Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : NEXT (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : University of Groningen — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RUG
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1670323.0 €

The heaviest element which has been found in nature is uranium with 92 protons. So far, the elements up to atomic number 118 (oganesson) have been discovered in the laboratory. All transuranium elements are radioactive and their production rates decrease with increasing number of protons. An Island of Stability, where the nuclei have relatively long half-lives, is predicted at the neutron number 182 and, depending on the theoretical model, at the proton number 114, 120 or 126. Current experimental techniques do not allow to go so far to the neutron-rich side close to the Island of Stability. The observation of gravitational waves as well as electromagnetic waves originating from a neutron star merger has been published on October 16, 2017 and is a first proof of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in the r-process. It still remains an open question if superheavy nuclei have been formed in our universe. To answer these questions, we need insight into the nuclear properties of the heaviest elements and how these properties evolve when one moves toward to the neutron-rich side on the nuclear chart. In the NEXT project, I will set out to discover new, Neutron-rich, EXotic heavy nuclei using multi-nucleon Transfer reactions. I will measure their masses and, thus, pin down the ground state properties of these nuclei. These studies provide insight into the evolution of nuclear shells in the heavy element region. Furthermore, I will measure the fission half-lives of these isotopes. In order to realize the NEXT project, I will built a novel spectrometer, which is a combination of a solenoid separator and Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer. The broad experience in heavy element research and mass measurements that I have acquired over the years, and the unique infrastructure at my home institute that houses the AGOR accelerator, makes it so that I am ideally placed to start and lead the NEXT project.

Mots-clés : superheavy elements,multi nucleon transfer reactions,high precision mass measurements,transfermium elements,element synthesis,fission
Projet ERC : ENGINE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : University of Zurich — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UZH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

The human mind is very similar to that of other great apes, yet also strikingly different, and a vast body of research converges on one conclusion: this gap is fundamentally social. Moreover, it emerges early in ontogeny, reflects the distinctly human neurochemical profile, and is characterized by physiological, hormonal, and behavioural synchronicity. But why did this gap evolve in the first place, and why was it us, rather than any of the other great apes, who diverged so dramatically and evolved this unique socio-cognitive niche? Multiple proposals stress interdependence as the key factor during human cognitive evolution, but testing this idea empirically remains a major challenge for the field. ENGINE sets out to do so, by proposing a process-oriented working model of human cognitive evolution in which interdependence takes centre stage, and testing it by engineering interdependence in the marmoset monkey, the emerging next-generation model for human social behaviour. I will thus produce an inter-dependent lineage of marmosets that will only be able to overcome daily challenges (i.e. finding food, defence against out-groups and predators, securing comfort) via mandatory cooperation, whereas an in-dependent lineage will have to overcome these challenges via individual effort. I will investigate downstream effects of this experimentally induced variation in interdependence on neurochemistry, synchronization at various levels, and cognitive outcomes. I will examine both immediate and long-term effects, when mandatory interdependence is experienced during ontogeny and over generations of animals. I will complement this engineering part by studies with human children, and validate it with wild marmosets. ENGINE thus allows us for the first time to comprehensively assess how interdependence affects socio-cognitive functioning in nonhuman primates, which brings us a crucial step forward in understanding how and why the human mind evolved.

Mots-clés : joint action co representation,synchronicity,cognitive positivity bias,conformity,comparative and developmental psychology,evolution of the human mind,nonhuman primates,marmoset monkeys,cooperative breeding,oxytocin,interaction engine,hunter gatherers,interdependence,obligate cooperative foraging
Projet ERC : CLIC (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : Aarhus University — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : AU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1888592.0 €

The hypothesis of this project is that Ireland has a unique and hitherto underexplored history of cultural engagement with models from ancient Greece and Rome. Unlike Britain and mainland Europe, Ireland was never part of the Roman Empire. Yet the island has an extraordinarily vibrant tradition of classical learning that dates back to its earliest recorded literature, and is unparalleled in other northern European countries. Research for this project will address why this is the case, by examining sources through nine significant diachronic themes identified by the PI: language; land; travel and exile; Troy; satire; Neoplatonism; female voices; material culture; and global influence. This multi-thematic approach will enable analysis of what is remarkable about classical reception in Ireland. It will also provide a heuristic framework that generates dialogue between normally disparate fields, such as classical reception studies, Irish and British history, English-language literature, Irish-language literature, medieval studies, postcolonial studies, philosophy, material culture, women's studies, and global studies. The project will engage with contemporary preoccupations surrounding the politics and history of the divided island of Ireland, such as the current decade of centenary commemorations for the foundation of an independent Irish state (1912-1922, 2012-2022), and the on-going violence and political divisions in Northern Ireland. These issues will serve as a springboard for opening new avenues of investigation that look far beyond the past 100 years, but are linked to them. The project will thus shed new light on the role of classical culture in shaping literary, social, and political discourse across the island of Ireland, and throughout its history.

Mots-clés : classical reception,irish studies
Projet ERC : CANITEST (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Namur — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The idea to be taken as proof of concept is drawn from the ERC Advanced grant N°293605-CAPCAN (2012-2016). This grant aimed at understanding the molecular and genetic bases of the dramatic human infections caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus. One of the questions that we addressed in the frame of CAPCAN is why are there so few cases of human infections while so many dogs carry C. canimorsus? In other words, are all C. canimorsus strains equally dangerous and, if not, could we prevent the disease by detecting the dogs carrying the more dangerous strains? During CAPCAN, among others, we showed that C. canimorsus is endowed with a capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and its assembly pathway was characterized [1]. We also showed that the CPS of 25/25 strains isolated from human infections present a limited variability, with 3 dominant capsular serovars. In contrast, only 4 out of 52 C. canimorsus isolated from dog mouths did belong to these three serovars [2]. This implies that a small minority of dog-hosted C. canimorsus strains are virulent for humans than most strains and that these strains can be identified by capsular serotyping. We also set up a PCR test to achieve this capsular serotyping [2]. The proposal to be taken to proof of concept is to market the PCR test designed to identify the dogs carrying the more virulent strains of C. canimorsus.

Mots-clés : diagnostics,infectious disease,dogs,capnocytophaga canimorsus
Projet ERC : SISCAN (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Sphere ultrafast photonics sa — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Sph
Type d'entité : Organismes privés (hors enseignement)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 86188.0 €

The idea to be taken to proof of concept is a novel real-time characterization device for short laser pulses, based upon SIngle-Shot dispersion SCAN (SISCAN). The use of femtosecond laser pulses with duration from the single-cycle to the multi-cycle regime, in various applications in research, industry or medicine demands a precise characterization and control of each laser pulse. We propose a device for measuring the intensity and the phase of laser pulses, based upon dispersion scans, i.e. scans of the second harmonic spectrum as a function of dispersion of the fundamental field. The device is able to characterize individual laser pulses and therefore will provide useful realtime feedback to adjustments of any laser system. Recently, in the effort to improve the control of light pulses required for our ERC-supported research, two variants of a single-shot d-scan, i.e. one for few-cycle pulses (3-10 fs) and one for longer pulses (15-100 fs) were developed. At the same time, we introduced a new algorithm, drastically reducing the retrieval time. The combination of these developments will allow for measuring individual pulse properties in real-time for very diverse types of lasers. At the time this application is being sent, two patent applications have been submitted. Through technical verification (Lund University, Sweden) and business activities (a small company located in Portugal, Sphere Ultrafast Photonics, already commercializing the original, multiple shot version of the device), we will demonstrate the functionality of the concept, the risks will be assessed and minimized and we will prepare to exploit the increased commercial potential, addressing laser manufacturers as well as laser users in both the scientific and commercial spheres.

Mots-clés : ultrafast optics,ultrashort laser pulses,time frequency characterization,dispersion scan
Projet ERC : CM3 (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Forschungszentrum Jülich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : FZJ
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1465944.0 €

The idea to freely control the atomic-scale structure of matter has intrigued scientists for many decades. The low-temperature scanning probe microscope (LT SPM) has become the instrument of choice for this task since it allows the rearrangement of atoms and molecules on a surface. There is, however, no generic SPM-based method for the manipulation of molecules beyond lateral rearrangement. The goal of this project is to develop controlled mechanical manipulation of molecules (CM3) in which a LT SPM is used to handle large organic molecules in three dimensions with optimal control over position, orientation and shape. CM3 will become a game-changing technique for research on molecular properties and molecular-scale engineering, because it combines fully deterministic manipulation with broad access to molecular degrees of freedom for the first time. In CM3 the tip is attached to a single reactive atom within a molecule. Tip displacement guides the molecule into a desired conformation while the surface provides a second (weaker) fixation. The fundamental challenge addressed by this project is the identification of precise molecular conformations at any time during manipulation. The solution is a big data approach where large batches of automatically recorded SPM manipulation data are structured using machine learning and interpreted by comparison to atomistic simulations. The key idea is a comparison of entire conformation spaces at once, which is robust, even if the theory is not fully quantitative. The obtained map of the conformation space is used to determine molecular conformations during manipulation by methods of control theory. The effectiveness of this approach will be demonstrated in experiments that unambiguously reveal the structure-conductance relation for a series of molecules and that realize the engineering paradigm of piecewise assembly on the molecular scale by constructing a direct current rotor / motor from individual components.

Mots-clés : scanning probe microscopy
Projet ERC : oxDOPAMINE (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : LMU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

The identification of numerous genetic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD) has highlighted the importance of mitochondrial and lysosomal pathways in disease pathogenesis. In my recent work, I discovered that oxidized dopamine (DA) and alpha-synuclein serve as key mediators of mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction in midbrain DA neurons that preferentially degenerate in PD. It has been well established that cytosolic DA oxidizes to reactive quinones and accumulates in neuromelanin in midbrain neurons, but my data demonstrated that the process of DA oxidation was dramatically increased in disease. Importantly, oxidized DA was detected only in iPSC-derived DA neurons from familial and sporadic PD patients, but not in PD mouse models. This may at least in part explain why preclinical studies in animal models have not translated to clinical trials in PD patients. oxDOPAMINE will go one step beyond and explore the origin and nature of DA oxidation that predisposes human neurons to selective vulnerability and degeneration. Based on my preliminary work and recent genetic data implicating synaptic genes in PD pathogenesis, I hypothesize that defective synaptic DA metabolism and iron dyshomeostasis play a critical role in the oxidation of cytosolic DA early in disease pathogenesis. Since iron participates in the formation of oxidized DA in normal neurons, my project will include the examination of ‘Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron accumulation’ (NBIA) disorders that share pathological hallmarks of iron accumulation and progressive DA neuron degeneration with PD. A unifying feature of these pathogenic mechanisms is that impaired handling of DA contributes to toxicity of DA neurons. oxDOPAMINE will be of broad significance to a large cohort of patients with neurodegenerative diseases as it will advance our understanding of whether restoration of synaptic dysfunction and iron metabolism may prevent midbrain DA neurodegeneration, to represent a potential therapeutic target.

Mots-clés : parkinson s disease,neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation,induced pluripotent stem cells,dopaminergic neurons,selective vulnerability of the human substantia nigra,dopamine oxidation,synaptic dysfunction,iron dyshomeostasis
Projet ERC : DMIDAS (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Durham University — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2493439.0 €

The identity of the dark matter is a fundamental problem in Physics whose solution will have major implications for cosmology, astronomy and particle physics. There is compelling evidence that the dark matter consists of elementary particles created shortly after the Big Bang, but searches for them in the laboratory and from astrophysical sources have proved inconclusive. The currently favoured candidate is cold dark matter or CDM. This forms the basis of the standard model of cosmology, LCDM, whose predictions, dating back to the 1980s, turned out to agree remarkably well with observations covering a staggering range of epochs and scales, from the temperature structure of the cosmic microwave background radiation to the large-scale pattern of galaxy clustering. Yet, this agreement is not exclusive to CDM: models based on other types of particles -- warm, self-interacting or asymmetric, for example -- agree equally well with these data but differ on scales smaller than individual bright galaxies. These are the scales targeted in this application in which we propose a comprehensive investigation of small-scale structure, with the aim of testing dark matter candidates, by focusing on three key astrophysical diagnostics: strong gravitational lensing, dwarf galaxies and stellar halos. We propose a joint theoretical and observational programme exploiting three major developments: SWIFT, a new code developed at Durham that will enable cosmological hydrodynamics simulations an order of magnitude larger than is possible today; SuperBIT, an innovative balloon-borne wide-field imaging telescope that will collect gravitational lensing data for hundreds of galaxy clusters; and DESI, a spectro-photometric survey that will acquire 10 times more spectra of stars in the Milky Way than previous surveys. The particle models that we will consider have predictive power and are disprovable. Our programme has the potential to rule out many dark matter particle candidates, including CDM.

Mots-clés : particle physics candidates for the dark matter,gravitational lensing,dwarf galaxies
Projet ERC : CoBABATI (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
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 : 1255000.0 €

The immune repertoire of healthy individuals contains a fraction of antibodies (Abs) that are able to bind with high affinity various endogenous or exogenous low molecular weight compounds, including cofactors essential for the aerobic life, such as riboflavin, heme and ATP. Despite identification of cofactor-binding Abs as a constituent of normal immune repertoires, their fundamental characteristics and have not been systematically investigated. Thus, we do not know the origin, prevalence and physiopathological significance of cofactor-binding Abs. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms of interaction of cofactors with Abs are ill defined. Different proteins use cofactors to extend the chemistry intrinsic to the amino acid sequence of their polypeptide chain(s). Thus, one can speculate that the alliance of Abs with low molecular weight compounds results in the emergence of untypical properties of Abs and offers a strategy for designing a new generation of therapeutic Abs. Moreover, cofactor-binding Abs may be used for delivery of cytotoxic compounds to particular sites in the body, or for scavenging pro-inflammatory compounds. The principal goal of the present proposal is to gain a basic understanding on the fraction of cofactor-binding Abs in immune repertoires and to use this knowledge for the rational design of novel classes of therapeutic Abs. In this project, we will address the following questions: 1) understand the origin and prevalence of cofactor-binding Abs in immune repertoires; 2) characterize the molecular mechanisms of interaction of cofactors with Abs; 3) Understand the physiopathological roles of cofactor-binding Abs, and 4) use cofactor binding for the development of novel types of therapeutic Abs. A comprehensive understanding of various aspects of cofactor-binding Abs should lead to advances in fundamental understanding and in the development of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic tools.

Mots-clés : antibodies,cofactors,heme,riboflavin,therapeutic antibodies
Projet ERC : ICoMICS (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Universidad de Zaragoza — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIZAR
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2494662.0 €

The immune system consists of a collection of cells with a high ability to migrate that work together to remove harmful foreign material from the body. Each immune cell can migrate between tissues, fulfilling specific functions in different microenvironments. However, this immune-surveillance response is not very effective in those tissues with a high non-physiological stiffness and a significant level of residual stresses, which are characteristics of solid tumors. Understanding the mechanisms that govern the cellular immune response to solid tumors is crucial to strengthen the development of novel immunotherapies. ICoMICS aims to develop a novel predictive modeling platform to investigate how therapeutic immune cells (TICs) sense, migrate and interact with cancerous cells and with the tumor microenvironment (TME). This platform will be built on two key pillars: in-vitro 3D tumor organoids and multicellular simulations, which will be combined and integrated by means of Bayesian optimization and machine learning techniques. On the one hand, cell culture microfluidic chips will be microfabricated, allowing continuous perfusion of chemical modulators through hydrogels (including decellularized matrices from murine stroma) inhabited by human tumor cells arranged to recreate 3D solid tumor organoids. On the other hand, an agent-based model will be developed to simulate cells as deformable objects, including cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, combined with a continuum approach to model matrix mechanics and chemical reactions of cells, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nutrients diffusion. Finally, ICoMICS will originally develop two innovative mechanistic-based immunotherapies. First, TICs will be subjected to high strains in micro-channels to induce them higher migration capacity. Second, TICs will be clustered as bio-bots, to ensure that they have improved functionality. All this research will be applied to 3 main solid tumors: lung, liver and pancreas.

Mots-clés : computational biomechanics,agent based models,microfluidics,tumor organoids,mechano immunology