Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Spatio-temporal control of gene expression by physico-chemical means: from in vitro photocontrol to smart drug delivery (GENEPHYSCHEM)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Materials and Synthesis
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2011-01-01
End date: 2015-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1450320.0
EU funding (EUR): 1450320.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

We propose to undertake a new challenge: the control of gene expression systems by physico-chemical means to achieve the following objectives: i) developing robust tools for spatio-temporal control of protein expression; ii) understanding the role of micro-environmental factors in gene regulation; and iii) constructing and implementing in vivo smart nanomachines able to express active molecules in response to a stimulus and deliver them to a targeted cell. First, various biochemical processes (transcription, translation) will be controlled by light in vitro, based on photo-induced conformational changes of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) and chromatin. Based on conformational changes rather than specific template-protein interaction, and combined with microfluidic methodologies, this novel approach will provide a ubiquitous tool to address gene expression using light regardless of the sequence, with unique control and spatio-temporal resolution. Second, by reconstituting photo-responsive gene expression systems in well-defined giant liposomes, we will study the dynamics of gene expression in response to light stimulation. This will allow us to establish the respective roles of the membrane (surface charge, permeability) and of the inner micro-environment composition (viscosity, molecular crowding). Third, we will develop stable, long-circulating polymer nanocapsules (polymersomes) encapsulating a gene expression material that can be triggered by light and/or molecules of biological interest. In response to the signal, an exogenous, potentially immunogenic enzyme will be expressed inside the protecting nanocapsule to locally and catalytically convert a non toxic precursor present in the medium into a cytotoxic drug that will be delivered to a cell (e.g., a cancer cell). This new concept of triggerable gene-carrying nanomachines with unique amplification capacity of drug secretion shall open new horizons for the development of smart biological probes and future therapeutics.

Keywords: photocontrol,dna,gene expression,artificial cells,microfluidics,triggerable nanomachines
Cooper pairs as a source of entanglement (COOPAIRENT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: Hungary
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2011-02-01
End date: 2016-10-31
Duration (months): 69.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1496111.93
EU funding (EUR): 1496111.93
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Entanglement and non-locality are spectacular fundamentals of quantum mechanics and basic resources of future quantum computation algorithms. Electronic entanglement has attracted increasing attention during the last years. The electron spin as a purely quantum mechanical two level system has been put forward as a promising candidate for storing quantum information in solid state. Recently, great progress has been achieved in manipulation and read-out of quantum dot based spin Qubits. However, electron spin is also suitable to transfer quantum information, since mobile electrons can be coherently transmitted in a solid state device preserving the spin information. Thus, electron spin could provide a general platform for on-chip quantum computation and information processing. Although several theoretical concepts have been worked out to address spin entangled mobile electrons, the absence of an entangler device has not allowed their realization so far. The aim of the present proposal is to overcome this experimental challenge and explore the entanglement of spatially separated electron pairs. Superconductors provide a natural source of entanglement, because their ground-state is composed of Cooper pairs in a spin-singlet state. However, the splitting of the Cooper pairs into separate electrons has to be enforced, which has been very recently realized by the applicant in two quantum dot Y-junction. This Y-junction will be used as a central building block to split Cooper pairs in a controlled fashion and the non-local nature of spin and charge correlations will be addressed in various device configurations. Our research project will lead to a fundamental understanding of the production, manipulation and detection of spin entangled mobile electron pairs, thus it will significantly extend the frontiers of quantum coherence and opens a new horizon in the field of on-chip quantum information technologies.

Keywords: entanglement,cooper pair splitting,two-particle aharonov-bohm effect,spin detection,noise measurement,semiconductor nanowires,graphene,quantum dots
POLYSYS: Direct 100G connectivity with optoelectronic POLYmer-InP integration for data center SYstems (POLYSYS)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Information and Communication Technologies
Destination: Components, systems, engineering
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Greece,Germany,France,Italy,Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-ICT-2009-5, 2009)
Start date: 2010-10-01
End date: 2014-01-31
Duration (months): 40.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3919341.0
EU funding (EUR): 2560000.0
Participants: 5
Project status: CLOSED

Optical connectivity in data centers relies on 10Gb/s parallel optics that raise scalability and energy consumption issues. Efforts towards advanced modulation formats pose severe system complexity. The upgrade to 100 Gb/s to resolve the bandwidth bottleneck and increase the throughput of optical interconnect backplanes requires a disruptive yet straightforward solution. POLYSYS aims to provide this solution and realize 100Gb/s serial connectivity for rack-to-rack and chip-to-chip interconnects. POLYSYS will use electro-optic polymer as an integration platform where 100Gb/s modulators will be integrated monolithically, whereas InP lasers, detectors and electronics will be integrated hybridly. The InP-to-polymer integration technique will enable 95% coupling efficiency without using lenses and bulk optics. POLYSYS will fabricate the first serial 100Gb/s and 4x100Gb/s transmitters integrated with &lt;1W-consuming electronic driver ICs, achieving 10 times higher line rates than mainstream 10 Gb/s VCSEL or silicon-based commercial products. POLYSYS will furthermore integrate 4x100Gb/s optoelectronic receivers monolithically in InP. The receivers will exhibit a high conversion gain to enable direct connectivity without optical amplifiers. The electronics will be integrated in arrays and the DEMUX circuit will demonstrate record low sensitivity. POLYSYS will demonstrate 4x100Gb/s direct data interconnection, increasing by 4 times the total throughput and reducing at least by a factor of 2 the required Energy/bit with respect to commercially available products. By demonstrating optical demultiplexing based on polymer, POLYSYS will show that the energy/bit can be further decreased by a factor of 5. Finally, POLYSYS will demonstrate serial 100Gb/s chip-to-chip interconnection by integrating transmitter and receiver at both ends of a polymer waveguide chip. As such POLYSYS will show compatibility with polymer backplanes and provide the technology for a tenfold capacity upgrade.

Keywords: optical interconnects,polymer photonics,inp integration,optoelectronic integration
An ubiquitous embedded systems framework for energy-aware buildings using activity and context knowledge (GREENERBUILDINGS)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Information and Communication Technologies
Destination: Components, systems, engineering
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Netherlands,Netherlands,Italy,Taiwan, Province of China,Spain,Germany
Call:  (FP7-ICT-2009-5, 2009)
Start date: 2010-09-01
End date: 2013-10-31
Duration (months): 38.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2975191.0
EU funding (EUR): 1849791.0
Participants: 9
Project status: CLOSED

Making efficient use of energy in buildings is a paramount challenge to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse effects. GreenerBuildings will investigate how buildings can dynamically adapt their operations according to actual use, aiming at substantial energy savings. People spend a great deal of time in buildings, may these be offices, hospitals or commercial buildings. While active indoor, people desire to have comforting lighting and microclimate conditions that adapt to their activity and wishes. With GreenerBuildings we propose to realise an integrated solution that addresses the challenge of energy-aware adaptation from basic (energy harvesting) sensors and actuators, up to the embedded software for coordinating thousands of smart objects with the goals of energy saving and user support. Our vision is that buildings can respond to their actual use and changes in their environment; interact with their occupants through novel ubiquitous sensing and occupant behaviour inference techniques and that can transparently adapt a building's function and operation. The project embraces the following key principles in order to achieve its goals: living lab experimentation/validation, agile consortium, a spiral development model, and a user centric approach. In particular, the validation will consider test cases with at least 1.000 devices deployed in different living lab buildings. The specific composition of the Consortium, consisting of top-class universities and research centres (TUE, RUG, CINI, UOR, ITRI), of leader industrial partners specialized in building automation and lighting (PRE) and of SMEs specialised in energy harvesting sensors and actuators (ENO), and of thermodynamics applications (FSA), guarantees a widespread dissemination and exploitation of the project results, based on well funded scientific and technological innovation.

Keywords: adaptive buildings,energy conservation,activity recognition,service orchestration,living-lab
Exploitation of Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Biological Ionsensing (IONOSENSE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Systems and communication engineering
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2011-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1496539.0
EU funding (EUR): 1496539.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In biological systems many tissue types have evolved a barrier function to selectively allow the transport of matter from the lumen to tissue beneath. Characterization of these barriers is very important as their disruption or malfunction is often indicative of toxicity/disease. The degree of barrier integrity is also a key indicator of the appropriateness of in vitro models for use in toxicology/drug screening. The advent of organic electronics has created a unique opportunity to interface the worlds of electronics and biology, using devices such as the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), that provides a very sensitive way to detect minute ionic currents. This proposal aims to integrate the barrier function of biological systems with OECTs to yield devices that can detect minute disruptions in barrier function. Specifically, OECTs will be integrated with cell monolayers that form tight junctions and with membranes that incorporate ion channels. A disruption in tight junctions or a change in permeability of ion channels will be detected by the OECT. These devices will have unprecedented sensitivity, in a format that can be mass produced at low-cost. The potential benefits of this multidisciplinary project are numerous: It will be a vehicle for fundamental research in life sciences and the development of new in vitro models for toxicology screening of disruptive agents and the development of drugs to treat disorders linked with barrier tissue malfunction (e.g. mutations in ion channels). Moreover, through the use of various cell lines and ion channels, this platform will also lead to the engineering of new sensors and biomedical instrumentation, with a host of applications in medical diagnostics, food/water safety, homeland security and environmental protection.

Keywords: organic electronics,ion channels,in vitro cell models,biosensor
Rational Therapy for Breast Cancer: Individualized Treatment for Difficult-to-Treat Breast Cancer Subtypes (RATHER)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Health
Destination: Translating research for human health
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Ireland,Netherlands,France,Sweden,Spain,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-HEALTH-2010-two-stage, 2010)
Start date: 2011-01-01
End date: 2018-06-30
Duration (months): 90.0
Total project cost (EUR): 7812555.08
EU funding (EUR): 5995786.0
Participants: 8
Project status: CLOSED

Cancer genotyping has identified a number of correlations between mutations in specific genes and responses to targeted anti-cancer drugs, with many mutations occurring in kinases or downstream signaling components. While there are several ongoing large-scale genome re-sequencing studies for the major cancer types, there is no systematic effort to investigate kinase mutations in distinct biological subtypes of these cancers. Here, we will explore the rate of activation of all kinases (the “kinome”) in two poor-prognosis subtypes of breast cancer for which there are currently no targeted therapies available, namely “triple negative” (TN) breast tumors lacking the estrogen-, progesterone- and HER2 receptors, constituting 15% of breast cancers, and invasive lobular carcinomas (ILC) of the breast, which represent 10% of breast tumors. Thus, we lack effective targeted therapies for one quarter of all breast cancer patients. In this project, we will identify and validate novel kinase targets for therapy for these TN and ILC subtypes. Kinase targets will be identified via a 5-pronged approach: i) direct re-sequencing of the kinome of 150 TN and 150 ILC tumors, ii) determination of abundance and activation status of kinases in these tumors by reverse phase protein array and tissue microarray technologies, iii) determination of copy number variation by SNP arrays, and iv) mRNA quantitation of the kinome using DNA microarrays and v) RNA sequencing to provide complementary information such as evidence of alternative splicing, translocations and RNA editing within the expressed kinome. Potential kinase targets for therapy will be validated in preclinical models using RNA interference. Finally, we will perform a phase I/II clinical trial to test the efficacy of a selective PI3K inhibitor in breast cancer. The project will deliver proof-of-concept for novel therapeutic interventions, together with matched molecular diagnostic approaches for patient stratification, for up to 25% of breast cancer patients.

Keywords: breast cancer,diagnostics,next generation sequencing,genotyping,protein kinases,targeted therapies,poor prognosis,phase i/ii clinical trial,transcriptomics,proteomics,rnai
DEVELOPMENT OF A TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE MICROCAPSULES, based on the formation of drops from viscous non-Newtonian liquids sprayed through fan-jet nozzles, TO USE IN CANCER THERAPY (MYCAP)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2011-02-01
End date: 2016-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1367229.0
EU funding (EUR): 1367229.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The main aim of this project is the development of a new technology to produce smart drug delivery system for chemotherapeutic agents per recognition event. For that affinity-microparticles (10-20 microns diameter) loaded of paclitaxel (PTX) or Endotastin will be produced. Microcapsules will be made using a new technology based on the formation of drops from viscous non- Newtonian liquids sprayed through fan-jet nozzles. This process is based on generation of kinetic energy to a liquid jet resulting on controlled spray generation. The technique will be modelled in order to ensure the scale-up the process. The microparticles, based on alginate polymer, will be functionalised on his surface by affinity ligand, epidermal growth factor (EGF) which will be able to recognize a specific protein of the tumoral cell, (EGFR) epidermal growth factor receptor. Surface plasma resonance will be carried to control the interaction between the microparticle and the protein and therefore to ensure the efficiency of the microparticles produced. This information will be used to developed a dynamic model to assess the importance of spatial phenomena and then we will evaluate the accuracy of partial differential equations (PDEs) in transient when spatial effects are important. Control release from microcapsules loaded of anticancer agent will be characterized by control release kinetics, mass transfer, mechanic stability and permeability studies. Mass transfer through the tissue, or therapeutic leakage from storage cavities and their consequent transport through the organ, are among the several physical processes, where knowledge of the unsteady transport of a scalar quantity (mass of an active) is of importance for cell therapy. For that reasons it is necessary to derive an analytical solution for the unsteady mass transport problem in a porous medium under torsional flow to simulate the diffusion of active materials in body cavities (Mixed mechanic-electrical model), assuming body cavities as ideally isotropic porous medium. Finally, characterized microcapsules will be tested in lung tissues with lung cancer. Cell viability (MTT) and apoptosis after PTX exposure in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will be studied. Morphological distribution of particles in areas of interest (lung, pleura and lymph nodes) will be examined. The experimental results found in vitro will compared with experimental animal models developed for tumoral cell death.

Keywords: reacting system,microencapsulaton
Natural products and their cellular targets: A multidisciplinary strategy for antibacterial drug discovery (ANTIBACTERIALS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Materials and Synthesis
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2010-11-01
End date: 2015-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

After decades of successful treatment of bacterial infections with antibiotics, formerly treatable bacteria have developed drug resistance and consequently pose a major threat to public health. To address the urgent need for effective antibacterial drugs we will develop a streamlined chemical-biology platform that facilitates the consolidated identification and structural elucidation of natural products together with their dedicated cellular targets. This innovative concept overcomes several limitations of classical drug discovery processes by a chemical strategy that focuses on a directed isolation, enrichment and identification procedure for certain privileged natural product subclasses. This proposal consists of four specific aims: 1) synthesizing enzyme active site mimetics that capture protein reactive natural products out of complex natural sources, 2) designing natural product based probes to identify their cellular targets by a method called activity based protein profiling , 3) developing a traceless photocrosslinking strategy for the target identification of selected non-reactive natural products, and 4) application of all probes to identify novel enzyme activities linked to viability, resistance and pathogenesis. Moreover, the compounds will be used to monitor the infection process during invasion into eukaryotic cells and will reveal host specific targets that promote and support bacterial pathogenesis. Inhibition of these targets is a novel and so far neglected approach in the treatment of infectious diseases. We anticipate that these studies will provide a powerful pharmacological platform for the development of potent natural product derived antibacterial agents directed toward novel therapeutic targets.

Keywords: antibiotics mass-spectrometry proteomics natural products activity based protein profiling
Computing Biomaterials (COMPBIOMAT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Materials and Synthesis
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2010-StG_20091028, 2010)
Start date: 2010-12-01
End date: 2015-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499040.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499040.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of the proposal is to establish the foundations of a new discipline at the intersections of Materials Science, Synthetic Biology and Computer Science: the development of Computing Biomaterials. Computing biomaterials will be able to perceive multiple input signals, to process these signals by complex computational operations and to produce a corresponding output signal. The design principle of computing biomaterials will be inspired by computer science, the molecular control elements will be derived from synthetic biology and the overall framework for the construction of biomaterials will rely on materials science. The design principle will be hierarchical: at the basis, synthetic biology tools will act as sensor, processor and actuator. These tools will be integrated into biomaterials to build logic gates that perceive different input signals, process these signals by Boolean algebra and produce a corresponding readout. By the functional interconnected of several such gates, we will construct integrated biomaterial circuits that perform complex computational operations. The fundamental and generally applicable design principles as established in this proposal, will enable the rapid and predictable synthesis of integrated biomaterial circuits that function as integrated sensor, processor and actuator with custom-tailored performance and will show a vast application potential in emerging disciplines like biomedicine or microsystems engineering.

Keywords: logic gate,sensor device,synthetic biology