Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : NuRadioOpt (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Université de Dortmund — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1738721.0 €

Detection of neutrinos at ultra-high energies (UHE, E >10^17eV) would be one of the most important breakthroughs in astroparticle physics in the 21st century and would open a new window to the most violent phenomena in our universe. Radio detection remains the only viable technique at these energies. However, owing to the expected small flux of UHE neutrinos, the detection rate will be small, with just a handful of events per year, even for large future facilities like the IceCube-Gen2 neutrino observatory at the South Pole. In this project, I will enhance the science capabilities of UHE neutrino detectors substantially by increasing the detection rate of neutrinos and improving the quality of each detected event, using recent advances in deep learning and differential programming. I will replace the threshold-based trigger foreseen for future detectors with neural networks, increasing the detection rate of UHE neutrinos by a factor of two at negligible additional hardware costs. I will perform an end-to-end optimization using differential programming and deep learning to improve the determination of the neutrino direction and energy. My previous work on developing state-of-the-art MC simulation codes, my experience in data analysis, designing reconstruction algorithms and deep learning, and my leadership role in IceCube-Gen2 will enable this ERC project. The timing of this project is perfect for influencing IceCube-Gen2 - the largest facility for astroparticle physics with neutrinos for the next decade - whose construction is planned to start in 2027. With this ERC project, IceCube-Gen2 will be able to expedite the discovery of UHE neutrino fluxes by up to a factor of five, see sources from deeper in our Universe increasing the observable volume by a factor of three, and measure the neutrino-nucleon cross-section at EeV energies with 3x smaller uncertainty. Hence, NuRadioOpt will substantially increase the capabilities of future observatories for UHE neutrinos.

Mots-clés : uhe neutrinos,radio detection of neutrinos,askaryan,deep learning,differential programming
Projet ERC : CODE-HEART (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Humanitas University — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1721063.0 €

Heart failure (HF), the ultimate outcome of many cardiovascular pathologies, imposes a significant global health and economic burden while remaining associated with high mortality rates. There is therefore an urgent need for innovative approaches to comprehensively understand and treat HF. Most HF research, has thus far focused on the pathophysiology of the heart, only partially covering the role of non-cardiac organs, despite HF being a complex multiorgan syndrome. The extent to which extra-cardiac organs, particularly those playing a key role in metabolism control, contribute to HF remains largely unknown. CODE-HEART aims to bridge this knowledge gap by focusing on metabolic interorgan mechanisms of disease. Our metabolism is temporally coordinated across tissues by the circadian clock system, which orchestrates myriad of physiological and metabolic processes. My recent work has highlighted the significance of peripheral tissue-tissue communication for daily metabolic homeostasis. Notably, my preliminary findings suggest that when the heart is under stress, systemic glucose and lipid diurnal metabolism is rewired. In this project, I will test the hypothesis that the failing heart can alter systemic diurnal metabolic rhythms via the release of specific cardiac-secreted factors. To do so, I will first determine the impact of HF on systemic metabolic rhythms and on the diurnal transcriptional landscape of liver, skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue. Using specific knockout animal models, I will investigate the consequences of systemic metabolic rewiring on cardiac function in HF. Finally, I will pinpoint the metabolic communication network between the heart, liver, and other metabolic tissues by labelling cardiomyocyte-specific secreted proteins and screening their functions in vitro and in vivo. In summary, CODE-HEART will significantly advance our understanding of the metabolic and molecular adaptation occurring in HF.

Mots-clés : circadian rhythms,heart failure
Projet ERC : CC-CHARGED (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Université de Dortmund — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499960.0 €

In CC-CHARGED, I propose a new concept to induce C–C bond polarization as well as predict fundamentally new stable carbon-based compound classes. The manipulation of functional groups builds the basis for the rational design of complex molecules in organic synthesis. While most compound classes have been studied for decades, few remain virtually unexplored, only suggested as reactive intermediates. I propose to tame these elusive intermediates into hitherto unknown room-temperature stable compound classes. Central motif to gain stability relies in the polarization of the C–C bond, which can either result in zwitterions (charged +/-) or diradicals. The dichotomic behavior will be analyzed and a general approach to C–C bond polarization will be developed based on a new concept of mesoionic frustration. Such mesoions are predicted to be exceptionally strong polarized carbon compounds, exceeding the polarization of traditional ylides, triggering applications from transition metal, main group chemistry to organic synthesis. The reactivity of such strong carbon donors will be analyzed, correlated and a scale generated. Applications of C–C bond polarization in the stabilization of unsaturated diazo and monosubstituted carbon compounds are presented. Their synthesis, electronic structure and reactivity will be evaluated and applications such as C-atom transfer reagents for molecular editing studied. While singlet vinylidenes are central intermediates in organic reactions, the generation and reactivity of triplet vinylidenes is virtually unknown. I propose them as new compounds in organic chemistry, as metal-vinylidene precursors and as new platforms for magnetic applications. Recent high-impact publications by the group build the basis for this project that goes far beyond the state-of-the-art. Considering that carbon is the pivotal element of life and the central element of organic chemistry, CC-CHARGED is a fundamental, ground-breaking contribution to organic chemistry.

Mots-clés : main group chemistry,low valent carbon chemistry,reactive intermediates
Projet ERC : Residents (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : SYKE — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : SYKE
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1730426.0 €

All organisms constantly shed traces of their DNA in the environment. Scientists can collect this DNA and explore who is or was there, across kingdoms of life. Our immune system is also aware of organisms in the environment as it screens everything it faces. During the first months of life, the immune system adapts to its current environment. Limited exposure to bacteria or fungi during this sensitive developmental period can lead to misdirected immune responses and development of immune-mediated diseases such as asthma. Yet, the health-impacts of other organisms have not been addressed. The major reason is a lack of data and methods to quantify total biodiversity exposure. In Residents, I will quantify human exposure to multi-kingdom biodiversity, i.e., to organisms from all six kingdoms of life, and link it to immune function development during the first year of life. I study if the potential linkage can affect the later risk of immune-mediated diseases. I bring together recently matured DNA-based biodiversity monitoring, longitudinal immune profiling, and register-based diagnoses of immune-mediated diseases. I hypothesize that multi-kingdom biodiversity exposure benefits immune system development and health. Therefore, ongoing biodiversity loss can seriously hamper human health. I study associations between biodiversity loss and children’s immune-mediated diseases at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions encompassing a whole nation and four decades of unique biodiversity and registered health data. My transdisciplinary project brings together ecological and immunological research. It takes a leap in the resolution at which biodiversity potentially affecting our health is quantified in our residential environments. This multi-kingdom biodiversity monitoring can open a new frontier in health research due to possibility to study both positive and negative health impacts of various organisms.

Mots-clés : targeted metabarcoding asthma and atopic diseases proteomics epidemiology ecoimmunology biodiversity hypothesis hygiene hypothesis
Projet ERC : SPYCLING (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth System Science
Entité participante : Université de Brême — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2447257.0 €

Sponges are the oldest metazoans on our planet and can be found in all aquatic environments, from canals in Dutch medieval towns to deep-sea trenches. Nevertheless, we lack a deep understanding of nitrogen (N) cycling processes in sponges from different taxonomic classes. In fact, glass sponges (class Hexactinellida) I collected in the abyssal Central Pacific have a bulk δ15N signal which is inconsistent with their feeding type and trophic level. Due to the large biomass that sponges reach at some sites and their filtration capacity, they can have large impacts on local biogeochemical cycles. Even during earth history, sponges formed assemblages that likely transformed paleoenvironmental conditions in their direct surroundings. Therefore, I propose to study the N cycle in selected species of the four sponge classes and to solve the mystery of N cycling in glass sponges. By studying N cycling in fossilized sponges, I will infer in which N processes the sponges were involved when they were alive. Based on these results, I will derive the environmental marine conditions present during the time of the emergence of sponges. In pulse-chase labelling experiments, the project SPYCLING will feed shallow- and deep-water sponges different 15N-enriched substrates to decipher their diet preferences using bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses. These analyses will be supplemented by DNA-stable isotope probing. We will use metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to determine the symbionts involved in N cycling and to constrain the relevant N processes. SPYCLING will identify the areas inside sponges where N is processed by high resolution mapping of 15N-enriched sponges. N cycling in ancient sponges will be studied by measuring fossil-bound N isotope. This ambitious and ground-breaking interdisciplinary frontier research will constrain the role of modern sponges in N cycling and it will examine how past oceanographic conditions and ancient sponges influenced each other.

Mots-clés : sponges,n cycling,holobiont,microbiome,sponge fossils,stable isotope analyses,meta transcriptomics,metagenomics
Projet ERC : SpaceMet (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1762562.0 €

While immune-based therapies targeting CD8+ T cells have transformed melanoma treatment, many patients still show inconsistent responses between primary tumors and metastases, particularly in the liver. CD8+ T cells face unique barriers in liver metastases, hindering their infiltration and suppressing their function. Recent studies show that CD8+ T cells adapt their metabolism based on the nutrients available in the tumor environment, and this metabolic adjustment plays a key role in their ability to fight cancer. Liver metastases have traditionally been studied as uniform in CD8+ T cell activity and metabolism; however, our findings reveal that each metastasis creates a distinct metabolic environment that impacts CD8+ T cell infiltration and function. This challenges the conventional view and highlights the hidden heterogeneity driving resistance to immunotherapy. Building on this, the SpaceMet project will address the three following key objectives. (1) Identify the functional mechanisms by which metabolite heterogeneity impacts CD8+ T cell infiltration and function. We will investigate the metabolic heterogeneity revealed through spatial metabolomics in mouse liver metastases using an in vitro assay that simulates CD8+ T cell infiltration and interaction with tumor cells under specific liver-like nutrient conditions. (2) Investigate to which extent the genetic background and cell of origin determine the formation and composition of heterogeneous metabolic environments in the liver. This will involve performing spatial metabolomics and immune profiling of liver metastases from melanoma with different genetic profiles, as well as from other cancers. (3) Advance metabolism-targeted immunotherapy for liver metastases towards preclinical applications. To achieve this, we will employ humanized mouse models and liver metastasis patient biopsies. We anticipate that understanding these local interactions will pave the way to overcome immune resistance in liver metastasis.

Mots-clés : cancer immunometabolism,cd8 t cell metabolism,spatial metabolism,cancer immunotherapy
Projet ERC : TIMEVALUE (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Université Humboldt de Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498779.0 €

Time is our scarcest resource. Humans and other animals must decide how to spend their time, choosing from endlessly many activities with distant and uncertain outcomes, thereby assigning value to their time. The neuromodulator serotonin is thought to arbitrate between impulsivity and the patience required to wait for future rewards, suggesting a pivotal function for time valuation. Serotonin-releasing neurons project to frontal cortex, where I have previously identified neurons that predict confidence-guided time investment, but the neural and serotonergic mechanisms for time valuation remain unknown. Here, I aim to identify the cortical control mechanisms that flexibly adjust the value of time to optimize time investment decisions. My central hypothesis is that serotonin sets the value of time dynamically encoded in frontal cortex neural activity. I will employ a family of decision tasks that allows for model-based quantification of time valuation by requiring rats to invest variable time into choice options with uncertain and delayed outcomes. We will use high-density probes and extracellular single-unit recording devices combined with chemical sensor imaging and optogenetics in freely moving rats, tools that I have developed during my postdoc, to address three main neural mechanisms: (1) What are the dynamic neural signatures of time valuation in orbitofrontal cortex, a frontal cortex area central for valuation? (2) Does serotonin specialize in conveying decision variables that construct time valuation? (3) How does serotonin impact frontal cortex neurons and network dynamics for time valuation? This research will clarify serotonin’s behavioral function and identify principles of serotonergic neuromodulation of cortical information processing. The projects will further characterize the structure of frontal cortex population dynamics underlying time valuation and decision-making.

Mots-clés : decision making,frontal cortex,neuro economics,serotonin
Projet ERC : CHIMERA (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2344875.0 €

Membranes are applied in many industrial processes and their performance has significant energetic and economic impact. Improving this performance is therefore crucial to meet sustainability goals. Traditional synthetic membranes face a critical trade-off between permeability (speed of separation) and selectivity (precision of separation) which limits their capabilities. Biological membranes, instead, achieve both high selectivity and permeability through the combination of a molecularly thin barrier and specialized transport proteins, yet are too fragile and small for industrial use. Several efforts have been paid to mimic the design of cellular membranes, but the results lack of either scalability or performance. The CHIMERA project merges the best features of biological and synthetic membranes in a groundbreaking approach to high-performance biomimetic membranes. The innovative design of CHIMERA membranes integrates barrier and transport functionalities in the same molecular building block. Since transporters and membrane-forming moieties are connected but distinct, the barrier and transport functions of the resulting membranes are at the same time coupled (like in synthetic membranes) and decoupled (as in biological membranes). The synergy between barrier and transport functionalities introduced by this innovative design will enable the production of large-area membranes that remain molecularly thin and incorporate many transport units, leading to separation performance approaching that of biological membranes. This general approach is elaborated into three complementary strategies that target the realization of proof-of-concept charge selective, ion selective and isoporous CHIMERA membranes. These membranes will be scalable, cost-effective, and could greatly enhance the efficiency of energy-intensive separation processes, potentially offering both economic and environmental benefits.

Mots-clés : biomimetic membranes,self assembly,block copolymers
Projet ERC : PsychAcc (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1700000.0 €

The topic of psychological acculturation – i.e., changes in psychological and behavioural patterns due to sustained contact with another culture – is both timely and relevant: 29 pct. of European citizens are ethnic minorities and ‘integration’ is omnipresent in debates on inequality and societal tension. Yet, our scientific understanding of this process is still poor. The current approach to acculturation narrowly focuses on ethnic minorities’ explicit willingness to (not) be part of a culture, as reflected in their cultural attitudes and identities. PsychAcc pushes boundaries by proving the existence of acculturation in self-construal, cognition, and motivation, building on the notion that people’s ways of being, thinking and drivers for action signal cultural affiliations implicitly. From there, PsychAcc elucidates the complex interplay between acculturative changes in explicit and implicit cultural affiliations and identifies people with distinct acculturative profiles, which are then used to predict well-being and educational outcomes. Finally, PsychAcc opens the ‘black box’ of acculturation by showing that these changes are driven by specific micro-processes in majority-minority interactions, like establishing common ground. It builds its evidence through four studies –a cross-cultural, a 2 year representative longitudinal, an experimental and an observational one – all focusing on ethnic minority and majority youth (14-18y) in Belgium. Together, the envisioned results re-think psychological acculturation: no longer as minorities’ willingness vis-à-vis cultures, but as a multi-faceted process of change that emerges from meaningful intercultural interactions. In sum, PsychAcc offers a novel theory, a beyond-state-of-the-art methodological toolbox and pivotal evidence to trigger a paradigm shift in acculturation research. It also inspires entirely new research lines in other social sciences and policy makers to look beyond outer signs of ‘integration’.

Mots-clés : acculturation,cultural psychology,cultural fit
Projet ERC : ERASMOS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

ERASMOS hypothesizes that, in contrast to the tenet, the great age of Latin-Greek bilingualism, especially in its written form, is not to be situated in antiquity. Instead, classical bilingualism flourished in the Renaissance, a pivotal period in canonizing classics. After 1397, when M. Chrysoloras started teaching Greek in Florence, classical bilingualism developed into an authorial ideal championed by writers like Erasmus (d.1536). This ideal pervaded countless genres, far beyond classical standards. It turned into a common practice shaping Europe’s cultural identities across the Republic of Letters, where Latin-Greek code-switching occurred on a daily basis.  ERASMOS opens a new research avenue on Renaissance classical bilingualism in its own right, which offers broader opportunities. The project has 3 main aims. (1) It inventories classical bilingual sources from the long 15th century (1397–1536) in a database, in order to create a new detailed heatmap of European humanism. (2) It develops digital tools for the analysis of literary multilingualism, leading to a new form of digital humanities-assisted close-reading. Most notably, the novel “tongueprint” tool will allow us to automatically calculate the linguistic make-up of texts. This tongueprint aims to further integrate multilingualism into Neo-Latin studies by cross-fertilizing the field with historical sociolinguistics. (3) ERASMOS analyzes through DH-assisted close-reading the forms and functions of classical bilingualism, in comparison to its ancient pendant, thus testing the core project hypothesis.  ERASMOS, in sum, brings cultural-historical and digital-conceptual innovation. The tools developed will benefit humanities studies more broadly and will help us save a key part of European cultural history from oblivion. The project promises major advances in the study of Europe’s classical bilingualism, which connected the continent’s brightest minds in an age that fell prey to divisive ideological forces.

Mots-clés : classical reception studies,neo latin studies,historical sociolinguistics,digital humanities,book history,classical bilingualism,code switching,cultural history of europe in the renaissance