Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : ADIMMUNE (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Entité participante : Weizmann Institute of Science — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

Obesity and its metabolic co-morbidities have given rise to a rapidly expanding ‘metabolic syndrome’ pandemic affecting hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. The integrative genetic and environmental causes of the obesity pandemic remain elusive. White adipose tissue (WAT)-resident immune cells have recently been highlighted as important factors contributing to metabolic complications. However, a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory circuits governing their function and the cell type-specific mechanisms by which they contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome is lacking. Likewise, the gut microbiome has been suggested as a critical regulator of obesity, but the bacterial species and metabolites that influence WAT inflammation are entirely unknown. We propose to use our recently developed high-throughput genomic and gnotobiotic tools, integrated with CRISPR-mediated interrogation of gene function, microbial culturomics, and in-vivo metabolic analysis in newly generated mouse models, in order to achieve a new level of molecular understanding of how WAT immune cells integrate environmental cues into their crosstalk with organismal metabolism, and to explore the microbial contributions to the molecular etiology of WAT inflammation in the pathogenesis of diet-induced obesity. Specifically, we aim to (a) decipher the global regulatory landscape and interaction networks of WAT hematopoietic cells at the single-cell level, (b) identify new mediators of WAT immune cell contributions to metabolic homeostasis, and (c) decode how host-microbiome communication shapes the development of WAT inflammation and obesity. Unraveling the principles of WAT immune cell regulation and their amenability to change by host-microbiota interactions may lead to a conceptual leap forward in our understanding of metabolic physiology and disease. Concomitantly, it may generate a platform for microbiome-based personalized therapy against obesity and its complications.

Mots-clés : microbiome,adipose tissue,immune regulation
Projet ERC : Healthybiota (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : University of Geneva — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIGE
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999999.0 €

Obesity is a metabolic disorder leading to various health risks and reduced life expectancy. Insulin resistance is a major obesity related disorder, and a main cause for the onset of type 2 diabetes. During cold exposure or caloric restriction (CR), brown adipocytes emerge within the white fat (known as “beige” cells). This process, referred to as fat browning, increases the metabolic capacity of the adipose tissues to combust energy and is seen as promising anti-obesity and anti-diabetic strategy. The intestinal microbiota co-develops with the host; microbiota depletion, or cold-induced shift of its composition are sufficient to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, in part mediated by the innate immune system-mediated fat browning. The microbial signals and composition, critical for our understanding of the microbiota-host mutualism and metabolic improvements during cold and CR, remain unclear. By integrating expertise from several areas including physiology, bioinformatics, immunology, microbiology and developmental biology; and by developing computational approaches for comparing the metagenomics, metabolomics and transcriptomics data from the CR- and the cold-exposed mice with cohorts of human subjects, we will establish the microbiota role in orchestrating the CR-induced metabolic improvements and innate immune response, and provide mechanistic explanations on the microbiota-host mutualism during CR and cold. Finally, by using lineage-tracing studies and developing transgenic mouse models, we will determine the importance of the beige fat in the CR-induced beneficial effects on the host, and the importance of the microbiota in mediating this process. Manipulating the gut microbiota and exploiting the mechanistic links revealed by this study would be of conceptual importance for our understanding of microbiota-host mutualism in the metabolic homeostasis, and could lead to development of novel therapeutics for improving metabolic health.

Mots-clés : innate immunity
Projet ERC : SHINE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Max Planck Society — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MPG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

Observing hydrogen (H) in matter is a formidable challenge. Despite being ubiquitous in nature, it is elusive to scientific scrutiny like no other element. It is often portrayed as either a blessing or a curse. Certainly, it is a prime candidate for producing low-carbon emission power. But no less important is the effect of hydrogen embrittlement which has resulted in many catastrophic failures of engineering alloys. In aid of this, SHINE will realise multiple ambitions. It will facilitate the direct imaging and quantification of H atoms in candidate metallic alloys and metal-organic frameworks for gaseous storage, allow the discovery of new solid-state hydrides with controlled release, and help the improvement of fuel cell materials for energy generation. All these applications have relevance to a ‘low-carbon-emission economy’ that humanity must develop in the 21st century. SHINE will exploit a novel and entirely unique infrastructure, designed and currently implemented in the PI’s group. It will directly provide three-dimensional hydrogen mapping at the near-atomic scale. By connecting and relating this fundamental knowledge and observed physical properties, we will enable unprecedented precision in the prediction of material behaviour and so resolve to unlock control over the behaviour of hydrogen in such materials. Atom probe tomography will be the principal method of a correlative microscopy and spectroscopy approach to investigate materials where precise knowledge of the distribution of H is crucial. Informed by experimental data, modelling and simulations will provide a mechanistic understanding of the behaviour of H in materials. Novel hardware and data-treatment approaches will be developed to maximise data quality and provide new insights of the behaviour of H in the complex and dynamic microstructures of engineering materials, thereby allowing us to devise manufacturing strategies to enhance their performance and durability.

Mots-clés : hydrogen economy,hydrogen embrittlement,microscopy,atomistic simulations
Projet ERC : NECTAR (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2500000.0 €

Obtaining reliable cross sections for neutron-induced reactions on unstable nuclei is a highly important task and a major challenge. These data are essential for nuclear astrophysics -since most of the heavy elements in the Universe are produced by neutron-induced reactions in stars- and for applications in nuclear technology. However, their measurement is very complicated as both projectile and target are radioactive. The most promising way to infer these cross sections is to use surrogate reactions in inverse kinematics, where the nucleus formed in the neutron-induced reaction of interest is produced by a reaction involving a radioactive heavy-ion beam and a stable, light target nucleus. The decay probabilities (for fission, neutron and gamma-ray emission) of the nucleus produced by the surrogate reaction provide precious information to constrain models and enable much more accurate predictions of the desired neutron cross sections. Yet, the use of surrogate reactions is hampered by the numerous long-standing target issues. I propose to solve them by combining surrogate reactions with the unique possibilities at ion storage rings. In a storage ring heavy radioactive ions revolve at high frequency passing repeatedly through an electron cooler, which will greatly improve the beam quality and restore it after each passage of the beam through the internal gas-jet serving as ultra-thin, windowless target. This way, decay probabilities can be measured with unrivaled accuracy. NECTAR aims to develop a detection system based on cutting-edge technology and a new method to measure accurate decay probabilities of radioactive nuclei at the CRYRING storage ring of the GSI/FAIR facility. The extreme vacuum conditions of the ring put severe constraints on the detection setup. I propose original, even revolutionary options to overcome these issues like the use of solar cells. Thus, NECTAR will be the seed of a new generation of nuclear-reaction experiments with unstable beams.

Mots-clés : indirect measurement of neutron cross sections,surrogate reactions,decay probabilities,nuclear fission,radioactive ion beams,heeavy ion storage rings,solar cells,silicon detectors
Projet ERC : INVISIHIST (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : Leiden University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499994.0 €

Of the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN), over half belong to the grouping known as the Global South (also called the Developing World or Third World). Since its creation in 1945, Global South actors have sought to redefine political dynamics and change normative practices through the UN. Yet, histories of the organization are predominantly from the Western perspective. Challenging this view, this research will make a ground-breaking contribution to the field, providing a new genealogy of the UN within the contextual frame of global history in order to investigate how Global South actors shaped global order. It will bring together different perspectives of the UN from archives across the Global South, revealing currently invisible histories of the organization by examining how it was developed by Global South actors between 1945-1981. The project has 3 closely related objectives: 1. To examine how actors from the Global South changed the UN by developing its functions in the areas of decolonization, economic development and human rights; 2. To trace the ways in which Global South actors challenged the liberal world order as they pursued these rights; 3. To analyze why Global South agency at the UN led to the promotion of some issues and actors and excluded others and ask what the consequences were for order within the Global South. The project’s innovative contribution is in explaining the ways in which the UN has changed over time by placing an emphasis on the dynamic role of Global South actors. The research will elucidate histories of the ordering role of institutions at a moment when global governance is in crisis and the liberal world order appears to be fragmenting. Its primary impact will be in decolonizing the historiography by highlighting the historical agency of Global South actors, and transposing the importance of the organization in the longer history of the latter half of the twentieth century to provide a truly global history of the UN.

Mots-clés : united nations,global south,decolonization,global order
Projet ERC : MAGCOW (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : University of Bologna — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIBO
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1265943.0 €

On large scales cosmic matter is distributed in a web consistent of clusters, filaments, walls and voids. While the dark-matter skeleton of the cosmic web is closely traced by galaxies and galaxy clusters, the gaseous distribution has never been directly imaged at any wavelength. This situation might change within the next decade, thanks to the new generation of radio instruments that will survey the sky: LOFAR, MWA, ASKAP and the Square Kilometer Array. Non-thermal components, relativistic particles and magnetic fields are thought to have a spatial distribution that is broader than that of thermal baryons. For this reason, the new generation of radio telescopes should might be able to detect the tip of the iceberg from the rarefied intergalactic medium, provided that magnetic fields are sufficiently amplified in these regions. The detectable signal is expected to be weak and complex because of the contribution from radio galaxies and to the presence of diffuse fore- and backgrounds. The developments proposed in this ERC proposal are exactly designed to address this complexity, and turn future radio observations into a unique probe of the growth of magnetic fields and of the acceleration of particles. This will be possible through the theoretical exploration of plasmas in extreme conditions with sophisticated numerical simulations. With these simulations I will be able to predict the specific radio signature for the origin of extragalactic fields. This will enable the community to use radio surveys in a quantitative way and to determine the origin of extragalactic magnetism, a longstanding puzzle connected to many open questions of modern astrophysics. The legacy of this project will be its quantitative representation of non-thermal processes on the largest scales, ultimately going to be fully exploited by the Square Kilometer Array.
Projet ERC : ONCOINTRABODY (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 576906.59 €

Oncogenic signalling networks display a remarkable degree of plasticity. Despite only a limited number of alterations in oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes in most tumours, the majority of targeted therapeutics (monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule kinase inhibitors) does not strongly improve the survival of cancer patients and suffers from the rapid development of resistance. The rising number of targeted drugs in clinical use inhibits only a very limited number of protein targets (largely kinases). Consequently, most intracellular non-kinase oncoproteins remain untargeted. We have previously established the use of small engineered antibody mimics, termed monobodies, to potently and specifically target intracellular protein-protein interactions mediated by the SH2 domains of oncogenic kinases and phosphatases. Expression of SH2-targeting monobodies resulted in the inhibition of signalling and oncogenesis of these oncoproteins. Here, we aim at developing monobody binders to 10 key intracellular oncoproteins for which no chemical inhibitors exist and testing their activity in cancer cells. To enable a possible clinical translation of monobody-based therapeutics, we will develop methods to deliver monobody proteins into cells, including cell-penetrating peptides, bacterial toxins and biocompatible nanocarriers. 'Mirror-image' monobodies, composed of D-amino acids, will be developed and tested to increase intracellular and plasma stability and to limit immunogenicity. The developed monobodies and delivery systems are planned to be tested in mouse cancer models. Our goal is to establish monobodies as novel class of intracellular protein-based therapeutics. We hope to kick off their use beyond basic research tools towards possible applications in cancer patients. This innovative endeavour uses state-of-the-art protein engineering techniques to address a central problem in cancer medicine and may provide a ground-breaking new approach to target cancer.
Projet ERC : STARLIGHT (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : National Research Council — Pays : Italie — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNR
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 684500.0 €

One of the challenges facing science is to understand the chemical origin of DNA damage-induced mutations. Upon exposure to UV light, DNA nucleobases become electronically excited. This process potentially favors mutagenic miscoding of the DNA sequence. The main target of STARLIGHT is to study with unprecedented temporal resolution (few-femtoseconds/attoseconds) the electron dynamics occurring in UV photoexcited biomolecules. I will mainly consider aromatic complexes including DNA nucleobases (and ultimately DNA) with the aim of tracking in real time the electron dynamics preceding structural changes potentially leading to damage. The proposed research is based on a bottom-up approach: it allows one to understand the physical origin of a variety of light-driven processes occurring in more complex biological systems of crucial importance in photochemistry and photobiology, with tremendous prospects in phototherapy. Electron motion in molecules occurs on a temporal scale ranging from few femtoseconds down to attoseconds. Attosecond science is nowadays a well-established field and electron dynamics has been successfully studied in atoms and small molecules. The work recently conducted by the PI has demonstrated that this technology is mature and ready to be applied to more complex systems such as biomolecules. Electron dynamics will be resonantly activated in biomolecules by few-cycle UV pump pulses and subsequently probed by as-XUV pulses or few-fs-UV pulses. Through time-resolved measurements of the molecular photo-fragmentation, gas-phase spectroscopy will be used to elucidate the role of electrons in the photoreactivity of the molecule in a solvent-free environment. With the final goal of steering the electronic motion, circularly polarized UV pulses will be also used to induce electronic currents in cyclic biomolecules. These ring currents can be exploited to generate intense magnetic fields with promising applications in molecular electronics and quantum control.

Mots-clés : attosecond science,ultrafast laser spectroscopy,electron dynamics in biomolecules,dna damage
Projet ERC : TESLA (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
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 : 1499475.0 €

One of the driving forces of the ongoing nanotechnology revolution is the ever-improving ability to understand and control the properties of quantum matter even down to the atomic scale. Key drivers of this revolution are layered materials like transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD). The realisation of novel TMD-based electronic devices relies heavily on understanding the relation between structural and electrical properties at the nanoscale. Crucially, one-dimensional (1D) TMDs have been predicted to exhibit striking functionalities including metallic edge states, ferromagnetic behaviour, and mobilities that are not suppressed as compared to their 2D counterparts. Indeed, in the 1D nanoscale limit, the lateral edges of TMDs become dominant, opening novel opportunities to tune edge-induced electrical properties leading to i.e. enhanced charge carrier mobility. However, these predictions for novel phenomena in 1D TMDs lack experimental verification, due to the challenge in accessing the relevant information at the nanoscale. I propose to unravel the interplay between structural and electrical edge-induced properties by exploiting recent breakthroughs in electron microscopy (EM) allowing simultaneous unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution. I will focus on MoS2 nanoribbons, and use electron-energy loss spectroscopy to map the electronic properties at the nanometer-scale. Beyond the optimization of EM for 1D TMD characterization, I will investigate semiconducting-to-metal and ferromagnetic transitions by realising controllable edge structures. I have an extensive track record in pushing the frontier of EM characterization and growing nanostructures. I recently demonstrated the feasibility of pinning down the interplay between structure and electronic properties at the edges of 2D MoS2. This proposal will provide input towards novel quantum technologies for developing low-energy-consumption tunable electronics, efficient signal processing and quantum computation.
Projet ERC : EyeCode (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1868855.0 €

One of the grand challenges of computer graphics has been to generate images indistinguishable from photographs for a naïve observer. As this challenge is mostly completed and computer generated imagery starts to replace photographs (product catalogues, special effects in cinema), the next grand challenge is to produce imagery that is indistinguishable from the real-world. Tremendous progress in capture, manipulation and display technologies opens the potential to achieve this new challenge (at the research stage) in the next 5-10 years. Electronic displays offer sufficient resolution, frame rate, dynamic range, colour gamut and, in some configurations, can produce binocular and focal depth cues. However, most of the work done in this area ignores or does not sufficiently address one of the key aspects of this problem - the performance and limitations of the human visual system. The objective of this project is to characterise and model the performance and limitations of the human visual system when observing complex dynamic 3D scenes. The scene will span a high dynamic range (HDR) of luminance and provide binocular and focal depth cues. In technical terms, the project aims to create a visual model and difference metric for high dynamic range light fields (HDR-LFs). The visual metric will replace tedious subjective testing and provide the first automated method that can optimize encoding and processing of HDR-LF data. Perceptually realistic video will impose enormous storage and processing requirements compared to traditional video. The bandwidth of such rich visual content will be the main bottleneck for new imaging and display technologies. Therefore, the final objective of this project is to use the new visual metric to derive an efficient and approximately perceptually uniform encoding of HDR-LFs. Such encoding will radically reduce storage and bandwidth requirements and will pave the way for future highly realistic image and video content.

Mots-clés : high dynamic range,applied visual perception,computer graphics,computational photography