Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Genomics of adaptive divergence in Fungi (GENOMEFUN)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Evolutionary, population and environmental biology
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498741.27
EU funding (EUR): 1498741.27
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding the genetic and genomic processes behind adaptive phenotypes remains a holy grail in biology. Fungi are poorly studied regarding these processes, despite their great tractability as model eukaryote organisms and their medical, industrial, and ecological importance. This project therefore aims to investigate the major evolutionary forces in the adaptive divergence of fungi —as model eukaryotes with small genomes— by the integration of high-throughput sequencing and innovative approaches. Two groups of fungi will be used to investigate different time scales and footprints of adaptation. The first model group are Penicillium fungal species. Some species being used for cheese and antibiotic production, they are excellent models for understanding adaptive processes under strong and recent selection. The second model is Microbotryum violaceum, a complex of sibling species, causing anther smut disease on different Caryophyllaceae plant species. This model is ideal to address the question of long term pathogen-host adaptation. We will integrate high-throughput sequencing and state-of-the-art inference methods to identify the evolutionary processes involved in adaptive divergence and the genomic consequences of domestication. Different experimental and sequencing approaches will then help to validate the flagged genes and genomic regions. The proposed research should yield unprecedented insights into the genomics of adaptive divergence, i.e. on the kinds of traits, the genetic architecture of these traits, the genomic regions and processes involved, and the importance of neutral processes. There are also applied implications for understanding emerging fungal diseases in plants and processes of domestication in micro-organisms, and more generally adaptation to global changes.

Keywords: fungi,domestication,adaptation,genomics,speciation
Definition and characterization of type I interferonopathies (T1-IFN)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Genetics,Genomics,Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Countries involved: United Kingdom,France
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-10-31
Duration (months): 68.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498906.0
EU funding (EUR): 1498906.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Although the concept of grouping Mendelian disorders associated with an up-regulation of type I interferon (IFN) has not been previously recognised in the medical literature, my past and current work argues that this concept has scientific validity and clinical utility. I believe that such conditions, which include Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), spondyloenchondrodysplasia, and some cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), can usefully be considered to represent a novel set of inborn errors of immunity, and that the recognition of diseases as type I interferonopathies will have significance for the development of targeted therapies, as well as informing our understanding of viral and retroelement biology, and the pathogenesis of some forms of autoimmunity. This proposal will combine my expert phenotyping skills with revolutionary sequencing technologies, cutting edge systems for the interrogation of retroelements, and contemporary immunological assays. Deliberately focusing on human studies, I will identify new disease-related genes for AGS and lupus, and define currently unrecognised phenotypes arising from a dysregulation of type I IFN metabolism. I hypothesise that, to a currently undefined extent, SLE represents a heterogeneous collection of individually rare Mendelian subtypes, and suggest that the definition of new genetic subtypes of lupus will deliver a step change in our knowledge of disease pathogenesis through the delineation of pathways relevant to larger groups of patients. Since gene identification frequently represents a first step in understanding relevant cell biology, the work described herein has the potential to transform the clinical management of type I interferonopathies through the development of directed therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, I believe that our proposed experiments to study retroelement biology in the AGS-context are likely to reveal truly exciting insights into the activity and control of ‘junk’ DNA.

Keywords: type i interferon,aicardi-goutieres syndrome,systemic lupus erythematosus,endogenous retroelements
Biotechnological optimization of light use efficiency in algae photobioreactors (BIOLEAP)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Applied life sciences and biotechnology
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2012-10-01
End date: 2017-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1257600.0
EU funding (EUR): 1257600.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

New renewable energy source are highly needed to compensate exhausting fossil fuels reserves and reduce greenhouse gases emissions. Some species of algae have an interesting potential as feedstock for the production of biodiesel thanks to their ability to accumulate large amount of lipids. Strong research efforts are however needed to fulfil this potential and address many issues involving optimization of cultivation systems, biomass harvesting and algae genetic improvement. This proposal aims to address one of these issues, the optimization of algae light use efficiency. Light, in fact, provides the energy supporting algae growth and must be exploited with the highest possible efficiency to achieve sufficient productivity. In a photobioreactor algae are highly concentrated and this cause a inhomogeneous light distribution with a large fraction of the cells exposed to very low light or even in the dark. Algae are also actively mixed and they can abruptly move from dark to full illumination and vice versa. This proposal aims to assess how alternation of dark/light cycles affect algae growth and functionality of photosynthetic apparatus both in batch and continuous cultures. In collaboration with the Chemical Engineering department, experimental data will be exploited to build a model describing the photobioreactor, a fundamental tool to improve its design. The other main scope of this proposal is the isolation of genetically improved strains more suitable to the artificial environment of a photobioreactor. A first part of the work of setting up protocols for transformation will be followed by a second phase for generation and selection of mutants with altered photosynthetic performances. Transcriptome analyses in different light conditions will also be instrumental to identify genes to be targeted by genetic engineering.

Keywords: microalgae,photosynthesis,light harvesting efficiency,biodiesel,biofuels,photobioreactor,photoprotection,lipids,pulsed light,acclimation,nannochloropsis
Bridging the gap in nanoparticle-based enzyme biosensing (NATURALE-POC)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2011-PoC, 2011)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2014-03-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165889.34
EU funding (EUR): 147918.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

There is growing commercial interest in bio-responsive materials because of their many applications, such as in medical diagnostics at the point of care and in drug discovery and development. Our developed assay technologies manipulate the properties of gold nanoparticles and enzyme-based reactions to detect enzyme activity. Most diagnostics target either expressed antigens (immunodiagnostics) or DNA (molecular diagnostics). Our bio-responsive nanoparticle technology can offer a sensitive, specific and affordable platform for the development of rapid point-of-care tests based on simple colour readouts. Additionally one of the great advantages of our technology is the fact that, in addition to diagnosing disease, it can also potentially help in the search for new drugs to treat those diseases. In contrast to methods that simply measure enzyme concentration, our method actually measures enzyme activity. In this ERC POC our expected outcomes include a number of important commercial milestones and technical developments to expand the platform to other diseases and test its application in high throughput drug screening. This value will carry through in both licensing and spin-out, since these issues are fundamental to any business venture. Furthermore, we propose a balanced plan that includes technical research combined with commercial investigations and identification of appropriate industrial partners. At the conclusion of this work, we will be in a much stronger position to immediately commercialise this technology, bringing its benefits to the broader healthcare market.

Keywords: 206807
Automated in-line Metrology for Nanoscale Production (AIM4NP)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Netherlands,Austria,Spain,Germany,Austria,Spain,Austria,Switzerland,Germany,Germany,Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2012-SME-6, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4328513.25
EU funding (EUR): 3232637.0
Participants: 14
Project status: CLOSED

Knowing the mechanical properties of workpieces and machine-tools also at the nanometer scale is an absolute necessity for an efficient nanoscale production. Current technologies are lacking the flexibility and robustness needed for measuring such key parameters as topography, morphology, roughness, adhesion, or micro- and nano-hardness directly in a production environment. This hinders rapid development cycles and resource efficient process and quality control. The following technology and methodology gaps for addressing these challenges were identified: Efficient disturbance rejection and systems stability; robustness and longevity of probes; short time to data (i.e. high-speed measurements and data handling); and traceability of the measurement. The project aim4np strives at solving this problem by combining measuring techniques developed in nanoscience with novel control techniques from mechatronics and procedures from traceable metrology. Goal and Deliverable The main deliverable will be a fast robotic metrology platform and operational procedures for measuring with nanometer resolution and in a traceable way the topography, morphology, roughness, micro- and nano-hardness, and adhesive properties of large samples in a production environment.

Keywords: nanomechanical properties,high-resolution in-line metrology,robotic afm,fast scanning,large area optical probing
Irisin - a novel myokine protective against metabolic disease (NOVEL_MYOKINE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Endocrinology
Countries involved: Sweden
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2017-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999433.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999433.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cardiovascular disease and diabetes constitute the major disease burden in the western world with growing morbidity. Exercise is known to ameliorate many of the key processes in the pathogenesis of these diseases, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. Especially little is known about how exercise affects non-muscle tissues such as the heart, fat and liver. Knowledge of such pathways could lead to new therapeutic possibilities for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. I have recently discovered a new hormone, named Irisin. Irisin is regulated by PGC1α, secreted from muscle to plasma after exercise and promotes the formation of brown fat via an unknown receptor. Furthermore, irisin is 100% conserved between mice and humans at the amino acid level (89% identity between zebfrafish and human). Nanomolar levels of this protein increase uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in cultures of primary white fat cells by 50 fold or more, resulting in very large increases in uncoupled respiration. Perhaps more remarkable, in vivo delivery of irisin stimulates a robust increase in UCP1, increased energy expenditure and reversal of type II diabetes in high fat fed mice. It is thus likely that irisin is responsible for at least some of the beneficial effects of exercise on the browning of adipose tissues and increases in energy expenditure. The therapeutic potential of irisin is obvious; it is a conserved endogenous polypeptide, induced with exercise and with powerful anti-diabetic properties. Irisin could, for example, be administered exogenously, or the secretion of irisin could be enhanced. These approaches, however, require additional studies, and my aim in this project is to advance the knowledge around irisin for future therapeutic testing. Given success of the ERC grant application, I will move from Harvard/Boston 2012 and start my lab at the department of Cell- and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. As seen in my list of publication, Im well prepared for this task

Keywords: exercise,physical activity,brown fat,myokine
Scanning Neutral Helium Microscopy: A novel tool for fast, nondestuctive characterisation of mechanical parameters for nanostructured coatings (NEMI)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Norway,Spain,Denmark,Sweden,United Kingdom,Sweden,Denmark
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2012-SME-6, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4966498.8
EU funding (EUR): 3731488.0
Participants: 8
Project status: CLOSED

The majority of failures in pattern replication processes are caused by wear of forming and forging master tools. Tribology is the science applied for lowering the wear by developing advanced (nanostructured) coatings. However, even these coatings are subject to wear that manifest itself as changes in the mechanical properties of the master tool in the form of fractures, roughness changes (adhesion) or deformation of the 3D shape. Hence a careful examination of the surface structure is essential for validating the functionality of a master tool. Ideally by applying a fast, reliable measurement, which determines the first wear before any faulty replication takes place. No such method exists at present for nanoscale structures: Scanning probe microscopy is generally slow and not suitable for the high aspect ratio structures often present in forming and forging tools. Scanning electron and helium ion microscopy offer alternatives. However both beams penetrate into the material which limits the accuracy, the beam energy can cause surface damage and there may be image distortions due to charging effects. Here we propose a new instrument based on NEUTRAL helium atoms. The technique is strictly surface sensitive with no penetration into the bulk (the atoms interact with the outermost electronic layer on the surface). The energy of the atoms is less than 0.1 eV, 4-6 order of magnitudes less than typical electron and helium ion energies. The new technique can image down to 10 nm and has the potential of being fast and applicable over large areas. We will apply the new technique to access the tool lifetime improvement by the application of nanostructured coatings to micron and nanometer precision master tools from SME partners Kenneth Winther A/S and NILTechnology. Metrology partners DFM and KTH will evaluate the new instrument in relation to ISO-standard parameters with the aim of introducing the technique to the ISO TC213/WG16 committee for future standardization.

Keywords: molecular beams,neutral helium atom microscopy,non-destructive imaging
Exploring the human brain using magnetic resonance imaging and parallel transmission at ultra-high field (EXPAT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Diagnostic tools, therapies and public health
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2013-02-01
End date: 2019-01-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499292.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499292.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Full exploitation of ultra high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires innovative methods to control the homogeneity and the safety of the high frequency radiofrequency (RF) waves used to acquire images. This can be achieved by using parallel transmission of the RF waves to boost the number of degrees of freedom, but its complexity has thus far deterred its wide use. The aim of EXPAT is to apply sophisticated quantum information processing (QIP) techniques to manipulate the nuclear spins efficiently with parallel transmission at ultra high field MRI on the state-of-the art 7 Tesla and the unique 11.7 Tesla MRI scanner that will be installed at NeuroSpin/CEA. By bringing a practical solution to parallel transmission at such high field strength, EXPAT will be a major breakthrough for MRI of the brain. Radiofrequency pulse design departing from traditional MRI concepts thus will be a central aspect of this project. Mathematical concepts will be applied to describe efficiently sub-classes of RF waveforms leading to non-trivial and useful dynamics, thereby providing a minimum number of parameters to be used as ingenious “control knobs” to design parallel transmission pulses and explore regimes of spin excitation hardly accessible by current formalisms. Another novel aspect will be to revisit entirely the way RF safety is handled by taking directly into account the temperature in the human head during scanning and at pulse design stage, rather than the indirect specific absorption rate currently used in MRI. Tracking temperature will relax the constraints in RF pulse design as well as in data acquisition strategies by at least a factor of two, while strictly enforcing safety. Subject-based radiofrequency field characterization, model validations, MRI sequence developments, numerical studies and careful monitoring of the experiments will be conducted to optimize the implementation of the new methods.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging,ultra-high field,parallel transmission,coherent control,quantum information processing,radiofrequency pulse design
Host-intestinal bacteria mutualism: "Learning on the fly" (MUTFLYGUTBACT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Immunity and infection
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2012-StG_20111109, 2012)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2017-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499435.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499435.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Metazoans establish reciprocal interactions with the bacterial communities that colonize their mucosal surfaces. These interactions contribute to many aspects of host physiology including the promotion of digestive efficiency and proper immune system development and homeostasis. In return, the microbiota derives benefit from the association with its host by inhabiting a nutrient rich environment. When deregulated this relationship results in pathological outcomes such as episodic infectious diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, metabolic disorders or even some cancers. Despite recent progress, a clear view of the physiological benefits associated with host/microbiota relationship remains elusive. Hence the molecular mechanisms through which the microbiota exerts its beneficial influences are still largely undefined. The goal of this research proposal is to decipher the molecular dialogue governing the mutualistic interaction between intestinal bacteria and their host. To this end, we will use an animal model, Drosophila melanogaster and one of its natural commensals, Lactobacillus plantarum. We aim to develop a multiscale functional approach to study the molecular mechanisms underlying their mutualistic association. This integrated approach will couple a host and a bacteria centred-view of this beneficial interaction to identify, the bacterial and host genetic networks required to sustain a mutualistic relationship. We will reveal how these molecular activities translate into cellular, tissular and organismal functional benefits and will uncover the interdependency of these benefits. Using a model lactic acid bacteria species and an animal host model with evolutionary conserved molecular and physiological features, our approach is relevant to most lactobacilli/host interactions including those occurring in humans. This project will provide fresh and unbiased insight into the fundamental biological question of host/microbe mutualism.

Keywords: host/microbiota interactions-mutualism-commensalism-instestinal biology-barrier function-ageing-probiotics-drosophila melanogaster-lactobacillus plantarum-gene expression-genetic screen-metabolomics.