DrLauren Gardner

Dr Lauren Gardner is an internationally recognised researcher leader whose work has shaped policy, practice and prevention initiatives addressing youth vaping, substance use, and mental health. Her expertise is frequently sought by governments, health agencies and education bodies, regularly providing advice via invited consultations and parliamentary inquiries, particularly in relation to youth vaping prevention and adolescent health. She serves on multiple national and international advisory committees and plays a key role in translating evidence-based prevention programs into policy and practice settings globally.

Lauren has also made substantial contributions to the scholarly community through editorial leadership, and peer review for major international funding schemes, including NHMRC Investigator Grants, Wellcome Discovery Awards, the Health Research Board of Ireland, and the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases review panel, and leading international journals including The Lancet group, Addiction, Nicotine & Tobacco Research and Journal of Adolescent Health. She has also contributed extensively to mentoring and research capacity-building through leadership of PhD mentoring initiatives, grant development workshops, HDR student reviews and professional development programs for emerging researchers.

Her commitment to research excellence and impact has been recognised through 28 awards and honours, including the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Societal Impact in Science, the 2025 Society for Mental Health Research Helen Christensen Medal for Breakthrough Research, and the 2024 NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award. Her work has achieved significant public reach, generating extensive national and international media coverage to >43M people worldwide and influencing policy documents across 10 countries, including reports from the World Health Organization, OECD, UK Government and Australian Government.