Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : ReguloBac-3UTR (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems
Entité participante : Spanish National Research Council — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CSIC
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1876778.0 €

In eukaryotes, untranslated regions located at the 3′ end (3’UTRs) of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) have been proved to be key post-transcriptional regulatory elements controlling almost every single biological process. In contrast, in bacteria, most studies regarding post-transcriptional regulation have been mainly focused on specific non-coding RNAs and 5’UTRs, which often carry riboswitches or thermosensors. Remarkably, bacterial 3’UTRs have been largely disregarded and have not been considered as potential regulators. Recently, we found that a 3’UTR modulates biofilm formation in S. aureus through its interaction with the 5’UTR encoded in the same mRNA. This mechanism resembles eukaryotic mRNA circularization. Also, a 3’UTR that contributes to cellular homeostasis by promoting hilD mRNA turnover was recently shown in Salmonella. Although both studies are pioneering showing the potential of bacterial 3’UTRs as regulatory elements, many questions still remain to be answered. Are 3’UTRs roles conserved in bacterial species? Do 3’UTRs contain specific regulatory sequences or secondary RNA structures? Are transcriptional terminator sequences relevant for certain 3’UTRs? Are 3’UTRs specifically recognized by RNA-binding proteins? Might 3’UTRs be responsible for bacterial speciation? Might bacterial 3’UTRs be the ancestors of eukaryotic 3’UTR evolution? To achieve these questions, here we propose a high-throughput analysis based on the development of specialized dual-reporter libraries to identify in vivo functional 3’UTRs by fluorescence-activated cell sorting coupled to RNA sequencing. Also the pool of RNA-binding proteins associated to 3’UTRs will be identified by global MS2-tagging and mass spectrometry. Examples of 3’UTRs belonging to physiologically important genes will be selected to deeply study regulatory mechanisms at the molecular and single cell levels. We expect that this project will largely change the view of post-transcriptional regulation in bacteria.

Mots-clés : high throughput transcriptomics analysis,bacterial posttranscriptional regulation,rna mediated regulation,bacterial rna protein interactions
Projet ERC : TUCAS (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Montanuniversität Leoben — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 112734.45 €

In heterogeneous catalysis surfaces decorated with uniformly dispersed, catalytically highly active particles are a key requirement for excellent performance. One of the main tasks in catalysis research is the continuous improvement or development of catalytically active materials. An emerging concept in catalyst design, and the aim of this project, is to selectively and reversibly tune and modify the surface chemistry by electrochemical polarisation. Perovskite-type catalysts raise the opportunity to incorporate guest elements as dopants. Upon electrochemical polarisation these dopants emerge from the oxide lattice to form catalytically active clusters or nanoparticles on the surface (by exsolution). In consequence this leads to a strong modification or enhancement of catalytic selectivity and activity. Electrochemical polarisation offers the possibility to adjust the surface chemistry in response to an external signal (here the applied voltage). Studies in a realistic catalytic reaction environment (in-situ) will enable a direct correlation of surface structure with catalytic activity, selectivity and the electrochemical stimulation. The unique combination of surface science, heterogeneous catalysis and electrochemistry will take this research to a new ground-breaking level. No research group has yet tried to tackle this topic on a fundamental mechanistic level by this multidisciplinary approach. The proposed project opens unprecedented possibilities for catalyst design and in-situ control due to the versatility of perovskite-type catalyst materials and dopant elements. Nanoparticle exsolution is a highly time- and cost-efficient way of catalyst preparation and it will offer solutions to major problems in heterogeneous catalysis, such as ageing (sintering) or catalyst deactivation (coking). Tuneable catalyst surfaces will facilitate tackling a major concern of the 21st century, the utilisation of CO2 and its conversion to renewable fuel.

Mots-clés : in situ,exsolution,tunning catalytic activity,perovskite,dopant
Projet ERC : RODRESET (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : University of London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : U. London
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 251523.09 €

In industrialized countries, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of untreatable blindness. In addition to age-related disease, there are also inherited forms of macular degeneration, such as juvenile-onset Stargardt disease. These conditions, for which there are currently no effective treatments, involve the loss of photoreceptors in the central retina, where a high cone photoreceptor density is responsible for effecting high resolution vision. We recently discovered that cones can modulate the sensitivity of surrounding rod photoreceptors to enable them to be more effective in daylight conditions. In retinal disorders involving degeneration of the macular cones, this lateral interaction is impaired, leading to saturation of the rods’ dynamic range and impaired daylight vision. We have also discovered that direct modulation the neurons underlying this lateral interaction, the horizontal cells, improves quality of vision in mice lacking functional cones. Together, our results identify a specific circuitry underlying rod-mediated vision as a potential therapeutic target following macular degeneration. Here, we aim to exploit these new findings to re-establish the rods’ ability to function in daylight using two distinct approaches. Firstly, we will use direct modification of the rods to permanently shift their light sensitivity into the daylight range. A small area of modified rods that are effective in daylight, likely with a higher temporal resolution, would improve extra-foveal fixation and vision. Secondly, we intend to establish a system that confers light sensitivity onto horizontal cells, to replace light-mediated input from cones. This will restore the natural horizontal cell-derived modulation of light sensitivity to rods, allowing them to function in daylight. Thus, by utilizing our knowledge of specific aspects of retinal circuitry, we aim to develop novel therapies for improving vision in patients with advanced macular degeneration.

Mots-clés : vision,macular degeneration,gene therapy,optogenetics
Projet ERC : EMPOCI (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Sussex — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499964.0 €

In its recent 1.5°C report the IPCC stressed that global efforts to promote low-carbon transitions need to be accelerated to meet the Paris Agreement. This raises a number of questions for the emerging field of policy mixes for sustainability transitions, such as on the role of actors and multi-level governance in politically contested socio-technical transition processes. In this project, I aim to address these knowledge gaps by asking how low-carbon transitions in the increasingly interconnected energy and mobility systems as major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions can be accelerated. EMPOCI has three objectives: Objective 1: To provide a novel conceptual and empirical understanding of the global interplay between multi-level policy mixes and low-carbon innovations in socio-technical transitions which foregrounds the role of actors and transformative capacity. -> By bridging the innovation and policy studies literatures and comparatively analyzing the increasingly interconnected electricity-mobility-ICT systems in four key countries, EMPOCI will advance the research frontier on transformative policy mixes for low-carbon transitions. Objective 2: To develop and test widely applicable novel methodological tools enabling both deep and broad insights into the drivers and barriers in unfolding multi-sectoral transition processes towards sustainability. -> Drawing on a multi-method research design EMPOCI will provide novel standards for assessing policy, agency and innovation dynamics in politically contested low-carbon transition processes (e.g. survey, big data). Objective 3: To co-design practically relevant multi-actor strategies for accelerating sustainable energy-mobility transitions, thereby supporting the Paris Agreement in combating climate change. -> Based on EMPOCI's findings a transformative foresight process is organized with stakeholders from business, policy, academia and society to jointly derive implications for transformative policy mixes.

Mots-clés : innovation studies,transition studies,policy mix,system innovation,agency,credibility,consistency,coherence,policy process,technological innovation,policy innovation,social innovation,institutional innovation,transformative capacity,socio technical change,climate policy,industrial policy
Projet ERC : BAR2LEGAB (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Sussex — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

In many European countries with ostensibly liberal abortion laws, women face legal restrictions to abortion beyond the first trimester of pregnancy, as well as other barriers to legal abortion, in particular shortages of providers willing and able to offer abortion due to poor training and to conscientious objection among physicians. The Council of Europe has recognized that conscientious objection can make access to safe abortion more difficult or impossible, particularly in rural areas and for low income women, who are forced to travel far to seek abortion care, including abroad. The WHO also highlights that delaying abortion care increases risks for women’s reproductive health. Despite the relevance of this topic from a public health and human rights perspective, the impact of procedural and social barriers to legal abortion on women in countries with ostensibly liberal abortion laws has not been studied by social scientists in Europe. This five-year research project is envisaged as a ground-breaking multi-disciplinary, mixed-methods investigation that will fill this gap, by capitalizing on previous, pioneer anthropological research of the PI on abortion and conscientious objection. It will contribute to the anthropology of reproduction in Europe, and particularly to the existing literature on abortion, conscientious objection and the medicalization of reproduction, and to the international debate on gender inequalities and citizenship, by exploring how barriers to legal abortion are constructed and how women embody and challenge them in different countries, by travelling or seeking illegal abortion, as well as their conceptualizations of abortion and their self perception as moral/political subjects. The project will be carried out in France, Italy and Spain, where the few existing studies show that women face several barriers to legal abortion as well as in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, where Italian and French women travel to seek abortion care.

Mots-clés : social anthropology,reproductive politics,abortion governance,conscientious objection,stigma,gender and social inequalities
Projet ERC : POLARCHATS (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : Carlos III University of Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

In many developing countries, political actors make extensive use of discussion apps such as WhatsApp to diffuse misinformation. This political use of discussion apps has been hypothesized to generate hatred towards targeted social groups, support non-democratic tactics and values, and eventually lead to the election of politicians who rely on this tactic. In spite of alarming reports, little systematic knowledge exists about political actors’ reliance on discussion apps or about its effects. Since 2016, social media misinformation has provoked considerable attention in academia. This literature has however almost entirely overlooked discussion apps. This lack of scholarship is puzzling, insofar as discussion apps may constitute a greater menace than other services. Two distinctive technical features of WhatsApp – encryption and the necessary existence of pre-existing ties between group members – arguably make these apps efficient vehicle for political misinformation. Drawing on this intuition, I hypothesize that WhatsApp constitutes a preferential channel for the circulation of political misinformation; that features of WhatsApp communities make it more likely than misinformation will be believed, less likely that it will be corrected, and more likely that it will have an impact on users’ downstream attitudes. The project relies on qualitative and experimental methods to test hypotheses derived from this intuition in two large democracies in which political actors are widely hypothesized to use WhatsApp: India and Brazil. Relying on in-depth interviews, the project examines how and why party actors embrace the technology. Second, it relies on crowdsourcing to quantify misinformation on WhatsApp. Third, the project develops two types of experimental designs to examine the determinants of individual-level belief in misinformation. Finally, it relies on the same designs to analyze the effect of misinformation on the aforementioned attitudes.

Mots-clés : misinformation,polarization,social media,discussion apps,mixed methods,experiments
Projet ERC : AFFORDS-HIGHER (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Amsterdam University Medical Centers — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499850.0 €

In many situations experts act adequately, yet without deliberation. Architects e.g, immediately sense opportunities offered by the site of a new project. One could label these manifestations of expert intuition as ‘higher-level’ cognition, but still these experts act unreflectively. The aim of my project is to develop the Skilled Intentionality Framework (SIF), a new conceptual framework for the field of embodied/enactive cognitive science (Chemero, 2009; Thompson, 2007). I argue that affordances - possibilities for action provided by our surroundings - are highly significant in cases of unreflective and reflective ‘higher’ cognition. Skilled Intentionality is skilled coordination with multiple affordances simultaneously. The two central ideas behind this proposal are (a) that episodes of skilled ‘higher’ cognition can be understood as responsiveness to affordances for ‘higher’ cognition and (b) that our surroundings are highly resourceful and contribute to skillful action and cognition in a far more fundamental way than is generally acknowledged. I use embedded philosophical research in a particular practice of architecture to shed new light on the ways in which affordances for ‘higher’ cognition support creative imagination, anticipation, explicit planning and self-reflection. The Skilled Intentionality Framework is groundbreaking in relating findings established at several complementary levels of analysis: philosophy/phenomenology, ecological psychology, affective science and neurodynamics. Empirical findings thought to be exclusively valid for everyday unreflective action can now be used to explain skilled ‘higher’ cognition as well. Moreover, SIF brings both the context and the social back into cognitive science. I will show SIF’s relevance for Friston’s work on the anticipating brain, and apply it in the domain of architecture and public health. SIF will radically widen the scope of the increasingly influential field of embodied cognitive science.

Mots-clés : affordances,radical embodied cognitive science,enaction,actionism,philosophy of ecological psychology,phenomenology,merleau ponty,wittgenstein,gibson,friston,action readiness,skilled action
Projet ERC : SACRASEC (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : Utrecht University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1975234.0 €

In mega-cities of the Global South, state agencies often lack the capacity to provide infrastructure and security to all citizens. In such contexts, religious organizations and non-state security actors (vigilantes) have merged into alternative governance organizations. The emergence of religious vigilantes suggests a different connection between religion and violence than emphasized in current research on religious fundamentalism and terrorism. While religious vigilantes use violence systematically, they generally do not aim to overthrow the state, nor do they seek a global audience to witness their violence. They operate side-by-side with state actors to maintain order. Major questions are: why do mega-city residents grant these religious vigilantes authority? And what is the role of religion in the legitimation of vigilante practices? SACRASEC will analyze the production of authority of religious vigilantes in mega-cities of the Global South through an ethnographic comparison of three mega-cities. The case studies focus on Christian and Afro-Brazilian religion in Rio de Janeiro; Christian, Islamic and Indigenous religion in Lagos; and Islamic and Indigenous religion in Jakarta. This comparative focus makes it possible to draw general conclusions about the role of religion in alternative governance, while also enabling an analysis of the particularities of each religious tradition in the context of vigilantism. This research extends the boundaries of the anthropology of religion and political anthropology. It will provide critically needed knowledge on the power structures in mega-cities of the Global South, and in so doing will contribute important insights to policies aimed at improving human security.

Mots-clés : security,alternative governance,vigilantism
Projet ERC : MAGALIGN (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
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 €

In microelectronics, 3D integration and assembly definitely appears as a very efficient option to achieve highly integrated chips. It offers major benefits such as combining heterogeneous technologies, combining high-performance and low-power chips, increasing data transfer bandwidth in memory above logic circuits, etc. 3D assembly is realized by bonding two wafers or chips face to face on a wafer. In this bonding process, the number of interchips interconnects is limited by the accuracy of the alignment process. Presently, alignment methods rely on optical alignment techniques which offer ±0.2m resolution for wafer-to-wafer bonding or only ±1m resolution for die-to-wafer bonding. This is relatively poor and limit the density of interconnects and therefore the bandwidth of interchip communication. In this ERC PoC project, we intend to establish the viability of a novel magnetic alignment approach based on nanomagnetism and spin electronics which could yield unprecedented accuracy in alignment during wafer bonding. The goals of MAGALIGN are i) to make a proof of concept of this novel alignment method, ii) optimize it and develop the design tools to exploit it, iii) Develop industrialization strategy.

Mots-clés : 3d integration,3d assembly,wafer to wafer bonding,chip to wafer bonding,magnetic field sensors,stt mram,co interconnects,magnetic alignment,optical alignment
Projet ERC : LEIT (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : VTT
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 299201.25 €

In nanoelectronic circuits, interconnects use more energy than microprocessors, a situation clearly undesirable for e.g. autonomous Internet of Things applications based on charge and other information tokens. Overcoming this issue and minimising overall power consumption will be of paramount importance as we move towards Beyond-CMOS circuits. A novel approach is required. In LEIT I propose to investigate phonons as information carriers with typical ultralow energies of a fraction of a meV. As quanta of lattice vibrations, the high interactivity of phonons presents two key challenges: phonon-phonon scattering and losses in waveguides caused by interaction with e.g. lattice defects. I propose to overcome this by engineering phonon-phonon scattering in custom-designed phononic crystal-based structures moving towards narrow frequencies and non-interacting phonons at room temperature. These structures will exhibit a unique combination of features to allow phonon filtering, reflection and confinement, as well as transmission from one element (source) to another (modulator and waveguides), all of which will serve to direct and guide the phonon waves. Phonon losses will be minimised even eradicated by using topological phononic waveguides to transmit phonons over micrometre distances. The technological platforms will be made from silicon (Si) and Si-compatible materials, also incorporating transition metal dichalcogenides in order to reach the higher frequencies. In LEIT I will draw on my extensive experimental research on phonons in semiconductor nanostructures, Si membranes and phononic crystals to demonstrate the viability of acoustic phonons as low-energy information carriers. By doing so I will lay the scientific and technological foundations of a new phononics-based approach to information processing, offering a means of transmitting information that is extremely low-power and lossless, while also compact and integrable with Si-technologies.

Mots-clés : phonon signal transmission,phonons in si,si membranes,phononic crystals,low energy phonon transport,phononic interconnects,topological phonon waveguides,surface acoustic waves,brillouin scattering,ir imaging