Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Neuronal basis of group cooperation and social ties in monkeys and humans (NEUROGROUP)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Panel description: Nervous system development, homeostasis and ageing , nervous system  function and dysfunction , systems neuroscience  and modelling , biological basis of cognitive processes and of behaviour, neurological and mental disorders – In humans and all other organisms
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-07-01
End date: 2027-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1700000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1700000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The negative impact on society's mental health by social distancing during the current COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of social interactions in maintaining a healthy life. Reputation, cooperation, and an individual's social ties play a crucial role in social interactions. My proposal will examine the interdependence and neural correlates of these psychological processes. I hypothesize that a social tie's strength influences cooperative behavior; similarly, cooperative behavior fosters social ties. Further, I hypothesize that the interplay of neuronal activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and insular cortex underpins these processes. My recent studies of human and non-human primate dmPFC showed its involvement in encoding social processes. Yet, its role in cooperation and social tie formation is unclear. To test these hypotheses, we will first characterize the neuronal representations underlying group cooperation. Second, we will identify the neuronal mechanisms underlying fundamental behavioral processes in forming and maintaining social ties during naturalistic interactions in monkeys. Third, we will compare in a new world monkey and humans the association between group cooperation and social ties? formation and maintenance. This new line of investigation will shed light on how elementary social computations during group interactions such as social dilemmas are computed at the single-neuronal and population levels within the primate brain. Overall, this proposal will allow us to study social interactions in a way that has never been done before and will lay the foundation of future work in my independent laboratory. By using an innovative approach, this project aims to identify the brain's mechanisms underlying the formation of non-kin and non-reproductive alliances. The information gleaned from this work will lay the groundwork for a comprehensive behavioral and neuronal mechanistic understanding of social ties.

Keywords: neurophysiology,social cognition,social interaction,non human primate,humans,decision making
Re-engineering symmetry breaking in development and evolution (RESYDE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Synergy grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Germany,Australia,United Kingdom,Sweden
Call: ERC SYNERGY GRANTS (ERC-2024-SyG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2031-04-30
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10569181.0
EU funding (EUR): 10569181.0
Participants: 4
Project status: SIGNED

Scientists have long sought to understand how complex multicellular organisms generate their final form. Yet despite considerable progress, demonstrating predictive knowledge sufficient to re-engineer development according to design, remains a grand challenge. Addressing this challenge is not only fundamentally important, but also critical to the future of regenerative medicine and agriculture. Development depends on coordinated symmetry breaking events resulting from diverse mechanisms, ranging from the asymmetric localisation of molecules and stochastic processes within cells to the formation of morphogen gradients across a tissue. A mechanistic understanding of complex patterning processes therefore requires gaining knowledge on the molecular basis of multiple types of symmetry breaking events occurring at different scales. RESYDE will address this challenge by integrating information from diverse approaches into a virtual, dynamic cellular template. Predictive modelling will then be used to explain symmetry breaking at different scales sufficient to re-engineer the system by design. We will use the Arabidopsis flower as a model system and apply an interdisciplinary approach that utilises fine-scale perturbation techniques together with in vivo live-imaging of key regulators along with spatially mapped multi omics data, hormonal gradients and tissue mechanics to monitor responses at multiple scales. To leverage these data we will establish a 4D virtual cell template together with multiscale models to generate and simulate hypotheses in silico on the precise molecular origins of symmetry breaking events within the flower. We will apply our knowledge using a re-engineering approach to alter multiple floral symmetry breaking processes to better understand evolutionary floral architectural changes. Ultimately, RESYDE will provide a fundamental step change in our understanding of concerted symmetry breaking events across scales in complex multicellular contexts.

Keywords: flower development,meristem patterning,organ polarity,evo devo
In with the good, out with the bad: understanding small molecule influx and efflux in gut Bacteroides. (IN and OUT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Panel description: For all organisms : Molecular biology , biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics , synthetic and chemical biology, drug design, innovative methods and modelling
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2024-ADG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2030-08-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2883565.0
EU funding (EUR): 2883565.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The human gut microbiome can be considered a virtual organ that has a profound influence on many aspects of human health. While very diverse at the species level, the human gut microbiome is dominated by just two bacterial phyla, the Gram-positive Firmicutes and the Gram-negative Bacteroidetes. The Bacteroides genus belongs to the Bacteroidetes phylum and is the most abundant genus within the gut of western world populations. Due to their abundance and their well-characterised ability to break down dietary glycans that are inaccessible to the host, Bacteroides are keystone species that shape the human gut microbiome. However, to thrive within the gut, Bacteroides need to take up many small molecules besides glycans (INFLUX), and noxious compounds such as bile acids and antibiotics need to be removed from the cell (EFFLUX). Both processes are crucial for fitness within the highly competitive environment of the human gut, and depend critically on lipoproteins, channels and transporters residing in the bacterial outer membrane (OM). In this proposal we will identify and characterise OM influx and efflux processes in gut Bacteroides via a pioneering approach including structural biology, proteomics, and metabolomics. Compared to Proteobacteria in which these processes have been studied in detail, OM influx and efflux in the phylogenetically distant Bacteroides is largely terra incognita. However, based on what we do know, it is clear that the OM and OM proteins of Bacteroides are very different from those of well-studied bacterial model systems. By delivering a step-change in our understanding, this project will not only result in groundbreaking new knowledge of the "ins and outs" of arguably the most important microbial genus in the gut but should also inform approaches for gut microbiota manipulation to improve human health.

Keywords: gram negative bacteria outer membrane transport bacteroidetes gut microbiome nutrient uptake small molecule efflux x ray crystallography cryo em
International circulation of technicians. A prosopographical study about agents and scientists inside Unrra, Fao and Unesco (1943-1960) (INCITE)

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: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Italy,United States
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2028-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 288859.2
EU funding (EUR): 288859.2
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

The research aims to analyse the role of Unrra, Unesco and Fao in planning a new global order since World War II based on Education, Science and management of the Environment, looking at the expertise and proposals of their workers. The research will focus on the sustainable and inclusive vision of global development of those United Nations agencies during one of the worst historical catastrophes observing the international circulation of technicians, agents and scientists inside those institutions through a prosopographical study and their programs of relief. The project will contribute to the history of humanitarianism through a prosopographical approach instead of the usual institutional one. It looks at the stories of UN agencies’ workers to understand how they realise their principal mandates on a global dimension. Moreover, the research sheds light on the scientific and cultural heritage of the UN agencies’ global planning, humanitarian practices, and sustainable development projects. The objective is to understand their potential global contribution to two of the current political priorities of the European Union: “creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society” and “making Europe the first digitally-enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy”. Comparative use of United Nations sources in New York, Unesco archives in Paris and the Fao ones in Rome will produce the first global development planners and technicians database. The dataset shared on a web portal will collect biographical information about UN agency workers and their projects. The web-based research environment will be openly accessible to historians, social scientists, policymakers, stakeholders, students, teachers and a wider public, opening new possibilities in the analysis of humanitarianism and the World History of the 20th century and the production of sustainable and rightful public policies.

Keywords: humanitarianism united nations war sustainable development biographies
Cryogenic nanoscale metrology of quantum circuits (CryoQMetrology)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Israel
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2024-POC, 2024)
Start date: 2025-03-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Quantum computing holds the potential to highly impact our society and revolutionize scientific research, healthcare, finance, and beyond. As the complexity of quantum circuits increases, advanced tools for nanoscale metrology of the sources of decoherence and energy loss will become vital for large scale fabrication, inspection, and optimization of quantum devices and microcircuits. The main obstacle is that in contrast to classical computation, solid state quantum devices operate at sub-Kelvin temperatures at which the currently available microelectronics metrology and thermal imaging techniques are inoperable. In our ERC AdG project, we have developed a groundbreaking technique that provides for the first time cryogenic thermal imaging down to mK temperatures, with four orders of magnitude improvement in thermal sensitivity over the state-of-the-art room-temperature methods. Based on superconducting quantum interference device on the apex of a sharp tip (SOT), it allows nanoscale imaging of the minute heating and energy loss arising from electron scattering off single atomic defects, that can provide the crucial metrology of the decoherence sources in quantum devices. Moreover, the SOT delivers simultaneous imaging of the electrical currents flowing in superconducting circuits, essential for inspection and optimization of superconducting qubits. This PoC project is aimed at adaptation of the SOT lab technology to industrial metrology applications, including development of reproducible industrially-compatible device fabrication methods, boosting their environmental durability, enhancing the SOT functionalities, and development of sustainable characterization methods. We will develop IPR strategy, explore establishment of industrial partnerships, and promote integration of the SOT sensors into existing industrial workflows, to deliver a precise metrology solution to advance quantum computing development and enhance the competitiveness of the European industry.
Machine learning methods for excited-state dynamics simulations in light-induced spin-crossover complexes (SCOML)

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: Ireland,Germany
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2025-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 199694.4
EU funding (EUR): 199694.4
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Spin crossover complexes are bistable transition-metal compounds in which light, or other external simuli, is used to induce a change in the magnetic state of the system, allowing them to be employed as molecular switches in future spintronics and photonics technologies. Despite the rapid development of experimental techniques to characterise these complexes, computational material science is not yet able to provide a quantitative description of the light-induced spin crossover mechanism. These limitations are mainly due to the need for enormous computational resources to perform accurate excited-state dynamics simulations in medium-sized transition-metal complexes. The aim of the SCOML project is to provide the proof of concept for a new machine learning-based strategy that will enable efficient and accurate simulations of the light-induced spin-crossover mechanism, thus paving the way for a systematic design of new materials. Achieving this goal has the potential to revolutionise the production of new technological solutions to guide Europe towards a digital and green transition.

Keywords: light induced spin crossover mechanism,transition metal complexes,excited state dynamics,machine learning
Higher-order motor control of stochastic behavior in an uncertain environment (MOTORHEAD)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Panel description: Nervous system development, homeostasis and ageing , nervous system  function and dysfunction , systems neuroscience  and modelling , biological basis of cognitive processes and of behaviour, neurological and mental disorders – In humans and all other organisms
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2021-COG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2028-09-30
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1991725.0
EU funding (EUR): 1991725.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Decision-making behaviors often occur in the absence of clear instruction to guide action. Instead, theories and experiments have predicted that the brain must compute a decision-value based on past experience to select the best action. This implies that the action with the highest subjective value should always be chosen. However, behavior is often stochastic with variability from trial-to-trial. To resolve this long-standing paradox, MOTORHEAD will take full advantage of state-of-the-art in vivo neuronal recordings and computational methods in behaving rodent to bridge for the first time the gap between deterministic decision-signal and stochastic motor commands, achieving thus an unprecedented level of understanding of these “unpredictable” behaviors. Indeed, despite decade of intensive work, key questions remain unexplored: i) How such a deterministic decision signal is maintained without necessarily causing movement? ii) And how it is then converted to a final motor command with trial-by-trial variability? Here, we hypothesize that these two operations occur in higher-order motor areas, and more particularly across recurrent cortical layers of the secondary motor cortex of rodents. Specifically, we posit that: i) Distinct populations of layer (L) 5 pyramidal neurons (PNs) generate specific movement according to the decision statistics provided by L2/3 PNs. Specific attractor architectures, with different stability to noise perturbation, could cause the system to behave more or less randomly. ii) This top-down excitation could be dynamically gated by bottom-up plasticity forces from reward-related structures, which modulate decision-value to account for past choice outcome, notably when the action no longer generates the expected outcome. To achieve this breakthrough, we propose an ambitious system neuroscience approach, at high spatial and temporal resolution, to illuminate the cellular principles underlying the control and transformation of decision variable.

Keywords: decision value motor control reward dependent synaptic plasticity dendritic integration multiphoton imaging in behaving rodent
Ancient genomics and the population history of the Circum-Alpine region (ALPGEN)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Study of the Human Past
Panel description: Archaeology and history
Countries involved: Denmark
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2021-COG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999958.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999958.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The prehistoric pile dwellings in and around the Alps constitute one of the most important archaeological archives of human prehistory. Dating from around 5000 to 500 BC, there are over 1000 known sites in the region, 111 of which are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The sites are mainly located under water, on lake shores, along rivers, or in wetlands, offering exceptional conditions for the preservation of organic materials like wood, plant remains, animal bones, artefacts, and even textiles. Because of their exceptional preservation, the archaeological remains from those sites give us a unique window into the lives of prehistoric people and the development of early agrarian societies in Central Europe. However, despite the rich material evidence from the settlements, we know relatively little about the people who lived there. This is because there are no burials directly associated with the lake settlements, which has precluded the study of ancient DNA, for example. Luckily, there are other sources of ancient DNA, including ancient “chewing gums” which provide a rich of ancient human and host-associated microbial DNA as we recently demonstrated. In this project we will sequence ancient DNA and other biomolecules from ancient “chewing gums” found at lake settlements in and around the Alps to shed new light on the lives of the Alpine communities that settled there between 5000 and 500 BC. With access to over 300 specimens from archaeological sites north and south of the Alps, we have the unique opportunity to study their interactions and the demographic and cultural changes that characterised the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in Central Europe. In addition, the project promises to offer new insights into peoples’ health and the composition of their oral microbiome, as well as their diet and subsistence strategies. Together, the proposed research will provide us with a richer understanding of the pile-dwelling communities of Central Europe.

Keywords: ancient dna,prehistory,neolithic,wetlands,population history,microbiome,evolution
Unfolding the early Htt aggregates: an interdisciplinary approach for characterizing novel molecular events that impact Heat Shock Response in Huntington Disease (UnfearHD)

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: Greece
Call: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04, 2022)
Start date: 2023-06-01
End date: 2025-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169326.72
EU funding (EUR): 169326.72
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A common characteristic in many neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) is the presence of disordered proteins that form toxic aggregates. In Huntington’s disease (HD), expanded polyQ tracts on Huntingtin (Htt) lead to the formation of aggregates, which affects many cellular functions, eventually resulting in cell death. Heat Shock Response (HSR) is a protective mechanism that facilitates (among other functions) the clearance of protein aggregates. Paradoxically, HSR becomes impaired in HD. The fact that early Htt aggregates, prior to becoming severely aggregated or toxic, fail to trigger HSR indicates that this impairment likely occurs early in the HD pathogenesis. The molecular mechanism underlining the HSR impairment in HD remains elusive. The aim of UnFearHD is to unravel the mechanism that links Htt aggregation with HSR impairment in early stages of HD. Several lines of evidence indicate that disordered proteins, having the ability to phase separate, may directly regulate translation and transcription, as shown for biomolecular condensates. Our hypothesis is that aggregation-prone Htt alters the early HD proteome composition in a way that impacts the HSR, by directly interacting with RNA and DNA. To explore our hypothesis, we will employ C. elegans strains engineered for inducible Htt expression and combine unbiased omics to a) directly interrogate the Htt interactions with RNAs and DNAs, using a UV-based crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) and b) understand the consequences of such interactions at proteome level, using a bioorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT). The UnfearHD project will enable the establishment, for the first time, of a direct association between Htt aggregation and HSR impairment, which is detrimental for HD progression. The findings will stretch beyond the scope of UnfearHD as the combination of protein aggregation and HSR impairment is detrimental for other NDs but also seems to constitutes a universal mechanism of ageing.

Keywords: c elegans,huntingtin,chemical biology,protein aggregation