Dr Lauren Bellaera

Chief Research Officer

Dr Lauren Bellaera joined TASO in July 2026.

Lauren leads TASO’s research and evaluation team and is responsible for their research and evaluation programmes and evidence synthesis work. Before joining TASO, Lauren was the Director of Research at ImpactEd Group where she oversaw the organisation’s research and insights work.

Prior to this, Lauren led The Brilliant Club’s research and evaluation work for ten years. This involved overseeing evaluations of the charity’s programmes and providing consultancy services to higher education providers. As part of this sector-facing work, she has worked with universities on the development of their access and participation plans and delivered commissioned projects for TASO, including the development of the Access and Success Questionnaire. Lauren has also supported other What Works Centres, including Foundations and the Education Endowment Foundation.  

Lauren is trained as a cognitive psychologist, and her research focuses on the measurement and development of cognitive outcomes. In 2019, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, which she undertook at the University of Massachusetts, to examine how critical thinking is defined and taught in higher education. Lauren is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is a part-time Lecturer (Teaching) at the Institute of Education, UCL. She currently sits on editorial boards for the Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Journal and the Cambridge Journal of Education.