Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : DEGLUMINATE (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Fribourg — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149250.0 €

Adhesives that debond-on-demand through application of an external stimulus are highly relevant for manufacturing (semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging, sportswear), healthcare applications (wound dressing, transdermal patches), and numerous other domains, and they can significantly contribute to the sustainable use of materials (repairing, reworking, recycling). In all cases, there is a technological need for effective and environmentally benign solutions that provide secure adhesion during use, while also permitting for a simple and clean separation of bonded parts “on command” without the need for additional complex process steps. The proposed project aims to develop new debond-on-demand adhesives based on the combination of low-molecular weight functional polymers and light-responsive degradable cross-linking agents. The new materials are expected to combine optimal adhesive properties for a wide range of substrates with a new mechanism that enables straightforward and efficient, ultraviolet light-induced debonding at ambient temperature. The debonding mechanism involves two different effects that are combined in a synergistic manner: the controlled degradation of the cross-linker transforms polymer networks into low-molecular weight polymers, and the simultaneous release of nitrogen gas “propels” the bonded parts away from each other. The degraded polymer residues can be easily removed and clean debonded components are furnished. The overarching goals of the proposed project are to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and implementation by (i) providing a better understanding for the mechanism at play; (ii) demonstrating the effect in a variety of adhesive platforms based on polymers that are employed in current adhesive technologies; and (iii) providing technology demonstrators for pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes and cold-cured two-component adhesives with debond-on-demand properties.

Mots-clés : adhesive,light responsive,debond on demand,debonding,pressure sensitive adhesives,adhesive tape,two component adhesive,stimuli responsive
Projet ERC : EpiTune (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1489725.0 €

Adoptive T cell therapy is a promising approach in various clinical settings, from target-specific immune reconstitution fighting cancer and chronic infections to combating undesired immune reactivity during auto-immunity and after organ transplantation. However, its clinical application is currently hampered by: 1) the acquisition of senescence during the required in vitro expansion phase of T cells which limits their survival and fitness after infusion into the patient, and 2) the functional plasticity of T cells, which is sensitive to the inflammatory environment they encounter after transfusion and which might result in a functional switch from the desired effect (e.g. immunosuppressive) to the opposite one (pro-inflammatory). I want to tackle these obstacles from a new molecular angle, utilizing the profound impact of epigenetic mechanisms on the senescence process as well as on the functional imprinting of T lymphocytes. Epigenetic players such as DNA methylation essentially contribute to T cell differentiation and harbor the unique prospect to imprint a stable developmental and functional state in the genomic structure of a cell, as we could recently show in our basic immune-epigenetic studies. Therefore, I here propose to equip T lymphocytes with the required properties for their successful and safe therapeutic application, including their functional fine-tuning according to the clinical need by directed modifications of the epigenome ('Epi-tuning'). To reach these goals I want: 1) to reveal strategies for the directed manipulation of the epigenetically-driven mechanism of cellular senescence and 2) to apply state-of-the-art CRISPR/Cas9-mediated epigenetic editing approaches for the imprinting of a desired functional state of therapeutic T cell products. These innovative epigenetic "one-shot" manipulations during the in vitro expansion phase should advance T cell therapy towards improved efficiency, stability as well as safety.

Mots-clés : epigenetics,epigenetic editing,adoptive t cell therapy,t cell immunology,precision medicine
Projet ERC : miRaColl (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland — Pays : Irlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RCSI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149450.0 €

Adult articular cartilage has a limited capacity for repair so when damaged it can lead to joint degeneration and ultimately osteoarthritis. In our lab we have had significant success in enhancing tissue regeneration by functionalising collagen-based scaffolds for the delivery of therapeutic genes. In this project we propose to apply this concept for the delivery of microRNAs to promote enhanced cartilage repair.

Mots-clés : tissue engineering,regenerative medicine,cartilage repair strategies,mirna technologies
Projet ERC : ConTExt (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : University of Copenhagen — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UCPH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999526.0 €

Advances in technology and methodology over the last decade, have enabled the study of galaxies to the highest redshifts. This has revolutionized our understanding of the origin and evolution of galaxies. I have played a central role in this revolution, by discovering that at z=2, when the universe was only 3 Gyr old, half of the most massive galaxies were extremely compact and had already completed their star formation. During the last five years I have led a successful group of postdocs and students dedicated to investigating the extreme properties of these galaxies and place them into cosmological context. Combining a series of high profile observational studies published by my group and others, I recently proposed an evolutionary sequence that ties together the most extreme galaxies in the universe, from the most intense dusty starburst at cosmic dawn, through quasars: the brightest sources in the universe, driven by feedback from supermassive black holes, and galaxy cores hosting the densest conglomerations of stellar mass known, to the sleeping giants of the local universe, the giant ellipticals. The proposed research program will explore if such an evolutionary sequence exists, with the ultimate goal of reaching, for the first time, a coherent physical understanding of how the most massive galaxies in the universe formed. While there is a chance the rigorous tests may ultimately reveal the proposed sequence to be too simplistic, a guarantied outcome of the program is a significantly improved understanding of the physical mechanisms that shape galaxies and drive their star formation and quenching
Projet ERC : NewSense (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Durham University — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1955952.5 €

Advances in wearable displays and networked devices lead to the exciting possibility that humans can transcend the senses they were born with and learn to ‘see’ the world in radically new ways. Genuinely incorporating new signals in our sensory repertoire would transform our everyday experience, from social encounters to surgery, and advance us towards a technologically-enhanced ‘transhuman’ state. In contrast, current additions to sensory streams such as navigating with GPS are far from being incorporated into our natural perception: we interpret them effortfully, like words from a foreign menu, rather than feeling them directly. In this project, we use a ground-breaking new approach to test how new sensory signals can be incorporated into the fundamental human experience. We train participants using new immersive virtual-reality paradigms developed in our lab, which give us unprecedented speed, control and flexibility. We test what is learned by comparing different mathematical model predictions with perceptual performance. This model-based approach uniquely shows when new signals are integrated into standard sensory processing. We compare neuroimaging data with model predictions to detect integration of newly-learned signals within brain circuits processing familiar signals. We test predictions that short-term changes to normal visual input can improve adult plasticity, and measure age-changes in plasticity by testing 8- to 12-year-old children. In a wide-ranging design allowing for domain-general conclusions, we work across modalities (visual, auditory, tactile) and across two fundamental perceptual problems: judging spatial layout (‘where’ objects are) and material properties (‘what’ they are made of). The work will provide fundamental insights into computational and brain mechanisms underlying sensory learning, and a platform for transcending the limits of human perception.

Mots-clés : multisensory perception,cue combination,perception and action
Projet ERC : GeroProtect (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems
Entité participante : Leiden University Medical Center — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : LUMC
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 281250.0 €

Advancing age is the major risk factor for disability and illness, including cardiovascular, metabolic and neu-rodegenerative disease and cancer. The increasing incidence of older people in European countries is posing major medical, social and economic challenges, and there is an urgent need to find ways of compressing late-life morbidity. Ageing has proved malleable to genetic and pharmacological interventions in laboratory animals, and at least some of the mechanisms are conserved over large evolutionary distances. Reduced activity of the nutrient-sensing insulin/insulin-like growth factor/TOR signalling network can increase health and combat ageing-related disease in laboratory animals, with increasing evidence of its importance in human ageing. There is thus a prospect for pharmacological intervention to prevent more than one ageing-related condition, rather than tackling diseases one by one and as they arise. The aim of this research programme is to evaluate the potential for pharmacological prevention of ageing-related decline in humans with a polypill targeting the nutrient-sensing network. We find that three licensed drugs, lithium, rapamycin and trametinib, act independently, at different nodes in the network, to increase lifespan in the fruitfly Drosophila, implying that the network controls more than one underlying mechanism of ageing, and that a polypill of these drugs could be particularly effective. We shall test this idea in mice, and assess the underlying mechanisms in Drosophila and mice. We have found that suppression of the Ras signalling branch of the network, which has a well known role in human cancer, can extend lifespan in both the fruitfly Drosophila and mice, and we shall assess its role in humans. Interventions that ameliorate ageing often have sex-specific effects, and we shall investigate the mechanisms leading to these for the nutrient-sensing network. The outputs of the work will inform future clinical trails in humans.

Mots-clés : multimorbidity
Projet ERC : MAEROSTRUC (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Leibniz University Hannover — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499769.0 €

Aerogels and hydrogels from nanocrystal building blocks are a fascinating novel class of materials with extremely low densities and large specific surfaces, which partially exhibit the advantageous properties of their nanoscopic building blocks (e.g. size quantized fluorescence or catalytic activity). In the present project, multicomponent gels with controlled mechanical properties, plasmon enhanced fluorescence, photocatalytic properties, and with controlled conductivity properties will be synthesized. These new materials will not only exhibit the nanoscopic properties of their building blocks, but they will also exhibit new properties which are neither accessible from nanoparticle nor from bulk material. This will e.g. be achieved due to nanoscopic interactions between the materials or due to synergistic combination effects caused by appropriate material combination. Synthetic routes for nanostructuring, microstructuring and macrostructuring nanocrystal hydrogels and aerogels will be developed. Nanostructuring involves advancement of colloidal nanocrystal synthesis as well as postsynthetic gel modifications. Microstructuring involves synthesizing multicomponent gels with defined contact points of the materials and intercalating multicomponent gels. Macrostructuring involves implementation of the gelation techniques into 3D printing, and gel deformation by external triggers and will enhance the applicability of gels. The materials developed will be tailored for several physicochemical effects and hence applications. While the project focuses on the synthesis of these new materials with defined physicochemical properties, the outcome of this project will influence many different research and application fields, such as electrodes and batteries, sensors, photocatalysis and catalysis, solar cells, air and solar batteries, and even membranes and touch screen devices.

Mots-clés : aerogels from nanocrystal building blocks
Projet ERC : QU-BOSS (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Sapienza University of Rome — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2305000.0 €

After decades of progress in quantum information science, it is widely expected that in the next few years the field will start to yield practical applications in quantum chemistry, materials and pharmaceutical research, information security, and finance. For these applications to pan out, a crucial intermediate goal is to reach the quantum advantage regime, where quantum devices experimentally outperform classical computers in some computational task. The Boson Sampling problem is an example of a task that is computationally hard for classical computers, but which can be solved with a specialized quantum device using single photons interfering in a multimode linear interferometer. The aim of QU-BOSS is to experimentally push towards the quantum advantage regime with integrated photonic technology. The key innovative ingredient is the introduction of non-linearities acting at the single photon level embedded within the Boson Sampling interferometer. We plan to provide an experimental research breakthrough along three main directions, including both “hardware” and “software” components. First, we will use complementary approaches to map out how the addition of non-linearity boosts the device ́s complexity, making it harder to simulate classically. We will use different approaches to implement these devices with hybrid integrated quantum photonics, a versatile and flexible route to the manipulation of high-dimensional quantum photonic states. Finally, we will deploy the developed technology to implement two different architectures demonstrating quantum machine learning: a hybrid model of quantum computation and an optical quantum neural network. QU- BOSS aims to position integrated photonics into the NISQ (noisy, intermediate-scale quantum) era, opening up truly new scientific horizons at the frontier of quantum information, quantum control, machine learning and integrated photonics.

Mots-clés : integrated quantum photonics,single photon sources,reconfigurable circuits,boson sampling,quantum machine learning,quantum networks,machine learning enhanced quantum information
Projet ERC : UniverScale (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Polish Academy of Sciences — Pays : Pologne — Rôle : CO-PI
Acronyme de l'entité : PAN
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 10608962.5 €

After detection of the accelerated expansion of the Universe (Nobel prize 2011) and the existence of an enigmatic “dark energy” component of the matter-energy content of the Universe the physical explanation of the nature of dark energy has become a major challenge for astronomers and physicists in recent years. The recent empirical determinations of H0 complicated even more our understanding of the Universe since they differ by about 4σ from the value obtained from Planck data and the ΛCDM model, which suggest that new physics might be required in the models. We will calibrate two geometrical methods which will yield 1% distances a thousand times further out than Gaia parallaxes. The great advantage of our approach is the full control on all potential errors affecting the distance determinations, including systematic errors elusive in most other methods. In addition, we will provide mutual crosschecks at the sub-percent accuracy level with three completely independent geometrical methods. This will allow for the first time to verify the accuracy (and not only precision) at this unprecedented level of precision. Applying these methods we will calibrate the extragalactic distance scale with an unprecedented precision and accuracy. This will allow for a 1% H0 determination with Cepheids and SN Ia. Novel reverberation studies of AGN continua will allow us to determine H0 completely independently, and provide direct insight into the larger redshift Universe, including the H(z) dependence which will constrain other cosmological parameters. Our results will have strong impact on many fields of modern astrophysics. In particular they will definitively answer the question if new physics beyond the standard cosmological model is required. They will also be central to understand the physical nature of dark energy which constitutes about 72% of the matter-energy of the Universe.

Mots-clés : cepheids,eclipsing binaries,binary systems,hubble constant
Projet ERC : Retina Rhythm (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Trinity College Dublin — Pays : Irlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TCD
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999455.0 €

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible central blindness in the world. The number of people with AMD is predicted to be 196 million by 2020, with an estimated 1 in 10 people over the age of 55 already showing early signs of the condition. Identifying those individuals at greater risk of disease progression is challenging and robust animal models of disease are delaying the development of therapeutics. We have recently discovered that the blood vessels of the inner retina are highly dynamic and our data suggest that they play a central role in AMD development. I hypothesize, in contrast to studies to date, that the inner retina may be critical to the early stages of AMD onset. We have discovered that circadian regulation of the inner blood-retina barrier (iBRB) allows for replenishment and renewal of components of photoreceptor outer segments on a daily basis by a process we have termed Retinal Interstitial Kinesis (RIK). Here, I propose that circadian mediated regulation of the inner retinal blood vessels is paramount in the early stages of AMD pathology. Our preliminary data suggests that circadian-mediated changes in the permeability of the iBRB can lead to an AMD-like phenotype in mice and non-human primates. I propose that re-establishing the dynamic cycling of the iBRB may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention and treatment of AMD. Over the next 5 years, the central aims of Retina-Rhythm are to: 1. Develop and characterize newly established mouse and non-human primate models of AMD by disrupting circadian cycling of the iBRB. 2. Develop a novel AAV based vector with the ability to re-establish dynamic circadian cycling of the iBRB and treat AMD. 3. Prove that dysregulated circadian-mediated iBRB cycling mediates AMD pathology in human subjects. Our goal: To determine the key early initiators of AMD and to develop the next generation of therapies for this devastating form of blindne

Mots-clés : age related macular degeneration  amd,blood retina barrier  brb,tight junction
Projet ERC : EAGER (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : DZNE
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1419642.31 €

Ageing is one of the most critical risk factors for neurological and psychiatric diseases. However, the biological links between physiological ageing and pathological development are still largely unknown. A solid understanding of the biology of brain ageing will thus be a key to developing the means to treat these diseases. Since neurons in the brain are mostly generated during development with limited capacity of replacement after birth, they need to maintain their identity and function throughout our lives. This project aims at seeking a link between the fundamental mechanism underlying the long-term maintenance of neural identity and effects of ageing on that. We recently discovered that a cell type-specific nuclear architecture organized by nucleoporins in cooperation with a key transcription factor (TF), work as a structural gatekeeper for the maintenance of neural progenitor cells (NPs). Strikingly, nucleoporins are the most long-lived proteins in a cell and are known to be damaged during brain ageing. Thus, the proposed experiments will test a specific hypothesis that the nucleoporin-TF directed nuclear architecture is a fundamental principle governing cell type-specific gene regulation, and that pathological ageing impairs that critical relationship. To test this hypothesis, we will use interdisciplinary approaches. First, the changes of molecular constituents of nucleoporin-TF partnerships from NPs into the post-mitotic neurons are probed. Second, the roles of identified partnerships in the maintenance of neuronal identity and function will be investigated using biochemical, imaging, genome-wide and behavioural approaches. Efforts will be directed toward studying the effects of ageing and Alzheimer’s diseases on the identified mechanisms. The successful completion of this research will uncover a novel aspect of regulation in the maintenance of cellular identity and open up a new field of research in neuroscience.

Mots-clés : nuclear pore complex,nucleoporin,cellular identity,transcription factor,nuclear architecture,ageing,neurological diseases,cellular memory,neuronal plasticity