Laurence Legeai-Mallet

 Dr Laurence Legeai-Mallet, PhD

Laboratory of Molecular and Physiopathological bases of osteochondrodysplasia
Imagine Institute, INSERM U1163, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
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Dr Laurence Legeai-Mallet is director of research at Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM). She is the head of the Laboratory “Molecular and Physiopathological bases of osteochondrodysplasia” at the Imagine Institute (Paris, France). She graduated with a PhD in Genetics and Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, at Paris Descartes University (France).  
Dr Laurence Legeai-Mallet has been involved in the genetics of skeletal disease since 1993. Her research field ranges from the identification of disease genes involved in cartilage and bone disorders (such as FGFR3 gain-of-function mutation in achondroplasia, Nature, 1994), to the understanding of bone development and skeletal disorders, and the development of innovative therapeutic approaches. 
In particular, Laurence Legeai-Mallet has a longstanding interest in FGFR3-related osteochondrodysplasias and her work contributed to understanding the role of cartilage growth plate and bone in the developing skeleton. Her team is also internationally recognized for proof of concept studies and breakthrough preclinical studies in achondroplasia. In 2009, based on several collaborations between her academic laboratory and pharmaceutical companies, she has developed the first therapeutic approaches for osteochondrodysplasias. Indeed, in 2012, she reported with BioMarin the therapeutic potential of a novel C-type natriuretic peptide analog (BMN 111-Vosoritide) as the first investigational therapy for the most frequent cause of dwarfism, achondroplasia. In 2021, FDA an EU approved Vosoritide injection to treat children with achondroplasia. In 2016, she demonstrated the strong effect of low dose tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Infigratinib) on a Fgfr3 mouse model recapitulating the full-blown achondroplasia phenotype, allowing Infigratinib to be in Phase 2 clinical trial today. 
Dr Legeai-Mallet current research programs focus on developing new therapeutic approaches for chondrodysplasias and related craniosynostoses, in collaboration with private companies and university, and on the understanding the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain and skeletal development anomalies in rare skeletal disorders of genetic origin.