Born in 1967, Sophie Laurentstudied at the University of Mons-Hainaut (UMH), Belgium, from which she was graduated with a masterdegree in chemistry in 1989. She obtained her PhD in 1993 from the same University where she was successively appointed assistant, lecturer,associate professor and Professor. 

She joined the Prof R.N. Muller's team and was involved in the development (synthesis and physicochemical characterization) of contrast agents (paramagnetic lanthanide complexes and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). She is co-author of more than 275 publications in international journals such as Chemical Reviews and more than 450 abstracts in international conferences. She collaborates actively with the center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI) in Gosselies, Belgium. Since October 2016, it is the head of General, Organic and Biomedical Chemistry Unit in the University of Mons and of the UMONS part of the CMMI.