Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : EQOP (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : Stiftelsen frischsenteret for samfunnsokonomisk forskning — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Fco foundation ragnar frisch centre for economic research
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 44375.0 €

As inequality increases in most developed countries, children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families are at exceptional risk for academic underachievement with lasting consequences for individuals, their communities, and society at large. Among policy makes, early childhood education and care (ECEC) is considered a key to remedy this risk. Yet the science on ECEC effectiveness at a national scale lags behind the excitement. Exploiting unique Norwegian data, we first seek to identify how and why socioeconomic disadvantage undermines children’s language skills and school achievement. Second, we will investigate whether ECEC can improve opportunities for disadvantaged children to excel. Third, to clarify the policy relevance of these inquiries, we will estimate costs of socioeconomic achievement gaps and the economic benefits of ECEC at scale. We take an investigative approach that is unprecedented in scope—from population level trends down to nuanced assessments of individual children’s growth. Throughout the 2000s, Norway’s child poverty rates increased from about 4% to 10%, while the coverage of public ECEC for toddlers increased from 30% to 80%. Across this unique window of time, we have access to rich survey data on language skills and home environment for 100,000 children, and genetically informative data, linked with administrative records on community- and family level socioeconomic risks and opportunities, and on national achievement test scores. These data allow us powerful analytic opportunities, combining state-of-the-art statistical, econometric, psychometric, and genetic epidemiological methods. I am well positioned to lead this project, having qualified for a Professorship at the University of Oslo aged 36, and having considerable experience in (a) publishing in highly respected scientific journals, (b) working at the intersection of research and policy, (c) leading research projects, and (d) mentoring younger scholars.

Mots-clés : social inequality,language development,school achievement,early childhood care and education,family processes,home environment,neighborhood,benefit cost analyses
Projet ERC : PIVOTAL (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : University of Glasgow — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 86807.5 €

As neuroscientific findings on brain functions accumulate, it is increasingly important to derive a set of overarching general principles about how the human brain works. For this, the predictive coding framework emerges as a promising route, with the notion that the brain operates as a prediction machine; internal models in the brain predict future states against which incoming information of new experience is compared. This new conceptual framework leads to two essential empirical questions that PIVOTAL will tackle: (1) What is the nature of the internal models on which predictions are generated and how do our actual experiences shape them? (2) How do prediction processes play out in human brains that are inherently diverse due to changes such as those caused by maturation and senescence. Addressing these issues is important for advancing our basic understanding of the neurocognitive architectures that enable the brain to perform adaptively in our environment, with predictive processing as a fundamental operation. PIVOTAL will integrate three separate strands of cognitive neuroscience research on predictive coding, memory systems, and lifespan development. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in experimental research designs, we aim to unravel the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie predictive processing based on individuals’ memory of prior experience (episodic memory) and well-learned knowledge about the world (semantic memory). These mechanisms will be systematically examined in samples of children, younger adults, and older adults, who differ from each other in important ways due to divergence in developmental orientation (progression vs. conservation) and neurocognitive landscape (structural and functional integrity of memory neural circuits). By explicating a more dynamic version of the predictive brain principle, we can start addressing issues related to the emergence of disorders at particular time windows in life.

Mots-clés : predictive coding,memory systems,human life span development,cognitive neuroscience
Projet ERC : BYONIC (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : University of Liverpool — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1668418.0 €

As one of the largest carbon reservoirs in the Earth system, the ocean is central to understanding past, present and future fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide. In this context, microscopic plants called phytoplankton are key as they consume carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and transfer part of this carbon to the ocean’s interior and ultimately the lithosphere. The overall abundance of phytoplankton also forms the foundation of ocean food webs and drives the richness of marine fisheries. It is key that we understand drivers of variations in phytoplankton growth, so we can explain changes in ocean productivity and the global carbon cycle, as well as project future trends with confidence. The numerical models we rely on for these tasks are prevented from doing so at present, however, due to a major theoretical gap concerning the role of trace metals in shaping phytoplankton growth in the ocean. This omission is particularly lacking at regional scales, where subtle interactions can lead to their co-limitation of biological activity. While we have long known that trace metals are fundamentally important to the photosynthesis and respiration of phytoplankton, it is only very recently that the necessary large-scale oceanic datasets required by numerical models have become available. I am leading such efforts with the trace metal iron, but we urgently need to expand our approach to other essential trace metals such as cobalt, copper, manganese and zinc. This project will combine knowledge of biological requirement for trace metals with these newly emerging datasets to move ‘beyond the iron curtain’ and develop the first ever complete numerical model of resource limitation of phytoplankton growth, accounting for co-limiting interactions. Via a progressive combination of data synthesis and state of the art modelling, I will deliver a step-change into how we think resource availability controls life in the ocean.
Projet ERC : ULTRAFORS (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
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 : 150000.0 €

As part of our ERC-funded quest for quantum-enabled micro- and nanomechanical resonators, we have developed a novel type of ‘soft-clamped’ mechanical sensors. They combine phononic engineering via periodic patterning with high tensile stress. With unprecedented quality factors and low force noise, they provide a powerful platform for an array of force sensing techniques. Applications are expected not only in quantum technologies, but also materials science and nano-medicine, by improving nano-scale force imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance force microscopy. Importantly, reduced dissipation can render costly and complex cryogenic cooling obsolete in many of these applications. In this proof-of-concept project, we will (i) develop designs optimized for force sensitivity, guided by simulation tools already developed, (ii) stabilize the nanofabrication process to improve reliability and economy of the production (iii) further pursue and expand ownership of IPR, to form the basis of commercial exploitation, and (iv) develop a business case for ultracoherent force sensors. This will lay the foundation to the launch of start-up company, or joint commercial activity with existing suppliers, to commercially provide ultracoherent force sensors.

Mots-clés : phononic engineering,optomechanics,force sensing,magnetic resonance force microscopy
Projet ERC : THAWSOME (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : VU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

As the Arctic permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon (OC) pool becomes vulnerable to decomposition. This generates greenhouse gases (GHG) that in turn fuel increased surface warming: the permafrost carbon feedback. Higher temperatures will jump-start the coupling between the carbon and hydrological cycle, allowing for the introduction of previously frozen OC pools in aquatic systems. This lateral, or horizontal, aquatic flux remains largely unknown in contrast to the relatively well-studied vertical flux, GHG emission on land. Horizontal OC release either occurs via gradual thaw, slowly leaching OC into aquatic systems, or abrupt thaw, where ground-ice melt causes destructive surface collapse and slumping of OC into aquatic systems. Both types of thaw facilitate decomposition of OC (generating GHG) but also re-bury OC into sediments (sequestering OC). The relative importance of decomposition versus burial is unknown. For THAWSOME, I have developed a multi-scale approach combining detailed process-based field studies with up-scaling techniques on multiple levels: (i) observational, using large Arctic rivers as natural integrators, (ii) numerical, using a coupled hydrological-biogeochemical model, and (iii) spatial, using GIS-based analysis. For the first time, decomposition of particulate OC from permafrost will be quantified with a recently developed incubation method. Burial rates of permafrost OC will be assessed through molecular isotope analyses of both sources (river OC) and sinks (sediment OC) across the land-to-shelf route. THAWSOME will generate critically needed quantitative data on the amount of decomposition versus burial of permafrost OC, as well as qualitative insights into the processes that control this. This will allow a true coupling of the carbon and hydrological cycle into the 'boundless Arctic carbon cycle', and integration of horizontal OC release into estimates of the impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate.
Projet ERC : ENUF (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Université Clermont Auvergne — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UCA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 75000.0 €

As the worldwide photonics market is increasing and optical and electronic devices based on III-V semiconductors are gaining market segment, the production of III-V semiconductor wafers including GaN has increased in volume and sizes have increased from 2” to 6”. However, this is still short of the 8”-12” common in Silicon CMOS technology. Furthermore, the integration of III-Vs on silicon or on-insulator, has been a long-standing goal for the past 50 years, in order to combine electronic and photonic applications, and to allow photonic technologies to take advantage of the highly developed silicon CMOS technology, thereby opening up for vast new application opportunities. The aim of ENUF is for the first time to attempt to combine two different growth methods to achieve a low-cost integration of large-area III-V on insulator on a silicon platform, and to establish this as a replacement technology for existing III-V wafer production or to enable low-cost integration of optically active material as enabling technology for silicon photonic applications. The method can also be adapted to GaN on Si or on insulator for low-cost high-volume production of high power electronics and light emitting devices.

Mots-clés : compound semiconductors,epitaxy,semiconductor wafer technology
Projet ERC : DEFEND (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Capital Region of Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : RH
Type d'entité : Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche)
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1392678.25 €

Asthma and behavioral problems related to neurodevelopmental delay such as ADHD and autism are common childhood disorder with lack of insight in disease mechanisms and no preventive measures, which is an unmet medical and societal need. In the Danish COPSAC mother-child cohort, I showed in two randomized trials that pregnancy supplements with n-3 long-chained polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) and high-dose vitamin D reduced offspring asthma risk, improved cognitive scores and accelerated language and milestone achievement, which was replicated in the American VDAART vitamin D trial. This holds the promise for primary prevention but establishing underlying biochemical mechanisms and effect modification by maternal and early life diet and host genetics remains to achieve a personalized preventive strategy targeting supplements only to those women, whose offspring will benefit from it. This research project aims to understand how dietary supplements and diet in pregnancy and early life shapes the child’s metabolism and how this is linked to asthma and neurodevelopment, using longitudinal untargeted and targeted metabolomics profiles from more than 1,500 mother-child pairs in COPSAC and VDAART, detailed data on maternal and infant diet, the early life exposome, and genetics and genomics data. The objective is to identify metabolites and biochemical pathways of importance for asthma and neurodevelopment, focusing on n-3/n-6 LCPUFAs, sphingolipids and tryptophan, with the ultimate goal to achieve healthy lung and brain development through personalized diet interventions during pregnancy. The transdisciplinary study group lead by the applicant consisting of MDs with pediatric, respiratory and psychiatric expertise, wet and dry lab metabolomics experts and bioinformaticians will bridge basic and clinical sciences in an international collaboration between COPSAC, Denmark, and VDAART at Harvard Medical School, US.

Mots-clés : asthma,child,diet,long chained polyunsaturated fatty acids,metabolomics,neurodevelopment,pregnancy,prevention,vitamin d
Projet ERC : TRIBAL (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Karolinska Institutet — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that cause symptoms like wheezing and breathlessness. In children, asthma is the most common chronic disease and according to the WHO, more than 300 million people are affected globally. There is no curative treatment available. Persistence of childhood asthma into adult life is associated with lung function impairment and increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD. Evidence is now emerging that adult diseases, like COPD, may have their origin early in life. However, there are no established biomarkers that can accurately monitor asthma progression or predict development of COPD in adults. In this TRIBAL project, I will capitalize on rich longitudinal data and repeated bio-sampling from the Swedish BAMSE study, a world-leading population-based birth cohort of 4,089 participants with a new 24-year follow-up starting in 2017. A key aim with the new follow-up is to identify young adults in their 20s with persistent asthma and pre-stage COPD by advanced lung function assessment that includes bronchodilator and nitrogen washout tests. In TRIBAL, the unique setup is deep phenotyping of these patients describing different aspects of the respiratory system, as well as molecular characteristics of relevant bio-samples and cells. Disease-related biomarkers and involved mechanisms, from gene to protein, will be identified from early childhood to adulthood. Both the innate and the adapted immune system with detailed cell characterization will be explored in relation to exposure and disease development. Specifically, with this novel approach I will address the time point during childhood when disease processes related to persistent asthma and pre-stage COPD were initiated. The ultimate goal in TRIBAL is to provide new knowledge for targeted preventive efforts in children at risk of adult chronic lung disease, and to identify potential targets for new asthma and COPD drugs.

Mots-clés : asthma,biomarker,copd,prediction
Projet ERC : SOURCE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
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 : 2211015.0 €

At all scales, biology presents an astounding diversity of discrete states or species that coexist with each other long times. At the sub-cellular scale, molecular competition and positive feedback maintain cells in specialized epigenetic states over very long time, allowing for embryonic development of complex multicellular organisms. On larger length scales, stable yet dynamic ecosystems emerge from competition between different species. This general pattern calls for research with a focus on diversity, and how competition can act as its "engine". Statistical mechanics of complex systems provides a framework for studying universality of collective and cooperative phenomena, usually through repeated action of identical agents. I want to extend this methodology by allowing these agents to diversify. And I want to focus on the emerging diversity as a main measure of complexity. I will explore the origin and sustainability of diversity, using model systems from biology. The hypothesis is that competition is the main driver of diversity, with randomness and cooperation playing auxiliary roles. The research will be guided by agent based models of biologically relevant examples of competition and diversity: - Patterns of Competitive Regulation - Competition as an Engine of Ecosystem Diversity - Diseases and host Immunity. These categories will include computational aspects of gene regulation, sustainable structures of ecosystems, mechanism of speciation facilitated by competition and defense systems including the interplay between diseases and host immune systems. My aim is both multidisciplinary and ambitious: To create a new paradigm that explicitly measures self organization in terms of its resulting diversity.

Mots-clés : living biological systems,competing states,conceptual models
Projet ERC : inSight (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : University of Naples Federico II — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 107625.0 €

At present therapies for inherited dominant disorders are not available, thus representing an urgent unmet medical and social need. The ERC Grant ALLELECHOKER enabled the PI to discover three modes to generate transcriptional repression by transcription factors (TFs) based on Zinc-finger scaffold: i- synthetic transcription factor (TF; Mussolino et al., EMBO Mol. Med. 2011 Mar;3(3):118-28; Botta S. et al. Elife. 2016 Mar 14;5), ii- synthetic DNA-binding protein (Botta S. et al. Elife. 2016 Mar 14;5) and iii- the ectopic expression of an endogenous TF (Botta S, et al. JCI Insight. 2017 Dec 21;2(24). Thus, the PI demonstrated that transcriptional repression by TFs embodies a novel therapeutically effective mode to treat the toxic effects of gain-of-function mutations causing incurable inherited dominant disorders. In particular, mutations in the RHODOPSIN gene can cause the blindness disorder autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). The PI demonstrated safety and efficiency of RHODOPSIN gene transcriptional silencing in pre-clinical animal models by a specific synthetic transcriptional repressor (ZF6-DB) delivered to the retina by an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector (AAV-ZF6-DB). Furthermore, within the ERC Grant ALLELECHOKER the PI showed that a single AAV vector containing two independent expression cassettes (AAV-ZF6-DB-hRHO), enables balanced silencing of RHODOPSIN by ZF6-DB and its simultaneous replacement with a human wild-type copy of the RHODOPSIN gene. The primary objective of the inSight ERC-PoC grant is to support AAV-ZF6-DB-hRHO clinical translation, with the final goal of bringing this therapeutic to patients suffering adRP through market authorization and commercialization.

Mots-clés : adeno associated virus  aav  vector,retina,gene therapy,gain of function,orphan disease