Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : Tied2Teeth (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : National Research Center on Human Evolution — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CENIEH
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2252167.5 €

Teeth dominate the fossil and bioarchaeological records because they consist mostly of inorganic material. Consequently, dental anthropology has long been essential in our investigation of the human past. Variation in the anatomy of teeth is instrumental for differentiating species, identifying biological affinities between populations, making inferences about dietary adaptations, and timing key developmental life stages. However, recent advances in genetics, genomics, and developmental biology undermine many assumptions built into anthropologists’ study of the dentition by revealing extensive pleiotropy—when one gene influences more than one anatomical structure simultaneously. However, this is not a setback but rather an advantage. In this project, we will use the pleiotropies that involve teeth to open windows to the evolution of human anatomies far beyond the dentition. I will employ three methodological approaches that utilize pleiotropy to probe different aspects of human paleobiology. The first approach will use quantitative genetic analyses to calibrate the extent to which cranial evolution is genetically correlated with dental evolution. In the second approach, we will employ large historical morphological datasets combined with the modern insight from genome-wide-association-studies (GWAS) to explore how the evolution of soft-tissue anatomy may have driven changes in the dentition. Finally, we will turn to the fossil record. Using traits that were defined using a pleiotropic approach, we will test the hypothesis that environmental selection influenced dental variation during two key time periods within the evolution of genus Homo. This project modernizes the study of the human past by incorporating the phenomenon of dental pleiotropy. By combining these three different approaches and a range of time scales, we turn the conundrum of pleiotropy into a powerful tool for studying human evolution.

Mots-clés : dentition,paleontology,quantitative genetics,human adaptation,hominid
Projet ERC : EcoEvoMove (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : Université d'Aberdeen — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 204494.5 €

My overarching ambition in EcoEvoMove is to provide new theoretical and empirical understanding of how ecological and evolutionary dynamics can interact to ‘rescue’ wild populations from impending extinctions caused by changing and increasingly extreme seasonal climatic conditions.  Seasonal climates are rapidly changing, but capabilities to predict real-world population responses are still severely limited. Major problems are that 1) existing eco-evolutionary theory relies on core assumptions that are fundamentally violated by intrinsic properties of key traits that shape seasonal population dynamics, and 2) key micro-evolutionary processes that drive interacting seasonal and spatial dynamics have not yet been quantified in any wild population. We therefore have no capacity to predict how fast climate-impacted animal populations could adapt through changing seasonal movements, profoundly reshaping seasonal locations and wider ecological interactions.  I will provide: 1) new theory that identifies general principles of eco-evolutionary dynamics arising in seasonally- and spatially-varying environments; 2) the first empirical estimates of complex quantitative genetic effects and feedbacks that drive micro-evolution and plasticity in seasonal movements, and resulting spatio-seasonal dynamics, in nature.  By coupling these theoretical and empirical advances I will test the overarching hypothesis that rapid micro-evolution of the degree or form of seasonal movement could facilitate rapid ‘evolutionary rescue’ of wild meta-populations facing changing seasonal climates, preventing system collapse.  I will achieve these advances through new general theoretical models of complex non-linear eco-evolutionary dynamics; new widely-applicable statistical methods for quantitative genetic analyses of spatio-seasonal field data; and ground-breaking application to an unprecedented large-scale multi-generation dataset on a wild bird system exhibiting flexible seasonal migration.

Mots-clés : quantitative genetics movement ecology seasonal migration demography eco evolutionary dynamics
Projet ERC : COOLIO (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Université d'Innsbruck — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2500000.0 €

Quantum physics lies at the heart of many phenomena in modern physics, from the microscopic world to in superconductors, topological insulators, and quantum magnets. In many cases the ground-state properties are understood, but dynamical processes in interacting quantum many-body systems largely evade a general understanding. One way of circumventing the computational complexity challenge is to engineer artificial model systems in order to quantum-simulate with high control the properties and dynamics of real-world quantum materials with the goal to identify the crucial ingredients of a specific quantum system and possibly to pinpoint universal properties. Performing faithful simulations of the dynamical response of interact-ing quantum many-body systems is one of the great frontiers in modern physics. The goal of COOLIO is to address an interconnected set of dynamical quantum simulation tasks with the aim to go significantly beyond the state-of-the-art and to significantly advance the understanding of dynam-ical phenomena in interacting quantum systems. The platform of choice are strongly-interacting one-dimensional bosons. With full parameter control we will investigate the transition from localization to chaos and thermalization in a driven quantum many-body system, test the limits of of generalized hydrodynamics in the emergence of Bethe string states, probe the anyonization of dressed bosons in a quantum transport experiment, test for transport and inhibition thereof in an attractively-interacting integrable system, and probe strongly-interacting chiral superfluids and their transition to insulating states in a coupled-spin system. With the completion of our newest 1D-bosons platform, for combining strongly interacting bosons with local readout and control, the project will be transformative as it will give unprecedented experi-mental access to higher-order correlations for dynamical quantum matter deeply in the quantum regime.

Mots-clés : quantum simulation quantum dynamics,quantum chaos,quantum transport,
Projet ERC : PINGU (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Milan-Bicocca — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UniMiB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2291444.0 €

We are on the verge of the next big breakthrough in gravitational wave (GW) astronomy: namely the detection of a nano-Hz GW signal with Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). Within the next few years nano-Hz GWs will be established as a completely new window on our Universe, unlocking an unprecedented opportunity to unveil its secrets. The signal is anticipated to come from a cosmic population of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), which are a fundamental, yet observationally missing, piece in the process of structure formation and galaxy evolution. However, alternative Early Universe origins, including backgrounds arising from inflation or phase transitions, cannot be dismissed a priori. To exploit the scientific breakthrough potential of this new window we need an innovative, robust framework to build our way forward in uncharted territory. A framework that allows us to establish the nature of the nano-Hz GW signal and understand its implications for astrophysics and cosmology. PINGU is this framework; it is a concerted multimessenger project for connecting the GW and electromagnetic (EM) Universe in a novel way. On the one hand, it will leverage on the 15-year long expertise of the PI in PTA observations, data analysis and signal characterization to pin down the properties of the nano-Hz GW signal and characterize its features. On the other hand, it will exploit the most powerful all sky survey and state of the art galaxy formation models to construct a live nano-Hz GW map of our Universe and match it with the upcoming results of PTA observations. This will allow us to exploit the full potential of the nano-Hz GW sky, including: i) establishing the origin of the GW signal and probe its astrophysical nature, ii) gain unprecedented insights into the formation and evolution of SMBHBs and their role in galaxy formation, iii) identify SMBHBs and map their distribution in the Universe, iv) enable, for the first time, multimessenger astronomy in the nano-Hz GW band.

Mots-clés : pulsar timing arrays,supermassive black hole binaries,all sky surveys,semianalytic galaxy evolution models
Projet ERC : BecomingCausal (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Entité participante : Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center — Pays : Grèce — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2411000.0 €

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a severe, chronic pathology presenting with progressive intestinal inflammation and fibrosis, whose exact causes and key pathways remain poorly defined. Stromal–immune cell interactions have recently gained momentum in conceptualizing tissue homeostasis and our lab offered solid evidence establishing fibroblast heterogeneity and dominant roles in intestinal pathophysiology. Our recent preliminary evidence, indicated diverse spatial distribution of subsets of activated fibroblasts and revealed synergistic interplays of important inflammatory pathways driving pathogenicity. Detailed insights into such contextual complexities remain obscure. Here, we propose a novel unifying hypothesis that progressive IBD is orchestrated by specific subsets of fibroblasts, becoming causal to pathogenesis, depending on contextual information dictated by origin, topology, and cross-talks with immune or stromal cell types. We propose to use single-cell spatiotemporal phenotyping to deconvolute fibroblast subset-specific functions in disease-staged, fibrotic and non-fibrotic animal models of IBD. We aim to: (1) Map dynamic chromatin and gene expression programs that define cellular heterogeneity and infer cell interactions to build an ‘IBD connectome’ atlas (2) Analyse the origin, spatial distribution, plasticity and lineage trajectories of intestinal fibroblasts and reveal potential functions of pathogenic subsets (3) Perform discovery screens and functional validations on known (TNF, IFNγ, TGFb and interleukins) and novel fibroblast-subset-specific pathways focusing on potential synergistic interplays (4) Employ clinical material to validate involvement of the most prominent new pathways in human. The proposed research should help tackle the complexities of chronic inflammatory and fibrotic disorders in the intestine and beyond, advance mechanistic concepts in immune disease pathophysiology and promote fibroblast-targeting therapeutic discovery.

Mots-clés : mesenchymal,fibroblast,single cell,spatiotemporal,disease mechanisms
Projet ERC : BRen (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : CY Cergy Paris Université — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CYU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2183838.0 €

The ergodic theory of parabolic dynamical systems is an area in smooth ergodic theory that is relevant for its connections to mathematical physics and to analytic number theory. A dynamical system is parabolic whenever its orbits diverge at an intermediate (often polynomial) rate between bounded/logarithmic (called elliptic) and exponential (called hyperbolic) rate.  The proposal tackles several outstanding questions in the ergodic theory of parabolic flows with emphasis on quantitative aspects. The main goal is to go beyond renormalization techniques that have proved extremely powerful in several classes of examples: Interval Exchange Transformations and Flows on surfaces, horocycle flows, nilflows on quotients of step-two nilpotent groups and Gauss sums. Renormalization methods are not available in other equally fundamental examples of similar nature: billiards in non-rational polygons, higher step nilflows and non-horospherical unipotent flows in homogeneous dynamics. A unified approach to effective ergodicity is proposed that encompasses all of the above mentioned examples. Outstanding questions include ergodicity and existence of periodic orbits of non-rational billiards in polygons, effective ergodicity of higher step nilflows with optimal deviation exponents and applications to bounds on Weyl sums for higher degree polynomials and effective ergodicity of non-horospherical unipotent flows on semi-simple finite-volume quotients. The analytical foundations of the method lie in the study of invariant distributions for parabolic flows. In the examples considered the analysis can be carried out by methods of non-Abelian Fourier analysis (theory of unitary representations). In general, for non-homogeneous parabolic flows, all questions concerning invariant distributions and their relevance for smooth ergodic theory are wide open. Several problems to probe the question of existence of invariant distributions are proposed.

Mots-clés : effective ergodic theory of parabolic flows dynamics of billiards in polygons bounds on weyl sums invariant distributions and cohomological equations
Projet ERC : ACDCSUN (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Warwick — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2483461.0 €

The proposed project aims to transformatively advance our understanding of the enigmatic phenomenon of solar coronal heating. The ground-breaking nature of the proposed research is the anticipated revolutionary change of our understanding of basic physical mechanisms for the formation and evolution of the solar and stellar coronae. The key novel elements of the study are fresh and original hypotheses and methodologies. We hypothesise that a significant fraction of the energy released short-durational bursts of magnetic reconnection goes to oblique fast magnetoacoustic waves. This effect mitigates shortcomings of the previous approaches, modifying the observed statistics of solar flares, and spreading the heated region across the magnetic field. We shall design a novel technique for the diagnostics of the coronal heating function by coronal compressive waves, based on the recently established effect of coronal thermal misbalance, apply it to constraining parameters of various heating mechanisms and establish those most consistent with observations. We shall reveal the mechanism for the energy transfer from the low atmosphere to the corona by studying the phenomenon of decayless kink oscillations of coronal loops and establish its role in the coronal energy balance. This timely research will be based on the use of high-precision observational data obtained with observational tools of the new generation, including instruments onboard the Solar Orbiter space mission, and state-of-the-art theoretical modelling. A significant component of this activity is the effective dissemination of the results to the research community and general public. The research programme is organised in three work-packages addressing different aspects of the research, but well connected with each other by the common methodology and instrumentation. The project team will consist of Professor V Nakariakov as PI, 2 post-doctoral researchers, 2 PhD students, and Warwick Physics Outreach Officer.

Mots-clés : magnetohydrodynamic waves,solar corona
Projet ERC : ENDURE (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : National Museum of Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2496306.0 €

Cultural heritage is the legacy of tangible, intangible and natural heritage assets of a society that is inherited from past generations. Preserving the remains of the past for the benefit of future generations is common in international heritage policy. Current management practice advocates preserving underwater cultural heritage (UCH) where it lies on the seabed, in situ. However, this practice is questioned due to a lack of understanding of the entangled threats posed by multiple natural and anthropogenic drivers. In a rapidly changing ocean environment and increasing human exploitation of the marine environment, it is necessary to develop new concepts for assessing and preserving this resource. With over 3,000,000 shipwrecks and thousands of submerged prehistoric sites lying on the floors of the world’s oceans, ENDURE aims to disentangle both natural and anthropogenic decay processes, determine their cumulative and interactive effects on UCH and proposes a novel conceptual framework to preserve this heritage based on site entropy. This will be achieved by: 1) Detect, visualise and interpret the products of natural and anthropogenic decay of shipwrecks and submerged prehistoric sites using marine remote sensing techniques integrated with natural and anthropogenic variables in a GIS platform; 2) Determine key natural processes and rates of decay of archaeological materials in situ and in the laboratory; 3) Remotely identify and rank simultaneous decay processes, including increasing threats to hidden and largely inaccessible heritage sites using ecosystem modelling, and 4) Propose novel intervention methods to mitigate threats to UCH and where not possible, strategies for curated decay. Ultimately, ENDURE’s holistic structured framework can be synergistically integrated and implemented by stakeholders and marine practitioners for a sustainable preservation of the marine environment and the world’s underwater cultural legacy for future generations.

Mots-clés : underwater cultural heritage,sustainable management,ecosystem modelling,remote sensing,deterioration and decay of cultural sites,mitigation and preservation practices,natural heritage
Projet ERC : FATGAP (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Amsterdam University Medical Centers — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2875663.0 €

Obesity and subsequent non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis (NAFLD-NASH) are important determinants of morbidity and mortality being imbalanced between ethnicities living in Europe. However, relatively little is known about the underlying aetiology that drives NAFLD-NASH and currently no treatment is available. We and others have mapped alterations in gut microbiota to metabolic disease, focusing on the bacterial functions. FATGAP builds on our work showing that 40% of obese humans with NAFLD-NASH are characterized by high production of the (endogenous) microbially produced metabolite ethanol derived from mixed acid fermentation of dietary sugars. Our pilot data show that catabolism of the dietary sugar fructose by (small) intestinal high ethanol producing bacterial strains relates to increased plasma levels of this metabolite. While acidic by-products of mixed acid fermentation lower intestinal pH thereby inhibiting the ethanol production, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase pH. Indeed, epidemiological data have linked PPI use with NAFLD-NASH. I therefore hypothesize that gut microbial ethanol production from dietary sugar fructose is intestinal pH dependent and is driven by PPI use in humans. First, I will link gut microbial composition/function in relation to impact of endogenous (genetic) and exogenous (medication use) factors in microbial ethanol production with NAFLD-NASH in multiethnic prospective cohorts Second, we will explore how variations in intestinal pH affect kinetics by which (labelled) fructose is catabolized into ethanol and how this process is regulated by (inhibitory) strains and microbially produced metabolites. Third, we aim to culture (CRISPRcas modified) alcohol-degrading bacterial strains which can degrade intestinal ethanol at all pH levels. Finally, I will perform in vivo animal and human intervention trials with these identified (engineered) lead bacterial strains and study the effect in human NAFLD-NASH.

Mots-clés : translational research on the role of the gutmicrobiota produced ethanol in fatty liver disease,from epidemiology to human intervention trials
Projet ERC : BRAIN (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Amsterdam University Medical Centers — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499686.0 €

Traditionally, AD is regarded as a neurodegenerative disease and as such, the major focus has been on investigating and treating neurodegeneration and neuronal functioning. Only the last decade, it became apparent that AD pathogenesis strongly interferes with immunological processes and vice versa. Indeed, my novel findings show that the immune system in patients with early AD is already severely derailed and highlight a specific role for CD8+ T-cells. My exciting data also suggest the importance of bio-active lipids like sphingolipids and specialized pro-resolving mediators in early AD pathogenesis, possibly by controlling the immune system. The identification of how the altered lipid landscape underlies AD and affects immune homeostasis is essential to come to new insights into disease pathogenesis and to discover novel intervention strategies, the ultimate goal of the BRAIN project. I therefore here hypothesize that a misbalance in bioactive lipids plays a key role in the induction and propagation of the impaired immune homeostasis associated with AD progression, thereby forming a novel target for treatment. My key objectives are: i) Unravel bioactive lipid signatures and define correlations with disease progression, sex, biomarkers and an unbalanced immune response in early AD, ii) Elucidate the underlying mechanisms of uncontrolled lipid mediator balance and how this relates to the altered immune landscape, iii) Identify key players in this process and perform proof of concept studies to define if restoring the lipid balance reinstates immune homeostasis and consequently cognition and disease pathogenesis in AD. Together this study will provide in-depth understanding of how bio-active lipids affect immune mediated processes that underlie disease progression, investigate interaction thereof and decode underlying mechanisms to pave the way towards the development of improved prognostic/diagnostic tools and identification of novel therapeutic targets.

Mots-clés : alzheimer s disease,lipids