Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : LiveOrg (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
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 : 150000.0 €

The increased use of organoids (22% growth rate market) creates a new need: methods of rapid high throughput screening of the organoids for quality control in the case where they are to be used as graft tissues or in drug screening trials, while at the same time not damaging the organoids so that they may be used for graft, or followed up long term for therapy efficacy evaluation or disease modeling applications. Current imaging methods for organoids do not meet this need as they are invasive and cause damage to the sample. Our team of experts in optics and biology propose a modular solution to live image 2D and 3D cell models with an unprecedented resolution and without use of any kind of marker over a multiple week time span. Dynamic Full Field Optical Coherence Tomography (DFFOCT) is a non-invasive, 3D, label free, live, long term, high resolution, modular imaging system, for which we own two patents. It is an interferometric technique where the image contrast is generated by movements of subcellular organelles such as mitochondria, producing a quantitative colormap linked to cell activity. The present Proof of Concept project “LiveOrg” seeks to valorise the live imaging method developed for retinal organoids in ERC Consolidator “Optoretina”, and disseminate this technology to a wide audience outwith the retina, including cancer, neurology, gastroenterology, hematology, and development. The LiveOrg project specifically aims to consolidate the team by hiring an engineer dedicated to design, construction and installation of DFFOCT modules; duplicate the DFFOCT module; install the modules at KOL sites; and acquire and analyse data with these modules in concertation with the KOLs to disseminate results. Thanks to this project, we anticipate that we may attract interest from investors which would allow us to create a startup, and potentially from known microscope manufacturers who could distribute our modules, or to whom we could license our patents.
Projet ERC : MitoHealth (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : FCRB
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Obesity and aging are two of the most important health challenges facing our societies in the 21st century. However, there are currently no effective therapeutic approaches to mitigate the growing obesity pandemic or to promote healthy aging. Therefore, it is essential to explore new research frontiers in order to develop more effective and safer strategies. Mitohormesis, the process by which induced mitochondrial stress can trigger beneficial health effects, has emerged as a promising area of study in biomedical research. However, its potential effectiveness against metabolic and aging-associated disorders in vertebrate organisms is poorly explored. We have generated a mouse model that exhibits enhanced mitohormesis in the vascular endothelial cells. In this proposal, we intend to conduct a proof of concept to assess whether triggering endothelial mitohormesis can serve as a novel approach for treating obesity and age-related health issues. To this aim, we will execute 4 work packages to determine: (a) the preventive and (b) curative effect of endothelial mitohormesis on obesity and associated metabolic alterations; (c) the impact of the promotion of endothelial mitohormesis on aging markers; (d) the identity of new circulating mitohormetic mediators with the potential to be pharmacological targets. These studies will be carried out by a research team with an extraordinary track-record in the fields of metabolism and aging. Our objective will be bringing the technology from TRL3 to TRL4 by evaluating the performance and feasibility of the technology in a controlled laboratory environment. The research team will closely work with the Tech Transfer Office to ensure the implementation of a successful IPR strategy. A therapy based on the controlled induction of endothelial mitohormesis could have a great impact on the quality of life of millions of patients, reduce the burden of chronic diseases on the health system and have important economic repercussions.
Projet ERC : SAW2See (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Helmholtz Zentrum München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HMGU
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Optical absorption signatures of single cells in blood have an immense diagnostic value. In the visible wavelength range, the signatures of intrinsically absorbing cells can inform on pathophysiological aberration such as disorders of red blood cells or melanoma. However, high-throughput readout of single cells absorption signatures via purely optical concepts still requires advanced, expensive and bulky optical technologies such as high-speed cameras, which impedes cost-effective mass-production, miniaturization and parallelization. In my ERC, we introduced point source optimized interdigital transducers (IDTs) for the readout of optoacoustic signals after visible light excitation. Such IDTs are fully integrated in a microfluidic chip and readily mass-producible in wafer format. With this device, we showed the principal possibility to detect signals from melanoma cells and red blood cells. Combined with cheap and miniature laser diodes, our innovative readout technology offers a versatile, affordable and accessible device for high-throughput readout of cellular absorption signatures for diagnostics, suitable for distributed healthcare applications. Building on our published initial proof-of-principle from my ERC in SAW2See, we will thoroughly assess the technological capabilities and pave the way towards commercialization.
Projet ERC : SynGene (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : École polytechnique Chalmers — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Synthetic genomics is a rapidly growing branch of synthetic biology where the goal is to assemble a complete genome from small synthetic DNA fragments. The main obstacle is the later stages of assembly where fragments on the kilobasepair length scale are to be assembled, where the efficiency rapidly falls off with increasing fragment size. A large contribution to this bottleneck is purely physical, where the probability of DNA ends meeting decreases with increasing DNA size. My solution to this problem is to force DNA ends to meet using nanofluidic channels. In such channels DNA is stretched out to almost the complete contour length, exposing the ends for hybridization. As part of my ongoing ERC-CoG, I have demonstrated several principles that will make it possible to use nanofluidic devices for genome assembly. Long DNA can be entropically trapped in nanochannels to force DNA ends to meet to promote hybridization of complementary overhangs. The bacterial protein Ku stably anneals 4 bp complementary overhangs, making it possible to engineer which fragments that are annealed. Bacterial Ligase D then binds to Ku to ligate the DNA. Within this PoC project I will take the next steps to bring this principle to a commercially feasible platform.
Projet ERC : NaturalCOLOURS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université technique du Danemark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Colour is an essential characteristic of food, associated with quality, freshness, and taste perception. Natural and synthetic food dyes are added to processed foods to enhance or correct variations and give an expected colour to colourless foods, such as soft drinks or candies. Many synthetic colours cause hyperactivity in children, trigger hypersensitivity reactions, and some are carcinogenic in animal studies. Natural colours do not have such adverse effects and are even health-promoting. While natural colours are in high demand, their natural sources are limited. The goal of NatureCOLOURS project is to create a novel technology for making natural colours by yeast fermentation. The project will bring a pallet of natural colours with health-beneficial effects to the consumer, create new industrial processes and new jobs in Europe, and contribute to the sustainable bioeconomy.
Projet ERC : BWAIN (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université technique du Danemark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Widow spiders are spread worldwide, and their bite induces severe envenomation symptoms that can lead to a complex syndrome known as latrodectism and death in severe cases. The only available specific treatment consists of polyclonal antibodies derived from horse plasma obtained by hyperimmunization with black widow spider venom. However, this process is slow, dangerous, and implies the continuous use of large domestic animals (mainly horses) in the manufacturing process. Venom unavailability is a significant supply chain bottleneck in antivenom manufacture, which imposes a very high product cost. Also, the efficacy of this horse-derived product suffers from batch-to-batch variation, resulting in variable efficacy profiles for different batches. Finally, the non-human nature of the horse-derived antibodies may provoke severe adverse immunological reactions. The high prevalence of adverse reactions severely limits its use, and antivenom use is thus reserved for only the most extreme cases, while not being administered at all to the many patients with asthma, atopy, or other allergy-related conditions. We are developing a recombinant antivenom based on a single broadly-neutralizing fully human monoclonal antibody that can neutralize the toxic effects of widow spider bites. According to WHO nomenclature, this antibody will be called Latrotoxumab, and it will be safer to administer, more efficacious, as well as cost-competitive with existing antivenoms. In this ERC PoC project, which is based on results obtained in the ERC StG project MABSTER (grant number 850974), we will explore the commercial potential of Latrotoxumab and lay the first foundation for a spin-off company (Fang Pharma) by securing in vivo PoC, securing IPR, developing a regulatory, manufacturing, and clinical trial plan, and preparing a fully-flexed business plan, incl. market, pricing, and SWOT analyses, identification of business growth opportunities (partners and investors), and exit strategy.
Projet ERC : Fano Detector (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université technique du Danemark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

This ERC PoC project aims to explore the commercial potential of a new and promising approach for realizing cheap integrated detectors with low energy consumption for use in high-speed interconnects, e.g. within datacenters. The innovative idea behind these new types of devices, denoted Fano Detectors, is based on high-quality research carried out under our ERC AdG “FANO”. Our long-term goal is to establish a start-up company and develop a transceiver product that can directly be sold to datacenters such as Facebook and Google. The main activities in this project focus on maturing the technology, investigating the product feasibility, and developing the business case to establish the foundation for a start-up company. To mature the technology, we will develop a portable demonstration unit (PDU) and test advanced functionalities of the Fano Detector. This PDU will be used to demonstrate our technology at trade fairs and conferences facilitating early engagement with customers. The product feasibility study will enable us to determine whether it is possible to develop a full transceiver product by a tech start-up or not. Based on our determined position in the market from the product feasibility study, we will build the required team and prepare a business plan. The deliverables of the project are a Fano Detector PDU, bill of materials, product specification sheet, and a business plan. A technical risk is the present low-resolution fabrication offered by foundries. We have identified an alternative design to mitigate this. The commercial risk is that it could be too ambitious for a start-up to build a full transceiver product. In this case, alternate routes such as licensing of the technology or partnering with OEMs will be considered. Market reports show that the revenue of datacenter optical transceivers will continue to grow at a CAGR of 15% reaching $11B by 2026. The optical transceiver market remains fragmented with a low barrier of entry for new tech companies.
Projet ERC : SICEP (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Lund — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 75000.0 €

The interaction of short laser pulses with matter often depends on the Carrier-Envelope-Phase (CEP), which is the offset between the maximum of the electric field and the envelope of the pulse. For high-repetition-rate laser systems, this phase can usually only be measured as an average quantity. We propose a novel analog method to measure the CEP of ultrashort laser pulses in single-shot and for every laser shot at high repetition rate (hundreds of kHz to MHz). While conventional approaches use slow array detectors and computationally expensive calculations, we perform the measurement via optical Fourier transform, virtually not imposing any speed limitations. The approach also opens up for new avenues for CEP-stabilization, possibly making most of today’s complicated and expensive stabilization equipment obsolete. A patent application, securing our IP has been submitted. The project will be conducted together with our long-standing commercial partner, Sphere Ultrafast Photonics. Sphere has a strong position on the ultrafast laser market, defining an efficient path for commercialization. We plan to develop two different kinds of CEP detectors, i.e. the analog detector and a simplified digital detector working up to 100 kHz for less demanding applications. The detectors will be extensively tested and benchmarked against each other with a number of ultrafast laser sources in Lund and at Sphere.  The original idea for analog CEP detection was inspired by our research in attosecond science, supported by the ERC advanced grant QPAP “Quantum Physics with attosecond Light Pulses” (884900), which requires CEP control. The lack of existing techniques for the challenging repetition rate of our laser source (200 kHz) stimulated the ideas presented in this proposal, which we now would like to explore as a proof-of-concept.
Projet ERC : FVU (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université d'Anvers — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The ability to easily obtain appropriate and reliable biological samples is critical to advancing life sciences and public/personal health. Having a sample that is non-invasive and can be self-collected at home has major acceptance and implementation advantages. Our team has already demonstrated that first-void urine (FVU) samples can replace clinician-collected cervical samples in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) based cervical cancer screening. Using the initial or first-void urine stream is crucial here. Indeed, the outer layers of the epithelium of the genital tract exfoliate and together with the genital mucus form the utero-cervico-vaginal secretions. This discharge accumulates between the labia minora, around the urethral opening, and is washed away with the FVU upon initiation of urination. The URISAMP project is making good progress to demonstrate that, using HPV infection and vaccination as a model, FVU is indeed an ideal genital tract liquid biopsy to monitor both disease and immune response of women at the site of infection. Importantly, diagnostic, screening, and monitoring applications via FVU samples are growing.
Projet ERC : DART (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université de Lund — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment, but targeting effectively refractory solid tumors remains a challenge due to poor T cell activation. Downregulation of antigen presentation pathways and lack of professional antigen presenting cells in the tumor microenvironment contribute to immune evasion. My group has demonstrated direct reprogramming of fibroblasts or tumor cells into type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1) cells by overexpression of the transcription factors PU.1, IRF8, and BATF3, moving towards clinical application via a viral gene therapy. Despite its potential for first-in-class therapy, viral approaches still face limitations including inefficient targeting of solid tumors in vivo and challenging scalability. The DART project builds on the ERC-funded project TrojanDC and aims to develop in vivo reprogramming of tumor cells into cDC1-like cells using RNA vectors. I will firstly evaluate the capacity of modified linear, self-replicating, and circular RNA encoding the factors to reprogram fibroblasts in vitro and assess their antigen presentation and cytokine secretion function. Secondly, I will evaluate RNA-mediated reprogramming of cancer cells and assess anti-tumor immunity in vivo as monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint blockade. The goal is to optimize RNA vector designs for the most effective in vivo reprogramming considering differences in delivery efficiency, expression kinetics and immunogenicity. Collaborations with clinicians and industry partners like Asgard Therapeutics are integral, ensuring commercialization through novel intellectual property, broad dissemination, and product development. DART will enable RNA-mediated induction of antigen-presenting phenotypes in cancer cells, leading to potent and specific immunity towards tumor-specific antigens. DART will result in an off-the-shelf, safe, and scalable immunotherapy solution that also has the potential to enhance current immunotherapy approaches.
Projet ERC : REBOUNDLESS POLICIES (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université technique du Danemark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Never before has there been a stronger global focus on the development of sustainability-oriented policies. Nevertheless, ca. 47% of their potential sustainability gains are never achieved due to rebound effects, negative consequences of sustainability-oriented interventions due to behavioural and systemic changes.  REBOUNDLESS POLICIES aims to develop, test and demonstrate a comprehensive toolbox for the identification, simulation, and prevention of potential rebound effects of sustainability-oriented policies. The toolbox will consist of an expert system of rebound mechanisms, a configurator for the ex-ante simulation of rebound effects magnitude, and a catalogue of reboundless policy measures. The toolbox is targeted at sustainability-oriented policy advisors supporting evidence-based public policy making at the local, national and regional levels, incl. parties’ advisors and lobbyists, research agencies, non-governmental organisations, think-tanks, consultancies, and academic institutions.  The project draws from the ERC-funded project REBOUNDLESS, which is enabling a paradigm shift for preventing rebound effects by design, with a focus on the design of products, product/service-systems and socio-technical systems. REBOUNDLESS POLICIES departs from the current recognition of the urgency in addressing rebound effects within policymaking to the demonstration of the REBOUNDLESS POLICIES toolbox potential, in close collaboration with policy advisors.  Ultimately, the REBOUNDLESS POLICIES toolbox will enable policymakers to effectively simulate and prevent potential rebound effects of policies, enabling the achievement of intended sustainability gains.

Mots-clés : rebound effects,policy making,sustainability
Projet ERC : iSURELens (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Université technique du Danemark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : DTU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The iSURELens Proof-of-Concept project will develop an ultrasound imaging system capable of visualizing the micro-vasculature of the entire human kidney in a clinical environment. Such ultrasound images are highly desired for providing early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and diabetes using a non-invasive and cost-effective imaging modality. The proposed imaging system comprises a probe, lens and beamformer based on the methods developed in the SURE ERC synergy grant project for Super-resolution Ultrasound Real-time imaging using Erythrocytes (SURE) and is already compatible with a clinical scanner. Current high-resolution ultrasound probes for fast 3D imaging can only image a limited volume in front of the probe, which limits their clinical value. With the envisioned acoustic lens technology, the probe will have a field-of-view of 50 degree, which generates an imaging volume encompassing a full human kidney. In combination with the SURE method, such ultrasound system will enable to visualize, in just a few seconds, the microvascular structures down to 28 micrometers in the whole human organ. The developed system will be tested in a clinical setting to demonstrate its innovation potential. This will form the basis for either a potential spin-off company or a license agreement with a commercial ultrasound company.