Rate My Professor Heather Flowe

Professor Heather Flowe is Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham, joining the institution in 2017. She holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, obtained with support from a National Science Foundation postgraduate studentship award. Previously, she was Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Leicester and Senior Lecturer and Deputy Associate Dean (Enterprise) at Loughborough University. Flowe currently serves as Deputy Head of College for Life and Environmental Sciences, Director of Global Engagement for the College, member of the College Board and University Leadership Group, and Co-Director of the Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing (Victims and Trauma). She is a chartered psychologist.

Flowe's research expertise lies in episodic memory, particularly retrieval processes in legal settings. She develops innovative eyewitness identification methods, including 3D interactive virtual reality lineups, and studies forensic face matching, effects of alcohol and drugs on memory, recall of traumatic events such as rape, investigative interviewing, prosecutorial decisions, and trauma interventions. Her key publications encompass Meyer et al. (2023, PNAS): 'Enabling witnesses to actively explore faces and reinstate study-test pose during a lineup increases discriminability'; Colloff et al. (2021, Scientific Reports): 'Perpetrator pose reinstatement during a lineup test increases discrimination accuracy'; Colloff et al. (2022, American Psychologist): 'Active exploration of faces in police lineups increases discrimination accuracy'; Flowe et al. (2011, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law): 'The role of eyewitness identification evidence in felony case dispositions'; and Mickes et al. (2012): 'Receiver operating characteristic analysis of eyewitness memory: comparing the diagnostic accuracy of simultaneous versus sequential lineups'. With over 3,800 citations on Google Scholar and more than 70 articles published, her work supports UN Sustainable Development Goals including gender equality and justice. Awards include the British Academy Midcareer Fellowship (2019-2020), Edward Shaffer Award (2024), University of Birmingham Impact Prize (2023), and Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (2026). Flowe edits for journals like Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, reviews ESRC/UKRI grants, and trains legal professionals worldwide.