Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : 2dQC (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université d'Innsbruck — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 135000.0 €

The development of a general-purpose quantum processor requires the possibility of scaling the device up to large numbers of quantum bits and the realisation of fault-tolerant quantum gate operations between them, ideally with the possibility to carry out gates between arbitrary qubit pairs. In trapped-ion based implementations, quantum gates are typically carried out on sub-ensembles of qubits that are stored in linear strings of ions. These sub-ensembles are subsequently connected by shuttling ions around or using photonic interfaces. To reduce the footprint of such a device, we propose to replace linear strings by two-dimensional ion crystals and directly operate on 100 ion-qubits. Within this application, we will demonstrate the realisation of entangling gate operations between arbitrary ion pairs in a 2d-crystal with fidelities better than 99%. In collaboration with the company Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT), we will make off-the-shelf 2D ion-crystals available for computational tasks by integrating the traps needed to store the crystals into the quantum computing systems developed by AQT. The control of these first-of-its-kind 2D ion-trap array will be based upon standardised quantum software development kits for this novel computing architecture. The realisation of a universal gate set in a processor with about 100 qubits with all-to-all connectivity will, beyond quantum computation, spearhead novel applications in hybrid digital-analog quantum simulations, quantum metrology and quantum networks.
Projet ERC : RE-ACT (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Sheba Medical Center — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

RE-ACT aims to translate groundbreaking ERC-funded research on lncRNA-based therapy for Crohn's Disease (CD) into a commercially viable treatment option. Our innovative approach targets the gut epithelial lining using lncRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), addressing a critical gap in current CD treatments which primarily focus on immune suppression. By restoring epithelial function, we aim to achieve better mucosal healing and long-term patient outcomes. Building on our discovery of widespread lncRNA dysregulation in CD patients, we will conduct comprehensive preclinical studies to validate the efficacy and safety of our lncRNA-LNP therapy. Our work will involve both ex-vivo studies using human cell models and in-vivo studies in mouse models of epithelial injury and gut inflammation, focusing on optimizing delivery, assessing therapeutic effects, and evaluating potential systemic impacts. Concurrently, we will develop a robust IP strategy to protect our innovation, conduct thorough market assessments to understand the commercial landscape and engage in targeted business development activities to secure partnerships and funding for future clinical development. Our integrated approach combines scientific rigor with commercial acumen, maximizing the potential for successful translation from laboratory to clinic. The project addresses a significant unmet medical need in CD treatment, potentially offering a more effective and targeted therapy with fewer systemic side effects. If successful, our lncRNA-based approach could not only improve outcomes for CD patients but also pave the way for similar therapies in other gastrointestinal disorders. By combining cutting-edge science with strategic commercial development, this project represents a significant step towards addressing the limitations of current CD treatments and improving the lives of millions affected by this challenging condition.
Projet ERC : SOCIAT (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Warwick — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The SOCIAT project aims to develop an innovative, interactive platform for social impact assessment in nature conservation policies. This tool addresses the growing need for accurate, accessible, and standardized assessments of the socio-economic effects of biodiversity policies and restoration initiatives. Despite increasing commitments to conservation, existing methods lack consistency, predictive capabilities, and ease of application across multiple contexts. Building on the ERC-funded FIDELIO project, SOCIAT integrates real-time data collection, predictive analytics, and spatial mapping, offering a scalable, cost-effective, and user-friendly solution. It allows policymakers, conservation practitioners, and private sector stakeholders to assess, visualize, and predict the social impacts of their interventions. The project follows a 5-stage development pathway, transitioning from research to innovation. This includes platform development, stakeholder engagement, validation, and business strategy implementation. A spin-out company will ensure SOCIAT’s financial sustainability through tiered licensing and consultancy services. Key objectives of the project include: Testing and validating SOCIAT to ensure usability, accuracy, and scalability, Establishing an Intellectual Property and knowledge transfer strategy for commercialization, Engaging key stakeholders to promote adoption across conservation, policy, and private sectors, Developing a market strategy for long-term viability. By bridging the gap between conservation efforts and societal well-being, SOCIAT will revolutionize impact assessment, ensuring biodiversity policies are ecologically effective and socially just.
Projet ERC : arrayed surveillance (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université d'Utrecht — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

This ERC PoC project aims to establish the technical and commercial feasibility of our recently developed glycan-arrays in which we determined the minimal receptor for duck, chicken, and human influenza A viruses, respectively. We also determined structures vital for viruses as intermediate receptors on the avian-mammalian interface. With our experience in printing arrays, we also want to add proteinaceous receptors for coronaviruses. This mixed “glyco-protein” array will then be employed for functional surveillance of two virus families with significant pandemic threat. The ERC program “sugar-enable” has developed different glycan arrays that should be used in the real world to detect potential pandemic viruses as soon as possible, now making a substantial societal impact. In this project, we aim to conduct a technical and commercial feasibility study.
Projet ERC : POLYMORPH (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université d'Utrecht — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Gene therapy holds the potential to be an enabling technology to truly cure (rare) diseases by directly correcting errors in the patient’s genetic database underlying the disorder. For these corrections therapeutic nucleic acids (NAs) are typically used. However, the precise and efficient delivery of these NAs remains a critical bottleneck, hindering the full-scale clinical implementation of gene therapy. NAs are large, highly charged and unstable molecules, hampering transport and passing (intra)cellular barriers after administration. To mitigate this, NAs are typically packaged into nanocarriers, where lipid-based systems (LNPs) are the current state-of-the-art. Although an effective strategy to protect NAs, selective tissue targeting remains a tremendous challenge. Nanoparticles (NPs), including LNPs, tend to preferentially accumulate in the liver, limiting treatment of any disorder affecting other tissues and organs.  The ERC PoC POLYMORPH project builds on the promising results of the original ERC Starting Grant project and aims to validate the use of nanoparticle (NP) morphology to redirect nanocarrier accumulation away from the liver. Morphological control of NA-loaded NPs is uniquely facilitated by a novel formulation strategy recently developed in the ERC Starting project. This novel approach has the potential to provide a superior alternative to the current, yet suboptimal, LNPs.  POLYMORPH will achieve this validation through comprehensive in vitro studies and preliminary in vivo experiments, laying the groundwork for future clinical applications. The project is further strengthened by the active involvement of multiple stakeholders, including academic researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, medical centers, regulatory science experts, and a knowledge transfer organization. This broad engagement maximizes the potential for clinical, commercial and societal impact, ensuring a strong pathway towards real-world implementation.
Projet ERC : PeptInsure (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Reading — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 84344.0 €

Food fraud and mislabeling undermine public trust in the food industry and regulatory bodies. The scale of these issues is heightened by the so-called Protein Gap. PeptInsure offers a new solution to authentication of protein in the food and feed industries by leveraging the strengths of ZooMS for peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) and the novel LAP-MALDI technology, enhancing the specificity, affordability, and efficacy of protein analysis. This unique combination, alongside advanced software tools, enables PeptInsure to transcend the limitations of existing methods, such as specificity issues, costliness, and the impact of processing on detectability, positioning it as a pioneering solution capable of redefining protein analysis standards. These factors combine to position PeptInsure as a pioneering approach that could redefine standards for protein analysis in food and feed, with implications for safety, quality, and consumer trust. While existing methods each contribute valuable tools for protein analysis in food and feed, they are often hampered by limitations related to specificity, cost, and the impact of processing on detectability. PeptInsure's innovative integration of technologies aims to overcome these challenges, offering a comprehensive, reliable, and cost-effective solution for protein authentication and quality assurance in the food industry. If successful, PeptInsure stands to offer groundbreaking innovations in the field of protein analysis, with far-reaching implications for food safety, quality assurance, and market integrity. However, the project's high-risk elements, including the integration of complex technologies, adaptation to diverse matrices, and the need for advanced data analysis approaches, pose significant challenges. Overcoming these challenges will require innovative solutions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to research and development, underscoring the high-risk/high-gain nature of the PeptInsure project.
Projet ERC : NANOSENSE (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CEA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Magnetic sensors are present everywhere in our daily lives. We often use them in cars, robotics, medical applications, for power sensing, electronic compass, etc. Among them, magnetoresistive sensors play an increasing role thanks to their relatively small size, good sensitivity and low cost. However, magnetoresistive sensors saturate above typically a few milli-Tesla which is too low for a number of applications. Besides, reducing the sensor footprint is important in terms of costs. In addition, smaller sensors have also a reduced power consumption which is very important for wearable applications and sensors used in Internet of Things. Therefore, it is commercially desirable to be able to develop a low cost, nano-size, magnetoresistive sensor in which the dynamic range could be extended and easily adjusted in the range 80mT-400mT commonly used in linear or angular encoders. Within an ERC project which just ended entitled “CMOS/Magnetoelectronic Integrated Circuits with Multifunctional Capabilities”, a novel concept of magnetic field sensor sensitive to out-of-plane field was proposed and patented. Initial experiments performed within this ERC project provided very promising results. The purpose of this ERC project is to make a full proof of concept of this sensor demonstrating its outstanding performance and subsequently move towards a start-up creation or licensing of the technology to an existing sensors manufacturer. Within NANOSENSE, we aim to achieve gains over existing sensors by 10x in terms of footprint reduction, 50x in power consumption, 10x in signal to noise ratio while increasing the sensing range up to ~800mT. This will make these sensors suitable for integration in sensors network for IoT, sensors for wearable applications, automotive, detection of leakage current in electronic circuits, detection of microcracks in metals, navigation of surgical tools (e.g.endoscopes).
Projet ERC : STENTBOT (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université Koç — Pays : Turquie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 104939.97 €

Diseases in the brain vasculature, such as acute ischemic stroke, aneurysm and brain tumors, are fatal and require medical devices to treat them with minimal invasion. However, current tethered devices have limited safe access into the distal or tortuous vascular routes, which prevent saving lives of some patients. Therefore, we propose a wireless stent-shaped magnetic soft millirobot, stentbot, which would have the capability of safe access to such routes. Also, the stentbot will be able to be repositioned afterwards without repeating the same procedure fully again if the disease location changes or if the initial position of the device is observed to be not optimal. Such robot concept was originated in the ERC-AdG project of the PI. After reaching its target location safely and precisely under medical imaging and external magnetic actuation guidance, the robot will deliver the tissue plasminogen activator drugs on-demand locally to treat the acute ischemic stroke. Moreover, the robot will be used to treat aneurysms minimally invasively by becoming a flow diverter to regulate flow into the aneurysm sites.
Projet ERC : HYDROCUP (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Maastricht — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Secreted cytokines by transplanted cells can have positive effects such as immunomodulation, angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. However, transplanted cells are difficult to retain in a specific place to maximize the release of cytokines on site. Here, we developed a hollow electrospun scaffold with one open and one closed end for the in vivo delivery of cells as ?secretory factories? in a hydrogel, termed the hydrocup. Because of the closed end, a (cell-laden) hydrogel can easily be dispensed into the open end of the hydrocup, after which the open end is closed with sutures. As part of the ERC starting grant where this application stems from, we showed that adult stem cells encapsulated inside the hydrocups remained viable for 28 days in vitro and released functional cytokines similar to hMSCs in hydrogels alone. In addition, the hydrocups remained intact and fixed in place for 6 weeks after subcutaneous implantation in rats. In this ERC proof of concept proposal, we aim at further studying the hydrocup as a device for a wide variety of cell-based cytokine secretion or drug-laden hydrogel applications. We will further refine the device for applications in the cardiac regeneration market where stem cell based therapies suffer so far from low viability of cells after injection. We will make a market analysis study of competitors in the cell therapy field and propose an initial business plan for seeking further investments to create a spin-off company at the end of the grant.
Projet ERC : PICODROP-MS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a widely applied analytical tool underpinning important commercial sectors like biotechnology, pharmaceutics, and environmental analysis. A significant drawback is that the analysis is destructive, resulting in irretrievable sample loss and making MS nonideal when sample is expensive or scarce. We pioneered a technology capable of reducing the amount of sample consumed during MS by >4000 times compared to the existing state-of-the-art by using picolitre (10^-12 L) droplets. Because these sample volumes are so small, our technology will significantly accelerate otherwise time-consuming preparative chemistry, benefitting end users in the above-mentioned sectors. Anticipated commercial benefits include improved cost-effectiveness and increased productivity gains arising from >99.9% cost savings on samples and substantial cost savings on staff time. The commercial adoption of our technology will lead to new services and increased sales by enabling analysis of samples too scarce for current technologies. The considerable reduction in sample consumption will provide environmental benefits, and the capability to accelerate e.g. the drug discovery process may yield health benefits. Consequently, our picodroplet MS technology has the potential to become the method of choice for a diverse range of MS end users. To achieve these envisioned impacts, we will develop relationships with key industrial stakeholders in the analytical instrumentation sector and, building on our recent patent application, advance our IPR strategy by evaluating market and licensee requirements. We will engage directly with leading MS end users to quantify the benefits of our technology in the important application areas of reaction discovery, biomolecular analysis, and environmental sampling. This PoC will facilitate comprehensive evaluation of our technology’s strengths relative to competitors and maximise its commercial potential.
Projet ERC : Metabiogel (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Our proposal aims to develop a new class of biobased composite hydrogel materials specifically designed for vibration damping and energy absorption applications. These biobased composites will be sourced locally from various regions worldwide and will serve as 3D printable feedstock. The new hydrogels will be engineered to withstand temperature and humidity ranges beyond typical room conditions and provide superior damping performance compared to fossil elastomeric materials available. As fully biodegradable and bio-sourced materials, they will effectively replace fossil-based materials currently used in commercial damping technologies.
Projet ERC : MIRA (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Capital Region of Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RH
Type d'entité : Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Asthma is a common childhood disorder with a heterogeneous presentation, representing multiple disease endotypes with distinct underlying mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms in early life can enable personalised asthma prevention, addressing a significant unmet medical need, but no asthma/wheeze endotypes have been identified in young children that can be targeted. My preliminary findings from untargeted plasma metabolomics profiling in the COPSAC2010 and VDAART birth cohorts showed that maternal oxylipins, particularly undetectable 12-HETE, are associated with a distinct asthma endotype. Further, preliminary data showed a primary preventive effect of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFA) supplementation in pregnancy only among mothers with detectable 12-HETE levels, highlighting a potential for personalised prevention. The MIRA project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind this novel oxylipin-associated childhood asthma endotype and develop tailored prevention strategies. This involves measuring targeted oxylipin profiles and investigating the determinants of maternal oxylipins during pregnancy and their impacts on infant alveolar macrophages (AMs), airway microbiome, longitudinal metabolome and proteome, and asthma outcomes in COPSAC2010 and VDAART. The project will also explore personalised strategies involving prenatal n-3 LCPUFA exposure. Mechanistic studies using wild-type and ALOX15-/- transgenic mice will evaluate the effects and uncover the mechanism. A key innovation of this project is the development of dry blood spot (DBS) screening tool for pregnant women, enabling early risk stratification and personalised intervention. The project will engage in patenting, technology transfer, intellectual property protection, and prototype validation with industry partners, paving the way for integrating the screening tool into prenatal care to prevent childhood asthma before birth.
Projet ERC : REALTIMESEA (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University College Dublin — Pays : Irlande — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UCD
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 88125.0 €

The ERC Advanced Grant HIGHWAVE is a current project that studies the physical mechanisms underlying the emergence of destructive breaking waves on the ocean’s surface. The recent months have shown the multiplication of abnormal atmospheric disturbances generating extreme winds and waves that surprised forecasters. It is therefore essential to be able to extract useful information from real-time measurements of winds and waves. In planning to address this problem from a science perspective, we discovered a critical gap in all current approaches to ocean wave measurements and maritime communications. There is no existing technology that provides air and water information (wave amplitude and direction, wind speed and direction, current speed and direction) of any given sea state in real time. The lack of any technique providing instant access to a sea state makes it extremely difficult to adapt to a changing sea state and to act fast. REALTIMESEA will fill this gap, using wireless wave sensor technology deployed on a connected buoy to measure and transmit instantaneously to a fully equipped mobile station the raw data of the sea state (air and water) at a given location at a very low communication cost. Considering that our idea can be extended to a linked network of connected buoys, thus adding a spatial component to the real-time measurements, one can say that the ability to track sea states in real time and space will represent a revolution in wave forecasting, with expected commercial applications for multiple “end users”.  Taking the real-time measurement of waves to Proof of Concept is made possible because of the recent development of maritime wireless networks, that enables Wi-Fi data coverage over large areas of water within a 12 km radius from a shore station. A 1-year campaign off Inishmaan, Ireland, will allow the optimisation of the measurement system, the development of the required analysis software and of the manual for the buoy/mobile station kit.