MissRachel Watkins

The Australian legal system requires intimate partner violence survivors to recall distinctive information unique to specific occurrences when pressing charges or seeking an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO). This requirement can be challenging given the often repeated nature of abuse. Given the typical lack of corroborating evidence in cases of abuse, understanding the strengths, limitations, influencing factors and effective interviewing techniques of adult memory for repeated events is an important area of study and the focus of my PhD. I work with my supervisors and fellow PhD students as a member of the Forensic Memory Laboratory

Broadening my understanding of memory I have also been working with the Mind Your Nose project team  who are focused on early detection of cognitive decline and dementia, with a particular focus on the role of olfactory processes. As a reserach assistant I have conducted immediate and one month post intervention data collection consisting of olfactory, memory and cognitive assessments.