Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : AxoBrain (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2944720.0 €

The Axolotl is an extraordinary model system to study regeneration in tetrapods. Remarkably, the axolotl is able to regenerate parts of the brain after major injury, however the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate regeneration are unclear, and the completeness of functional circuit and behavioral recovery is unknown. Our vision is to develop the axolotl model system to rigorously study central nervous system regeneration, and use discoveries from the axolotl to design novel strategies for regenerating mammalian tissues. The mapping of brain cell types and connections in the axolotl will also have a profound impact on the understanding of vertebrate brain organization and evolution. In AxoBrain, we will integrate scale-crossing technologies to map the axolotl brain at molecular, cellular and circuit resolution, and establish assays to understand how brain cells respond to damage and behavioral circuits regenerate. Our project will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) We will generate a spatiotemporal multiomic atlas of the axolotl brain at single cell resolution. 2) We will generate a connectome of the axolotl retino-tectal-hindbrain circuit and develop behavioral and circuit functional assays in response to visual stimulation. 3) We will establish injury assays and assess regeneration through behavioral, connectomic and single-cell multiomic analysis. 4) Finally, we will apply CRISPR perturbation screens with single-cell genomic readout in vivo and in vitro to identify modulators of regeneration. AxoBrain utilizes quantitative and state-of-the-art methods to explore how the axolotl can regenerate neural circuitry after injury. We have assembled a team with synergistic skill sets that will be required to achieve our vision. This project is a groundbreaking starting point to rigorously investigate how mammals have lost regeneration capabilities over evolution, and will serve as a springboard to design novel strategies for regenerating

Mots-clés : brain regeneration,salamander,single cell genomics,spatial transcriptomics,single cell crispr perturbation screen,organoids,connectomics
Projet ERC : SmartX (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2335815.0 €

The main objective of this project is to improve the early detection and accuracy of lung disease diagnosis by developing a novel detector concept for dark-field X-ray imaging - a novel method with great potential for the assessment of pathological changes in the alveolar microstructure of the lung as recently discovered in initial patient studies. Our research will focus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for more than 3.2 million deaths each year. Traditional chest X-rays, while critical for diagnosis, are often inadequate for the early and accurate detection of mild to moderate COPD due to their limited sensitivity. Similarly, computed tomography (CT) scans are limited in detecting early stages of COPD and are associated with much higher radiation doses. This highlights a significant diagnostic need, as current methods, including spirometry and conventional imaging, cannot reliably assess the severity of COPD.  Our goal is to develop a breakthrough detector technology that overcomes the key challenge of darkfield imaging: the need for a 50% absorbing grating. By utilizing the latest advances in nanoscintillation materials and single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensor technology, we intend to directly resolve the interference patterns characteristic of darkfield imaging. This new technology not only promises to reduce the radiation dose required by current darkfield techniques by 50%, but also enables integration with single-photon spectral detection.  This initiative is a high-risk, high-reward project with the potential to revolutionize X-ray imaging technology, particularly lung imaging, after more than 125 years of practice. Most notably, it will lay the technological foundation for routine integration into the next generation of medical X-ray and CT imaging technology.

Mots-clés : x ray darkfield imaging,lung diseases,x ray detection technologies,photonics,computed tomography,respiratory diseases,scintillation materials
Projet ERC : AxoBrain (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : CO-PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IMBA
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3000000.0 €

The Axolotl is an extraordinary model system to study regeneration in tetrapods. Remarkably, the axolotl is able to regenerate parts of the brain after major injury, however the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate regeneration are unclear, and the completeness of functional circuit and behavioral recovery is unknown. Our vision is to develop the axolotl model system to rigorously study central nervous system regeneration, and use discoveries from the axolotl to design novel strategies for regenerating mammalian tissues. The mapping of brain cell types and connections in the axolotl will also have a profound impact on the understanding of vertebrate brain organization and evolution. In AxoBrain, we will integrate scale-crossing technologies to map the axolotl brain at molecular, cellular and circuit resolution, and establish assays to understand how brain cells respond to damage and behavioral circuits regenerate. Our project will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) We will generate a spatiotemporal multiomic atlas of the axolotl brain at single cell resolution. 2) We will generate a connectome of the axolotl retino-tectal-hindbrain circuit and develop behavioral and circuit functional assays in response to visual stimulation. 3) We will establish injury assays and assess regeneration through behavioral, connectomic and single-cell multiomic analysis. 4) Finally, we will apply CRISPR perturbation screens with single-cell genomic readout in vivo and in vitro to identify modulators of regeneration. AxoBrain utilizes quantitative and state-of-the-art methods to explore how the axolotl can regenerate neural circuitry after injury. We have assembled a team with synergistic skill sets that will be required to achieve our vision. This project is a groundbreaking starting point to rigorously investigate how mammals have lost regeneration capabilities over evolution, and will serve as a springboard to design novel strategies for regenerating

Mots-clés : brain regeneration,salamander,single cell genomics,spatial transcriptomics,single cell crispr perturbation screen,organoids,connectomics
Projet ERC : WHIRLS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : CO-PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IFM-GEOMAR
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3199750.0 €

WHIRLS is about small processes having large-scale impacts. Heat and carbon are the currencies of regional and global climate, constantly exchanged between the ocean and the atmosphere. This exchange is strongly influenced by fine-scales ocean eddies—whirls—that flux heat and carbon towards, or away from, the air-sea interface. When the ocean gives up heat and carbon to the atmosphere, climate is warmer and wetter, and vice versa. Carbon that is fluxed towards the air-sea interface, where sunlight is available, can be taken up by phytoplankton that form the base of the oceanic food web. Eddies and fronts alter vertical nutrient fluxes and ocean stratification which help shape biodiversity and ecosystems. The proliferation of fine-scale processes, and their interdisciplinary and large-scale impacts are poorly understood. In WHIRLS we will use a synergistic and interdisciplinary approach to study fine-scale processes across a continuum of scales (1–100 km) and assess their impacts on air-sea exchange and marine biogeochemistry and biodiversity. We focus on the Agulhas Current System around South Africa because it is a global hotspot of eddy activity, ocean-atmosphere heat exchange, and marine productivity and diversity It is also a region that plays a key role for the global ocean circulation and global climate and climate change. We will use multiple coordinated observing strategies, including research vessels and a large ensemble of autonomous platforms, to collect physical, chemical, and biological datasets across scales. These data will be supplemented by high-resolution models of the ocean and the atmosphere, developed with a focus on the Agulhas Current System, as well as the latest data science methodologies. WHIRLS will improve the understanding of fine-scale processes and its representation in future earth system models for better predictions and projections of the future climate.

Mots-clés : submesoscale and mesoscale ocean dynamics,air sea exchange,biogeochemistry,ocean and climate modelling,climate change,agulhas current system
Projet ERC : Orbital Cinema (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : University of Regensburg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 6719973.75 €

Directly watching in slow-motion videos how electrons move in quantum mechanical orbitals and how this motion shapes the functionalities of condensed matter has been a dream shared by all natural and life sciences. Yet, this vision comes with the daunting challenge of mapping the microscopic structure of electronic orbitals with simultaneous ultrafast time resolution. We will turn orbital cinematography into reality. This seminal breakthrough will rely on the unique synergies between photoemission orbital tomography (POT), ultrafast photoelectron spectroscopy, lightwave electronics and advanced theory, developed and pioneered by us. Secured by our recent proof-of-principle studies, we will combine these aspects to transform POT to a cinematography at unprecedented time scales, faster than a single oscillation period of light. This will allow us to systematically explore the nanocosmos on its intrinsic femto- to attosecond (the billionth part of a billionth of a second) scales. We will take actual slow-motion movies of molecular orbitals during charge transfer processes, surface chemical reactions, and wave packet motion driven by lightwaves. Orbital Cinema will thus resolve key questions related to a wide range of applications, from next-generation optoelectronics, energy conversion, photochemistry and catalysis to prospective electronics at optical clock rates. We expect it to revolutionize our understanding of the nanocosmos by elucidating–on elementary spatio-temporal scales–the inner structure of quantum leaps, strong-field control of electrons, charge transfer processes, and chemical reactions as well as their control by electric fields and light. Since the dawn of quantum mechanics, the temporal evolution of electronic orbitals has been among the most sought-after, yet elusive quantum processes. Our model-free observation of orbital motion establishes an unprecedented ultrafast wave function lab that will carry us to the very foundations of quantum science.

Mots-clés : photoemission orbital tomography,ultrafast photoemission,lightwave electronics,time dependent density functional theory,charge transfer,chemical reactions,nuclear motion,wave packet dynamics
Projet ERC : UnLost (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Israel Antiquities Authority — Pays : Israël — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : IAA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 153750.0 €

The loss of something precious triggers an immediate instinct to find it. But what if the quest does not end there? We see it and find it, yet the precious object is irreparably damaged, and its true knowledge is locked away behind its damage, frustratingly denying us access to the information it holds. In such cases, the object essentially remains lost. Each day, in fact, treasured relics bearing unique witness to the human experience are lost to decay and damage due to the elements of the environment, the ravages of time, and the hands of war. And while we rejoice at every inspiring, arduous discovery and recovery of a physical object, we often must acknowledge that much of the knowledge it contains remains lost. UnLost will revolutionise the way we study damaged, complex heritage materials by capitalising upon today’s vast scientific capabilities. UnLost will harness these capabilities to capture immense amounts of disparate data and combine them with a novel, much-needed systematic and rigorous process to extract, integrate, study, archive, and protect multi-modal data so that lost knowledge is rendered – and kept – UnLost. The Herculaneum papyrus scrolls, buried and carbonised by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE and then excavated in the 18th century, represent the epitome of such found, yet still lost, heritage. The only complete Classical library from the ancient world to have survived and been found in situ, much of the textual material contained in this renowned collection remains hidden within its profoundly damaged and fragmented form. The goal of the UnLost team is to create and deploy new methods of digitization, AI-inspired inference, and archival-quality complex digital objects so as to revive what has been lost from Herculaneum and develop new benchmark approaches for the restoration of damaged heritage objects as a whole.

Mots-clés : digital restoration,herculaneum papyri,material analysis,physical conservation,born digital editions,virtual unwrapping,ancient scrolls,hidden papyrus layers,structured data and metadata
Projet ERC : HYDROSENSING (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : University of Regensburg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2126060.0 €

Water stress is an increasing probleWater stress is an increasing problem for global agriculture given the impact of climate change. Despite the fundamental importance of water, exactly how plants sense its availability remains unknown. This new knowledge is vital for designing more climate resilient crops, yet currently remains a critical gap in scientific understanding. Our unique synergy is ideal to take on this ambitious project and discover how plants sense water after identifying membrane proteins from a proof-of-principle multi-targeted genetic screen designed to reveal components of the water-sensing (hydrosensing) machinery. We hypothesise changes in plant hydraulic fluxes driven by transient water stress are sensed by a specialised cell type – termed phloem companion cells - that controls the synthesis and release of the abiotic stress signal ABA. Release of ABA by water stress is triggered by perturbations in plasma membrane-cell wall contact sensed by kinases like THESEUS1 (THE1) and additional missing components, which we will identify using our custom multi-targeted CIRSPR libraries. Our discoveries will unlock the mechanism enabling sensing of the most important molecule on the planet, WATER, in the most abundant lifeform biomass-wise, PLANTS.  Solving how plants sense water demands a highly inter-disciplinary strategy that goes beyond the cutting edge by pioneering the development of innovative genome editing, functional imaging and structural biology approaches. The breadth and depth of capabilities and expertise to undertake this strategy necessitates a synergistic partnership between world-leading groups to go beyond the current state of the art. By pursuing this high-risk/high-gain strategy, our project promises to reveal common ‘design principles’ that underpin the core mechanism(s) for water stress signalling in plants. This new knowledge is crucial for international efforts to design climate-resilient crops and underpin global food security.

Mots-clés : plant molecular genomics plant phenomics water stress
Projet ERC : CONCERT (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université de Bologne — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2501250.0 €

Conical intersections (CIs) are regions in the potential energy surface of molecules where different electronic energy levels intersect, leading to the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and promoting non-adiabatic transitions between electronic states. CIs preside over essential ultrafast processes in photobiology, photochemistry, and materials science as they can be viewed as “doorways” through which a photoexcited vibrational wave packet (WP) is efficiently funnelled to a lower-energy electronic state. Despite theoretical predictions, CIs have been experimentally elusive so far, due to the extreme speed of the processes leading to and occurring at the CIs and to the associated large variation in the energetic landscape of the molecule, calling for extreme spectral and temporal resolutions. Leveraging recent experimental advances in the generation of ultrashort soft X-ray pulses and conceptual advances in nonlinear optical spectroscopy, CONCERT aims to: i) directly visualise the very moment in which the molecular WP passes through the CI and the associated quantum mechanical electronic coherences; ii) use this knowledge to control, using tailored light pulses, the WP dynamics in the vicinity of a CI and, ultimately, the outcome and the yield of a photochemical reaction by operating exactly where the fate of the process is decided. CONCERT will have both fundamental and applied impact. On the one hand, it will enable the understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving the passage of a WP through a CI, advancing our knowledge of nature and providing design guidelines for artificial molecular systems that mimic the natural ones. On the other hand, it will offer the ability to control the rates and branching ratios of photochemical processes by manipulating the excited state WP in the critical region that determines its ultimate path, fulfilling the long-held dream of using light as a photonic catalyst to control the outcome of chemical reactions.

Mots-clés : ultrafast spectroscopy conical intersections quantum dynamics
Projet ERC : SuperWave (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université Humboldt de Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : CO-PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3507226.25 €

The past decade has seen remarkable advances in the field of quantum non-linear optics, where individual photons are made to strongly interact which each other. Such strong photon-photon interactions are of both fundamental and technological interest: They are the prerequisite for implementing deterministic quantum logic gate operations for processing optical quantum information. Moreover, photons that strongly interact via a quantum nonlinear medium exhibit complex out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics that enable one to tailor and control the photon statistics of light. Quantum non-linear effects have been successfully demonstrated with few photons in a number of experimental platforms, which exploit resonant enhancement of emitter-photon coupling via high-finesse optical cavities, collective response of ensembles of strongly interacting Rydberg atoms, so-called superatoms, or efficient coupling of single quantum emitters to guided light in the realm of waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, it remains a formidable challenge to reach the true many-body regime of quantum non-linear optics, where strong interactions and entanglement between many photons and many quantum emitters give rise to exotic quantum phases of light, such as photonic molecules or fermionic subradiant states. The objective of SuperWave is to realize this regime by synergizing superatoms and waveguide QED. By uniting the expertise and experimental methods of three teams that have previously driven these fields independently, we will develop near-ideal fiber-coupled nonlinear quantum devices. Their implementation will mark a major breakthrough in quantum optics and constitute a key resource in quantum sensing, quantum metrology, quantum communication, as well as quantum simulations. We will illustrate this great potential through a number of hallmark experiments such as the coherent fragmentation of a classical light pulse into its highly nonclassical photon number components.

Mots-clés : waveguide quantum electrodynamics,quantum non linear optics,rydberg atoms,dipole blockade,quantum nanophotonics,collective radiative effects
Projet ERC : HEAVYMETAL (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université Queen's de Belfast — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2590340.0 €

The incredible density, gravity, and electromagnetic field strengths of neutron stars (NS) make them laboratories for physics under extreme conditions. But probing these exotic objects is difficult. With the 2017 gravitational wave detection of a NS-NS merger, the landscape changed, and we can now get high-quality spectra of the decompressed neutron-rich matter emerging from the collision. This is a new transient astrophysical phenomenon called a 'kilonova'. Kilonovae are a potential treasure trove of information on some of the biggest open questions in physics: understanding the nuclear and astrophysical pathways that created half of all the heavy elements (Z > 30) in the universe, and the physics of very hot and extremely dense matter. For this reason, they are considered a scientific priority and kilonova science is the target of several large new and upgraded facilities. But kilonovae are challenging: the phenomenon is short-lived, requiring rapid follow-up with large telescopes, the outflow is heavy element-dominated making it extremely demanding to model, and the merger itself covers a huge dynamic range and involves complex nuclear physics. To interpret the spectra we require new atomic data, which does not yet exist for most of the heavy elements. To tackle these challenges, HEAVYMETAL assembles experts in astrophysical observations, hydrodynamical merger simulation, numerical radiative transfer, and laboratory heavy element spectroscopy and atomic structure calculation. With this team we will be able to determine the structures and overall geometries of the merger outflow, the elemental abundances, and their stratification within the ejecta. By the full exploitation of kilonovae we will trace the nucleosynthesis pathways in NS mergers, and provide important insights on heavy nuclei, neutrino interactions, and the nature of high-density matter, and we will chart the role of compact object mergers as the cosmic forge of the heaviest elements.

Mots-clés : neutron stars kilonova radiative transfer laser produced plasma spectroscopy heavy ion spectroscopy gravitational waves r process origin of the elements