Heather is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Birmingham (UoB), UK. She researches episodic memory, particularly memory for traumatic events, such as sexual offences, using both experimental and applied approaches.
Most of her work focuses on memory retrieval in police interviews and line-ups. She develops memory enhancing, broad reach, low-cost procedures (eg 3D interactive line-ups) that are integrated into legal systems around the world.
In 2019, she received a British Academy Midcareer Fellowship Award to study memory reporting in rape. Heather leads UoB’s Gender Equality Theme at the Institute for Global Innovation, is Co-Director of the Centre for Crime, Justice, and Policing, is the Director of Global Engagement for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, and is a member of the UoB executive. She is PI for three UKRI networks, including the Rights for Time Research Network, which supports interdisciplinary research on humanitarian protection challenges, the UK-South Korea Eyewitness Memory Network, and the UN Rights for Time Peace and Trust Network.
Heather is a member of the ESRC Grant Assessment Panel (Panel A), and an Academic Advisor to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, among other roles.