Francois Lallemend
Dr Francois Lallemend is an associate professor at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet. He received his PhD at the GIGA Neuroscience, in Liege (Belgium), followed by postdoctoral research at the Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics Department at the Karolinska Institutet, working on neural crest and cell type diversification. He established his research group in 2011, and was recruited in 2013 at the Neuroscience Department, where he heads the lab of neuronal specification and connectivity. Lallemend lab focuses on understanding the developmental principles and functional diversity of sensory neuron types and how those influence our behavior. Research in his lab leverage advanced single cell transcriptomics and circuit-interrogation technology to identify the structurally- and molecularly-defined neuronal elements for auditory perception, balance and proprioception, in physiological and pathological conditions. His lab also explores the mechanisms by which experience-driven neuronal activity shapes the developing mammalian sensory systems and is interested at understanding whether such neuronal plasticity is retained in adult and if its modulation can lead to a gain of sensory function or to its deterioration during disorders or with aging.
Selected Publications
Faure, L., Wang, Y., Kastriti, M. E., Fontanet, P., Cheung, K. K. Y., Petitpré, C., Wu, H., Sun, L. L., Runge, K., Croci, L., Landy, M. A., Lai, H. C., Consalez, G. G., de Chevigny, A., Lallemend, F., Adameyko, I., & Hadjab, S. (2020). Single cell RNA sequencing identifies early diversity of sensory neurons forming via bi-potential intermediates. Nature Communications, 11(1), 4175. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17929-4
Romanov, R. A., Tretiakov, E. O., Kastriti, M. E., Zupancic, M., Häring, M., Korchynska, S., Popadin, K., Benevento, M., Rebernik, P., Lallemend, F., Nishimori, K., Clotman, F., Andrews, W. D., Parnavelas, J. G., Farlik, M., Bock, C., Adameyko, I., Hökfelt, T., Keimpema, E., & Harkany, T. (2020). Molecular design of hypothalamus development. Nature, 582(7811), 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2266-0
Bartesaghi, L., Wang, Y., Fontanet, P., Wanderoy, S., Berger, F., Wu, H., Akkuratova, N., Bouçanova, F., Médard, J. J., Petitpré, C., Landy, M. A., Zhang, M. D., Harrer, P., Stendel, C., Stucka, R., Dusl, M., Kastriti, M. E., Croci, L., Lai, H. C., … Chrast, R. (2019). PRDM12 Is Required for Initiation of the Nociceptive Neuron Lineage during Neurogenesis. Cell Reports, 26(13), 3484-3492.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.098
Wang, Y., Wu, H., Fontanet, P., Codeluppi, S., Akkuratova, N., Petitpré, C., Xue-Franzén, Y., Niederreither, K., Sharma, A., Da Silva, F., Comai, G., Agirman, G., Palumberi, D., Linnarsson, S., Adameyko, I., Moqrich, A., Schedl, A., La Manno, G., Hadjab, S., & Lallemend, F. (2019). A cell fitness selection model for neuronal survival during development. Nature Communications, 10(1), 4137. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12119-3
Wang, Y., Wu, H., Zelenin, P., Fontanet, P., Wanderoy, S., Petitpré, C., Comai, G., Bellardita, C., Xue-Franzén, Y., Huettl, R. E., Huber, A. B., Tajbakhsh, S., Kiehn, O., Ernfors, P., Deliagina, T. G., Lallemend, F., & Hadjab, S. (2019). Muscle-selective RUNX3 dependence of sensorimotor circuit development. Development (Cambridge), 146(20). https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.181750
Petitpré, C., Wu, H., Sharma, A., Tokarska, A., Fontanet, P., Wang, Y., Helmbacher, F., Yackle, K., Silberberg, G., Hadjab, S., & Lallemend, F. (2018). Neuronal heterogeneity and stereotyped connectivity in the auditory afferent system. Nature Communications, 9(1), 3691. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06033-3
Furlan, A., Dyachuk, V., Kastriti, M. E., Calvo-Enrique, L., Abdo, H., Hadjab, S., Chontorotzea, T., Akkuratova, N., Usoskin, D., Kamenev, D., Petersen, J., Sunadome, K., Memic, F., Marklund, U., Fried, K., Topilko, P., Lallemend, F., Kharchenko, P. V., Ernfors, P., & Adameyko, I. (2017). Multipotent peripheral glial cells generate neuroendocrine cells of the adrenal medulla. Science, 357, 6346. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aal3753
Peng, C., Li, L., Zhang, M. D., Gonzales, C. B., Parisien, M., Belfer, I., Usoskin, D., Abdo, H., Furlan, A., Häring, M., Lallemend, F., Harkany, T., Diatchenko, L., Hökfelt, T., Hjerling-Leffler, J., & Ernfors, P. (2017). MIR-183 cluster scales mechanical pain sensitivity by regulating basal and neuropathic pain genes. Science, 356(6343), 1168–1171. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam7671
Francois Lallemend has been awarded project grants by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW)
Francois Lallemend has been awarded SEK 32 million over five years for his project about proprioceptive control of motor action sequences. His project is one of the four research projects coordinated from Karolinska Institutet which have been awarded project grants by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW).
Francois Lallemend has a new publication in Cell Reports
Francois Lallemend, one out of our six Lau Fellows, has together with his colleagues identified a protein required for the development of pain neurons from stem cells. When blocking this protein during the fetal stage, no neurons develop that convey pain, temperature and itch. This discovery can eventually lead to new drugs for pain conditions.