As part of the China practice, Lauren analyzes China's macroeconomic and financial policies, including those related to trade, property, industry, financial markets, and monetary and fiscal issues. She was previously an associate director and China analyst at Rhodium Group, advising financial market, corporate, government, and think tank clients. She contributed to several in-depth research projects related to China's economy, including the China Economic Risk Matrix (with the Center for Strategic and International Studies) and a series of studies for the US Chamber of Commerce looking at the costs of US-China economic decoupling. Prior to that, Lauren helped inform China policymaking for US congress as an economic and trade policy analyst on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Lauren received a master's degree in international economics and international relations with a China studies concentration from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a graduate degree from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. She holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and Chinese from the University of Virginia. A native Virginian newly based in Philadelphia, Lauren is exploring the city one cheesesteak at a time.