Costanza Alessio is an FLC research analyst and the recipient of FLC’s 2026-27 Legal Psychology Doctoral Fellowship. Ms. Alessio is a doctoral candidate in Legal Psychology at Florida International University. Her research spans investigative interviewing, memory and eyewitness reliability, and legal and courtroom decision-making, with a commitment to addressing real-world problems in criminal and legal investigations – including reducing instances of false memories, improving investigative practices, and supporting survivors of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and Title IX incidents.

Ms. Alessio earned her B.A. in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Florida International University, where she is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. During her undergraduate studies, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Ronald Fisher, gaining foundational research experience investigating episodic memory in eyewitnesses and engaging with cohorts comprising police officers and undergraduate students. Following graduation, she worked as a post-baccalaureate research associate at the University of Miami in the laboratory of Dr. Amishi Jha, where she contributed to federally funded (DoD) research on the effects of mindfulness training on cognitive performance in high-demand populations, including several large-scale federal studies conducted in close collaboration with the U.S. Army. She subsequently joined the laboratory of Dr. Simon Howard, where she helped establish the infrastructure of a newly formed social psychology lab while contributing to research on racial and social perceptions and the experiences of underrepresented communities.

Since joining FIU’s Legal Psychology doctoral program, Ms. Alessio has built a record of research productivity and real-world impact across multiple areas of legal psychology. Her work on Title IX reporting language was adopted by FIU’s Office of Compliance, and she has been awarded competitive funding from the American Psychology-Law Society to extend this research, currently serving as Principal Investigator on a study examining sexual harassment reporting in university employees.

Ms. Alessio has co-authored work published in peer-reviewed journals including Frontiers in Psychology and educational books such as the De Gruyter Handbook of Organizational Conflict Management, with several additional manuscripts currently under review. Ms. Alessio has presented at national and international academic conferences to audiences ranging from academic researchers to military professionals and university compliance offices, and received the 2nd Place Flash Talk Award at the FIU Psychology Department Research Days in 2026.