Speakers

Laura is an accomplished biopharma executive with unique global experience that spans a broad range of functions, therapeutic areas and who carries deep experience of gene therapies, from bench to bedside. 

In her role as chief medical officer at Orchard Therapeutics, Laura leads a skilled team of professionals in clinical development, medical affairs, diagnostics, newborn screening, and patient advocacy. She drives Orchard’s progress in early- and late-stage clinical development of the company’s next-in-line gene therapies for the treatment of Hurler, Sanfilippo, and NOD2 Crohn’s disease, the expansion of newborn screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and the medical leadership for the commercialization of OTL-200 for the treatment of early-onset MLD. 

Prior to her appointment to CMO, Laura most recently served as vice president of clinical development, where she led the clinical sciences, operations, pharmacovigilance and bioanalytical assays departments at the company. 

Laura joined Orchard Therapeutics in 2018, bringing experience from her roles in the rare diseases unit at GSK, working on their rare disease cell and gene therapy portfolio. 

She studied at the University of Cambridge, earning a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BChir) and a Bachelor’s in Natural Sciences. Before transitioning to industry, she built a successful career as a surgeon within the NHS, becoming a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Her contributions to pharmaceutical medicine have been recognized with a Fellowship of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FFPM), where she remains an active member, championing skills development and professional growth within the specialty.