart J Hamilton|author5=Susan Black|author6=Stephen Cole|title=A Report Into the Credibility of Certain Evidence with Regard to Torture and Execution of Persons Incarcerated by the Current Syrian Regime|url=http://www.franceonu.org/IMG/pdf/syria-report-execution-tort.pdf|website=France at the United Nations|publisher=Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York|access-date=18 January 2015|date=2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724051105/http://franceonu.org/IMG/pdf/syria-report-execution-tort.pdf|archive-date=24 July 2014}}
2018 All That Remains: A Life in Death (author){{cite book|author1=Sue M. Black|title=All That Remains: A Life in Death|date=2018|publisher=Doubleday|location=UK|isbn=978-0857524928}}
2020 Written in Bone—Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind (author)[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857526901/ publisher—Doubleday], {{ISBN|978-0857526908}}