Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Engineering B cells to fight cancer (EngineerBcells)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies  and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions , pharmacology, preventative  medicine, epidemiology and public health , digital medicine
Countries involved: Israel
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2021-COG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1996250.0
EU funding (EUR): 1996250.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

B cells have an important role in the immune response against cancer. Tumor specific B cells in tertiary lymphoid structures and anti-tumor antibodies in the plasma are associated with a favorable prognosis and with an improved response to checkpoint inhibition in different sarcomas and carcinomas. Antigen specific B cells home to tumors and prolong survival in mice, while B cell based vaccines allow durable anti-tumor activity in cervical cancer patients. We have recently demonstrated both ex vivo and in vivo B cell engineering for the expression of anti-HIV antibodies. Here, we propose a novel cancer immunotherapy approach based on engineered B cells. In particular, we use CRISPR/Cas9 and AAV to target the integration of anti-tumor antibody genes into the IgH locus. In diverse tumor models, we plan to demonstrate localized B cell activation upon antigen engagement. The B cells will exert multiple anti-tumor effects. Secreted antibodies will induce ADCC, CDC and ADCP. In addition, a polyclonal T cell response with epitope spreading will be facilitated by engineered B cells acting as APCs as well as by antibodies forming immune complexes to be taken up by dendritic cells and macrophages for cross-presentation. The B cell will be co-engineered to locally secrete additional immune effectors upon activation. These include: stimulatory cytokines, BiTEs, checkpoint inhibitors, CD40/27 agonists and cell penetrating nanobodies. Localized secretion is predicted to increase efficacy while reducing systemic toxicities. When targeting self-antigens, B cells will be engineered to co-express a CAR, relaying CD40 or TLR signals for T cell independent B cell activation and allowing allogeneic therapy. We will further demonstrate in vivo B cell engineering for increased scalability, and ensure safety using a suicide cassette for inducible B cell elimination. B cell engineering is thus a flexible and robust platform technology that may revolutionize cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: gene therapy,cancer immunotherapy,b cell,antibody,aav,car,hpv
Boosting predictive concepts on arrhythmogenesis resolving and unifying cardiac electrophysiology and structural remodelling at organ-level (HeartCORE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Panel description: Organ and tissue physiology, comparative physiology, physiology  of ageing , pathophysiology, inter - organ and tissue communication, endocrinology, nutrition,  metabolism, interaction with the microbiome, non -communicable diseases including cancer (and except disorders of the nervous system  and immunity -related diseases)
Countries involved: Italy,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): 2646938.0
EU funding (EUR): 2646938.0
Participants: 4
Project status: SIGNED

Remodelling processes associated with genetic and non-genetic cardiac diseases can cause electrical conduction disturbances and arrhythmias. Current models used to predict functional alterations due to structural remodelling fail to accurately assess arrhythmogenic risk, mainly because they do not draw upon comprehensive functional and structural data and are typically based on low-resolution and non-integrated information. Here, I present HeartCORE, an interdisciplinary approach designed to establish a mechanistic relationship between electrophysiological dysfunction and structural alterations in an animal model that mimics human cardiac electrophysiology. Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts will first be electrically characterized in terms of conduction, repolarization properties, and arrhythmogenicity using a dual-wavelength panoramic optical mapping system that includes the transmural dimension. The hearts will then be transformed into well-preserved, fully transparent organs and imaged with a high-throughput light sheet mesoscope to reconstruct cardiac muscle organization and collagen deposits with micrometric resolution. Selected high-resolution immunohistochemistry images will be integrated with the structural data of each organ to develop a computational model of cardiac electrical activity and explore the possibility of reproducing in silico experimentally observed electrical behaviour. This methodology will be applied to investigate the impact of cardiac remodelling (including non-myocyte reorganization) on conduction disturbances and arrhythmogenesis in two distinct scenarios: generalized interstitial fibrosis in congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and localized scarring in acquired myocardial infarction. HeartCORE aims to create a unifying model that integrates functional and structural data, enabling a comprehensive investigation of the morphological causes leading to electrical alterations and enhancing predictive concepts in arrhythmogenesis.

Keywords: cardiac electrophysiology arrhythmia cardiac fibrosis optical mapping mesoscopic imaging advanced microscopy computational cardiac electrophysiology
Glide-symmetric mEtamaterials for iNnovative radIo-frequency commUnication and Sensing (GENIUS) (GENIUS)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: France,Sweden,Italy,Germany,United Kingdom
Call: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01, 2021)
Start date: 2023-02-01
End date: 2027-01-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1853149.11
EU funding (EUR): 1525928.4
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

GENIUS (Glide-symmetric mEtamaterials for iNnovative radIo-frequency commUnication and Sensing) is an Industrial Doctoral Programme led by top European actors of research and innovation in the field of radio-frequency (RF) systems with applications to aerospace communications and automotive sensing proposing novel scientific tools provided by glide-symmetric (GS) artificial materials (or metamaterials). It has recently been discovered that these metamaterials, characterized by a special symmetry inside their constitutive unit cells, possess marvelous electromagnetic (EM) properties (propagation in an ultra-large bandwidth, strong isolation and high absorption features) capable to address the open challenges of modern RF systems, motivated by the increasing demand of ubiquitous connectivity, and the growing automation of transports. GENIUS aims at training highly skilled and creative researchers capable to propose out-of-the-box solutions to industrial needs by means of their knowledge of physical properties of complex EM systems. The design of devices will be enabled by the development of suitable modelling methods (circuit-based, integral-equation-based, quasi-optical) shedding light on the properties of GS materials and providing fast and reliable data on their behaviour. The inter-sectoral character of the training reflects its inter-disciplinarity content: researchers will benefit of academic expertise in GS metamaterials, of the industrial knowledge of applicative needs and of fabrication and test facilities not commonly found at individual institutions. GENIUS will be the only international training program bringing together metamaterial physics and application-oriented RF design. Its researchers will benefit of a dense network of contacts with scientists acquired during network-wide training events suitably complementing the skills acquired through research, to improve their career prospects in the European and worldwide innovation sector.

Keywords: glide symmetry
Precise, Rapid and Scalable Proteomics Solutions for Archaeology, Ecology, Wildlife Forensics and Food-chain Authentication (PReciSe)

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: Norway
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2024-POC, 2024)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Taxonomic identification of tiny organic samples using proteins (proteomics) has major, but only partially realised, potential in archaeology, ecology, wildlife forensics and food-chain authentication. It is a cost-effective and minimally destructive alternative to DNA analysis that can be applied even when DNA is not preserved. However, the most widespread method, known as ‘zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry’ (ZooMS) or peptide mass fingerprinting, cannot differentiate some taxa of major historical and ecological significance. Contaminated and mixed samples are also poorly resolved by ZooMS. Yet existing alternative methods are comparatively slow and expensive, even when optimised. The PReciSe project will develop a new proteomics approach to taxonomic identification that is fast, cheap, precise, reliable and realistically scalable to sample batches of varying size. The method will combine the speed and simplicity of ZooMS with the discriminating power of more complex techniques. It will immediately solve archaeological and ecological problems (extending to wildlife forensics in the case of endangered species) through the implementation of a research and commercial service at the National Laboratory for Age Determination in Trondheim. Moreover, by transferring innovations to industrial partners, environmental agencies and public health organisations, it will ultimately provide an alternative for quick and inexpensive supply-chain verification of aquaculture and livestock feeds – in order to exclude species that may be unsustainably sourced (e.g. in fishmeal) or potentially harmful (e.g. ruminant byproducts). Applications of the innovation will range from archaeological discoveries, to revealing the past and present sustainability of life in the oceans, to enhancing global food security and public health.

Keywords: zooms proteomics archaeology historical ecology north atlantic right whale bowhead whale food chain authentication fishmeal livestock feeds
Development of Mass Spectrometry based Analytical Methods for High-throughput Nanoplastic Screening in Environmental and Biological Systems (NanoTrojans)

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: Greece
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169326.72
EU funding (EUR): 169326.72
Participants: 2
Project status: TERMINATED

Nanoplastics (nPLs), defined as organic polymeric particles ranging in size from 1–1000 nm, represent emerging contaminants that are of significant relevance to environmental and food science, especially since initial toxicological studies have shown them to cross the gut barrier with unpredictable long-term effects. Such early-stage research signifies the need to study nPL behavior in greater detail, both in terms of their physicochemical behavior in the environment, as well as their toxicity. The latter may also be affected by their potential to (ad)sorb and transport other chemicals, especially toxic metals and organic pollutants, into living systems. Compared to microplastics (μPLs) ranging in size from 1-5 mm, nPLs possess significantly larger surface-to-volume ratios, thus making this effect more pronounced. As a result, such a Trojan horse-like transport of toxic chemicals into cells urgently needs further study and improved understanding. Therefore the main research and innovation objective of this project is the development, validation and application of novel analytical methods that aim to overcome current shortcomings in the detection and quantitation of nPLs, in environmental, food and biological systems. The analytical methods proposed in this project (hydrodynamic chromatography on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry along with appropriate sample preparation procedures) aim to provide capabilities that can be used to determine nPL particle size and the polymer or carbon amount per size fraction. These two parameters can be used to indirectly estimate nPL particle number concentrations, providing the plastic’s density is known. The proposed methods will also be used to monitor the presence of metals or metalloids either as additives or adsorbed onto nPL surfaces.

Keywords: nanoplastic determination,inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry,hydrodynamic chromatography,ion mobility spectrometry,electropsray mass spectrometry
Reliable and scalable procedures for the isolation and loading of extracellular vesicles (LABORIOUS)

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: Spain
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2023-POC, 2023)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Exosome-based therapies are among the hottest topics in biomedical research, driven by the unique properties of exosomes regarding stability, low immunogenicity, prolonged circulation and especially, selective targeting. In 2022, over 50 clinical trials using exosomes for therapy were under way, in diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes to central nervous system disorders. However, both current research on exosomes and their future translation into clinical therapies are hindered by two significant problems. The first is the isolation of exosomes (and of extracellular vesicles in general), a highly challenging task due to: i) the high complexity of the body fluids that contain them, and ii) the delicate nature of exosomes themselves: soft entities of 50-150 nm whose membrane is responsible for key properties and must be preserved. Ultracentrifugation, the standard isolation method, has clear limitations: low yields, impurity of the products and damage to exosomal membranes due to long processing times at high g. While numerous alternatives have been commercialized (size, affinity and precipitation-based methods), these issues remain unsolved. The second problem relates to the loading of therapeutic agents (nanoparticles, drugs, siRNA, miRNA), into exosomes without damaging their membranes, another challenge without a solution today. LABORIOUS leverages the experience gained in AdG CADENCE to propose innovative solutions. A novel tangential filtration procedure will segregate exosomes by size, removing impurities and minimizing pressure-induced membrane damage. Also, a pioneering continuous electroporation system will provide unprecedented control, allowing the load of therapeutic cargo with minimal membrane disruption. Results will be closely monitored for patenting and commercialization, in collaboration with an industrial observer.
Social Navigation with Adaptive Behavior Sets (SNABS)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: France,Canada,Spain,Japan
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-09-01
End date: 2030-02-28
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 390916.86
EU funding (EUR): 390916.86
Participants: 5
Project status: SIGNED

The global issue of aging populations (by 2050, a 60% increase in the proportion of persons aged above 65 is projected) places great strain on healthcare systems while simultaneously leading to a decrease in the active labor pool. Social robots have the potential to mitigate the problem by assisting and relieving workers in their basic tasks, such as delivering items or guiding people. To allow this, robots need human-aware navigation to move safely among humans, join, follow, or guide them. However, a major research challenge is the adaptability of the navigation behavior to quickly changing social contexts and environments, such as between areas where more safety space should be given than in others (e.g. hospitals compared to offices). For this purpose, SNABS (Social Navigation with Adaptive Behavior Sets) investigates a machine learning framework (Adaptive Behavior Sets for Transfer Reinforcement Learning) that promises quick adaptations by learning an extensive library of potential behaviors. Being in a new context, it selects the best behavior among them. However, the existing framework suffers from problems hindering its use for real-world applications. This includes the prediction of its behaviors’ outcomes in complex navigation scenarios with human trajectories and the identification of the best behavior in real-time. SNABS aims to overcome these problems by investigating new generative AI models for predicting future outcomes and by introducing new selection strategies for the behaviors. The project further researches how to successfully use the framework to train an adaptive social navigation controller for social robots. The controller will be evaluated in realistic healthcare scenarios. During a final placement at a European robotics manufacturer, the controller will be transferred to their robotic platforms and publicly shared to be directly applicable in the envisioned target scenarios in health and elderly care.

Keywords: reinforcement learning,transfer learning,deep learning,social robotics,human aware navigation,healthcare
On-Surface Atomic Spins with Outstanding Quantum Coherence (ATOMQUANT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Condensed Matter Physics
Panel description: Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological 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): 2260965.0
EU funding (EUR): 2260965.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The quantum nature of a physical system often emerges from its fundamental building blocks and demands a profound understanding to harvest its advantages for quantum devices. Their design requires knowledge about the atomic-scale environment of a quantum object to protect it from noise and energy exchange. For that purpose, spins on surfaces studied and controlled by a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and electron spin resonance (ESR) has emerged as an atomic workbench that permits to resolve quantum systems such as single atoms and molecules. However, up to now the coherent properties, in particular the phase coherence time, remain much worse than in other quantum architectures such as nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond or superconducting qubits. In ATOMQUANT, I aim to improve the coherent properties of spins on surfaces by several orders of magnitude. The main goal is to create a new atomic-force microscopy (AFM)-based architecture for quantum information processing and magnetic sensing operating on the atomic scale. I aim to achieve this goal i) by improvements in instrumentation: Here, I will set up single spin resonance in a milliKelvin-AFM setup, based on the technique of magnetic exchange force microscopy. ii) by addressing remote substrate nuclear spins and by utilizing them as a highly coherent quantum resource. This will here be realized by 25Mg nuclear spins that are found in the commonly used magnesium oxide substrate iii) by overcoming major challenges for the detection of spins on surfaces such as requirements for low temperatures and hurdles for device integration. The results of ATOMQUANT will have the potential to bring quantum research to the atomic limit, allowing for exploration of potential qubit systems with outstanding quantum properties in-situ and atom-by-atom. My previous extensive experience in the field of ESR-STM provides the best possible conditions to conduct this innovative high potential research endeavour.

Keywords: atomic force microscopy,scanning tunneling microscopy,electron spin resonance,single molecular magnets,quantum information,processing,quantum sensing,qubits,coherent manipulation,nuclear spin resonance,spins on surfaces
Development of a revised plant synthetic biology toolkit to advance crop improvement (REPLANT)

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: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-06-01
End date: 2024-11-30
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 206641.2
EU funding (EUR): 206641.2
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Agronomy faces significant global challenges such as coping with climate change, a need for more sustainable practices, and an increasing demand for more food of higher quality due to a growing population. Addressing them will require the adoption of transformative innovations, such as the genetic technologies that underlie Plant Synthetic Biology (SynBio). Plant SynBio, through transgenesis and more recently gene editing, allows us to proactively alter plant DNA to modify their characteristics and address the aforementioned challenges. In addition, plant SynBio can enhance the production of high-value, or new compounds in plants by molecular farming. SynBio requires the generation of complex DNA constructs that comprise several transcriptional units, facilitated by the development of modular cloning toolkits and the Phytobrick Standard Syntax, a recent agreement of the plant SynBio community that systematized the sequence requirements for cloning. The aim of REPLANT is to generate a new plant SynBio toolkit based on the Phytobrick architecture that includes the latest developments in protein production and gene editing techniques. The advantages provided by the REPLANT will be demonstrated by two proof-of-concept experiments with biotechnological applications: enhancing the production of SARS-CoV2 recombinant antibodies in plant leaves, and modification of tomato plant architecture in variants of commercial interest. This toolkit, alongside its dissemination approaches will allow a faster advancement of plant SynBio, accelerating the development of improved crops to help solve the global challenges of sustainability and food security.

Keywords: plant synthetic biology,crop improvement