Undergraduate training at Ecole Polytechnique, followed by entrance in the armament corps, Laurent El Kaim obtained his PhD in 1992 under the guidance of Pr. Samir Zard at Ecole Polytechnique. He entered ENSTA in 1993 as an assistant professor and was appointed par-time professor at Ecole Polytechnique from 1998 to 2010. He obtained his HDR in 2001 and became full professor at ENSTA in 2008. In 2016, he took the direction of the Laboratory of Organic Synthesis, a joint research unit between CNRS, ENSTA an Ecole Polytechnique (https://lso.polytechnique.fr/). He is the research director of ENSTA since 2022.

Since its creation in 1993, the group of Laurent El Kaim has focused its activities on the discovery of new reactions working with various families of nitrogen based derivatives. Beside its studies on nitro compounds, hydrazones or nitrogen based heteocycles, the group is mostly known for his work on isocyanide and their uses in multicomponent reactions (Ugi reaction, Nef reactions, Ugi-Smiles processes) which represent around two-third of its publications.

Recent relevant publications :

Cyclopropyl Thioethers, New Inputs for Palladium Catalyzed Ring Opening of Cyclopropanes. S. Ponra, A. Nyadanu, N. Pan, E. Martinand-Lurin, A. Savy, M. Vitale, L. El Kaim, L. Grimaud. Org. Process Res. Dev. 2020, 24, 5, 827-834. 10.1021/acs.oprd.9b00444.

Allylated Pudovik and Passerini Adducts as Versatile Scaffolds for Product Diversification. M. Dolé Kerim, T. Katsina, M. Cattoen, N. Fincias, S. Arseniyadis, L. El Kaïm. J. Org. Chem. 2020, 85,19, 12514-​12525.

Metal-Free Addition of Boronic Acids to Silylnitronates, M. Dolé Kerim, P. Boyode, J. Garrec, L. El Kaim, Synlett 2020, 31, 856-860. 10.1055/s-0039-1690845

Passerini–Smiles Reaction of α-Ketophosphonates: Platform for Phospha-Brook/Smiles Embedded Cascades. C. Cheibas, N. Fincias, N. Casaretto, J. Garrec, L. El Kaïm, Angew. Chem Int. Ed, 2022, 61, e202116249. 10.1002/anie.202116249.

A Mn(OAc)3 triggered formation of cyclopropanes from Ugi adducts. C. Cheibas, E. Vieu, N. Casaretto, M. Vitale, L. Grimaud, L. El Kaim, Synlett 2023, 34, 1581-1586. 10.1055/a-2005-5220.

Tsuji–Trost Based Cascades: From Passerini Adducts of Cinnamaldehyde to Allylated Oxazolones, E. Elmamouni, M. Guillard, B. Haddou, L. Grimaud, L. El Kaïm, J. Org. Chem. 2024, 89, 3, 2009-2013. 10.1021/acs.joc.3c02169

Merging Copper Catalysis with Nitro Allyl and Allyl Sulfone Derivatives: Practical, Straightforward, and Scalable Synthesis of Diversely Functionalized Allyl Boranes, N. Fincias, L. Clavier, C. Escande de Messieres, M. Dolé Kerim, N. Casaretto, J. Garrec, S. Arseniyadis, L. El Kaim, JACS Au 2025, 5, 1, 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.4c00809