Katie's research centres on forced migration, labour law and the welfare state. She hold's a PhD from Northumbria University which was awarded in 2015. She has worked on two external research projects for the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Both projects centred on the State's compliance with human rights obligations with particular focus on welfare reform and the immigration detention of children.

Katie has presented her research at national and international conferences and has contributed to journals such as the Industrial Law Journal, Economy and Society, and the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Katie’s new research project focuses on the political economy of state organised forms of work including prison labour, workfare, community payback and labour within immigration detention.

In addition to co-editing the inter-disciplinary 'Futures of Work' blog, Katie is a trustee for the Bristol City of Sanctuary charity and a working group member for the Sanctuary Scholarships team at the University of Bristol.