Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : WAPITI (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : Sorbonne Université — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Sorbonne U
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1336247.5 €

Deep water formed around the Antarctic continent drives the world ocean circulation. 50-70% of this deep water is formed within only about 10% of the Antarctic circumpolar band: the Weddell Sea. Subtle changes in the circulation of the Weddell Sea can lead to major changes in floating ice-shelves, with critical implications for global sea-level, the production of deep water and the global ocean overturning circulation. Despite these critical climate implications, the Antarctic shelf circulation remains poorly understood. I propose an ambitious project at the crossroads of experimental and numerical oceanography. By drawing on the strengths of each discipline I will explore the regional water-mass pathways in the Weddell Sea: an unchartered cornerstone for understanding the polar ocean circulation and its links to global climate. A key issue facing climate scientists will be addressed: “What sets the tridimensional water-mass structure and pathways in the Weddell Sea and modulates the flow of deep waters between the Antarctica ice-shelves and the global ocean circulation?” To address this question I propose to investigate several key aspects of the Weddell Sea system: the dynamical forcing of the Weddell gyre and its response to atmospheric variability; the forcing and the circulation on the continental shelf and its interaction with the gyre; and the time-scale and mixing associated with bottom water sinking along the continental shelf. WAPITI approaches these objectives through a series of innovations, including (i) an ambitious field experiment to investigate the shelf circulation and processes, (ii) a powerful conceptual framework applied for the first time to a realistic eddy-resolving model of the Weddell gyre, and (iii) a novel instrument that will be developed to directly observe the sinking of deep water into the abyssal ocean for the first time. Collectively, the project will contribute a new insight into global climate feedbacks.

Mots-clés : southern ocean,overturning circulation,polar oceanography
Projet ERC : WAPITI (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Ifremer
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 266877.5 €

Deep water formed around the Antarctic continent drives the world ocean circulation. 50-70% of this deep water is formed within only about 10% of the Antarctic circumpolar band: the Weddell Sea. Subtle changes in the circulation of the Weddell Sea can lead to major changes in floating ice-shelves, with critical implications for global sea-level, the production of deep water and the global ocean overturning circulation. Despite these critical climate implications, the Antarctic shelf circulation remains poorly understood. I propose an ambitious project at the crossroads of experimental and numerical oceanography. By drawing on the strengths of each discipline I will explore the regional water-mass pathways in the Weddell Sea: an unchartered cornerstone for understanding the polar ocean circulation and its links to global climate. A key issue facing climate scientists will be addressed: “What sets the tridimensional water-mass structure and pathways in the Weddell Sea and modulates the flow of deep waters between the Antarctica ice-shelves and the global ocean circulation?” To address this question I propose to investigate several key aspects of the Weddell Sea system: the dynamical forcing of the Weddell gyre and its response to atmospheric variability; the forcing and the circulation on the continental shelf and its interaction with the gyre; and the time-scale and mixing associated with bottom water sinking along the continental shelf. WAPITI approaches these objectives through a series of innovations, including (i) an ambitious field experiment to investigate the shelf circulation and processes, (ii) a powerful conceptual framework applied for the first time to a realistic eddy-resolving model of the Weddell gyre, and (iii) a novel instrument that will be developed to directly observe the sinking of deep water into the abyssal ocean for the first time. Collectively, the project will contribute a new insight into global climate feedbacks.

Mots-clés : southern ocean,overturning circulation,polar oceanography
Projet ERC : OptEIon (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : LMU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

Defects in semiconductor materials commonly deteriorate the performance of optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes. In the recently emerged and highly successful hybrid metal halide perovskite, some lattice defects are even mobile leading to mixed ionic-electronic conductivity. This and other outstanding properties (tunable bandgap, lower dimensional embodiments, solution processability) make the perovskite a very interesting material for research and application. At the same time, it suffers from various degradation processes, linked to these poorly understood ionic defects. The major questions are: Where and what are these defects? How are they formed and how can we control their movement? OptEIon will provide answers to these questions. Based on my expertise in the device physics and experience in perovskites I will proceed as follows: First, I will characterize the transient response of devices with different perovskite materials, different stoichiometry, partial pressure of constituents, temperature, etc. to find clear evidence for the nature of the mobile defects and their diffusion constant. Second, I will employ nano-scale characterization on cross sections of working devices to measure location and time evolution of defects causing recombination losses in solar cells. In addition to established measurement techniques, I will use tip-enhanced (near field) spectroscopic techniques, which can provide super-resolution imaging. Third, I will apply device simulation to examine the measurement results. I will furthermore evaluate how machine learning in combination with our physical model could be implemented to help analyse device data. Fourth, I will exploit the results by fabricating demonstrator memristor arrays that can be controlled by light. The outcome will be more efficient and stable solar cells and novel optoelectronic devices such as memristors, which are supposed to herald a new era of neuromorphic computing.

Mots-clés : perovskite,defects,ionic electronic conductivity
Projet ERC : PERSYST (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IRCCS
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Defining the molecular mechanisms governing memory T cell differentiation and homeostasis is of pivotal importance to generate durable and protective T cell responses against infections and cancers. Considerable knowledge in this regard has been acquired in mouse models but is still limited about human T cells. In particular, some mechanisms are assumed to occur in humans but were never formally demonstrated. We showed that memory T cells adoptively-transferred with bone marrow transplantation failed to persist in recipient hosts in the absence of antigen. By contrast, self/tumor-specific naïve T cells rapidly acquired T memory stem cell (TSCM) attributes and subsequently reconstituted the memory T cell pool by homeostatic differentiation. Current models indicate human TSCM cells as superior to conventional memory T cells in regards to effector potential and persistence capacity. Genome-wide expression analysis identified candidate TSCM cell-specific transcriptional regulators that were shown to inhibit senescence, promote self-renewal and regulate somatic differentiation. In this project, by using single cell technologies, primary human samples and in vivo humanized models, we will define the molecular mechanisms at the basis of memory T cell formation and maintenance in humans. We will initially define the antigenic requirement for the long-term persistence of memory T cells by following the fate of adoptively-transferred T cells. As the field remains unexplored, we will investigate the acquisition of memory attributes by self/tumor-specific T cells on multiple functional levels. The gene products specifically expressed by self-renewing TSCM cells will be finally tested for their capability to arrest T cell differentiation and generate long-lived memory T cells with enhanced stem cell-like properties. Our results will impact multiple physiological and pathological situations involving T cell-mediated immune responses.

Mots-clés : t cell differentiation,naive t cells,memory t cells,bone marrow transplantation,flow cytometry
Projet ERC : ACETOGENS (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : Goethe University Frankfurt — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2497140.0 €

Demand for biofuels and other biologically derived commodities is growing worldwide as efforts increase to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and to limit climate change. Most commercial approaches rely on fermentations of organic matter with its inherent problems in producing CO2 and being in conflict with the food supply of humans. These problems are avoided if CO2 can be used as feedstock. Autotrophic organisms can fix CO2 by producing chemicals that are used as building blocks for the synthesis of cellular components (Biomass). Acetate-forming bacteria (acetogens) do neither require light nor oxygen for this and they can be used in bioreactors to reduce CO2 with hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide or an organic substrate. Gas fermentation using these bacteria has already been realized on an industrial level in two pre-commercial 100,000 gal/yr demonstration facilities to produce fuel ethanol from abundant waste gas resources (by LanzaTech). Acetogens can metabolise a wide variety of substrates that could be used for the production of biocommodities. However, their broad use to produce biofuels and platform chemicals from substrates other than gases or together with gases is hampered by our very limited knowledge about their metabolism and ability to use different substrates simultaneously. Nearly nothing is known about regulatory processes involved in substrate utilization or product formation but this is an absolute requirement for metabolic engineering approaches. The aim of this project is to provide this basic knowledge about metabolic routes in the acetogenic model strain Acetobacterium woodii and their regulation. We will unravel the function of “organelles” found in this bacterium and explore their potential as bio-nanoreactors for the production of biocommodities and pave the road for the industrial use of A. woodii in energy (hydrogen) storage. Thus, this project creates cutting-edge opportunities for the development of biosustainable technologies in Europe.
Projet ERC : PRODEMINFO (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : University of Potsdam — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UP
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 477165.21 €

Democracy is under threat. Populist movements—mainly but not exclusively on the political right—have pitted "the people'' against a presumed "elite'' that is variously constructed to include the judiciary, mainstream media, politicians, experts, and academics. PRODEMINFO builds on the realization that factual inaccuracy can be a political asset rather than a liability: Populist politicians may state obvious falsehoods to signal disregard for the "establishment" norm of honesty, thus identifying themselves as authentic champions of "the people." The rebranding of inaccuracy as authenticity reflects a profound shift in the underlying ontology of truth: Whereas liberal democracy is tied to a realist ontology of truth and a shared body of accepted knowledge, the populist ontology of truth is entirely constructivist and subjective. Understanding, documenting, and then addressing this ontological shift is crucial because it drastically changes the way in which one might confront misinformation—there is little point in correcting falsehoods if facts are not considered a relevant attribute of public discourse. PRODEMINFO will build tools to protect democracy in Europe by drawing a strategic arc from the threat arising from the insurgent populist ontology of truth to the development of protective solutions that can be rolled out at scale online. The objectives of PRODEMINFO are (1) to understand contemporary misinformation in Europe and how it connects to people's tacit ontology of truth; (2) to develop countermessages based on inoculation theory that are sensitive to people's different ontologies (e.g., addressing authenticity rather than accuracy of political speech); and (3) to test such countermessages at scale on social media. PRODEMINFO will pursue these objectives by combining controlled behavioural and cognitive experimentation with "big data'' analyses of social media, simulation modelling of behaviour online, and text modelling of large corpora.

Mots-clés : misinformation and its correction,populism,democracy
Projet ERC : TRANSHIROL (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu — Pays : Roumanie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1450000.0 €

Demographic trends and the epistemic mutations of the past decades have led to numerous critiques of the nationalist-organicist model of literary history. Furthermore, the ethnic status of the individuals identifying as Romanians has become increasingly complex upon increased migration and the emergence of a new state where they amount to an important share of the total population (Moldova). Consequently, a series of questions are yet to be properly explored and answered: How could and should a transnational history of “national” literatures be written in a post-national age? How can we avoid the methodological protectionism typical of “smaller” cultures against the resurgence of nationalist/populist sentiments? How can we steer clear of narrow nationalism without falling into neoliberal traps and embracing uncritically the theory of free-floating cosmopolitanism? How should a history of Romanian literature look like in the age of globalization? The working hypothesis of TRANSHIROL – and one of its ground-breaking elements – is that a “national” literature should not be regarded mainly as a system (even if it has systemic properties), but rather as a network defined by the transnational communities into which it is integrated depending on its geopolitical situation. Throughout our project, this hypothesis will be operationalized via two sets of innovative instruments: the dichotomy between cultural matrix and cultural model, and a fourfold taxonomy of literary operators (institutional/paradigmatic/connective/imaginary). By combining systematic theorizing with historical scholarship and close reading with distant reading, TRANSHIROL sets out to chart the over five-century-long history of Romanian literature and the progressive evolution of its network toward planetary proportions, since a transnational history of Romanian literature strives to ultimately become a history of world literature written from a Romanian perspective.

Mots-clés : transnational literary history,romanian literature,cultural matrices,cultural models,literary operators
Projet ERC : GEMH (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Radboud University Nijmegen — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999509.85 €

Depression and anxiety are the most frequently diagnosed mental health problems, leading to devastating long-term outcomes that affect a huge proportion of adolescents across the globe. Effective prevention programs are urgently needed; however, even our most advanced programs often lead to disappointing outcomes. Video games promise a groundbreaking, 21st century innovation: games provide learning environments that keep youth motivated and engaged to practice emotional resiliency skills that help prevent anxiety and depression. The education and medical fields have begun to harness the immense potential of games to teach new forms of thought and behaviour. Yet validated games for mental health are virtually nonexistent. The proposed program of research will: (a) Develop genre-breaking games which integrate biofeedback and evidence-based game mechanics that target anxiety and depression; (b) Test whether these games are more effective at reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms than the best conventional evidence-based prevention programs; and (c) Apply a novel, game-based methodology, to pinpoint the precise game mechanics responsible for training emotional resilience. With the multidisciplinary network of scientists and game designers that I lead – and a wide array of research designs, multi-method assessments and analytic techniques – this program of research promises to be the first of its kind. Results will establish the precise game mechanics that can successfully change causal factors that maintain anxiety and depression and provide a validated toolbox for efficient development of future applied games for a range of mental health concerns. These game-based engines for behavioural and emotional change will be mobilized through massive distribution channels (schools, social media), potentially making an unprecedented impact on the next generation’s prevalence rates of anxiety and depression.

Mots-clés : anxiety,depression,prevention,adolescents
Projet ERC : antiCSC (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Spanish National Research Council — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CSIC
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 20000.0 €

Designed, bulky metal complexes with a labile coordination position react with accessible guanines at G4 DNA quadruplexes, promoting changes in their conformation and function. Importantly, we have found that this selective reactivity leads to very interesting biological effects. In particular, some of these compounds are able to suppress the “stem”-like character of cancer stem cells, apparently by deterring their mitochondrial respiration. Preliminary experiments, including in vivo assays, confirm that these biological effects result in remarkable antitumoral activities. This proposal aims to explore the scope of the approach, confirm that the mechanism of action involves mitochondria, design more selective versions and exploit the potential of the compounds as new type of anticancer agents.

Mots-clés : synthetic metal complexes,ruthenium,coordination chemistry,anticancer chemotherapy,cancer stem cells,chemical biology,biomedicine
Projet ERC : AstroNeuroCrosstalk (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Helmholtz Zentrum München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HMGU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499938.0 €

Despite considerable efforts aimed at prevention and treatment, the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes has increased at an alarming rate worldwide over recent decades. Given the urgent need to develop safe and efficient anti-obesity drugs, the scientific community has to intensify efforts to better understand the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of obesity. Based on human genome-wide association studies and targeted mouse mutagenesis models, it has recently emerged that the brain controls most aspects of systemic metabolism and that obesity may be a brain disease. I have recently shown that like neurons, astrocytes also respond to circulating nutrients, and they cooperate with neurons to efficiently regulate energy metabolism. So far, the study of brain circuits controlling energy balance has focused on neurons, ignoring the presence and role of astrocytes. Importantly, our studies were the first to describe that exposure to a high-fat, highsugar (HFHS) diet triggers hypothalamic astrogliosis prior to significant body weight gain, indicating a potentially important role in promoting obesity. Overall, my recent findings suggest a novel model in which astrocytes are actively involved in the central nervous system (CNS) control of metabolism, likely including active crosstalk between astrocytes and neurons. To test this hypothetical model, I propose to develop a functional understanding of astroglia-neuronal communication in the CNS control of metabolism focusing on: 1) dissecting the ability of astrocytes to release gliotransmitters to neurons, 2) assessing how astrocytes respond to neuronal activity, and 3) determining if HFHS-induced astrogliosis interrupts this crosstalk and contributes to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. These studies aim to uncover the molecular underpinnings of astrocyte-neuron inputs regulating metabolism in health and disease so as to inspire and enable novel therapeutic strategies to fight diabetes and obesity.

Mots-clés : astrocytes,neurons,hypothalamus,blood vessels,energy metabolism