Director
About me. I am an assistant professor at Carleton University (Department of Psychology) and an adjunct scientist with the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research Institute (IMHR) at the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
After completing my Ph.D. (forensic psychology, Carleton University), I completed a four year postdoctoral fellowship, two years of which was funded by a Banting postdoctoral fellowship (Canadian Institutes of Health Research). My postdoc was with IMHR (Dr. Michael Seto) and the Karolinska Institute Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (KI) in Sweden (Dr. Niklas Långström). After completing my postdoctoral studies, I was a researcher at Public Safety Canada and Parole Board of Canada where I directed research studies in corrections and assisted in initiatives and legislations to promote evidence-base best practices for individuals with criminal histories until my move to Carleton University in 2022.
I have received the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) Early Career Research Award, the John Charles Polanyi Prize (medicine), and the Royal Ottawa’s Inspiration Award (early career researcher) for my research.
Students
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Myles Davidson is a PhD student in forensic psychology. Myles’ research interests include sexual sadism, involuntary celibacy, sextortion, and risk assessment. Previously, Myles completed his MSc in Applied Psychology (Forensics) and his BA (Hons’) in Criminology and Psychology, both at Saint Mary’s University. For his honours thesis, Myles conducted a systematic review of the criminological literature on sexual assault, while his master’s thesis examined consent violations in the context of BDSM communities. |
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Emma Holmes is a Ph.D. candidate in forensic psychology. Emma’s dissertation will examine the validity of a physiological measure of the sexual interest in coercion (penile plethysmography; PPG) among men who have committed a sexual offence. Emma’s dissertation research will help inform models of the sexual interest in coercion, and in applied practices, will allow for more specific and stronger inferences about how PPG results are relevant to reoffending. Emma’s MA thesis investigated a novel model of sibling sexual abuse, which found that factors related to sexual motivation (i.e., atypical sexual interests) were more consistently related to one’s propensity to engage in sibling sexual contact than factors like antisociality or factors related to the proximity between siblings during their upbringing. |
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Emma Holmes accepting her Association for the Treatment & Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) Pre-doctoral Research Grant (2023) valued at 10,433.09$. Research title: Measuring coercive sexual interests: The validity of thematically informed penile plethysmography (PPG) indices. |
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Melissa O’Donaghy is a second-year MA candidate in forensic psychology. For her thesis, she is examining the risk profiles and correlates of child sexual offending among individuals searching for child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) on adult pornographic websites. Other research interests include the measurement of pedophilic interests, risk assessment, and perpetration prevention programs. Melissa is also a research assistant at Public Safety Canada in the Corrections Research Unit. |
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Abiraam Samithamby is a first-year MA student in forensic psychology at Carleton University. His research interests focus on understanding individual and family explanations for father-daughter incest and identifying methods to prevent the use of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) online. For his undergraduate honours thesis at Concordia University, Abiraam conducted an experimental study examining the physiological responses of actors performing narratives of sexual abuse, which inspired his dedication to preventing crimes of sexual violence, particularly against children. |
Past Graduate Students
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Serra Baskurt is completed her MA in forensic psychology in Summer 2024. Serra’s thesis examined the recidivism rates among individuals who commit child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offending through meta-analysis. Serra’s other research interests also include assessment and prediction of sexual violence, mentally disordered offenders, and cognitive distortions. Previously, Serra completed her BA (Hons) degree in Forensic Psychology at Ontario Tech University, where she researched the impact of empathy primary on rape supportive attitudes for those with psychopathic traits. She is now working in the Canadian Border Service Agency. |
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Gabriella Hilkes completed her MA in forensic psychology. For her thesis, she conducted a thematic analysis of the family environments and life circumstances of adolescents who commit sexual offences against their sisters compared to adolescents with sisters but who offend against unrelated females. Gabriella has also gained research experience as a research assistant on the Forensic Research Unit at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. Gabriella is now completing her degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Ottawa. |
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Emma Holmes completed her MA in forensic psychology in Summer 2024. Emma’s thesis involves the examining risk and protective factors for sexual abuse between siblings using a community sample of siblings. Other research interests includes the measurement of sexual coercion. |
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Kimberly Mularczyk completed her Ph.D. specializing in forensic psychology and quantitative methodology at Carleton University in January 2023. Her dissertation centered on the roles of demographic, institutional, parole, and risk-relevant factors on the community reintegration outcomes of individuals serving federal sentences. Kimberly gained three and a half years of federal government experience working as a Research Assistant at the Parole Board of Canada in the Performance Measurement and Research Section, as well as at Public Safety Canada in the Corrections Research Unit. Kimberly is now working in provincial government as a Senior Research Analyst at BC Corrections in Victoria, BC. |