Lauren is currently a PhD student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is co-advised by Sarah Giddings and Mark Merrifield. Broadly, she is interested in coastal ocean processes and their interactions with land. Her first chapter focuses on the morphodynamic responses of a dune-backed beach during high-energy storm conditions in the Outer Banks, NC. Originally from Los Angeles, she received her BS in physics with a minor in physiology from Cal Poly, Pomona in 2017. In fall of 2017, she began the physical oceanography program at Scripps and received her MS in oceanography in 2019.