Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : STRIPES (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Université d'Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UvA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

People constantly interact with objects to perform tasks. To help people accomplish these, computers need to perceive Human-Object Interactions (HOI), and for this, they need to reconstruct HOI from whole-body color images of people interacting with objects or scenes. This is challenging, due to the occlusions between bodies and objects, motion blur, depth ambiguities, and the low image resolution of hands and graspable object parts. There has been significant prior work on estimating 3D humans without considering objects, and estimating 3D objects without considering humans. Little prior work estimates these jointly, but, for tractability, focuses either on interacting hands, ignoring the body, or on interacting bodies, ignoring hands. Only recent work addresses dexterous interaction of whole bodies, but instruments bodies with intrusive markers or sensors, and uses non-standard cameras to capture video of interactions. Moreover, reconstruction lacks hand detail that is crucial for grasping, and videos are captured in constrained settings, consequently, methods trained on these struggle generalizing. My goal is to infer HOI from natural whole-body images/videos. To this end, I present an ambitious 5-year research agenda with novelties in four directions: (1) developing strong generative 3D shape models for objects and humans for a novel HOI representation; (2) developing methods that estimate 3D HOI from a color image with rich contact and proximal awareness; (3) instilling spatiotemporal reasoning into the heart of these for estimating 4D HOI from color video; and (4) extending these methods to also infer their own confidence that will be correlated with the reconstruction quality. The outcome will be novel and robust methods for HOI reconstruction from natural images/videos. This will fill an important gap, enabling future intelligent systems to amplify people’s skills and help them accomplish tasks, e.g. for assistive robots or virtual 3D assistants or trainers.

Mots-clés : 3d computer vision,3d 4d reconstruction,3d digital humans,3d human object interaction,3d human scene interaction
Projet ERC : MOONLIGHT (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Université d'Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UvA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2094859.0 €

MOONLIGHT is a transdisciplinary and multi-method study of the quality of work and wellbeing of contemporary multiple jobholders. Working in the new economy is increasingly of a flexible and fragmented nature. Moonlighters, or multiple jobholders [MJHs], can be considered emblematic of how work fragmentation and combinations affect the quality of work and total worker wellbeing. MOONLIGHT will research the quality of work in first, second and other jobs and how this translates into total worker wellbeing. I introduce this concept of ‘total worker wellbeing’ to refer to the complex interdependencies and co-existence of features. This is both conceptually and empirically ground-breaking, as conceptual research and the development of comprehensive scales on wellbeing at work is still in its infancy and its inclusion enables researchers to make meaningful comparisons between groups of workers – both single and multiple jobholders. Apart from this conceptually innovative part, a unique and crucial feature of this programme’s empirical approach is its innovative app for dynamic quality and wellbeing assessment. MOONLIGHT will study the quality and wellbeing of MJHs through comparative research in seven advanced economies: Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Even though the meso- and macro-level contexts both have a pivotal role in the prevalence, quality and wellbeing of MJHs, these levels have so far rarely featured in research – a void this programme aims to fill. All countries have increasing levels of MJHs, but with different welfare state traditions, regulations and policies, norms and labour markets. By researching the practices used to conceptualise, classify and measure quality of work and wellbeing and translating these into a future-proof conceptual framework and app, that capture the complexities of the modern fragmented world of work, MOONLIGHT will provide both theoretical and methodological advancement.
Projet ERC : GCMech (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Université Bar-Ilan — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : BIU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499361.0 €

Goblet cells are specialized epithelial cells that secrete mucus and antimicrobial proteins which together form the gut mucus barrier. The mucus barrier protects the host from bacterial invasion and subsequent activation of an inflammatory response, while also providing food for the microbiome. Dysfunction of goblet cells and high penetrability of the mucus barrier are hallmarks of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). While the reasons for goblet cell dysfunction are unclear, it is thought that inflammation, host genetics (specifically mutations in autophagy genes) and environmental factors can affect their function. Yet despite their importance, the basic biology of goblet cells is not understood as they are part of a heterogeneous tissue. I developed a new mouse model that allows isolation of ribosomes specifically from goblet cells in vivo, thus revealing the translational response of goblet cells to various conditions. In preliminary studies we found that altering the autophagy process in vivo led to modification of the colonic mucus barrier, alteration of the microbiome and resistance to colitis. We also found that antibiotic treatment, an environmental factor which increases the risk for IBD, altered the mucus barrier and instigates gut inflammation in mice. Our goal is to mechanistically determine how inflammation, autophagy and antibiotics affect goblet cell function during health and IBD. We will 1) define goblet cell function during IBD development in vivo and test if goblet cells fail to regain proper function during remission, leading to relapse. We will also 2) use a novel mouse model of augmented autophagy to determine the role of autophagy in preserving goblet cell function during IBD. Lastly, 3) we will use germ-free mice to reveal the microbiome-dependent and -independent effects of antibiotics on goblet cell function and IBD. Our study will provide new understanding of goblet cell biology and may lead to new therapeutics which target goblet cells.

Mots-clés : inflammatory bowel diseases,goblet cells,autophagy,antibiotics,microbiota
Projet ERC : TRACE-it (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 138975.0 €

Many engineering applications foreseen the usage of small particles for groundwater remediation or for sealing damaged geological confinement barriers, however, delivering materials to a contaminated or damaged region is challenging. TRACE-it aims at controlling the flow of colloidal particles in subsurface geological environments using in situ solute concentration gradients. The phenomenon, known as diffusiophoresis, has a tremendous potential to move colloids to regions that are inaccessible by conventional transport. Diffusiophoretic transport in porous media, however, has received very little attention so far, especially in standard transport in porous media models where it remains unconsidered. What is the magnitude and location of solute concentration gradients produced during subsurface processes? How to use these gradients to transport colloids towards target regions? The answers will be found through a combined experimental-modelling approach to: (i) measure coupled hydro-electro-chemical dynamics, (ii) characterize concentration gradients generated in situ in geological porous media, (iii) identify the influence of concentration gradients on particle transport and develop a macroscale model of transport in porous media that includes diffusiophoresis. TRACE-it integrates the usage of microfluidic experiments, observation techniques, and multi-scale computational fluid dynamics to describe the transport mechanisms at the pore-scale before upscaling to the continuum-scale. The experimental-modelling toolset will open new ways for moving colloidal particles by sensing chemical gradients generated naturally or from human activity, leading them to their target such as oil, contaminants, or reacting minerals. During column-scale experiments, controlling colloid transport will be achieved through the characterization of solute concentration gradients and the use of specifically designed particles.

Mots-clés : porous media microfluidics colloid pore scale hydro electro chemical coupling
Projet ERC : ABYSS (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth System Science
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 32472.5 €

Earthquakes have caused more than half a million of fatalities in the past 20 years. A large fraction of this death toll arises from the current lack of systematic predictive signals. While some theories describe earthquakes as intrinsically stochastic processes, challenging or impossible to predict, evidence from laboratory and numerical experiments indicates that earthquakes could be preceded by a preparatory phase. But despite all efforts, only incomplete observations of such phase have been achieved. This observational gap is mainly due to our inability to deploy extensive sensor networks near the earthquake nucleation zone, especially for large earthquakes that are the most likely to produce precursors detectable at the surface. I propose to probe the mechanical state of a fault prior to large earthquakes using seismic waves recorded on the largest and densest seismic array ever deployed directly above one of the most active faults on Earth: the Chilean subduction zone. Long term monitoring of its vigorous activity will allow my team to observe the preparatory phase of several strong earthquakes (M>6). To achieve this, I will use a revolutionary technology, Distributed Acoustic Sensing, to convert several ~100 km long segments of fiber optic telecommunication cables that run offshore along the 4200 km of the Chilean subduction zone, into a large and dense ocean-bottom seismic observatory. The unique data produced by this new observatory will enable the detection of weak earthquakes and changes in the crustal properties with a sensitivity that has never been achieved before. This transformative capability, augmented by the development of real time data processing workflows, will enhance the early warning system in Chile by improving the timeliness and accuracy of earthquake warnings. The expected outcomes of this project will have a transformative impact on earthquake science as well as on the reduction of societal vulnerability to natural hazards.

Mots-clés : subduction zone megathrust faults,earthquake precursors,earthquake forecast,earthquake early warning system,distributed acoustics sensing,submarine fiber optic cable,chilean subduction zone
Projet ERC : VITALGREENHOUSE (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Académie royale néerlandaise des arts et des sciences — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KNAW
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499964.0 €

Greenhouses play a crucial role in Europe, ensuring the production of affordable vegetables, but they are under great pressure to change. The EU is encouraging consumers to move towards a plant-based diet, necessitating an increase in horticultural productivity. Simultaneously, the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals include reducing land degradation and biodiversity loss. Such pressures – including requirements to reduce chemical use in the Netherlands and water use in Spain, and social unrest about the exploitation of migrant workers – challenge the industrial model of production. Using ethnographic methods, VITALGREENHOUSE will examine how greenhouse growers, workers, scientists, and environmental community groups are experimenting with sustainability. In Spain and the Netherlands, both leaders in intensive greenhouse use, our team will study how different versions of sustainability are performed in the various and often competing practices of growing food, handling multispecies relations, and addressing workers’ rights. The work is divided into four subprojects: (1) studying the multispecies relations of growers, pickers, and other non-human laborers such as pollinator bees, (2) investigating how growers and workers are adapting to or resisting ‘climate-intelligent agriculture’, a recent iteration of sustainability, (3) examining how greenhouses spark and sustain labour mobilities, creating novel ways of belonging forged through working in the greenhouse, and (4) historicising and contextualising current sustainability practices in the European greenhouse complex. VITALGREENHOUSE will develop an innovative analytical framework that conceives of sustainability as a relational practice and theorises greenhouses as a vital landscapes. Combining political ecology, science and technology studies, and decolonial thought, VITALGREENHOUSE will produce a new understanding of sustainability for environmental anthropology.

Mots-clés : greenhouses sustainability agriculture multispecies relations digital transitions labour plantationocene environmental anthropology future of food
Projet ERC : QPATHS (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Entité participante : Académie royale néerlandaise des arts et des sciences — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KNAW
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

QPaths provides unprecedented insights into the pathways and challenges faced by sexual minorities in achieving their family goals. Despite the growing acceptance of same-sex families and the expansion of their legal rights, they still face significant challenges in their decision to have children, particularly compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Yet, a critical gap remains in understanding these inequalities in family formation, as well as the specific barriers and support systems that shape these pathways. QPaths addresses these knowledge gaps through two interrelated parts.  The first part provides unparalleled demographic insights into family formation among sexual minorities by examining parenthood trajectories of individuals in same- and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands (1990-2022). This reveals inequalities in who can form and expand their family between same- and different-sex couples and breaks new ground on the role of institutional factors in shaping parental outcomes. With established access to population register data from five countries, the project can leverage the largest longitudinal, cross-national data source on same-sex relationships to date.  The second part studies the personal pathways behind these patterns by focussing on preferences, experiences, and behaviors in the family formation process of sexual minorities. Using insights from demography, sociology, psychology, and gender and sexuality studies, it develops a theoretical model that explains sexual minorities’ family formation process by identifying barriers unique to them. Conducting a large-scale, representative, longitudinal survey of individuals in same- and different-sex relationships allows us to study family formation over time and across sexual orientations. This results in a unique, open-access dataset on family formation among sexual minorities, offering valuable opportunities for future research into their family dynamics.

Mots-clés : same sex couples,sexual minorities,demographic trends,inclusive family formation model,register data,longitudinal survey
Projet ERC : ExOsTech (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 104815.0 €

Over the last two decades, growing evidence attests to the use of unmodified or partially modified bone fragments as tools by members of our lineage prior to the emergence of fully shaped, standardized bone tools. These simple tools, some of which date to 2.4 million years ago (Myr), were interpreted as items used for digging, piercing, cutting, or scraping but definitive conclusions are difficult to reach without comprehensive evidence owing to the lack of adequate research strategies for investigating them. Indeed, we critically need quantitative replicable methods to infer their role in past cultural systems, which, in turn, would allow us to document their evolution in relation to other aspects of Pleistocene material culture. ExOsTech aims to tackle this challenging task through the development and application of an innovative approach that integrates tribology with artificial intelligence to study use-wear patterns present on expedient osseous tools. This methodological breakthrough relies on discriminant analysis of surface textural data (ISO 25178) acquired by confocal microscopy as well as image recognitions and multi-class neural network algorithms to precisely establish the function of expedient osseous tools. This method will be applied to study assemblages from Europe, Southern Africa, and East Asia dated between 1.8 Ma and 60 thousand years ago (ka). Cross-cultural comparisons of regional trajectories will be performed to establish when expedient osseous tools became fully integrated in past cultural systems and when standardized behaviours guiding their selection and use emerged in our lineage. Ultimately, ExOsTech will offer a new perspective on Pleistocene cultural dynamics that can not otherwise be inferred solely from stone technology.

Mots-clés : pleistocene bone tools cultural evolution tribology
Projet ERC : HOMEPATH (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1121000.0 €

Mammalian cells sense and exert forces on their environment, and their responses to mechanical signals regulate their growth, motility, and behavior within tissues. However, little is known about the forces at play during microbial infections, and their impact on tissue homeostasis and disease progression. I recently found that binding of the extracellular bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) on the endothelium leads to the generation of large traction forces on the extracellular matrix. This is due to the formation of a new structure, that I called ancreopodia, linking the bacterial colony on the apical side of the host cell to the basal side and underlying substrate. I hence hypothesize that Nm induces long-range force transmission throughout the infected cells, leading to alterations in tissue function. In this project, I propose to dissect how host cell mechanics is affected by Nm infection, and how mechanical forces globally impact tissue barrier physiology in epithelia and endothelia. By developing quantitative tools to directly measure forces while imaging host cells during infection, both in vitro using 2D and 3D models of tissue barrier with increasing complexity and in vivo, I will: 1) identify the key molecular mechanisms involved in host cell structural remodeling and their regulation in space and time; 2) characterize the mechanics of the infected host tissue, using biophysical tools and theoretical approaches to link signaling to the forces involved, and 3) study the functional consequences of infection-induced mechanical imbalance on cell fate and host tissue integrity. This study has a double interest: to better understand the impact of mechanics in the process of infection, for the development of new therapeutic strategies, and to bring new fundamental knowledge on the mechanical homeostasis of tissue barriers, by integrating extracellular pathogens as new tools to shed light on complex feedbacks between cell architecture, mechanics, and function

Mots-clés : quantitative cell biology,bacterial infection,tissue barrier,neisseria meningitidis,type iv pili