Dr Kate Spence's research focuses on the built environment and material culture of Ancient Egypt and Sudan. The majority of her work has dealt with New Kingdom Egyptian material, particularly that of the late Eighteenth Dynasty.

She is currently engaged in a field project at Sesebi, Northern Sudan, co-directed with Dr Pamela Rose of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo. The site is a New Kingdom Egyptian colonial walled town with a large temple, housing a community dedicated at least in part to mining. She is also in the process of writing up fieldwork on the North Palace at Amarna.