Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
B cell-orchestrated tolerization of T cell-dependent B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases (Breaking Bad)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Panel description: The immune system , related disorders  and their mechanisms , biology of infectious agents and infection, biological basis of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases , innovative imm unological tools and approaches , including  therapies
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2024-ADG, 2024)
Start date: 2026-02-01
End date: 2031-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2373592.0
EU funding (EUR): 2373592.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Failure of thymic tolerance may result in severe autoimmune diseases that target the central nervous system (CNS), including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG)-associated Disease (MOGAD), and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD). Recently, we discovered a new layer of thymic tolerance in that thymic B cells get licensed to present activation-induced autoantigens, among them AQP4 (the target antigen in NMOSD). Thymic B cells are necessary and sufficient to purge the T cell repertoire of AQP4-specific clones. In BREAKING BAD, we will investigate in depth how thymic B cells shape the AQP4-specific T cell repertoire by either deleting AQP4-specific conventional T cells or agonist-selecting Foxp3+ Treg cells. To understand B cell-intrinsic and extrinsic checkpoints of this process, we will use genetic means to disrupt thymic tolerance to AQP4. Since we have cloned a variety of AQP4-specific TCRs, we are now in the position to track fate decisions and functional phenotypes of naïve T cells that react against AQP4, which is – in contrast to MOG – not only expressed in the CNS but also in peripheral organs. Finally, our data indicate that amyloid precursor protein (APP), associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer's disease, is an autoantigen that is – very similar to AQP4 – induced in B cells upon CD40 stimulation and expressed in thymic B cells. Therefore, we will investigate the APP-specific T cell repertoire and its ability to provide T cell help for the generation of anti-amyloid Abeta antibodies upon disruption of B cell-mediated tolerance to Abeta peptides by conditional genetic ablation of APP in B cells. In summary, BREAKING BAD will explore the significance of B cell-mediated tolerance for CNS autoantigens. We anticipate that our experiments will revolutionize the understanding and perhaps potential treatment options of CNS autoimmunity but also of major degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords: central tolerance,cns autoimmunity,negative selection,t cell receptor,t follicular helper cell
Total Synthesis of Noroxymorphone (NOROXYSYN)

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: United Kingdom
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-08-01
End date: 2027-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 276187.92
EU funding (EUR): 276187.92
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Opiates, derived from the poppy plant and exemplified by morphine, are important medicines for pain and other disorders because of their agonistic action on the opioid receptors. However, many opiates have bad side effects such as respiratory depression, sedation, and constipation. They can be highly addictive, which leads to abuse and overdose deaths. To address these issues, “nal-compounds” have been developed, which attenuate the effects of opioid receptor agonists, making them useful for treating opioid overdose and abuse; examples include the World Health Organization essential medicines naloxone and naltrexone, which are µ-opioid receptor antagonists. Other nal-compounds include nalbuphine, nalmefene, and nalfurafine, which have a range of clinical uses. Noroxymorphone is a common late-stage intermediate in the synthesis of nal-compounds, which makes its synthesis a critical task. Noroxymorphone is manufactured semisynthetically from the poppy-derived compounds oripavine and thebaine. However, the quantity of oripavine and thebaine in poppies is low compared to the most abundant compound morphine. In addition, poppy cultivation is problematic; it is highly space- and resource-intensive, and could be affected by floods, droughts, disease, and geopolitics. Illegal poppy diversion also fuels the illicit narcotic trade (e.g., heroin), resulting in huge societal problems. Therefore, breaking human reliance on the poppy by developing an industrially viable total synthesis of noroxymorphone from inexpensive feedstocks would be game-changing. Dozens of total syntheses of morphine and related compounds are already known, including one synthesis of noroxymorphone. However, none are remotely competitive with semisynthesis from poppy raw materials because of their step-count. In this MSCA Fellowship, we will use modern synthetic methods to develop a short (7/8 steps) lab-scale synthesis of noroxymorphone that is suitable for optimization for industrial manufacture.

Keywords: target compound synthesis,natural product like synthesis,morphinan opioids
Seeing and Being Seen: Representation in Proportional Systems (SEE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Panel description: Political science, international relations, law
Countries involved: Spain
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2030-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1969375.0
EU funding (EUR): 1969375.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Political representation links geography and citizens’ voices. In recent years, citizens have used their voices to channel their grievances about being left behind. Events such as Trump’s election, Brexit, the French Yellow Vests, and the rise of extreme-right across Europe motivated researchers to investigate the causes and consequences of geographic divides in contemporary democracies. However, most theoretical frameworks examining the interplay between geography and representation are rooted in the political, economic, historical, and sociological experience of the United States. Unlike the U.S., most European democracies employ proportional electoral systems, have strong political parties, stronger redistributive politics, and different urban organizations. Cities are denser, less segregated, and have more public transportation. The primary motivation for this project is to break new ground by developing a theoretical framework grounded on the institutional, socioeconomic, and historical trajectories of proportional European democracies. I analyze representation at the level it takes place: the electoral district. The complexity of electoral districts in European proportional democracies forces legislators into difficult trade-offs. SEE will (1) map representation inequalities inside electoral districts; (2) understand legislators' choices based on their preferences, biases, and partisan constraints; (3) identify and analyze the implications of legislators’ choices on citizens’ attitudes and reactions to representation; (4) create a theoretical and empirical framework to examine representation in the suburbs. SEE will use a comparative and integrative multi-method approach to meet its goals with a sequential integration of cross-sectional observational data, elite and mass survey experiments, and focus groups in a diverse set of six European proportional democracies: Austria, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

Keywords: representation electoral systems geographic inequality place based politics suburbs
Engineering carbon quantum dots for zinc ion hybrid capacitors (NanoCarbon)

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: Norway
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-03-18
End date: 2026-03-17
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 226751.04
EU funding (EUR): 226751.04
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Zinc ion hybrid capacitors (ZIHCs) integrate two energy storage mechanisms of battery-type electrode and capacitive electrode, bearing the advantages in energy density, power density, and safety. Until now, the cycle retention rate of ZIHC's capacity reported is still not more than 80%, restricting its development and commercial application severely. Focusing on the issue, the project aims at overcoming the limitation of traditional electrode materials and re-defining the designing concept to construct Carbon Quantum Dots (C-QDs) for ZIHCs. Advanced methods will be used to harvest carbon quantum dots from coal tar pitch (a sort of industrial solid castoff). The bulk sp2-carbon network, innumerable edge sites, profuse surface functional groups, and regular size ensures that as-synthesis C-QDs have high electrical conductivity, sufficient ion transport channels and rich adsorption sites. Moreover, the new concept of dynamic evolution is introduced for insight into the structure and interface failure of ZIHC's electrode. The interface-reconstruction mechanism and the attenuation model of capacity will be established for the first time. Further, the methods to strengthen structures of C-QD electrode will be developed based on a trade-off strategy. The ultimate goal is to improve the energy storage efficiency of ZIHCs by 20% and to increase their cycle performance more than 95% unprecedentedly. This research will develop long-running high performance ZIHCs, for contributing European energy storage industry. The ER will achieve abundant research experience and scientific skills from the project and the capability to launch her own research group in future.

Keywords: hybrid capacitor,carbon quantum dots,structural evolution
Digital neuroanatomy in Squamates: from endocast to brain morphology (NeuroSquam)

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: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 211754.88
EU funding (EUR): 211754.88
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

In the absence of brain tissues preserved in the fossil record, vertebrate endocasts provide the only ‘direct’ evidence of brain evolution through deep time, and the possibility to infer cognitive and sensory abilities of extinct taxa. However, the validity of paleoneurological studies critically depends on the reliability of endocasts as a proxy for brain morphology. The variable brain-endocast correspondences found between and within modern vertebrate lineages prevent any generalizations to date. A detailed understanding of brain-endocast relationships in extant vertebrates is thus extremely important in order to avoid erroneous interpretations based on endocast morphology alone. NeuroSquam aims to study the brain-endocast relationships in the clade of Squamata, including lizards and snakes. Despite previous studies reporting a wide range of brain versus endocranial cavity proportions in lizards, our understanding of squamate brain-endocast relationships remains limited. By combining 3D imaging and 3D geometric morphometrics on a wide range of species, this research will provide a detailed and updated assessment of the brain-endocast relationships in Squamata. I will explore how these relationships vary between and within species in order to understand the different eco-biological factors that may impact the correspondence between brain and endocast. In addition, the comparison of morphometric data obtained from different 3D imaging techniques will provide new insights into the impact of fixation and staining on tissue shrinkage. By identifying reliable tissue-specific correction factors to adjust for shrinkage, this project will provide a starting point for future neuroanatomical studies seeking to use data from different imaging protocols. NeuroSquam’s originality and interdisciplinary nature will generate exceptional datasets and high-profile outputs and establish the applicant as an innovative leader in functional and comparative (paleo) neuroanatomy.

Keywords: squamate,brain,endocast,neuroanatomy,brain endocast relationships,3d imaging
EUROPEAN SPACE, AERIAL AND TERRESTRIAL ASSETS SUPPORTING FIRST RESPONDERS’ OPERATIONS (EUSATFINDER)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Digital, Industry and Space
Theme: EU Space
Destination: EU Space
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Italy,France,Belgium,Germany,Czechia,Croatia
Call: EU GOVSATCOM for a safer and more secure EU (HORIZON-EUSPA-2023-SPACE, 2023)
Start date: 2024-10-01
End date: 2027-06-30
Duration (months): 33.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4596120.0
EU funding (EUR): 3299269.01
Participants: 11
Project status: SIGNED

Natural disasters - intended as hurricanes, landslides, fires, avalanches, flooding, earthquakes, industrial accidents, terroristic attacks, eruptions, pollution, etc… - have been seriously threatening the well-being of the global society. Over the past 50 years, more than 11,000 disasters have been attributed to weather, climate and water-related hazards, involving 2 million deaths. In this context Space assets and remotely piloted aircraft (drones) play a crucial role in emergency response and disaster management. First responders ask for a quick to deploy in-situ solution based on resilient and robust infrastructure to perform accurate mapping and extended surveillance for people and assets localisation. Accordingly, EUSATfinder is about demonstrating the effectiveness of a synergic use of three main European space programs, namely GOVSATCOM, Copernicus and Galileo in such critical situations. Three (3) GOVSATCOM resources will be used, namely ATHENA FIDUS Italina and French payload and VHTS Konnect from Eutelsat. Interfacing versus GOVSATCOM HUB will be also studied so that stakeholders may benefit of common pool of SATCOM resources (capacity and services) to face a situation crisis management. The purpose of the EUSATfinder is to provide an innovative integrated and scalable solution to support first responders in real-life during different operational phases and improving citizens wellbeing. In particular, in the tactical phase, EUSATfinder aims at improving the intervention capability and reducing the reaction time using shared capacities from different governmental and private satellite systems interoperable with terrestrial communication services. The above introduced objectives confer to the EUSATfinder project a worldwide dimension, having European public authorities, industries and research centres with the clear role to bring innovation and know-how to allow an effective crisis area management in emergency situations worldwide.

Keywords: athena fidus,eutelsat vhts konnect,galileo osnma,copernicus ems,copernicus clms,dual satellite satcom terminal,transnational cooperation
Deep single-cell phenotyping to identify governing principles and mechanisms of the subcellular organization of bacterial replication (BacterialBlueprint)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Panel description: For all organisms : Structure and function of the cell, cell -cell communication, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, organogenesis, growth, development, evolution of development, organoids, stem cells, regeneration, therapeutic approaches
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Modern metagenomics has opened our eyes to the immense bacterial diversity that exists both among and within us. Despite this diversity, all bacteria share the basic challenge of organizing the various processes that ensure their faithful replication. All bacterial cells need to metabolize nutrients, generate building blocks, maintain their shape and size, replicate and segregate their chromosomes, synthesize cell walls and membranes, and divide to give rise to daughter cells. At present, we do not understand how bacteria integrate all these processes in their small cellular compartments. What makes this question even more intriguing is that bacteria represent simple forms of proliferating cells, without additional layers of internal organization (e.g., membrane-enclosed organelles) or cell cycle regulation (e.g., cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases) seen in eukaryotic cells. My goal is to address this gap by uncovering the internal architecture of bacterial replication and identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie it. I will use a high-throughput single-cell phenomics approach that I developed and that provides high-content, quantitative cell biological information. By applying this approach across different levels of bacterial diversity (both within and across species, beyond the small number of currently existing model species), I aim to identify general and species-specific principles for the subcellular organization of replication in bacteria. This analysis will also enable the identification of key factors involved in establishing these governing principles, which will be functionally characterized further to provide a unique overview of the molecular mechanisms that determine the spatial organization of bacterial replication. If successful, this project will transform our understanding of bacterial cell biology by expanding it beyond current textbook standards and providing us with the blueprints and design principles of bacterial cells.

Keywords: bacterial cell biology,intracellular organization,cell cycle,cell morphogenesis,high throughput single cell phenotyping,bacterial systems biology,quantitative fluorescence microscopy
REusable MAsk Patterning (REMAP)

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: Italy,France,Portugal,Greece,Luxembourg
Call: EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 (HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-03-01
End date: 2026-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3925043.25
EU funding (EUR): 3925043.25
Participants: 8
Project status: SIGNED

Surface patterning is crucial for the progress of key enabling technologies (KETs) such as advanced manufacturing, microelectronics, nano/biotechnology and photonics. The current paradigm in surface patterning is optical projection lithography (OPL), a paradigm designed for high-resolution. However, emerging green technologies like micropatterned photovoltaics (PV) require high quality patterning at scale/throughput that is hardly attainable by OPL economically and sustainably. Importantly, half-pitch resolutions on the tens of μm-scale are totally acceptable for such applications, which does not justify the use of high-end OPL. In these cases, OPL is unsuited, because it relies on disposable masks with extremely high embodied energy. While the key asset of OPL is the mask, it is the component that currently makes it low-throughput and energy/material inefficient. Extensive efforts have been directed to develop maskless strategies, but most fall short when it comes to throughput and design flexibility. REMAP envisions a radically new and green surface patterning technique based on the spontaneous formation of reusable magnetic masks. Such masks are possible using fully adjustable and reversible interactions of "magnetorheological electrolytes" (MRE) on a substrate and microstructured magnetic fields generated by a permanent array of electromagnets below the substrate. By selectively activating each micro-electromagnet, it is possible to modulate the intensity and shape of the magnetic field (hence the mask) over space and time. This way, REMAP enables high-throughput area-selective additive and subtractive patterning on a surface at room temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the newly devised MREs and the tuneable magnetic array developed within REMAP will pave the way to a plethora of future applications from lab-on-a-chip biomedicine, NMR analysis and smart fluids for robotic space exploration.

Keywords: patterning,advanced manufacturing,magnetorheology,ferrofluid,nanoparticles,click chemistry,ionic liquid,electroplating,microfabrication,photovoltaics,cigs,cdte,raw material bottleneck
Shifting perspectives on environmental change: A History of the Earth Sciences in Central Asia and the Caucasus, 1880-2000 (ENVIROSHIFT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Study of the Human Past
Panel description: Archaeology and history
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2025-STG, 2025)
Start date: 2026-06-01
End date: 2031-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1377190.0
EU funding (EUR): 1377190.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

This project investigates the history of Earth sciences in the mountainous regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus, addressing the underexplored contributions of non-Western perspectives to environmental change discourses. By focusing on geologists, glaciologists, and seismologists in these areas during the Tsarist and Soviet periods, the research aims to shift attention from dominant Euro-American narratives to the unique experiences and contributions of local scientists. The study explores four main areas: 1) the management of science in the peripheries; 2) the production of localized knowledge; 3) the environmental and social impacts of resource extraction; and 4) the cultural representation of Earth scientists within Soviet ideology. This multidisciplinary approach integrates environmental history, the history of science, and post-colonial studies, challenging the notion of a uniform Soviet scientific enterprise and highlighting the diversity of environmental knowledge shaped by local contexts. The research employs a combination of archival research, oral history, and qualitative analysis, with four research clusters focused on uranium mining, expeditions in the Pamirs, glacier studies, and seismological research in the Caucasus. The project will produce two PhD dissertations and two habilitation theses. By situating Central Asian and Caucasian scientific contributions within global environmental debates, the project aims to enrich our understanding of human-environment interactions in the context of the Anthropocene.

Keywords: earth system science,field sciences,geology,climatology,glaciology,seismology,soviet union,history of the russian empire and the soviet union