Catherine Llorens-Cortès (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Lepart; born January 6, 1954) is a French pharmacologist who is a Professor and Director of the Central Laboratory of Neuropeptides and Water and Cardiovascular Regulations at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

. Her research considers neuropharmacology and the development of new therapies for people with heart conditions. She was awarded the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

Medal for Applications of Science in 2023.

Early life and education

Llorens-Cortès was born in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

. She was a doctoral researcher at the

Pierre and Marie Curie University Pierre and Marie Curie University ( , UPMC), also known as Paris VI, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, where she studied endorphin recognition and response to morphine. After earning her doctorate she was appointed to a permanent research position at L'Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (

INSERM The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

), where she eventually became research director.

Research and career

Llorens-Cortès has been interested in biologically active peptides since the start of her career. She has mainly worked on enzymes that are involved with the degradation or activation of active peptides. In 2011, Llorens-Cortès integrated her laboratory into the

Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Biology. She developed endogenous morphines that were developed into an anti diarrhoea drug used in paediatrics. Her research considers new drugs for

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

hyponatremia Hyponatremia or hyponatraemia is a low concentration of sodium in the Serum (blood), blood. It is generally defined as a sodium concentration of less than 135 mmol/L (135 mEq/L), with severe hyponatremia being below 120 mEq/L. Symp ...

and

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. She developed Firibastat, an aminopeptidase that can penetrate the brain, normalise blood pressure and improve cardiac function. Firibastat prevents

left ventricular dysfunction Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

and can improve cardiac function after

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Llorens-Cortès also discovered

apelin Apelin (also known as APLN) is a peptide that in humans is encoded by the ''APLN'' gene. Apelin is one of two endogenous ligands for the G-protein-coupled APJ receptor that is expressed at the surface of some cell types. It is widely expressed ...

analogs (e.g. LIT01-196) to treat

. LIT01-196 activates the apelin receptor, which is important for moderating cardiovascular function. In 2015, Llorens-Cortès co-founded Quantum Genomics, a pharmaceutical company that looks to develop new therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease.

Awards and honours

* 2002 Prize of the

* 2012 Danièle Hermann Prize * 2013

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* 2014 Galien Price France * 2021 International Society of Hypertension Honour for Senior Women Researchers * 2021 Emilia Valori Prize * 2022 Officier of the

* 2023 French Academy of Sciences Medal for Applications of Science.

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llorens-Cortes, Catherine 1954 births Academic staff of the Collège de France French pharmacologists Living people People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Pierre and Marie Curie University alumni French women scientists