Biography
Dr. Lauren Watson is a Research Officer in the Heart Muscle Group at the Heart Research Institute, working under the mentorship of Prof. Julie McMullen. Her research expertise is in using preclinical (small animal) models of disease to understand mechanisms of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, through a combination of in-vivo phenotyping and molecular methodology. Currently, her work focuses on understanding mechanisms of exercise-induced protection to prevent and treat cardiometabolic diseases in males and females.
Lauren completed her PhD at the University of Auckland (New Zealand) in 2025, investigating how genetic variation and sex differences impact cardiometabolic responses to exercise. She was a recipient of the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship and the Henry Kelsey Foundation Research Scholarship during her candidature.
