PhD student presents poster at leading criminology conference in Athens

PhD student at the Medical School, Berkem Dikengil, recently had the opportunity to present his research titled ‘The Brain on the Witness Stand’ at the 25th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (ESC) in Athens, Greece.

The annual conference of ESC is one of Europe’s most prominent gatherings for criminologists and professionals in related fields. It brings together criminologists, academics, practitioners, and policymakers to engage in meaningful discussions and share their work on various aspects of criminology, criminal justice, and related social sciences.

This year, the event, which attracted over 2,200 participants, focused on the theme ‘Logos of Crime and Punishment’.

Dikengil’s poster titled ‘The Brain on the Witness Stand: Investigating Implicit Memory Recall in Crime Witnesses’, presented his research, which aims to determine whether electroencephalograms and heart rate variability – and their coupling – detect implicit recognition of crime-related stimuli in eyewitnesses over time, complementing explicit reports.

Dikengil, who is pursuing a PhD in Medical Sciences said: ‘Attending the European Society of Criminology Conference as a first-year PhD student was a great honour. I had the opportunity to attend and  share my preliminary research with a global audience. Presenting at such an early stage in my academic career was exciting, challenging, and one of the most rewarding experiences so far. It strengthened my confidence, expanded my network, and reinforced the value of sharing ideas early in one’s academic journey’.