Forensic dentist Dr Jane Taylor has been honoured with an Australian Federal Police Operations Medal for her work identifying victims of the Bali bombing in 2002 and the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand in 2004.

Dr Taylor, a senior lecturer in oral health at the University's Central Coast campus, said she was honoured to have her contribution acknowledged in this way.

A world-leading expert in the field of forensic dentistry, Dr Taylor was last year called to be part of the massive medical effort to identify victims of the most devastating natural disaster in Australia, the Victorian bushfires.

"This work is challenging and heartbreaking, but nothing compared to what victims and their families have been through," Dr Taylor said. "Families need confirmation of the death of their loved ones to start the process of trying to cope with what has happened."