MEET OUR TEAM!!
Principal Investigator, Dr. Caroline Erentzen, LLB/PhD
Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. I study the intersection of psychology and law and the way that social identities influence the risk of violence and victimization. Prior to pursing an academic career path in psychology, I obtained a law degree and practiced as a lawyer at the Ontario bar (2007-2019).
Graduate students
Sarah Martin, BA, MA
Sarah is a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Erentzen. Her research interests include the stigmatizing consequences of being falsely accused of child sexual abuse, and how offence stigma may affect the presumption of innocence. She completed her BA in Psychology at York University, and her MA at TMU with Dr. Erentzen. Personal interests include the history of psychology, the history of crime, Indigenous culture, and the study of religion
Raquelle Martinez, BA
Raquelle is a Master's student working under the supervision of Dr. Erentzen. She graduated from Queen's University with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Sociology, having done her Honours thesis on cross-cultural differences in communication. her research interests include wrongful convictions, race and prejudice, and how invoking the right to silence may affect blame attributions in wrongful conviction cases. Personal interests include health, fitness, crime, and prejudice in policing.
Hannah Fitzgerald, BA
Hannah is a Master's student working under the supervision of Dr. Erentzen. She is interested in researching the intersections of socioeconomic status, credibility, and sexual violence. She graduated from Brock University with a BA in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice, completing an Honours thesis on psychopathic traits and adaptive self-presentation. She worked as an RA researching the factors that make a young person more suitable for informal diversion from lawyers' perspectives. Her personal interests include forensic films and literature, geography, and travel.
Caroline Devenny, BA
Caroline is a Master's student working under the supervision of Dr. Erentzen. She graduated from Queen's University with an Hons BA in Psychology, completing an undergraduate thesis on the impact of motion and change type on change blindness. She is interested in studying the factors that influence jury decision making, including the presence of incentivized witnesses and accomplices and the role of the socioeconomic status of the defendant and accuser. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, baking, dance, travel, and musical theatre.
Undergraduate thesis students
Keelan Hughes
Keelan is a fourth year undergraduate student at TMU, pursuing his honours thesis with Dr. Erentzen. His research focuses on conceptions of masculinity within male-dominated sports and how personal affiliation and identification with sports may moderate perceptions of sexual violence claims against male athletes. He has also been a research assistant with the PLJ lab for over a year and completed an independent study project. His academic interests include social psychology, mental health, and the intersection of psychology and law. He hopes to pursue graduate studies in the future.
Zoe Cruver
Zoe is a fourth year student pursuing her honours thesis in the PLJ lab. Her thesis will examine the role of cognitive biases and forensic science errors as a factor contributing to wrongful convictions through a detailed examination of the National Registry of Exonerations. Zoe has volunteered with the PLJ lab as a research assistant investigating bystander apathy in the context of hate crimes.
Sophia Di Manno
Sophia is a fourth year student pursuing her honours thesis with the PLJ lab. Her thesis will investigate juvenile false confessions and the factors that distinguish these adult cases. She will examine the National Registry of Exoneration database to identify common risk factors observed among juvenile innocent accused persons. Sophia completed an independent study with the PLJ lab on adolescent male experiences with intimate partner violence and assisted a project investigating environmental/green interventions for incarcerated persons.
FORMer students
FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS
Joey Vong, MA 2025. Joey completed her Master’s degree with the PLJ lab, investigating identity gatekeeping experiences of racialized queer women. She will be pursuing education in occupational therapy to support unique communities.
FORMER UNDERGRADUATE THESIS STUDENTS
Danielle Castelhano, BA thesis 2025. Danielle’s thesis focused on perceptions of stranger sexual harassment. She won a URO grant to continue the project in the summer of 2025, and continued on as lab manager for the 2025-26 year. She is pursuing her Masters degree at the University of Toronto in Fall, 2026.
Serena Powell, BA thesis 2026. Serena’s thesis investigated racialized adultification of kidfluencers online, including the role of observer race. She won a USRA grant to continue the project for the summer of 2026.
Daniela Zelenkova, BA thesis 2026. Daniela’s thesis investigated the stigmatizing effects of real and false criminal accusations on job applicants. She continued this work following her graduation in 2026.
Kanika Lekhi, BA thesis 2025. Kanika’s thesis focused on the effects of an incentivized witness on jury decision making and the role of corroborating evidence. She aspires to pursue graduate studies in psychology.
Megan Zambri, BA thesis 2025. Megan’s thesis investigated the moral foundations of prejudice vs acceptance of transwomen. She is pursuing post-grad education in behavioral sciences.
Nabeeha Mahmood, BA thesis 2025. Nabeeha’s thesis investigated the role of religious prejudice in jury members and potential ways to effectively screen biased jurors. She is pursuing legal education and a future career as a lawyer.
Bianca Cusimano, BA thesis 2024. Bianca’s thesis investigated the role of observer gender in perceptions of stranger sexual harassment, building on an independent project conducted the year prior. Bianca is now attending teacher’s college.
Ayse Makarnaci, thesis 2024. Ayse’s thesis investigated gendered perceptions of online stranger sexual harassment . She also completed an independent study with the lab and won a URO grant to work with the lab in the summer of 2024. She is pursuing graduate studies in forensic psychology in the UK.
FORMER PROJECT STUDENTS
Elena Kaldis, project student, 2026. Elena’s assisted with a systematic review of adolescent male experiences with dating violence, focusing on gay and bisexual male populations.
Ann-Marie Paris, project student, 2025. Ann-Marie ‘s project involved a systematic review of literature on adolescent male dating violence. As an RA, she also assisted with coding for studies on stranger sexual harassment and moral prejudice.
Miriam Rachlis, project student, 2025. Miriam assisted with updating and coding data from the National Registry of Exonerations pertaining to persons wrongfully convicted of child abuse, where her legal expertise was invaluable.
Juliana Cocuzzo, project student, 2024. Juliana’s project investigated incentivized witnesses as a factor contributing to wrongful convictions, where she assisted with development of study materials. She is pursuing legal studies.
Tatiana Kilislian, project student, 2024. Tatiana assisted with coding a database of known exonerations from child sexual abuse related to the National Registry of Exonerations. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.
FORMER RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Yusuf Ghauri, RA 2025. Sana Yusuf assisted with a social media scrape looking at differences in how men versus women discuss the concept of false rape allegations. He is pursuing his graduate studies in clinical psychology at TMU.
Emma Russo, RA 2026. Emma assisted with several projects, including a review of the national registry of exonerations and a summary of Canadian case law pertaining to Vetrovec jury cautions. She is pursuing legal studies.
Ashley Maharaj, RA 2025. Ashley assisted in coding the National Registry of Exonerations database cases pertaining to false accusations of child abuse. She will be pursuing graduate studies in child psychology at Western University in Fall, 2026.
Geovanna Kaspowicz, RA 2025. Geovanna assisted with data analysis for a large scale project investigating sexual harassment experiences of queer and racial minority men and women.
Jessrusty Montemayor, RA 2024. Jessrusty assisted with a review of Canadian case law involving the use of Vetrovec jury cautions, bringing unique expertise as a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Sana Mohammed, RA 2025. Sana assisted with a coding qualitative data on how men and women perceive incidents of stranger sexual harassment.