Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : POL_2D_PHYSICS (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Université de Leoben — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1372855.0 €

Since the last decade, the number of isolated two dimensional (2D) materials keeps growing exponentially. The research community relies predominantly on synthetic single crystals, remaining limited to the variations of only several material classes. Naturally occurring van der Waals (vdW) crystals – 2D minerals – offer wider structural and compositional variety, but remain largely unexplored. Further, developing nanotechnology based on non-toxic and abundant surface minerals found in soils and clays will ensure sustainable, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable electronics.  Recently, the focus of 2D electronics is largely on novel semiconductors, and spontaneously polarized materials. The number of vdW insulators is extremely disproportional to both semiconductors and metals. Almost exclusively the entire field relies on hexagonal boron nitride. Surely, this cannot be the only technologically relevant system, and new members would also open unexplored pathways in device design and functionality.  With my project POL_2D_PHYSICS, I aim to introduce and establish a class of phyllosilicates as a multifunctional 2D materials platform. My project will explore their limits with respect to three applications: as gate dielectrics, as magnetic insulators, and as ferroelectric insulators. Starting from minerals, I will study their structure property relation. To bridge the gap between an interesting concept and a potential future technology, I will develop pathways to synthesize phyllosilicate single crystals and thin films with targeted properties for applications in 2D electronics.  If successful, the project will develop scalable novel concepts in charge transfer doping, and implement the proposed materials class into multifunctional 2D polarization electronics. With high risk goals of delivering novel and air stable multiferroic and neuromorphic systems, POL_2D_PHYSICS has the potential to fundamentally impact the future of 2D electronics.

Mots-clés : 2d materials nanoelectronics van der waals heterostructures 2d insulators gate dielectrics 2d magnetic insulators 2d ferroelectrics 2d multiferroics phyllosilicates layered minerals charge transfer doping
Projet ERC : SEALSENSE (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1469913.75 €

Marine animals employ diverse and fascinating flow sensing phenomena by exploiting the ambient complex fluid mechanics to track prey and escape from predators. Seals are known for their remarkable long-distance prey-hunting capabilities owing to their whiskers which serve as ultrasensitive flow sensors. For e.g., a seal is able to detect a fish swimming 180m away by following its vortex streets. While the unprecedented tracking abilities of seals and the role played by seal whiskers in reducing vortex-induced vibrations have been conclusively demonstrated in past, the fundamental mechanisms behind such pinpoint tracking remain unclear. The geometrically intricate shape of the seal?s whiskers is believed to maximize their signal-to-noise ratio to generate high sensitivity to the tiniest hydrodynamic trails. In this project, we propose investigations of the seal whisker behaviour, both in live seals and in controlled lab experiments, to shed new light on the fundamental mechanisms that enable the seal to display its excellent prey-tracking behaviour. In particular, how the seal effectively utilizes the spatial distribution of the whisker array on its muzzle to conduct multipoint flow measurements to track and locate its prey is unknown and of great significance. We propose to study the morphological, mechanical, and material properties of whiskers to explain the exquisite sensing capabilities of seals, and further use this understanding to develop biomimetic flow sensors for underwater robot navigation. Miniaturized and self-powered, micro/nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) strain and flow sensors will be developed for experimental animal studies, and to develop artificial 3D printed MEMS whisker sensors and muzzles for experimental fluid-structure interaction studies. An artificial seal muzzle with mechanosensory MEMS whiskers will be applied on underwater robots to create artificial vision and energy-efficient maneuvering through fish-like schooling.

Mots-clés : bio inspired sensors,micro nano electromechanical systems mems nems
Projet ERC : CellCycleInVitro (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Cell growth and division are the basis of all forms of life. In eukaryotes, the clock-like cycles of genome duplication and cell division are orchestrated by a complex set of biochemical reactions. Theory suggests that a negative feedback loop regulating the cyclin-dependent kinase 1 generates the cell cycle oscillations; however, because the putative cell cycle ‘clock’ is tightly interlinked with numerous other biological networks, experimental validation has proven to be a challenge. To date, several questions key to understanding how cell cycle oscillations arise remain unanswered: Do the identified core components indeed give rise to oscillations? Which components are necessary and sufficient? And what makes the cell cycle clock oscillate with varying frequency? To unravel what makes the cell cycle ‘tick’, we will reconstitute the core cell cycle oscillator in vitro. Specifically, combining state-of-the-art biochemistry, including the powerful frog egg extract system, with synthetic and computational biology, we will (1) develop fluorescent-based sensors to monitor key enzymatic activities of the cell cycle oscillator, (2) use computational models to identify operational conditions for the reconstitution of the oscillator, (3) reconstitute and analyse the individual reactions of the predicted negative feedback loop, and (4) assemble the complete cell cycle oscillator in vitro and establish its capacity to oscillate, the set of necessary components, and which elements of the oscillator define its frequency. Using in vitro reconstitution as a radically new approach to interrogating the cell cycle, CellCycleInVitro will answer longstanding questions about the cell cycle clock. But more than this, in developing a novel in vitro experimental platform and biosensors for the study of cell division, we will provide powerful new tools with applications ranging from synthetic biology to the development of new therapeutics targeting uncontrolled cell proliferation.

Mots-clés : cell cycle,biological oscillator,in vitro reconstitution,computational modelling
Projet ERC : 2D-OPTOSPIN (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

In order for modern information technology to continue progressing at a rapid pace we require smaller devices consuming less energy.  Magnetic materials provide a promising route for nonvolatile memory devices. However, downscaling them is challenging, and information transfer between devices is hindered by short spin relaxation lengths, making it necessary to convert spin information into charge currents, leading to an increase in power dissipation.  The aim of this ERC project is to exploit the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials to combine highly-efficient magnetic devices with optical communication. Specifically, I propose to seamlessly integrate the unique and highly efficient spin-orbit torques (SOTs) of 2D semimetals with the excellent optical properties of 2D semiconductors.  Low-symmetry 2D semimetals present SOT symmetries not seen in conventional devices. These are ideal for the control of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy ferromagnets as used in modern high-density memory devices, with the added advantage of their small size. Due to their reduced dimensionality, 2D semiconductors show strong light-matter interaction, efficient electric control over their optical properties, and low lasing thresholds. When combined, energy-efficient devices can be realized in which nonvolatile magnetic information is optically transported over very large distances.  To achieve this goal, I will (1) create externally controlled all-2D SOT devices, (2) realize electric tunability of spins and excitons in 2D semiconductors, (3) demonstrate electrical spin injection in a 2D semiconductor with spin direction controlled using SOTs, and (4) develop externally controlled 2D spin LEDs and spin lasers.  This project will pave the way for new generations of information technologies, addressing fundamental aspects along the way. It will enrich the van der Waals spintronics field and provide a new strategy towards energy-efficient data storage and transport at the nanoscale.

Mots-clés : two dimensional materials,transition metal dichalcogenides,spin orbit torque,optics,spintronics,spin laser,magnetism
Projet ERC : TRACES (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499952.5 €

Like many Indigenous peoples around the world, Inuit of Foxe Basin, central Arctic Canada, view hunting and the food security it provides to be a collective cornerstone of their cultural identity. However, much conflict exists between Inuit subsistence hunters and regulators over the population sizes of many animal species (e.g., caribou, walruses, and polar bears) and the continued sustainability of hunts; Inuit argue that government-sponsored stock estimates are too conservative, and that hunting quotas are too low. My aim is to better understand and navigate the cultural disjuncture between Western-scientific understandings of sustainability/conservation, and Inuit traditional knowledge about environmental health.  My team and Inuit partners will, for the first time, generate and integrate different types of data on: (1) present-day hunting patterns (through citizen science); (2) past animal-resource use by Inuit in Foxe Basin, from ca. AD 1300 (through archaeological investigations); (3) traditional knowledge about hunting and use of animal resources in the region (through ethnographic engagement); and (4) policy relating to modern and historical hunting regulation and conservation efforts. A fifth work package will offer practical, data-driven solutions for better relationships between Inuit and policymakers and regulators through the creation of a multimedia Toolkit that can be used by rights-holders in cross-culturally framing, discussing, and ultimately, (re)affirming rights over the resources in their traditional territories. TRACES will greatly further our archaeological and anthropological understanding of long-term animal use by Arctic Indigenous peoples and will have significant implications for how we categorize humans, animals, and whole biomes as being vulnerable to climate change. Ultimately, the project will serve as a model for environment-related Indigenous research and policy action elsewhere in the world.

Mots-clés : subsistence hunting indigenous issues inuit arctic trans disciplinary methods policy and regulation decolonization climate change conservation
Projet ERC : MemOriStem (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Entité participante : Institut de recherche en biomédecine — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IRB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Hematopoiesis has long been modeled as a stepwise hierarchical process, where all blood cells arise from a single group of rare multipotent stem cells. For decades, various reports have contested this unifying paradigm, indicating that hematopoietic stem cells are functionally heterogeneous and differ on the rates and types of blood cells that they produce. However, the origins of stem cell heterogeneity and, importantly, its physiological consequences have remained ambiguous. My recent research suggests that individual stem cell behaviors are deterministic and programmed through long-lasting epigenetic memories, but how these different stem cell memories arise during development or injury is currently unknown. Intriguingly, my preliminary results indicate that stem cell memories instruct not just their fate decisions but also the functional properties of their mature progeny, thus raising the question of how stem cell memories create functional patterns that bias the cellular responses of their mature progeny. Thus, the objectives of MemOriStem are: (1) to uncover the mechanisms that establish the diversity of HSC memories during development; (2) to identify the molecular determinants that maintain specific HSC properties; and (3) to characterize how developmental and acquired HSC memories determine functional patterns in mature blood cell responses. To overcome various challenging aspects of studying cell memories in vivo, I have designed a ground-breaking approach that combines innovative mouse models for transient gene silencing, multiplexed clonal analysis, and molecular recorders of cellular states. In sum, MemOriStem will precisely define the origins, mechanisms, and physiologic consequences of hematopoietic memories, thus allowing a conceptual leap forward in regenerative and stem cell biology. Harnessing the programming of stem cell memories may help in the development of in situ cell therapeutics to treat chronic inflammation, aging, and cancer.

Mots-clés : hematopoietic stem cells functional heterogeneity cell memory in vivo crispr single cell analysis cell barcoding clonal analysis lineage tracing myeloid heterogeneity
Projet ERC : ACTIN in ACTION (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2312500.0 €

Actin and its associated regulatory proteins are fundamental components of the cytoskeleton, playing a central role in nearly every process in eukaryotes. Remarkably, the intracellular pathogens Shigella and Listeria have evolved specialized proteins, known as effectors, to hijack this crucial system of the host. These effectors induce actin polymerization on the bacterial surface, allowing the pathogens to propel themselves within and between host cells through a process called actin-based motility (ABM). Despite the critical role of ABM in bacterial infections, the mechanism by which ABM effectors interact with and activate host cell proteins is not understood at the atomic level. In addition, the regulation mechanisms of ABM and the host cell response to the cytoskeletal manipulation remain unclear.  I therefore propose to elucidate the mechanisms of actin regulation during intoxication by ABM effectors. Using single-particle cryo-EM and cryo-electron tomography — techniques that have only become widely accessible in the past decade — I will determine the first high-resolution structures of ABM effectors and their complexes with actin-regulatory proteins. Building on my extensive expertise in studying actin and its associated proteins with these cutting-edge methods, I will develop a detailed mechanistic model of how ABM effectors orchestrate and regulate the host cytoskeleton, as well as how host cell proteins influence ABM within the cellular environment. Hypothesizing that cytoskeletal modulation by ABM effectors triggers cellular responses, I will employ a combination of proteomics and transcriptomics analyses to decipher how this manipulation of the actin cytoskeleton impacts host cell response pathways.  This study will provide atomic-level insights into actin cytoskeleton regulation during bacterial infection, laying the groundwork for developing targeted therapies against diseases like shigellosis and listeriosis, which pose major medical challenges.

Mots-clés : actin cytoskeleton,bacterial toxins,cryo em,molecular pathogenesis
Projet ERC : TactoChem (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Groningue — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2101250.0 €

Life would be unthinkable without a sense of touch, for which we rely on densely distributed (mechano)sensors as part of our sensorimotor system, allowing us to grab objects and manipulate tools. From early on in life, reflexive movements (i.e., baby grasp reflex) ensure tight integration of sensing, signal processing, and movement. Such high-density local integration poses a fundamental challenge for robotics, as robotic sensing remains limited and expensive. Advancements in tactile sensing technologies based on new chemistry will be key enablers for future robots, particularly based on soft materials that are at the helm of a materials revolution for medical and general purpose robotics. With TactoChem, I will develop an artificial reflex arc for soft materials based on chemical mechanosensors that initiate chemical signaling cascades for movement. Chemical mechanosensors, similar to biological ones, are inherently nanoscale, scalable, and integrate with a material´s chemistry. Yet current mechanochemical tools are not designed for repeated production of strong signals and eliciting motion. Moreover, diffusive signaling is slow. TactoChem will establish new mechanophores – molecules that respond to mechanical force – and use autocatalysis to amplify their signal. To enable selective, even parallel signaling, and rapid movements of soft materials, we will leverage autocatalytic reactions locally delivered through networks of channels (synthetic vasculature). The resulting chemical analog of basic movement reflexes, akin to the knee-jerk or to baby grasp reflexes, will provide a first integrated chemical system for touch-based movement control. Mastering a sense of touch by chemical means will enable the design of novel robotic components made from soft materials without the need for electronic circuits and external power. As such, it has the power to fundamentally change how we think and design materials and robots.

Mots-clés : stimuli responsive materials,hydrogels,soft actuators,mechanophores,mechanochemistry,signal amplification,systems chemistry,microfluidics,soft robotics,organic synthesis
Projet ERC : ORIgAMI (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Entité participante : Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Inserm
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2049049.0 €

Several times in human history, we faced sudden outbreaks of respiratory viruses that rapidly spread over the world before we could design broadly protective vaccines. Such was the case of the H1N1 influenza virus that killed 50 million people during the 1918 Spanish flu and SARS-CoV-2 that led to at least 5 million deaths during the current COVID-19 pandemics. Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 elicit robust humoral immune responses, including production of virus-specific antibodies of the IgM, IgG, and IgA types. In particular, IgA plays a crucial role in protecting lung mucosal surfaces by neutralizing respiratory viruses and impeding their attachment to epithelial cells. Despite its protective role, current vaccines against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 fail to produce significant levels of IgA in the respiratory tract. Then, a deeper understanding of the biology of IgA+ cells during respiratory infection is of utmost interest. ORIgAMI is based on recent unexpected findings from my team showing that germinal center B cells expressing IgA are mostly recruited towards the long-lived plasma cell compartment rather than to the memory B cell one upon influenza infection. In this frame, we will determine if the IgA BCR biases cell fate by: 1-Imprinting germinal center B cells with specific transcriptional/epigenetic programs. 2-Favoring antigen extraction and recruitment of T cell help within germinal centers. 3-Enhancing downstream B cell signalling pathways. To to this end, we will use influenza H1N1 virus as respiratory infection model combined with a series of complementary innovative tools and methodologies: de novo-generated transgenic mice, single-cell RNA/ATAC-seq, 3D imaging, DNA-based force sensors, phospho- and imaging- flow cytometry, and mass-spectrometry. A deep understanding of the biology of IgA+ B cells during respiratory viral infection is of fundamental interest and may provide clues towards the design of future vaccination approaches against air-borne pathogens.

Mots-clés : b cells germinal center iga cell fate decision influenza infection