Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : AnisoPlate (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Leibniz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WLG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The limitations of current in vitro tissue models pose a significant challenge in drug discovery and personalized medicine, leading to inefficiencies and unreliability in preclinical testing. These shortcomings result in high costs and prolonged timelines for drug development, straining resources and delaying patient access to innovative treatments. This is mainly due to the currently available cell and tissue models based on flat petri dishes and isotropic hydrogels, which fail to accurately represent the anisotropic structures found in native tissues leading to unreliable preclinical results. Animal models, although considered the gold standard, raises ethical concerns and introduces significant differences compared to human tissues. To address these shortcomings, we have developed a hydrogel system that can be used to fabricate 3D culture models with oriented structures using AnisoPlate. The AnisoPlate is a handheld magnetic device for providing the required external magnetic field in culture plates for the orientation of the rods. The hydrogel system consists of rod-shape elements that are made magneto-responsive by encapsulating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). When exposed to low external magnetic fields (in the millitesla range) provided by the AnisoPlate, these rods align in the direction of the field and can be assembled into 3D macroporous oriented constructs mimicking the anisotropic architecture of human tissues. Our solution holds promise not only for researchers in drug discovery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine but also for pharmaceutical industries seeking physiologically relevant in vitro models for more accurate preclinical studies, contract research organizations (CROs) aiming to enhance their efficacy in high-throughput screening, and ultimately patients who stand to benefit from accelerated and improved drug development processes leading to innovative treatments.

Mots-clés : anisogel,anisoplate,magneto responsive,anisotropic,3d hydrogel,tissue model,disease model,3d structure,drug discovery,drug development,preclinical,personalised medicine,animal model,3d macroporous,in vitro
Projet ERC : EyeView360 (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Lancaster — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Virtual/extended reality (VR/XR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) provide users with a portal to virtually infinite display space that extends all around them. This has the potential to revolutionise work, learning and leisure activities as users can enter personalised spaces from anywhere via their HMD to access 3D data, views and apps all around in 360°. However, full use of the surrounding space is only possible with extensive head and body movement as HMDs are head-coupled – prohibiting access in crowded or constrained spaces, causing neck strain during seated use, and excluding users with limited neck mobility.  The EyeView360 project will develop a proof-of-concept for a radically new idea for view VR/XR view control by eye movement – providing users with a new super-power of looking all round in virtual space from seated positions without neck strain. Use of eye movement for view control is highly innovative and challenging as it overlays the use of our eyes for seeing with a control function that manipulates our view. Basic principles for how this may be possible have been observed in the ERC Advanced Grant GEMINI, and the goal of EyeView360 is to demonstrate usability, efficiency and ergonomic benefits of view control by eye movement. The project will develop the innovation potential through an open access toolkit designed to be customisable for uptake across VR/XR platforms, HMD devices and applications. In addition, it will develop a complete proof-of-concept for 360° video viewing as specific application use case. This will be used for extensive testing with users to validation of usability, efficiency and quality of experience.
Projet ERC : I-SEE (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université hébraïque de Jérusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause for blindness, resulting in loss of vision at the center of the visual field - the macula, due to damage to the retina. The disease, usually affecting older adults (>55), was diagnosed in 2020 in 196 million people worldwide, with an estimated economic toll of $343 billion including $255 billion in direct healthcare costs. In AMD, photoreceptors and retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells which underlie the photoreceptors undergo degeneration. The standard care is injections of anti-VEGF medicines such as ranibizumab (Lucentis), aflibercept (Eylea) and brolucizumab (Beovu) to the eye every 1-3 months. These delay disease progress but cannot restore lost vision, and have side effects such as bleeding in the eye. During an ERC Starting project, the PI has discovered a new method that would allow to not only delay the disease but to also improve RPE cells function as a treatment for AMD. The proposed approach to rescue RPE cells is rejuvenation by a technique called partial reprogramming. Our results suggest that the proposed technique is safe and efficient in rejuvenating mouse and human fibroblasts, and in improving their function. In the current application, through in vivo studies, we will prepare for implementing our novel approach in our envisioned product “I-SEE”. In “I-SEE”, we will aim to use our discovery of a unique combination of factors, that successfully reprogram cells, to drive aging RPE cells into rejuvenation and improved function. We will calibrate the expression of the reprogramming factors in RPE cells, and test rejuvenation and improved function in AMD mouse models. IPR and partnering with clinician and industry will be developed concomitantly. Our final product, “I-SEE”, is developed based on a PCT patent Application No. 63/210,030, as a cocktail of molecules of mRNA directly applied to the eye, to offer the first AMD treatment that could restore vision.
Projet ERC : SPINWAVE (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Lancaster — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Finding a fundamentally new approach for data processing in the fastest and most energy efficient way is a frontier problem for applied physics and technology. The amount of data generated every second is so enormous that the heat produced by modern data centres has already become a serious limitation to further increase their performance. This heating is a result of the Ohmic dissipation of energy unavoidable in conventional electronics. At present, the data industry lacks a solution for this problem, which in future may contribute greatly to the global warming and energy crisis. An emerging alternative approach is to employ spin waves (magnons) to realize waveform-based computation, which is free from electronic Joule heating. However, the present realization of this approach, called magnonics, uses electric currents to generate and modulate magnons. This project aims to replace the electrons with light using antiferromagnetic materials, in which spins precess on a picosecond timescale and strongly couple to electro-magnetic waves. This interdisciplinary approach at the interface between magnetism and photonics not only circumvents Ohmic losses, but simultaneously pushes the operation of magnonics to THz clock-rates. Firstly, we will develop theoretical framework and a numerical solver to describe antiferromagnetic spin dynamics, strongly coupled to electro-magnetic radiation at THz frequencies. Secondly, we will develop prototypical antiferromagnetic logic elements that may have an enormous impact upon future magnon-based information processing technology. These two tasks will be pursued in parallel as the development of the solver will be validated through comparison of the numerical results with the experimental data, while the design of the magnonic logic will be informed by the numerical simulations.
Projet ERC : GUTOCINS (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Uni Wien
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Chronic abdominal pain is a widespread debilitating condition commonly associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBS and IBD affect more than 10% of the global population, leaving a severe and steadily growing socio-economic burden on society (€115 billion/year in Europe in direct and indirect health care costs). Adequate pain management for these conditions is imperative but remains challenging since classical analgesics are poorly effective, associated with adverse effects, and can even exacerbate disease progression.  In this project, we will advance a new class of gut-stable peptide analgesics to target abdominal pain at its origin in the gut. This represents a highly innovative treatment strategy with a large safety window due to its gut-specific action and negligible risk of systemic off-target effects. It also addresses a long-standing problem in the peptide therapeutics industry, namely the lack of oral peptide drugs. The objective of this project is to optimise our patented lead compounds towards oral drug candidates and generate robust and supporting preclinical data for clinical translation. The proof-of-concept data will then be used to engage with industry partners and other supporters to advance these drug candidates into the clinic for the treatment of chronic abdominal pain. Our gut-specific treatment approach along with this new class of analgesics could induce a highly desired paradigm shift in how to treat chronic abdominal pain and gastrointestinal disorders, an area with unprecedented unmet medical need. This could benefit millions of people worldwide, improve their quality of life, and help reduce the substantial socio-economic burden that chronic abdominal pain has on society.
Projet ERC : DualCoat (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université hébraïque de Jérusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Corrosion undermines metal integrity, resulting in significant environmental and economic damage (exceeding $ 2.5 trillion). The anti-corrosion coating market was $ 34.8B in 2022, however, anti-corrosive coatings have three limitations: (1) High costs (2) Toxicity (3) Limited effectiveness. During my ERC project we developed and patented a technology that uses a dual-layer coating, engineered at the molecular level to provide a highly stable coating on iron to mitigate corrosion formation. The system consists of a primer monolayer of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) molecules, that is strongly anchored to the metal and a top layer of a tailored polymer network, chemically linked to the NHC monolayer. The dual-layer coating yields superior corrosion resistance (up to 99.5% effectiveness) with no toxicity effect and can be produced and delivered at low costs. This project aim is to assist us in creating a spin-off company serving several market sectors (e.g. Oil and Gas, Marine, Construction, Aerospace, etc.). However, these sectors represent conservative industries which require rigorous proof and client education of the added value provided by our dual-layer NHC-polymer coating. Hence, the project will include requirements capture from potential partners and end-users for the design of thorough performance testing versus available solutions. Beyond testing, the technological process of the project will include development of (i) optimized dual layer coating formulation on iron and steel and (ii) spray-based procedures for on-site coating. The anticipated outcome is a scalable, commercially viable technology with a minimum protection efficiency of over 95% after 1000 hours of aging in corrosive media. This innovation holds significant potential for reducing maintenance costs and extending the lifespan of iron and steel across several industries.
Projet ERC : PanRORα (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université hébraïque de Jérusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Pancreatitis in humPancreatitis in humans is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Acute pancreatitis events have increased worldwide over the last 20 years at an average annual percent change of 3% and the economic burden is growing (1). Treatments for pancreatitis are currently limited. The overall mortality rate in acute severe pancreatitis is 10-15%. Thus, a specific treatment for pancreatitis is of great need. Recent reports suggest that FGF21 can ameliorate acute pancreatitis in mice. FGF21 is a protein which belongs to the fibroblast growth factor family and is predominantly produced and secreted by the liver. FGF21 is positively regulated by the RORα transcription factor. I will assess whether a RORα agonist that we identified by screening compounds that act against Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) in mice, and which we found to increase FGF21 expression, can be used to treat acute pancreatitis (2). In addition, we will also investigate whether increased FGF21 expression can be used to prevent pancreatitis triggered by Endoscopic Retrograde CholangioPancreatography (ERCP). We established the Caerulein and alcohol induced pancreatitis models. In the Caerulein model we show [unpublished and patented (US Pending Patent 11,865,090)] significant therapeutic effects of a small compound that activates RORα. In this PoC, we intend to explore new compounds of the same family with better efficacy on FGF21 in vivo, and improve the treatment for acute pancreatitis. This study will establish FGF21 as a prognostic biomarker for acute pancreatitis in humans, by plasma ELISA and circulating free DNA. This PoC project has the potential to achieve a breakthrough therapeutic treatment for acute pancreatitis; one that is commercially viable, effective, avoids an immune response and has the benefits of a natural delivery, a natural chemical composition of FGF21, lower cost, higher availability, simple storage and overcomes the short half-life of synthetic proteins.
Projet ERC : AUTISMsync (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université hébraïque de Jérusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting millions globally, severely impacts the quality of life of individuals diagnosed with this lifelong condition, and that of their families. It imposes an immense financial burden on health and educational systems, projected to grow alongside increasing diagnosis and prevalence rates. The magnitude of this crisis calls for more effective therapies that incorporate a nuanced, contemporary understanding of autism. Recent research and therapies point to a core deficit of autism that has, by and large, been overlooked in existing clinical protocols and assistive technologies (AT): temporal synchrony. Temporal synchrony refers to the harmonious alignment of actions, behaviors or language over time. AUTISMsync introduces a pioneering intervention platform, the MirrorPods, that targets temporal synchrony. The MirrorPods combine sophisticated technology with real-life human interaction and are tailored for autistic child-parent dyads. The dyad, on opposite sides of a transparent touch sensor, produce synthesized sound through hand movements. Using closed-loop sensory feedback, the sounds become more rewarding as the users’ movements become more coordinated. The reward scheme is optimized to each user’s difficulty level, to best promote improvement. AUTISMsync aims to explore the innovation potential through extensive user engagement and development. The management plan includes establishing a private HealthTech startup with long term plans for future commercialization. This multidisciplinary venture aims to deliver a cost-effective, scientifically supported product, poised to transform the landscape of behavioral interventions and AT for autism. Under the management of a leadership team renowned for their expertise and dedication, the MirrorPods – which blend interactive technology, personalization, and direct human interaction – pave the way for setting a new standard for care and support within the autism community.
Projet ERC : LEAN (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Londres — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UoL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Head and neck cancers (HNC) represent a significant global health burden and have poor survival rates when diagnosed at advanced stages. Early detection at precancerous or early cancer stages is the most effective strategy to reduce mortality, improve patient outcomes and save healthcare expenses. However, current endoscopic approaches are limited in their ability to provide accurate diagnosis, monitoring and timely intervention.  Building upon patented ERC research, the LEAN project addresses this critical clinical gap by exploring the commercial application of a ground-breaking multi-modal endoscopic platform that integrates Raman spectroscopy with optical coherence tomography (OCT) within a single miniaturised (<2.2 mm) fibre-based probe. This innovative combination harnesses the unparalleled molecular specificity of Raman spectroscopy alongside the high-resolution morphological imaging capabilities of OCT, offering clinicians a powerful new tool for real-time, non-invasive detection, grading and staging of HNC. Here we will optimise and refine the fabrication process and develop a rigorous quality and manufacturing system (QMS) design file. These advancements will ensure safety and scalable assembly for prospective clinical trials. The project will also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to synergistically fuse Raman and OCT datasets, enabling the creation of robust algorithms capable of delivering real-time probabilistic diagnosis of precancer and cancer.  LEAN lays the groundwork for exploitation of our innovation by outlining a project that will enable translation of our device into humans to ultimately change the current clinical pathway for H&N patients. These activities pave for the for clinical trials and will provide an entry point in the broader market for label-free minimally invasive diagnostics.
Projet ERC : VASTO (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 20000.0 €

VASTO Proof of Concept aims to develop and test an innovative microfluidic-based platform, which allows to evaluate the efficacy of different cell immunotherapy strategies against solid tumours. For this aim, we propose to microfabricate 3D solid tumour organoids with an aberrant microvascular network provided from the explant of human vessels. Although there are other different vessel-on-a-chip and/or microvascular network formation approaches that use in vitro cell monolayers, we are not aware of any solution covering human ex vivo blood vessel platform as it is proposed here. Therefore, we aim to recreate the existent mechano-chemical barriers characteristics of the tumour microenvironment in solid tumours with this novel ex vivo platform. With this technology, we can define a method to evaluate the efficacy of different immunotherapy-based strategies. Specifically, we focus on studying the effectivity of different Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies in solid tumours. Hence, the development of VASTO harbours the interest of CAR-T manufacturers to test these cell therapies against solid tumours. We will be able to asses CAR-T cell vascular extravasation, penetration into solid tumours and the CAR-T efficiency for tumour elimination. In addition to its applicability to liver cancer, the acquired knowledge in VASTO also could be extrapolated to any other kind tumours, but also in the development of an ex vivo platform for research in regenerative processes, by incorporating organoids from healthy donors, instead of malignant cells, and promoting functional vasculature, instead of aberrant one. Therefore, this human ex vivo platform will launch a new product to the market very attractive for clinical labs and companies, reducing animal experiments and providing a more reliable alternative for testing different therapies against tumours and approaching a more personalized patient-like model.
Projet ERC : AIOIA (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Leibniz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WLG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Organoids are microscopically small patient-derived 3D organs that can be cultivated in the laboratory over months mimicking human organs and their functions in vitro. These mini-organs have a human genetic background, maintain disease traits in vitro and are currently available for almost every human organ. Due to these advantages, organoid research and its commercial applications are rapidly evolving and increasingly used. Given the high variability of these complex 3D structures, classical cell culture-based image quantification tools techniques do not accurately capture organoids in microscope images. This has resulted in much image quantification at our laboratory - like in many others - being performed using manual time-consuming tools with a high researcher variability. In sum, there is a global challenge to in a standardized manner quantify organoid experiments. We propose the first Software as a Service (SaaS) toolbox explicitly tailored to organoid imaging, building upon powerful AI-based algorithms for cutting-edge image quantification and independent of the underlying microscope and culture system hardware. The SaaS seamlessly fits in the analysis workflow by offering a user-friendly approach to upload brightfield and immunofluorescence microscope images and videos of organoid cultures, which - at the core of our product - are automatically quantified by AI-models generating a range of organoid metrics. Overall, the provided automation drastically reduces analysis time, promotes accurate phenotypical organoid analyses and ensures standardization of results between different researchers, culture conditions, and imaging hardware. Integrated in an easy-to-use web app, the SaaS tool is of great interest and essential for researchers working in the emerging field of organoids, as shown by the high utilization in our laboratory and the high interest from external partner institutions.