Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : DrySeasonPf (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : University Hospital Heidelberg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 687500.0 €

The mosquito-borne Plasmodium falciparum parasite is responsible for over 200 million malaria cases and nearly half a million deaths each year among African children. Dependent on Anopheles mosquito for transmission, the parasite faces a challenge during the dry season in the regions where rain seasonality limits vector availability for several months. While malaria cases are restricted to the wet season, clinically silent P. falciparum infections can persist through the dry season and are an important reservoir for transmission. Our preliminary data provides unequivocal evidence that P. falciparum modulates its transcription during the dry season, while the host immune response seems to be minimally affected, suggesting that the parasite has the ability to adapt to a vector-free environment for long periods of time. Understanding the mechanisms which allow the parasite to remain undetectable in absence of mosquito vector, and to restart transmission in the ensuing rainy season will reveal complex interactions between P. falciparum and its host. To that end I propose to: (i) Identify the Plasmodium signalling pathway(s) and metabolic profile associated with long-term maintenance of low parasitaemias during the dry season, (ii) Determine which PfEMP1 are expressed by parasites during the dry season and how effectively they are detected by the immune system, and (iii) Investigate the kinetics of P. falciparum gametocytogenesis, its ability to transmit during the dry season, and uncover sensing molecules and mechanisms of the disappearance and return of the mosquito vector Undoubtedly, results arising from the present multidisciplinary proposal will provide novel insights into the cell biology of dry season P. falciparum parasites, will increase our understanding of their interactions with their hosts and environment. Furthermore, it may benefit the international development agenda goals to design public health strategies to fight malaria.

Mots-clés : malaria,plasmodium falciparium,infection reservoir,environmental sensing
Projet ERC : DrySeasonPf (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : Max Planck Society — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MPG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 812500.0 €

The mosquito-borne Plasmodium falciparum parasite is responsible for over 200 million malaria cases and nearly half a million deaths each year among African children. Dependent on Anopheles mosquito for transmission, the parasite faces a challenge during the dry season in the regions where rain seasonality limits vector availability for several months. While malaria cases are restricted to the wet season, clinically silent P. falciparum infections can persist through the dry season and are an important reservoir for transmission. Our preliminary data provides unequivocal evidence that P. falciparum modulates its transcription during the dry season, while the host immune response seems to be minimally affected, suggesting that the parasite has the ability to adapt to a vector-free environment for long periods of time. Understanding the mechanisms which allow the parasite to remain undetectable in absence of mosquito vector, and to restart transmission in the ensuing rainy season will reveal complex interactions between P. falciparum and its host. To that end I propose to: (i) Identify the Plasmodium signalling pathway(s) and metabolic profile associated with long-term maintenance of low parasitaemias during the dry season, (ii) Determine which PfEMP1 are expressed by parasites during the dry season and how effectively they are detected by the immune system, and (iii) Investigate the kinetics of P. falciparum gametocytogenesis, its ability to transmit during the dry season, and uncover sensing molecules and mechanisms of the disappearance and return of the mosquito vector Undoubtedly, results arising from the present multidisciplinary proposal will provide novel insights into the cell biology of dry season P. falciparum parasites, will increase our understanding of their interactions with their hosts and environment. Furthermore, it may benefit the international development agenda goals to design public health strategies to fight malaria.

Mots-clés : malaria,plasmodium falciparium,infection reservoir,environmental sensing
Projet ERC : PeV-Radio (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Karlsruhe Institute of Technology — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KIT
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1629541.0 €

The most energetic particles in our Galaxy are accelerated by yet unknown sources to energies much beyond the reach of human-made accelerators such as LHC at CERN. The detection of PeV photons from such a natural Galactic accelerator will be a fundamental breakthrough. For this purpose I propose a digital radio array for air showers at South Pole building on my proven expertise in successfully setting up and managing an antenna array in Siberia. Recently, we have discovered that by using higher radio frequencies than before the energy threshold can be lowered dramatically from 100 PeV to about 1 PeV. The new radio array will significantly enhance the present PeV particle detectors at South Pole in both, accuracy and aperture towards lower elevations. One of the most promising candidates for the origin of cosmic rays, the Galactic Center presently outside of the field of view, will be observable 24/7 with the radio array. The extrapolation of classical TeV observations predicts more than twenty PeV photons to be detected by the radio array within three years. Since the radio array is sensitive simultaneously to cosmic photons and charged particles from all directions of the sky, the search for any photon sources can be done in parallel to cosmic-ray physics with unprecedented accuracy and exposure in the energy range of 1 PeV to 1 EeV. Thus, this radio array will create highest impact in astroparticle physics by the following scientific objectives all targeting the most energetic particles in our Galaxy: PeV photons and their correlation with sources of neutrinos and charged cosmic rays, mass separation of cosmic rays, search for mass-dependent anisotropies, particle physics beyond the reach of LHC. This timely proposal is a unique chance for European leadership in this novel technique. It provides the chance for scientific breakthrough by detection of the first PeV photons ever, and by the discovery of natural accelerators of multi-PeV particles.

Mots-clés : air showers,radio detection,cosmic pev particles
Projet ERC : COLOURCODE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : University of Sussex — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1492132.0 €

The most extraordinary products of the human mind are personal, subjective experiences such as the qualitative experience of the redness of red, yet the question of what process or processes in the brain give rise to conscious experiences remains one of the greatest scientific mysteries. The COLOURCODE project will use colour as a model system to tackle important questions necessary to approach an answer. First, COLOURCODE aims to elucidate the representation of colour in the human brain that underlies how colours appear and are experienced. Second, it aims to provide the first investigation of how the precise timing of rhythmic neural activity represents colour and drives colour perception and experience. Third, by measuring how individuals perceive colour differently from one another, the project aims to determine how colour experience is constrained by the number and type of sensors in the eye and information received from the external world. COLOURCODE will use an innovative combination of psychophysics and individual differences, along with a diverse suite of neuroscience methods including electroencephalography (EEG), steady state visually evoked potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). COLOURCODE will provide the most detailed characterisation yet of how a stimulus attribute is represented by the human brain, driving a greater understanding of representation in neuroscience. Determining for the first time the encoding capacity of rhythmic brain activity will cause a paradigm shift in vision science as it is not part of existing theoretical models. COLOURCODE’s theoretical advances and methodological innovations will lead us closer to answering one of the most formidable questions in science and philosophy - the question of what processes give rise to conscious perceptual experiences.

Mots-clés : colour,representation,individual differences,ssvep,neural oscillations
Projet ERC : switchlet (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2497111.25 €

The multi-resolution approach to science and engineering is key to tackle the complexity of systems that span across many temporal and spatial scales. This approach has revolutionized signal processing over the last two decades, most notably through wavelet theory, which builds upon the elementary concept of zooming in and out a mother signal localized in time and frequency. A similar revolution is needed in systems and control to address the most pressing engineering challenges of the 21st century, particularly in the field of medical neuroscience. Our proposal is to lay the mathematical foundations of a multi-resolution behavioral theory. Multi-resolution behaviors are behaviors that can be modeled, analyzed, controlled, and designed at different resolutions. Our approach is based on the core novel idea that an elementary feedback principle regulates localization. Analogously to the wavelet in signal processing, we introduce the switchlet as an elementary nonlinear feedback system statically localized in range, dynamically localized in space and time. Analogously to filter banks in signal processing, our proposed interconnection theory of switchlets provides specific zooming in and out principles relying on synchronization principles. The theory of our proposal is entirely inspired, steered, and benchmarked by the specific application of understanding the robustness and modulation principles of neuronal behaviors, in collaboration with experimental neuroscientists. We propose that the multi-resolution organizing principles that we have learned by studying neuronal behaviors provide entirely novel design principles for the control of natural and artificial behaviors across scales. The objective of our proposal is to demonstrate the potential impact of such principles in the emerging age of distributed sensing and actuating technology.

Mots-clés : multi scale systems,robustness and sensitivity,positive and negative feedback
Projet ERC : PURE (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : University of Graz — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The need: The dwindling fossil resources and their increasing price together with concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution necessitate an urgent transition to the use of renewable starting materials and the fundamental change of our manufacturing practices to cleaner, more sustainable production routes. The challenge: Existing approaches for bio-based production routes are complex and costly, while oftentimes offering limited or no increase in quality over conventional approaches. Several challenges need to be tackled in order to further unlock the great potential of bio-based production methods. There is a pressing need for (i) simple, zero-waste production routes from raw material to end-product with a minimal number of reaction steps and high-yield; (ii) the discovery of novel, emerging products that are superior to existing ones in terms of properties, performance as well as environmental and health impact. The solution: My ERC Starting Grant (CatASus) has introduced fundamentally novel catalytic methods for the environmentally benign, zero-waste, non-toxic, and cost-efficient production of chemical building blocks that find concrete valorisation potential in a wide array of industries, including pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture and fuels/energy sectors. The proof of concept: Bringing PURE as a sustainable yet cost-effective chemical manufacturing process of valuable bio-based building blocks to the multibillion-euro chemical manufacturing market offers a highly attractive business case. In this PURE ERC PoC, I will explore the commercial viability of lignocellulose as renewable resource for the production of high quality fine chemical building blocks, by performing proof of concept studies: (i) confirming feasibility of upscaling to (pre-)industrial scale and (ii) outlining a solid business strategy that delineates the optimal product-market combination and path towards commercialisation.

Mots-clés : sustainable,bio based,lignocellulose,surfactant,cleave and couple,non toxic,cost efficient,renewable,waste free,chemical building block,catalyst synthesis,waste product valorisation
Projet ERC : METLAKE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : Linköping University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : LiU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

The new global temperature goal calls for reliable quantification of present and future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including climate feedbacks. Non-CO2 GHGs, with methane (CH4) being the most important, represent a large but highly uncertain component in global GHG budget. Lakes are among the largest natural sources of CH4 but our understanding of lake CH4 fluxes is rudimentary. Lake emissions are not yet routinely monitored, and coherent, spatially representative, long-term datasets are rare which hamper accurate flux estimates and predictions. METLAKE aims to improve our ability to quantify and predict lake CH4 emissions. Major goals include: (1) the development of robust validated predictive models suitable for use at the lake rich northern latitudes where large climate changes are anticipated in the near future, (2) the testing of the idea that appropriate consideration of spatiotemporal scaling can greatly facilitate generation of accurate yet simple predictive models, (3) to reveal and quantify detailed flux regulation patterns including spatiotemporal interactions and response times to environmental change, and (4) to pioneer novel use of sensor networks and near ground remote sensing with a new hyperspectral CH4 camera suitable for large-scale high resolution CH4 measurements. Extensive field work based on optimized state-of-the-art approaches will generate multi-scale and multi-system data, supplemented by experiments, and evaluated by data analyses and modelling approaches targeting effects of scaling on model performance. Altogether, METLAKE will advance our understanding of one of the largest natural CH4 sources, and provide us with systematic tools to predict future lake emissions. Such quantification of feedbacks on natural GHG emissions is required to move beyond state-of-the-art regarding global GHG budgets and to estimate the mitigation efforts needed to reach global climate goals.
Projet ERC : PHOTOTUNE (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Tampere University — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1486400.0 €

The next frontier in photonics is to achieve dynamic and externally tunable materials that allow for real-time, on-demand control over optical responses. Light is in many ways an ideal stimulus for achieving such control, and PHOTOTUNE aims at devising a comprehensive toolbox for the fabrication of light-tunable solid-state photonic structures. We harness light to control light, by making use of photoactuable liquid-crystal elastomers, which display large light-induced deformations through coupling between anisotropic liquid-crystal order and elasticity brought about by the polymer network. We will take liquid-crystal elastomers into a new context by intertwining photomechanics and photonics. Specifically, PHOTOTUNE is built around the following two objectives: (i) Tunable photonic bandgaps and lasing in photoactuable layered structures: The aim is to take photomechanical materials into the scale of optical wavelengths and utilize them in thickness-tunable liquid-crystal elastomer films. Such films will be further integrated into layered structures to obtain photonic crystals and multilayer distributed feedback lasers whose properties can be tuned by light. (ii) Photomechanical control over plasmonic enhancement on nanostructured elastomeric substrates: Fabrication of metal nanostructures on substrates that can contract and expand in response to light comprises a perfect, yet previously unexplored, nanophotonic platform with light-tunable lattice parameters. We will apply such tunable photoelastomeric substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering and phototunable nonlinear plasmonics. We expect to present a wholly new technological toolbox for tunable optical components and sensing platforms and beyond: The horizons of PHOTOTUNE are as far-reaching as in studying distance-dependent physical phenomena, controlling the speed of light in periodic structures, and designing actively-tunable optical metamaterials.

Mots-clés : photonic structures,photomechanical actuation,liquid crystal elastomers
Projet ERC : ProteoNE_dynamics (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cellular, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Entité participante : University of Oxford — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999610.0 €

The nuclear envelope (NE) is a major hub of eukaryotic cellular organization, influencing a myriad of processes, from gene regulation and repair to cell motility and fate. This central role of the NE depends on its elaborate structure, particularly on the organization of its inner nuclear membrane (INM). This peculiar membrane is continuous with the rest of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but faces the nucleoplasm and contains a distinctive set of proteins, which confer a unique identity to the INM. Importantly, mutations in several INM proteins result in a wide range of diseases, such as muscular dystrophies and premature aging syndromes, highlighting the key roles of the INM proteome in cell homeostasis. However, the mechanisms establishing and maintaining the INM proteome identity and integrity have remained mysterious. My lab recently identified a quality control system that, by targeting aberrant proteins for degradation, regulates INM identity and homeostasis. This proposal describes a framework to expand our findings and to provide a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the INM proteome. By combining my expertise in membrane protein analysis with newly developed proximity biotinylation and proteomics approaches, we will for the first time probe the complex INM environment of living mammalian cells. A systematic examination of the INM proteome, its turnover rates and changes in response to different physiological conditions will reveal functions of INM proteins and their regulatory pathways. Moreover, it will characterize INM surveillance mechanisms and evaluate their contributions to NE proteostasis. In sum, this proposal will provide a panoramic yet detailed view of the mechanisms underlying INM functions, identity and homeostasis, both in interphase and during NE reformation in mitosis. Given the clinical relevance of many INM proteins, our studies may illuminate current understanding of diseases such as laminopathies and cancer.

Mots-clés : protein quality control,endoplasmic reticulum,nuclear envelope,organelle homeostasis,ubiquitin dependent degradation
Projet ERC : SWFsEUROPE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

The number and size of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) has grown substantially in the last decade, leading to an unsettled debate regarding their legitimacy in the global political economy. Some suggest they represent the (re)emergence of state-led capitalism subject to geopolitical motivations that threaten free markets. For others, SWFs represent a source of long-term patient capital capable of mitigating market short-termism. Either way, SWFs challenge the norm, particularly in the West, that financial markets are spaces of exchange for non-state actors. In three complementary and interdisciplinary work programmes the SWFsEUROPE project will explain the evolving and variegated pattern of ‘sovereign fund capitalism’ in Europe, developing a new theory of the relationship between states and global finance. First, the project breaks new ground by explaining and theorizing how the legitimacy of SWFs as commercially oriented investors is performed when they are still entities of the state. No study has critically examined how legitimacy is performed via mechanisms such as the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Santiago Principles, or the growing evidence of collaboration with cognate institutional investors (e.g. pension funds). Second, this projects seeks a multi-layered explanation of the uneven pattern of investment flows and stocks of foreign SWFs into European countries through hypothesis testing of aggregate investment data with different theories of national-institutional variety, coupled with a comparative analysis of the bilateral investment-promotion relationships of investment-receiving countries. Third, the project will compare the growth and development of European SWFs. There is no comparative study exploring why some states are sponsors of an SWF (e.g. Italy, France, Ireland) and others are not (e.g. UK), what the motivations are and how they are made legitimate.