Dr Katy Hayward is Reader in Sociology and a Fellow of the Senator George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security & Justice at Queen’s University Belfast. She is currently a Senior Fellow for the UK in a Changing Europe for which she is leading a project on 'The Future and Status of Northern Ireland after Brexit', which includes original research on public attitudes, governance, cross-border relations and constitutional debates.

A political sociologist, Katy's teaching and research has covered various aspects of conflict and conflict transformation on the island of Ireland, particularly in light of the impact of EU membership. She is the author of over 200 publications, including The Border into Brexit (2019),  Brexit at the Border (2018) and the co-edited book Dynamics of Political Change in Ireland (2017). Katy has presented widely on the topic of Brexit and Northern Ireland/Ireland to public, policy, media and academic audiences. She has presented written and oral evidence on this subject before civic and policy audiences in the UK and Ireland, EU and United States.