REVIEW Sudden and unexpected death in early life: proceedings of a symposium in honor of Dr. Henry F. Krous Hannah C. Kinney • Torleiv O. Rognum • Eugene E. Nattie • Gabriel G. Haddad • Bruce Hyma • Betty McEntire • David S. Paterson • Laura Crandall • Roger W. Byard Accepted: 4 August 2012 / Published online: 1 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Reported here are the proceedings of a sym- posium given in honor of Dr. Henry F. Krous upon his retirement as Clinical Professor of Pathology and Pediat- rics at the University of California Schools of Medicine, and as Director of the San Diego SIDS/SUDC Research Project. Dr. Krous’ distinguished 37-year-career was ded- icated to research into sudden unexpected death in infancy and childhood, notably the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). The presentations were given at the International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS, and infant survival on October 5, 2012, in Baltimore, MD, USA. Eight colleagues of Dr. Krous whose own professional careers were touched by his efforts discussed forensic issues related to SIDS, tissue banking, animal models in SIDS, brainstem studies in SIDS, genetic studies in SIDS, establishment of a SUDC registry, neuropathologic research in SUDC, and potential shared mechanisms underlying sudden and unexpected death in early life. The wide scope of the presentations crossed the disciplines of forensic pathology, pediatric pathology, neuropathology, neuroscience, physiology, genetics, and bereavement, and attest to Dr. Krous’ far- reaching influence upon SIDS and SUDC research. Keywords Autopsy protocol Á Brainstem Á Death scene investigation Á Hypoxia Á Serotonin Á Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) Á Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) Introduction This article is a composite of presentations given in honor of Dr. Henry F. Krous upon his retirement as Clinical Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics at the University of California Schools of Medicine, and as Director of the San H. C. Kinney (&) Á D. S. Paterson Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Enders Building 1112, Boston, MA 02115, USA e-mail: Hannah.kinney@childrens.harvard.edu T. O. Rognum Department of Forensic Pathology and Clinical Forensic Medicine, The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway E. E. Nattie Department of Physiology, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA G. G. Haddad Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA B. Hyma Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department, Miami, FL, USA B. McEntire The American SIDS Institute, Naples, FL, USA L. Crandall SUDC Program, CJ Foundation for SIDS, Hackensack, NJ, USA R. W. Byard Department of Pathology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia 123 Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2012) 8:414–425 DOI 10.1007/s12024-012-9376-4