Lauren was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 12, 1983, and from that day forward brought joy, laughter, and insight to everyone around her. As a child, she excelled in school and ballet. One of her mother Yvonne's favorite memories from Lauren's childhood was catching her reading under her blanket with a flashlight when she should have been sleeping. Lauren attended Jackson Memorial High School, where she met many of her best friends. She received a B.A from The College of New Jersey and an M.A. from Rutgers University. She loved her job as a Director of Talent Management at Johnson & Johnson.

Lauren was taken from her family and friends far too early, but she packed so much life into her thirty-seven years. She has left an indelible mark on those fortunate enough to know her and will be warmly remembered for her witty sense of humor, her intelligence, her courage, her generosity, and her kindheartedness. She loved being around people and was the type of person who could walk into a room full of strangers and make immediate friends.

Lauren loved going to concerts, a sunny beach day, a good slice of pizza, ice cream from the Bent Spoon in Princeton, and spoiling her niece. She also loved to travel, and she leaves her family and many friends with happy memories from trips to Italy, Peru, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Oregon, California, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.

Because of Lauren's empathetic nature, her family and friends often came to her for advice and a listening ear. She left us all with many life lessons, such as: with all people assume good intentions; always think of others; don't take yourself too seriously (she made silly faces in half of the photos taken of her); be brave even when you are scared; learn how to bake and always share your delicious treats with others (especially the pistachio cookies); be polite to everyone (even if they don't really deserve it); when attending a concert, get in line early so you can be in the front row - don't be a line cutter; and relish the simple pleasures in life. Her legacy will live on through her family and friends that admired and adored her.

All donations to Team LB will go to support the Lauren Brescia Memorial Research Fund at Duke. The Fund currenty supports the Reitman lab at Duke’s Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, which was recently established to better understand diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) and to identify new treatments that should be advanced to clinical trials for DMG patients.