Amy-May Leach

Dr. Amy-May Leach is a Professor of Forensic Psychology and Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at Ontario Tech University. She holds a PhD in Social Psychology from Queen’s University and brings unique applied experience from her prior role as a Canada Border Services Agency officer, which informs her research on forensic interviewing and decision-making.

• MA, Developmental Psychology, Queen's University (2002)
• PhD, Social Psychology, Queen's University (2006)

Dr. Leach’s research centers on deception detection in forensic contexts, particularly focusing on vulnerable populations such as children and non-native speakers. Her work explores how language proficiency, interpreter presence, cognitive load, and cultural factors affect lie detection accuracy and bias. She also investigates wrongful convictions, eyewitness memory, and confessions and interrogations. Her interdisciplinary research bridges social, cognitive, and developmental psychology with legal applications.

Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on linguistic and cognitive factors in deception, including studies on non-native speakers, veiled witnesses, and gaze behavior in child interviews. The recurring themes include observer bias, the impact of language barriers, and the use of cognitive load techniques to detect deception.

Dr. Leach has received competitive research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the American Psychology-Law Society. Her grants support projects on language proficiency and testimony, coercion assessment, and deception in concealed witnesses.

• SSHRC Insight Grant (2018)
• SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2016, 2011)
• SSHRC Standard Research Grant (2011)
• AP-LS Grant-in-Aid (2010)

She actively supervises graduate students at both the Master’s and PhD levels, mentoring research on interpreter use, cognitive load, and deception cues in multilingual interviews. Her leadership extends to academic administration as Associate Dean, where she supports research, innovation, and graduate education. She leads thelieLab.com, a research group dedicated to understanding deception in real-world forensic settings.