Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Harnessing CRISPR-Cas technology for sustainable antibiotic resistance markers (SENSIBLIOTICS)

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: Israel
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2025-POC, 2025)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2027-06-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The active spread of antibiotic resistance in laboratories and industry often occurs through the use of plasmids, which transfer resistance genes between bacteria. To mitigate this, strategies such as non-antibiotic selection methods, stringent containment protocols, and plasmid designs that minimize horizontal gene transfer have been proposed. However, these strategies often involve complex methodologies and require highly trained personnel. Recently, our ERC Consolidator results opened the path for a novel approach to develop antibiotic resistance markers for bacterial selection based on silencing naturally occurring bacterial genes without introducing new resistance elements. Unlike most resistance markers, it lacks a mechanism for degrading antibiotics. Therefore, a low concentration of antibiotics is sufficient to kill bacteria harboring it, minimizing the risk of transferring resistance genes to pathogens. To generate this easy-to-use marker, we will use the CRISPR-Cas system to randomly silence or down-regulate specific genes, including essential ones. We will identify guides that down-regulate genes associated with antibiotic sensitivity and then use these guides along with a Cas-silencer to confer antibiotic resistance. This proof-of-concept will validate the marker's effectiveness across bacterial strains for laboratory and industrial applications, clarify intellectual property positions, and establish industrial collaborations. With a team led by Prof. Qimron, an expert in bacterial defense systems, we anticipate a transformative impact on bacterial selection and maintenance processes. This novel marker has potential applications in medical research, biotechnology, microbiome manipulation, and industrial production. Its deployment will significantly reduce costs associated with antibiotic resistance management and treatment, contributing to a sustainable approach to tackling antibiotic resistance.
Transforming cryogenic optics for cosmic microwave background experiments (CMBeam)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Universe Sciences
Panel description: Astro -physics/ -chemistry/ -biology; solar system; planetary systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; space sciences; astronomical instrumentation and data
Countries involved: Iceland
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-11-01
End date: 2027-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999711.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999711.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Future experiments mapping the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are designed to revolutionize our understanding of the infant universe, the standard model of particle physics, structure formation, and the nature of dark matter. A key effort involves constraining or detecting the energy scale of cosmic inflation. A detection would mark a watershed moment in cosmology and high-energy physics, but in order to push constraints significantly past current limits, we need a dramatic change in instrument characterization capabilities — the primary focus of CMBeam. To address this challenge, we propose to construct a novel cryogenic holography facility for the purposes of testing optical systems of current and future experiments observing at microwave frequencies (40–400 GHz). We will use this facility to develop never-before-seen optical measurements that are critical for the success of next-generation experiments studying the CMB. As part of this program, we will perform warm and cryogenic (4-Kelvin) holography measurements of a complete reimaging optics tube for the Simons Observatory Large Aperture Telescope, the flagship CMB experiment of this decade. In a complementary effort, we will lead an ambitious analysis and calibration program for the Simons Observatory, which will deploy 60,000 cryogenically cooled detectors — three times the number of currently fielded detectors globally — in a site located 5,200 m above sea level in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Finally, we will develop algorithms that enable the design of novel freeform (asymmetric) optical systems that can greatly extend the scientific reach of future large-aperture telescopes such as upgraded version of the Simons Observatory and the CMB-S4 experiment.

Keywords: cosmic microwave background,cosmology,optics,telescope,cryogenics,holography,systematics
Immune-Me-on-a-Chip: A Personalized-Immunized-Human In Vitro Platform for Studying Human Physiology and Biological Threats (Immune-Me)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Biotechnology and Biosystems E ngineering
Panel description: Biotechnology using all organisms , biotechnology for environment  and food applications, applied plant and animal sciences , bioengineering and synthetic biology , biomass and biofuels , biohazards
Countries involved: Israel
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-12-01
End date: 2030-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2999263.0
EU funding (EUR): 2999263.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Understanding how the adaptive immune system works is of monumental scientific importance. It is remarkable, then, that despite the sophisticated modeling technologies available today, there are no human-relevant in vitro platforms mimicking the adaptive immune system in a physiological environment. Rather, state-of-the art models involve animals or in vitro systems that capture isolated elements of the immune response (e.g., activation by tumor cells). The challenge in developing immunized in vitro models is that adaptive immune cells cannot be co-cultured with non-autologous tissue, as they become activated and destroy it. We propose a groundbreaking paradigm that tackles this challenge, while advancing the greater ideal of personalized medicine. The approach builds on my expertise with the Organ-on-a-Chip: a microfluidic platform comprising human tissue that closely mimics organ functionality. I will create a novel platform integrating six vascularized Organ-Chips, all originating from iPSCs derived from a specific individual, which have been differentiated into specific tissue types. This fully isogenic platform will accommodate the donor’s adaptive immune cells: Because they originate from the same source, they will not be activated. Indeed, preliminary results support this hypothesis. The resultant system, Immune-Me-on-a-Chip, will constitute a first-of-its kind personalized-immunized-human platform for studying human physiology and biological threats. I will use the system to explore fundamental biological questions: (i) understanding how different isogenic and non-isogenic tissues interact with the immune system, e.g., in organ transplantation; and (ii) identifying how pathogens (antibiotic-resistant E. coli), as well as antibiotic treatment, affect human physiology and the immune response. This research will revolutionize the study of human physiology in general and of immunity in particular, and will open the door to a new era of personalized medicine.

Keywords: advanced in vitro models,personalized medicine,human immune system,ipsc and organs on a chip
Understanding the role of B cell phenotypes as a predictor of the efficacy and prognosis of allergen immunotherapy using allergic rhinitis to house dust mite as a model (PRE-BIT)

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 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-04-01
End date: 2025-07-31
Duration (months): 28.0
Total project cost (EUR): 185487.65
EU funding (EUR): 185487.65
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one the more prevalent respiratory allergic disease affecting 20-30% of the global population. The inflammatory process is mediated by eosinophil infiltration and IgE secreted by plasma cells. IgE is a key component in allergies so understanding IgE production and its inhibition is important for treating these diseases. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only treatment that targets the etiology of allergic diseases. However, the efficacy of the treatment reaches 70-80% in the best scenarios (lower for food allergy), it has a high cost, and most important, prediction of the effectiveness of the treatment is not possible with actual biomarkers. In this proposal the candidate seeks to better understand the phenotypes of B cells, key cells implicated in allergy that are modified with AIT. The knowledge generated by this study will provide biomarkers of AIT prognosis and even predict the outcome of the therapy by analyzing the B cell compartment in patients candidate for AIT. Using very innovative approaches, we will analyze the B cell repertoire involved in the resolution of AR through AIT. B cell repertoire will be analyzed in bulk before and after AIT. In addition, antigen specific B cells will be immortalized so the antibody sequence as well as reactivity can be studied. Moreover, we will perform an ex vivo class switch assay that could potentially predict the outcome of AIT using cytokine microenvironments like those produced by the therapy and or the pathogenic situations. B cell switching from IgD/M or IgG1 to IgG2/4 appears to be a critical step in the effectiveness in AIT because IgE memory resides in the IgG compartment. We will use AR to house dust mite patients as a model as it is one of the most prevalent allergic diseases.

Keywords: allergy,allergic rhinitis,b cells,ige,immunotherapy,dermatophagoides pteronyssinus,tolerance,igg2,igg4
Rejected by all? Managing (Un)desired Migration through the Expulsion and Repatriation process. The case of Portuguese in France (MigMan)

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: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2025-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195914.88
EU funding (EUR): 195914.88
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Based upon analysis of the expulsion and repatriation practices applied to Portuguese migrants in four French cities (Bordeaux, Lyon, Le Havre, and Paris), from a gender-privileged perspective, the core MigMan objective involves rethinking the management of undesired migrations during the interwar years. Interweaving the different interests between the countries of origin (Portugal), host (France), and transit (Spain), this seeks to grasp just why and how states decided to expel or repatriate Portuguese migrants. What actors were involved and what justifications did they provide? Who were these expelled and repatriated migrants? The project will deploy an innovative perspective of the undesirability concept, through applying Mezzadra’s concept of internal bordering and differential inclusion to analyze the processes of interaction ongoing among actors of subjection and subjectivation and to identify the factors for decision-making in accordance with the study locations. The interdisciplinarity also extends to recourse to never before consulted and interconnected archives in three countries (France, Portugal, and Spain), to historical methodologies (transnational and entangled methodologies) in conjunction with the digital humanities (with database building, spatiotemporal analysis and geovisualization).

Keywords: european migration history migration policy unwanted migrants expulsion repatriation france spain portugal interwar period return migration transnational history digital humanities
A revolutionary cell programming platform based on the targeted nano-delivery of a transposon gene editing system (NANO-ENGINE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Netherlands,Norway,Sweden,United Kingdom,Poland
Call: EIC Pathfinder Open 2022 (HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDEROPEN-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-04-01
End date: 2026-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2988377.95
EU funding (EUR): 2988377.7
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

Aim: The NANO-ENGINE project aims to develop a first-in-class, DNA-based, non-viral, targeted in vivo cell programming technology that can be utilized for treating a broad range of diseases, including cancer and genetic disorders. In this project, the consortium aims to assemble, characterize, and test the Targeted Nanoparticles, explore small-scale synthesis, conduct proof of concept studies and develop a preliminary business plan. Unmet need: Currently, the accessibility of cell therapies, specifically CAR-T cell therapy, to the general patient population is limited by high costs, complexity, and safety concerns. These limitations are caused by: 1) ex vivo manufacturing processes of adoptive cell technologies, 2) requirement of highly specialized clinical facilities, and 3) the clinical toxicities and the need for preconditioning chemotherapy. Therefore, there is a large unmet need for alternative approaches that makes adoptive cell therapy truly affordable, scalable, and widely accessible in an out-patient setting. Solution: We will develop Targeted Nanoparticles that form CAR-T cells in vivo, by combining a proprietary T cell binder-coated long-circulatory lipid nanoparticle and a non-viral, transposon-based, gene editing system. As such, we will circumvent the aforementioned issues associated with traditional cell therapies with reduced cost, complexity, and associated clinical risks, greatly increasing the accessibility of cell therapies to patients worldwide. Consortium: The consortium will leverage main applicant NANOCELL’s deep knowledge on non-viral gene transfer technologies. UU provides critical expertise on nanomedicine, protein and cell engineering. KI/UOXF has developed a revolutionary single particle analysis method, which allows the consortium to obtain unique drug product characterization insights. SINTEF adds crucial know-how on bulk analysis of Targeted Nanoparticles, and is closely involved in regulatory standards for nucleic acid therapeutics. QSAR uses machine learning to predict nanoparticle performance and minimize experimental work.

Keywords: cell therapy,cell biology,microbiology,technology commercialization,nanomedicine,in vivo gene editing,lipid nanoparticles,drug development,b cell malignancies,mass spectrometry
Development and commercialisation of a next generation sports head guard, embedded with clinically validated sensors, for the detection of sports induced brain injuries. (NProSend)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Ireland
Call: EIC Accelerator Open 2021 (HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATOROPEN-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-03-01
End date: 2024-12-31
Duration (months): 34.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3311475.0
EU funding (EUR): 2318032.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

10% of all contact sport athletes (in rugby/football/baseball/boxing) sustain regular concussions & mild traumatic brain (mTBIs) injuries due to linear & rotational head impacts. Globally >4M/annum mTBI incidents are reported in contact sports. With 20.1 concussions per 1000 player hrs, concussion is the most common reported match injury, occurs in 81% of the matches. Currently concussions/mTBI management/treatment costs EU €17B/annum. No existing headgear is clinically approved to provide protection against linear and rotational impacts hence fail to reduce concussion incidents. Contego Sports are developing world’s first clinically approved headgear for contact sports ‘NProSend’ which will reduce all linear impacts by 75% & rotational by 55% as compared to existing headgear. NProSend will also provide early detection of concussion/mTBI by processing cumulative effect of head impact data collected by embedded IoT enabled triaxial sensors and processed by AI algorithms.

Keywords: concussion,impact protection,clinical evidence in contact sport,bioinformatics,artificial intelligence
How genetic constraint and selection drive colour diversification? Reconstructing the evolutionary history of sexual dichromatism in island endemic lizards (EvoColour)

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: Sweden
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2024-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 222727.68
EU funding (EUR): 222727.68
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

How genetic architecture and selection jointly contribute to evolution is central to understanding the striking diversity of colours and patterns in nature. Yet, major questions remain: do novel colour variants appear gradually or in jumps? Can evolution of sexual signals proceed independently of colours used for crypsis? Can evolution modify male colouration independently of the colour of females and vice versa? Answering these questions requires the integration of highly multivariate data on colouration and ecological data, as well as information about the underlying genetic relatedness between populations and lineages. In particular, rapid diversification of coloration, between lineages of the same species, can put the role of genetic constraint and selection in evolution to the test. This project will be novel in studying these factors simultaneously across an extraordinary radiation: Balearic wall lizards (Podarcis pityusensis and Podarcis lilfordi). These lizards exhibit a striking variation in colouration between lineages isolated on more than forty islands in the Balearic Islands (Spain). In this project, I will i) reveal the evolutionary history of Balearic wall lizards, ii) establish if genetic constraints bias evolutionary change by reconstructing evolutionary transitions in body colouration between males and females (i.e. sexual dichromatism), and iii) put to the test the role of sexual and natural selection for evolutionary change in male and female colouration. This will offer genuine insights into the origin and evolution of colour diversity, and help to resolve how the diversification of colouration is shaped by genetic constraints and sexual and natural selection. Complementary, this project will provide a wealth of information (e.g. molecular, morphological, ecological) about two endemic species currently facing a decreasing population trend.

Keywords: animal communication,colouration,evolution,lizards,sexual dichromatism,visual signals
Fostering Queer Feminist Intersectional Resistances against Transnational Anti-Gender Politics (RESIST)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Theme: Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Destination: Innovative Research on Democracy and Governance
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Ireland,Greece,France,Germany,United Kingdom,Switzerland,Spain
Call: Feminisms for a new age of democracy (HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2379425.75
EU funding (EUR): 2379425.75
Participants: 10
Project status: SIGNED

Anti-gender politics pose a grave threat to modern democratic formations because they challenge people's everyday survival, bodily integrity, and self-determination. Anti-gender spans the political spectrum and manifests not only in illiberal and authoritarian regimes but also in democracies that are considered liberal and inclusive. Taking a transnational and intersectional approach, RESIST analyses anti-gender formations in their complexity and contradictions and explores the effects of anti-gender politics on the everyday lives of those vulnerable to it and on democracies on the whole. RESIST engages with heterogeneous manifestations of anti-gender across the EU, Europe, and beyond through eight national case studies (Belarus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Switzerland) and a transnational case study of people living in exile as a result of anti-gender persecution. RESIST pursues a mixed methods approach to analyse the production and circulation of gender-equality repressive strategies and discourses and their effects on lived experiences and resistances. RESIST innovates methodologically to engender democracy by fostering collaboration between academia and civil society organisations (CSOs), especially amongst people who come to be targets of anti-gender, including women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) persons. If those social groups whose fundamental rights are most at risk of violation by anti-gender are empowered to resist, then entire democratic societies benefit. RESIST centres feminist agency and collaborative knowledge production in (a) the research contents and results, (b) the methodological design, and (c) the social impact by generating new responsive feminist theories and practical solutions. At a time of increasing political disillusionment, RESIST creates hopeful, imaginative futures, transformative theories, and more inclusive worlds.

Keywords: gender,sexualities,intersectionality,transnational methodologies,transformational research