Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : REACTION (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
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 : 1499977.0 €

Conveying information over a distance has been a problem for decades and is urgently needed across a range of distance scales (from macro to nano) and diverse environments to ensure seamless connectivity everywhere. With the advantages of biocompatibility and energy efficiency, molecular communication (MC) has been proposed to carry information (e.g., text, image, robotic command) over a distance across macro to nanoscales via chemical signals using molecules, which is extremely important for scenarios where electromagnetic (EM) wave-based communications are unsuitable or prohibited, such as in micro- or nanoscales, tunnels, human bodies, or explosive gas environments. Until now, there exists a fundamental and long-standing challenge of the lack of microscale components that can perform real-time signal processing directly over chemical signals, which is crucial for MC transceivers and their applications. REACTION will address this fundamental challenge by drawing theory, methods, and techniques from disciplines, including communication engineering, chemistry, microfluidics, signal processing, and electronic engineering. REACTION aims to design, model, simulate, and prototype microfluidic MC transceivers and systems with complex microfluidic chemical circuits, for information exchange across different scales and environments. These circuits will be capable of performing real-time chemical signal processing across diverse concentration profiles, multiple types of concurrent molecules, and consecutive chemical pulses. The successful implementation of these designs will bring 1) a new solution for multi-robotic communication in microscale via airborne MC prototype, 2) new digital olfactory devices with the capability of gas-phase scent profile detection, transmission, and recreation for the Internet of Senses; and 3) an optimized drug injection design for efficient drug delivery.

Mots-clés : microfluidic molecular communications chemical signal processing
Projet ERC : STAR-TEL (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland — Pays : Irlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RCSI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499420.0 €

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal scarring lung disease often leading to death within 3 years of diagnosis. New antifibrotic medications slow disease progression but they are poorly tolerated by patients. Telomeres, protective structures or caps at the ends of chromosomes, governed by the enzyme telomerase are shortened in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AT2)s in sporadic IPF but particularly so in inherited mutations of telomere related genes causing severe disease with early onset. Early clinical studies indicate that danazol modulates telomere length and prevents the progression of pulmonary fibrosis but it is poorly tolerated by patients, causing liver toxicity. Gene therapies including mRNAs which target telomerase have potential but human preclinical models do not exist to test their efficacy. Thus, a new human preclinical model is required to better understand pathogenesis and find new treatments. In preliminary work, I demonstrate that AT2 cells generated from patient-iPSC (iAT2) can replicate elements of pulmonary fibrosis pathogenesis and that telomere length in these cells undergoes heterogenous shortening over time, analogous to the shortening which occurs in vivo. Based on this data and previously published mouse studies, I hypothesise that telomere shortening in AT2 cells causes senescence, DNA damage and inflammation in both sporadic and inherited forms of IPF. Furthermore, I hypothesise that specific gene stratified mRNA-nanomedicines delivered to the lung can modulate telomere length in a precise manner avoiding toxicity. I will compare iAT2 and hepatic cells generated from patients recruited to a clinical trial of danazol to their own clinical outcomes from the study, thereby performing the first ‘clinical trial in a dish’ in pulmonary fibrosis - to a) better understand the role of telomere shortening in IPF and to b) identify and test gene stratified mRNA-nanomedicines and delivery chemistries leading to improved patient survival.

Mots-clés : idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,ipf,ipsc,telomeres,familial pulmonary fibrosis
Projet ERC : SENSE (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université d'Alcalá de Henares — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

SENSE aims at developing an innovative fibre-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) architecture completely compatible with contemporary telecom infrastructure worldwide. Our planet is interlaced with a vast network of optical fibres, forming the backbone of modern telecommunications. Leveraging that massive infrastructure as a global sensing network may be truly transformational, leading to unprecedented means for advanced link surveillance, geophysical and climate exploration and public safety enhancement with minimal investment. While the potential of DAS is breathtaking due to its high sensitivity, excellent localization capabilities and linearity, the compatibility between data transmission and distributed sensing remains a fundamental, unsolved problem. Current approaches for increasing the limited range of DAS (~100 km) induce crosstalk on data channels, while the need for ultra-narrow linewidth lasers critically elevates their cost, preventing their massive deployment. I plan to solve this compatibility challenge by incorporating a disruptive signal processing methodology derived from the Fourier optics discipline in DAS systems. This methodology involves a passive amplification arrangement with denoising capabilities based on temporal Talbot array illuminators (T-TAI). T-TAI processing will allow reduce additive and phase noise in 30 dB, with unparalleled impact on operation range and relaxation of laser linewidth requirements. In long-haul links, a smart WDM architecture and specific T-TAI-based optical repeaters will be designed, ensuring the co-existence of DAS and data traffic on the same fibre along transoceanic links (>1000 of km) with minimal infrastructure modifications. In short-haul links, the cost of DAS interrogators will be reduced by a factor of 100, in line with the cost of current transceivers. The new DAS architecture will enable a live global sensing network with outstanding impact on economy, climate and wellbeing of society.

Mots-clés : distributed acoustic sensing,passive noiseless amplification,temporal talbot array illuminators,fourier optics
Projet ERC : NextMechMod (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Université Eberhard Karl de Tübingen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499860.0 €

Ever since the work Hodgkin and Huxley, models of neurons have been essential for our understanding of neural computations. Such models have been developed at diverse levels of realism, from linear-nonlinear cascade or black-box models to detailed compartmental models. While these approaches are commonly viewed as incompatible, they have attractive strengths from an epistemic point of view. In this project, I propose to develop a new generation of hybrid mechanistic models that reconcile these levels of modelling: they will consist of a compartmental model for the neuron of interest with inputs approximated by black-box models. I will leverage the power of these hybrid models to tackle one of the most challenging questions in visual neuroscience: the staggering diversity of amacrine cells, a major class of inhibitory interneurons in the vertebrate retina. Despite their diversity, they are the least understood class of neurons in the retina, in stark contrast to the remaining circuitry. While in mouse more than 60 types of ACs have been identified by single cell transcriptomics, only a handful has been studied at depth. I will build on the latest advances in machine learning to develop a framework for efficiently inferring the parameters of a hybrid mechanistic model. To constrain the model parameters, we will acquire two-photon calcium and voltage imaging data during natural stimulation. Further, we will extend our framework to incorporate transcriptomic information about gene expression collected via patch-seq into the inference procedure, allowing us to map the amacrine cells to genetically defined types. Thus, in this project, I propose to develop a toolset to systematically uncover the role of retinal amacrine cells during natural visual computations, and link it to its mechanistic basis, providing a path forward to solving one of the key remaining mysteries of visual neuroscience.

Mots-clés : simulation based inference,amacrine cells,multimodal data,mechanistic models,patch seq,two photon imaging,single cell transcriptomics,interneuron
Projet ERC : Eye to Action (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Université Eberhard Karl de Tübingen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1871465.0 €

Every second, millions of bits of information enter our eyes. How does the brain identify task-relevant information from this gigantic input stream? This key challenge of the visual system is tackled by substantially processing the sensory input for behavioral relevance. Already in the retina, the front-end of the visual system, neuronal circuits extract multiple features from the environment and form up to 40 channels to the brain. So far, however, one of the basic principles underlying vision, namely how the brain processes these multiple channels from the eye, remains fundamentally unclear. In this proposal, I will focus on the superior colliculus, an evolutionary conserved retino-recipient brain area critically involved in visuomotor transformations, and solve the following problem: How do neuronal circuits in mouse superior colliculus integrate retinal signals to drive behavior? I will implement an interdisciplinary approach that combines population imaging of neuronal activity in behaving mice with optogenetic manipulations, deep neural network modeling, and quantitative behavioral analysis. By modeling a defined brain area all the way from the retinal input to its role in behavior in an ecological setting, I will mechanistically dissect the behavioral relevance of retinal circuits. My work will uncover general principles of how diverse retinal channels are represented in downstream targets, identify elemental convergence rules of feedforward retinal signals in postsynaptic neurons, and causally link retinal function to distinct behaviors. If successful, my proposal will reveal fundamental neuronal and computational mechanisms used by the visual system to convert a complex visual input into action. My approach can be adapted to other sensory modalities, guiding the design of innovative experiments and analyses. The identified mechanisms of efficient information processing will also contribute to the development of robust neuro-inspired artificial intelligence.

Mots-clés : visual system retina visually guided behavior superior colliculus functional two photon imaging retinal ganglion cells deep neural network models
Projet ERC : PROTOPEST (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Université Eberhard Karl de Tübingen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499920.0 €

In recent years, rapid developments in the field of ancient metagenomics, enabled through advances in genomic sequencing and ancient DNA retrieval, have provided temporal transects of microbial diversity and have paved the way for studying human-pathogen interactions, on the biological and cultural dimensions, far earlier than the written historical record. With these tools at hand, PROTOPEST will utilise a timely opportunity for investigating the impact of infectious disease epidemics on prehistoric human societies. The project will be centred on the 2nd millennium BCE, a period of large-scale socio-cultural transformations witnessed differentially across the archaeological records of Europe, Near East and Asia. Until now, studies have focused on environmental changes, economic shifts, warfare and human migration to explain these phenomena. Crucially, the 2nd millennium bears the earliest textual evidence of infectious disease epidemics ever identified, yet, their possible contribution to observed transformations, as well as their trans-regional impact beyond textual descriptions, remain largely unexplored. PROTOPEST will produce extensive ancient metagenomic, pathogen genomic and human genomic datasets, generated from human and animal remains across key regions of Europe, the Near East and Central Asia. Co-analysed alongside cultural, isotopic, paleodemographic and palaeopathological information, these data will be used to expose the unknown landscape of Middle/Late Bronze Age epidemics across a large geographical expanse. Our unique multidisciplinary framework will define indicators of prehistoric community responses to infectious disease outbreaks, and reveal how pathogens emerged and disseminated within and across human populations. In this capacity, PROTOPEST will provide a deep evolutionary and cultural framework for empirically examining the diachronic challenges that pathogens have posed on human societies, to gain a more holistic view on human prehistory.

Mots-clés : ancient dna,archaeogenomics,pathogen genomics,infectious disease history,prehistory,bronze age
Projet ERC : LASIQ (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Gand — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1490625.0 €

In LASIQ I will develop, for the first time, an on-chip titanium-sapphire mode-locked laser capable of generating low-noise optical frequency combs in the 650-1100 nm wavelength range. Optical frequency comb generators are light sources capable of generating a spectrum of millions of equally spaced laser lines. Such light sources allow to down-convert optical frequencies (THz) to the microwave domain (GHz), enabling precision laser spectroscopy and the construction of optical atomic clocks. Theodor Hänsch and John Hall were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics of 2005 for developing the optical frequency comb in recognition of its impact on quantum metrology, timekeeping and fundamental physics. Since their initial development, they have revolutionized several other fields such as LIDAR (light detection and ranging), molecular spectroscopy, astronomic spectroscopy for exoplanet identification and ultra-low-noise microwave generation.  However, high-performance optical frequency combs are mostly based on expensive (>100 kEUR) and bulky (> 900 cm3) free-space or fiber-based mode-locked laser systems, which strongly limits their use in real-world applications. This has spurred an enormous research effort towards developing on-chip optical frequency comb generators. Currently, a large variety of integrated optical comb generators have been demonstrated, ranging from soliton microcombs to semiconductor mode-locked lasers. However, so far integrated optical comb generators cannot rival the performance of their table-top counterparts, severely limiting their application. In LASIQ, I will address this need by demonstrating titanium-sapphire mode-locked lasers on a millimeter-sized chip with a performance similar to that of the incumbent free-space solution.  The realization of an on-chip titanium-sapphire mode-locked laser will enable chip-scale supercontinuum sources, integrated optical coherence tomography systems, on-chip optical atomic clocks and dual-comb metrology.

Mots-clés : photonics,optical frequency combs,mode locked lasers
Projet ERC : CCPEMA (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : Université de Gand — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1489668.0 €

This project advances the hypothesis that techniques of mechanical drawing, and specifically, drawings produced by manual copying and direct tracing, served as the bedrock of early modern architectural education prior to the advent of formal schools of architecture. The normative histories of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian architecture have relegated drawings of mechanical subject matter (construction machinery, scaffolding systems, structural diagrams, military devices) to a lower, non-artistic status. These drawings are deemed inferior not only due to their subject matter, but also due to their ubiquity; the mechanical drawings used by early modern architects were widely circulated and routinely copied. Indeed, copying drawings and traces have long been considered corrupt. In the foundational discussions of disegno (the practice and product of drawing), Giorgio Vasari explicitly ridiculed copying practices, and the “infinite” number of substandard artists who employ techniques of tracing. In turn, he celebrated drawings that were demonstratively autograph or individual as the embodiment of their creator’s singular “genius.” This framework lay the foundation for modern history’s critical assessment of drawings and cemented the idealization of early modern Italy’s “great” architects. While recent decades have seen a notable increase in research on techniques of copying and tracing in the study of early modern painting, there remains a critical absence of scholarship that examines the derivative practices that underscored early modern architecture. Looking beyond anachronistic conceptions of “art,” “architecture,” and “engineering” and examining a broader corpus of early modern architectural drawings. Identifying images that are formally and technically related in their execution, the project investigates the intellectual processes of design training and brings to light the collaborative frameworks of architectural production.

Mots-clés : architectural history,history of science and technology,technical art history
Projet ERC : OrAIOn (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Entité participante : Université Eberhard Karl de Tübingen — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499863.0 €

Infectious diseases caused >2 million deaths in 2019 (pre-COVID-19). Cancer patients die more often from infections than healthy individuals and are less effectively protected by vaccines. Several studies link oncology drugs to altered vaccine responses. While designed to inhibit tumor progression, these drugs also affect immune functions and thus may interfere with vaccine responses – for better or worse. A systematic analysis of this problem has so far been hampered by a lack of suitable models and the low throughput of clinical trials. Currently, it is unknown how most oncology drugs, routinely administered to patients, affect vaccine responses. In OrAIOn, I will fill this knowledge gap and systematically survey how a wide range of oncology drugs impact vaccination outcomes. To this end, I will use two high-throughput (HT) approaches: 1) a human tonsil lymphoid organoid-based screen with a custom library of >400 oncology drugs; 2) a computational screen with >20,000 publicly available drug profiles. To predict the impact of multiple drug combinations on vaccination, I will exploit a recent AI model. Finally, I will use in vitro and in vivo models, patient records, and public human datasets to determine and validate the underlying mechanisms. OrAIOn’s groundbreaking outcome will be the first comprehensive database of validated drug-vaccine interactions with detailed mechanistic insights. I will go beyond the state of the art by pioneering tonsil-based HT screens and yielding >3000 single-cell RNA-seq profiles from perturbed lymphoid tissue cells. My insights will inform follow-up clinical trials, leading to better vaccine recommendations and tailored vaccines. They will also improve anti-cancer vaccine strategies. In the long term, OrAIOn will enable me to realize my vision to provide personalized vaccination strategies to all cancer patients.

Mots-clés : drug vaccine interactions,drug immune interactions,multi omics,systems biology
Projet ERC : SEQUENCE (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : École polytechnique Chalmers — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2493599.0 €

Strained nanomechanical resonators have record-high quality factors at room temperature and state-of-the-art thermal-limited force sensitivities. However, they are typically made of dielectric materials that do not interact strongly with neither sensing targets nor other quantum systems. I propose to functionalize ultracoherent mechanical resonators with a nanomagnet to unleash their potential both for nanoscale magnetic sensing and the creation of hybrid quantum systems. The force sensitivity of the best strained nanomechanical resonators allows sensing of single proton spins when functionalized with a nanomagnet, providing new ways to characterize quantum devices and to investigate the three-dimensional structure of complex molecules such as proteins. Direct coupling of mechanical resonators and a single two-level system is a challenging but attractive route to synthesis of arbitrary quantum motional states in mechanical resonators. The low frequency of strained nanomechanical resonators has made this type of interaction elusive, but recent progress makes it conceivable to coherently couple a single atom and mechanical motion by direct magnetic coupling. I will leverage optical tweezer technology to directly couple the internal quantum states of a single atom to the motion of an ultracoherent mechanical resonator and exploit this interaction to generate quantum states of motion.  By combining integrated photonics with ultracoherent nanomechanical resonators, SEQUENCE will develop unprecedently sensitive on-chip force sensors that can be used for characterization of biomolecules and quantum devices. The hybrid atom-mechanical system will realize a new interaction between single quantum systems and mechanical resonators which can be used in tests of fundamental physics, quantum sensing and quantum information processing.

Mots-clés : optomechanics,photonics,nanomechanics