The Wayne County Commission has approved the appointment of LokMan Sung, M.D., as the new chief medical examiner for Wayne County.

The appointment of Dr. Sung, who has served as interim chief medical examiner of the office since September 2022, was announced jointly by Wayne County and the Wayne State University School of Medicine, which has administered the office since October 2022.

“We are pleased to make this appointment,” said Warren C. Evans, Wayne County executive. “Dr. Sung’s commitment to excellence, his dedication to forensic pathology and his compassion for the people and families he serves are traits that we value –traits that uphold the tenets of our justice system.”

“Dr. Sung is a consummate professional and we are fortunate to have him in this role,” said Wael Sakr, M.D., dean of the WSU School of Medicine. “He has overseen the rapid, tremendous improvement in staff, facilities and services necessary to a medical examiner’s office with the size and scope of Wayne County’s, and the residents served by the office should know he is among the nation’s best forensic pathologists.”

With the appointment, effective Nov. 21, Dr. Sung will continue to manage the day-to-day responsibilities he held as interim chief medical examiner, working in collaboration with Division Director Charli Erica Rose. He has served the office in several capacities since joining in 2008, including as deputy chief medical examiner, physician autopsy room supervisor and physician information technology supervisor. He graduated from the WSU School of Medicine in 2003 and remains a clinical associate professor of Pathology with the school.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office provides critical services to the families of Wayne County,” Dr. Sung said. “My goal is to continue providing those services with the highest professional standards, and the greatest compassion and respect the residents of our community deserve while we continue to improve.”

Oct. 1, 2024, marked the completion of the second year of a five-year contract under which the WSU School of Medicine oversees operations of the Medical Examiner’s Office. Since the start of the agreement, key operational improvements have included:

• Decreasing turnaround time for cremation permits from 95 days to less than six days.

• Decreasing turnaround time for a death certificate from 45 days to an average of 33 days.

• Decreasing response time for an investigator to arrive on scene from two hours to an average of 20 minutes.

• A 33% increase in the recruitment of forensic pathologists and a 150% increase in the recruitment of medical examiner investigators, as well as filling all other open positions.

• The addition of social workers from the university’s School of Social Work to assist grieving families.

Established in 1926, the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office ranks fourth in the U.S. by volume of deaths and autopsies conducted. More than 18,000 deaths are reported to the office each year and about 3,500 decedents are accepted into the office for further investigation. Another core function of the office is the timely and efficient processing of the more than 14,000 cremation authorizations a year. The office is staffed by board-certified forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists, odontologists, pathologist assistants, lab personnel, medical examiner investigators, autopsy technicians, forensic photographers and administrative team members.

“The medical examiner plays a critical role for families experiencing loss in our county. We are fortunate to have Dr. Sung leading the charge at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office,” said Abdul El-Sayed, M.D., Wayne County health director and director of Health, Human, and Veterans Services. “The Medical Examiner’s Office is a lynchpin for public health in the county—and our partnership with a world-renowned medical school like Wayne State University has allowed us to improve our understanding of the challenges facing public health both in Wayne County and across the country.”