Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Complicity: A Crisis of Participation in Testimonies of Totalitarianism in Contemporary German-language Literatures (COMPLIT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Reintegration panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Austria
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-09-01
End date: 2021-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 186167.04
EU funding (EUR): 186167.04
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of COMPLIT is to analyse the role of language in structures of complicity in humanitarian, political, ecological, moral and other wrongdoings that raise the question of what democratic participation means. The research project aims at interdisciplinary innovation, relating recent research in law and social sciences to testimonies of totalitarianism in contemporary German-language literatures by Herta Müller, Aglaja Veteranyi, and Elfriede Jelinek. The project expounds the comprehensive role of language in structures of participation and involvement, and highlights that the concern of testimonies of past totalitarianism is for the present: They outline modes of partaking in institutional violence that draws on heritage, culture, social, and gender distinctions still active in the globalized world of the present. The outlook onto the broader academic discussion and current societal problems strengthens the stance of humanities research by demonstrating its relevance to citizens at large. The scientific rationale of the project is a two-way knowledge transfer in the training-through-research of the applicant, who is an experienced researcher in the field of comparative literature with special regard to law and literature, and currently a research fellow at Yale University in the US. While transferring knowledge about an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to literature with a strong outlook onto societal challenges on highest international academic standards to the host institution, Universität Wien, the applicant will be reintegrated into the European research network. The COMPLIT project is of clear relevance to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions programme because it contributes to a better understanding of the current crisis in European integration and the backlashes onto democratic freedom by resentments and beliefs from Europe’s violent past in addressing structures of public discourses and institutions that foster antidemocratic, totalitarian notions.
Tailoring the electrode-enzyme interface for efficient bioelectrochemical CO2 reduction by formate dehydrogenase (BERCO2)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-09-01
End date: 2023-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 191149.44
EU funding (EUR): 191149.44
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The main objective of this proposal is to optimize the enzyme-electrode interface to achieve efficient bioelectrochemical carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction by formate dehydrogenase (FDH). To achieve the overall goal of the proposed project, the specific objectives are: 1) Incorporation of an unnatural amino acid (UAA) to Molybdenum-containing FDH (Mo-FDH) such that the enzyme can be specifically and covalently attached to electrode surfaces with controlled orientation for improved electron transfer (ET) 2) Tailoring the bio-interface between electrodes and FDH H for facile electrocatalysis by direct ET (DET) or mediated ET (MET). This includes the design electrode surface with pyrene moieties/mediator for directing orientation of biocatalysts on electrode surfaces. 3) Bioelectrosynthetic CO2 capture with electrochemical systems exploiting UAA-FDH H. For this, the prepared UAA containing Mo-FDH based biocathodes will be coupled with a hydrogenase bioanode to provide a complete enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC) producing formate (HCOO− )and simultaneously producing electrical energy from molecular hydrogen (H2) and CO2. The project will be conducted in 3 work packages associated with research objectives. An UAA will be introduced to FDH H for the first time, yielding an approach for site-specific functionalization of complex metalloenzymes with this project. The proposed technology is highly attractive because it presents a promising solution to tackle global climate issues and energy concerns by providing improved green conversion of CO2 to chemical fuels. This project will be undertaken within the group of Professor Ross Milton (University of Geneva, Switzerland) and a secondment of two months is planned with Prof. Jason Chin (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK) in order to develop skills in UAA incorporation.

Keywords: co2 reduction,formate dehydrogenase,unnatural amino acid,bioelectrocatalysis,enzymatic biofuel cell,enzyme immobilization
Water Saving for Solar Concentrated Power (WASCOP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: Low-cost, low-carbon energy supply
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Italy,Germany,Spain,Spain,France,France,Czechia,Netherlands,United Kingdom,Morocco
Call: Developing the next generation technologies of renewable electricity and heating/cooling (H2020-LCE-2015-1-two-stage, 2015)
Start date: 2016-01-01
End date: 2019-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5941607.5
EU funding (EUR): 5941607.5
Participants: 11
Project status: CLOSED

Concentrating Solar Power is one of the most promising and sustainable renewable energy and is positioned to play a massive role in the future global generation mix, alongside wind, hydro and solar photovoltaic technologies. Although there is definitely perspective for the technology for rapid grow, success of CSP will ultimately rely on the ability to overcome obstacles that prevent its mass adoption, especially the large financial demand and limited accessibility of water. Water saving is therefore one of the major issues to ensure a financially competitive position of CSP plants and their sustainable implementation. To overcome such challenges, WASCOP brings together leading EU and Moroccan Institutions, Universities, and commercial SMEs and industry. They join their forces to develop a revolutionary innovation in water management of CSP plants - flexible integrated solution comprising different innovative technologies and optimized strategies for the cooling of the power-block and the cleaning of the solar field optical surfaces. WASCOP main advantage consists in the ability to reflect and adapt to the specific conditions prevailing at individual CSP plants, unlike other competitive approaches proposing a single generic solution applicable only on some referenced cases. The WASCOP holistic solution provides an effective combination of technologies allowing a significant reduction in water consumption (up to 70% - 90%) and a significant improvement in the water management of CSP plants. To demonstrate the benefits (whether economic or environmental), the developed system will be tested and validated in real conditions of four testing sites in France, Spain and Morocco after preliminary demonstration in laboratory environment.
Affordable photonic-chip based optical nanoscopy (Nano-Chip)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — 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 (ERC-2017-PoC, 2017)
Start date: 2018-04-01
End date: 2019-09-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The invention of super-resolution optical microscopy, commonly referred to as optical nanoscopy, has provided a glimpse of future impacts on cell-biology and health. Imagine the possibilities of scientific discoveries if every research and clinical lab is equipped with an optical nanoscope that is capable of imaging with resolution of sub-50 nm. Even though nanoscopy offers unprecedented opportunities, the widespread adoption of present nanoscopy is limited due to its present limitations, mainly system complexity and high ownership cost, next to technical limitations such as low throughput, slow-imaging speeds and lack of multi-modality. In the ERC PoC project, I will develop user-friendly photonic chip-based nanoscopy, to be used in a standard microscope, where sample is placed on top of a photonic chip capable of both holding and illuminating the sample, enabling to acquire super resolved images. Photonic-chips together with coupling unit can be retrofitted to any existing standard microscope converting it to high-resolution optical nanoscope.

Keywords: super resolution microscopy,bio imaging,integrated optics
From Evolution to Clockworks: Unravelling the molecular basis of circalunar clocks (EVOCLOCK)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Panel description: Ecology, biodiversity, environmental change, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology, marine biology, ecophysiology, theoretical developments and modelling
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2018-STG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-01-01
End date: 2024-06-30
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499728.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499728.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Circalunar clocks are endogenous biological clocks, which allow organisms to time development and reproduction to lunar phase. They are common in marine organisms, but their molecular basis is still entirely unknown. Candidate gene approaches have failed so far. In the marine midge Clunio marinus (Diptera: Chironomidae), I can elegantly overcome this problem by exploiting an array of local genetic adaptations in circalunar timing. Through evolutionary analysis, QTL mapping and genome screens my group currently produces evidence-based circalunar candidate genes without any need for prior knowledge or assumptions. In this ERC proposal, I aim to take this work to the next level and identify the molecular and cellular basis of circalunar clocks. I will establish molecular tools for Clunio and use them to confirm and characterize circalunar clock candidate genes. Specifically, I aim to: (WP1) Establish genome editing and confirm candidate genes via knockout and allelic replacement. (WP2) Study gene expression modules across the lunar cycle and identify the transcriptional regulators that exert circalunar control on development and maturation. (WP3) Describe Clunio’s larval nervous system and trace circalunar clock sensory input pathways to their convergence point. This will identify the cellular substrate of the circalunar clock. (WP4) Settle the on-going debate on the role of circadian clocks in circalunar timing. I will particularly study the role of the famous period gene. In the future, this molecular endeavour will also boost evolutionary work: Clunio will provide insights into fundamental questions, such as the role of genome architecture in local adaptation. But immediately, unravelling the molecular basis of circalunar clocks will be a breakthrough in chronobiology. It will inspire new ideas and experiments. Comparing circalunar to circadian clocks, we will for the first time be able to see basic principles in the molecular design of biological clocks.

Keywords: biological clocks,circalunar clocks
Pervasive muscle response monitoring for everyone, a physiotherapy revolution (MDURANCE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Spain
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2019)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2019-11-30
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Almost all of us have suffered a Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) of some type or another. Whilst for several of us a back, or neck ache can go with minor intervention, for many the problem can be chronic. Home life becomes a daily struggle, work can not be completed and lively hoods are ruined. At mDurance we have been developing a product that can rapidly analyse the complex data from non-invasive EMG (Electromyographic) sensors and present this to physiotherapists in an understandable format. EMG analysis allows visualisation of the electrical activity of the skeletal muscles in order to precisely pin-point which muscles are performing as they should and which are not. Current solutions that attempt to do this needed custom adaptation to each patient and situation, useful results take upto 45 minutes to generate and the costs are prohibitive for the overwhelming majority of physiotherapists. Based on the result of several years of research work and various scientific papers, mDurance has unique data processing that generates results within 5minutes. Running in the cloud and using low-cost EMG sensors we are aiming to drive uptake of this form of patient analysis to standard physiotherapist clinics. The result will be much faster MSD diagnosis and properly targeted and monitored rehabilitation exercises and processes. Additionally, we also target Hospitals and other organisations assessing the capacity of workers, as well as the sports market where we can increment athlete performance, better protect against injury and decrease rehabilitation times. The market is vast. There are over 1 million physiotherapy specialists worldwide and around 200,000 Health & Wellbeing Centres plus professional and high performance sport clubs together worldwide. With a dedicated go-to-market plan, we aim to take a 0.75% market share growing to 22 employees by 2023 and a total revenue of 10.76M Euros.

Keywords: musculoskeletal disorders,physiotherapy,rehabilitation,electromyography,neuromuscular health,athlete performance,artificial intelligence
The Evolutionary Origins of Friendship: A Cross-Species Comparison and Experimental Approach (FriendOrigins)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Panel description: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, theoretical philosophy
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2019-COG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-11-01
End date: 2025-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999716.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999716.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Friendship is crucial for human health and well-being. People who are socially isolated have a greater risk of heart disease than heavy smokers, drinkers, and the obese, and halting social isolation’s ongoing rise is a growing priority for public health and political policy. But coming to grips with our need for friends and the consequences we face in their absence requires we not only look at how friendship is manifested in contemporary societies but to its origins in our evolutionary past. Yet, the evolutionary origins of friendship and the degree to which friendship’s components reflect human specializations are unclear. Studying nonhuman primates allows us to identify the causes and consequences of friendship in evolutionary time and the extent of its human uniqueness. Nevertheless, we know surprisingly little about the contexts that drove friendly social bonds to emerge, whether friendship-relevant cognitive abilities reflect primate universals, and the reasons why evolution allows social isolation to persist despite being detrimental. In this project, I will conduct a series of landmark studies to reveal critical insights into the evolutionary origins of friendship. I will generate an unparalleled cross-species dataset on the best-known taxa of group-living primates, the macaques, and will perform innovative social experiments on a unique macaque population. I have three key aims: (1) to test the environmental forces driving variation in social bonds across species; (2) to establish whether having information on the friendships of unrelated others is a uniquely human skill; and (3) to test whether social isolation is the result of competitive exclusion. Friendship may be one of the most important strategies humans have for surviving in large groups. Understanding friendship from an evolutionary perspective is therefore a critical component of understanding what it means to be human. The proposed project represents a major step forward in that endeavour.

Keywords: social networks,social isolation,primate behaviour
Integrated Connectedness for a New Representation of Biology (ICON-BIO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Panel description: Informatics and information systems, computer science, scientific computing, intelligent systems
Countries involved: Spain,United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2017-COG, 2017)
Start date: 2018-04-01
End date: 2025-04-30
Duration (months): 85.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1893460.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The aim of the project is to develop a comprehensive framework for generalizing network analytics and fusion paradigms of non-negative matrix factorization to medical data. Heterogeneous, interconnected, systems-level omics data are becoming increasingly available and important in precision medicine. We are seeking to better stratify and subtype patients into risk groups, discover new biomarkers for complex and rare diseases, personalize medical treatment based on genomics and exposures of an individual, and repurpose known drugs to different patient groups. Existing methodologies for dealing with these big data are limited and a paradigm shift is needed to achieve quantitatively and qualitatively better results. The project is motivated by the recent success of non-negative matrix tri-factorization (NMTF) based methods for fusion of heterogeneous data in biomedicine. Though these methods have been known for some time, the availability of large datasets, coupled with modern computational power and efficient optimization methods, allowed for creation and efficient training of complex models that can make a qualitative breakthrough. For example, NMTF has recently achieved unprecedented performance on exceptionally hard problems of simultaneously utilizing the wealth of diverse molecular and clinical data in precision medicine. However, research thus far has been limited to special variants of this problem and used only fixed point methods to address these exciting examples of hard non-convex high-dimensional non-linear optimization problems. The ambition of the project is to develop general data fusion methods, from mathematical models to efficient and scalable software implementation, and apply them to the domain of biomedical informatics. The project will lead to a paradigm shift in biomedical and computational understanding of data and diseases that will open up ways to solving some of the major bottlenecks in precision medicine and other domains.

Keywords: molecular networks
Multi-scale mechanics of dynamic leukocyte adhesion (MechaDynA)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Panel description: Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological physics
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2017-COG, 2017)
Start date: 2018-09-01
End date: 2024-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2068959.0
EU funding (EUR): 2068959.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Leukocytes, white blood cells, patrol the vascular wall of our vessels in search of sites of inflammation. In the so-called leukocyte adhesion cascade, leukocytes flowing at high velocities (up to mm/s) impact the vessel wall, roll at µm/s, and finally migrate at nm/s to the site of inflammation. They are thus subjected to mechanical forces from sub-msec to several minutes. Complete understanding of the physical processes behind leukocyte adhesion requires an approach over multiple length and time scales, from single protein molecules to the whole cell. This is far from being established due, in part, to the lack of techniques covering the wide range of length and time scales involved. We have recently implemented high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to perform force spectroscopy measurements on biological samples with microsec time resolution. The novel acoustic force spectroscopy (AFS) traps hundreds of particles in parallel allowing hours-long measurements on single molecules. MechaDynA proposes to develop and apply these two novel nanotools to allow force measurements on living cells with the goal of obtaining a complete, multi-scale picture of the physics behind the leukocyte adhesion cascade over the widest dynamic range (µs-min). This will require development of HS-AFM technology and coupling with advanced optical microscopy. We will probe the binding strength of single adhesion complexes, and membrane and cytoskeleton mechanics at physiologically relevant time scales not explored so far. Technologically, it will establish HS-AFM and AFS as force measurement tools for living cells covering the widest temporal range. This will open the door to unexplored physical phenomena in cell biology, biological physics and soft condensed matter. Biomedically, the expected outcomes will provide a mechanistic description of the physical phenomena in leukocyte immune response that may lead to better diagnosis and therapeutics.

Keywords: cell mechanics,cell adhesion,membrane mechanics,molecular mechanics,atomic force microscopy,force spectroscopy,high speed atomic force microscopy,leukocytes,single molecules