Dr Laura Pellegrini is a Group Leader at the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. She established her laboratory in October 2023 after receiving a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award.

Dr Pellegrini’s research focuses on understanding how the human brain develops and maintains its protective interfaces with the rest of the body. Her lab uses human stem-cell-derived organoids, particularly cerebral and choroid plexus organoids, to investigate the biology of the choroid plexus and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system.

During her postdoctoral work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge with Dr Madeline Lancaster, she helped develop the first human organoid model of the choroid plexus capable of producing CSF-like fluid. This work, published in Science, provided important insights into how pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 may interact with the brain.

Her current research combines organoid models, human tissue, and multi-omics approaches to study how the choroid plexus regulates CSF composition, contributes to brain development, and protects the brain from pathogens, drugs, and environmental exposures. The lab is also interested in identifying CSF biomarkers and understanding how dysfunction of this system contributes to neurological diseases.

Research interests

• Human brain development
• Choroid plexus and CSF secretion
• Stem cells and organoid models