Expertise

Guidance for legal teams on the reliability and limits of scientific and expert evidence, with particular expertise in forensic risk assessment, psychopathy, and personality disorders.

As a forensic epistemologist, I study how scientific knowledge is produced, evaluated, and used in legal settings. I help legal teams assess whether the conclusions an expert presents are supported by the published empirical research. In particular, I assess whether a method or instrument has been validated, how reliable it is in practice, and what its limitations are.

My specialist research concerns forensic risk assessment, psychopathy, and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Over more than a decade, including in my book Psychopathy Unmasked, I have examined the scientific foundations and legal uses of these assessment tools and constructs. I have consulted on cases in North American courts involving psychiatric diagnoses, claims of dangerousness, and treatment prognoses. I review expert reports, prepare written opinions, and can testify as an expert witness. I also give seminars that help legal professionals evaluate scientific evidence and expert testimony.

Talks on science and society, forensic psychology, and epistemology, tailored to courts, bar associations, universities, and public audiences.

With over a decade of experience as a university educator, I give talks and lectures at the intersection of science and society, covering forensic psychology and epistemology. Each presentation is grounded in current research and tailored to its audience, with the aim of fostering critical thinking and dialogue on pressing scientific and social issues.

Ontology development for structuring data in the health and cognitive sciences, grounded in Basic Formal Ontology and OBO Foundry work.

Through my research at the University of Toronto and as an Affiliated Scientist at the National Center for Ontological Research, I have worked on ontology and taxonomy development for data structuring and analysis in the health and cognitive sciences, including projects in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry. I trained in Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) during my PhD at the University at Buffalo, and take on consultancy work case by case.