[5] After completing her PhD, Gawne worked at Nanyang Technological University and then the School of Oriental and African Studies.

[1][4] She subsequently took up fellowship in La Trobe University's department of languages and linguistics as a David Myers Research Fellow in 2017 and has worked there as a senior lecturer since 2019.

[1] During 2017-19, she was also vice president of the Australian Linguistic Society[6] and was subsequently chair of the board of Living Languages in 2020.

[4][10][11] She also researches the contemporary use of emojis[12][13] and comments on the gestural elements of English speakers.

[2][15] Lauren Gawne received the 2014 Talkey award from the Australian Linguistics Society for her work on academic outreach.