Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : GESIUS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : Université de Manchester — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499869.0 €

Palimpsests have yielded spectacular new discoveries in the area of ancient texts: hitherto lost works are recovered and can be read again. We recently identified a set of five palimpsests which will radically change the way in which we view the history of medicine in late antique Alexandria and the transmission of medical knowledge from Greek via Syriac into Arabic. These palimpsests contain Commentaries by Gesius (ca. 450–530s) in Syriac translation on two works by the famous Greek physician Galen (ca. 129–216), namely Mixtures and Natural Faculties. Gesius emerged as the most prominent of the iatrosophists or professors of medicine in late antique Alexandria, a period that had a tremendous impact on the subsequent tradition, both east and west. Mixtures and Natural Faculties belong to the so-called Sixteen Books of Galen, which formed part of the core curriculum in the amphitheatres of the iatrosophists. Moreover, the palimpsests also contain the Syriac version of Galen’s texts. By using a mixed method approach, we propose to make the erased texts readable again, and then edit, translate and study them. Combining multispectral image capture and analysis with machine learning techniques, we will be able to transcribe these lost texts in full and, in the process, reconstruct the original manuscript. We shall study Gesius’ works in the context of medicine in late antique Alexandria and place it in a tradition where commentaries, abrigments, branch diagrams and encyclopaedias were all employed to impart medical knowledge. Finally, these Syriac translations offer us an opportunity to study how the Sixteen Books of Galen were transmitted into Syriac, and what role they played in Graeco-Arabic translations. We will thus study Gesius’ role as the chief medical authority in Alexandria and his subsequent influence, in order to judge his place in history on the basis of his own writings for the very first time.

Mots-clés : history of medicine,late antique alexandria,palimpsest studies,syriac,translation studies,gesius,galen,graeco arabic studies
Projet ERC : EFT4jets (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Université Johannes-Gutenberg de Mayence — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : JGU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2475000.0 €

In light of intriguing hints for the existence of heavy new particles from low-energy measurements of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and rare leptonic decays of B mesons, which strategy should one take to fully exploit the discovery potential of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful high-energy particle collider on Earth? Signals of new physics might be hiding in the LHC data, but we are limited in our ability to discover them due to present theoretical uncertainties. Jet processes at the LHC are the most interesting observables probing the underlying short-distance dynamics. New and powerful methods are required to obtain full control over the subtle quantum corrections affecting these processes, both in the Standard Model and in extensions featuring new particles. In the EFT4jets proposal, I focus on two of the most daunting challenges faced in theoretical collider physics: a rigorous field-theoretic understanding of the parametrically leading contributions to jet rates from so-called super-leading and non-global logarithms, and a quantitative understanding of the phenomenon of factorization violation, which threatens to jeopardize theoretical calculations of jet processes. EFT4jets aims at the development of a complete theory of non-global observables at hadron colliders, which are insensitive to radiation in certain regions of phase space. This will for the first time provide a rigorous theoretical control over all logarithmically enhanced corrections to jet cross sections, give a generalized notion of factorization and enable more accurate calculations than ever before, thus boosting the LHC discovery potential for new phenomena. Detailed predictions will be obtained for important benchmark processes, including the production of Higgs, W or Z bosons in association with jets, the di-jet production process pp→2 jets, and the mono-jet production process pp→ jet + missing E_T, which is a key signature in the search for dark matter.

Mots-clés : effective field theories,hadron collider physics,jet processes
Projet ERC : IMPACTS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Wurtzbourg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499465.0 €

Electronic excitations are crucial in many fields of science and engineering. Time-resolved spectroscopy is widely used to detect dynamics of excited particles (electrons) and quasiparticles (e.g., excitons or plasmons). In the scheme of “femtochemistry” established since decades, one excitation is placed into the system by a pump pulse and its evolution observed by a time-delayed probe pulse. However, this does not resolve correlations between multiple excitations making it impossible to understand important quantum phenomena.  We shall develop and apply new experimental methods to determine multi-particle correlations, based on isolating higher (than fourth) orders of perturbation theory systematically. We will separate these contributions without requiring a-priori models. With tailored femtosecond laser pulse sequences, we circumvent the stochastic nature of light–matter interaction even though we use only classical light and retrieve information from specific orders of a perturbative expansion, hitherto only accessible theoretically.  We also consider that many materials are heterogeneous. Thus, we isolate multi-particle correlations in space by combining high nonlinear orders with fluorescence microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy. This enables us to avoid ensemble averaging and obtain information for specific domains down to the single-molecule limit.  Our methods will be applied to determine exciton diffusion in organic materials, chiral excitonic couplings, plexciton–plexciton interactions, quantum coherence in multi-exciton generation, phonon–phonon couplings in quantum dots, and the role of dark states in correlated materials.  We expect IMPACTS to change how complex systems are studied with ultrafast spectroscopy. Overcoming limitations of single-particle models, we seek a holistic picture of correlated dynamics, impacting our understanding and application of solar energy conversion, transport in functional materials, and quantum technologies.

Mots-clés : femtosecond spectroscopy,excitons
Projet ERC : GLoW (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
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 : 2499366.0 €

Recent advances in deep learning have allowed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reach human-level performance in many sensory, perceptual, linguistic or cognitive tasks. There is a growing need, however, for novel, brain-inspired cognitive architectures to achieve more robust and flexible cognition. The Global Workspace Theory refers to a large-scale system integrating and distributing information among networks of specialized modules to create higher-level forms of cognition and awareness. It is one of the dominant neuroscientific accounts of higher-level brain function. We argue that the time is ripe to consider explicit implementations of this theory using deep learning techniques. We propose a roadmap based on unsupervised neural translation between multiple latent spaces (neural networks trained for distinct tasks, on distinct sensory inputs and/or modalities) to create a unique, amodal global latent workspace (GLW). Sensory inputs that are broadcast in this GLW acquire meaning by connecting them to (or translating them into) the relevant semantic knowledge and representations from language, memory or decision systems: the semantic grounding property. Conversely, language and semantic representations are grounded in the sensory environment via the same broadcast/translation operation. Finally, broadcasting sensory and semantic inputs to the relevant effector domains can create motor affordances and support embodied cognition. Together, the grounding and affordance properties infuse meaning in AI processes, which can then be combined sequentially (via attentional selection) to enable flexible cognitive functions—i.e., “System-2” AI. The interdisciplinary project will directly implement the GLW framework in deep learning models of growing complexity, and evaluate their correspondence with brain networks. It will provide an explicit evaluation of the Global Workspace Theory, and push the limits of current deep learning systems towards next-generation AI.

Mots-clés : ai,neural networks,deep learning,cognitive architectures,global workspace,awareness,grounding,affordance
Projet ERC : PITT-Inflame (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Universitätsklinikum Würzburg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UKW
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499250.0 €

Platelets are mediators of haemostasis and thrombosis, but also increasingly recognized as versatile effector cells of innate immunity. The concept of thrombo-inflammation recognizes that thrombotic and inflammatory pathomechanisms are closely intertwined. Platelets thereby act as central orchestrators of immune cell trafficking, vascular barrier function and organ integrity and contribute to organ injury in severe disorders with limited treatment options (e.g. stroke, sepsis, ARDS). The underlying molecular mechanisms are not known. I recently discovered an unexpected novel effector mechanism in platelets with potentially huge impact for understanding these cells in health and disease: Resting platelets can rapidly reorganize the entire pool of their principal adhesion receptor, integrin αIIbβ3, along with its associated tetraspanins and signalling machinery into ´disintegration´ complexes (DISCs) in distinct membrane microdomains. These DISCS serve as building blocks for a novel organelle, the ´Platelet-derived Integrin and Tetraspanin-enriched Tether´ (PITT). PITTs are loaded with signalling molecules, ribosomes and RNA and can segregate from the platelet to promote thrombo-inflammation. Also β1-integrins as well as glycoprotein (GP)VI can be integrated into DISCs and deposited at discrete adhesion points. I therefore postulate that circulating platelets have the capacity to use their principal adhesion/signalling machineries in two fundamentally different ways and thereby switch between the haemostatic and a thrombo-inflammatory effector programme. If proven correct, this would implicate a radically new paradigm in platelet biology, and open new avenues for the treatment of a wide range of diseases with major societal impact. PITT-Inflame will (i) provide a detailed molecular composition and architecture of DISCs and PITTs; (ii) decipher underlying signalling networks; (iii) identify PITT-induced effects on target cells and (iv) deduce therapeutic strategies.

Mots-clés : platelet,integrin,receptor regulation,thrombo inflammation
Projet ERC : Zeptometry (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CEA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2297849.0 €

The theory of elementary particle physics, the Standard Model (SM), provides a successful description of the basic constituents of matter and the forces acting between them. However, it explains only about 15 % of the total mass in the universe, not accounting for the dark matter postulated in the face of astrophysical and cosmological data. The study of the universe at large shows that our theory of the smallest entities of Nature must be extended.  In the absence of a direct observation of new particles it becomes increasingly important to determine the parameters of the SM with the highest possible precision, as new particles and forces would modify their values through quantum effects. The existence of the W and Z bosons, and later the top quark, the tau neutrino, and the Higgs boson - the ultimate discovery of the SM - were all inferred from precision measurements before their direct observations.  A cornerstone parameter of the SM is the so-called weak mixing angle, which relates different sectors of the theory and is particularly sensitive to new physics. The objective of this project is to greatly improve its determination, at energy scales spanning four orders of magnitude, combining information from the LHC with low-energy data from the MESA accelerator. Detector techniques developed for the LHC will be used to optimise the measurements at low energy. The combination of all measurements will test the energy dependence of the weak mixing angle, below the Z peak, on the resonance, and for the first time above the Z, towards the weak scale.  Reaching these objectives requires improving theoretical predictions in the SM beyond the current state of the art, reducing the associated uncertainties. The simultaneous interpretation of the weak mixing angle determinations at all energies will test the SM, and probe new physics with sensitivity to mass scales ranging from 70 MeV up to the order of 100 TeV, corresponding to length scales of a zeptometer.
Projet ERC : APROSUS (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Helmholtz Zentrum München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HMGU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.94 €

Asthma and allergies are the epidemic of the 21st century after a sharp rise in prevalence since the middle of the last century. Asthma is the most common chronic condition for children – at school age about every 10th pupil is affected in westernized countries. Likewise, allergic illnesses are very prevalent with 30- 50 % of the paediatric population being affected. Currently, there is neither cure nor effective prevention. However, asthma and allergies are illnesses, which are largely environmentally determined. Exposures to the environmental microbiome greatly determine risk and protection from onset of illness in populations of common genetic make-up. My team and I have described relevant taxa of the environmental microbiome in the unique farm studies we pioneered. Very recently, we discovered the microbiome-derived functional agents conferring protection. These epidemiological findings while being scientifically cutting edge, cannot be back translated to children’s and their families’ benefit. My vision is thus to move the field of microbiome research forward towards in depth characterization of microbe-derived metabolite complexes to better understand their associated asthma- and allergy protective properties by advancing both the experimental and the human population-based studies. The interdisciplinary APROSUS Project addresses this research gap. The aims are to characterize and synthetize these functional agents (aim 1), to understand the underlying mechanisms of protection (aim 2) and to validate the findings in the population-based farm studies (aim 3). Thereby we will lay the ground for translation into innovative and effective prevention strategies to stop the asthma and allergy epidemic.
Projet ERC : CLOCKrisk (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université de médecine de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2043792.0 €

Virtually every cell of our body follows the 24-hr ‘circadian’ rhythm of a hypothalamic master pacemaker that evolved in the natural light-dark cycle. Decoding this circadian clock culminated in the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017 for the discovery of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. It is now recognized that a strong, unperturbed circadian clock is a hallmark of healthy aging. The introduction of electric light, however, presents unique challenges: today, 20% of the global work force engages in alternate working hours associated with light in unnatural times. Increases in the risk of major chronic disease and mortality have been associated with night work. Further, night-activity is widespread also outside of work, implicating potential risk for many. This project targets the urgency of alleviating adverse health consequences of a perturbed clock. It does so by aiming to decipher individual risk and related mechanisms 1) using a cutting-edge multi-polygenic score approach; 2) employing transgenerational, deeply phenotyped cohort approaches; and 3) carrying out interventions using genetic risk stratification. This epidemiological project builds on pioneering work of the applicant who conducted the first prospective study to demonstrate significant health effects of chronic clock dysregulation, leading WHO to classify night work as a probable carcinogen. Using transdisciplinary approaches, she implemented field and genetic studies and developed circadian biomarkers, establishing the field circadian epidemiology. Tying the transformative body of her work together, she proposes to take the next ground-breaking leap: To 1) identify the night-active individual who develops disease, 2) profile mechanisms involved, and 3) optimize effectiveness of interventions to improve sleep and shift work disorder, facilitating immediate implementation of risk-based prevention strategies aimed at promoting healthy aging in spite of clock perturbations.
Projet ERC : HYPOMETAB (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2500000.0 €

Understanding the exact nature of CNS-dependent regulation of body weight has become of utmost societal importance as we are witnessing an ever-increasing number of overweight and obese subjects who exhibit a predisposition for a plethora of obesity-associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancers. However, despite the tremendous advances made in defining the neurocircuitry basis underlying the central control of feeding and metabolism, critical open questions still remain. For example, how can we reliably identify the exact anatomical localization of the recently identified molecularly heterogenous cell types in the hypothalamus? What are yet unknown energy state- or food cue-regulated neuronal cell types and what is their functional contribution to energy homeostasis? Which are yet unidentified neurocircuits critical for the initiation of adverse metabolic effects upon highly palatable food consumption? And what are the lipotoxic species accumulating in energy state-regulated neuronal cell types upon obesity development? The proposed work program will employ state-of-the-art technologies in modern molecular systems neuroscience and mouse genetics and will focus on the following four key aims: 1. Establishment of a high-resolution spatial transcriptional map of the murine hypothalamus 2. Identification, validation, and functional characterization of novel hypothalamic neuronal cell types activated during fasting/feeding transitions and upon sensory food perception 3. Discovery of novel hypothalamic neurocircuits activated during obesity development 4. Assessment of cell-intrinsic lipidomic changes in metabolism regulatory neurons during obesity development Thus, the proposed work program will not only advance our fundamental understanding of the CNS-dependent regulation of metabolism, but could also open up new channels of drug discovery for tackling obesity and obesity-associated metabolic diseases.

Mots-clés : feeding behaviour,glucose metabolism,hypothalamic neurocircuits,spatial transcriptomics,neurocircuitry mapping,single nucleus rna sequencing,innovative transgenic mouse models
Projet ERC : SpecTera (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2968750.0 €

Motivated by the recent discovery of a giant strain-induced blue-shift of Terahertz antiferromagnetic spin waves (magnons) in the spin-orbit Mott insulators Sr2IrO4 and Ca2RuO4 by the PI and his group, the SpecTera project will explore whether strain modulation can be harnessed to confine and guide THz magnons. To probe magnetic order and magnon excitations in inhomogeneous strain environments with high energy and momentum resolution, we will develop a combination of Raman, Brillouin, and resonant x-ray scattering instruments, including a new “momentum microscopy” facility that will generate momentum-space images of magnetic order and excitations with micro-focused x-ray beams. To establish a materials platform for SpecTera, we will use these instruments for surveys of the strain response of different spin-orbit Mott insulators, including compounds with antiferromagnetic order above room temperature. The magnetic ground state and excitations of selected model compounds will be mapped out in carefully tailored strain environments in thermal equilibrium, followed by experiments to probe their response to controlled non-equilibrium situations including thermal gradients and local excitation of magnons by intense sub-THz sources. Inspired by methods developed in semiconductor physics, we will pattern strain profiles by electron beam lithography and assess their ability to serve as magnon conduits. Finally, we will explore the interaction of magnons in spin-orbit Mott insulators with dynamic strain generated by surface acoustic waves.  SpecTera will create a new nexus between the rapidly evolving research fields of Terahertz magnonics and correlated-electron physics, and harness the resulting synergies to explore pathways towards a novel architecture of magnonic devices.