Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : FTHPC (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : Hebrew University of Jerusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1824467.0 €

Supercomputers are strategically crucial for facilitating advances in science and technology: in climate change research, accelerated genome sequencing towards cancer treatments, cutting edge physics, devising engineering innovative solutions, and many other compute intensive problems. However, the future of super-computing depends on our ability to cope with the ever increasing rate of faults (bit flips and component failure), resulting from the steadily increasing machine size and decreasing operating voltage. Indeed, hardware trends predict at least two faults per minute for next generation (exascale) supercomputers. The challenge of ascertaining fault tolerance for high-performance computing is not new, and has been the focus of extensive research for over two decades. However, most solutions are either (i) general purpose, requiring little to no algorithmic effort, but severely degrading performance (e.g., checkpoint-restart), or (ii) tailored to specific applications and very efficient, but requiring high expertise and significantly increasing programmers' workload. We seek the best of both worlds: high performance and general purpose fault resilience. Efficient general purpose solutions (e.g., via error correcting codes) have revolutionized memory and communication devices over two decades ago, enabling programmers to effectively disregard the very likely memory and communication errors. The time has come for a similar paradigm shift in the computing regimen. I argue that exciting recent advances in error correcting codes, and in short probabilistically checkable proofs, make this goal feasible. Success along these lines will eliminate the bottleneck of required fault-tolerance expertise, and open exascale computing to all algorithm designers and programmers, for the benefit of the scientific, engineering, and industrial communities.

Mots-clés : parallel computing,fault tolerancy
Projet ERC : VEGA_P (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Leiden University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999827.0 €

Supermassive black holes — located in galactic nuclei— and dark matter —dominant in galactic halos— are vital ingredients in the cosmological process of galaxy formation, including that of our own Galaxy. However, probing our Galactic Centre (GC) and halo has proven observationally challenging. Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) are unique in that they deliver key information on both. Following interactions with black holes in the vicinity of Sagittarius A*, HVSs are ejected on fast trajectories through the halo. They thus bear testimony not only to the black hole and stellar populations within the hard-to-access innermost parsec, but also to the Galactic mass distribution, imprinted on their orbits. Exploiting HVSs, however, has been limited by the paucity and quality of data. The ESA Gaia mission and new spectroscopic surveys are about to dramatically change this. Their upcoming data releases contain a few hundred HVSs with unprecedented astrometric measurements, but identifying them requires careful analysis of the basic data. This proposal capitalises on my comprehensive theoretical, observational and data mining work on SDSS and previous Gaia data. The proposal unprecedentedly combines three key facets: i) identifying and characterising HVSs; ii) modelling HVS data in a full statistical framework and theoretically interpreting our results for the GC; and iii) performing a joint analysis with complementary Galactic halo probes, never observed so abundantly before Gaia. The project will yield i) ~hundred of GC stars in a complementary mass range and with more robust parameter estimation than from direct GC observations; ii) the population of black holes in the GC and their dynamics; iii) robust ~10% precision measurements of the Galaxy mass distribution. These will allow not only to discriminate between assembly scenarios for both the Milky Way and its GC, but also to uniquely calibrate rate estimates for galactic nuclear phenomena, including gravitational wave sources.

Mots-clés : galactic nuclei dynamics,tidal disruption events,gravitational wave sources
Projet ERC : EUTHORITY (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KUL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1475150.0 €

Supranational legal regimes are increasingly enforced by multi-level, non-hierarchical court systems, in which judges at the upper, supranational echelon do not have the power to reverse domestic court decisions. Yet the incentives and dynamics that shape the complex patterns of conflict and cooperation observed in the most important of all such court structures, the EU legal system, are still poorly understood. To what extent are domestic courts able to negotiate the terms of their cooperation with the Court of Justice? How do national courts differ in that respect? Are the non-compliance threats issued by domestic courts all equally credible? Do the rare cases where these threats have been put to execution pose a systemic risk to the authority of EU law? How are the domestic courts’ incentives to cooperate with EU judges affected by the sort of political backsliding witnessed in Hungary and Romania in recent years? Our interdisciplinary research project addresses these puzzles of legal integration with the avowed aim of helping judges and policy-makers make more informed choices when faced with compliance problems in the judicial realm. Grounded in a general theory of judicial behaviour, our generic hypothesis is that the authority of EU law at domestic level is determined by domestic politics as well as by judicial attitudes towards integration. EUTHORITY seeks to refine this hypothesis using game theoretic modelling to analyse strategic interactions among the Court of Justice and domestic courts and politicians. Theory-building combines with a large-scale data-collection effort. We undertake to compile longitudinal data on the institutional characteristics and doctrinal responses to legal integration of 68 domestic apex courts across the EU 28 Member States. With a view to construct an annual, court-specific index of legal integration, we also conduct an expert survey asking academic lawyers and practitioners to assess their courts' attitudes towards EU law.
Projet ERC : SAMCOM (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
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 : 1476127.5 €

Surveillance—the mediated monitoring of human behaviour for some intended purpose—has become part of the structure of European life. As ubiquitous monitoring technologies transform every new relationship that they mediate, there is grave concern that the social gains of past centuries will be lost, as states and large corporations use these technologies to expand and entrench their own power. Scholars of surveillance have been following these developments since the 1970s, but recently have faced the paradox that most surveillance now takes place with the active collaboration of the surveilled. Moreover, the enthusiasm for self-monitoring popularized through smart technologies has been met by many surveillance scholars with bewilderment. Why would people choose to enter relationships objectively deemed to be coercive? This project takes a new approach to how we understand surveillance. I embark on the first sustained inquiry into the association between surveillance and moral community, between practices of ‘watching over’ and the presence of a group of people who share a commitment to certain goods. By ethnographically investigating the role that surveillance technologies play in realizing four different types of good—care, health, safety and citizenship—within four different communities—the family, the interest group, the circle of intimates, and the nation—this research explores how surveillance proliferates not as a lever in power relations, but by being harnessed to forms of human welfare. The gains of this project are substantial. To surveillance studies I import insights from anthropology, offering a comparative and embedded approach that situates surveillance as a social relationship. I also initiate a major conversation about surveillance in anthropology. Finally I develop the concepts of ‘moral’ and ‘immoral’ monitoring, achieving greater public clarity on those forms of surveillance that support collective welfare, and those that threaten to harm it.

Mots-clés : anthropology,ethnography,surveillance,dataveillance,datafication,monitoring,performance,morality
Projet ERC : NEURIMMUNE (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inserm
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

Survival of living organisms depends on their capacity to develop defence mechanisms against environmental challenges that cause tissue damage and infections. These protective functions involve the nervous system and the immune system, two systems traditionally considered as independent. However anatomical and cellular bases for bidirectional interactions between them have been established and a new paradigm on a regulatory role of the nervous system on immune functions is emerging. Pain is one of the major signs of inflammation. Upon acute injury, inflammation or infections noxious signals are perceived by nociceptors present in tissues, such as the skin. These sensory neurons convey the damaging information to the brain and release a number of mediators locally that could modulate immunity. The goal of this project is to decipher the functional role of sensory neurons and pain sensitivity on immune responses. We will tackle this highly challenging question by studying the immune responses to vaccination in genetic mouse models in which skin innervation by nociceptors is deficient. Our preliminary results are very promising as we already demonstrated that deficits in sensory skin innervation affect both the innate and adaptive immune responses to intradermal vaccine. We will further study the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in this local and systemic modulation of the immune response by the nervous system. As a complementary approach, we will address the role of an exacerbated pain response on immunity through the selective stimulation of nociceptive neurons in wild type animals. This interdisciplinary study is designed to provide new insights into how the nervous system instructs the immune system. Results from NEURIMMUNE are expected to open new avenues of research on the integrated host response to pathogens with important implications for the design of innovative prophylactic vaccines and therapies.

Mots-clés : skin,nociceptors,vaccine
Projet ERC : ENGAGES (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : RPTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 353335.34 €

Symmetry is a phenomenon that appears in many different contexts. Algorithmic symmetry detection and exploitation is the concept of finding intrinsic symmetries of a given object and then using these symmetries to our advantage. Application areas of algorithmic symmetry detection and exploitation range from convolutional neural networks in machine learning to computer graphics, chemical data bases and beyond. In contrast to this widespread use, our understanding of the theoretical foundation (namely the graph isomorphism problem) is incomplete and current algorithmic symmetry tools are inadequate for big data applications. Hence, EngageS addresses these key challenges in the field using a systematic approach to the theory and practice of symmetry detection. It thereby also fixes the existing lack of interplay between theory and practice, which is part of the problem. EngageS' main aims are to tackle the classical and descriptive complexity of the graph isomorphism problem and to design the next generation of symmetry detection algorithms. As key ideas to resolve the complexity, EngageS offers three new approaches on how to prove lower bounds and a new method to settle the descriptive complexity. EngageS will also develop practical symmetry detection algorithms for big data, exploiting parallelism and memory hierarchies of modern machines, and will introduce the concept of and a road map to exploiting absence of symmetry. Overall EngageS will establish a comprehensive software library that will serve as a platform for integrated research on the algorithmic treatment of symmetry. In summary, EngageS will develop fast, efficient and accessible symmetry detection tools that will be used to solve complex algorithmic problems in a range of fields including combinatorial algorithms, generation problems, and canonization.

Mots-clés : algorithmic symmetry detection and exploitation,the graph isomorphism problem,interplay between theory and practice
Projet ERC : SynLink (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499903.0 €

Synapses are the specialized cellular junctions that form the basic units of communication between neuronal cells. Given the variety of network-dependent functions that synapses need to support, a fundamental question is how their properties are specified at the molecular level. Membrane-anchored and soluble “synaptic organizer proteins” form adhesive interactions that mediate synapse formation and differentiation. However, a structural and mechanistic understanding of how they recruit and organize the molecular machinery for neurotransmission is largely lacking. Simultaneously, dysfunction of synapses and loss of neurons are hallmarks of neurodegenerative disease that underlie a persistent deterioration of cognitive functions. The properties of synaptic organizer proteins to form and functionalize synapses could be exploited as a mechanism for synaptic repair to reverse neuronal degeneration. The aims of this proposal are (i) to reveal the structural basis for trans-synaptic molecular nanocolumn formation by determining the complex structures of synaptic organizer proteins and neurotransmitter receptors, and (ii) to leverage insights into the structure and function of soluble synaptic organizers for generating engineered variants that can remodel synapses with the potential for restoring neuronal circuitry and cognition in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia associated with early defects in synaptic function. To achieve these aims, I will combine techniques of structural biology (X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical interaction analysis), protein engineering (combinatorial screening using yeast surface display), and cellular neuroscience (neuronal culture, electrophysiology, advanced imaging and mouse models). Our results will elucidate fundamental principles of synaptic signalling and pave the way for disease-modifying therapies that focus on recovery of synaptic connectivity and function.

Mots-clés : synapse,synaptic adhesion,synaptic plasticity,synaptic organizer protein,neurodegenerative disease,alzheimer s disease,protein engineering,protein structure,neurexin,ampa receptor,structural biology
Projet ERC : SynaptoEnergy (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Institut du cerveau — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ICM
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1494605.0 €

Synaptic transmission is an extremely energetically-demanding process that consumes 75% of the energy required for brain function. However, it remains poorly understood how synapses guarantee the necessary ATP levels required for neurotransmission. While our understanding of the metabolic pathways for ATP production is vastly detailed, very little is known about the actual molecular implementation of these pathways in neurons for sustaining synaptic bioenergetics. I hypothesize that tightly-regulated control mechanisms exist presynaptically to ensure the molecular activation of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) on demand, optimally coupling local ATP synthesis to consumption thereby maintaining synaptic metabolic integrity and safeguarding presynaptic function. Here I propose to develop a comprehensive molecular understanding of the mechanisms controlling these pathways in firing synapses. I will use cutting-edge optophysiology tools that I and others have developed to study neuronal bioenergetics together with novel proteomic approaches to identify key molecules involved in controlling presynaptic OxPhos and glycolysis. First, I will dissect the fundamental mechanisms controlling Ca2+-mediated activation of OxPhos in presynaptic mitochondria during synaptic activity. To further elucidate the presynaptic choreography of molecular mechanisms enhancing glycolysis rates on demand, I will dissect the mechanistic control of the presynaptic glucose carrier GLUT4 and establish the role of glycolytic metabolons in accelerating glycolysis during synaptic activity. By generating for the first time a comprehensive picture of the molecular mechanisms actively maintaining presynaptic metabolic integrity, this study will provide a framework for future studies into the molecular basis of brain disease states associated with dysfunctional metabolism, such as mitochondriopathies, vascular dementias or glucose metabolism diseases.

Mots-clés : synaptic transmission,bioenergetics,mitochondria,ca2  signaling,glucose,metabolism,proteomics
Projet ERC : Synthetic T-rEX (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : Italian Institute of Technology — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1496250.0 €

Synthetic Biology has revolutionised approaches for several scientific, industrial and medical applications. These include the development of immunotherapies based on bioengineered cells, most notably engineering of patients T cells with tumor-targeting receptors, the CAR-T cells. Cell-based immunotherapies have shown remarkable clinical success; yet, long-term benefits are hampered by dysfunction of T cells occurring following antigen chronic exposure, a process known as T cell exhaustion. Current treatments of T cell exhaustion are limited and exhibit adverse effects. Synthetic T-rEX aims to reprogram exhausted T-cells using synthetic biology circuits, to implement enhanced and more effective immune cell-based therapies. We will develop specific, self-contained genetic circuits with improved capabilities that minimise the impact on normal cell physiology; by pre-programmed integration of exhaustion-specific intracellular signals, these will rewire T cell activity and restore normal function. Circuits will be developed using a stepwise, bottom-up approach to identify exhaustion-specific inputs by RNA and microRNA-sequencing profile performed on ex vivo exhausted human CD8+ T cells. We will then design (a) synthetic promoters and (b) microRNA-regulated 5’UTR that will compute information processing to trigger output activation. Localised therapy will rely on concerted action of genetically encoded immune-checkpoint blockade and fine-tuning of epigenetic modulators that play a major role in T cell exhaustion. Finally, we will engineer T cells with sensor-actuator synthetic devices that revert exhaustion (T-rEX cells). In summary, our proposal provides a paradigm shift in the development of strategies against T cell exhaustion and a solid break-through towards enhanced natural and cell-based immunotherapy. More broadly, the proposed approach will unleash the potential of synthetic biology to the next level of therapeutic intervention.

Mots-clés : mammalian synthetic biology,synthetic promoters,microrna sensors,t cell exhaustion
Projet ERC : HUMAN TEXTILES (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inserm
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2491543.0 €

Synthetic vascular grafts perform very poorly in small diameter applications (coronary/peripheral bypass) and for dialysis access. Better vascular conduits for these applications would be life and limb-saving for a very large patient population. A biological, human, tissue-engineered blood vessel (TEBV) may be such a device. We have developed a method to produce robust sheets of cell-assembled extracellular matrix (CAM) from normal, adult, human fibroblasts in vitro. These have been rolled into TEBV and shown promising clinical results. However, this initial rolling approach is very costly, time consuming and has limited mechanical design potential. Here, we propose a new textile-based assembly method that can lift all these limitations. Task#1 will aim at processing CAM sheets into various types of yarns (human and large animal) and characterizing composition, organization, and mechanical properties. Task#2 will aim at quantifying the in vivo remodeling of the various yarns in nude rats (human yarn) and in an allogeneic recipient (large animal) as subcutaneous implants. This screening process will identify yarns with the best biological response and mechanical profiles. Task#3 will aim at weaving human and animal, non-living, TEBVs with clinically relevant biological and mechanical properties. Task#4 will evaluate the long-term (1 year) performance of the animal TEBV in an allogeneic setting. This study will provide: 1) in-depth understanding of the immune reactivity of this CAM, both from the innate and specific immune system. 2) long-term performance data of a woven, CAM-based, TEBV in an allogeneic setting (animal). 3) a human woven TEBV with clinically relevant mechanical properties ready for in vivo testing. This “next generation” assembly method will reduce TEBV production time/cost 3-fold and represents a more versatile, reliable and highly tunable approach. HUMAN TEXTILES will provide a COMPLETELY NEW TYPE OF SCAFFOLD for engineering a variety of organs.

Mots-clés : vascular graft,tissue engineering,extracellular matrix,novel biomaterial