Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : SEACELLS (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MBA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2704190.0 €

SEACELLS addresses fundamental questions in phytoplankton biology from cellular to population scales. Our recent studies of phytoplankton, primitive photosynthetic marine protists that play important roles in ocean biogeochemical cycles, are providing exciting new information on the roles and evolution of membrane transport, cell signalling and metabolic regulation. The research builds on a number of recent findings, including the discovery of cell membrane properties that were thought to be typical of animal cells but now must be considered to be of much more ancient origin. The proposed 5-year programme brings together single cell biophysics, imaging and state of the art molecular biology with in situ studies of natural oceanic phytoplankton populations, focussing principally on two significant groups, the diatoms and coccolithophores. A major aim is to gain critical mechanistic understanding of membrane transport, cellular regulation and key physiological processes at the single cell level along with information on the microenvironment that surrounds cells. This will be used in conjunction with modelling studies to determine how phytoplankton cells regulate their immediate environment and how this in turn interacts with metabolic activity. In order to understand how the physiological properties of single cells in the laboratory translate to behaviour of natural populations we will examine cell physiological properties in natural populations. Knowledge of cell- to-cell variability will provide insights into the plasticity of populations and their responses to changing ocean conditions. Underpinning this is the transfer of single cell technology developed in the laboratory to ship-board platforms. SEACELLS presents a discipline-spanning approach, providing opportunities for cross-fertilization of knowledge and ideas from molecular biology through cell biophysics to in situ oceanography with wide reaching outcomes.

Mots-clés : phytoplankton,membranes,signaling,populations,diatoms,coccolithophores
Projet ERC : SELDOM (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : University of Milan — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIMI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1107500.0 €

SELDOM explores a new experimental method to decisively boost the study of the electric dipole moment (EDM) and magnetic dipole moment (MDM) of baryons at the LHCb experiment at CERN. We will be able to guide the first search of charm baryons EDM: any observation would represent a signature of new physics. With the strange baryon EDM measurement, we will push forward the sensitivity on the Lambda baryon EDM to an unprecedented precision. Thus, we will set new constraints to extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. To date no search was performed for short-lived charm baryon EDM, as it must be determined studying the spin precession in intense magnetic fields before the decay - a major challenge for these unstable particles. SELDOM will overcome this limitation, using as key ingredient a bent crystal attached to a fixed target. Short-lived charm baryons produced in the target will be channelled into the crystal: the intense electromagnetic field between its atomic planes will induce fast spin precession; events are reconstructed with the LHCb detector. Conversely, spin precession in long-lived strange baryons (produced from charm baryon decays from beam-beam collisions), will be induced by the magnetic field of the LHCb tracking system. Strange baryons decaying at the end of the magnet will be reconstructed with “ad-hoc" tracking algorithms developed in SELDOM. Together with the experimental setup itself, this is one of the major challenges of the project. Our experimental approach will also unlock measurements of the charm baryon MDM and of the strange baryon and anti-baryon MDM, allowing a test of CPT symmetry. SELDOM will be a crucial piece in the puzzle to explain the absence of antimatter in the Universe, and it has the potential to shorten the path to new physics discoveries opening up new research opportunities.

Mots-clés : flavor physics at lhc,lhcb experiment,electric and magnetic dipole moments,search for new physics,cp violation,strange and charm baryons
Projet ERC : SHARE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : University of Milan — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIMI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1102876.35 €

SHARE is a transdisciplinary and multi-method study of the work arrangements which destabilize the dichotomies between standard and non-standard work and between self-employment and dependent employment. More specifically, it will research solo self-employment, namely self-employment without employees. This is a growing contractual category in Europe which comprises very different subjects, often disguised by statistics and difficult to represent by unions: from independent professionals to ‘fake self-employed’ workers legally self-employed but in fact wholly dependent on the company. Therefore, I introduce the concept of ‘hybrid areas of work’ to refer to the co-existence of features usually attributed to categories traditionally kept sharply distinct. SHARE will study the emergence of hybrid areas of work through comparative research in six European countries: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, UK and Slovakia. Despite the overall large increase of solo self-employment, path-dependency connected to welfare state traditions has induced national legislators to adopt distinct strategies of labour-market (de-)regulation and adjustment of social security systems, producing different consequences on both social protection and collective bargaining. The research programme will make a significant contribution to the advancement of studies on work, employment and industrial relations by moving towards a theoretical rethinking of the categories used hitherto to interpret work and employment. It will combine comparative analysis of labour laws and labour force surveys, both at the EU and national level, with a cross-national ethnography able to inform both macro and legal perspectives with an on-the-ground approach to the forms of collective representation of solo self-employment. By researching how the solo self-employed are classified, measured, and represented, SHARE will furnish societally relevant findings, thus providing both theoretical and applied advancement.

Mots-clés : new forms of labour,eu and comparative analysis of social protection and employment,collective work identities,collective representation of workers,union organising,organisational ethnography
Projet ERC : SHARE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : University of Leeds — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 155373.65 €

SHARE is a transdisciplinary and multi-method study of the work arrangements which destabilize the dichotomies between standard and non-standard work and between self-employment and dependent employment. More specifically, it will research solo self-employment, namely self-employment without employees. This is a growing contractual category in Europe which comprises very different subjects, often disguised by statistics and difficult to represent by unions: from independent professionals to ‘fake self-employed’ workers legally self-employed but in fact wholly dependent on the company. Therefore, I introduce the concept of ‘hybrid areas of work’ to refer to the co-existence of features usually attributed to categories traditionally kept sharply distinct. SHARE will study the emergence of hybrid areas of work through comparative research in six European countries: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, UK and Slovakia. Despite the overall large increase of solo self-employment, path-dependency connected to welfare state traditions has induced national legislators to adopt distinct strategies of labour-market (de-)regulation and adjustment of social security systems, producing different consequences on both social protection and collective bargaining. The research programme will make a significant contribution to the advancement of studies on work, employment and industrial relations by moving towards a theoretical rethinking of the categories used hitherto to interpret work and employment. It will combine comparative analysis of labour laws and labour force surveys, both at the EU and national level, with a cross-national ethnography able to inform both macro and legal perspectives with an on-the-ground approach to the forms of collective representation of solo self-employment. By researching how the solo self-employed are classified, measured, and represented, SHARE will furnish societally relevant findings, thus providing both theoretical and applied advancement.

Mots-clés : new forms of labour,eu and comparative analysis of social protection and employment,collective work identities,collective representation of workers,union organising,organisational ethnography
Projet ERC : SUPRA2DMAT (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Université de Strasbourg — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UNISTRA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1603125.0 €

SUPRA2DMAT is a multidisciplinary project aimed at exploiting materials engineering, by mastering supramolecular approaches, to combine the outstanding physico-chemical properties of graphene and other 2D layered materials (2DLMs) with the chemical and functional programmability of molecular components, with the ultimate goal of modulating and enhancing the properties of 2DLMs and imparting them a responsive nature. The monolayer nature of 2DLMs makes them extremely sensitive to environmental changes at the nanoscale. Controlled processing and interfacing of 2DLMs with functional molecular assemblies will be attained by means of non-covalent and (dynamic) covalent chemistry approaches. The physisorption of redox, magnetic or optical switches to create crystalline superlattices on 2DLMs will enable the fabrication of high-performance electrical devices capable to simultaneously respond to at least two external independent stimuli. Structurally precise hairy 2D and 3D layer-by-layer porous composites for multianalyte chemical sensing will be tailored via chemisorption of supramolecular receptors of the target analyte onto the 2DLMs. Highest sensitivity and selectivity in the sensing of water molecules (humidity) as well as heavy or alkali metal ions through an electrical readout will be guaranteed by the choice of the receptor and 2DLM and their nanostructuration. The knowledge developed in SUPRA2DMAT will lead to the emergence of a conceptually new generation of multifunctional high-performance devices for applications in optoelectronics and chemical sensing, and on the long term also in energy and spintronics. SUPRA2DMAT will also bring a useful contribution to the development of future emerging technologies based on 2DLMs for light-weight, low-cost and large-area applications products on flexible substrates, e.g. for nanoscale multifunctional logic technologies and environmental monitoring, thus opening new and important perspectives in materials and nanosciences.

Mots-clés : graphene,2d materials,hybrid composites,molecular self assembly,interface tailoring,responsive systems,multifunctional devices,optoelectronics and sensing applications
Projet ERC : NanoEX (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : University of Twente — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 60000.0 €

Sample preparation is considered to be the most difficult step in analytic workflow. Current methods for extraction and separation of minute substances in liquid samples are laborious, time-consuming, often involve large amounts of toxic organic solvents, and are often difficult to automatize, implying high costs of man-power. An innovative sample preparation technique which has the potential to overcome these shortcomings will be developed in this project. Based on the first promising results in the ERC-AdG project DDD, we propose a surface nanodroplet-based sensing approach for liquid-liquid extraction and online analysis of traces of analytes in aqueous solutions, including in biomedical, health, pharmaceutical and environmental contexts. The basis of our approach, referred to as nanoextraction, will be surface nanodroplets pre-formed on a substrate within a microflow channel. The principle of the nanoextraction is that the partition coefficient of the compound in the droplets is much higher than in the sample solution. The compound in the flow will thus be extracted to the nanodroplets that are immobilized on the channel walls. The concentration of the compound in the droplets will be quantified by surface-sensitive spectroscopic techniques. Our proposed approach can potentially achieve extraction-separation-detection of analytes at extremely low concentrations in one single and simple step. The ability to achieve extraction-separation- detection of micropollutants in one single step is creating new and unique market opportunities which we want to explore. First, the technology can improve the state-of-the-art solutions in current markets, because of the easy usage and the small scale, thus saving time and costs. Second, we foresee new markets for the method, due to the higher sensitivity and point-of-care character of the solution. Our final goal in this project is to create a solid and investor-ready business plan, supported by a prototype.

Mots-clés : droplet microfluidics,droplets,microextraction,lab on a chip,diffusion
Projet ERC : HETSPRESSO (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149040.0 €

Saturated N-heterocycles are an important class of compounds and are attractive as scaffolds in the development of new pharmaceuticals. As part of ERC supported research, we identified a new class of chemical reagents – “SnAP Reagents” – that alleviate previous synthetic challenges. These SnAP reagents enable the synthesis of more drug-like saturated N-heterocycles, including some of the most sought after, but most difficult to prepare scaffolds. They have been successfully commercialized and are in high demand. This high consumer demand, which is indicative of the interest in these products, is despite the disadvantages of this methodology: use of toxic materials, long reaction times, and relatively complicated reaction setups and workups. Furthermore, the sales of the reagents – while successful – have low margins and there are few opportunities for IP protection. We have therefore begun development of an innovative, cartridge-based, fully automated, stand-alone machine for conducting SnAP chemistry in a safe, rapid, and convenient manner. This approach provides a clear roadmap for a sustainable, successful Startup Entity by the development and sale of proprietary machines and disposable cartridges. The ERC PoC funding will be used to assemble sufficient prototype machines and develop disposable cartridges for initial sales and marketing efforts. The successful assembly of a working prototype will provide the basis for the sale of first generation machines and a revenue stream for establishing a sustainable business. We have already identified interested parties who will purchase the first-generation instruments and provide valuable feedback for improving and optimizing their operation. In the longer-term, it is expected that sales of the disposable reagent cartridges and development of new machines that follow the same principles will emerge as the main activities of the start up company. We will also translate the technology and IP to other chemistries.

Mots-clés : organic synthesis,drug discovery,heterocycles,flow chemistry,reagents
Projet ERC : ScarLessWorld (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Helmholtz Zentrum München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HMGU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1997890.0 €

Scars are a mystery. They rarely develop in lower vertebrates, where the norm is a complete regeneration of damaged tissues, but are frequent in mammals including humans. Scar phenotypes depend on different injury types, anatomic locations, age, gender and species. The natural diversity of scars includes rare cases, where damaged tissues regenerate without scarring. The scar/regeneration decision remains unresolved and scar prevention is a clinical challenge. Current research has been held up by conceptual and operational bottlenecks. The current conceptual notion comes from experiments showing that scarring depends on the internal environment of the injured organ. I challenged this notion by uncovering specialized fibroblast cell lineages that regenerate connective tissues without scars, anywhere, anytime. My hypothesis is that the decision to scar/regenerate lies in the compositions of specific fibroblast types. To further study this theory I had to resolve a second bottleneck, the current lack of assays that display the full complexity of scarring and regeneration. I have thus developed innovative technological approaches (four novel tools) that allow whole-animal live imaging, tracking and gene modification of fibroblasts. Building on these innovative tools and my expertise in cell lineages as linchpins of this proposal, I aim to: (1) catalogue the repertoires of dermal fibroblast lineages, (2) image their dynamics during scarring/regeneration (3) identify the decision-making genes for scarring/regeneration in actual skin tissues, and finally (4) translate our findings from mouse to human skin. This new notion that specialized fibroblast lineages drive scarring/regeneration, combined with the technology breakthroughs, will greatly advance our current understanding of scar formation, which is a significant worldwide biomedical problem, creating new research avenues for regenerative medicine far beyond the current state-of-the-art.

Mots-clés : regeneration,scars
Projet ERC : SMARTIES (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator 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 : 1494600.0 €

Scattering of light in complex environments has long been considered a nuisance and an inescapable limitation to imaging and sensing alike, ranging from astronomical observation, biomedical imaging, spectroscopy, etc. In the last decade, wavefront shaping techniques have revolutionized this view, by allowing light focusing and imaging even deep in the multiple scattering regime. This principle is embodied in the possibility—that I pioneered—to access the transmission matrix of a complex medium. In SMARTIES, I will go one major conceptual step further, by exploiting directly the inherent property of a complex medium to mix perfectly and deterministically the information carried by the light. This mixing is actually a processing step. Along this general idea, SMARTIES will explore two synergistic directions: —Classical and quantum optical computing: Thanks to the highly multimode nature and the strong mixing properties of complex material, I will aim at demonstrating high performance classical computing tasks in the context of randomized algorithms. As a platform for quantum information processing, this will be relevant for high dimension quantum computing algorithms, and quantum machine learning. —Generalized imaging and sensing: Rather than tediously focusing and imaging through a scattering material, computational approaches can significantly improve and simplify the imaging process. I also aim to show that the relevant information can be directly and optimally extracted from the scattered light without imaging, using machine-learning algorithms. From a methodological standpoint, SMARTIES will require bridging knowledge from mesoscopic physics, light-matter interaction, linear and non-linear optics, with algorithms and signal processing concepts. It will deliver a whole new class of optical methods and devices, based on disorder. Its applications range from big data analysis, quantum technologies, to sensors and deep imaging for biology and neuroscience.

Mots-clés : complex media,wavefront control,optical computing,optical imaging,quantum computing