Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : LANGARCHIV (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1037312.5 €

The eighteenth and nineteenth century history of the central Sahara and Sahel has primarily been written using European or jihadist Arabic sources. This has led to an overwhelming emphasis on religion, politics, and geography as core themes that shaped social and cultural dynamics in this region. By focusing on sources in African languages—until now largely forgotten by historians—the project LANGARCHIV aims to enrich and expand this narrative. Hausa and Kanuri material collected by Germanophone, British, and French scholars for linguistic study between 1772 and 1913 in West and North Africa, England, and Brazil cries out for collaboration between historians, linguists, and anthropologists. This rich body of primary sources remains under-studied, having been rejected as colonial even though the majority were collected before colonial occupation. A general reconsideration of this material will enable a major shift in our understanding, toward a ‘history from below’ that will make it possible to explore the history of Sahelian societies through the stories that Sahelians told about themselves. Serving as linguae francae, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Hausa and Kanuri were spoken from Tripoli to Kano and Bahia, and today Hausa remains the most widely spoken language in West Africa, with 50 million speakers scattered over more than 6 countries LANGARCHIV will be the first project to explore materials in African languages as sources for African history. Combining an epistemological analysis of European scientific interest in African languages with the will to write a social history that overcomes the jihadist bias, the project aims to bring about a paradigmatic shift in the history of the central Sahara and Sahel. It will achieve this goal by revealing a rich body of primary sources and by developing an innovative analytical framework for using documents generated by early students of African languages and cultures as historical sources.

Mots-clés : history of africa
Projet ERC : LANGARCHIV (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
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 : 154855.0 €

The eighteenth and nineteenth century history of the central Sahara and Sahel has primarily been written using European or jihadist Arabic sources. This has led to an overwhelming emphasis on religion, politics, and geography as core themes that shaped social and cultural dynamics in this region. By focusing on sources in African languages—until now largely forgotten by historians—the project LANGARCHIV aims to enrich and expand this narrative. Hausa and Kanuri material collected by Germanophone, British, and French scholars for linguistic study between 1772 and 1913 in West and North Africa, England, and Brazil cries out for collaboration between historians, linguists, and anthropologists. This rich body of primary sources remains under-studied, having been rejected as colonial even though the majority were collected before colonial occupation. A general reconsideration of this material will enable a major shift in our understanding, toward a ‘history from below’ that will make it possible to explore the history of Sahelian societies through the stories that Sahelians told about themselves. Serving as linguae francae, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Hausa and Kanuri were spoken from Tripoli to Kano and Bahia, and today Hausa remains the most widely spoken language in West Africa, with 50 million speakers scattered over more than 6 countries LANGARCHIV will be the first project to explore materials in African languages as sources for African history. Combining an epistemological analysis of European scientific interest in African languages with the will to write a social history that overcomes the jihadist bias, the project aims to bring about a paradigmatic shift in the history of the central Sahara and Sahel. It will achieve this goal by revealing a rich body of primary sources and by developing an innovative analytical framework for using documents generated by early students of African languages and cultures as historical sources.

Mots-clés : history of africa
Projet ERC : Chemtrip (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Université de Toulouse — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UT
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1421408.75 €

The emergence of Life relied on the presence of key molecules like water and prebiotic molecules. The primitive objects of our Solar System (comets, asteroids), which formed in the disk of dust and gas surrounding the young Sun, are thought to have delivered them to Earth during heavy bombardments. Observations show that the deeply embedded Class 0 protostars also harbour a very rich chemistry in their inner regions. What occurs to the chemical composition between this early stage of the star formation process and the formation of planets, comets, and asteroids is unknown. Do the molecules detected in these young protostars survive or are they destroyed and reformed at a later stage before being incorporated into planets, comets, and asteroids? This ERC project aims to reconstruct the physico-chemical evolution from the deeply embedded protostellar stage to the planet forming disk stage, through multi-source analyses of high angular resolution observations combined with chemical modeling studies. I will investigate the evolution of complex organic chemistry and isotopic fractionation during the star formation process using interferometric observations (ALMA, NOEMA) of solar-type protostars. In addition, I will carry out numerical simulations with a state-of-the-art gas-grain chemistry code in order to interpret the observations as well as to characterize the impact of the physical conditions and their evolution (environment, grain growth and dust settling, episodic accretion) on the chemistry. This ERC project will lead to a new understanding of the evolution of the chemical composition from the earliest protostellar stage to the formation of the disk that will give birth to the planets, comets, and asteroids, while identifying the processes affecting the final composition of the disk. The observational work will require the development of innovative tools of interest for the astrochemical community that I will release publicly.

Mots-clés : astrochemistry,solar type protostars,interferometric observations
Projet ERC : Domognostics (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Cyprus — Pays : Chypre — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UCY
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 81875.0 €

The emergence of networked cyber-physical systems, in which sensor/actuator networks are integrated with software algorithms, facilitates the development of advanced Building Management Systems (BMS) aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in buildings, which accounts for 40% of the energy consumption in the EU. When a fault arises in some of the components, or an unexpected event occurs in the building, this may lead to a serious degradation in performance or, even worse, to situations that would endanger people’s lives. Studies estimate that 20% of the energy consumed in commercial buildings for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and water heating can be attributed to various faults. Therefore, there is a market need for an intelligent building automation diagnostic system which integrates with existing BMS to facilitate continuous and effective monitoring of the buildings. The objective of the proposed proof of concept is to develop the Domognostics platform, a novel solution for monitoring building automation systems, detecting and diagnosing any component faults and/or unexpected events, and providing remedial reconfiguration actions, aiming at improving operational efficiency. Domognostics will interoperate with existing BMS to extend their capabilities, and will integrate directly with heterogeneous sensor types, such as IoT devices, mobile sensors, wearables, etc., to increase redundancy of the available information and measurements. The Domognostics platform will utilise intelligent fault diagnosis algorithms with machine learning capabilities to boost its capacity to learn from experience, and semantically enhanced reasoning to facilitate the flexibility of adding new sensors or replacing faulty components, as needed. The theoretical foundations of these techniques were developed as part of the ERC Advanced Grant project Fault-Adaptive, which started in April 2012, and is currently being carried out at the University of Cyprus.

Mots-clés : computational intelligence,fault diagnosis,anomaly detection,internet of things,building automation,smart buildings,cyber physical systems
Projet ERC : Human-Ribogenesis (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Entité participante : Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : LMU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2080137.5 €

The emergence of numerous diseases caused by defective assembly of ribosomes calls for a deeper understanding of human ribosome biogenesis. Yet, in human cells the assembly of ribosomal subunits is a vital process of daunting complexity, which requires several hundreds of assembly factors (AFs). Together with small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) these factors facilitate a cascade of modification, processing and folding events of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) that are tightly coordinated with the incorporation of a large set of ribosomal proteins between the nucleolus and the cytoplasm. This process has been extensively studied in fungal model organisms such as S. cerevisiae, however, assembly and rRNA processing pathways differ significantly between yeast and mammals. Many unique AFs have been identified in humans and several diseases, so-called ribosomopathies, have been assigned to ribosome biogenesis defects. Yet, so far only a single publication (Ameismeier et al., 2018) provides direct molecular information on the structural basis and architectural transitions of human ribosome maturation. Therefore, I propose to provide a near complete structural inventory of human ribosome biogenesis by using state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) on purified native pre-ribosomal particles. Corresponding analysis by chemical cross-link mass spectrometry, Nanopore sequencing and cryo-tomography as well as functional assays probing for nuclear export and RNA processing defects will gain complementary functional information. Finally, shot-gun cryo-EM of total pre-40S, pre-60S and 90S intermediates will be established in order to quantitatively characterize the equilibrium flow of ribosome assembly in normal and challenged human cells. Together, these insights will provide the basis for a mechanistic understanding of human ribosome biogenesis and will thereby lay the foundation for better relating this process to regulatory pathways and disease.
Projet ERC : MultiOrganelleDesign (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499068.0 €

The emergence of organelles dedicated to specific cellular functions drove the evolution of more complex eukaryotic organisms. We recently created membraneless organelles inside eukaryotic cells dedicated to orthogonal translation, which opened a new path to residue-specific protein engineering using genetic code expansion. We now want to design novel organelles into eukaryotes that will internally enact the entire central dogma of molecular biology. This will supplement the complex eukaryotic cell with an additional simple and easily tailored orthogonal machinery that can also facilitate transcription and replication. This will enable us to create eukaryotes that have more than four additional expanded genetic codes, and we will explore the functional space occupied by these novel living systems. The organelles will be enhanced to process specific signals to e.g. modify RNA or degrade specific proteins. Besides these curiosity-driven goals, specific applications will allow us to road test our technology. We will directly use these approaches to advance protein engineering in eukaryotes to create proteins and artificial peptide polymers having multiple, noncanonical functionalities suitable for diverse biotechnological applications and new bioinspired materials. We will also develop organelle design into a truly universal and powerful labeling method fully compatible with eukaryotic host cell physiology that has single-residue precision and goes way beyond the state-of-the-art of any fluorescent labeling technology. The approaches will be general and truly flexible in how translation can be tailored in terms of protein, RNA and codon choice, including sense codons and type of new functionalities. Progress made in recent decades has shown that protein design and engineering can revolutionize biology. We can only imagine what can be achieved with designed functional organelles inside eukaryotic cells and how they might enable the creation of new living systems.

Mots-clés : genetic code expansion,phase separation,noncanonical amino acids,membraneless organelles
Projet ERC : ChromTrace (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1284000.0 €

The emergence of resistance to chemotherapy and targeted therapies is a major challenge for the treatment of cancer. While several genetic mechanisms driving resistance processes have been discovered, non-genetic mechanisms have also been shown to contribute to drug resistance. Yet, our restricted understanding of epigenetic evolution has so far limited our ability to modulate resistance using epigenetic modifiers. With ChromTrace, our goal is to reconstruct and define the contribution of epigenetic evolution to chemo-resistance in triple-negative breast tumors. In this aggressive sub-type of breast cancer, chemotherapy is the standard of care, but chemo-resistance remains the major unmet clinical need. We will explore the heterogeneity of H3K27me3chromatin states - key determinant of cell identity - in tumor cells, study how they are transmitted and determine whether they are associated to the resistance phenotype. Combining lineage tracing and targeted sequencing to our original single-cell chromatin profiling approach, we will reconstruct the dynamics of chromatin features over time in the context of genetic evolution. In parallel, using a live-cell microscopy reporter system, we will evaluate the association of recurrent chromatin features with the resistance phenotype and elucidate mechanisms of epigenetic tumor evolution. Our results on the heritability and plasticity of chromatin landscapes will have strong impact on our understanding of epigenetic evolution in cancer. Our long-term goal is to build on this integrated appreciation of molecular tumor evolution processes to propose novel therapeutic strategies to control resistance to chemotherapy. Finally, our approaches being applicable to any dynamic biological system, ChromTrace opens the perspective to study evolution of chromatin landscapes not only in other types of cancer and disease, but also during normal development.

Mots-clés : epigenetics,heritability,plasticity,breast cancer,chemotherapy,single cell chromatin immuno precipitation
Projet ERC : SINGULARITY (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : University of Warwick — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1483943.0 €

The emergence of singularities, such as oscillations and concentrations, is at the heart of some of the most intriguing problems in the theory of nonlinear PDEs. Rich sources of these phenomena can be found for instance in the equations of mathematical material science and hyperbolic conservation laws. Building on recent pioneering work of the PI, The SINGULARITY project will investigate singularities through innovative strategies and tools that combine geometric measure theory with harmonic analysis. The potential of this approach is far-reaching and has already led to the resolution of several long-standing conjectures as well as opened up new avenues to understand the fine structure of singularities. The project comprises three inter-connected themes: Theme I investigates condensated singularities, i.e. singular parts of (vector) measures solving a PDE. A powerful structure theorem was recently established by the PI and De Philippis, which will be developed into a fine structure theory for PDE-constrained measures. Theme II is concerned with the development of a compensated compactness theory for sequences of solutions to a PDE, which is capable of dealing with concentrations. The central aim is to study in detail the (non-)compactness properties of such sequences in the presence of asymptotic singularities, for instance in relation to the Bouchitt ́e Conjecture in shape optimization. Theme III investigates higher-order microstructure, i.e. nested periodic oscillations in sequences, such as laminates. The main objective is to understand the effective properties of such microstructures and to make progress on pressing open problems in homogenization theory and on the fundamental Morrey Conjecture. We will employ the promising tool of microlocal compactness forms, recently invented by the PI. All three themes tackle challenging and important open questions, which will serve as guiding lights towards a robust framework for the effective study of singularities.

Mots-clés : oscillations,concentrations,geometric measure theory,harmonic analysis,compensated compactness,microstructure
Projet ERC : NOVEL (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1643505.0 €

The emerging field of systems biology is revealing the intricate nature of biological organisms, whereby a large fraction of their individual components (genes, proteins, regulatory elements) interact with several others. The co-evolutionary processes that this entails raises the question of how phenotypic novelty may arise in the course of evolution, since all parts of the system have to evolve in a coordinated manner if the phenotype is to remain functional. For most biological systems, however, we are lacking even basic insight into the fine-scale mechanistic constraints and the underlying ecological context. In this project, we will focus on the sporophytic self-incompatibility system in outcrossing Arabidopsis species, a model biological system in which two distinct co-evolutionary processes are becoming well-understood: 1) between the male and female reproductive proteins allowing self-pollen recognition and rejection and 2) between small non-coding RNAs and their target sites that jointly control the dominance/recessivity interactions between self-incompatibility alleles. By studying these two model systems, we will aim to catch the emergence of functional and regulatory novelty in flagrante delicto. We will take a multidisciplinary approach combining theoretical and empirical population genetics, evolutionary genomics and ancestral protein resurrection using transgenic plants. Our goal is threefold: 1) decrypt the molecular alphabet of the interaction between co-evolving nucleotide sequences, 2) predict and evaluate the fitness landscapes upon which the two co-evolutionary processes are taking place and 3) exploit natural variation in closely related species to unveil the kind of co-evolutionary process in natural populations. Our combination of various powerful approaches in a tractable model system should provide insight on diversification, a poorly understood but fundamental evolutionary process that is taking place at all levels of organization.

Mots-clés : plant genomics,self incompatibility
Projet ERC : MFreeB (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IMDEA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1998407.0 €

The environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels have promoted great interest in generating electric energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind. However, the intermittent nature of those resources demands high performing and cost-effective energy storage systems. Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs) present several advantages, namely, total decoupling of power and energy densities and the possibility of rapid mechanical charging by substituting spent electrolytes with fresh ones. The major issues of the current Vanadium RFBs are the high price and toxicity of vanadium components and the high cost and low performance of the ion-selective membranes they require. MFreeB project proposes to completely remove the problematic membrane of RFBs by developing a disruptive, versatile and scalable concept of Membrane-Free RFB implementing efficient catholytes and anolytes in which the metallic redox pairs are replaced by cheap, abundant and environmental-friendly molecules. In order to achieve this objective, I propose a multi- and interdisciplinary research methodology across a wide range of expertise including fundamental electrochemistry, thermodynamics, physical chemistry, modelling, and mechanical engineering. I will make use of advantages of different electrolytes to develop a versatile concept of Membrane-Free RFB with a wide range of applications. This Consolidator Grant (ERC) would provide adequate support to consolidate my own independent research team and programme. During my scientific career, I have demonstrated creative thinking and excellent capacity to carry out research going beyond the state of the art. My meritorious record of scientific publications (55 ISI articles, h index = 25), project leadership, international collaborations and capacity for supervising and coordinating a research team are presented in the proposal. I am now in an excellent position and research environment to commit and be devoted to this encouraging and challenging project

Mots-clés : electrochemical energy storage,redox flow batteries,organic redox flow batteries,biphasic systems,redox electrolytes,ionic liquids,organic redox molecules,quinones