Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : MODEM (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Italian Institute of Technology — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1996250.0 €

A primary goal of experimental neuroscience is to dissect the neural microcircuitry underlying brain function, ultimately to link specific neural circuits to behavior. There is widespread agreement that innovative new research tools are required to better understand the incredible structural and functional complexity of the brain. To this aim, optical techniques based on genetically encoded neural activity indicators and actuators have represented a revolution for experimental neuroscience, allowing genetic targeting of specific classes of neurons and brain circuits. However, for optical approaches to reach their full potential, we need new generations of devices better able to interface with the extreme complexity and diversity of brain topology and connectivity. This project aspires to develop innovative technologies for multipoint optical neural interfacing with the mammalian brain in vivo. The limitations of the current state-of-the-art will be surmounted by developing a radically new approach for modal multiplexing and de-multiplexing of light into a single, thin, minimally invasive tapered optical fiber serving as a carrier for multipoint signals to and from the brain. This will be achieved through nano- and micro-structuring of the taper edge, capitalizing on the photonic properties of the tapered waveguide to precisely control light delivery and collection in vivo. This general approach will propel the development of innovative new nano- and micro-photonic devices for studying the living brain. The main objectives of the proposals are: 1) Development of minimally invasive technologies for versatile, user-defined optogenetic control over deep brain regions; 2) Development of fully integrated high signal-to- noise-ratio optrodes; 3) Development of minimally invasive technologies for multi-point in vivo all-optical “electrophysiology” through a single waveguide; 4) Development of new optical methodologies for dissecting brain circuitry at small and large scale

Mots-clés : optogenetics
Projet ERC : ELECTRODE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
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 : 1323941.25 €

A promising option to store and transport clean energy are electrochemical fuels that can be converted to electricity on demand. Fuel cells, electrolysers and flow batteries are used for conversion to and from fuel and have advantages over batteries as storage capacity is cell size independent. Reactant and product transport set the maximum current density obtainable determined by the interplay between multiphase and opposing vapor and liquid flow. To understand this limit, a better way of controlling transport of reactant and products within electrodes is necessary. In particular, we need to (1) tune convection for distributing reactant concentration, (2) tailor the interplay between Knudsen and bulk diffusion, (3) tailor capillary forces to remove liquid products and (4) ensure fast reaction kinetics through reducing the reaction energy barrier. Electrode design is hence key, yet current architectures provide limited control over feature sizes, length scales and geometrical complexity, making the study of transport mechanisms tedious and controlled experiments difficult. We propose a radically new way of studying mass transport in electrodes via the direct conversion of multiscale computer designs into physical glassy carbon electrodes with desired surface functionality. We propose to (i) develop a photopolymer based AM process for tailored glassy carbon architectures with features ranging over multiple length scales, (ii) study the interplay between convective flow and diffusion throughout the electrode architecture, (ii) geometrically separate reactant and product transport, (iii) study and improve liquid product management and (iv) create catalytically active nitrogen doped carbon architectures potentially omitting the need for noble metal catalysts. ELECTRODE will improve our understanding of mass transport and arrive at a new toolbox for designing electrode architectures that may generate knowledge for next generation energy conversion and storage.

Mots-clés : mass transport,glassy carbon,photopolymer,additive manufacturing,electrochemical flow converters,fuel cells
Projet ERC : ELECTRODE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Norwegian University of Science and Technology — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : NTNU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 176058.75 €

A promising option to store and transport clean energy are electrochemical fuels that can be converted to electricity on demand. Fuel cells, electrolysers and flow batteries are used for conversion to and from fuel and have advantages over batteries as storage capacity is cell size independent. Reactant and product transport set the maximum current density obtainable determined by the interplay between multiphase and opposing vapor and liquid flow. To understand this limit, a better way of controlling transport of reactant and products within electrodes is necessary. In particular, we need to (1) tune convection for distributing reactant concentration, (2) tailor the interplay between Knudsen and bulk diffusion, (3) tailor capillary forces to remove liquid products and (4) ensure fast reaction kinetics through reducing the reaction energy barrier. Electrode design is hence key, yet current architectures provide limited control over feature sizes, length scales and geometrical complexity, making the study of transport mechanisms tedious and controlled experiments difficult. We propose a radically new way of studying mass transport in electrodes via the direct conversion of multiscale computer designs into physical glassy carbon electrodes with desired surface functionality. We propose to (i) develop a photopolymer based AM process for tailored glassy carbon architectures with features ranging over multiple length scales, (ii) study the interplay between convective flow and diffusion throughout the electrode architecture, (ii) geometrically separate reactant and product transport, (iii) study and improve liquid product management and (iv) create catalytically active nitrogen doped carbon architectures potentially omitting the need for noble metal catalysts. ELECTRODE will improve our understanding of mass transport and arrive at a new toolbox for designing electrode architectures that may generate knowledge for next generation energy conversion and storage.

Mots-clés : mass transport,glassy carbon,photopolymer,additive manufacturing,electrochemical flow converters,fuel cells
Projet ERC : ELR1K (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Ghent University — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

A proof-of-concept software tool for microkinetic model construction, ready for commercialization will be developed starting from an available version of the tool that has been validated in an academic research context. A detailed understanding of the elementary steps involved in large-scale chemical reactions provides several advantages: it may not only lead to a better control of the corresponding processes and, hence, safer operation, it also provides a sound basis for enhanced process design. More particularly in the area of catalysis, material development has typically occurred using trial-and-error procedures. While the number of catalysts that could be evaluated has been augmented by so-called high-throughput techniques, an adequate understanding of the underlying phenomena was still limited. Microkinetic modeling is ideally suited to get a view on these phenomena, as it accounts for all elementary steps in the reaction mechanism without any simplifying assumption. The construction of such microkinetic models and corresponding determination of kinetics and catalyst descriptors is not straightforward and requires dedicated (software) tools. The microkinetic engine (μKE), developed within the ‘Catalytic Reaction Engineering’ research group of the Laboratory for Chemical Technology at Ghent University, is such a unique piece of software to facilitate microkinetic model construction. Without requiring any programming from the end-user, kinetic models based on elementary steps can be developed. It allows identifying the kinetically relevant steps that entail the opportunity to further improve the concerned catalytic materials and, implicitly, also the reactors and processes in which they are employed. The microkinetic engine has been validated against in-house data as well as within a limited number of - exclusive - collaborations. Its anticipated commercialization requires enhanced robustness, complementary functionalities and an increased user friendliness.

Mots-clés : catalysis,chemical reactors,fundamental modeling,elementary steps,software development
Projet ERC : DisConn (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Italian Institute of Technology — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498125.0 €

A rapidly expanding approach to understanding neural organization is to map patterns of spontaneous neural activity as an index of functional communication and connectivity across brain regions. Fostered by the advent of neuroimaging methods like resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), this approach has revealed that functional connectivity is almost invariably disrupted in severe psychiatric disorders, such as autism or schizophrenia. However, the neural basis of such functional disconnectivity remains mysterious. What drives brain-wide functional synchronization? And are there shared pathophysiological mechanisms leading to impaired large-scale neural coupling? This project aims to elucidate the neural drivers of macroscale functional connectivity, as well as its breakdown in brain connectopathies. To achieve this goal, I propose a multi-scale perturbational approach to establish causal relationships between specific neural events and brain-wide functional connectivity via a novel combination of rsfMRI and advanced neural manipulations and recordings in the awake mouse. By directionally silencing functional hubs as well as more peripheral cortical regions, I will provide a hierarchical description of spontaneous network organization that will uncover regional substrates vulnerable to network disruption. I will also manipulate physiologically-distinct excitatory or inhibitory populations to probe a unifying mechanistic link between excitatory/inhibitory imbalances and aberrant functional connectivity. Finally, to account for the hallmark co-occurrence of synaptic deficits and functional disconnectivity in developmental disorders, I will link cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and learning to the generation of canonical and aberrant spontaneous activity patterns. These studies will pave the way to a back-translation of aberrant functional connectivity into interpretable neurophysiological events and models that can help understand, diagnose or treat brain disorders.

Mots-clés : spontaneous brain activity,functional magnetic resonance imaging,autism,schizophrenia,fmri,functional connectivity,resting state fmri,default mode network,chemogenetics,optogenetics
Projet ERC : MISSINGMIDDLE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Pompeu Fabra University — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UPF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1048750.0 €

A recent literature in economics on the “fetal origins hypothesis” has documented that a range of early (prenatal and postnatal) shocks and interventions can have substantial effects on long-term human capital formation (e.g. adult health, wages). However, we still know little about the years in between early infancy and adulthood, referred to as the “missing middle”. How do early shocks affect health and human capital formation during childhood? How do the effects of different types of interventions, or shocks at different ages, compare? What are the most cost-effective ways of improving young children’s future outcomes? I aim to fill this gap in the literature by taking advantage of a range of natural experiments in a country, Spain, for which high quality administrative data are available for the past 35 years. State of the art econometric techniques, combined with large sample sizes, will allow me to evaluate credibly and precisely the causal effects of a number of different public policies and shocks on child development. I will consider five different “shocks” in early childhood (at different ages), affecting: i) Household material resources (an unconditional mother’s allowance); ii) Parental time (subsidized paternity leave); iii) Medical treatments around birth (elective delivery); iv) The availability of family planning services (access to abortion); and v) Aggregate demand shocks to different sectors of the economy. I will evaluate their impact on health and cognitive development at ages 0-15, as measured in hospital and primary health care records, school grades, and standardized test scores, among other data sources. I will also study the potential channels linking treatments to child outcomes, including family size (fertility), parental time use and labor market outcomes, expenditure patterns, etc. My results will help us understand how shocks in early life can have long-term effects on human capital, with direct policy implications.

Mots-clés : children,health,fertility,human capital,female labor force participation,public benefits,social policy,early childhood,infant health,fetal origins,policy evaluation,natural experiments
Projet ERC : HANDmade (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Sapienza University of Rome — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1494662.0 €

A seminal concept in modern neuroscience is the plasticity of the developing and adult brain that underpins the organismic ability to adapt to the ever-changing environment and internal states. Conversely, recent studies indicate that ongoing sensory input seems not crucial to modulate the overall level of brain activity, which instead it is strongly determined by its intrinsic fluctuations. These observations raise a fundamental question: what is coded in the intrinsic activity? This project tests the hypothesis that intrinsic activity represents and maintains an internal model of the environment built through the integration of information from visual and bodily inputs. The bodily inputs represent the physical and functional interaction that our body establishes with the external environment. In this framework, the hand has a special role, as it represents the primary means of interaction with the environment. Do behavior and mental activity change as a function of the effector we use to interact with the external environment? In virtual settings, I test the resilience of the internal model to extreme manipulations of the body by replacing the hand with everyday tools. The hypothesis is that prior representations constrain novel behaviors and plastic changes of both intrinsic and task-related brain activities. This prediction is also tested on samples of acquired amputees. These subjects represent an interesting model because the hand loss might reflect loss of sensory representations and less constrain on task-related brain activation. Throughout a combination of behavioral approaches, methods and techniques ranging from kinematics to functional neuroimaging (fMRI and MEG) and virtual reality, this project provides insights on how the synergic activity of body and environment shapes behavior and neural activity. This grant might open novel opportunities for future developments of robotic-assisted technology and neuroprostheses.

Mots-clés : intrinsic brain activity,body representation,fmri,magnetoencephalography,task driven activity,virtual reality,acquired amputees
Projet ERC : CABUM (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : National Institute of Biology — Pays : Slovénie — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : NIB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 295500.0 €

A sudden decrease in pressure triggers the formation of vapour and gas bubbles inside a liquid medium (also called cavitation). This leads to many (key) engineering problems: material loss, noise and vibration of hydraulic machinery. On the other hand, cavitation is a potentially a useful phenomenon: the extreme conditions are increasingly used for a wide variety of applications such as surface cleaning, enhanced chemistry, and waste water treatment (bacteria eradication and virus inactivation). Despite this significant progress a large gap persists between the understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to the effects of cavitation and its application. Although engineers are already commercializing devices that employ cavitation, we are still not able to answer the fundamental question: What precisely are the mechanisms how bubbles can clean, disinfect, kill bacteria and enhance chemical activity? The overall objective of the project is to understand and determine the fundamental physics of the interaction of cavitation bubbles with different contaminants. To address this issue, the CABUM project will investigate the physical background of cavitation from physical, biological and engineering perspective on three complexity scales: i) on single bubble level, ii) on organised and iii) on random bubble clusters, producing a progressive multidisciplinary synergetic effect. The proposed synergetic approach builds on the PI's preliminary research and employs novel experimental and numerical methodologies, some of which have been developed by the PI and his research group, to explore the physics of cavitation behaviour in interaction with bacteria and viruses. Understanding the fundamental physical background of cavitation in interaction with contaminants will have a ground-breaking implications in various scientific fields (engineering, chemistry and biology) and will, in the future, enable the exploitation of cavitation in water and soil treatment processes.

Mots-clés : cavitation,exploitation,bacteria,viruses,water treatment
Projet ERC : ASSIMILES (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
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 : 2199145.76 €

A technological revolution is currently taking place making it possible to noninvasively study metabolism in mammals (incl. humans) in vivo with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. Central to these developments is the phenomenon of hyperpolarization, which transiently enhances the magnetic resonance (MR) signals so much that real-time metabolic imaging and spectroscopy becomes possible. The first clinical translation of hyperpolarization MR technology has recently been demonstrated with prostate cancer patients. I have played an active role in these exciting developments, through design and construction of hyperpolarization MR setups that are defining the cutting-edge for in vivo preclinical metabolic studies. However, important obstacles still exist for the technology to fulfill its enormous potential. With this highly interdisciplinary proposal, I will overcome the principal drawbacks of current hyperpolarization technology, namely: 1) A limited time window for hyperpolarized MR detection; 2) The conventional use of potentially toxic polarizing agents; 3) The necessity to use supra-physiological doses of metabolic substrates to reach detectable MR signal I will develop a novel hyperpolarization instrument making use of photoexcited compounds as polarizing agents to produce hyperpolarized solutions containing exclusively endogenous compounds. It will become possible to deliver hyperpolarized solutions in a quasi-continuous manner, permitting infusion of physiological doses and greatly increasing sensitivity. I will also use a complementary isotope imaging technique, the so-called CryoNanoSIMS (developed at my institution over the last year), which can image isotopic distributions in frozen tissue sections and reveal the localization of injected substrates and their metabolites with subcellular spatial resolution. Case studies will include liver and brain cancer mouse models. This work is pioneering and will create a new frontier in molecular imaging.

Mots-clés : magnetic resonance,hyperpolarization,dynamic nuclear polarization,metabolic imaging,secondary ion mass spectrometry,nanosims
Projet ERC : EMPIRE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : University of Bonn — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1411300.44 €

A thorough understanding of the processes regulating the conversion of gas into stars is key to understand structure formation in the universe and the evolution of galaxies through cosmic time. Despite significant progress over the past years, the properties of the actual dense, star forming gas across normal disk galaxies remain largely unknown. This will be changed with EMPIRE, a comprehensive 500hr large program led by the PI at the IRAM 30m mm-wave telescope. EMPIRE will provide for the first time extended maps of a suite of dense gas tracers (e.g., HCN, HCO+, HNC) for a sample of nearby, star-forming, disk galaxies. By means of detailed analysis, including radiative transfer and chemical modelling, we will constrain a variety of physical quantities (in particular gas densities). We will relate these directly to the local star formation efficiency and to a variety of other dynamical, stellar and local ISM properties from existing pan-chromatic mapping of these galaxies (HI, IR, CO, UV, optical) to answer the question: ``how is star formation regulated across galaxy disks?''. By determining true abundance variations, we will contribute key constraints to the nascent field of galaxy-scale astrochemistry. Detailed comparisons to data for star forming regions in the Milky Way will link core, cloud and galactic scales towards a coherent view of dense gas and star formation. These results will provide an essential anchor point to Milky Way and high redshift observations alike. Analysis, interpretation and modelling of this complex data set requires a team of two postdocs and two PhD students. The PI has demonstrated his ability to successfully lead a research group through his current position as a DFG funded Emmy-Noether group leader. In combination with his widely recognized previous work and his expertise in mm-wave astronomy and ISM/star formation studies, the PI and the proposed group are uniquely positioned to make significant impact during this ERC grant.