Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
VIVA-ELISA: Advanced Laboratory Test for Rapid Detection of NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Critical Septic Patients (VIVA-ELISA)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Transition
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: Transition Open 2024 (HORIZON-EIC-2024-TRANSITION-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2028-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3561434.13
EU funding (EUR): 2493003.89
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Sepsis causes almost 20% of global annual deaths. It involves a dysregulated systemic inflammatory response driven by proinflammatory cytokines. If untreated, it progresses to organ dysfunction, low blood pressure, and septic shock. Current diagnosis methods have low predictability, delays in diagnosis, lack of sensitivity, and an inability to predict the course of the patients’ deterioration: there is thus a need for a rapid, accurate, affordable and early identification of the mortality risk. VIVA-ELISA is a follow-up to the ERC project SPEDI-TEST conducted at the Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB), of which Viva in Vitro is a spin-off. Studies show that 100% of deaths of septic patients are correlated to early impairment of the NLRP3 inflammasome activation in monocytes, in the initial 24 h. A novel in vitro diagnostic method was developed for the fast detection of early impairment of the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. This method can stratify patients at a higher risk of developing life-threatening complications, resulting in an early and more accurate prognosis. VIVA-ELISA will advance this concept by developing an easy-to-use, highly sensitive immunoassay that can be seamlessly implemented into hospitals and clinics, reducing time-to-treatment, variability in data interpretation, and hospitalization costs, currently averaging $32,000 per patient. Our solution, designed as a classic quantitative sandwich ELISA, requires only a small blood sample to measure ex vivo NLRP3 activation. We aim to reduce sepsis mortality rates by 25 to 40%, reduce morbidity and recovery time, reduce chronic sequelae for patients and enable the possibility of personalized treatments and immunotherapy, while also contributing to the sustainability of healthcare systems. VIVA-ELISA will also validate this technology in initial clinical studies and will carry out the necessary work to comply with current EU/US regulations before its introduction into the market.

Keywords: sepsis,inflammasomes,nlrp3,asc specks,prognosis,stratification,elisa,assay
Digital Twin of Earth system for Cryosphere, Land surface and related interactions (TerraDT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Research infrastructures
Theme: Research infrastructures
Destination: Technology and infrastructures
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Finland,Spain,Germany,Estonia,Portugal,Italy,Czechia,Sweden,Norway,Switzerland
Call: New digital twins for Destination Earth (HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 15260387.87
EU funding (EUR): 14999575.37
Participants: 18
Project status: SIGNED

To guide climate change adaptation and mitigation, reliable information on the regional and local impacts of climate change is needed. The Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative responds to this need by developing Digital Twins (DTs) of the Earth. In particular, DestinE Climate DT provides climate information at regional and local scales over multiple decades. However, the reliability of the impact assessments of Climate DT depends on the underlying km-scale climate models, which fail to represent some key components of the Earth system. We aim to enhance the DestinE infrastructure by developing a Digital Twin of the Earth system for the cryosphere, land surface and related interactions (TerraDT). TerraDT subscribes to the DestinE vision of building interoperable and interactive DTs, while pushing the resolution to km-scale, globally. TerraDT improves the descriptions of Earth system components in the DestinE climate models for land ice, sea ice, aerosols and land surface. TerraDT is based on a modular infrastructure with a coupling interface that enables adding new components or AI/ML-based emulators. TerraDT also develops impact models linked to the cryosphere and land surface to provide user-relevant information with interactive capabilities. TerraDT developments enable their full integration to the DestinE framework. Overall, TerraDT will improve the reliability and relevance of the climate projections and impact assessments of DestinE, which is critical for guiding adaptation and mitigation actions. The TerraDT consortium consists of 18 organisations with expertise in Earth system modeling, supercomputing and impact assessments. TerraDT will also engage with relevant users and stakeholders. The consortium includes the key partners from the DestinE Climate DT contract team. Thus, it is in a unique position to fully exploit the novel approach of Climate DT and further enhance its capabilities by integration of the TerraDT developments.

Keywords: digital twin,climate change,earth system research,climate modeling,climate change impacts,climate change adaptation,climate change mitigation,high performance computing,artificial intelligence
StemSight: curing blindness with stem cells (SightLeaders)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: European innovation ecosystems
Theme: Elevating the scalability potential of European business
Destination: Elevating the scalability potential of European business
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Finland
Call: Women TechEU (HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02, 2022)
Start date: 2023-06-01
End date: 2024-05-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 107142.86
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

StemSight is developing off-the-shelf stem cell therapies to cure blindness. We aim to solve the global shortage of corneal donor tissue by producing high-quality tissue products using allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and biomaterials. Our lead product is aimed at a rare but severe form of corneal blindness, limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), for which there are currently no valid treatment options. The company's innovations have arisen from extensive academic research, and the company has spun out from Tampere University, Finland in 2021. StemSight is a rare kind of deep-tech startup, as all of its scientific founders are women.

Keywords: regenerative medicine stem cells blindness
In vivo assessment of the optical cochlear implant performance: coding strategy optimization (OPTOCODE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Germany
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-09-01
End date: 2025-11-30
Duration (months): 27.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173847.36
EU funding (EUR): 173847.36
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Hearing loss affects millions of people worldwide. In cases of pronounced cochlear dysfunction, an electrical cochlear implant (eCI) can partially restore hearing sensation by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve. Until now, the eCI is the most successful and broadly used neuroprosthesis, with more than 1 million users worldwide (WHO, 2021). However, eCI hearing is far from normal: eCI users can typically not comprehend speech in noisy environments, because the electrical signal spreads widely and excites a large number of neurons of the auditory nerve, which limits the number of separate perceptual channels. Using optogenetics, it is possible to stimulate the auditory nerve using an optical cochlear implant (oCI). As light spread can be better confined in space, oCIs offer lower spread of excitation and, hence, greater frequency selectivity. This way, future clinical oCIs promise more perceptual channels, allowing for more pitch appreciation and better understanding of speech in noise. However, there are many challenges in the development of the oCI en route to clinical application. Importantly, we are currently missing a holistic assessment tool for preclinical efficacy which could serve oCI optimization. I will develop a set of methodological and computational tools to assess the oCI performance in vivo, in the Mongolian gerbil. First, I will use the brainstem responses to map the frequency activation of separate optical channels. Second, I will develop predictive models that derive the optogenetically and acoustically evoked responses of the midbrain, applying machine learning techniques. Third, I will use the above-mentioned tools to identify the optimal coding strategy for the oCI. This project will accelerate the development of the oCI, and provide benchmarking standards for the clinical trials of optical neural implants.

Keywords: auditory system,hearing restoration,optical cochlear implant,electrophysiology,gerbil,inferior colliculus,binaural interaction component,optogenetics,predictive modelling,machine learning
Visible-light-activated transmembrane transport by photosensitized isomerization of stiff-stilbene based anion receptors (SENSiTRANS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-09-01
End date: 2025-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187624.32
EU funding (EUR): 187624.32
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Stimuli-responsive transmembrane anion transport proteins are essential for cellular life due to their implication in important biological functions. Supramolecular systems with analogous properties have been developed, however, most of them rely on the use of damaging UV light. SENSiTRANS is an ambitious and multidisciplinary project aimed at activation of anion transporters using visible light by means of a sensitization strategy. The project focuses on the employment of photosensitizers able to trigger isomerization of stiff-stilbene based receptors in the lipid bilayer, allowing activation of passive transmembrane transport. In addition, insertion of the photosensitizer in a vectorial manner into the lipid bilayer will be explored towards light-driven active transport. The project will result in i) the development of a new strategy to control transmembrane transport with transformative impact in the field of molecular photoswitches and anion receptor chemistry, ii) preparation and growth of the fellow towards a fully independent academic career (the new scientific research skills, complementary soft skills and scientific connections she will acquire will provide her with the necessary competencies to access an academic position at an European institution), and iii) benefit from her multidisciplinary scientific background and her scientific network by the hosting group.

Keywords: transmembrane transport,molecular switches,anion binding,photochromism
Control of RNA Polymerase II and Transcription Factors via IDRs (POL2PHASE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Destination: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Czechia
Call: ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02, 2023)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150438.72
EU funding (EUR): 150438.72
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) plays a pivotal role in human cellular function, carrying out the complex transcription process. A unique domain sits at the end of Pol II, the C-Terminal Domain (CTD), the phosphorylation of which offers a mechanism of interaction for transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the transcription process. The spatial organization of TFs around Pol II is moderated by the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of the TFs and CTD, and high specificity is required to avoid disease causing defects. However, the exact mechanisms that maintain this environment, and their importance are still unknown. Here we suggest a method for determining crucial Pol II – TF interactions by relating electromagnetic imaging to computer simulations. Results will be able to delineate individual amino acids responsible for maintaining the spatial organization of the proteins in vitro. The simulation-based study will be leveraged to explore the tolerance of maintaining these interactions when encountered with different phosphorylation states of CTD. A proof-of-concept study is then described which will demonstrate an ability to actively target IDRs to stabilize the protein interactions. While the results here will be comprehensive for four TFs of interest (RECQL5, SCAF4, SCAF8, and the SOSS1 complex), the methodology can then be expanded to characterize a library of over 400 TFs. Such a project has the potential to not only further our understanding of CTDs function, but also pave a way for designing synthetic treatments that can regulate the transcription process.

Keywords: condensates,rna,polymerase,transcription,factors,nucleus,low complexity domain,intrinsically disordered region,intrinsically disordered protein
Novel peptide-based therapeutics for reprogramming the tumour stroma extracellular matrix using molecular modelling and computational engineering (ACT-MATRIX)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: France
Call: EIC Accelerator Open 2024 (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-02, 2024)
Start date: 2025-01-01
End date: 2026-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3478271.9
EU funding (EUR): 2434790.33
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cancer is the second biggest cause of death worldwide. 90% of cancers are solid tumours, where tumour stromal cells secrete a dense mass of proteins called the extracellular matrix (ECM), part of a protective tumour microenvironment that promotes cancer proliferation, invasiveness, and resistance to chemotherapy and biologics. Several therapies now available or being developed rely on monoclonal antibodies aimed at tumour-expressed antigens, or activation of immune cells. Many such promising immunotherapeutic approaches fail because of this stromal barrier, and/or because of toxicity due to off-target effects. Targeting proteins and pathways in the tumour microenvironment is now considered by oncology experts and pharmaceutical concerns to be critical to the success of beating solid tumours, but no therapies have yet emerged to address this €200+B market. Our platform uses novel molecular computational simulation models to generate small peptides that bind to highly specific sites on ECM proteins and block interactions known to promote tumour aggressiveness. The first of these, TAX2, selectively targets a clinically relevant interaction between the ECM signalling protein Thrombospondin-1 and its receptors, to regulate tumour proliferation, vascularisation, and immune cell (T-cell) infiltration of the tumour. TAX2 shows extremely promising results in 15 preclinical models, including ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal, and melanoma cancers, where it inhibits tumour progression and metastasis. TAX2 also substantially improves the efficacy of antibody therapies when combined in these models. Our current focus is on ovarian cancer, a cancer with high unmet need, and very high mortality rate. EIC support will enable large-scale manufacture, regulatory steps, and first-in-human, multi-indication clinical trials (Ph I and Ph IIa) in preparation for outlicensing of TAX2 to a pharmaceutical partner who would take the therapy through more advanced clinical trial stages.

Keywords: tumour stroma extracellular matrix peptide thrombospondin 1 molecular dynamics simulations ovarian cancer matricellular proteins
Dairy Done Differently: Imagindairy's Groundbreaking Precision-Fermentation Approach for Animal-Free Milk Proteins (NewDairyRevolution)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Israel
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2499999.0
EU funding (EUR): 2499999.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Imagindairy is leading a groundbreaking approach to revolutionize the dairy industry by creating animal-free dairy proteins using proprietary AI supported precision fermentation. Founded in 2020 at the Strauss FoodTech incubator, Imagindairy leverages 15+ years of research at Tel Aviv University. Our innovative technology combines artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and genomics to produce dairy proteins at cost effectiveness. These proteins are used to make a broad range of products, from raw milk to cheese, without cows. The uniqueness of our approach lies in its continuous improvement cycle, from the integration of AI insights directly into the lab, progressing to pilot scale, and culminating in full-scale production at industrial scale, at our own demo production lines near Europe. Having the world’s first full industrial fermentation lines dedicated solely to dairy proteins is a strategic advantage that allows Imagindairy to optimize protein production, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and is unmatched by competitors. What truly sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to providing unparalleled solutions in the alternative protein landscape. Beyond our main whey protein (BLG) grade, we’re developing proprietary specialty grades tailored for specific applications, such as yogurt and protein drinks - a unique offering in the market. Moreover, our dedication to achieving competitive pricing has been a steadfast commitment since our inception, distinguishing us within the industry. We recognize the vital importance of ensuring our animal-free dairy proteins are not only delicious, sustainable, and innovative but also economically viable for widespread adoption. Imagindairy views the EIC project as a pivotal catalyst for transformative growth, targeting the EU market and accelerating the launch of animal-free dairy proteins in Europe, as well as scaling up the production capacity to accommodate this market needs.

Keywords: precision fermentation,alternative dairy,animal free proteins,alternative proteins,plant based products,synthetic biology,genomics,artificial intelligence,microbial strains,food safety
INJURY MITIGATION TO PROMOTE VISION-ZERO ACHIEVEMENT (IMPROVA)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Mobility
Destination: Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Germany,France,Greece,Poland,Sweden,United Kingdom
Call: New ways of reducing serious injuries and the long-term consequences of road crashes (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-06-01
End date: 2028-05-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4176345.0
EU funding (EUR): 4176345.0
Participants: 14
Project status: SIGNED

Until now, the approach to road safety has primarily focused on analyzing the most common types of injuries based on road user types and crash characteristics. There is a growing consensus to shift the paradigm towards a user-centric approach that considers the specific needs (incl. their diversity) and the behaviours of road users. IMPROVA project will focus on current knowledge regarding the conditions and mechanisms leading to serious injuries of all road user types, and both physical and psychological long-term consequences as well as future scenarios regarding the overall crash occurrence considering changes due to vehicle automatization. IMPROVA will introduce a formula that will predict a likelihood of sustaining LTC. This will allow stakeholders to estimate physical and psychological long-term consequences due to road traffic accidents in a compact manner directly after the crash. HBMs will be specifically upgraded in their capabilities to depict LTC-relevant injury mechanisms. It will be achieved through validation of mode responses against experimental tests and through the development and tailoring of risk curves, using the latest available biomechanical data. Virtual Testing procedures will be developed and demonstrated for future application environments, specifically through the involvement of industrial partners and NCAP labs. IMPROVA network consisting of NCAPs, US, Australian and Asian entities and medical and psychological expert panel group will help the harmonization not only of the knowledge of the long-term consequences but also to harmonize the data collection, evaluation of such injuries leading to LTC and to use appropriate tools validated for this purpose. The communication with regulatory authorities, NCAPs, rescue team and end-user will enable the awareness of the topic and implementation of appropriate countermeasures.

Keywords: harmonized in depth data collection,ltc scale,hbm upgrade,virtual testing,benefit analysis,handbook for policy makers,target for reduction of ltc