Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : PATHAD (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : University of Gothenburg — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1985093.0 €

Critical to our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and also to finding therapies is determining how key pathological factors interact and relate to neuronal toxicity, symptoms and disease progression. My research has focussed on amyloid beta (Aβ) moities and demonstrated that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 correlates with cerebral Aβ pathology; that Aβ accumulates in the brain 10-20 years prior to onset of symptoms; and that CSF Aβ abnormalities precede CSF tau changes. However, it is increasingly clear that a simple linear model of AD aetiology and progression is inadequate. This proposal aims at developing and validating new diagnostic and prognostic biomarker tools to examine the AD pathogenesis in humans taking a broad view of AD’s multiple pathophysiological features and their putative biomarkers. The major questions, all relevant to therapeutic research, that will be addressed in my proposal include: (i) how are different forms of Aβ produced and modified; (ii) what is the toxicity of these different forms; (iii) how is this toxicity mediated; and iv) what other pathologies may contribute to or modify AD-like phenotypes? We and others have shown that Aβ monomers are relatively non-toxic. We will address the hypothesis that Aβ starts to accumulate in the brains of certain individuals due to defective clearance of the peptide. Once aggregated, Aβ acquires chemical modifications during brain incubation over years. These modified Aβ forms then induce tau hyperphosphorylation and concomitantly over-activate the immune system, resulting in neurotoxicity. Other pathologies, including α-synuclein and TDP-43, may contribute in this process. In PATHAD, we will develop and validate new diagnostic and prognostic tools using a combination of groundbreaking technologies and unique clinical materials to dissect the underlying molecular pathogenesis of AD in much greater detail than what has been possible before and facilitate the development of effective treatments.

Mots-clés : alzheimer s disease,biomarkers,cerebrospinal fluid,amyloid beta,microglia
Projet ERC : MuDiLingo (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : TU Bergakademie Freiberg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : TUBAF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 662060.57 €

Crystalline defects in metals and semiconductors are responsible for a wide range of mechanical, optical and electronic properties. Controlling the evolution of dislocations, i.e. line-like defects and the carrier of plastic deformation, interacting both among themselves and with other microstructure elements allows tailoring material behaviors on the micro and nanoscale. This is essential for rational design approaches towards next generation materials with superior mechanical properties. For nearly a century, materials scientists have been seeking to understand how dislocation systems evolve. In-situ microscopy now reveals complex dislocation networks in great detail. However, without a sufficiently versatile and general methodology for extracting, assembling and compressing dislocation-related information the analysis of such data often stays at the level of “looking at images” to identify mechanisms or structures. Simulations are increasingly capable of predicting the evolution of dislocations in full detail. Yet, direct comparison, automated analysis or even data transfer between small scale plasticity experiments and simulations is impossible, and a large amount of data cannot be reused. The vision of MuDiLingo is to develop and establish for the first time a Unifying Multiscale Language of Dislocation Microstructures. Bearing analogy to audio data conversion into MP3, this description of dislocations uses statistical methods to determine data compression while preserving the relevant physics. It allows for a completely new type of high-throughput data mining and analysis, tailored to the specifics of dislocation systems. This revolutionary data-driven approach links models and experiments on different length scales thereby guaranteeing true interoperability of simulation and experiment. The application to technologically relevant materials will answer fundamental scientific questions and guide towards design of superior structural and functional materials.

Mots-clés : computational materials science,small scale plasticity,machine learning,data driven materials science,dislocations,microstructure property relation
Projet ERC : MuDiLingo (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 192500.0 €

Crystalline defects in metals and semiconductors are responsible for a wide range of mechanical, optical and electronic properties. Controlling the evolution of dislocations, i.e. line-like defects and the carrier of plastic deformation, interacting both among themselves and with other microstructure elements allows tailoring material behaviors on the micro and nanoscale. This is essential for rational design approaches towards next generation materials with superior mechanical properties. For nearly a century, materials scientists have been seeking to understand how dislocation systems evolve. In-situ microscopy now reveals complex dislocation networks in great detail. However, without a sufficiently versatile and general methodology for extracting, assembling and compressing dislocation-related information the analysis of such data often stays at the level of “looking at images” to identify mechanisms or structures. Simulations are increasingly capable of predicting the evolution of dislocations in full detail. Yet, direct comparison, automated analysis or even data transfer between small scale plasticity experiments and simulations is impossible, and a large amount of data cannot be reused. The vision of MuDiLingo is to develop and establish for the first time a Unifying Multiscale Language of Dislocation Microstructures. Bearing analogy to audio data conversion into MP3, this description of dislocations uses statistical methods to determine data compression while preserving the relevant physics. It allows for a completely new type of high-throughput data mining and analysis, tailored to the specifics of dislocation systems. This revolutionary data-driven approach links models and experiments on different length scales thereby guaranteeing true interoperability of simulation and experiment. The application to technologically relevant materials will answer fundamental scientific questions and guide towards design of superior structural and functional materials.

Mots-clés : computational materials science,small scale plasticity,machine learning,data driven materials science,dislocations,microstructure property relation
Projet ERC : NEMOCRYS (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Forschungsverbund Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : FVB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499375.0 €

Crystalline materials are indispensable for the contemporary world and silicon crystals in particular have enabled the technological progress from first transistors to quantum computers. Such crystals are produced in high-temperature processes with a permanent demand to improve both material quality and efficiency of mass production. The high complexity of the growth processes involving various physical phenomena from electromagnetism to fluid dynamics as well as the limited possibilities of direct measurements make process optimization very challenging. Numerical simulation is often used, but due to limited accuracy of the models, experimental trial-and-error still dominates in practice as I have directly experienced while developing crystal growth methods both on research and industrial scales for more than a decade. There is a series of fundamental assumptions in multiphysical models that have been used for many crystal growth processes of various materials but have never been thoroughly validated. I propose to build a general experimental platform (MultiValidator) to address these challenges and, for the first time, to consider the complete physical complexity of a real growth process. A unique crystal growth setup will be developed for a model material (e.g., Ga) to enable low working temperatures, relaxed vacuum-sealing requirements and easy experimental access for various measurement techniques simultaneously (e.g., flow velocity and thermal stress fields). In this way, a new level of physical understanding and a new generation of multiphysical models for crystal growth processes will be established. The following paradigm change in the way how we observe, describe and develop crystal growth processes and similar complex multiphysical systems will minimize the necessary experimental cycles and open new horizons for a scientific analysis as well as for smart process control, for example, within the Industry 4.0 initiative.

Mots-clés : crystal growth,numerical simulation,multi physics,model validation,model experiment,heat transfer,fluid flow,measurement techniques
Projet ERC : DESCALE (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1963625.0 €

Crystallization fouling, a process where scale forms on surfaces, is pervasive in nature and technology, negatively impacting the energy conversion and water treatment industries. Despite significant efforts, rationally designed materials that are intrinsically resistant to crystallization fouling without the use of active methods like antiscalant additives (which can persist long after their disposal and the toxicological impact of which in effluent is questioned) remain elusive. This is because antiscalant surfaces are constructed today without sufficient reliance on an intricate but necessary science-base, of how interweaved interfacial thermofluidics, nucleation thermodynamics, and surface nanoengineering control the onset of nucleation and adhesion of frequently encountered scaling salts like calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate. Such scaling salts are common components of fouling deposits in industrial heat exchangers and membranes, which significantly inhibit heat transfer and flow performance. Therefore, guided by interfacial thermofluidic and thermodynamics theories, and employing advanced experimental methods in the areas of surface nanoengineering and diagnostics, this project will develop an integrated knowledge-base for how engineered surfaces can beneficially interact with interfacial transport phenomena in order to significantly advance antiscalant surfaces. We aim to pinpoint mechanisms for inhibiting scale nucleation and reducing adhesion in order to design and engineer antiscalant materials based on the collaborative action of their composition and topography. The effects of surface texture curvature, surface composition, and substrate compliance on scale nucleation and adhesion have intertwined and sometimes competing impacts, which we aim at elucidating to realize high performance scale-phobic surfaces. Connected to this are cutting edge materials fabrication techniques and considerations to the development of surfaces for future applications.

Mots-clés : surface nanoengineering,fouling,hydrophobicity,thermofluidics
Projet ERC : RodBot (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 148885.0 €

Crystallography is one of the most important methods for studying the 3D structure of complex biological macromolecules. The knowledge of the detailed structure of proteins, enzymes and chromatin allows scientists to understand concepts such as bimolecular interactions, mechanism of enzymatic catalysis and the therapeutic action of drug molecules. A major bottleneck of high-throughput crystallography is harvesting the crystallized form of these molecules from their liquid environments and manipulating them to a location that enables exposure to the X-ray beam. Due of the fragility and large size range of crystals this step has so far been done manually by trained experts. The proposed research will advance the concept of using a wireless, magnetically driven microrobot, named the RodBot, for micromanipulation of delicate biological entities. The RodBot rolls on a supporting surface in a low Reynolds number fluidic environment and generates rising flows in front of it, and a vortex above it. The flows are utilized for noncontact micromanipulation of fragile objects such as protein crystals. As the RodBot approaches a micro-object, the object comes under the influence of the rising flows which lift it off the substrate. The suspended object is then trapped in the vortex and can be transported to a pre-defined location. The RodBot is powered and controlled by external, low intensity magnetic fields which are generally harmless to living organisms and can readily penetrate most biological material. The flows generated by the RodBot can precisely manipulate crystals of sizes varying from a few microns up to one millimeter. It is capable of separating individual crystals from a group and delivering it to an extraction device called the loop. The core magnetic manipulation technology for the wireless control of the RodBot has been developed under the auspices of the ERC Advanced grant project BOTMED.
Projet ERC : EvoBias (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : University of London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. London
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2396926.25 €

Cultural practices that are harmful to one sex, but favour the other, are the focus of intense interest in the public eye, the social sciences and the evolutionary human sciences. The foundational work of Hamilton, Bateman and Trivers, showed how kin selection theory provides a framework for understanding the evolutionary basis of conflicts of interest between the sexes and between parents and offspring. However, many gender-biased practices do not seem to fit this classic model of sexual conflict, in which males exploit females for their own mating advantage. Rather than focus on the inherent differences in sexual strategies of males and females, I will explore an alternative explanation, which is sex-specific demography. This framework refocuses attention away from sexual selection, towards patterns of cooperation and conflict within families. If one sex disperses at marriage, that generates sex and age-based asymmetries in relatedness in residential groups, but few theoretical models, or empirical studies, have examined how such demographic effects could explain the origins of gender-biased cultural behaviour. EvoBias will develop and test new evolutionary demographic models that will focus on the role of sex-ratios, sex-biased dispersal and some modes of marriage, in generating gender-biased harmful cultural practices. The behaviours to be studied include: female-biased workloads, witchcraft accusation, sending men to war, sending boys into monastic life, bride-capture and the ‘honour’ killing of women by their own kin. These represent both social issues and evolutionary puzzles. The diverse kinship systems in east and central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa provide opportunities to test these hypotheses. Through a combination of mathematical modelling, comparative studies using the literature and field-based sociodemographic studies, the team will seek evidence that sex-specific demography underpins these gender-biased harmful cultural traditions.

Mots-clés : evolutionary anthropology,social evolution,sex specific demography,dispersal,kinship,harmful cultural practices,workloads,witchcraft beliefs,evolutionary ecology,behavioural ecology,phylogenetic comparative methods
Projet ERC : CULTSONG (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1492911.0 €

Culture is highly relevant for human evolution but whether animal culture can be an evolutionary force that promotes speciation is an open and highly contested issue. While culturally induced song divergence can be correlated with increased speciation rates in songbirds, it is hard to resolve whether cultural differences are promoting speciation or vice versa. Studying ring species is a perfect solution for this problem since they illustrate divergence in space instead of time, thus allowing us to determine whether cultural differences are causes or consequences of speciation. A ring species originates from a population that expands around an uninhabitable barrier and gradually diverges until the terminal forms are reproductively isolated upon secondary contact. We will study whether culturally induced song divergence accelerates speciation in the bat Saccopteryx bilineata, the first known mammalian ring species. Cultural differences between S. bilineata populations are manifested in distinct and temporally stable song dialects which juvenile males learn from adults. First, we will study song divergence around the ring and the relative contribution of song dialects to reproductive isolation of the co-occurring terminal forms of the ring. Second, we will study potential genetic predispositions for learning specific song dialects and investigate neurogenetic mechanisms involved in mammalian song learning. Third, we will reconstruct the history, evolutionary patterns and processes of speciation in a ring using a genomic approach in S. bilineata and its sympatric sister species. This comparative approach will allow us to unravel factors involved in the rapid divergence of S. bilineata on a small spatial scale. In synthesis, we will be able to determine whether sexually selected, culturally transmitted traits can accelerate speciation and elucidate the role of culture as an evolutionary force.

Mots-clés : animal behaviour,acoustic communication,song,dialect,vocal learning,culture,playback,speciation,foxp2,sexual selection,ring species,gene culture coevolution,genomic differentiation
Projet ERC : InstantScope (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inserm
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149788.0 €

Current 3D microscopy methods are limited in speed due to the need to scan the sample in the optical axis. Multifocus microscopy - or MFM- is a method that allows for the instant acquisition of a 3D volume without scanning, thus increasing acquisition speed by a factor of 10-100. MFM based on diffractive optics allows for easy optimization of the total volume acquired and the sampling rate. In our ERC-StG project, we developed an important expertise in the design and construction of diffractive elements key to MFM and invented a novel super-resolution imaging method based on this technology (patent pending). In this project, we propose to further improve the conception and fabrication methods of MFM’s diffractive elements to considerably improve acquisition speed and resolution. In addition, we will employ these technologies in conjunction with valve-based microfluidics to develop and validate a microscopy-based high-resolution, high-throughput cell profiler (Hi2M). Hi2M will allow for the 3D acquisition of complete cell volumes in <10 ms, enabling the high-resolution, multi-color imaging of millions of cells/hour without the need for cell adhesion. Because of these important advantages over existing microscopies, we anticipate that the technologies developed in InstantScope should have a large impact in many fields of cell biology.

Mots-clés : 3d fluorescence microscopy,microfluidics,diffractive optics,epigenetics,chromosome structure
Projet ERC : INSPECT (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : University Medical Center Utrecht — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UMC
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Current SPECT/CT scanners are not suitable for guiding interventional procedures involving the administration of radionuclides in a patient. These scanners are too large and not flexible enough to smoothly integrate into the intervention room. Hence, the radionuclide distributions obtained in these procedures can currently only be evaluated after the interventional procedure is finished, resulting in sub-optimal treatment outcomes. To address this problem, we have developed a SPECT/CT scanner optimized for use in the intervention room so that the monitoring of the radionuclides can instead be done ‘live’ during the procedure. For one specific interventional procedure in which radionuclides are injected, radioembolization for the treatment of liver cancer, our interventional scanner can: 1) improve tumor kill by real-time feedback on the tumor doses, 2) minimize adverse effects by early detection of unwanted targeting of healthy tissue, 3) improve patient comfort by shortening the procedure, and 4) as a result reduce the cost for society. Fundamental research for the development of the interventional scanner was performed in the previously granted ERC CoG. In this ERC Proof of Concept, we will investigate the commercialization of our device. This will be achieved by initiating three routes in parallel: 1) demonstrating the scanner performance in a promising interventional radionuclide therapy treatment (radioembolization), 2) determining our intellectual property rights position and strategy, and 3) performing a thorough market and competitor analysis with feedback from the market. These results will be combined to form a business strategy for commercialization with which to engage with commercial partners. These actions could result in the mass-production of the interventional scanner, which can benefit thousands of patients worldwide.

Mots-clés : medical imaging,nuclear medicine,x ray imaging,oncology,interventional radiology,radioembolization