Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : DIDONE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : Carlos III University of Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 40100.0 €

The belief that ‘the end of music is to move human affections’ (Descartes, Compendium musicae) has been a central issue in European musical thought since Plato. Opera was invented to recover the power of Ancient music to move the human heart, and its history is a permanent exploration of the capacity of action, words and music to convey emotions. In the eighteenth century a new type of opera consolidated with the chief concern of expressing the character’s emotions as they changed throughout the drama, inspired by Descartes’ theory of human passions. The key expressive medium was the aria col da capo, where a single, distinct passion was represented, like a concentrated pill of emotional meaning. The ideal corpus to study this issue are the 900 operas set to music by 300 composers on the 27 dramas by Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782). It contains a comprehensive catalogue of emotions in music, a unique window of opportunity to scrutinize conventions that defined music expression and meaning for over a century, paving the way for the emergence of ‘absolute’ instrumental music, autonomous from any other art form. DIDONE presents an innovative approach to unveil these conventions: the creation of a corpus of 4,000 digitized arias from 200 opera scores based on Metastasio’s eight most popular dramas, to be analysed using traditional methods and big data computer technology. The comparative scrutiny of dozens of different musical settings of the same librettos will reveal how composers correlate specific dramatic circumstances and emotions with distinct poetic and musical features. The results will be applicable to three main fields: (i) opera performance; (ii) analysis and interpretation of other types of music; and (iii) composition in several scenarios, from film soundtracks to creation by Artificial Intelligence. An opera festival will be designed to recover and disseminate this hitherto ignored repertoire, which was essential to define the European musical identity.

Mots-clés : opera,enlightenment,human emotions,computational analysis,digital humanities,european identity
Projet ERC : SONGBIRD (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Uppsala University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

The blood-brain barrier is a sophisticated biological barrier comprising several different cell types, structured in a well-defined order with the task to strictly control the passage of molecules - such as drugs against neurodegenerative diseases - from the blood into the brain. To reduce the ethical and economic costs of drug development, which in EU today uses ~10 million experimental animals every year, we must develop in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier with high in vivo correlation, as these are completely missing today. SONGBIRD aims to achieve this with the scientific approach to - Develop advanced microfabrication methods to handle biologically derived materials - Structure the materials into heterogeneous 3D multi-layer suspended cell culture scaffolds - Incorporate blood-brain barrier cells with precise control on location and order - Integrated the 3D scaffolds into a microfluidic network as a miniaturised screening platform The vision is to develop and validate versatile microfabrication methods to mechanically structure and physically handle soft biological materials to unlock the use of next generation animal-free barrier-on-chip models that can be used to speed up drug development, serve as screening platforms for nanotoxicology and help medical researchers to gain mechanistic insight in drug delivery. During SONGBIRD, I will focus on the blood-brain barrier due to its urgent relevance for drug development for the ageing population but the final processing tool-box will be suitable for realising in vitro models of any biological barrier in the future. SONGBIRD is proposed to run for 60 months and will include researchers with expertise in microsystem engineering (PI), hydrogel synthesis and drug delivery. The expected output is a validated 3D barrier-on-chip model as well as a microfabrication toolbox for biological materials enabling transformation from 2D to 3D cell cultures in several other life science research areas.

Mots-clés : organs on chip,microfluidics,3d cell cultures,microfabrication
Projet ERC : MCircuits (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Friedrich Miescher Institute — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : FMI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2495838.75 €

The brain accumulates knowledge by experience-driven modifications of neuronal connectivity and creates models of the world that enable intelligent behavior. It is thought that these processes are based on autoassociative mechanisms of circuit plasticity. However, direct tests of these fundamental concepts are difficult because they require dense reconstructions of neuronal wiring diagrams. We will dissect structural and functional mechanisms of autoassociative memory in telencephalic area Dp of adult zebrafish, the homologue of olfactory cortex. The small size of the zebrafish brain provides essential advantages for exhaustive measurements of neuronal activity and connectivity patterns. Key predictions of theoretical models will be examined by analyzing effects of odor discrimination learning on the dynamics and stability of odor representations in Dp. The underlying structural circuit modifications will be examined in the same brains by circuit reconstruction using serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM). The dense reconstruction of neuronal ensembles responding to learned and novel odors will allow for advanced analyses of structure-function relationships that have not been possible so far. Odor stimulation in a virtual environment will be combined with optogenetic activation or silencing of neuromodulatory inputs to write and disrupt specific olfactory memories and to analyze the effects on behavior and connectivity. The underlying cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and metaplasticity will be examined by electrophysiology, imaging and optogenetic approaches. Mutants will be used to assess effects of disease-related mutations on circuit structure, function and plasticity. These mechanistic analyses are guided by theoretical models, expected to generate direct insights into elementary computations underlying higher brain functions, and likely to uncover causal links between circuit connectivity, circuit function and behavior.

Mots-clés : connectomics,optogenetics,zebrafish,olfaction,neural circuit,memory,plasticity,electron microscopy
Projet ERC : BrainDyn (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
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 : 1333718.0 €

The brain is composed of a set of areas specialized in specific computations whose outputs need to be transferred to other specialized areas for cognition to emerge. To account for context-dependent behaviors, the information has to be flexibly routed through the fixed anatomy of the brain. The aim of my proposal is to test a general framework for flexible communication between brain areas based on nested oscillations which I recently developed. The general idea is that internally-driven slow oscillations (<20Hz) either set-up or prevent the communication between brain areas. Stimulus-driven gamma oscillations (>30Hz), nested in the slow oscillations, can then be directed to task-relevant areas of the network. I plan to use a multimodal, multi-scale and transversal (human and monkey) approach in experiments manipulating visual processing, attention and memory to test core predictions of my framework. The theoretical approach and the methodological development used in my project will provide the basis for future fundamental and clinical research.

Mots-clés : oscillations
Projet ERC : TYPEWIRE (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems
Entité participante : Technion – Israel Institute of Technology — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1590000.0 €

The brain performs sophisticated functions and complex behaviours, orchestrated by highly specialized cells. Neurons are at the core of the nervous system’s computational capabilities. In recent years, we and others have advanced single-cell RNAseq to reveal their extraordinary molecular diversity in transcriptome-based cell-type taxonomies. It is the unique combinations of circuits that these different neuronal types form – within a practically unlimited space of possible implementations – that encode the large functional repertoire of the nervous system. Although critical, little is known about the basic organizational principles of cells within the circuits – the ‘wiring rules’. This highlights the conceptual challenge to measure connectivity on a systematic and synaptic, single-cell level. What is the topology of networks? What is the relation between network topology and function? How do cell types and gene expression determine wiring? Answering these questions will help resolve nervous system computation at the level of its cellular building blocks. The vision of this proposal is to provide and apply a novel approach that will allow us to investigate neuronal connectivity at large-scale. Two key requirements for such measurements are the ability to measure true synaptic connections, and obtain tens of thousands of datapoints. Further, the concept of cell types is crucial for addressing the connectivity problem, as it allows us to distinguish the network elements and thus assemble a global picture even from fragmented, partial measurements. For this purpose, we will combine transcriptomics and connectomics measurements at the single cell level. The proposed project has enormous potential to systematically (re)address basic functional questions in neuroscience. It can expand our understanding of neural circuits to an unprecedented resolution, with conceivable impact on computational research, such as in vivo inspired neural networks and artificial intelligence.

Mots-clés : connectomics,molecular neurobiology,single cell rnaseq
Projet ERC : POAB (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
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 : 1499611.0 €

The burdens of dealing with administrative rules and red tape in government are a fact of life around the world, ranging from small hassles to heavy burdens in the form of stigmatizing processes of proving eligibility and facing potential sanctions. In light of the immense importance of such burdens for millions of people and for the effectiveness of benefit programs, we know surprisingly little about the conditions that give rise to experiences of burden. POAB combines and extends extant theory and uses a unique combination of experimental methods and data to explain how, why, and for whom administrative rules are experienced as burdensome. POAB studies comprehensive rules regarding unemployment and social benefits and will provide novel register, physiological, and survey measures of welfare benefit recipients’ experiences of burden. I develop and test three theories to explain differences in experiences of burden: 1) How resource scarcity causes cognitive load and hence reduces the ability to cope with rules; 2) How self-efficacy increases the ability to cope with rules; and 3) How perceptions of being undeserving cause stigma and stress. POAB analyses the causal impact of rules on burden. To this end, I use a unique combination of complementary experimental methods in political science: 1) Cross-national lab experiments with physiological measurement and manipulations of rules, scarcity, efficacy and deservingness perceptions; 2) Cross-national survey experiments to assess different aspects of rules in different contexts; 3) Quasi- and field experiments to assess the impact of rules on register measures of burdens in a real-world context. POAB offers a fundamentally new interdisciplinary approach by bridging the gap between research on administrative burdens and psychological perspectives. The project’s output will provide profound knowledge of citizens’ experiences of burden and the inequalities in such experiences among recipients of major welfare benefits.

Mots-clés : administrative burden,welfare benefits,inequality,resource scarcity,deservingness,self efficacy,experimental methods,cognitive science
Projet ERC : PERVOL (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Entité participante : University of Bern — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1989938.0 €

The capacity to produce and perceive organic chemicals is essential for most cellular organisms. Plant leaves that are attacked by insect herbivores for instance start releasing distinct blends of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, which in turn can be perceived by non-attacked tissues. These tissues then respond more rapidly and more strongly to herbivore attack. One major question that constrains the current understanding of plant volatile communication is how plants perceive herbivore induced volatiles. Can plants smell danger by detecting certain volatiles with specific receptors? Or are other mechanisms at play? Answering these questions would push the boundaries of plant signaling research, as it would allow for the creation of perception impaired mutants to perform detailed analyses of the biological functions and potential agricultural benefits of plant volatile perception. My recent work identified indole as a key herbivore induced volatile priming signal in maize. As indole is produced by many different plant species and has been well studied as a bacterial volatile, it is an ideal candidate to study the mechanisms and biological functions of plant volatile perception. The key objectives of PERVOL are 1) to develop a new high-throughput plant volatile sampling system for genetic screens of indole perception, 2) to use the system to identify molecular mechanisms of indole perception and 3) to create indole perception mutants to uncover novel biological functions of volatile priming. If successful, PERVOL will set technological standards by providing the community with an innovative and powerful volatile sampling system. Furthermore, it will push the field of plant volatile research by elucidating mechanisms of herbivore induced volatile perception, generating new genetic resources for functional investigations of plant volatile signaling and testing new potential biological functions of the perception of herbivore induced volatiles.
Projet ERC : RECYPION (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
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 : 1998864.0 €

The carboxyl polyether ionophores (CPIs) is a class of >150 complex natural products. Belonging to the most complicated of Nature's secondary metabolites, they are darlings within total chemical synthesis, however, the biological role of these agents is obscure. Due to their canonical function of equilibrating ion-gradients across biological membranes, CPIs are thought to be unspecific and largely uninteresting. Here, I will advocate and demonstrate the opposite position: that not only are these compounds extremely interesting with respect to their complex effects on cells, they also harbor a unique anti-microbial activity that should be a strong priority as we stagger towards a post-antibiotic era. With RECYPION my team and I will draw these compounds back into the spotlight. We will ask the following fundamental questions: 1. Can we develop a synthesis-paradigm that will significantly expand the CPI-chemical space to fully explore their anti-microbial activities? 2. What are the molecular determinants that control the antibiotic-potential of the CPIs, and how do these relate to the mechanism of ion-transport? 3. Can we uncover the cellular activities of CPIs – perhaps even “dark” activities that do not involve ion-transport? We will pioneer a CPI-synthesis-approach based on the ability to recycle complex components from highly abundant CPI-family members. To do so, we will develop novel chemical transformations to deconstruct these molecules which may find broader use in a world that is increasingly focused on how to preserve resources. We will provide the first real experimental characterization of the molecular mechanism by which CPIs mediate ion transport by using ultrafast surface-sensitive spectroscopy on membrane-resident CPIs along with unprecedented structural insight using ultra-high field NMR. Finally, we will use an image-based screening technology called morphological profiling to reveal completely new cellular activities of the CPIs.
Projet ERC : TRANSDAM (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Entité participante : University of Copenhagen — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UCPH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 200000.0 €

The cellular response to bulky DNA lesions, such as those induced by UV-irradiation, remains enigmatic despite decades of study. The effect of such damage on transcription is complex. At the local level, lesions cause stalling of RNAPII, resulting in a block to transcript elongation. Stalled RNAPII triggers transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair, a process whereby lesions in genes are preferentially removed. Importantly, however, UV-irradiation also affects transcription genome-wide, so that even genes that are not damaged temporarily cease to be expressed. Alternative mRNA splicing also changes dramatically. The mechanisms and factors that underlie the global, damage-induced changes in gene expression, and its eventual normalization, are poorly understood. In order to facilitate identification of new factors and mechanisms involved in this response, we performed several distinct proteomic screens and an siRNA screen in parallel. This was complemented by characterization of transcription and mRNA splicing after DNA damage by genome-wide techniques. Any screening for new factors is high-risk, and the decision on which ‘hits’ to pursue is always difficult. Indeed, in any individual proteomic or genomic screen it is often impossible to distinguish ‘real’ hits from hundreds, if not thousands, of false-positives, and false-negative results are very frequent as well. Our multi-omic approach explores the same process from various angles and places less emphasis on hits from an individual screen and instead focuses on factors that score in several screens. This integration of screen results has resulted in the identification of several new factors and unexplored mechanisms. With a basis in exciting preliminary findings, this grant proposal thus describes a multi-disciplinary approach, including biochemical and cell biological approaches as well as proteomics and genomics, to characterize the transcription-related DNA damage response with an unprecedented scope.

Mots-clés : nucleotide excision repair,rna polymerase ii,cockayne syndrome,chromatin,proteomics
Projet ERC : TRANSDAM (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Entité participante : The Francis Crick Institute — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2299988.0 €

The cellular response to bulky DNA lesions, such as those induced by UV-irradiation, remains enigmatic despite decades of study. The effect of such damage on transcription is complex. At the local level, lesions cause stalling of RNAPII, resulting in a block to transcript elongation. Stalled RNAPII triggers transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair, a process whereby lesions in genes are preferentially removed. Importantly, however, UV-irradiation also affects transcription genome-wide, so that even genes that are not damaged temporarily cease to be expressed. Alternative mRNA splicing also changes dramatically. The mechanisms and factors that underlie the global, damage-induced changes in gene expression, and its eventual normalization, are poorly understood. In order to facilitate identification of new factors and mechanisms involved in this response, we performed several distinct proteomic screens and an siRNA screen in parallel. This was complemented by characterization of transcription and mRNA splicing after DNA damage by genome-wide techniques. Any screening for new factors is high-risk, and the decision on which ‘hits’ to pursue is always difficult. Indeed, in any individual proteomic or genomic screen it is often impossible to distinguish ‘real’ hits from hundreds, if not thousands, of false-positives, and false-negative results are very frequent as well. Our multi-omic approach explores the same process from various angles and places less emphasis on hits from an individual screen and instead focuses on factors that score in several screens. This integration of screen results has resulted in the identification of several new factors and unexplored mechanisms. With a basis in exciting preliminary findings, this grant proposal thus describes a multi-disciplinary approach, including biochemical and cell biological approaches as well as proteomics and genomics, to characterize the transcription-related DNA damage response with an unprecedented scope.

Mots-clés : nucleotide excision repair,rna polymerase ii,cockayne syndrome,chromatin,proteomics