Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : KILL-OR-DIFFERENTIAT (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Karolinska Institutet — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3284680.0 €

The interactions between tumor and its microenvironment are often critical to uncovering the mechanisms of tumor survival. A striking example is the recent success of immunotherapy approaches that expose tumor cells to immune attack by disrupting a specific interaction between the tumor and infiltrating lymphocytes. The tumor can also repress immune response by inducing complex interactions among dozens of immune and stromal cell types that typically make up tumor microenvironment, however those remain largely uncharacterized as we currently lack systematic approaches to uncover relevant cell-cell interactions. The alternative to killing tumor cells, either directly or through immune system, is to force them to differentiate. Such strategy is particularly promising for tumors arising due to failure of progenitor populations to follow proper differentiation cascade. Here as well, the progress has been limited by lack of understanding of specific intercellular signals that that are disrupted in tumorigenesis. We propose a systematic approach for characterizing cell-cell interactions in complex microenvironments through joint analysis of spatially-resolved and disassociated single-cell transcriptomics. We will apply it to identify inter-cellular signals and pathways that can push tumors of neural crest origin, including as pheochromocytoma (PCC), paraganglioma (PGL) and neuroblastoma (NB), towards terminal differentiation. Building on our expertise with neural crest development, we will use single-cell profiling to map individual tumor cells onto developmental trajectory of neural crest differentiation. Spatial transcriptomics analysis will then be used to identify the sources and nature of microenvironment signals that channel neural crest differentiation during normal development. Contrasting interactions in normal and tumor tissues we will then aim to identify factors, pathways or signals that would push that PCC, PGL and NB tumors towards benign state.

Mots-clés : neural crest,neuroblastoma,differentiation,cancer,single cell transcriptomics,2d transcriptomics,development,tumor,pheochromocytoma,sympatho adrenal differentiation
Projet ERC : KILL-OR-DIFFERENTIAT (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Harvard University — Pays : Etats-Unis — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 5100.96 €

The interactions between tumor and its microenvironment are often critical to uncovering the mechanisms of tumor survival. A striking example is the recent success of immunotherapy approaches that expose tumor cells to immune attack by disrupting a specific interaction between the tumor and infiltrating lymphocytes. The tumor can also repress immune response by inducing complex interactions among dozens of immune and stromal cell types that typically make up tumor microenvironment, however those remain largely uncharacterized as we currently lack systematic approaches to uncover relevant cell-cell interactions. The alternative to killing tumor cells, either directly or through immune system, is to force them to differentiate. Such strategy is particularly promising for tumors arising due to failure of progenitor populations to follow proper differentiation cascade. Here as well, the progress has been limited by lack of understanding of specific intercellular signals that that are disrupted in tumorigenesis. We propose a systematic approach for characterizing cell-cell interactions in complex microenvironments through joint analysis of spatially-resolved and disassociated single-cell transcriptomics. We will apply it to identify inter-cellular signals and pathways that can push tumors of neural crest origin, including as pheochromocytoma (PCC), paraganglioma (PGL) and neuroblastoma (NB), towards terminal differentiation. Building on our expertise with neural crest development, we will use single-cell profiling to map individual tumor cells onto developmental trajectory of neural crest differentiation. Spatial transcriptomics analysis will then be used to identify the sources and nature of microenvironment signals that channel neural crest differentiation during normal development. Contrasting interactions in normal and tumor tissues we will then aim to identify factors, pathways or signals that would push that PCC, PGL and NB tumors towards benign state.

Mots-clés : neural crest,neuroblastoma,differentiation,cancer,single cell transcriptomics,2d transcriptomics,development,tumor,pheochromocytoma,sympatho adrenal differentiation
Projet ERC : CHANGE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 387500.0 €

The interplay between Analysis and Geometry has led to a number of spectacular achievements such as the proof of the Poincaré conjecture by Perelman. The goal of this proposal is to establish a research group that will make striking progress along the following two directions, that reflect the two souls, extrinsic and intrinsic, of Riemannian Geometry, as well as their mutual interaction. Minimal surfaces, namely surfaces of zero mean curvature, have been an object of mathematical study since the 18th century (with pioneering work by Lagrange and Euler), and yet remain at the heart of many problems to this day. I aim at shading new light on their understanding, by means of a thorough investigation of the Morse index as an observable on the space of minimal cycles, both in general 3-manifolds of positive curvature and in space forms, towards higher Urbano-type theorems and beyond min-max techniques. Partly motivated by the study of data sets for the Einstein equations on the one hand, and by a far-reaching program by Gromov on the other, we also want to systematically study the interplay between the scalar curvature of a manifold and the mean curvature of its boundary. The project, which builds on my recent contributions and long-term experience in the field, relies on a combination of diverse elliptic and parabolic techniques, and aims at developing effective deformation methods that will have a variety of applications. These directions, while seemingly different, are deeply intertwined both at the technical and conceptual level, and incarnate the primary goal of redefining the state of the art in the investigation of infinite-dimensional spaces of solutions to fundamental geometric problems.

Mots-clés : minimal surfaces,morse index,positive scalar curvature,geometric variational problems
Projet ERC : GliaInnateSensing (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : University of Lisbon — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1125257.45 €

The interplay between intestinal microbes and immune cells ensures vital functions of the organism. However, inadequate host-microbe relationships lead to inflammatory diseases that are major public health concerns. Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are an emergent family of effectors abundantly present at mucosal sites. Group 3 ILC (ILC3) produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and regulate mucosal homeostasis, anti-microbial defence and adaptive immune responses. ILC development and function have been widely perceived to be programmed. However, recent evidence indicates that ILC are also controlled by dietary signals. Nevertheless, how ILC3 perceive, integrate and respond to environmental cues remains utterly unexplored. We hypothesise that ILC3 sense their environment and exert their function as part of a novel epithelial-glial-ILC unit orchestrated by neurotrophic factors. Thus, we propose to employ genetic, cellular and molecular approaches to decipher how this unconventional multi-cellular unit is controlled and how glial-derived factors set ILC3 function and intestinal homeostasis. In order to achieve this, we will assess ILC3-autonomous functions of neurotrophic factor receptors. ILC3-specific loss and gain of function mutant mice for neuroregulatory receptors will be used to define the role of these molecules in ILC3 function, mucosal homeostasis, gut defence and microbial ecology. Sequentially we propose to decipher the anatomical and functional basis for the enteric epithelial-glial-ILC unit. To this end we will employ high-resolution imaging, genome-wide expression analysis and tissue-specific mutants for define target genes. Our ground-breaking research will establish a novel sensing program by which ILC3 integrate environmental cues and will define a key multi-cellular unit at the core of intestinal homeostasis and defence. Finally, our work will reveal new pathways that may be targeted in inflammatory diseases that are major Public Health concerns.

Mots-clés : innate lymphoid cells,mucosal immunology,neurotrophic factors,glial cells
Projet ERC : DYNACQM (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Technical University of Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TUM
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1998750.0 €

The interplay of quantum fluctuations and correlation effects in condensed matter can yield emergent phases with fascinating properties. Understanding these challenging quantum-many body systems is a problem of central importance in theoretical physics and the basis for the development of new materials for future technologies. Dynamical properties can provide characteristic fingerprints that allow to identify novel phases in newly synthesized materials and optical lattice systems. Moreover, when brought out of equilibrium, correlated quantum matter can exhibit dynamical phases that cannot occur in equilibrium settings. DYNACQM will develop new theoretical and numerical frameworks to study dynamical properties of correlated quantum matter. On the theoretical side, we will investigate how many-body entanglement affects dynamical properties and predict universal features that can be measured in experiments. For example, dynamical spin correlation functions, measured in neutron scattering experiments, provide signatures of topologically ordered spin liquids. Furthermore, we will study the role of disorder and many-body localization in static as well as in driven quantum systems. On the numerical side, we will develop efficient tensor-product state based algorithms to simulate the dynamics of quantum many-body systems. These will allow us to study realistic microscopic model systems and to understand their dynamical properties. Recent developments in the creation of synthetic quantum systems and advances in high resolution spectroscopy allow for an unprecedented precision with which the dynamics of quantum systems can be studied and manipulated experimentally. In this light, it is particularly important to theoretically understand the dynamics of correlated quantum systems and to make testable predictions. DYNACQM will bridge between the fundamental understanding of many-body entanglement in correlated quantum matter and experiments.

Mots-clés : topological phases,quantum many body dynamics,non equilibrium systems,many body localization,tensor product states,frustrated magnetism
Projet ERC : TopInSy (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1299999.99 €

The interplay of symmetry and topology can give rise to fascinating new forms of matter. Prime examples are topological insulators and topological superconductors with Majorana fermions, discoveries which resulted from a breakthrough extension of noninteracting band theory to include symmetry and topology. This proposal aims to go beyond this noninteracting paradigm and explore systems where strong interactions, symmetry, and topology conspire to give rise to new strongly correlated phases of matter. The broad scientific goals are to theoretically obtain (i) tangible microscopic models and (ii) predictions on the clearest experimental signatures of these novel symmetry protected topological phases (SPTs). The project will consider both fermionic and bosonic systems, where in the latter case even the most direct analogues of topological insulators require strong interactions, as mere band theory is inapplicable due to the absence of Pauli exclusion. We will examine systems with various interactions and symmetries (e.g., time-reversal, particle number conservation, spin-rotation, inversion and other crystalline symmetries), aiming to deliver results with ramifications in all three dimensionalities. Characteristic aspects of our approach include, for microscopics, the emphasis on well controlled analytical methods to expose physically transparent links to phenomenology; and, for experimental signatures, exploring and utilising novel strong correlations emerging in hybrids formed of SPTs and their probes, which would be absent in either of the probed systems or the probes alone. Accomplishing our research objectives will fill a major scientific gap by bridging the findings of recent abstract mathematical classifications of possible SPTs, and the tremendous experimental progress both in the solid-state and with ultracold atoms on topological systems that may already provide the fundamental building blocks for physical realisations.

Mots-clés : topological phases,topological insulators,majorana fermions,quantum hall systems,symmetry protected topological phases,quantum magnets,ultracold atomic gases
Projet ERC : QuModQu (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting 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 : 1391324.0 €

The interpretation of linguistic expressions has been investigated from various theoretical perspectives, ranging from linguistics and philosophy to logic and cognitive science, leading to many applications in computer science. At the heart of this enterprise is a simple yet powerful notion of meaning as truth-conditional content. Despite its merits, this view has a fundamental limitation: while suitable for statements, it does not apply to other sentence types, like questions. This limitation has recently led the applicant and his collaborators to propose a more general notion of meaning, giving rise to a new semantic framework called inquisitive semantics. This framework opens up new horizons for all disciplines concerned with linguistic meaning. The present project explores these horizons in logic and linguistics, also making substantial connections with philosophy and computer science. In linguistics, besides providing a framework for the analysis of questions, the new approach suggests that inquisitive content plays a role in the semantics of statements as well, which sheds new light on recent linguistic observations that are highly puzzling from a purely truth-conditional point of view. In logic, the enriched notion of meaning also opens up new, exciting possibilities. While logic is standardly concerned with reasoning processes that involve concrete pieces of information, our new perspective also allows us to consider reasoning processes involving types of information. Relations between types of information play a central role in natural sciences, and also in various applicative domains in computer science. The project will explore in detail how the inquisitive perspective extends the boundaries of logic and linguistics, with a particular focus on the domains of quantification and modality, which are central to both enterprises. The approach will be highly inter-disciplinary in nature, forging cross-fertilization between the two fields.

Mots-clés : philosophical logic,modal logic,logic of questions,formal semantics,inquisitive semantics,dependence logic
Projet ERC : MicroMap (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Dutch Research Council — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : NWO
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 148750.0 €

The introduction of new photo-active materials with enhanced performance is enabling a fast technological development in fields such as photovoltaics, photodetection, display technology and imaging systems. The efforts on the improvement of the synthesis and growth of these materials are in many cases not accompanied with equal efforts on the development of appropriate techniques that enable their characterization. MicroMap aims to develop a commercial instrument for the contact-free characterization of the high frequency photoconductivity of materials. The demonstrator will consist of an optically pumped near-field microscope and far-field spectrometer to map the response of photo-excited materials over areas of varying size from micrometers to several centimeters. This unique combination of length scales will enable to probe the conductivities of full devices and to determine the conductivities and carrier life times in single or few nanostructures or small areas to define the microscopic origin of the factors limiting the photoresponse. To demonstrate the feasibility of the instrument for the characterization of materials, we plan to test it on novel materials being currently investigated for optoelectronic applications. These include graphene, nanowires and perovskites. These tests will be used to elaborate technical notes that will help the commercialization of the instrument. The outcome of this project will be licensed to Protemics GmbH, which is a privately held spin-off of the research company AMO GmbH and the Institute of Semiconductor Electronics (RWTH Aachen University) with a background of two decades in THz technology . The target market for the instrument is academic and industrial research organizations working on materials research. We will also carry out a detailed business analysis to identify broader possibilities, e.g., for material characterization in industrial production or for THz sensing.

Mots-clés : thz spectroscopy,thz near field microscopy,photoconductivity,graphene,semiconductor nanowires,perovskites
Projet ERC : ULTRASTABLE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Neuchâtel — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The invention of optical frequency combs revolutionized numerous fields in metrology and was honoured by the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. Frequency combs have many new emerging applications in optical telecommunications, broadband high-precision spectroscopy and sensing, etc. Monitoring of environmentally relevant gases and pollutants, medical sensing of biomarkers in human breath, or remote sensing of gases relevant for resources exploitation or farming are important areas, in which frequency comb systems might find large applications in the future. However, so far, frequency comb systems are mainly used in basic research, despite their large potential for commercial applications. New technology solutions are required to enlarge the application range of this technology and make it accessible for real-world systems. An important highlight in my ERC StG Mega-XUV project was the first demonstration of a stabilized optical frequency comb from a SESAM-modelocked femtosecond thin disk laser. In this context, we invented a new method for stabilization of optical frequency combs. Our new invention is to use opto-optical modulation of a semiconductor saturable absorber that is placed inside the femtosecond laser cavity. It has several technical advantages compared to the standard method, therefore we submitted a patent application for it. The Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority confirmed its novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability in August 2015. We expect that our IP will enable European industry to continue to be leading this field, because it has several advantages compared to other CEO stabilization technologies, in particular with respect to modulation speed, low nonlinearity and dispersion, and extremely high damage thresholds. With this PoC proposal, we target both the realization of technical demonstrators to bring our invention closer to the market as well as the development of an optimum commercialization strategy.

Mots-clés : lasers,femtosecond,frequency combs,ultrafast,metrology,semiconductor manufacturing,sensing,remote detection,health and environmental monitoring
Projet ERC : Miniature Robots (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. London
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149761.0 €

The invention: We have developed new, cost-effective miniature robots using 3D printers and customised electronics and software. Large numbers of robots can run in parallel unattended for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These robots can be adapted for a variety of applications in industry and research. In this Proof of Concept phase we will begin commercialisation of one of our robots. Commercial potential: We will refine our robots to accelerate a rate-limiting step in the drug discovery pipeline. This will save research teams hundreds of thousands of Euros in salary costs and will enable faster, higher quality research, leading to more discoveries and greater revenue. Our robotic devices have the potential to make a significant impact on health care and will make an economic impact on the time and cost of research. In turn, this means they have considerable commercial potential for this application alone. We will expand our product range for other applications in industry and research. Goals of Proof-of-Concept study: Prototypes were manufactured using a basic 3D printer. We now wish to have our prototypes professionally refined and manufactured for commercialisation. We will protect our intellectual property. We will explore all market opportunities in industry, pharmaceuticals and academia so that we may prioritise the development and manufacture of this and other devices. We will present our business package to potential investors including robotics companies, research equipment companies and venture capitalists. In conclusion, we seek to transform the output of my existing ERC grant into a commercial product with a social and economic impact.

Mots-clés : robot,automation,high throughput,biomedical,rehabilitation,training,assessment,dexterity,brain,spinal cord,injury,disease,neurological,disability,impairment,drug discovery