Founded in 1999 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine is a provider of education, training, and research. The Institute's purpose is to strengthen and improve the administration of justice by educating forensic scientists, forensic pathologists, law enforcement, legal professionals, medical professionals, and the public. The institute was founded with a grant from novelist Patricia Cornwell, creator of the fictional medical examiner Kay Scarpetta.