Dr Gifkins is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. She is a founding member of APR2P and remains affiliated in an honorary capacity. 

Her research interests are international organisations, UN Security Council decision making and R2P. She has been published widely on R2P and her article 'Libya and the State of Intervention', co-authored with Professor Tim Dunne, is ranked among the 'most read' articles in the Australian Journal of International Affairs.