Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : INFINITY (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : Masaryk University — Pays : Rép. Tchèque — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999750.0 €

Mainstream literature on courts focuses on formal rules. Yet informal judicial institutions, ranging from bureaucratic norms to clientelism, often shape judicial performance strongly. These institutions may even facilitate democratic decay. For example, various “gentlemen’s pacts” between judicial associations may substitute formal rules governing selection of judges, entrenching patronage and vertical gender segregation. Politically savvy chief justice can tweak the formal rules and forge alliances with politicians. Other informal judicial institutions may counteract democratic decay. For instance, judges may team up with journalists and mobilize the public to defend the judiciary. Recent literature has acknowledged these phenomena. However, the range of informal intra-judicial and extra-judicial institutions and their effects are not yet fully understood, as the traditional doctrinal and normative scholarship is not able to capture them. INFINITY fills this gap and addresses the implications of this phenomenon for the “new” and “old” EU member states, and the neighbouring countries. The central research question of INFINITY is: How do informal judicial institutions affect functioning of the judiciary and under what circumstances they counteract or contribute to democratic decay? INFINITY builds on a comparative legal perspective combined with sociological and political science approaches. It consists of 4 interrelated research aims: The first aim is to identify the most important informal judicial institutions in 16 European jurisdictions. The second aim is to assess their impact, positive or negative, on the domestic judiciaries, including their gender aspects. The third aim is to analyse supranational influence of EU and CoE on informal judicial institutions. The fourth overarching aim is to synthetize previous findings on the dynamics of informal judicial institutions into an overarching theory on the role of informal judicial institutions in democratic decay.

Mots-clés : courts,judges,informal institutions,judiciary,democratic decay,populism,judicial corruption,post communist countries,europe,court packing,gender,european union,council of europe
Projet ERC : INSOMNIA (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KNAW
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1867360.98 €

Major depression is among the most burdening health hazards. Its prevalence is 1-3%, an additional 8-16% have clinically significant symptoms, and prognosis is poor. Unfortunately, less than 20% of the cases are detected and treatment effectiveness is moderate. The Global Consortium for Depression Prevention stresses that our best chance to combat the global burden of depression is provide preventive intervention to identified people at risk. This project targets the strongest modifiable risk factor: insomnia. With prevalence estimates up to 40%, insomnia is among the most frequent disorders in the elderly population. Meta-analysis shows that no less than 13% of people with insomnia develop depression. This extreme risk and the very high prevalence of insomnia in the ageing population, shows the urgency and promise of: (1) early identification of these 13%, (2) finding mechanisms by quantification of how they differ from insomniacs that do not develop depression with respect to brain structure and function, psychological traits, behavioural habits and environmental exposures; and (3) enrolling them in intervention protocols aimed at sleep improvement and prevention of depression. The project extends recent findings emerging from the applicant’s pioneering, unconventional and innovative approach to insomnia; the proposal that distinct subtypes exist and can be discriminated data-driven by means of multivariate trait analysis and brain imaging. Ignorance of this heterogeneity has obstructed progress in mechanistic understanding and rational treatment. In an unprecedented interdisciplinary way the project (1) identifies the insomnia subtype that develops depression; (2) profiles mechanisms involved; and (3) optimizes effectiveness of internet-supported home-applicable interventions to improve sleep and prevent depression. This approach will identify risks and mechanisms, and facilitate immediate implementation of risk-based prevention strategies and policies.

Mots-clés : aging,depression,risk identification,prevention,intervention,insomnia,internet,brain imaging,physiology,behaviour,environment
Projet ERC : SweetCAR (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Tel Aviv University — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TAU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Major limitations in current immunotherapy success are low antigenicity of targeting antigen and tumor heterogeneity. Hence there is an unmet need for novel antigen targets that could potentially be expressed on many tumor types. Cancer express aberrant cell surface glycosylation patterns compared to normal cells. These tumor-associated carbohydrate-neoantigens can be targeted for tumor cell killing by antibodies and cytotoxic immune cells. Sialic acids cover cell surface glycans and frequently have altered expression on many types of carcinoma cells and correlate with cancer progression and/or metastasis. We aim to focus on targeting sialic acid containing carbohydrate-neoantigens using the chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy approach. Current clinical CAR-T cells target mostly soluble tumors using CD19, BCMA and other non-cancer specific antigens that often suffer toxicity and side effects. Our universal anti-carbohydrate CAR-T approach could target many types of carcinomas with high specificity and safety, and could potentially reach patients rapidly.

Mots-clés : immunotherapy,glycobiology,carbohydrate,antibodies,chimeric antigen receptor  car,car t cell therapy,cancer,solid tumors
Projet ERC : MICA (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : Cardiff University — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499244.0 €

Major tectonic faults have, until recently, been thought to accommodate displacement by either continuous creep or episodic, damaging earthquakes. High-resolution geophysical networks have now detected ‘slow earthquakes’, transient modes of displacement that are faster than creep but slower than earthquakes. This project aims to illuminate the unknown mechanism behind slow earthquakes, through an integrated, multi-scale approach. MICA uses the unique natural laboratory of exhumed and active faults, to build numerical models constrained by observed fault geometry and microstructurally defined deformation mechanisms, to determine, for the first time, the rheology of slow slip. The first objective is to create a model of the slow earthquake source, to constrain the micro- to kilometre-scale internal geometry of plate boundary faults, and the spatial distribution of deformation mechanisms. Fault rocks also retain a deformation sequence, allowing insight to how deformation style evolves with time. Thus, a combination of drill samples from active faults and outcrops of exhumed analogues, from a range of depths, allows for a 4-D model from micro- to plate boundary scale. By knowing the geometrical distribution of fault rocks, and deciphering their evolution in time, this project will apply geologically constrained numerical models and laboratory constrained stress-strain relationships to determine bulk fault rheology as a function of space. Unique from past models, this project integrates scales from microstructures to plate boundary scale faults, and bases rheological models on deformation mechanisms and fault structures constrained through detailed fieldwork, and also considers the state-of-the-art of geophysical observation. The model focuses on understanding slow earthquakes, but also applies to understanding whether the slow earthquake source can also host fast seismic slip, and what differentiates slowly slipping faults from faults hosting major earthquakes.

Mots-clés : faults,slow earthquakes,rheology,frictional viscous transition,fault slip styles,polyphase deformation,fault rocks
Projet ERC : Deep Brain (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : University of Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UvA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

Making everyday life decisions is vital to our survival and relies as much on cerebral cortex as on regions that reside Deep in our Brain, namely the subcortex. Studies on networks connecting small nuclei in the Deep Brain with cortical regions can provide key insights into learning, memory-guided, economic, and perceptual decision-making processes. However, the structural and functional organization of these processes is still incompletely understood, highlighting a knowledge gap in the field. The aim of this proposal is to reduce the gap in functional understanding by studying the mechanisms of different decision-making domains implemented in Deep Brain networks. The human brain consists of densely connected networks of interacting areas and nuclei, and while the cerebral cortex has been mapped with great precision, research on the human subcortex has been relatively sidelined (Forstmann et al., Nat Rev Neurosci, 2017). The subcortex contains hundreds of small grey matter nuclei, which take up approximately 1/4th of the entire human brain volume. Importantly, only approximately 7% of these nuclei are currently accessible in standard human brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) atlases. Major ongoing efforts in my group have focused on structural imaging of the subcortex, thereby removing an important technical barrier. These efforts have paved the way for functional studies on the role of Deep Brain in decision making as described in the current proposal. Ultra-high-field (UHF) 7Tesla (T) MRI and one of the three world-wide available Connectom MRI will be used to investigate decision mechanisms in Deep Brain networks. Three projects are proposed using a strong theory-driven and statistically high-powered model-based approach to combine beyond the-state-of-the-art techniques ranging from cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, to quantitative modeling.

Mots-clés : model based cognitive neuroscience,decision making,magnetic resonance imaging
Projet ERC : Malaria POC (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Imperial College London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Malaria affects millions around the globe. Affordable and accurate point-of-care diagnostic tests are needed for those in low- or middle-income countries as well as developed areas. Currently, only diagnostic tests for infection are available and are most commonly designed to detect histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), though HRP2-negative parasites evolved and escape detection by these tests. In addition to detecting and curing infection, another important strategy against malaria is battling transmission by inhibiting gametocytes to carry the disease from humans back to mosquitoes. However, there are no available point-of-care diagnostic tests capable of testing for malaria transmission competency. Within “Malaria POC” we aim to design a lateral flow-based test capable of detecting antigens corresponding to transmission competency, for use at the point-of-care. Our programme has expertise in designing point-of-care tests by incorporating platinum core-shell nanoparticles (PtNCs) called “nanozymes”, which facilitate an amplification step of the signal in the presence of antigen. Within this POC grant we aim to incorporate catalytic “nanozymes” in a lateral-flow diagnostic test that detects activation of mature gametocytes. Prof Molly Stevens (www.stevensgroup.org) will exploit technologies developed in the ERC Consolidator grant “NATURALE CG” (616417) and will be supported through collaborations with Prof Jake Baum, Professor of Cell Biology and Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, an expert in malaria parasites.

Mots-clés : malaria,diagnostic test,engineering
Projet ERC : MultiSeroSurv (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Institut Pasteur — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1174500.0 €

Malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, trachoma and schistosomiasis affect almost 2 billion people every year. Coordinated targeting of these diseases will aid future control and elimination campaigns, but this will require integrated surveillance strategies. Malaria surveillance is routinely implemented through cross-sectional surveys where blood samples are tested for parasites. A major barrier to routine NTD surveillance is the range of samples required for parasite diagnosis: stool, urine, blood, eye swabs and skin snips. Instead of direct detection of parasites, there is an opportunity to implement serological surveillance by measuring antibodies to multiple pathogens in blood samples collected for malaria surveillance. This proposal has four aims: (i) Characterise the sero-epidemiology of malaria and NTDs in longitudinal cohort studies in Senegal, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea; (ii) Measure antibodies to 34 antigens from 12 pathogens from single blood samples; (iii) Model antibody kinetics and validate the use of serology for detecting infections; and (iv) Demonstrate how a population’s concurrent and past exposure to multiple parasites can be estimated by analysing multiplex data from cross-sectional surveys. These aims will be achieved through innovative epidemiological studies, new technologies, and especially developed analytic methods, including: (1) utilisation of multiplex bead-based Luminex assays; (2) mixed-effects models in a Bayesian framework with data augmentation to identify serologically suspected infections, with validation against confirmed infections; and (3) statistical algorithms for reconstructing long-term and recent transmission trends. This interdisciplinary project will undertake fundamental research in analytic methods for processing complex multiplex data and converting it to the actionable information needed for integrated serological surveillance of malaria and NTDs.

Mots-clés : malaria,neglected tropical diseases,serology,statistical modelling,mathematical modelling,surveillance,trachoma,onchocerciasis,lymphatic filariasis,schistosomiasis
Projet ERC : GlobalCitizenshipLaw (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : European University Institute — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : EUI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1003843.0 €

Managing global migration is one of the most pressing issues of our time, particularly in Europe. With more than 230 million international immigrants, the manner in which new citizens are/should be "created" has become a controversial issue, morally and politically. Traditionally, international law has not regulated nationality law; naturalization requirements remain the last stronghold of national sovereignty. This project advances the establishment of a new subfield in public international law—International Citizenship Law (ICIL)—which would regulate nationality law. It asks a critical and timely question: what are/should be the international legal limitations/privileges imposed on/granted to states in setting naturalization requirements? In order to address this question, the project has five scientific objectives: [1] to investigate the history of the law of naturalization in international law and what it can teach us about 21th-century challenges; [2] to identify the most recent legal developments in the field of naturalization law and establish the most up-to-date international legal standards of naturalization law; [3] to set out the theoretical foundations and the justifications for the establishment of ICIL; [4] to analyze the normative and structural implications derived from an-ICIL approach for future citizenship policy development, as well as to identify the legal reforms that should be taken to promote an-ICIL approach; and [5] to explore the interrelationship between ICIL, immigration policy, and constitutional identity. In essence, the project seeks to formulate international legal standards by which states can admit immigrants without fundamentally changing their cultural heritage and slipping into extreme nationalism. The outcome can serve as a basis for a future reform in international law, EU law, and national legal systems. As the immigration debate reaches a decisive moment, this project has both theoretical significance and policy implications

Mots-clés : constitutional identity,international citizenship law,comparative immigration law,naturalization,the study of nationalism,citizenship theory,immigrant integration,national belonging
Projet ERC : ElectroBee (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : University of Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2294320.0 €

Many animal species can detect the electric fields in their environment. Electroreception has mainly been studied in aquatic vertebrates; fish like sharks and rays, gymnotid and mormirid electric fish, the lamprey, the platypus, the coelacanth, and one mammalian species, a dolphin. We have discovered that bumblebees can detect and learn about the weak electric fields that arise when they approach a flower. This is the first example of electroreception in a non-conductive medium, aerial electroreception (AE). Recently, we showed that AE can be achieved through the electro-mechanical coupling of mechanosensory hairs to the weak electric field surrounding the animal. This is much like the hair-raising sensation humans used to experience by browsing an arm near to a cathodic television set. Yet, humans cannot sense the weak electric fields surrounding a flower, so this potentially informative physical quantity had escaped scientific attention. To date, little is known about AE, its sensory ecology and evolution. I propose to study the biophysical basis of AE, addressing how and why it works, establishing its adaptive value and exploring its diversity. To achieve this, I will lead research to further understand AE in honeybees and bumblebees, our existing model systems, but also extend research to other arthropods bearing putative electrosensory structures. I will do so using state-of-the-art vibration measurement technology, biologically-relevant electric field generation, sensitive Ampere-meters and electrometers, and behavioural methods. The proposed research will transform our knowledge of electroreception. It will characterize novel detection mechanisms, reveal their adaptive diversity and establish their sensory ecological functions in terrestrial animals. The planned work is poised to be foundational, opening up an entire field of research into this novel, but potentially widespread, sensory modality.

Mots-clés : biophysics
Projet ERC : NeuroMagMa (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Max Planck Society — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MPG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1493375.0 €

Many animals use the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation, but the sensory cells and molecular mechanisms of the magnetic sense remain a mystery. I propose to tackle this fundamental problem in sensory biology with a top-down approach that exploits state-of-the-art methodology to unravel the neural circuits underlying magnetic orientation. To take advantage of the knowledge and toolkits available for rodent brains I chose a rodent model organism: Mole-rats, which navigate through a maze of underground tunnels for their entire life in total darkness. Their magnetic sense is well established and they can be bred in the laboratory. My project has three ambitious aims: (1) the identification of brain regions that process magnetic stimuli, (2) the discovery of the primary receptor cells, and (3) the characterization of magnetic inputs into head direction cells. Aim 1: Modern tissue clearing techniques allow rendering brains transparent to analyse them in toto. We couple iDISCO brain clearing with the detection of immediate early genes to create a global map of the mole-rat brain regions that process magnetic fields. Aim 2: We make use of the circuitry discovered in Aim 1 to deduce the locus of the magnetoreceptors. Combining neuronal tracing with high-sensitivity imaging methods to detect of magnetite, we will meticulously search for the magnetoreceptors in peripheral tissues. Aim 3: We will establish the first single-unit recordings in freely moving mole-rats. How do head direction (HD) cells function in an animal without access to visual landmarks? My hypothesis is that the HD signal in the mole-rat brain encodes magnetic directions. We will test this by recording from brain areas identified in Aim 1 under different magnetic conditions. Can we discover the first mammal magnetic compass neurons? This project employs a systematic neurobiological approach that will fundamentally advance our understanding of the neuronal substrates of the magnetic sense.

Mots-clés : neural basis of navigation,biosynthesis of magnetic materials,magnetogenetics