Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : M2FINDERS (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Max Planck Society — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MPG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499995.0 €

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are the most extreme sources of radiative and kinetic power in the Universe, often outshining their entire host galaxies. The production and outward transport of the AGN power can be explained involving rotating supermassive black holes, accretion disks, relativistic plasma jets, and magnetic fields. These plasma jets have been imaged on scales from a few light-days up to thousands of light-years using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT) has succeeded in imaging the putative super-massive black hole in the galaxy M87 on event horizon scales with sufficient sensitivity and resolution to confirm theoretical predictions derived from General Relativity. However, to ultimately establish the existence of such black holes and to determine their physical properties, precise information is needed about the magnetic field near the event horizon, where it reflects the fundamental black hole physics and governs the formation of the relativistic jets. Such measurements pose tremendous challenges and cannot be realised merely from improvements of the EHT imaging. M2FINDERS will meet this technical and astronomical challenge and precisely map magnetic fields at distances smaller than 1000 gravitational radii. To achieve this ambitious goal, I will combine multi-frequency polarimetric VLBI imaging and opacity measurements with novel methods for image analysis and modelling of relativistic flows. Leveraging the recent major advances in VLBI instrumentation, I will undertake an observational program that will result in the most stringent constraints on the strength and structure of the magnetic field near the event horizon. This will provide crucial independent evidence, complementary to EHT imaging, for the existence of black holes and their event horizons.

Mots-clés : active galactic nuclei,jets,magnetic fields,supermassive black holes,event horizon,relativistic,plasma
Projet ERC : Dyn-Syn-Mem (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
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 : 2499505.0 €

Activity-dependent plasticity of synaptic transmission together with refinement of neural circuits connectivity are amongst the core mechanisms underlying learning and memory. While there is already extensive knowledge on some of the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, fundamental questions remain on the dynamics of the underlying molecular events and the functional roles of various forms of synaptic plasticity in information processing, learning and behavior. We previously uncovered basic features of glutamate receptor movements and their role in excitatory synaptic transmission. Our new ground-breaking objectives are: 1) to uncover, in a physiological context, the dynamic mechanisms through which synapses modulate their strength in response to neuronal activity by integrating on different space and time scales the properties of receptor traffic pathways and associated stabilization mechanisms, 2) to use our knowledge and innovative tools to interfere with these trafficking mechanisms in order to decipher the specific roles of different forms of synaptic plasticity in given brain functions and behavioral tasks. For this aim, I lead a team of neurobiologists, physicists and chemists with a collaborative record of accomplishment. We will combine imaging, cellular neurobiology, physiology and behavior to probe the mechanisms and roles of different forms of synaptic plasticity. New in tissue high-resolution imaging combined with innovative molecular reporters and electrophysiology will allow analysis of receptor traffic during short and long-term synaptic plasticity in physiological conditions. We will probe the interplay between activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength and circuit function with new photo-activable modifiers of receptor traffic with an unprecedented time and space resolution. Use of these tools in vivo will allow identifying the roles of synaptic plasticity in sensory information processing and the various phases of spatial memory formation.

Mots-clés : synaptic plasticity,glutamate receptor trafficking,high resolution imaging,neurophysiology,bio sensors,molecular mechanisms of memory
Projet ERC : 3D-PIV (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Vrije Universiteit Brussel — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : VUB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Actual implementation of impactful applications for microfluidic devices in a commercial setting has been surprisingly limited so far. The cause can be to a great extent attributed to the main feature of microfluidic devices: their small dimensions. While miniaturized structures are essential in generating key functionalities, they are also ideal nucleation and anchor sites for solid material present in the liquid that flows through the channels, a phenomenon called fouling. This subsequently results in a reduced or loss of functionality and eventually plugging of the entire flow system. The solution to avoiding fouling is measuring the flow in microfluidic devices in 3D, by particle image velocimetry (PIV), either when designing or using them. However, achieving 3D imaging of flows is currently an extremely difficult task due to the amount of work, high costs and lengthy timelines required. Our value proposition in the ERC Proof of Concept project ‘3D-PIV’ is a table-top device able to efficiently analyse the velocimetry of particles in 3D, offering an unprecedented level of detail of the fluid motion through micron-sized channels/inlets/outlets, opening new possibilities in microfluidics design and validation with significant impact on multiple applications. One of the killer applications we envision, and our focus in this ERC Proof of Concept project, is in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, for the manufacturing of drugs or chemical components, to enable, adjust or improve their separation. In this project we will focus on building a strong business case for our 3D-PIV technology through prototyping, optimizing software, market analysis and business development.

Mots-clés : microfluidic devices,fouling,3d particle image velocimetry,flow tracking,chemical manufacturing
Projet ERC : E-MOTION (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
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 : 2611777.0 €

Actuator devices converting energy into motion are a fundamental part of everyday life. However, there is currently an unmet need in actuation technologies to provide soft, smooth, noiseless movement that can mimic human motion and dexterity. The development of such “artificial muscles” is burgeoning in both interest and importance as it would enable significant advances in areas as important as robotics, medicine and aeronautics. To enable a step-change in this field, E·MOTION proposes to develop unprecedented macroscopic-scale soft materials based on switchable spin crossover molecules with remarkable actuating performances. Using an innovative combination of material engineering methods these materials will be endowed with electrical actuation, self-sensing and energy harvesting properties, which will be a major breakthrough. More fundamentally, E·MOTION aims at understanding in-depth structure vs. mechanical property relationships in these switchable materials, which is essential for processing and optimizing their function. A multiscale experimental and theoretical approach will be used to assess how the molecular deformation and change in molecular connectivity under external stimuli affect macroscopic mechanical properties as well as the cycle life. Finally, E·MOTION will take a major shift on the side of actuator design by the development of original fibre-braided actuators as well as 3D-printed, microfluidic actuator devices made of these materials. These advanced actuator designs will then be thoroughly analysed for their ability to mimic complex muscular schemes. This ambitious, multidisciplinary project that brings together various aspects of molecular and polymer chemistry, condensed matter physics, mechanical engineering and advanced manufacturing, will enable a new departure in my career and a significant leap forward in the state-of-the-art that shall expedite the societal exploitation of these novel, molecule-based actuator technologies.

Mots-clés : molecular materials,spin crossover,polymer composites,mechanical properties,actuators
Projet ERC : AltCheM (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
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 : 1500000.0 €

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the most common leukemia diagnosed in adults, represents the paradigm of resistance to front-line therapies in hematology. Indeed, AML is so genetically complex that only few targeted therapies are currently tested in this disease and chemotherapy remains the only standard treatment for AML since the past four decades. Despite an initial sustained remission achieved by chemotherapeutic agents, almost all patients relapse with a chemoresistant minimal residual disease (MRD). The goal of my proposal is to characterize the still poorly understood biological mechanisms underlying persistence and emergence of MRD. MRD is the consequence of the re-expansion of leukemia-initiating cells that are intrinsically more resistant to chemotherapy. This cell fraction may be stochastically more prone to survive front-line therapy regardless of their mutational status (the stochastic model), or genetically predetermined to resist by virtue of a collection of chemoprotective mutations (the mutational model). I have already generated in mice, by consecutive rounds of chemotherapy, a stochastic MLL-AF9-driven chemoresistance model that I examined by RNA-sequencing. I will pursue the comprehensive cell autonomous and cell non-autonomous characterization of this chemoresistant AML disease using whole-exome and ChIP-sequencing. To establish a mutationally-induced chemoresistant mouse model, I will conduct an innovative in vivo screen using pooled mutant open reading frame and shRNA libraries in order to predict which combinations of mutations, among those already known in AML, actively promote chemoresistance. Finally, by combining genomic profiling and in vivo shRNA screening experiments, I will decipher the molecular mechanisms and identify the functional effectors of these two modes of resistance. Ultimately, I will then be able to firmly establish the fundamental relevance of the stochastic and/or the mutational model of chemoresistance for MRD genesis.

Mots-clés : hematological malignancies,acute myeloid leukemia,chemoresistance,minimal residual disease,in vivo functional screening approaches,pre clinical mouse models,new targets discovery
Projet ERC : RESOLVE (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Italian Institute of Technology — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Acute ischemic strokes result from the occlusion of cerebral vessels by blood clots causing neurological complications, brain damage and death. Based on WHO reports, stroke affects 17M people per year worldwide, with 6M deaths and 5M survivors suffering long-lasting disabilities. Recent statistics estimate an EU direct healthcare cost for stroke of €20B and indirect costs, due to disabilities and lost productivity, of €25B. The two current treatments – thrombolysis and thrombectomy – come with limitations and considerable side effects. Thrombolysis can be safely administered only to a small cohort of patients (about 5%) whereas thrombectomy induces disabilities in 50% of the cases. Moved by the societal, economical, and emotional burden associated with stroke, this proposal aims at developing and validating more effective and less toxic therapies via the combination of the clinically approved molecule tPA and rationally-designed, discoidal polymeric nanoconstructs (DPNs). As compared to tPA, the proposed thrombolytic nano-agents (tPA-DPNs) are expected to provide faster blood clot dissolution; safer administration profile; longer blood circulation and stability. On the technical side, tPA-DPNs will be re-designed to improve their biodegradation and excretion profiles; validated in FDA-recognized stroke models for neurotoxicity and therapeutic efficacy. On the commercial side, a patent portfolio covering the fabrication and utilization of tPA-DPNs will be secured, together with thorough market and business analyses. This will facilitate the interaction with pharmaceutical companies that are investing in the fast growing markets of high-tech drug delivery systems and stroke diagnostics and therapies. tPA-DPNs are expected to alleviate the economic burden on healthcare systems, increase the total sale of thrombolytic agents, revolutionize the medical protocols for stroke management, and diminish the societal and emotional impact of stroke.

Mots-clés : polymeric nanoparticles,thrombolysis,drug delivery systems,advanced therapies,imaging
Projet ERC : SMARTLENS (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Institute of Photonic Sciences — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ICFO;ICFO-CERCA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Adaptive optical elements that enable dynamic control of optical paths are essential components of the last generation of commercial optical devices in a wide range of sectors, including smart phones, microscopy and 3D printing. The main goal of the SMARTLENS project is to exploit a recently developed technology to create a new paradigm in optical imaging by transforming at low cost any conventional static optical lens into an adaptive lens whose imaging properties can be dynamically shaped almost at will. Throughout the project we will advance the maturity of the technology, design and implement a demonstrator as well as establish the exploitation and commercialization strategies.

Mots-clés : photonics,microscopy,adaptive optics
Projet ERC : NanoPrint (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : CNRS Innovation — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3525.0 €

Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers the opportunity to quickly design and make prototypes that would otherwise require multiple step processing (lithography, nanoimprint…). So far, two-photon polymerization is the leading technology for manufacturing micron sized objects with nanometric resolution. However, thise technique requires photosensitive material, that polymerizes through two-photon absorption, limiting the versatility of the the technology NanoPrint is a direct AM technique, offering resolutions down to a few tens of nanometers in width and a few nanometers in height, bridging the manufacturing gap exposed by the historical industry trend of the past 40 years. It is not material specific, as any ink can be deposited, minding some adjustments in the printing parameters (colloidal metals, polymers, sensitive biological material). Another major advantage of this solution is the non-alteration of the ink by an external energy source (UV, laser…). Inspired by the long-established know-how in AFM at Micromégas Team, NanoPrint provides a nanometric manufacturing technology with unprecedented versatility and resolution. As opposed to conventional AFM techniques, our method uses a macroscopic resonator (tuning fork) allowing us to attach a larger capillary, without much excessively disturbing the oscillation properties, that are crucial for the deposition. We believe this technology will open new opportunities for the semiconductor (maskless lithography, interconnects...), molecular diagnosis (lab-on-chip, point of use), and microled (augmented and virtual reality) industries. This project emerged from the NANOSOFT ERC project, while working on the nanomanipulation of nanotubes and nanopipettes.

Mots-clés : 3d printing,nanodeposition,additive deposition
Projet ERC : CompAd (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Autonomous University of Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UAM
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149975.0 €

Adhesives constitute a potent and very broad technology, offering innovative solutions to a wide range of industries and providing craftsmen and private consumers with easy-to-use technically-advanced products. For every application in which two elements need to be fastened together, a specific adhesive can in principle be formulated. We aim at developing a novel adhesive technology, CompAd, that ultimately targets the commercialization of adhesive formulations for coating different surfaces, producing materials where bonding: 1) occurs under a pressure-sensitive contact mechanism; 2) can be classified as weak; 3) is reversible; and 4) takes place between two complementary surfaces. CompAd technology is based in chemically mimicking the operation of materials like Velcro® by using, in a bioinspired approach, complementary noncovalent interactions between molecules. This PoC Project therefore endeavours to bond the scientific bases, technical know-how and expertise acquired during the last years in the ERC Starting Grant PROGRAM-NANO project, with a novel potential applied technology that aspires to provide industry and society with an unconventional chemical adhesive product. The range of potential applications of the CompAd technology is broad, so we will focus in this project on identifying the most lucrative and feasible market niches as a function of the technical adhesion parameters measured in standard prototypes. This requires the assembly of a team comprising experienced researchers on one hand, to validate CompAd performance through well-established standard tests, and management, market and IPR experts on the other, to develop the most convenient business strategy for the exploitation of our technology. Due to its innovative nature and versatility, CompAd has a great potential to open up important technological and commercial opportunities in the design and applications of future smart adhesives.

Mots-clés : supramolecular chemistry,noncovalent molecular interactions,polymer chemistry,adhesives,coatings
Projet ERC : SpaceLaw (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Helsinki — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1994326.0 €

Administrative professionalization is the hallmark of a modern state, but its origins contain a dilemma. Why there were no offices in ancient Rome? How is it possible that it nevertheless formed the model for the Western administrative state? The purpose of this project is to challenge earlier research and to propose a new model of the Roman Republican governance that integrates domestic and private space and to reinterpret its links with the Republican tradition. The significance of these issues extends much beyond this: the development of administrative space in the European context amounts to nothing less than the emergence of the concept of public. Ever since Weber, the conceptual separation of the office and its holder has defined the European way of governance. The origin of this separation of public and private has often been seen in the Roman Republican state with its strict responsibilities, term limits and defined powers of its magistracies, who operated in open public spaces. Using unconventional methodological tools to challenge the conventional view, the project explores the social and cultural dimensions of legal and administrative space, transcending modern assumptions of public and private. Two main research questions explore the confrontation of ideas and their contexts from the Roman Republic to modern Republicanism: 1) How the conflict between Republican ideals, political power and administrative practices transformed the spaces of administration? 2) How this conflict changed the social topography of Rome, the public and private spheres of governance? While much of the earlier research on Republican administration has been constitutional, focused on sovereignty or the individual magistrates, this project advances a radical new interpretation through spatial and topographical analysis. It is a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Roman administrative tradition and its links with the European heritage through the lens of administrative space.

Mots-clés : legal history,roman law,constitutionalism,republicanism,administration,sociology of space