IMAGINE
Established in 2007 as Scientific cooperation foundation, IMAGINE (http://www.institutimagine.org) was awarded the French label of excellence “University Hospital Institute” in 2011 by the French Government, with the Paris Public Hospitals Group (AP-HP), INSERM and Paris Descartes University of Paris as institutional public partners. IMAGINE obtained also Carnot Institute label in 2020, certifying the high-quality of its collaborative research with industrial partners. IMAGINE is composed of 24 research labs, 4 associated laboratories, 31 rare diseases reference, 7 hospital units, 2 investigation centers and 17 core facilities. The goal of the institute is to integrate research into clinical practice in order to better understand genetic diseases with unmet medical needs, and to propose and validate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. To achieve this goal, institutional activities subscribe to four core missions: patient-focused research; innovative care; education and training; and technology transfer. This project builds on a critical mass of experts - 1000 scientists (13%), medical doctors (16%), technicians (32%), postdocs (11%), PhD students (16%), paramedical personnel, and therapeutic innovation professionals – all interacting in a unique place, IMAGINE building, located within the Necker-Enfants malades hospital campus (Université Paris Cité), which takes care of patients and their families to provide them with diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. IMAGINE benefits from key expertise in various domains such as developmental defects, immunology, infectiology, hematology, nephrology, metabolic diseases, dermatology, gastroenterology, cardiology. The IMAGINE team has developed unique and relevant human osteoblast and chondrocytes models and specific animal models recapitulating FGFR-related osteochondrodysplasias. The team develops new valuable and pharmacological treatment for the patients with short stature, spinal stenosis or craniofacial anomalies.
Prof Laurence Legeai-Mallet
Supervisor of DC6. Prof Legeai-Mallet is the head of the Molecular and Physiopathological basis of osteochondrodysplasia laboratory. Her activities range from the identification of genes underlying cartilage and bone pathologies, through the understanding of molecular and cellular mechanism of normal and pathologic bone development, up to clinical application of developed therapeutic approaches. The team is also internationally recognized for proof of concept studies and breakthrough preclinical studies in achondroplasia. In 2009, she initiated pre-clinical studies for osteochondrodysplasias through collaboration in both academic chemistry laboratory and several pharmaceutical companies. In 2012, in collaboration with BioMarin, she reported the 1st investigational therapy for achondroplasia (BMN111-Vosoritide). In 2021, FDA and EU approved Vosoritide injection to treat children with achondroplasia.
Dr Emilie Dambroise
Dr Dambroise i researcher at Imagine institute (INSERM U1163). She works in Legeai-Mallet’s group since 2015 and has a strong background in animal models related to osteochondrodysplasia. She has developped several zebrafish models in order to decipher pathophysiological mecanisms involved in craniosynostoses related to FGF signaling