Lauren A. Mason is a research scientist, writer, and higher education consultant. She deems her journey to becoming an experimental cognitive psychologist as serendipitous, as she remembers her first conscious thoughts as a child inquired about whether or not other people had the same thoughts that she did.​

 

A California native, much of her childhood was spent moving and attending new schools. Despite her unconventional upbringing, Lauren found solace in the academic setting. Her research over the past decade has embraced an integrative and multidisciplinary approach to understanding and enhancing student success outcomes. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Holistic Health from San Francisco State University. During this time, she discovered her love for scientific research while investigating the cognitive and psychophysiological underpinnings of performance optimization in educational settings. She continued her research career at Tufts University, where she earned a Master of Science and PhD in Experimental Psychology.

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Currently, Lauren is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Education Research and Opportunity Center (ERO), where she leads mixed methods analyses on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), workforce automation, and postsecondary career education. In her role, Lauren also facilitates a networked improvement community of Tennessee postsecondary career education stakeholders focused on building equitable and AI-resilient career education pipelines.

 

​In addition to conducting research, Lauren is passionate about encouraging authenticity in academia to 1) promote approachability for first-generation college students considering postgraduate education, and 2) highlight strategies for current graduate students to overcome academic hurdles and thrive. In her role as an education consultant, Lauren helps aspiring students prepare graduate school application materials. She also guides current students on developing presentations they are confident in and writing manuscripts that earn publication. Lauren shares insights from her academic journey and lifestyle on Instagram and YouTube.

 

In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, cooking, and spending time with her fiancé, Sam, and rescue dog, Frannie.