Kathryn joined the University in 2009 where she is now Senior Lecturer in Criminology, and member of the Applied Criminology and Policing Centre (APPC) and Quantitative Research Methods Training Unit (QRM-TU). Kathryn is nearing completion of a part-time PhD, which uses EEG to examine the relationship between psychopathy, intelligence and emotional responding.

Prior to joining the University, Kathryn was awarded a first class honors degree in BSc Psychology and an MSc in Forensic Psychology, as well as conducting research in prisons on behalf of the Offender Management Service (NOMS). This cumulated in an interest in the application of Psychology to criminal justice contexts, particularly in terms of understanding the impact of parental imprisonment on children and families. In this regard, Kathryn was involved in the EU FP7 funded study ‘Children of Prisoners, Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health (COPING)’ and the NHS funded project ‘Constructive Connections: Building Resilience of Families Affected by the Justice System’. Kathryn has also conducted an evaluation of the National Offenders’ Families Helpline and assisted Barnardo’s with the development of a quality assurance tool for research and evidence concerning children of offenders.  

Other research interests include the emotional and cognitive effects of investigations into suspicious child deaths, and a recent piece of collaborative research titled 'Dealing with the Unthinkable: A Study of the Cognitive and Emotional Stress of Adult and Child Homicide Investigations on Police Investigators', was awarded the Wayman Mullins best journal article of the year award (2017) by the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology.