Laura J. Shepherd is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor of International Relations in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia. Laura’s primary research focuses on the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda. She has written extensively on the formulation of UNSCR1325 and subsequent Women, Peace and Security resolutions, and her research engages the motifs of participation and protection that characterise debates about women, peace and security in global politics. Laura has recently concluded a research project investigating logics of gender and space in UN peacebuilding discourse and is currently working on a research project examining advocacy around, and implementation of, the Women, Peace and Security agenda at global, national, and local levels. Both projects received funding from the Australian Research Council (DP130100707 and DP160100212 respectively). Laura's Future Fellowship research investigates the relationship between the Women, Peace and Security agenda and efforts to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism in Australia, Sweden, and the UK (FT170100037). 

Together with Dr Paul Kirby, Laura convened 'Women, Peace and Security Post-2015: concepts, criticisms and challenges', a workshop for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, activists and advocates which took place at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security in March 2016. Laura and Paul are editors of the Women, Peace and Security Working Paper Series, which publishes reseach findings, academic arguments, position papers and policy briefs on topics related to the Women, Peace and Security agenda.