Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : STATE-DEV (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Université Bocconi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1485731.0 €

State capacity — the ability of the state to raise revenue and provide public goods — is considered essential for economic development. This ability is still lacking in many developing countries today, and important lessons can be drawn from countries that have been successful in developing an effective state in the past.  The over-arching goal of STATE-DEV is to advance our understanding of the development of state capacity, with particular emphasis on three essential pillars: 1) the drivers of demand for state capacity; 2) the quality of the state's bureaucracy, a crucial element of the supply side of state capacity; 3) the institutional elements that facilitate or hinder corruption in the operations of the state.  To reach this goal, I undergo large data collection efforts to assemble groundbreaking new data mapping the presence of the state across space and time in two historical settings – Italy and the United States between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century – characterized by a rapid growth in the size and reach of the state. By leveraging historical natural experiments, the proposal establishes causal relationships and sheds light on the mechanisms shaping the evolution of state capacity over a long time horizon.  STATE-DEV is composed of three projects. Project 1 investigates the factors affecting citizens’ demand for more state presence in their community, focusing on the role of technological change and of immigration. Project 2 studies the impacts of individual bureaucratic leaders on the evolution of state capacity and economic development. Project 3 analyses the effects of the revolving door between the bureaucracy and the private sector on firms’ dynamics in the short and long run.  STATE-DEV speaks to economists, political scientists and historians, and wants to inform important public debates about the conditions enabling the development of an effective state, and its impact on economic development.

Mots-clés : state capacity bureaucracy technological innovations migration corruption
Projet ERC : WATER-BLIND (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Entité participante : Université de Nottingham — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2069823.0 €

Water stress is a pressing global challenge for agriculture, particularly given hostile climate change. Plants have the remarkable ability to shape their roots to forage for water. For instance, roots growing through an air-filled space (e.g., soil gap) temporarily halt branching until re-entering moist soil — an intriguing phenomenon called ‘Xerobranching’.  In a recent breakthrough, I developed an elegant bio-assay to reveal how roots stop branching by employing the abscisic acid hormone when they lose contact with water (Mehra et al., 2022 Science). However, the mechanisms by which roots primarily ‘sense’ water availability is still a puzzle.  My ERC project ‘Water-Blind’ is designed to unravel this mystery and discover ‘how roots sense the absence of water’ to regulate downstream branching response. Built upon my preliminary findings, I hypothesize that roots employ ionic fluxes and mechanosensing pathways to sense water. To test this hypothesis, I will pioneer first-of-its kind screening of ion channel mutants to identify ‘water-blind’ mutants, defective in water perception. Furthermore, I will uncover the underlying molecular networks responsible for this ‘water-blindness’ and ultimately, investigate the consequences of this condition on soil exploration and water foraging. To achieve these ambitious goals, I will exploit interdisciplinary state-of-the-art approaches such as next-generation X-ray computed tomography, phonon imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing and live imaging of advanced biosensors in growing roots tips.  My innovative ‘real world’ approaches will generate groundbreaking insights that will significantly advance current understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of water perception in plants. The fundamental knowledge arising from this project will lay a strong foundation for future translational efforts aimed at improving water-use-efficiency and stress tolerance of crops.

Mots-clés : water stress,aba abscisic acid,root development,root branching
Projet ERC : UnMaP (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca — Pays : Italie — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 35953.75 €

Contrary to the popular belief that philosophy in Arabic declined around the 12th century, it has actually thrived in forms that are largely unexplored. Arabic philosophical manuscripts present a wealth of textual and visual annotations by students, teachers, and individual scholars who have kept selecting, manually copying, teaching, and studying philosophical texts until the 19th century. Well after the printing revolution, the margins of manuscripts served across the Arabo-Islamic world as material platforms – akin to today’s academic journals – for this choral philosophical enterprise.  With a few notable exceptions, this “real-life” philosophy is cut out of historico-philosophical accounts, in which the spotlight is often on a selection of great minds. The views shared by professors, students, and scholars have hitherto remained on the uncharted margins of manuscripts and on the fringe of the global history of philosophy.  “The Uncharted Margins of Philosophy” (UnMaP) aims to bring those contributions from the margins of manuscripts into the forefront of philosophical discourse.  By delving into the paratextual annotations within 207 manuscripts of the Logic of Avicenna’s (d. 1037) Book of Healing, spanning seven centuries and three continents, UnMaP promises to broaden the horizons of the global history of philosophy. It will (1) shed new light on the uncharted routes of cultural transfer in the pre-modern, globalising world; (2) provide a generalisable model of research on neglected sources for the history of philosophy; (3) challenge the paradigm of knowledge as the product of a few soloists and their intellectual hegemony by bringing to light marginalised traditions from the past.  With innovative techniques, including AI-driven handwriting analysis on manuscripts with Convolutional Neural Networks, this project pioneers a new “Material History of Philosophy”, bridging the gap between Material Philology, Philosophy, History, and Digital Humanities.

Mots-clés : arabic philosophy history of logic medieval studies philosophical manuscripts arabic manuscripts marginalia
Projet ERC : DNE (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth System Science
Entité participante : Université de Brême — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1859131.0 €

The Neoproterozoic Era (1 to 0.54 billion years ago) witnessed some of the most dramatic ecological and evolutionary changes in Earth history, which culminated in the appearance and diversification of animals. After almost 4 billion years of bacterial dominance, it took life on our planet just ~250 million years to go from the proliferation of unicellular eukaryotes to diversification of animals. This sequence of rapid ecological and evolutionary changes is thought to be related to unprecedented environmental perturbations, which occurred during this time interval and are recorded in sedimentary rocks. We know these perturbations did happen, but not their magnitude, duration, or driving mechanisms. One of the major limitations of interpreting the data is that each sample represents tens, or even hundreds of years of sedimentation, and contains a mixture of unevenly preserved remains of organisms that lived throughout this time. This project focuses on new methodological approaches at the interface of organic geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, and palaeontology to deconvolve the mixed signals of ancient rocks. Stable carbon isotope analysis on biomarkers of specific groups of organisms would provide insights about the carbon cycle at their habitat; analysing biomarker composition of the first complex microfossils would allow to identify which organisms they were; position-specific isotopic composition of ancient biomarkers might reveal their biosynthetic pathway and thus identify the first ecologically successful eukaryotes on our planet. The study is designed to extract information about the composition and ecology of ancient ecosystems, as well as the history of carbon cycle throughout the critical time of the rise and diversification of complex life. It aims to resolve what it takes a habitable planet to evolve complex life, and, in turn, how life on our planet responded to possibly the largest perturbations in the global carbon cycle in the Earth history.

Mots-clés : geobiology,palaeontology,organic geochemistry,stable carbon isotope geochemistry,evolution,palaeoecology,precambrian,early eukaryote evolution,early animal evolution,palaeoenvironments,molecular fossils,carbon cycle
Projet ERC : D-SURGE (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Understanding and predicting energization of particles in space plasmas, e.g. during sub-storms in magnetosphere, is a profound scientific challenge which is hampered by the complex multi-scale interactions in plasma. At present there is no global model which reliably captures the microscopic effects of energetic electrons which participate in matter and energy transfer in the Earth's space environment. These electrons may precipitate and present hazard for our space born assets such as satellites and space missions. The goal is to build a global physics-based magneto-fluid model of plasma with AI component that represents such microscopic physics via machine learning algorithms trained on particle in cell (PIC) simulations. By introducing physics-informed data-driven models, we aim to bridge the gap between local and global scales, offering unprecedented accuracy in simulating space weather phenomena. Such data-driven models will allow us to better understand and predict the evolution of magnetic storms crucial for safeguarding modern technological infrastructure. What makes this goal now possible in this interdisciplinary project are the advances in scientific machine learning in meteorology which the PI plans to bringing from environmental data science to plasma physics as well as the PI's current involvement in energy-conserving Particle in Cell simulations and previous experience in kinetic and magneto-fluid modelling. These innovations will lead to physics-informed data driven model that will be validated with space mission observations. If successful, we will have multi-scale multi-fluid models of plasma that will uncover magnetospheric loading by solar wind and the mechanisms behind acceleration of particles during magnetic sub-storms.

Mots-clés : closure,subgrid,kinetics,plasma,reconnection,turbulence,machine learning
Projet ERC : BIOTA (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499830.0 €

BIOTA will develop a biocentric ethic of sustainable agriculture to address the lack of biocentric theorising in agricultural ethics and thereby promises to create a new sub-field in environmental philosophy. This necessary theoretical innovation will provide appropriate normative guidance for agricultural practices by reflecting on the plurality of different nonhuman lifeforms that are either the objects – like plants – or enablers – like soil microbes – of agricultural activities. Therefore, BIOTA pays particular attention to the often-overlooked non-sentient organisms facilitating agricultural practices, with a specific focus on plant agriculture (grain, vegetable and fruit farming) – which is frequently attributed a key role in sustainability transitions. Three interlinked layers (representing three objectives) form the core of BIOTA and – ideally – of any adequate biocentric agricultural ethic: (1) Biocentric theories argue that all living beings (incl. non-sentient organisms) are morally considerable. BIOTA will improve existing biocentric accounts by rethinking their main premisses in a more nuanced and relational way. (2) By developing agricultural ethics from a biocentric perspective, BIOTA will not only consider the farmer as a moral agent but put myriads of life forms that make agricultural practices possible into the centre of moral theorising (plants, the soil biota incl. bacteria, fungi and insects). (3) By theorising biocentrism in an empirically informed manner, BIOTA will develop its agricultural ethic in a way that reflects on environmental and technological change. That entails introducing systemic aspects beyond the typical scope of biocentrism – by reflecting on sustainability and socio-ecological resilience –, theorising on novel biotechnologies, and interviewing plant farmers themselves.

Mots-clés : ethics meta ethics,normative ethics,empirical ethics,biocentrism,plant agriculture,analytical moral philosophy,plants,insects,fungi,bacteria,farmer,relationality,environmental change,plant biotechnology
Projet ERC : FutureNature (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1414937.0 €

Accelerating climate change is moving ecosystems rapidly beyond the bounds of historical variability. Many of the traditional conservation approaches trying to maintain a status quo are no longer effective. Rather than resisting change, we need to guide transforming ecosystems towards preferred ecological outcomes. Assisted migration, the active translocation of species to mimic range expansion under climate change, is a widely proposed adaptive management strategy. But it is also controversial, as it disrupts long-held views on biological conservation. Focusing on risks and ignoring benefits has hampered scientific research on assisted migration and halted necessary conservation innovation. Yet, the costs of inaction are too high and time is running out. In FUTURENATURE, I will approach the assisted migration of plant species from an innovative functional perspective, shifting the focus from minimising the impact of translocated species to maximising their contribution to the functioning of novel communities. I will advance our understanding of how assisted migration can safeguard functioning ecosystems by combining the wealth of large observational databases, state-of-the-art joint species distribution models and a cutting-edge climate change experiment. Specifically, I will (1) study the contribution of non-invasive alien species to ecosystem functioning; (2) incorporate species interactions and traits into species distribution modelling to simulate novel grassland communities; and (3) experimentally test the functionality of the best performing communities under future climate scenarios. With the knowledge gained, we will be able to shape ecosystems that will not only survive, but thrive under climate change. FUTURENATURE will provide a “greenprint” to study assisted migration across species groups and ecosystems, and, ideally, enable a paradigm shift in conservation thinking by lifting the psychological barriers preventing changes in natural ecosystems.

Mots-clés : assisted migration,adaptative management strategies,ecosystem functioning,plants
Projet ERC : IonFracMem (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498250.0 €

Effective fractionation of ions does not only play a vital role in the functioning of human cell membranes, but also in engineered membranes used to produce drinkable water, extract target minerals and capture energy to address challenges in environmental, resource & energy fields. Nevertheless, most of the state-of-the-art membranes fail to overcome the trade-off between single ion selectivity and throughput. The progress is greatly hampered by the lack of comprehensive understanding on the separation mechanisms across different types of as-claimed ion selective membranes. The IonFracMem project will make breakthroughs by designing novel facilitated ion exchange membranes using an interdisciplinary approach based on electrochemistry, which synergizes with the interaction between target ion and functional materials to form ion selective sites in the membrane and thus facilitate its transport. To achieve a holistic understanding, we will purposely construct two types of membranes with completely different structure for fractionating ions: 1) polymeric membranes of flexible nature, made of conventional or hydrogel polymers (Obj. 1); 2) composite membrane of rigid nature, consisting of nanomaterials with sub-nanometer cavities (Obj. 2). Subsequently, we will provide mechanistic understanding of the facilitated transport phenomena via a multi-scale modelling approach (Obj. 3), to identify governing mechanisms that can be translated to membrane fabrication parameters. The project integrates several key engineering & science disciplines such as separation technology, material processing and functionalization, electrochemistry and fundamental physics, allowing rational design of next generation membranes from a wide range of materials for ion purification. The proposed multidisciplinary approach will impact theories and applications of electro-driven membranes in important domains such as water purification, resource recovery & sustainable energy.

Mots-clés : membrane separation technology facilitated transport membranes electro assisted ionic control strategy electro driven membrane process surface modification transport phenomena modeling resource recovery water purification sustainable energy
Projet ERC : ColorfulAct (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499987.0 €

Artificial intelligence has revolutionized today’s society by expanding machines’ intellectual ability to approach humans through the creation of advanced algorithms. The physical capability of machines, however, remains basic compared to the evolved algorithms. Natural organisms have soft distributed musculatures actively coordinated in various ways to achieve different physical functions; machines are assembled from passive and rigid components with limited functions. The field of soft robotics has taken a leap to approach organisms by employing soft elastomeric materials that can either passively adapt to the environment or actively actuated by stimulus. Development so far has mainly focused on creating unit soft actuator with muscle-like performances, yet attention to distributed and addressable actuation remains elusive. I believe distributed and addressable features are fundamental concepts to expand physical intelligence, similar to the concepts of nodes and connections are foundational for artificial intelligence.  The central scientific challenge to realize distributed and addressable robotic materials lies in the narrow bandwidth of conventional stimulating signals to modulate actuation; this proposal breaks this mold by exploiting the broad bandwidth of light for high-capacity robotic materials. In this ERC proposal, I will exploit wavelength-division-multiplexing of broad band optical stimulus and establish a unified platform (i.e., materials library, actuation mechanisms, integral soft optical system) to realize distributed, addressable (i.e., individually controllable actuators at ≤ millimeter scale spatial resolution) and high capacity robotic material in a small form factor, and demonstrate advanced robotic multifunctionalities via coordination of distributed actuators in two small scale soft robot examples that are not possible with other stimuli.

Mots-clés : robotic materials,soft robotics,material science,optics,physical intelligence
Projet ERC : ADRIP (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1880615.0 €

Pancreatic cancer is predicted to become the third leading cause of cancer-related death in Europe. Drug resistance to even the most effective anti-cancer-targeted therapies constitutes a major contributor to poor prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) mutations are found in >90% of PDAC, being an important oncogenic driver. Although KRAS-targeted therapies have the potential to transform the clinical management of PDAC drastically, only a subset of patients respond, and resistance is frequent. The extent to which genomic and post-translational processes drive drug resistance remains largely unknown. Genomic analyses have identified the APOBEC family as a key driver of mutagenesis in cancer, including PDAC. Among family members, APOBEC3A (A3A) is involved in genomic alteration and post-transcriptional RNA editing, both mechanisms causative for intra-tumoral heterogeneity (ITH) and drug resistance. My preliminary data reveal that A3A induces chromosomal instability and likely ITH. In addition, I found that A3A-mediated RNA editing is prevalent in human PDACs and a mouse model for A3A. Importantly, I observed that A3A expression increases during KrasG12D targeted therapy, reduces sensitivity, and facilitates clonal outgrowth, and thus, is likely to drive drug resistance in PDAC. The ADRIP study will utilize murine and human models for A3A, to unravel for the first time whether A3A plays a dominant role in increasing ITH in PDAC (Aim1). Second, it will elucidate whether A3A-mediated genomic or post-translational modifications (Aim2) drive pre-existing and acquired KRAS inhibitor resistance. Applying a multi-omics approach, the ADRIP study aims to identify novel regulators of A3A that could serve as therapeutic targets (Aim3). Importantly, the ADRIP study may have direct clinical implications as the basis for future pre-clinical/clinical intervention trials that target A3A to prevent drug resistance in KRAS mutant cancers.

Mots-clés : kras inhibitor drug resistance,rna editing,tumor heterogeneity,genomic alterations,mutagenesis,mouse models