Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : 5D ULTRAFAST-HCM (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université de Bordeaux — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UBx
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 187000.0 €

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common form of cardiomyopathy, affecting 1 in 500 individuals globally. When HCM presents in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood (0-30yo), it carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality, threatening young lives. Notably, HCM is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in adolescents and young adults without prior warning – a devastating condition affecting over 8000 European youths per year. Despite genetic advances, this knowledge has yet to prevent HCM progression or major complications like arrhythmias, stroke, heart failure, or SCD. Early prediction of adverse outcomes is crucial to identify patients who may benefit from advanced therapies like implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) and heart transplantation. 5D ULTRAFAST-HCM will develop new biomarkers using advanced ultrasound to address the limitations of 2D ultrafast ultrasound imaging (UUI) in capturing the heart's complex 3D structure over cardiac cycles (4D), emphasizing the need for volumetric imaging. It will develop innovative 5D-UUI technology (4D with real-time AI-driven post-processing) for unprecedented whole-heart imaging, enabling assessment of new biomarkers. Preliminary data show that increased myocardial stiffness, abnormal fiber organization, and reduced microperfusion are key indicators in young HCM patients. We hypothesize that these factors, quantified through 5D-UUI, are directly linked to adverse outcomes. We will (i) refine 5D-UUI for clinical use, automate acquisition and analysis, (ii) validate new biomarkers predicting high-risk cases, and (iii) develop a new risk prediction model for improved ICD indication. 5D ULTRAFAST-HCM will establish this groundbreaking bedside imaging technology and revolutionize patient management. Its success will create a pioneering diagnostic tool that simplifies data collection, enhances patient experience, and offers AI-driven, operator-independent analysis for precise risk assessment.

Mots-clés : cardiology pediatrics ultrafast ultrasound hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosis
Projet ERC : ADAPT-OR (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Entité participante : Université de technologie de Delft — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499999.0 €

Transport systems are complex with various entities across different decision-making levels. There is currently no comprehensive way to model these entities and their interactions, which prevents utilizing the full potential of the system. For efficient and sustainable transportation, we need to model the perspective of both the supply (e.g., services, infrastructure) and the demand side (e.g., preferences of users). Only then a holistic modelling framework can be developed where the decisions at different levels learn from one another and are adapted continuously in a robust way while accommodating the different preferences. I propose a holistic adaptive modelling framework that considers the interaction between different levels, both on the supply and demand sides, in order to adapt the decisions towards increased efficiency and sustainability. This necessitates a paradigm change in modelling as it is challenging to maintain robustness across different time-scales at the network level. Even though integrated models for multiple decision-making levels (strategic, tactical, operational) are a trend, they only allow a reactive ex-post assessment but are not dynamically coupled (not self-learning). I plan to achieve this by developing model-based adaptive optimization and learning methods with my expertise on optimization and behavioural modelling. For example, based on the performance of the routing decisions at the operational level in terms of delays, the decisions on fleet sizing and/or capacity of facilities will be adapted. Similarly, based on a continuous learning of the preferences of users, transport decisions will be adapted. ADAPT-OR will lead to new models and algorithms for transportation researchers (and beyond) with self-learning capabilities. This capability will enable service providers to adapt and maintain their business, users to receive better services and society to reach sustainable transport solutions addressing one of EU’s grand challenges.

Mots-clés : adaptive transportation,behavioral models,optimization,supply demand interactions
Projet ERC : CareNow (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : Université de technologie de Delft — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499803.0 €

Interest in philosophical theories of manipulation has soared in recent years. One reason is the debate about rising populism, polarisation, and political events like the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which draws on philosophical theories to identify illegitimate, manipulative influence. Beyond academia, philosophical theories also inform the definition of manipulation in legal regulation, like the EU’s AI Act, which aims to limit the risk of technological mass manipulation. Getting the definition right is an urgent issue: according to Sam Altman, ChatGPT's inventor, new AI systems may soon reach superhuman persuasive capabilities. But current manipulation theories are ill-equipped to carry out this task because they are overly individualistic. They assume that humans are solitary beings who think and reason independently. In reality, however, we are deeply social beings who depend on others and helpful technology to deliberate well. Therefore, we must be protected from malicious interference (as current manipulation theories emphasise) and from a lack of care to safeguard the social and structural conditions under which we reason and deliberate well. CareNow aims to develop the first manipulation theory that acknowledges our deliberative dependency. The targeted outcomes will be an original definition of manipulation, one that is – unlike current definitions – compatible with manipulation by social systems and technology (which typically lack intention), and explain the context-dependent epistemic, ethical, and political status of manipulation based on the new value of deliberative care. It yields innovation by taking a social epistemology perspective and pioneers an experimental philosophy approach that integrates philosophy with empirical studies of manipulation. Because CareNow reverses a fundamental assumption of current manipulation theories and switches perspectives from the individual to the social, it is ambitious, bold, and potentially groundbreaking.

Mots-clés : manipulation,social epistemology,experimental philosophy,ethics of influence,ethics of technology,deliberation,reasoning,bullshit speech act,online manipulation
Projet ERC : VascularID (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université de technologie de Delft — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1852430.0 €

Microvascular impairment is a hallmark of many of today’s most burdening diseases, including forms of ischemic heart disease, stroke, and dementia. It is also the most promising candidate to explain the link between cardiovascular and brain disease (so-called heart-brain axis). However, only histology provides comprehensive assessment of the microvasculature, and is rarely available in vivo as it requires invasive biopsy. The lack of early, non-invasive markers limits our pathophysiological understanding and crucially affects treatment success, as preventive intervention is the only successful clinical management strategy available.  With a major leap in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) physics, I will address this need and develop VascularID, a fully non-invasive toolset for the quantitative assessment of cardiac and cerebral microvasculature. This non-invasive biopsy exploits microscopic magnetic fields around the vessels to obtain structural information about the microvasculature. It is contrast-free and resilient against field inhomogeneities and can, for the first time, be used in both the heart and the brain. Combined with a new generation of non-contrast perfusion MRI, VascularID will provide comprehensive functional and structural information.  My approach will first be validated in a micro-printed 3D model of the vasculature. In vivo feasibility will be demonstrated in an animal model. Proof-of-principle studies with VascularID in a cohort of patients suffering from heart disease and a cohort of patients with cerebral small vessel disease will demonstrate the clinical feasibility.  I will develop, validate, and disseminate VascularID for research and clinical use to enable groundbreaking insights into the smallest blood vessels. These insights are perfectly poised to provide the missing key to the vascular underpinnings of diseases that form the major burden to our health care system in the years to come.

Mots-clés : magnetic resonance imaging,mri,cardiac magnetic resonance,cmr,quantitative magnetic resonance imaging,qmr,myocardial tissue characterization,parametric mapping,microvascular imaging,vascular mri
Projet ERC : LINMOS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Institut des maladies génétiques — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Imagine
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 90000.0 €

Organisms develop through cell divisions generating clones that progressively organize to form different tissues. This process can be visualized as a cell phylogeny by lineage tracing. In order to track cell lineages, each cell division has to be permanently and uniquely marked. In model systems, this is done by genome editing. In humans this is not applicable, which has historically made impossible to accurately study cell phylogenies. Very recently, however, studies showed that human tissues contain a set of natural markers in the form of somatic DNA variants that permanently and cumulatively label every cell division during development. My work showed that somatic variants are reliable at tracking cell lineages directly in human tissues. Human brain development has historically been difficult to address since human-brain-specific features are hardly recapitulated in any existing model. My project now builds on the use of somatic variants to reveal the cellular processes that form the brain starting from available human material. Somatic variants will be identified at unprecedent sensitivity in a large set of human foetal tissues, including multiple different brain regions. In work package (WP)1, I will identify and study the lineage segregation steps defining the brain phylogeny starting from the zygote. Mathematical modelling will elucidate mechanisms of clone dynamics. In WP2, I will focus on the cerebral cortex and reconstruct cell phylogenies of neural progenitors and the distribution of cortical clones. Furthermore, I will compare normal versus overgrowth cortical malformation brains, where cell proliferation and migration are altered. In WP3, I will develop new strategies to simultaneously assess cell phylogenies and cell-type specification by identifying somatic variants in multi-omics data. This project will reveal the unfolding of the cellular lineages building the human brain, while providing a methodology that is applicable to any tissue and pathology.

Mots-clés : human brain development,lineage tracing,cell divisions,somatic mutations,cortical malformations
Projet ERC : MIRACLE-AD (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Centre hospitalier national d’ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CHNO
Type d'entité : Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 70000.0 €

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) regulates blood flow to meet the metabolic demands of neural activity by delivering oxygen and nutrients. Its dysfunction is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where early NVC impairment contributes to disease progression. As the retina is the only optically accessible part of the central nervous system, it provides a unique opportunity to investigate NVC at the cellular level. A precise understanding of retinal NVC could uncover key biomarkers for the evaluation of AD progression and the development of new targeted therapies. However, current imaging tools lack the spatial and temporal resolution necessary to capture neural and vascular functions simultaneously.  In recent research, I have pioneered two novel imaging modalities for cellular-level retinal imaging: full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) and adaptive optics rolling slit ophthalmoscopy (AO-RSO). FF-OCT, with its interferometric properties, has the potential to visualize individual neurons involved in NVC. Meanwhile, AO-RSO, the only system capable of high-speed phase contrast imaging across a wide field of view, reveals critical vascular features, such as vessel walls and red blood cells, which are essential for probing vascular responses during NVC.  The MIRACLE-AD project aims to combine the strengths of these modalities to develop an innovative tool capable of characterizing neural and vascular activity at micrometer and sub-millisecond scales in both health and early-AD patients. This approach will map neuronal pathways from photoreceptors to ganglion cells following light stimulation and measure vascular responses linked to individual ganglion cell activation. By elucidating the spatiotemporal relationship between neuronal activation and hemodynamic changes, MIRACLE-AD will deepen our understanding of NVC dysfunction in AD and its role in disease pathophysiology.
Projet ERC : LearnMamBo (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : University Medical Center Göttingen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UMG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1492673.0 €

At the heart of our individual personalities lie our memories – be it our first time riding a bike, the school graduation ceremony, or yesterday’s football match. Yet, it is estimated that in the coming decades up to 150 million people worldwide will suffer from dementia. To tackle this surge and identify therapeutic interventions, a thorough understanding of the neuronal mechanisms underlying long-term memory storage is necessary. Research in humans and rodents has identified the hippocampus as the brain’s preeminent structure for memory processing. Yet, for memories to become permanently stored and correctly retrieved, the hippocampus needs to communicate with the rest of the brain. One of the main projection targets of the hippocampus is the mammillary body (MB). Over a century of clinical research and lesion studies in rats have established the importance of the MB to form and retrieve long-lasting memories but its peculiar anatomical location has prevented research to uncover the mechanisms underlying this role. In this research programme, we will reveal the role of the MB in memory processing at a cellular, circuit, network, and behavioural level in mice. First, we will make use of recently established genetic tools to ascribe precise causal roles for memory processing to individual mouse MB subnuclei. Next, we will leverage my extensive experience with in vivo two-photon microscopy to image calcium activity from identified MB neurons across multiple days of learning. We will then combine these tools to elucidate the role of reciprocal brainstem inhibition. Lastly, we will use high-density silicon probe recordings to simultaneously record activity across cortical, thalamic and hippocampal sites connected to the MB, as animals are actively engaged in memory tasks. Overall, our research will deliver mechanistic insights into how the MB aids memory processing, which will prove critical for our understanding of how the brain can form life-long memories.

Mots-clés : mammillary body,ventral tegmental nucleus,papez circuit,spatial memory,optogenetics,hippocampus
Projet ERC : Beat-to-Beat (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Amsterdam University Medical Centers — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1797105.0 €

The pacemaker cells of the sinoatrial node (SAN) trigger three billion heartbeats in an average human life span. At the start of each beat, the SAN must generate enough current to drive the surrounding atrial tissue, which contains 10,000 times as many cells as the SAN itself. This extraordinary biological feat is a result of intrinsic features such as SAN tissue architecture. In addition, SAN function is modulated by extrinsic inputs from the autonomic nervous system, which adjusts the pace from beat-to-beat, for example during exercise. Any disturbances to these core activities result in SAN dysfunction, which include abnormal heart rate (brady or tachycardias), SAN exit block (lack of atrial activation) and chronotropic incompetence (inability to increase heart rate). SAN dysfunction is also a major trigger for atrial fibrillation, the most common form of arrhythmia. The goal of this ERC-StG proposal is to make significant leaps in our understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate SAN function in health and disease using innovative multi cell type as well as multi organ in vitro models created from human pluripotent stem cells. The first objective is to determine the role of SAN subpopulations, particularly transitional cells in facilitating impulse propagation at the pacemaker-atrial interface by evaluating an SCN5A loss-of-function mutation. The second objective is to gain insights into the relationship between SAN-dysfunction and atrial fibrillation by assessing MYH6 variants associated with both these diseases. Lastly, the third objective will unravel how damage to autonomic function in the higher orders of the brain, for e.g., in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disrupts electrical activity of pacemaker cells. This research will provide exquisite knowledge of the fundamental principles that regulate pacemaker function which is essential to effectively address SAN dysfunction and atrial arrhythmias.

Mots-clés : ipsc,cardiomyocyte,pacemaker cell,arrhythmia,atrial fibrillation,sinus node dysfunction,brain heart axis
Projet ERC : DiverseSounds (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Entité participante : Hôpital de la Timone Adulte — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 336512.0 €

The prenatal period represents a critical window in which key neural structures and functions are shaped, laying the foundation for sensory processing, language learning, and cognitive function throughout an individual's lifetime. While research recognizes the importance of prenatal auditory and language stimulation, it is unclear whether and to what degree the language environment in utero shapes the fetal brain and language acquisition after birth. This proposal will focus on the prenatal language environment and its effects on neural plasticity and language development. We will adopt a longitudinal approach combining developmental cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, and information theory, using both novel and existing data.  Given the diversity of speech sounds across languages, multilingualism provides an excellent frame-work for studying environmental effects on early learning in typical development. DiverseSounds will investigate input-driven neuroplasticity of fetal brain organization, assess which characteristics of speech are processed by human fetuses, determine fetal neural predictors of inter-individual differ-ences in speech sound perception in early infancy, and investigate if fetal neuroplasticity longitudinally predicts language learning mechanisms in infancy.  We will use state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques (MRI and EEG) in monolinguals and multilin-guals, and novel measures of phonological diversity informed by descriptive and typological linguistic work. We propose to examine the relationship between prenatal experience and subsequent develop-mental trajectories of language acquisition from 25 weeks of gestation to 6 months of age. This re-search will advance our understanding of fetal and infant development and therefore bears significant implications for theory building, language therapy, and public health policy.

Mots-clés : prenatal language acquisition,brain development,multilingualism,mri,fmri,eeg,language typology