Current ILab Graduate Students:
Roberto Calero
Roberto Calero is a second year doctoral student in the ILab. He received his B.A. in Psychology with a focus in behavior analysis from FIU. He and his family are from Nicaragua. His research interests are on improving interviewing and evidence-gathering techniques and understanding community perceptions of Police Use of Force incidents.
Jaquelin Perez
Jaquelin Perez is a first year student in the ILab. She has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso and is interested in researching how cultural and social influences shape victimization and offending behavior. She will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Kenny and Dr. Schreiber Compo in the MAST and I-LAB. Through the ASCP program, Jaquelin wants to gain valuable research experience and expand her professional network.
Kaylee Dinwiddie
Kaylee is a first year student in the ILab. She earned her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Crime and Delinquency studies from Emporia State University in 2023 and her M.S. in Experimental Psychology with a focus in Law from Emporia State University in 2025. Her primary research interests are eyewitness memory, misinformation transfer, police interviewing, and legal decision-making. Outside of research, Kaylee enjoys listening to her vinyl record collection, spending time outdoors, and reading.
Current Undergraduate Research Assistants
Fabiana Moran (ILab Manager)
Fabiana Moran is working on a BA in Psychology with a minor in environmental science and certificate in agroecology from FIU. Her research interest includes investigation techniques, climate changes, victim advocacy, impact on pollinators, and soil health.
Athena Filias
Athena Filias is an Undergraduate student at Florida International University. She is currently working on her bachelors degree in Psychology. She loves researching all areas of psychology and her goal is to get accepted into a graduates program to get her PhD in Neuropsychology.
Cadmiel Gonzalez
Zobeida Gonzalez
Laura Cairo
Maria Granados
Current and Former Postdoctoral Scholars
Michelle Pena, Ph.D.
Dr. Michelle Pena is a Senior Trial Consultant at Focus Litigation Consulting facilitating pre-trial research projects for both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state court cases across the country.
https://focuslitigation.com/consultants/michelle-pena/
Angelica Hagsand, Ph.D.
Dr. Hagsand is an Associate Professor and a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where she is a member of the research units Criminal, Legal, and Investigative Psychology (CLIP) and Addiction Psychology: Experimental and Clinical research (APEC), and the Center for Education and Research on Addiction (CERA). Her research interest concerns both the acute effects of alcohol on memory and behavior, especially in a eyewitness context, but also factors involved in long-term alcohol dependence (e.g., genes, psychobiological factors, signal substances, the reward pathway in the brain).
Dr. Hagsand was awarded a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship by the prestigious Swedish Research Council. In collaboration with our Investigative Investigative lab, she examined the importance of system variables in alcohol’s effect on witnesses memory and how the legal system views those witnesses.
https://www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/angelicahagsand
Former Graduate Students
Haley Dawson, Ph.D.
Dr. Dawson is an Assistant Professor at Tennessee Tech University and a Legal Psychology Researcher with expertise in applying cognitive and social psychological principles to create a more fair and equitable justice system.
Maria Sparacino, Ph.D.
Dr. Sparacino is a trial consultant at Jurysync Litigation Consulting. There, Maria draws on her background in legal psychology to analyze how jurors process evidence, form impressions, and respond to case narratives.
https://www.jurysync.com/team/maria-sparacino-2/
Devon LaBat, Ph.D.
Dr. Devon LaBat is an Associate Litigation Consultant at Blueprint Trial Consulting.
Dr. LaBat is a legal psychologist whose research focuses on the complex cognitive and social psychological processes that impact legal decision making and the justice system. In particular, Dr. LaBat’s research has centered on studying how jurors understand testimony and evidence and creating interventions to improve their understanding. In her graduate research, she conducted research related to the impact of jury instructions, juror gender, and expert gender on jury verdicts as well as topics related to forensic science.
Dr. LaBat graduated with her doctorate degree in legal psychology from Florida International University. Her dissertation evaluated interventions to bolster attorneys’ knowledge and evaluations of forensic science testimony. She also earned a Master of Science degree in psychology from Florida International University after completing her thesis related to the effects of jury instructions on jurors’ perspective-taking and decision making in police excessive use of force case. She received her Bachelor of Science in psychology and criminal justice from Iowa State University.
Victoria Carlson
Dr. Sparacino is a trial consultant at Jurysync Litigation Consulting. Victoria employs her expertise in legal psychology and research in investigative interviewing and deception detection to ask strategic questions that elucidate juror perceptions and decision-making.
https://www.jurysync.com/team/victoria-carlson/
Andrea Wolfs, Ph.D.
Dr. Wolfs is an Instructional Assistant Professor at Chapman University. She earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Psychology and Law from Maastricht University and earned her Ph.D. at FIU in the summer of 2021. Her research interests are eyewitness interviewing.
Danielle Sneyd, Ph.D.
Dr. Danielle Sneyd is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She earned her B.A. from Roger Williams University in 2014 where she double majored in Psychology and Criminal Justice, her M.A. in Cognitive and Social Processes in 2016 from Ball State University, and her Ph.D. in Legal Psychology in 2020 from Florida International University.
Christopher Altman, Ph.D.
Dr. Chris Altman is a Senior User Experience (UX) Researcher at doxy.me, a simple, free, and secure telemedicine solution. Designed with health care in mind, doxy.me is a HIPAA-compliant telecommunications platform that’s easy for patients and providers to use. It enables health care organizations to provide virtual care that’s easily accessible to everyone, everywhere, on any device.
Dana Hirn Muller, Ph.D.
Dr. Hirn Mueller is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Online Program Chair at Concordia University-St. Paul. Her research interests include investigative interviewing and exploring ways in which legal psychology research can positively impact the practices of law enforcement investigators.
https://www.csp.edu/person/dana-hirn-mueller-phd/
Jillian Rivard, Ph.D.
Jillian Rivard is a Senior Research Analyst for the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Department in the Center for Teaching and Excellence at Western University of Health Sciences. She coordinate research activities for IPE initiatives, including curriculum improvement efforts, summarizing student-centered outcomes of IPE success, and preparing reports for internal distribution and external publication. Dr. Rivard’s research interests include the cognitive and social factors influencing child and adult witness/victim memory and decision-making in the context of criminal investigations.
Jenna Kieckhaefer, Ph.D.
Dr. Kieckhaefer is an associate professor of forensic behavioral science in the criminology department at California State University, Fresno. Her research examines the application of psychology to the criminal justice system. Dr. Kieckhaefer is particularly interested in the effects of building rapport with eyewitnesses on memory accuracy and suggestibility, lineup decision making and the effects of rapport on gathering sensitive information. Prior to starting at Fresno she received an ORISE post-doctoral research fellowship with the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). While with the FBI Dr. Kieckhaefer helped further the NCAVC’s research mission by assisting the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) 2 on several projects examining threats, including the Institutions of Higher Education Targeted Violence Study.
http://www.fresnostate.edu/socialsciences/criminology/faculty/kieckhaefer.html
Rolando N. Carol, Ph.D.
Dr. Carol is a professor of psychology at Auburn University Montgomery. His research interests include investigative interviewing of adult and child witnesses, identification decision making, and cognitive and contextual factors that affect eyewitness memory. He enjoys short walks on the beach and is convinced that astrology is bogus.
https://www.aum.edu/directory/rolando-carol/?printinfo=1
Shari Schwartz, Ph.D.
Dr. Shari Schwartz is program chair for the Bachelor of Arts in Social and Criminal Justice and the Master of Science in Criminal Justice programs at Ashford University. She earned a Doctorate in Legal Psychology from Florida International University, a Master of Science in Psychology from Florida International University, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Schwartz has worked as a death penalty mitigation psychologist, victim outreach specialist, jury consultant, and is a frequently invited guest lecturer at trainings and conferences worldwide on issues pertaining to the criminal justice system. She teaches a variety of online criminal justice courses at UAGC and believes that students who may not normally speak up in a traditional classroom setting have the opportunity to participate more with web-based learning. She encourages prospective and current students to never let anyone else define the limits of their success. In fact, she pursued her own terminal degree after a professor once told her she was too old to do so. She says, “My favorite thing about teaching is sharing my knowledge but also having the students share their knowledge and insight with me. The exchange of ideas enlightens and enriches those who listen to and participate in the dialogue. I believe I share the responsibility with my students for ensuring they have a positive learning experience.” Dr. Schwartz lives in South Beach Miami, FL.
Jacqueline R. Evans, Ph.D.
Dr. Evans is a Professor of Psychology at Florida International University and a faculty member of the Legal Psychology Doctoral Program.
https://evanslab.wixsite.com/triiiad
Amy Hyman Gregory Ph.D.
Amy Hyman Gregory is an associate teaching professor and undergraduate program director in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice within the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. She holds a Ph.D. in Legal Psychology from Florida International University, an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University-State University of New York (SUNY). Her research interests include investigative interviewing techniques, police note-taking, and report writing, eyewitness memory, and identification procedures, and decision-making in criminal and civil cases. She has authored/co-authored manuscripts in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied; the Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling; Legal and Criminological Psychology; and Psychology, Crime, and Law. She has made presentations at numerous conferences including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychology-Law Society, the American Society of Criminology, and the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
https://ccj.fiu.edu/people/faculty/amy-hyman-gregory/index.html
Jon P. Vallano, Ph.D.
I am an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg, where I conduct research on jury decision-making, investigative interviewing, and eyewitness identification. In addition to my scholarly interests, I also serve as a trial consultant for attorneys by helping them prepare cases for trial. At Pitt-Greensburg, I teach the following courses: Legal Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, and Research Methods.
http://greensburg.pitt.edu/people/jonathan-p-vallano-phd