Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : EvoEpi (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
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 : 1996223.0 €

Germline chromatin pathways are key to the stable inheritance of genetic and epigenetic information. They also participate in intense evolutionary battles between genetic entities with opposite incentives during reproduction. These include conflicts between transposons and host genomes, between chromosomes during meiosis, and between maternal and paternal epigenomes. Such genetic conflicts are predicted to drive evolutionary arms races leading to rapid genetic and epigenetic innovations. Contrary to current dogmas focusing on conserved features, my research program explicitly tackles the functional consequences of epigenome rapid evolution during mammalian reproduction and disease, including in humans. With the support of the ERC, we want to harvest this unique perspective on the germline epigenome to explore novel inheritance paradigms: (1) Using mouse models, we discovered that rapidly evolving short histone H2A variants function in a novel imprinting-like conflict during reproduction. We will identify the mechanisms underlying these functions combining epigenome profiling with evolution-guided hypothesis testing in vivo. We then seek to explore their contributions to reproductive barriers using functional genetics across mouse sub-species. (2) Using in-depth phylogenomics and selection analyses, we uncovered novel signatures of functional diversification in rodent and primate chromatin remodelling enzymes. We propose to systematically identify these innovations across mammalian germline chromatin pathways. (3) To study the chromatin consequences of these innovations, we designed a surrogate system in human and mouse cells for comparative epigenome profiling. We will use this approach to uncover the breadth of epigenome regulatory mechanisms shaped by potential genetic conflicts in vivo. In sum, this proposal interfaces our unique expertise in epigenomics and evolution to transform our current understanding of epigenome regulation and its impact on reproduction.

Mots-clés : genetic conflicts,positive selection,histones,chromatin pathways,germ cells,speciation
Projet ERC : synMODIFIERS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
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 €

The function of the brain relies on an intricate network of neurons connected by synapses that enable us to feel, think, learn, act, communicate and adapt our behavior to the ever-changing world. Although the molecular composition and organization of synapses are overall conserved across mammals, a large body of evidence indicates that synapses are differentially regulated in humans. This specialization of human synapses is at the heart of what makes us human. It contributes to the increase in connectivity that characterizes the human neocortex. It also extends the period of synaptic maturation during which cognitive and social experiences sculpt developing cortical circuits and many neurodevelopmental disorders manifest. In this project, we will test the hypothesis that human-specific genetic innovations enhance the role of the environment in the development of synapses in cortical circuits and impact the pathophysiology of neurodisorders. Building on recent advances in our understanding of the human genome, we will determine how human-specific genetic innovations modify the cell biology of synapses, from synaptic connectivity and maturation to synaptic plasticity and pathological dysfunctions. We will combine cutting-edge mouse and human models compatible with investigation of synapse cell biology in integrated circuits together with a multidisciplinary approach based on in vivo molecular manipulations, electrophysiology, microscopy and omics technologies. This will allow us to gain a comprehensive understanding of fundamental mechanisms and illuminate species differences between mouse and human at the synapse and in neurodisorders, in a way not previously possible and with broad implications for the development of therapeutic strategies.

Mots-clés : molecular and cellular neurobiology,synapse,synaptogenesis,synaptic plasticity,dendritic spines,trans synaptic interactions,atypical neurotransmitter receptors,synaptic organizers,protein synthesis,translation,neuronal morphogenesis,axonal development,assembly of cortical circuits,human specific genes,human brain evolution,neurodevelopmental disorders
Projet ERC : WomatWork (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : École des hautes études en sciences sociales — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : EHESS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 704993.21 €

WomAtWork represents the first comparative investigation into the history of female urban popular professions in three African countries – Ghana/Gold Coast, Sudan, and Tanganyika/Tanzania – over the course of fifty years (1919-1970). Not only is this topic under-studied in African history, but these professions (i.e. midwives, beauticians, wedding singers, market vendors, craftswomen) are also characterised by fascinating and unsettling aspects. For example, notions such as a set price for a service and fixed working times or workplace did not apply to many of them. WomAtWork aims first to discover the peculiarities of these labour patterns and see their historical transformations as a result of political changes and the introduction of new technologies and commodities. Secondly, it examines professional subjectivities, the work ethos, norms and values of women at work. Finally, it questions the relationship between these professionals and their communities – including in the light of the social stigma sometimes attached to them – as well as the nexus between these labourers and protest, charting when and why they laid down their tools. Based on an innovative methodology, this project seeks to overcome the invisibility of women in official archives by weaving together different threads of sources. It begins inside those photographic archives connected with institutions that had conscious agendas of representation and routines of intense textual production (for example, missionary stations). In some cases, these visual and textual sources lead to networks or families of women professionals, whose oral history will be solicited. Third, the project aims to analyse the vernacular press combined with oral accounts.  Through these objectives and methodologies, WomAtWork will be a participant in the mission of writing a more democratic, more inclusive history, one that firmly establish the centrality of women’s labour in African his

Mots-clés : history of women in africa socio history of professional categories history of the popular classes ghana sudan tanzania gender studies photographic history oral history history of the vernacular press
Projet ERC : FROM STONE TO HOME (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : National Museum of Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1612757.5 €

This project explores the emergence of value and wealth as a concept in human history. Social and economic changes accelerated during the Neolithic, but until now it remains unclear what triggered inequality in these communities. Thus, the project aims to nuance how inequality evolved in human history. To approach this key question the study will investigate social and economic transformations initiated by the appearance of polished stone tools (axes, adzes, chisels and wedges) recovered from Neolithic sites, burials, households and quarries from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC in the Aegean. The project hypothesis is linking the Neolithic human awareness of raw material availability and biographies of polished stone tool assemblages with the abstract concepts of the different kinds of value and wealth in these communities. The project will pursue its objectives by initiating four work packages which will, for the first time, document and compare polished stone tools made of rare (jadeitite, nephrite, omphacitite or eclogite) and common (serpentinite, andesite, basalt, gabbro and hematite) raw materials from sites, burials and households in selected synchronic and diachronic case studies. By revealing the location of previously unknown raw material sources and quarry sites of polished stone tools, the project will be able to discover the interrelations between local, regional and superregional exchange networks. Through techno-morphological, use-wear and contextual analysis of polished stone tools, it will be possible to qualify and quantify the different stages of the studied objects, from procurement, manufacture and usage to the final deposition. The data from the polished stone tool assemblages will be related to other materials (lithics, ceramics, bones, shells, obsidian, flint, copper and gold) from the studied sites, burials and households, in order to identify new aspects related to the value of objects and fluctuations in wealth and inequality.

Mots-clés : neolithic,stone tools,aegean,value,wealth
Projet ERC : AnceStra (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Studies of Cultures and Arts
Entité participante : École des hautes études en sciences sociales — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : EHESS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999063.0 €

Over the past years, the return of cultural objects and human remains from former European colonies housed in museums and universities worldwide has been repeatedly described as the most central topic in the cultural heritage sector today. Because the seizure, preservation, and study of ancestral remains participated in a dehumanization of persons from former colonies, repatriations bear several challenges: re-humanize ancestral remains, shed light on the role of science in the development of racial theories, and contribute to a greater dialogue between the global North and South. Despite the crucial cultural, societal and political relevance of repatriations, little is known, from a socio-anthropological perspective, about the meanings that individuals and groups in the global South and North attribute to ancestral remains from former colonies. This is exactly the research question I will tackle. AnceStra departs from a specific collection: the Institute of Anatomy of the University of Strasbourg. Between 1892 and 1911, during the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, when the University of Strasbourg had become the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität, 149 human remains from the African continent entered the institute, mostly from at the time German colonies: Cameroon, Togo, and present-day Namibia and Tanzania. Demands of repatriation have been addressed to the University by organizations in two of these countries since 2019. Through a ground-breaking, two-way South-North/North-South, South-South and North-North socio-anthropological study in France, Namibia, Tanzania, and to a lesser extent in Cameroon, Germany and Togo, this project will shed light on the meanings individuals and groups demanding repatriation and individuals and groups receiving demands of repatriation attribute to ancestral remains. AnceStra will analyse the way processes of repatriation contribute (or not) to postcolonial reparation and to a reconfiguration of the links between Africa and Europe.
Projet ERC : InterBiome (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
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 : 1670000.0 €

The intestinal tract is inhabited by a large and diverse community of microorganisms, collectively referred to as the microbiota. When stably maintained, the microbiota provides important benefits to its host. However, disturbance of the microbiota-host relationship can perturb homeostasis and drive chronic intestinal inflammation, a cardinal feature of an array of diseases including Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  While many factors regulate microbiota composition and function, numerous studies have revealed a central role for diet in modulating this complex community and, consequently, its impacts on host health. My research group has investigated how microbiota is impacted by components of processed foods, particularly emulsifiers and purified fibres. We have reported that these substances have marked modulatory potential on the microbiota in a way that broadly impacts host physiology. However, the extent of such modulations is not uniform but rather subject to high levels of inter-individual and microbiota-dependent variations. These observations have led to the central hypothesis driving the InterBiome proposal, namely that the intestinal microbiota is a central nexus in driving inter-individual variations in the extent to which various dietary factors impact health.  We will investigate this hypothesis via a combination of integrated experimental approaches, including patient-based prospective studies, in vitro microbiota modelling and gnotobiotic approaches. Results of these studies will define mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiota drives inter-individual variation in responses to select food additives in a way that promotes or degrades intestinal health. The InterBiome project will open novel avenues of microbiota research, paving the way for microbiota-based personalized medicine and dietary management.

Mots-clés : chronic inflammation,diet,emulsifier,soluble fibre,microbiota responsiveness,personalized medicine
Projet ERC : eLinoR (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Université de Mons — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1982515.0 €

Low-rank matrix factorizations (LRMFs), such as principal component analysis, nonnegative matrix factorization and sparse component analysis, are linear dimensionality reduction techniques and are powerful unsupervised models to represent and analyze high-dimensional data sets. They are used in a wide variety of areas such as machine learning, signal processing, and data mining. Many LRMFs have been proposed in the literature, in particular in the last two decades, and used extensively in many applications, such as recommender systems, blind source separation, and text mining. Although LRMFs have known and still know tremendous success, they have several limitations. Two key limitations are that they are linear models, and that they only learn one layer of features. In this project, we go beyond LRMFs, considering generalized LRMFs (G-LRMFs) that overcome these limitations, considering non-linear and deep LRMFs. These generalizations have been introduced more recently, and they have hardly been explored compared to LRMFs. In particular, eLinoR will focus on three fundamental aspects: (1) Theory: understand G-LRMFs with a focus on computational complexity and identifiability (uniqueness of the decompositions), (2) Algorithms: solve G-LRMFs via provably correct and heuristic algorithms, and (3) Models: design new G-LRMFs for specific applications. This unified approach will enable us to understand these problems better, to develop and analyze algorithms, and to then use them for applications. The novelty and ground-breaking nature of this project also lies in the methodology, exploring G-LRMFs from different but complementary perspectives, bringing together ideas from different fields. The ultimate goal of eLinoR is to provide practitioners with theoretical and algorithmic tools for G-LRMFs, allowing them to decide which model and algorithm to use in which situation and what kind of outcome to expect, leading to a widespread and reliable use of G-LRMFs.

Mots-clés : linear dimensionality reduction,low rank matrix factorization,nonnegative matrix factorization,deep matrix factorization,nonlinear matrix factorization
Projet ERC : NETWORK (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Université Toulouse Capitole — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UT1
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 311821.25 €

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a coherent set of econometric methods to deal with unobserved heterogeneity in the analysis of social interactions between agents. Such heterogeneity is well recognized to be important. It is often of great interest to document the degree of heterogeneity, evaluate its impact, and uncover the existence and form of any complementarities that may exist between agents. With the growing availability of network data, questions of this kind are increasingly being asked in applied work. The development of appropriate econometric tools to answer them has, however, not followed suit. If anything, recent theoretical work has pointed at substantial difficulties with the so called fixed-effect approach currently serving as the workhorse tool. This project recognizes the potential of taking a random-effect view. For settings where agents interact in pairs, such a view has received some attention in the literature. However, to date, it struggles with issues of identification, estimation, and computation. We will develop a new nonparametric approach that provides a solution to each of these three issues. We will next venture forward and extend this framework to situations where agents interact in larger groups. Both collaborative and non-collaborative settings will be considered, thereby covering team production, competition, and peer effects. Special attention will be given to recovering treatment effects in the presence of social interactions, where interference on unobservable confounders is an issue. For situations where data limitations prevent a fully nonparametric approach, instrumental-variable methods that build on flexible functional form restrictions will be developed. The statistical properties of the proposed estimators will be derived, software implementation will be provided, and empirical illustrations will be presented to highlight the usefulness of the methods.

Mots-clés : complementarity,heterogeneity,identification,inference,matching,network,teams,peer effects
Projet ERC : HighBorG (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth System Science
Entité participante : GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IFM-GEOMAR
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999925.0 €

The link between climate and CO2 is not always straightforward, particularly during periods of multiple climatic and environmental changes, but atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) plays an important part in determining climate on human and geological timescales. For example, state dependency of climate sensitivity, the response of Earth’s temperature to CO2, is a critical unknown for future climate projections and policy strategies. Another unknown is the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) at different CO2 thresholds for its melting and growth, “hysteresis”, despite the fact that this will ultimate determine the magnitude of future sea level rise. Existing records suggest that the ice sheet margin waxed and waned since the Eocene, ~50 million years ago (Ma), while CO2 varied within the likely range projected for year 2100 and Earth’s temperature progressively cooled. HighBorG aims to resolve climate-AIS-CO2 unknowns on three periods of the geologic past: 52-46 Ma (hot Earth, high CO2, likely ice free), largely unexplored 39-23 Ma (when AIS was established), and 17-13 Ma (cold Earth, low CO2, dynamic AIS). HighBorG focuses on reconstructing CO2-climate feedbacks at millennial/orbital timescales, a medium risk high gain opportunity necessary to resolve warming and cooling periods at different climate states. To achieve this, a new automated system for purification-analysis will be developed, accompanied by a laser ablation split-stream approach, utilising new marine archives and cutting-edge methodologies. Seasonal reconstructions from contemporaneous tropical corals will provide a novel way to constrain seawater composition, necessary to obtain accurate estimates of CO2. Earth system modelling incorporating reconstructions will provide a new understanding of the mechanisms driving state dependent interactions between Earth’s orbit, CO2, temperature, cryosphere and carbon cycling, increasing our confidence to sea level/temperature projections for the future.

Mots-clés : geochemistry,oceanography,atmospheric co2,ice sheets
Projet ERC : DMPDE (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Université Toulouse Capitole — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UT1
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 416300.0 €

Improvements in technology are enabling firms to collect and process increasingly large amounts of detailed information about their customers and their competitors. This growing use of data is fundamentally changing the nature of competition. For example, it is affecting i) how firms compete, as they offer collections of services, ii) the level at which firms compete, as they make personalised offers to individual consumers, and iii) the complexity of firms’ strategies, as they increasingly delegate decisions to algorithms.  The research in this proposal will deepen our understanding of how data is changing market power, and how this should be reflected in antitrust and competition policy. There are four key themes:  1. Ecosystems. Many online services are grouped together in ecosystems. These services interoperate with each other and share data. The research will examine how data affects the boundaries of ecosystems. It will also analyse the welfare implications of policies that limit how ecosystems can use data.  2. Personalisation. Data can be used to give consumers a personalised experience. The research will look at how the ability to offer personalised products changes competition and efforts to acquire data. The research will also examine how personalisation affects the incentives to engage in anti-competitive practices like predation.  3. Consumer Search. Consumers often need to search in order to learn about firms’ product offerings. The research will explore how a consumer’s search behaviour generates data. It will also examine a firm’s incentive to manipulate the search process in order to learn more about a consumer’s preferences  4. Algorithms. Data is a crucial input into algorithms. The research will examine whether platform algorithms can use certain types of data to prevent sellers from charging less on other sales channels. The research will also investigate whether seller algorithms can autonomously learn anti-competitive behaviours like predation

Mots-clés : data,multiproduct,ecosystems,personalisation,consumer search,algorithms