Katie Maras

Dr Katie Maras is a Lecturer in Psychology and Deputy Director (Public Engagement) for the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at Bath. Her research takes a theoretically informed applied approach, rooted largely in memory and cognition, to enhance understanding of the issues that autistic individuals face in important real life contexts such as the Criminal Justice System,healthcare consultations, and employment interviews. For example, a current focus of Katie’s research is on how the unique profile of socio-cognitive strengths and weaknesses in autism affects recall in police interviews, and how adaptations to current practice can be made to support this. She is also interested in how metacognitive support can facilitate learning in educational contexts.

After completing a PhD at City University London in 2011 exploring eyewitness testimony by autistic witnesses, Katie was awarded a one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship grant by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to extend this work at Royal Holloway, University of London. She moved to Bath in 2013 as Prize Fellow in Psychology, before becoming a Lecturer in 2015. She was recently awarded an ESRC ‘Future Research Leaders’ grant to create guidance for professional groups when interviewing autistic adults. Katie is also running a BA/Leverhulme-funded research project testing how executive-related difficulties in maintaining processing priorities in autism may be ameliorated in order to produce better recall in police interviews.