Dr. Lown has expertise in the psycho-social consequences of trauma (child abuse, adult interpersonal violence, and childhood cancer survivors and siblings). Her work has focused on poor and minority women, representative national populations, and large national and international studies of childhood cancer survivors and their siblings.

In the area of pediatric psycho-oncology Dr. Lown has carried out studies to describe the long-term psycho-social consequences of childhood cancer on survivors and their siblings. She has published on health behaviors (alcohol, tobacco, and physical activity) using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study; complete, a pilot randomized clinical trial of an acupressure/massage intervention for children with cancer and is currently working on a larger trial of acupressure to decrease nausea/vomiting among children in treatment for a childhood cancer, among other projects. She is a member of the Sibling Partnership for Advocacy and Research for Childhood Cancer (SPARCC) working closely with SuperSibs! to carry out research and advocacy on siblings of children with cancer. Dr. Lown is a member of a national group dedicated to establishing psychosocial standards of care for all childhood cancer patients and their families and author of new guidelines for psychosocial care for long-term childhood cancer survivors. She is a patient advocate for Children's Oncology Group (working with the Behavioral Science, Cancer Control, and Epidemiology Committees).

More recently Dr. Lown is studying the role of corporate social responsibility programs in tobacco companies in the United States and Africa.