Who is Niki?
Niki has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Otago, titled “Did you find what you were looking for?” The effect of context on the interpretation of forensic evidence.
The experience she gained applying psychology research to the interpretation of fingerprint and bitemark evidence led her to a job at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), where she was able to transfer these skills to the interpretation of bloodstain pattern evidence.
Niki continued this research at the University of California Irvine where she focused on understanding the decision-making processes of forensic experts to improve reliability and reduce cognitive bias in evidence interpretation, evaluation, and presentation.
Her current work has her splitting time between New Zealand and the United States as a contractor to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Niki considers herself an ambitious and motivated research scientist with a passion for understanding justice and legal-system issues and directly contributing to safer justice outcomes. She has a natural ability to network with a variety of criminal justice partners to recognize and connect research ideas and projects with the needs of the end-user.
But it’s not all bias and bloodstains, Niki is also a marriage celebrant, actress, and has appeared on The Block NZ and The Bachelor NZ.
She is constantly looking for opportunities to apply her skills and life experience in new and innovative ways, so please get in touch to see how she can help!
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Collaboration - Research - Expert Witness - Teaching - Mentoring
