Ciara Fitzpatrick is a Researcher and Lecturer at Ulster University School of Law and the Social Justice Institute. Her primary area of interest is social security law and social justice. Her current research focuses on intersections between gender and the administration of social security benefits, specifically Universal Credit (UC) main income replacement benefit in Great Britain. Ciara is also interested in co-production and will work with a group of parents from across the four nations of the United Kingdom to understand how claimants navigate and experience devolved social security and to what extend they are aware of differences across the four nations of the UK. This work forms part of a large +£1m grant from the Nuffield Foundation. Ciara's research also explores the historic and contemporary treatment in the law of people who are in destitution. Ciara has founded the All-Island Social Security Network (AISSN) - "A network bringing together researchers to imagine a new future for social security on the island of Ireland." 

Alongside academic endevours, Ciara is also a committed social justice advocate and campaigner. She is currently an academic adviser to the Cliff Edge Coalition, which is pushing for a strengthened social security system in Northern Ireland. She is on the Board of the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network, Northern Ireland Rural Women's Network and the Ardoyne Association (a welfare rights organisation). She sits on a Ulster University Working Group, led by the Dean of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Professor Ian Montgomery. She is a frequent commentator on issues of poverty and social security on the local media.