Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : BehavIndividuality (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Technion – Israel Institute of Technology — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1375000.0 €

A fundamental question in biology is why different individuals show different behaviors. While individuality in behavior is usually explained by genetic heterogeneity or differences in environmental exposures, more recent studies have shown that stable behavioral variation is also observed among isogenic individuals that were raised in the same environment. However, this important and potentially conserved epigenetic source of individual-to-individual behavioral variation remains largely unexplored. I have recently developed a novel imaging setup, using C. elegans, that allowed for the first time to study behavioral individuality across the full development time of animals, at high spatiotemporal resolution and under tightly controlled environmental conditions (Stern et al. Cell 2017). By using this unique system I found that isogenic animals show long-term behavioral individuality that persists across all developmental stages, and was dependent on specific neuromodulators. In this proposal I suggest to study how behavioral individuality emerges across development from non-genetic differences among individuals. In particular, I plan to (i) identify neuronal circuits and variations therein that lead to different behavioral states among individuals by combining my established methods for longitudinal behavioral quantifications with cutting-edge neuronal imaging and molecular techniques; (ii) study the role of conserved epigenetic mechanisms in generating stable neuronal and behavioral variations by integrating high-throughput gene-expression, neuronal, and behavioral analyses in single animals; and (iii) explore how stressful conditions affect behavioral individuality. I hypothesize that stress may enhance variation as a population-level mechanism to diversify risk in the face of complex or unpredictable conditions. The proposed research will shed light on novel processes that establish and maintain inter-individual diversity in neuronal and behavioral patterns.

Mots-clés : behavior,individuality,c  elegans
Projet ERC : EMACTIVE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : University of Parma — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIPR
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999231.0 €

A general principle of brain functioning is the exploitation of neural substrates for self-related processes, such as action planning, decision-making and space coding, to map those of others. Indirect evidence indicates that similar agent-based coding may characterize emotion as well. How does the primate brain represent emotional displays (EDs) of self and others from the single-neuron to the network level? EMACTIVE will leverage state-of-the-art wireless recording technologies developed during my previous ERC StG to crack the code of agent-based representation of EDs. I will first record single-neuron activity from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (WP1) and amygdala (WP2) alongside physiological data of freely moving pairs of macaques, aiming to identify self- (ST) and other-type (OT) neurons encoding EDs: I hypothesize that an animal’s ST neurons drive its Eds, which in turn trigger OT neurons of the partner, facilitating behavioural coordination. By means of neural decoding approaches, chemogenetic inactivation and wireless intracortical microstimulation, I will assess the causal role of each region in the control of specific EDs during interactive situations. Next (WP3), neuronal tracers will be injected in the amygdalar and ACC territories hosting ST and OT neurons, providing the connectional fingerprint of agent-based representation of EDs. Finally, in WP4 we will record neuronal activity simultaneously from multiple regions anatomically connected with the ACC and amygdala (capitalizing on findings from WP3) in two additional pairs of freely interacting monkeys (multiareal hyperscanning), thereby revealing the neural and contextual factors affecting interbrain synchrony and its role in behavioural coordination. EMACTIVE will reveal the single-cell and network mechanisms underlying EDs of self and others during social interactions, thought to be altered in several poorly understood neuropsychiatric diseases, such as anxiety disorders and autism.

Mots-clés : macaque monkey,wireless recording,emotion,social interaction,mirror neuron,amygdala,insula,cingulate cortex,single neuron
Projet ERC : NICH (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : University of Lausanne — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 711608.75 €

A great ecological challenges is predicting the responses of species, communities and ecosystems to global climate change. Progress will hinge on our ability to predict how responses are shaped by evolution and species interactions, and especially by entirely novel interactions among species whose ranges don't yet overlap. To tackle this goal, I will combine cutting-edge experiments and process-based modeling to address three questions about the impact of novel competitors on responses to climate change in alpine plant communities: (1) How will novel interactions impact species responses to climate change? I will test the ecological consequences of novel competitors for population persistence, and the potential for longer-term evolutionary responses, using a whole community transplant experiment that simulates future competitive scenarios faced by focal alpine plants. (2) Do species traits predict the outcome of novel interactions? A mechanistic understanding of competitive effects is essential to predict impacts of novel interactions. I will test how climate affects the outcome of competition among pairs of species planted along an elevation climate gradient, and whether these effects can be predicted using species’ functional traits. (3) What are the implications of novel competitive interactions for species’ ranges dynamics under climate change? I will use process-based species distribution models, parameterized with experimental demographic data, to explore the consequences of changing competitive interactions for range dynamics under climate change. This project will advance our understanding of species’ responses to climate change, and provide tools to apply to a diversity of other systems. It also tackles fundamental questions in ecology, shedding light on the mechanisms shaping species distributions. By linking experimental community ecology and biogeography, it will push the limits of our ability to predict the dynamics of complex ecological systems.

Mots-clés : climate change,competition,experimental community ecology,functional traits,natural selection,prediction,species distribution modelling
Projet ERC : TODENZE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IMDEA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2378438.0 €

A great interest has arisen in the past ten years on synthetic materials exhibiting a dendritic 3D superstructure due to their outstanding and singular properties and to the high number of potential applications in a variety of relevant fields. Starting from silica nanoparticles, dendritic structures have now been extended to other compositions. However, the development of dendritic zeolites has remained elusive in spite of their huge scientific and industrial relevance. Being considered mature materials, the reality is that the scientific publications on zeolites is constantly and rapidly growing. Thus, over 48,000 articles can be found in literature databases by 2020 including the term “zeolite” in the title, with about 2,370 contributions just in 2020. However, almost no records are found when the term “dendritic” is added to the search. In this context, I have envisaged TODENZE as a very ambitious and high-risk project aimed to develop a general strategy for the synthesis of zeolites with dendritic 3D superstructures. The achievement of this goal will have a strong impact in the scientific community working with porous solids and also in many other fields and topics in which dendritic zeolites are expected to exhibit a quite better performance than the state-of-the-art zeolitic materials. Starting from preliminary results of my research group, I have structured the TODENZE project according to 4 major objectives in relation to the concept of dendritic zeolites: i) Unveiling the synthesis mechanism; ii) Expanding and generalizing the concept, iii) Assessing the properties, and iv) Finding relevant applications. In particular, their use as catalysts for biomass valorisation and as nanocarriers for combined drug/gene therapy will be explored. Achievement of the TODENZE goals will provide remarkable benefits and high-gains in strategic areas such as environment, sustainable energy, circular economy and health.

Mots-clés : zeolites,dentritic materials,catalysis,biomass valorisation,drug delivery,crystallization
Projet ERC : AFRISCREENWORLDS (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : University of Sheffield — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 157053.08 €

A half century since it came into existence, the discipline of Film and Screen Studies remains mostly Eurocentric in its historical, theoretical and critical frameworks. Although “world cinema” and “transnational cinema” scholars have attempted to broaden its canon and frameworks, several major problems persist. Films and scholarship by Africans in particular, and by people of colour in general, are frequently marginalised if not altogether excluded. This prevents exciting exchanges that could help to re-envision Film and Screen Studies for the twenty-first century, in an era in which greater access to the technological means of making films, and circulating them on a range of screens, means that dynamic “screen worlds” are developing at a rapid rate. AFRISCREENWORLDS will study these “screen worlds” (in both their textual forms and industrial structures), with a focus on Africa, as a way of centring the most marginalised regional cinema. We will also elaborate comparative studies of global “screen worlds” – and, in particular, “screen worlds” in the Global South – exploring their similarities, differences, and parallel developments. We will respond to the exclusions of Film and Screen Studies not only in scholarly ways – through conferences and publications – but also in creative and activist ways – through drawing on cutting-edge creative research methodologies (such as audiovisual criticism and filmmaking) and through helping to decolonise Film and Screen Studies (through the production of ‘toolkits’ on how to make curricula, syllabi, and teaching more globally representative and inclusive). On a theoretical level, we will make an intervention through considering how the concept of “screen worlds” is better equipped than “world cinema” or “transnational cinema” to explore the complexities of audiovisual narratives, and their production and circulation in our contemporary moment, in diverse contexts throughout the globe.

Mots-clés : african cinema,asian cinema,decolonisation,film studies,screen studies,black cinema,comparative cinemas,world cinema,transnational cinema,audio visual criticism,creative research
Projet ERC : INTRANSITION (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : Utrecht University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999960.0 €

A key developmental task in adolescence is the development of identity, which coincides with development of autonomy in close relationships. The INTRANSITION project aims to examine how development of identity and autonomy affect each other during adolescence. The project will advance the field by examining intra-individual (or within-person, as opposed to inter-individual or between-person) processes of change in identity and autonomy. This is crucial as inter-individual processes are not related or translatable to intra-individual processes. Often theories are examined by comparing adolescents to other adolescents, whereas the theoretical question focuses on understanding developmental changes within adolescents. To this end I will apply innovative intra-individual techniques to analyze development of identity and autonomy at different time scales: real-time moment-to-moment behavior, interactions across hours and days, and long-term development. In five interrelated work packages, I will examine development of adolescent identity and autonomy by putting the individual back in development. Work package 1 focuses on short-term intra-individual developmental processes of identity and autonomy. Work package 2 examines how developmental transitions affect intra-individual development of identity and autonomy. Work package 3 will focus on how person-environment interactions moderate intra-individual development of identity and autonomy. Work package 4 will examine emotional and behavioral variability in intra-individual development of identity and autonomy. Work package 5 addresses gene-environment interactions and epigenetic processes in intra-individual development of identity and autonomy. Together, these work packages will offer a better understanding of the short-term and long-term intra-individual developmental processes of identity and autonomy during transitional periods, thereby allowing to better understand how these changes take place within individuals.

Mots-clés : adolescence,identity,autonomy,transitions,within person
Projet ERC : QUNET (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Delft University of Technology — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499910.0 €

A key question for quantum science is: Can quantum systems be protected from decoherence? This is not just a fundamental question; if we can reliably control large quantum states, it becomes possible to perform precise tests of quantum mechanics and computational tasks that go beyond classical physics. A promising approach is to protect quantum states by distributing quantum error correction over quantum networks. These networks consist of nodes that contain quantum bits to store and process quantum states, and that are connected by entanglement links based on photons. This approach is naturally scalable to larger sizes by connecting independent modules, and a wide variety of fascinating error correction codes is enabled by different network topologies. Pioneering experiments have demonstrated basic elements of quantum networks in various systems. However, due to the required precise understanding and control of complex quantum systems, protecting quantum networks against decoherence remains a major outstanding challenge in quantum science. The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate the detection of quantum errors over a 4-node quantum network. This network forms a unit cell that demonstrates all key principles for larger error-corrected quantum networks. This ambitious goal can now be pursued due to two advances by my colleagues and me using NV centers in diamond: (1) Entanglement of two NV centers through photons and (2) Complete control over multiple nuclear spins coupled to single NV centers. To realize the network, I will develop robust quantum memories, non-destructive spin measurements, and a precise microscopic understanding and control of coupled spin systems in diamond. Reaching this goal will be a potentially decisive step towards large quantum networks and distributed quantum computations: we will enter a new territory in which quantum states can be made more stable by making networks larger and larger, ultimately completely overcoming decoherence.

Mots-clés : the nv center in diamond,spin qubits,quantum information,quantum networks,quantum error correction
Projet ERC : CIVICS (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : University of Bergen — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 69361.25 €

A large social science literature tries to describe and understand the causes and consequences of crime, usually focusing on individuals’ criminal activity in isolation. The ambitious aim of this research project is to establish a broader perspective of crime that takes into account the social context in which it takes place. The findings will inform policymakers on how to better use funds both for crime prevention and the rehabilitation of incarcerated criminals. Criminal activity is often a group phenomenon, yet little is known about how criminal networks form and what can be done to break them up or prevent them from forming in the first place. Overlooking victims of crime and their relationships to criminals has led to an incomplete and distorted view of crime and its individual and social costs. While a better understanding of these social interactions is crucial for designing more effective anti-crime policy, existing research in criminology, sociology and economics has struggled to identify causal effects due to data limitations and difficult statistical identification issues. This project will push the research frontier by combining register datasets that have never been merged before, and by using several state-of-the-art statistical methods to estimate causal effects related to criminal peer groups and their victims. More specifically, we aim to do the following: -Use recent advances in network modelling to describe the structure and density of various criminal networks and study network dynamics following the arrest/incarceration or death of a central player in a network. -Obtain a more accurate measure of the societal costs of crime, including actual measures for lost earnings and physical and mental health problems, following victims and their offenders both before and after a crime takes place. -Conduct a randomized controlled trial within a prison system to better understand how current rehabilitation programs affect criminal and victim networks.

Mots-clés : economics of crime,victimization,social interactions,causal inference
Projet ERC : SoilResist (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : University of Manchester — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499608.75 €

A major challenge for advancing our understanding of the functional role of highly complex soil microbial communities is to systematically link changes in their structure and functioning to biogeochemical cycles under realistic scenarios of global change. This is a formidable challenge: not only does it require a step change in our understanding of the factors that shape soil microbial communities and their functioning, but also it requires new knowledge of the ecological and genetic mechanisms that underpin its stability, or ability to resist and recover from abiotic perturbations associated with global change. By embracing technological and theoretical developments in microbial ecology, SoilResist will make a major step forward in our understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities and their functioning to natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Specifically, I seek to develop a novel mechanistic understanding of the factors that underpin the resistance and resilience of complex soil microbial communities and their functioning to different types of anthropogenic perturbations, and, for the first time, identity critical thresholds for abrupt transitions of microbial communities to alternative states and consequences for soil functioning. My overarching hypothesis is that the stability of microbial functions, in terms of their capacity to resist and recover from a pulse perturbation caused by climate extremes, is determined by microbial functional diversity, based on range and relative abundance of microbial traits. I also hypothesize that shifts in microbial functional diversity resulting from press perturbations erode the capacity of soil microbial communities to buffer climate-related pulse perturbations, rendering them more vulnerable to an abrupt transition to alternative taxonomic and functional state with negative consequences for soil functioning.

Mots-clés : soil microbial ecology,biodiversity and ecosystem functioning,soil science,biogeochemical cycles,grasslands