Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Shaping the future – From spermatids to spermatozoa (GettingInShape)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator 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: Netherlands
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2022-COG, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2028-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999963.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999963.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Sperm are highly specialised cells whose structure is optimised for a defined function. Although the distinctive sperm ultrastructure has been known for many years thanks to electron microscopy, an understanding of the molecular details of sperm specialisation is severely lagging. The gap in our molecular understanding relates to the difficulties in genetically manipulating sperm. Over the past five years, my lab has pioneered the use of cryo-electron tomography to study mature mammalian sperm at the molecular level. We developed workflows based on cryo-focused ion beam milling and sub-tomogram averaging that allowed us to provide the first in-cell structures of mammalian sperm flagella, revealing unique microtubule inner proteins. We further showed that the sperm centrioles and their surrounding matrix form a dynamic basal complex that facilitates a cascade of internal sliding, coupling tail beating with asymmetric head kinking. Although these findings contribute profoundly to the field, the resolution achieved in these studies (~20Å) precluded protein identification in most cases. Now I plan to develop a workflow based on single particle analysis, achieving near-atomic resolution, but without purification. I will apply this workflow, together with biochemical assays and cellular cryo-electron tomography, to humans and other species to resolve how germ cells get into shape and acquire motility. Specifically, the mechanisms underlining 1) nuclear shaping 2) centriole remodelling 3) mitochondrial sheath assembly 4) motor apparatus activation. Understanding how male germ cells get into shape is of clinical relevance, as sperm morphological defects are often observed in infertility. Moreover, the success rate of assisted reproduction technologies can be improved with better diagnosis and we expect that the new proteins we identify will help this process. Conversely, understanding the acquisition of motility could potentially be used to develop a male contraceptive.

Keywords: spermiogenesis,sperm epididymal maturation,nucleus shaping,centrioles remodelling,axoneme,mitochondrial maturation,cellular cryo electron tomography,cryo electron microscopy single particle analysis
Accelerating Climate Action: Navigating towards a Low-Emissions, Climate-Resilient Future (ACCLIMATE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Climate
Destination: Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutrality
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,France,Belgium,Finland,Greece,Spain,Sweden,United Kingdom,Brazil,India,United States,Indonesia,Nigeria,Senegal,Sierra Leone,Côte d'Ivoire
Call: Next generation low-emission, climate-resilient pathways and NDCs for a future aligned with the Paris Agreement (HORIZON-CL5-2024-D1-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-03-01
End date: 2029-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4445546.25
EU funding (EUR): 4445546.25
Participants: 21
Project status: SIGNED

The overall objective of ACCLIMATE is to achieve enhanced integrated national and international strategies for climate-resilient, low-emission development. ACCLIMATE will contribute to improving the transparency, consistency, and clarity of GHG emission reduction commitments and create appropriate tools by developing an assessment framework for mitigation commitments. Working in a bottom-up manner with national experts within an international consortium comprising high-emitting countries from the Americas, Asia and Europe, as well as low-emitting countries from West Africa, ACCLIMATE will identify needs for improvements of NDCs and long-term strategies. A focus will be set on adequacy, fairness and feasibility, as well as on needs for improving current policies and measures to actually achieve NDCs and long-term objectives. On this basis, the development of enhanced national strategies and pathways will similarly build on existing scientific national expertise and models, with the development of enhanced pathways for all focus countries being undertaken by the respective partners of the consortium based in these countries, with support from European partners. These pathways will include an increased understanding of the role of ecosystems, non-CO2 gases, and climate impacts and risks, and socioeconomic tradeoffs. The development of enhanced pathways and policy recommendations will build on sectoral deep dives in order to fully capture sector-specific mitigation enablers and barriers. ACCLIMATE will in particular focus on the sectors industry, buildings, AFOLU, transport, and energy supply. ACCLIMATE will enhance the capacity in partner countries to develop and model mitigation strategies and pathways and to analyse and develop respective policy strategies and packages. Furthermore, enhanced strategies will be closely co-created with policy-makers and stakeholders at the national, sectoral and international levels.

Keywords: mitigation commitments,ndcs,long term strategies,mitigation pathways,unfccc,global stocktake
Future leaders in ageing and digitalizing societies (Digi4Age)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Doctoral Networks
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Finland,Netherlands,Lithuania,Germany,Spain,Austria,Israel,Belgium,Norway
Call: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2029-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4111740.0
EU funding (EUR): 4111740.0
Participants: 20
Project status: SIGNED

The digitalisation of ageing societies is restructuring Europe, raising concerns about social inclusion. Recognizing the gravity of this shift, the EU declared the 2020s 'Europe’s Digital Decade', while the WHO declared it the 'Decade of Healthy Ageing'. Researchers and practitioners typically view digitalisation and societal ageing as separate shifts. Digi4Age breaks with this tradition. Drawing on its members’ recent research, it posits that both are intertwined. They are jointly experienced and integrated into the social fabric – and they need to be jointly addressed. Digi4Age trains 14 doctoral researchers as future leaders with scientific expertise in both digitalising and ageing societies, who can creatively steer academia, the public sector, private sector, and civil society towards solutions benefitting older individuals, European societies, and businesses. To do so, it launches an interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international doctoral research and training programme for excellence in evidence-based leadership in digitalising and ageing societies. The programme explores how digital technologies can (1) support health in old age without compromising identities and self-images; (2) accommodate older individuals’ long-standing habits and preferences in workplaces and consumer markets; and (3) complement social innovation to ensure equality and social inclusion in ageing societies. Digi4Age assembles some of Europe’s foremost researchers in this area as beneficiaries (LUT, OUNL, LSMC, TUDO, URJC, KLPU) and influential researchers and widely recognized stakeholders from civil society, policymaking, and businesses as associated partners (LRS, VILANS, UH, VICESSE, AGE, vdSHOP, HZG, OEI, VTT, TUWIEN, NIPH, SENIORWORLD, EUROCARERS) across 9 countries. It addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals 'No poverty', 'Good health and well-being', 'Gender equality', 'Decent work and economic growth', and 'Reduced inequalities'.

Keywords: ageing societies digitalisation europe health health care work economy society social structures
LIght for controlling Reactive Interactions in COld molecules (LIRICO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Panel description: Particle, nuclear, plasma, atomic, molecular, gas, and optical physics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2023-STG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1496700.0
EU funding (EUR): 1496700.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Ultracold molecules are the next frontier of quantum technologies: their rich internal structure and tunable long-range interactions enable the exploration of new regimes, unattainable with atomic platforms. Achieving this control requires cooling to ultracold temperatures. However, ultracold molecular interactions are dominated by lossy chemical reactions. Chemical reactions hamper the quantum applications of molecular gases and our strategies to reach the ultracold temperature limit, including the realization of the holy grail of ultracold molecular physics: a Bose-Einstein Condensate of polar molecules. Recently, I successfully developed several shielding mechanisms to protect polar molecules from chemical reactions and exploited them to realize the first quantum degenerate Fermi gas of molecules by direct evaporation. In LIRICO, I will leverage on these previous results to control the chemical reactions of ultracold molecules and thus unlock the full potential of molecular quantum gases. A high-finesse optical cavity will be the fulcrum of LIRICO to tame chemical reactions. Strong light-molecule coupling will create new hybrid light-molecule states, so called molecular polaritons, that will display the ability to turn on-and-off a chemical reaction by simply controlling the molecule-cavity resonance. The addition of final-state sensitive detection methods, such as an ion-mass spectrometer, will allow to fully resolve the microscopic mechanisms that underpin ultracold reactions. I will steer the reaction dynamics at will and control the reaction product distribution with the cavity vacuum, thus realizing a paradigm-changing, fully quantum-mechanical catalysis method for controlling the transformation of molecular materials. Cavity-control of ultracold chemical reactions will open new avenues in the dissipation engineering of inelastic and out-of-equilibrium processes, which is crucial for the development of molecular quantum technologies.

Keywords: ultracold chemistry,molecular polaritons
Hydrogen Storage and Fuel Cells for Optimised Renewable Energy Communities (H2SCORE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Hydrogen
Action type: Innovation actions
Partnership: CLEANH2 (JU-JTI)
Countries involved: Italy,Finland,Spain,Greece,Sweden,Germany,Canada,Switzerland,Norway
Call: Demonstration of stationary fuel cells in renewable energy communities (HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2025, 2025)
Start date: 2025-12-01
End date: 2029-11-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6007612.68
EU funding (EUR): 4999895.04
Participants: 15
Project status: SIGNED

H2SCORE aims to demonstrate how integrated Fuel Cell and Hydrogen (FCH) technologies can enable the next generation of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), enhancing their decarbonisation, resilience, and energy autonomy. The project combines low-temperature (PEM electrolyser, metal hydride storage, PEM fuel cell) and high-temperature (reversible Solid Oxide Cell powered by syngas from local biomass) hydrogen systems in a modular, replicable setup. The concept will be demonstrated in the operational Valsesia REC (Quarona, Italy). The system will be fully integrated with the local electrical grid and District Heating Network, enabling sector coupling, and managed through an advanced Energy Management System aimed at multi-vector (electricity, heat, hydrogen, biomass) optimisation and oriented towards REC-specific objectives. A portable hydrogen-powered fuel cell genset will also be deployed for temporary or mobile use cases. This first-of-its-kind H2-REC will operate at TRL7 through a 12-month demonstration campaign, also including on-site detection of pollutant emissions and hydrogen leakages. A cloud-based monitoring tool will track REC KPIs in real time, support stakeholder engagement, and promote replicability. H2SCORE modelling framework integrates techno-economic, environmental, regulatory, safety, and social dimensions to guide both H2-REC impacts assessment and replication strategy. Four replication studies (Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Canada) will test the concept across different geographies, user needs, regulatory environments, and both on- and off-grid settings. The project builds on previous EU-funded FCH projects and leverages the complementary expertise of 15 partners, fostering synergies with relevant EU and national initiatives to scale up hydrogen-ready RECs across Europe and beyond.

Keywords: power to hydrogen to power,sofc,pemfc,renewable energy communities,multi fuel,cogenerative,grid stability,biomass
NOVEL ANTI-SENESCENCE THERAPY FOR DRY AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (OM-301)

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): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2450000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2450000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss, affecting millions worldwide. It is a chronic, progressive, multifactorial, neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of photoreceptors and Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE). Dry AMD, the early stage of the disease, can progress to wet AMD and Geographic Atrophy (GA). While wet AMD can be treated with anti-VEGF drugs, there are limited treatment options for GA and none for dry AMD. Addressing the treatment gap for dry AMD requires innovative strategies. AMD is driven by aging processes like cellular senescence, a state of irreversible cell cycle arrest due to stressors (e.g., oxidative stress, DNA damage). In AMD, senescent RPE cells promote local inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and photoreceptor damage, crucial to disease progression. OphtiMedRx is an ophthalmic drug development start-up company led by a team of women physicians, scientists, and molecular biology experts. The company is developing OM-301, a novel anti-senescence drug, as a treatment for early-intermediate dry AMD. Through thorough preclinical studies, the company has validated its senescence-protective activity on RPE cells and impact on key disease characteristics in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating its potential as a revolutionary solution for early stages of the disease. By targeting RPE cell senescence, OM-301 aims to halt dry AMD progression, preserve retinal health, and prevent vision loss. Through the completion of pre-clinical studies and implementation of Phase I and II clinical studies, the proposed project aims to accelerate the development of OM-301 as the pioneering treatment for dry AMD, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for patients and reduced societal and economic burden associated with this debilitating disease.

Keywords: dry age related macular degeneration amd,anti senescence therapy,blindness prevention
Overcoming Mechanically-Induced Resistance to Chemo-Immunotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer (MechanoResistance)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and Processes Engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: Cyprus
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2023-ADG, 2023)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2030-03-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cancer progression is closely associated with generation of mechanical stresses that cause the compression of tumor vessels, drastically reducing delivery of drugs. My co-workers and I found that host cells and extracellular matrix in tumors generate these stresses. Furthermore, we identified the anti-hypertensive losartan to alleviate intratumoral stresses and decompress vessels, allowing drugs to enter the tumor. My colleagues tested losartan in pancreatic cancer patients and found improved responses to chemo-radiation. Nonetheless, losartan cannot alleviate all stresses, and my preliminary data indicate that they induce chemotherapy resistance (“mechanoresistance”). Thus, even though vessel decompression facilitates drugs entering the tumor, mechanoresistance renders cancer cells insensitive to drugs. Alleviating mechanoresistance is an urgent clinical need, but this mechanism has not been well studied and strategies to overcome it have not been developed successfully. To address this challenge, I will employ a mixture of cutting-edge bioengineering and biology methods to identify the intracellular mechanisms that promote mechanoresistance, using in vitro and mouse models of pancreatic cancer. I will then employ inhibitors/drugs of the identified mechanisms to overcome mechanoresistance in vitro and in vivo to determine if they increase the efficacy of chemotherapy. I will also confirm whether these drugs work more effectively with losartan or alone. Using the best performing regimen, I will assess the immunological effects and efficacy in combination with immunotherapy, which has yet to induce a benefit in pancreatic cancer trials. In parallel, in order to take this ground-breaking goal of improving pancreatic cancer therapy to the clinic, I will examine the existence of the same mechanoresistance mechanisms in human tumors. The project will introduce novel, patient-specific, therapeutic strategies to directly boost clinical trials in pancreatic cancer patients.

Keywords: bioengineering,biomechanics,mechanobiology,tumor microenvironment,drug resistance,animal tumor models
The Evolution of Visual Information Encoding (EVINE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Panel description: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2023-STG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1495191.0
EU funding (EUR): 1495191.0
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

Language leaves no trace in the fossil record. However, an important component of the human language capacity, symbolic combinatoriality, might have “fossilized” after all. In the Paleolithic, hominins have embarked on their journey from Africa into the rest of the world. On their way, they have left artefacts which provide a window into their mind. Some of these bear early examples of visual information encoding: geometric signs. In the Middle Paleolithic, when Homo neanderthalensis roamed the landscape, evidence for geometric signs is scarce. It is not before the Middle Stone Age in Africa, typically associated with Homo sapiens, that the first systematic industries emerge. By the time Homo sapiens arrives in Central Europe – in the Upper Paleolithic – the practice of using stones, beads, bone fragments, and figurines as information carriers has become part of everyday life. In fact, the abundance of geometric signs in these assemblages is only gradually coming to light via large-scale collection efforts. This project proposes to marry the growing body of archaeological data with state-of-the-art tools from empirical linguistics to assess the Evolution of Visual Information Encoding (EVINE) in the human lineage. To this end, statistical measures based on information theory, quantitative linguistic laws, as well as classification algorithms need to be developed, and applied to sequences of paleolithic signs, ancient writing, and modern writing. Two core hypotheses are to be tested: First, paleolithic signs are statistically distinct from ancient and modern writing. Second, there was a combinatorial transition in the Upper Paleolithic of around 35 000 to 15 000 years ago. If the latter is verified, we would witness a major step towards modern visual information encoding – 10 000 years before the advent of ancient writing.

Keywords: language diversity,information theory
Genomic insights into the heteroplasmy in the invasive species, Hydroides elegans (PolyGene)

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: Norway,Germany
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 210911.04
EU funding (EUR): 210911.04
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Hydroides elegans is a significant biofouling invasive species in tropical and subtropical seas, causing damages to man-made structures in harbors and incurring economic costs. Despite its importance, the taxonomy and evolution of this organism remain poorly understood, hindering conservation efforts and predictions of its future distribution. Recent phylogenetic reconstructions suggest two cryptic species, with one showing higher invasiveness. Additionally, H. elegans exhibits heteroplasmy, with more than one mtDNA type observed due to paternal leakage-driven genomic introgression. PolyGene aims to provide novel insights into this widespread species from genomic, morphologic and ecologic perspectives. The project's objectives are threefold: (1) Investigating the origin, maintenance, and evolution of heteroplasmy in H. elegans; (2) Conducting an integrative taxonomic revision to understand population dynamics and hybridization events; (3) Modeling the species' distribution and climate adaptation potential. PolyGene represents a pioneering integrative study focusing on heteroplasmy in Annelida that will utilize large-scale genomic data, morphologic data and distribution modeling, to bring a significant step forward in our understanding of mitochondrial evolution and a scientific-based approach for effective management of an important marine invasive species. The project fosters collaboration between three research groups at the Natural History Museum of Oslo (NHMO) and a secondment to the Senckenberg Research Institute (SGN), nurturing my growth as an independent researcher in evolutionary biology of marine organisms. The project allows me to gain and deepen scientific expertise and transferable skills, needed to pursue a career either in academia or in policy-making.

Keywords: invasive species,annelida,polychaetes,heteroplasmy,mitochondrial inheritance,paternal leakage,population genetics,adaptation