Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : EMcapsulins (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : Helmholtz Zentrum München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : HMGU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 225000.0 €

The biological engineering project EMcapsulins will create the first suite of multiplexed genetic reporters for electron microscopy (EM) to augment today’s merely structural brain circuit diagrams (connectomes) with crucial information on neuronal type and activation history. My team will generate this new toolbox based on genetically encoded nanocompartments of the prokaryotic ‘encapsulin’ family that we have recently shown to enable genetically controlled compartmentalization of multicomponent processes in mammalian cells. By encapsulating metal-organizing cargo proteins in the lumen of the semi-permeable encapsulin nanospheres, they serve as fully genetic EM gene reporters (EMcapsulins) that provide robust and spatially precise contrast by conventional EM in mammalian cells. To enable geometric multiplexing in EM in analogy to multi-color light microscopy, we will explore the large geometrical feature space of EMcapsulins to establish three core Functionalities: ① different shell structures and diameters, ② modular and tunable shell functionalizations, and ③ multiplexed and triggered cargo loading. We will combine these Functionalities to produce geometrically multiplexed EMcapsulin markers of neuronal identity in serial EM (Application ❶). We will also engineer EMcapsulin reporters for activity-dependent gene expression, calcium signaling, and synaptic activity that can ‘write’ geometrically encoded records of neuronal activation history into EM connectomics data (Application ❷). These ‘multi-color’ and modular EMcapsulin markers and reporters deliver the missing bridging technology between time-resolved light microscopy measurements of neuronal activation dynamics and structural EM connectomics data. EMcapsulin technology will convert structural to functional EM connectomes to enable a systematic analysis of how brains write molecular signaling dynamics into structural patterns to store information for later retrieval.

Mots-clés : biological engineering,synthetic biology,gene reporters,protein design,nanocompartments,iron biomineralization,molecular imaging,calcium imaging,electron microscopy,neuronal activity,connectomics
Projet ERC : MICRO-COPS (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Mount Sinai Health System — Pays : Etats-Unis — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2500000.0 €

The brain controls all body functions. At the base of this 'catholic' role are the neurons, cells that generate electrical signals, communicate via synapses and form circuits that execute computing tasks and control behaviour. The electrical signalling pattern of neurons is the information code of the brain and the synapse connectivity determines circuit function. This is, in brief, what most textbooks emphasise, but such a neuron-centred brain view is precariously short-sighted. Apart from neurons, the brain contains three glia cell types (from Greek 'γλία' for 'glue'): astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. But far from being mere 'glue', astrocytes and oligodendrocytes have multiple critical functions in the brain, accordingly affect many brain processes - even genuine computing tasks - and have therefore become a major focus of modern neuroscience. Microglia are the 'odd one out'. They are brain-resident immune cells, act as defence against pathological insults and have a housekeeping function as phagocytes. Aside from these functions, microglia seem to play an as yet unrecognized role by engaging in reciprocal signalling with neurons. It is this Microglia Control of Physiological Brain States we will study in MICRO-COPS, based on the hypothesis that microglia purposively control neuronal function. We will combine mouse genetics with cutting-edge gene expression analysis and cell biological, electrophysiological, and imaging technologies to define the reciprocal microglia-neuron signalling pathways, the signalling molecules involved, the biological consequences for microglia and neurons, and the role of the corresponding signalling processes in synapse physiology, neuronal integration, circuit dynamics, and behaviour. We expect that the mechanistic description of reciprocal microglia-neuron interactions - from synapses to circuits - will establish a new and critically important brain regulatory process and provide key insights into brain pathology.

Mots-clés : reciprocal microglia neuron signalling,synapses,circuits,microglia electrophysiology,microglia secretion
Projet ERC : MuBoEx (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 364311.9 €

The brain plays a central role in the production of adaptive behaviour. It must extract and integrate the most relevant sensory cues from the environment, and combine this information with memories of past experience to trigger appropriate behavioural responses. To fully understand the origins of behavioural novelty we need a detailed understanding of how behavioural differences are generated, both across evolutionary time and during development. This requires the integration of behavioural and neuroanatomical variation, and their genomic and developmental bases. Mushroom bodies (MBs) are the most enigmatic structures in the insect brain. They have ‘higher order’ functions, integrating sensory information and storing memories of past experience. MBs share a conserved ground plan, but their size and structure varies extensively across species. MB morphology is determined by the number of MB neurons, and the nature and extent of connections they make with other brain regions. As such, they provide a model for asking fundamental questions about how selection, development and functional constraints shape brain evolution. This project will establish a new study system in evolutionary neuroscience, Heliconius butterflies. MB volume in Heliconius is among the highest across insects, 3-4 times larger than typical for Lepidoptera, including closely related genera. The proposal represents a synthesis of four key objectives that will provide a cohesive understanding of MB expansion in Heliconius, encompassing both proximate and ultimate causes. Specifically, I will ask: i) How does MB expansion enhance behavioural function? ii) How do volumetric changes relate to differences in neuron number, density and connectivity? iii) What developmental mechanisms control region specific changes in neural proliferation? And iv) what is the genetic basis of MB expansion? Addressing these questions will provide profound advances in our understanding of brain evolution.

Mots-clés : brain evolution,learning and memory,mushroom body,neurogenesis
Projet ERC : DynaSens (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Bielefeld University — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1413958.75 €

The brain’s multisensory faculty provides considerable benefits for perception, as the adaptive weighting of multiple inputs increases perceptual reliability and flexibility. However, failure of this process results in an impoverished percept, and links to perceptual deficits that occur along our life span and in disorders such as Autism. While the brain efficiently handles multiple sensory inputs, we still have a limited understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms. To advance our knowledge of how the brain processes its environment I propose a pioneering agenda that departs from previous descriptive work by linking the underlying brain mechanisms with specific multisensory computations and perception. Precisely, I propose a programme that combines computational models of multisensory interactions with high-density neuroimaging and perceptual tasks. This interdisciplinary research builds on my pioneering multisensory work but will provide a qualitatively new and principled understanding of the neural processes that implement the well-known perceptual benefits of multisensory information. The proposed programme advances our knowledge by addressing the following timely questions: What are the neural processes transforming multiple sensory inputs to a unified representation guiding behaviour? How does the brain control the dynamic weighting of multiple inputs and assigns these to either a single or multiple causes? Which perceptual and neural processes are affected in the multisensory deficits seen in autistic individuals or the elderly? This agenda, by its innovative methods and deliverables, will offer a principled and comprehensive understanding of how the brain handles and merges multiple sensory inputs, and provides a framework for addressing continuing and pressing problems associated with multisensory processing deficits seen in cognitive disorders and during our life span.

Mots-clés : multisensory perception,cross modal,neuroimaging
Projet ERC : GASP (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : National Institute for Astrophysics — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : INAF
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2498237.5 €

The build up of galaxies is mainly driven by the availability of gas that can cool and form new stars. Any physical process that is able to alter the gas content of a galaxy has therefore important consequences for its evolution. The study of processes that can remove gas from galaxies is the subject of GASP (GAs Stripping Phenomena in galaxies), an ESO Large Program I am leading. GASP has obtained integral field spectroscopy (IFS) with MUSE of 114 low-z galaxies with masses in the range 10^9-10^11.5 Msun, hosted in X-ray selected clusters, in groups and filaments. The GASP sample includes the largest existing IFS sample of so- called “jellyfish galaxies” that have long tails of ionised gas, as well as other galaxies in different stages of ram pressure stripping in clusters and galaxies undergoing gas disturbance due to various phenomena in groups and filaments. GASP has the unique capability to combine the power of spatially resolved observations covering galaxy disks, outskirts and surroundings with the virtues of a statistical study of a significant number of galaxies. The MUSE GASP dataset, combined with ALMA, APEX, JVLA, UVIT and HST follow-up programs, form the basis for this ERC program. The goal is to accomplish an unprecedented break-through in our understanding of jellyfish galaxies, ram pressure stripping, gas removal processes in different environments and their consequences for the stellar history of galaxies. This multi faced, coherent program will investigate the physics of the baryonic cycle between the various gas phases (ionised, molecular and neutral) and the star formation under extreme conditions, the connection between ram pressure and AGN activity, the quenching of galaxies undergoing gas removal phenomena, and the physics of such phenomena in clusters, groups and filaments. The GASP ERC program will be a game changer in this field of research: there is no previous similar study, nor there can be a comparable one for quite a long time.
Projet ERC : RosaLind (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems
Entité participante : Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inrae
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499405.0 €

The burden of mosquito-transmitted diseases such as Plasmodium, Dengue, West Nile, Zika, Usutu, or yellow fever continue to increase globally, representing one of the most significant public health threats. In the context of insecticide resistance concomitant to the absence of an efficient vaccine, new strategies that focus on mosquito’s microbiota are being developed. In particular the widespread intracellular bacterium Wolbachia, which can limit pathogen transmission and hijack host reproduction, represents one of the most promising tools to control the transmission of disease. Nevertheless, the genomic variability of Wolbachia and its mobilome, together with its influence on pathogen blocking, in interaction with other symbiotic Life in naturally infected vectors, remains largely unknown. In this project, I plan to dissect the mechanisms of interaction between Wolbachia, commensal (“healthy”) bacterial communities and pathogens, using cutting-edge ‘omics’ and molecular approaches. 1.Wolbachia variants: I will use shotgun metagenomes to reconstruct Wolbachia and other symbiotic genomes and investigate the links between Wolbachia genetic variability, density and protection in naturally infected individuals at the organ level. I will explore the extent and potential role of Wolbachia phages in mutualistic traits such as defense through differential expression analyses in native conditions and controlled infection within Culex spp. 2.Midgut microbiota: I will explore the diversity, variability, role, and interaction of midgut symbionts with arboviruses through 16S amplicon sequencing and expression analyses in experimental infections conditions in Culex spp. 3.pWCP: I will investigate the transformation and expression capacity of the first and newly discovered Wolbachia plasmid element. If successful, a Wolbachia transformation technology would represent a new tool for vector control strategies and potentially have a great impact for public health worldwide.

Mots-clés : infectious diseases,vector control,microbiome,symbiosis,parasitism,omics,mobile genetic elements
Projet ERC : CONTROLPASTCO2 (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
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 : 2000000.0 €

The carbon cycle is a vital aspect of our planet’s well-being. However, there are fundamental aspects of it that we do not understand, without which we cannot accurately quantify CO2 budgets. How, and at what rate, does the carbon cycle respond to, and recover from, events of rapid and extreme global warming or cooling? What process has maintained the climate within a habitable range for billions of years? Silicate weathering is Earth’s main long-term CO2 removal process, and therefore a dominant climate control mechanism. Critically, we do not understand the controls on silicate weathering, or its full effects on atmospheric pCO2 and climate. The goal of this project is to determine and quantify how weathering responded during past periods of rapid climate change, using an innovative combination of novel stable isotope techniques, laboratory experiments and advanced carbon cycle modelling. This will determine the behaviour of a key, relatively unknown, factor in the carbon cycle. This project comprises three, highly novel, interlinked strands: 1) Examination of the palaeo-weathering record through recent glacial timescales using cave speleothems as a climate archive, 2) Determination of palaeo-weathering records through older, Cenozoic, rapid shifts in climate, using marine carbonates and clays as an archive, and 3) Advanced models to enhance our understanding of this record. This project will radically improve our quantitative knowledge of the controls over the carbon cycle. This is critical because 1) it is possible that weathering is the process that has maintained Phanerozoic climate in the relatively narrow bands required for life; 2) it is impossible to decipher the causes and consequences of long-term climate variations through Earth’s history without accurate weathering data; 3) detailed comprehension of rapid climate variations will enable more accurate predictions of future CO2 drawdown.
Projet ERC : DETECT (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Technical University of Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

The central goal of DETECT is to discover and establish new fundamental insight into the catalytic activity of duel and triple atom catalysts. Many chemical reactions – several related to securing a wider penetration of renewable energy – are not viable today due to a number of limitations of traditional catalysts including unfavorable scaling relations of intermediates, lack of selectivity, and cost and availability of precious metals. Employing catalysts consisting of only two or three atoms offers a possible route to circumvent these limitations, while also lifting the constraints of current single atom catalysts and opening the possibility of catalyzing more complex reactions that may require more than a single atom to proceed. This proposal will target electrochemical hydrogen peroxide formation, CO2 reduction to fuels and chemicals, and ammonia synthesis. The dual and triple atom catalysts will be developed in an interactive feedback loop involving computation, synthesis, characterization and activity testing. The dual and triple atom catalysts will be created using a cluster source with time-of-flight based mass filter, which enables even synthesis of dual and triple atoms catalyst with more than one elements - something that are virtually unexplored for catalysis. Further, this synthesis method will produce well-defined catalysts that can be characterized on the atomic level, which is essential for comparing with computational predictions in the feedback loop. DETECT could open for more energy efficient and more selective catalysts that could facilitate a number of ‘Dream Reactions’ for which we have no viable catalyst today. Not least in the field of transforming our current fossil fuel based society, new catalysts are desperately needed to ensure a greater penetration of sustainable energy.

Mots-clés : dual atom catalysts,triple atom catalysts,dimer,trimer,catalysis,heterogeneous catalysis,electrocatalysis,surface science,energy conversion,sustainable energy,hydrogenperoxide,co2 reduction,ammonia
Projet ERC : M3ALI (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1998750.0 €

The central objective of M3ALI is to introduce concepts for adaptation, simplistic learning by training (physical exercise, not teaching), and interactivity in mechanically stimulated polymer materials by developing metabolic modules for mechanical memories (that can also be forgotten), for down-stream chemical processes and for active communication. The key experimental methodology is based on two classes of molecularly engineered mechanoprobes (MPs) that are capable of defined downstream reactivity up to the level of chemical reaction networks (CRNs). We build on our recent concept of DNA-based mechanofluorescent folding motifs in hydrogels, and extend it to cyclic disulfide MPs, and embed them into hydrogels and elastomers of controlled topology. DNA-based MPs will engage in DNA-based downstream reactions, while disulfide MPs will engage in complementary radical chemistry. The key concept is to code mechanical deformation into chemical signals that can be processed ultimately in CRNs to enable a behavioral evolution of the materials systems by installing memories, as well as by signal amplification, processing, translation and transport, and where the processed chemical information is fed back into the material to develop a full mechano-chemo-mechano signal processing language. We will break new ground in proof-of-concept applications in mechanical training and forgetting (physical exercise similar to muscle training), adaptive and interactive soft robotics, adaptive mechanical metamaterials, as well as interactive mechanical synchronization and interactive cell/material systems. Our approach to metabolic mechanical materials that use systems chemistry concepts to empower mechanical materials with the capacity to adapt, learn and interact profoundly contrast present research on responsive materials. In long term such concepts will provide the basis for more life-like materials systems capable of true adaptivity, interactivity and co-evolution in open systems.

Mots-clés : adaptive and interactive materials,supramolecular polymers,sacrifical bonds,chemical reaction networks,dna nanoscience,mechanochemistry,dna hydrogels,non equilibrium systems
Projet ERC : CERCODE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Miguel Hernandez University — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UMH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 605000.0 €

The cerebellum plays a critical role in motor function, but also in cognitive, and social behavioral development. It is proposed that the influence of the cerebellum in high-order processing is via modulatory effects on the cerebral cortex. Importantly, mounting evidences from clinical studies indicate that early cerebellar damage lead to wide range of changes in the structure and function of the developing cerebral cortex. This pathophysiological phenomenon is referred as “developmental diaschisis” and it suggests that the development of cerebral cortical areas is optimized by the guidance of cerebellar input. Thus, abnormalities in the developmental influence between these two brain regions might underlie the emergence of several neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders. Yet, the mechanisms by which the cerebellum is influencing the development and maturation of distant cortical circuits remain unknown. Here, we will adopt a multidisciplinary and innovative approach to define the mechanisms by which the cerebellum influences the development of cortical areas. We hypothesize that these mechanisms are orchestrated by the thalamus, a key intermediate region connecting the cerebellum and the cortex. Therefore, a cerebellar malfunctioning might lead to alterations of cortical areas via thalamic reorganizations. Manipulating cerebellar early normal development and function offers us the possibility to shed light onto this issue. Thus, we will embryonically disturb the cerebello-thalamo-cortical output by anatomical, genetic and functional methods to determine the alterations in the development, organization, function and plasticity of the thalamocortical and cortical networks. The successful execution of this high-risk, high-impact research will provide insights on how the atypical cerebellar structure or function is involved in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Mots-clés : cerebellum,cortex,thalamus,neural circuits development