Dr Johnson’s research focuses on irregular migration and asylum seekers, border security, and the practices of resistance, solidarity and protest of non-citizens. She is interested in developing new understandings of mobility and non-citizenship, and particularly in new methods for engaging with these issues.

Heather also writes about visual representations of refugees, particularly through a gender studies lens. Heather’s major current project is about irregular migration in the maritime space, funded through the ESRC Future Research Leaders scheme.