Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : TACOS (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : Université technique de Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 270000.0 €

Both, the energy and aviation sector rely on gas turbines, a combustion system continuously optimized since its invention during World War II. They constitute a main pillar for tomorrows energy and aviation mix to tackle climate change. However, fuel flexibility is stretched to its limits for conventional combustor designs: combustion instabilities hinder a new generation of safe and low-emission gas turbines. This calls for disruptive design approaches to enforce crucially needed step-change technologies. The overarching aim of TACOS is to break the bottleneck of combustion instabilities by novel, physics-driven design principles based on latest theoretical findings: the combustion community -including myself- has discovered "exceptional points" (EPs), which are known from theoretical physics to feature intriguing, counter-intuitive physical properties. Our preliminary results confirm that EPs (i) rapidly switch the combustor stability from unstable to stable and (ii) are well-controllable by both the acoustics of the chamber and the flame characteristics. TACOS takes a leap forward and exploits the unique properties of EPs for the conception of novel combustors by 3 objectives: (A) tailor the characteristics of both gaseous (land-based gas turbines) and spray flames (aeroengines) by carbon-free fuels (hydrogen+ammonia) and sustainable aviation fuels; (B) optimize simultaneously the emission rates and the stability of the combustion chamber by designing the combustor close to the EP; and (C) quantify the design robustness by experiments at atmospheric and high-pressure conditions to learn design principles by explainable machine learning methods. As a result, TACOS will not only produce an unprecedented, computer-aided and optimization-centric design software for safe, robust and clean gas turbines, but will also open a new research field on design principles and amplify fundamental breakthroughs in CI research.

Mots-clés : combustion instabilities,gas turbines,high fidelity numerical simulations,experiments,machine learning
Projet ERC : RiboStress (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Entité participante : Université de Heidelberg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498832.5 €

Many cellular and extracellular events cause perturbations of protein homeostasis by affecting either de novo protein folding or by destabilizing already folded proteins. Under such proteotoxic stress conditions, cells engage in various strategies to avoid further damage to the cellular proteome, e.g. by timely modulation of translation activity and specificity, or by resolving the underlying events. Our overall goal is to dissect from a unique structural angle how such damage avoidance strategies impact on the structure and molecular organization of the translation machinery by directly imaging their effects on ribosome structure, supramolecular organization and distribution in a cellular context with cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), an innovative imaging approach unique in its capability to pro-vide highly detailed three-dimensional structural information on macromolecular complexes in their cellular environment. Building on my pioneering work in the field of cryo-ET and integrating novel image processing solutions that have recently marked a breakthrough in the field, we will dissect at unprecedented resolution how the cellular translation machinery is remodeled i) after a general heat-shock, ii) during the Endoplasmic Reticulum unfolded protein response and iii) during persistent translational stalling triggering ribosome-associated quality control.  Work included in this proposal will provide detailed structural and mechanistic insights into how cells try to counteract an imbalance of protein homeostasis - a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. It thus seems almost certain that key concepts emerging from our studies will have direct implications on mechanistic understanding of central pathological principles underlying these diseases.

Mots-clés : cellular cryo electron tomography in situ structural biology protein synthesis ribosomes stress response ribosome associated quality control
Projet ERC : ReMMU (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Heidelberg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1492750.0 €

Galaxies grow through the reciprocal cycling of gas between disks and their massive surrounding halos. Despite major strides in observations and simulations, the physics regulating this galactic ecosystem remains unclear, primarily due to the multiphase, multiscale nature of circumgalactic gas. All current cosmological simulations fail to capture the multiphase structure of galactic halos and exhibit a lack of convergence in even the first order gas properties such as the amount of cold gas found. This strongly limits their applicability in the circumgalactic medium to interpret existing observations as well as their predictive power.  ReMMU will breach this barrier by implementing an innovative multi-fluid subgrid model to track unresolved gas phases both in hydrodynamical and radiative transfer simulations. The objectives of ReMMU are to (1) run the first cosmological simulation with converged gas properties and (2) perform a robust comparison with absorption as well as emission line data of galactic ecosystems. This work will shed light on the drivers of galactic growth and feedback mechanisms, the key challenge to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies.  Only recent advances in fundamental hydrodynamical theory have constrained the parameter space sufficiently and, thus, opened the pathway for subgrid models of unresolved gas. Simultaneously, a rapidly growing body of observational surveys started to revolutionize the available data on galactic ecosystems. Hence, ReMMU is particularly timely combining these advances: it will exploit the theoretical progress in a full cosmological context and establish firm predictions for comparison with observations across cosmic time, ultimately breaking the current impasse. The PI has made significant contributions in the theory of small scale hydrodynamical as well as radiative transfer problems and is, therefore, uniquely suited to establish a world-leading team to carry out ReMMU.

Mots-clés : circumgalactic medium,galactic ecosystem,multiphase gas,radiative transfer,computational astrophysics,galactic feedback and fueling,galactic winds,cosmological simulations,galaxy formation,galaxy evolution
Projet ERC : HamDyWWa (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Université de Milan — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1268106.0 €

KAM and normal form methods are very powerful tools for analyzing the dynamics of nearly integrable finite dimensional Hamiltonian systems. In the last decades, the extension of these methods to infinite dimensional systems, like Hamiltonian PDEs (partial differential equations), has attracted the interest of many outstanding mathematicians like Bourgain, Craig, Kuksin, Wayne and many others. These techniques provide some tools for describing the phase space of nearly integrable PDEs. More precisely they give a way to construct special global solutions (like periodic and quasi-periodic solutions) and to analyze stability issues close to equilibria or close to special solutions (like solitons). In the last seven years, I developed new methods for proving the existence of quasi-periodic solutions of quasi-linear, one-dimensional PDEs. This is an important step towards treating many of the fundamental equations from physics since most of these equations are quasi-linear. In particular, this is the case for the equations in fluid dynamics, the water waves equation being a prominent example. These novel techniques are based on a combination of pseudo-differential and para-differential calculus, with the classical perturbative techniques and they allowed to make significant advances of the KAM and normal form theory for one-dimensional PDEs. On the other hand, many challenging problems remain open and the purpose of this proposal is to investigate some of them. The main goal of this project is to develop KAM and normal form methods for PDEs in higher space dimension, with a particular focus on equations arising from fluid dynamics, like Euler, Navier-Stokes and water waves equations. By extending the novel approach, developed for PDEs in one space dimension, I have already obtained some preliminary results on PDEs in higher space dimension (like the Euler equation in 3d), which makes me confident that the proposed project is feasible.

Mots-clés : hamiltonian pdes,kam theory,normal forms,fluid dynamics,water waves,pseudo differential operators
Projet ERC : UNVEIL (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Milan — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498850.0 €

Observational campaigns are revealing that planet formation is an extremely efficient mechanism, and that at the same time it leads to a wide diversity in exoplanet properties. While high resolution images of protoplanetary disks show potential signatures of planet-disk interactions, an observational characterization of directly imaged protoplanets interacting with their natal environment is still lacking, limiting our understanding of the planet formation mechanisms. Thanks to the revolutionary capabilities of the ALMA interferometer, and the advent of upcoming infrared facilities such as JWST, the time is ripe to finally detect planets in the act of formation, and observe how their bulk and atmospheric properties is determined by the physics and chemistry of their birth surroundings. UNVEIL will bridge the gap between exoplanets and planet forming disks by directly observing and modelling the assembly of massive planets in disks at large orbital radii. Combining cutting-edge observational programs and ambitious modelling efforts, I will: a) assess the onset of hydrodynamical instabilities facilitating the formation of planetary cores; b) search for protoplanets in the gas kinematics of disks and estimate their mass; c) image protoplanets in the mid-infrared and determine how they formed; d) directly connect the chemistry of disks to the elemental abundances of protoplanet atmospheres. This ambitious project builds upon a novel methodology that will be developed by my team to detect protoplanets in the kinematical structure of protoplanetary disks, and on my leadership position in a pioneering ALMA Large Program to characterize the gas kinematics of planet-forming disks. In synergy with my ground-breaking JWST observations, UNVEIL will build a unique legacy for the whole community, and provide observational constraints that are sorely needed to unveil the formation phases of cores and atmospheres of Saturn-Jupiter mass exoplanets.

Mots-clés : direct imaging sub mm astronomy hydrodynamics astrochemistry
Projet ERC : Novel.CaRe (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Université de Milan — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1592281.0 €

Despite advances in clinical care, heart failure consequent to myocardial infarction remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Absence of cardiac regeneration post-infarction is mostly explained by the reduced mitotic potential of adult cardiomyocytes, that, in comparison with their embryonic counterparts, have an accumulation of morphological, metabolic and biochemical adaptations that render them recalcitrant to proliferation. Devising tools to precisely control the maturational status of cardiomyocytes would enable novel therapies for cardiac regeneration, either by stimulating cell cycle reentry of pre-existing cardiomyocytes, or enhancing the maturational status of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells for cell therapy. Novel.CaRe will explore the therapeutic potential of micropeptides, a novel class of proteins that, despite their small size, can play major cellular roles. Based on extensive preliminary work, I propose an ambitious interdisciplinary research program bridging advanced omics, animal models, human samples, bioinformatics, cellular phenotyping and innovative strategies for gene therapy. We will apply new translatomics and proteomics approaches to identify micropeptides conserved across species and modulated during cardiomyocyte maturation, define their cellular functions and test their potential to induce proliferation of cell cycle withdrawn cardiomyocytes or enhance maturation of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. In a high-risk, high-gain part of the project, we will develop a novel approach for gene therapy enabling time-controlled, cardiomyocyte-specific expression of a combination of micropeptides normally expressed by embryonic cardiomyocytes and assess if this strategy successfully promotes regeneration of the adult heart post-injury. In conclusion, Novel.CaRe will generate new resources, technology and knowledge, pushing beyond the state-of-the-art in the fields of molecular cardiology and cardiac regeneration.

Mots-clés : heart,multiomics datasets,micropeptides,cardiomyocyte maturation,cardiomyocyte proliferation,gene therapy of cardiovascular disorders,cardiac regeneration,myocardial infarction
Projet ERC : Fun-ContRoll (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : Université libre de Bruxelles — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ULB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499568.0 €

R-bodies are probably the largest organised intracellular proteinaceous structures in bacteria. They adopt a roll-like structure that occupies almost the entire cellular volume. Upon acidification, R-bodies extend telescopically up to 20 micrometres. First discovered in endosymbiotic bacteria, they were proposed to eliminate symbiont-free hosts, however their mechanism of toxicity remained unexplored. In addition, structures of similar composition and activity form ejectile defence organelles in Cryptomonads. Recently, we found that free-living environmental bacteria from the phylum Bacteroidota also produce R-bodies. In the Fun-ContRoll project we will study the assembly and conformational change mechanisms of these structures. We will investigate their mechanism of action and ask whether it depends on the extension or delivery of associated toxic effectors. To understand their biological role, we will explore hypotheses about their costs and benefits to the bacterial cell and to population. Alternatively, we will assess their role in establishing and maintaining the symbiosis. We will evaluate whether their biological role has pathogenic potential or, on the contrary, could help to eliminate parasitic species that cause disease and spread pathogenic bacteria. Finally, we will try to understand the strict regulatory mechanisms that controls the heterogeneity in the population, leading to a well-defined fraction of the population that produces these giant structures.

Mots-clés : symbiosis,inclusion bodies,organelles,macromelcular complexes,bacterial toxins,bacterial defense systems,population heterogeneity
Projet ERC : EpiResist (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université libre de Bruxelles — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ULB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1496578.75 €

Drug resistance is one of the biggest challenges in the clinical management of breast cancer (BC), but the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. What we do know is that epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in the adaptation of cancer cells to therapy, which is why they have become a prime field of investigation. Single-cell profiling of epigenetic DNA and histone modifications have already revealed intriguing and actionable insights into tumor heterogeneity. For the most recently discovered epigenetic layer however, which consists of RNA modifications, we have not yet reached single-cell resolution. The exciting potential of RNA modifications to fine-tune the processing and expression of mRNAs is currently an area of intense research termed ‘Epitranscriptomics’ and the most prevalent and best studied of these mRNA modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m6A), has recently been linked to drug resistance in cancer. Our lab has uncovered a new m6A-based layer of dysregulation of a major cancer pathway driving therapy resistance in BC. The ability to study m6A in single cells holds great promise as it would enable us to further delineate tumor heterogeneity and to find novel drug resistance targets that have eluded us so far. I propose to develop a method for streamlined m6A mapping at single-cell resolution (Aim 1), to apply it to triple-negative BC (TNBC) cells driven to chemoresistance in cell culture, mice, and human samples so as to determine uncharted targets of drug resistance (Aim 2), and to disrupt m6A-regulated chemoresistance targets in order to prevent therapy failure (Aim 3). These aims are aligned with my knowledge and skills related to both m6A and drug resistance. This unique and comprehensive analysis of the single-cell m6A methylome will provide invaluable new insights into the unknown epigenetic characteristics of chemoresistance and will pave the way for new therapeutic interventions.

Mots-clés : epigenomics,epitranscriptomics,rna epigenetics,m6a,mrna,breast cancer,chemotherapy,anthracyclines,tumor evolution,tumor heterogeneity,cancer therapy resistance,drug resistance
Projet ERC : RSVP (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Université de Heidelberg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499945.0 €

RSVP aims at reassembling the rich world of scribal practices in Coptic letter writing between the 4th and 11th centuries CE. It offers an ambitious reconstruction of epistolographers’ habits, networks, and cultural identities when Coptic was the vernacular Egyptian language employed alongside official idioms (Greek and Arabic).  Using a multidisciplinary approach combining paleography, digital humanities, and sociolinguistic analysis, RSVP will analyze for the first time a corpus of over 5000 Coptic letters along four axes: 1) Challenge established views on vernacular practices through expanded Coptic letter analysis. 2) Investigate literacy, paleography, and writing practices in relation to cultural and linguistic shifts. 3) Identify dialectal variation and code switching through linguistic analysis, illuminating the period’s complex linguistic landscape. 4) Assess published Coptic letters’ impact on social cohesion and power dynamics on a diachronic and countrywide scale.  RSVP will contribute to papyrology, Coptology, and digital humanities, by reassessing writing culture, multilingualism, and epistolary étiquette, while applying digital approaches for large-scale analysis of ancient documents and open-linked data (e.g. OCR for semi-automatic text encoding and digital paleography for handwriting identification). Social historians of Antiquity and early medieval times will also have access to a nuanced understanding of cultural continuity and change during a crucial period of political and cultural transition between Byzantium and Islam, enhancing understanding of provincial life, local elites, villagers, and women’s roles.  By reconstructing letter-writing practices in Coptic, RSVP will refocus scholarship on overlooked historical sources, shedding new light on epistolographers’ daily matters, cultural identities, and social networks, while providing a view from below. It will amplify long-silenced and forgotten voices.

Mots-clés : coptic letters,papyrology,ancient literacy,multilingualism,epistolary practices,vernacular language
Projet ERC : CIRCULIG (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Stockholm — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Lignin is a nature’s wonder material that allows trees to grow vertically and have strong and biochemically resistant structures. However, the majority of lignin is burned in the forest industry. The objective is to make a paradigm shift in the use of lignin by developing circular lignin materials with functionalities arising from well-defined nanostructures. This project faces two outstanding challenges. The first relates to overcoming the instability of lignin nanoparticles in organic solvents and under alkaline conditions, which currently restricts synthesis of advanced lignin materials. The second is to develop lignin nanoparticles and lignin fibres structurally incorporating inorganic and metal nanoparticles. By overcoming these obstacles, we will have functional lignin building blocks for circular vitrimer adhesives, electrochemical catalysts, magnetically responsive nanocomposite gels, and colloidal crystals. Synthesis and assembly of these materials requires considerable contributions to method development that will open wholly new frontiers for sustainable lignin materials. Far-reaching implications beyond materials science include excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary studies across environmental sciences, chemical and process engineering, and life sciences.

Mots-clés : lignin hybrid nanocomposites nanoparticles nanofibres colloidal crystals