I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Canberra (UC), specialising in criminal psychology. I have worked in the public sector (Justice Department), private sector, NGOs and within university research institutes. I have an emerging track record in high-impact consultancy and contract research producing over 30 academic peer-reviewed publications, 20 Industry papers, and have been awarded over $480,000 in research funding. I have been invited to deliver keynote presentations on my work, in the UK, New Zealand and within Australia.

My current research is in the following areas:

• The investigation and disruption of online child exploitation material            
• Mental wellbeing, resilience and stress management in forensic science and medical practitioners   
• Creating psychological profiles of top performers to inform recruitment, early career and leadership training programs
• Grievance escalation, stalking and tech facilitated abuse

My research has real world impact and involves being embedded within industry. I have considerable experience working successfully in multi-disciplinary teams of practitioners, experts and researchers. The impact of the research findings from the teams I have led, or worked within, have changed sexual assault investigation policy in three states, amended the law in respect of what evidence is sufficient in order to build a prosecution brief for sexual assault in two states, and has advised law enforcement agencies on best practice in the recruitment and early career development training for forensic scientists. I have supervised 4 PhD students to completion at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). I currently supervise 4 PhD students (2 at UC, 2 at UTAS).

Between 2009 to 2015 I worked with the Australian Police Commissioners Advisory Agency and Specialist Forensic and Policing Advisory Groups to unpack effective multidisciplinary working practices and sharing of information between law enforcement, scientific, medical and legal practitioners. The critical decision model created from this work won me a national award from the National Institute of Forensic Science and recognition from the Australian and New Zealand Policing Advisory Commissioners Board. I currently teach this method of critical decision modelling to my students enrolled in the Forensic Psychology Unit I deliver at UC.  

I lecture in my specialist area of Forensic and Criminal Psychology and team teach into a novel case-based applied introductory psychology unit which I developed at UC in 2018.

I was the inaugural President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (Tasmanian Branch) and I am a current member of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. I previously worked as a provisionally registered Psychologist in the Department of Justice in Western Australian, working on prisoner release reviews for the Parole Board, developing and evaluating prison-based group programs for men and women offenders and delivering individual treatment programs for the Offender Programs Branch. 

I have completed two research fellowships: An ARC Postdoctoral fellowship at UTAS, and an NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Western Australia.