Elizabeth Loftus Keynote Speaker

Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science and Law
Cognitive Psychologist
Expert on Human Memory

Elizabeth Loftus's Biography

Prof. Elizabeth Loftus is one of the nation’s leading experts on memory. She has served as an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of cases, including the McMartin preschool molestation case, the trial of Oliver North, the trial of the officers accused in the Rodney King beating, and litigation involving Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, and the Duke University lacrosse players.

Loftus’s groundbreaking research has demonstrated the malleability of memory, fundamentally changing the understanding of eyewitness testimony, false memories, the misinformation effect, and the mechanisms of forgetting. Her work has had a profound influence on criminal justice and forensic psychology, altering the course of legal history by revealing that memory is not only unreliable but also mutable.

Since the 1970s, Loftus has produced an extensive body of scholarly work and has appeared as an expert witness in hundreds of courtrooms, helping to shape the cases of defendants facing criminal charges based on eyewitness testimony and challenging “recovered memory” theories, as detailed in her book The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse (with Katherine Ketcham).

Her pioneering contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the UCI Medal (2012), UC Irvine’s highest distinction for groundbreaking memory research; the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology (2013); an Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences from Goldsmiths, University of London (2015); the John Maddox Prize for Standing Up for Science (2016); and the Western Psychological Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2018).

She helps leaders and organisations understand how memory influences decision-making, eyewitness testimony and human behaviour, challenging long-held assumptions about how we remember the past.
She translates decades of groundbreaking psychological research into practical insights, helping audiences understand false memories, cognitive bias and the reliability of human recollection.
She combines world-leading academic research with extensive courtroom experience, offering a unique perspective shaped by decades as an expert witness in many of the world’s most high-profile legal cases.
As one of the world’s foremost memory researchers, her pioneering work on false memories and eyewitness testimony has transformed forensic psychology, influenced criminal justice systems and reshaped our understanding of human memory.
Her thought-provoking keynotes equip audiences with practical insights into memory, perception and decision-making, helping them think more critically about how beliefs are formed and how evidence should be evaluated.