Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Clusters And LENsing of Distant Sources (CALENDS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Universe sciences
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2013-09-01
End date: 2019-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1450992.0
EU funding (EUR): 1450992.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Some of the primary questions in extragalactic astronomy concern the formation and evolution of galaxies in the distant Universe. In particular, little is known about the less luminous (and therefore less massive) galaxy populations, which are currently missed from large observing surveys and could contribute significantly to the overall star formation happening at early times. One way to overcome the current observing limitations prior to the arrival of the future James Webb Space Telescope or the European Extremely Large Telescopes is to use the natural magnification of strong lensing clusters to look at distant sources with an improved sensitivity and resolution. The aim of CALENDS is to build and study in great details a large sample of accurately-modelled, strongly lensed galaxies at high redshift (1<z<5) selected in the fields of massive clusters, and compare them with the more luminous or lower redshift populations. We will develop novel techniques in this process, in order to improve the accuracy of strong-lensing models and precisely determine the mass content of these clusters. By performing a systematic modelling of the cluster sample we will look into the relative distribution of baryons and dark matter as well as the amount of substructure in cluster cores. Regarding the population of lensed galaxies, we will study their global properties through a multiwavelength analysis covering the optical to millimeter domains, including spectroscopic information from MUSE and KMOS on the VLT, and ALMA. We will look for scaling relations between the stellar, gas and dust parameters, and compare them with known relations for lower redshift and more massive galaxy samples. For the most extended sources, we will be able to spatially resolve their inner properties, and compare the results of individual regions with predictions from simulations. We will look into key physical processes: star formation, gas accretion, inflows and outflows, in these distant sources.

Keywords: gravitational lensing,galaxy clusters,high redshift galaxies
Classifying the Range of Exoplanetary Atmospheres using Transmission and Emission Spectroscopy (CREATES)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Universe sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2013-11-01
End date: 2018-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1495823.6
EU funding (EUR): 1495823.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Rarely in astrophysics are there opportunities to spectrally classify a completely new group of astrophysical objects. This is the challenge facing the exoplanets christened “hot Jupiters”. The detection and subsequent spectroscopic information now achievable for a large number of these exoplanets are now allowing for detailed comparative exoplanetology. This project uses a twofold approach to advance both the theory and observation of these exoplanets beyond their current limitations. Hot Jupiter atmospheric spectra are built from two large observational survey programmes headed by Dr. Sing to obtain a vast amount of high quality data on transmission spectra. One large programme uses the HST which alone will quadruple the number of broadband exoplanet transmission spectra. The Hubble survey will be augmented by a large programme on the GTC telescope, where we will put efforts into pioneering multi-object spectroscopy, capable of delivering space-like quality spectra. Both large programmes will be further complemented by followup observations, as well as existing near-IR spectroscopy. This project will combine this plethora of data in a coherent fashion, enabling studies of nearly the entire planetary atmosphere. Our observational efforts will be combined with a broad and inclusive theoretical modeling programme, where we will incorporate clouds and hazes, modelling the complete atmosphere in a self-consistent manner with a 3D global circulation model. Our library of transmission spectra across the hot-Jupiter class will be used to address long outstanding and complex issues. We will focus our efforts on two key areas, addressing why some hot Jupiters have hazes & clouds while others do not, and the outstanding issue on the presence or absence of stratospheres. For the first time a comprehensive set of high quality exoplanet spectra will be available with which to inter-compare using the required set of theoretical tools.

Keywords: extrasolar planets planetary atmospheres
Understanding White Mold disease quantitative resistance using natural variation (VARIWHIM)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Applied life sciences and biotechnology
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2013-11-01
End date: 2018-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499899.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499899.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Fungal plant pathogens are major and rising threats for global food security and environment sustainability. Necrotrophic fungi, that kill host cells for infection, are among the most devastating plant pathogens, yet our knowledge on the molecular bases of plant interaction with necrotrophs is one of the least advanced in the field of plant pathology. The lack of appropriate genetic resources and accurate high-throughput methods has prevented holistic approaches of quantitative immunity to necrotrophs. We recently documented extensive variation in the response to the necrotrophic White Mold fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism for plant biology. Using the latest developments in comparative genomics, our work over the last years has significantly improved our understanding of the emergence of virulence in filamentous plant pathogens. In this project, we will take advantage of this dual expertise on plants and pathogens to propose converging innovative approaches initiated from each partner of the interaction to provide the most complete characterization of plant quantitative immunity to necrotrophs. We will use a unique combination of genome-wide association genetics and comparative patho-genomics to dissect the components mediating quantitative immunity to necrotrophs, study their contribution to the evolution of resistance and their interplay with other stress responses. The selected pathosystem will also allow to rapidly exploit this knowledge to develop innovative approaches for breeding crop plants resistant to the White Mold disease. Through this multi-disciplinary research program, combining cutting-edge genome wide association mapping, comparative genomics, reverse genetics, ecogenomics, cell biology and biochemistry we will greatly advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant immunity and demonstrate the impact of this knowledge on resistance breeding.

Keywords: plant-microbe interactions genome wide association mapping comparative pathogenomics quantitative immunity
Three Dimensional Single Cell Analysis of the Cancer Stem Cell Inducing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Signaling Networks in Breast Cancer by Mass Cytometry (SIGNALING 3D)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Genetics,Genomics,Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Tumor metastases, relapse, and resistance to therapy are the main causes of death in cancer patients. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) drive cancer growth, are likely responsible for cancer reoccurrence, and provide the potential to colonize a metastatic site. A cell plasticity process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) generates CSCs from epithelial cancer cells and simultaneously equips these cells with motility and invasiveness, features prerequisite for metastasis. Consequently, therapeutic strategies that target EMT and CSC signaling networks are highly attractive. However, the properties of these signaling networks and their dependency on the tumor microenvironment and cancer genotypes are poorly understood. Here we propose to generate quantitative, time-resolved biomarker signatures and network models of EMT stages and CSCs on the single-cell level and to define their dependency on breast cancer tumor microenvironments and genotypes. Using mass cytometry, a technology able to quantify up to 100 proteins and phosphorylation sites simultaneously in a single-cell, the signaling network structure of EMT and CSC state will be gauged by modulation of cancer-related and signaling genes. These data will be used to infer mathematical signaling network descriptions of EMT and the CSC states, and to determine their master regulators and regulatory sub-networks. By extending mass cytometry to spatially resolved measurements, the EMT/CSC network states and their microenvironment will be analyzed in three dimensions in patient samples, and data will be correlated with associated genomic and clinical information. Based on these in vivo data, follow-up experiments in mouse models will be performed to validate the identified network states and cell-to-cell interaction as therapeutic targets. Finally, the in vivo dataset and its correlation with genomic and clinical information will be used to identify biomarkers for personalized medicine approaches.
Directed evolution of a synthetic episome based on hexitol nucleic acids (HNA) (HNAEPISOME)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Applied life sciences and biotechnology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-02-01
End date: 2019-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1188594.0
EU funding (EUR): 1188594.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A long term goal of synthetic biology is the assembly of a cell from its individual components. A genetic element based on synthetic nucleic acids capable of stable propagation, a synthetic episome, is the minimal genetic element required for the systematic development of all cellular components of a synthetic organism based on artificial nucleic acids. Recent progress in DNA polymerase engineering has successfully isolated variants with expanded substrate spectra capable of efficiently synthesising hexitol nucleic acids (HNA) from DNA templates, and capable of synthesising DNA from HNA templates. Together, they demonstrate that HNA can serve as a genetic material. However, the unavoidable DNA intermediate in HNA replication and their limited processivity greatly limit the potential of these polymerases for the development of an HNA episome. To establish an HNA episome, processive HNA-directed HNA polymerases as well as accessory proteins to support episome maintenance and replication are required. The bacteriophage phi29 requires only four proteins (including polymerase, terminal protein, single-stranded and double-stranded DNA binding proteins) and two DNA elements (origin of replication and high affinity sites for its double-stranded DNA binding protein) to replicate and maintain its linear genome, making it a suitable starting point for the development of an HNA episome. We propose to develop novel in vitro selection methodologies that will allow the directed evolution of a minimal HNA episome based on the phi29 system – including the isolation of an HNA-dependent HNA polymerase, a modified terminal protein and single-stranded as well as double-stranded HNA binding proteins. In addition to being a landmark result in synthetic biology, such HNA episome can form the basis of safer genetically modified organisms, in which the traits are encoded outside biology in an HNA episome dependent on the continued supply of artificial substrates for its maintenance.

Keywords: directed evolution,xeno-nucleic acids (xna)
From micro-scale interaction networks to ecosystem-level processes in microbial communities (MINT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Evolutionary, population and environmental biology
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2013-11-01
End date: 2018-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1940085.0
EU funding (EUR): 1940085.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

What makes understanding the ecology and evolution of microbes such a unique challenge is the fact that, while the life of microbes unfold at scales of a few micrometers, their impact on ecosystems can be perceived at the scale of meters or kilometers. Our inability to map ecosystem-level processes to the micro-scale interactions that take place in microbial communities is one of the main obstacles hindering the development of mechanistic models that allow us to interpret microbial diversity and predict community dynamics. The overarching goal of this research project is to understand how the biotic interactions between microbes at the scale of micrometers impact microbial community structure and dynamics. By reconstructing the spatial structure and the interaction networks of microbial populations colonizing particles of a few tens of microns in diameter in aquatic environments, the proposed research will build mechanistic models that will serve to i) clarify the structure-function mapping of microbial ‘species’ in the environment, ii) understand microbial community assembly at the relevant physical scales iii) model how perturbations in the environment lead to micro-scale shifts in community structure and iv) elucidate how biotic interactions influence genome evolution in microbial communities. The results of this project will fill a fundamental gap in microbial sciences, allowing us to connect micro-scale population and community interactions to the global diversity and function of microbial communities.
State Space Exploration: Principles, Algorithms and Applications (SSX)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-02-01
End date: 2019-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499737.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499737.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

State-space search, finding paths in huge, implicitly given graphs, is a fundamental problem in artificial intelligence and other areas of computer science. State-space search algorithms like A*, IDA* and greedy best-first search are major success stories in artificial intelligence, and hundreds of papers based on variations of these algorithms are published every year. Due to this success, the major assumptions of these algorithms are rarely questioned. We argue that the current generation of state-space search algorithms has three significant deficiencies that impede further progress in the field: 1. They explore a monolithic model of the world rather than applying a factored perspective. 2. They do not learn from mistakes and hence tend do commit the same mistake thousands of times. 3. In the case of satisficing (i.e., suboptimal) search, the design of the major algorithms has been based on ad-hoc intuitions rather than sound theoretical principles. This proposal targets these three issues. We propose to develop a rigorous theory of factored state-space search, a rigorous theory of learning from information gathered during search, and a decision-theoretic foundation for satisficing search algorithms. Based on these insights we will design and implement new state-space search algorithms addressing the deficiencies of current methods. Finally, we will apply the new algorithms to application domains of state-space search to raise the state of the art in these areas.

Keywords: state space exploration,search,state-space search,action planning,heuristic search,artificial intelligence
Buffet Control of Transonic Wings (BUCOLIC)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky
Action type: Article 171 of the Treaty
Partnership: CLEAN-SKY (Art-185)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (SP1-JTI-CS-2012-03, 2012)
Start date: 2013-10-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 23.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1269375.04
EU funding (EUR): 952031.28
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of this work programme is to develop a capability to understand and predict transonic buffet on wings fitted with buffet control devices. Wind tunnel tests will be performed on a half model with buffet control devices fitted to measure dynamic flow characteristics during buffet onset. Unsteady RANS and DES CFD calculations will be carried out, validated against the wind tunnel data. The CFD calculations will then be used to develop an improved understanding of transonic wing buffet. An industrialised computational method will be developed to enable buffet prediction to be carried out during wing design with buffet control devices fitted

Keywords: buffet,wind tunnel testing,rans-des,urans
In vivo imaging of haematopoietic stem cells in their natural niches to uncover cellular and molecular dynamics regulating self-renewal (HSCNICHEIVM)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Cellular and Developmental Biology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2019-08-31
Duration (months): 69.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1699724.0
EU funding (EUR): 1699724.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) reside in the bone marrow, from where they maintain immune cells, erythrocytes and platelets. To function correctly, they depend on their localisation within highly specialised niches, where cell-cell and -matrix interactions as well as medium- and long-range molecular signals are integrated to instruct them to either remain quiescent, or to generate progeny that will maintain both the stem cell pool and the differentiated lineages. Studies based on HSC transplantation assays have identified several signalling pathways and bone marrow cell types as regulators of HSC function; however the full picture of the cellular and molecular components of the HSC niche remains elusive because of lack of direct observation over time. HSC subpopulations have been identified based on their proliferative behaviour and it is likely that either migration between different microenvironments or transient modifications of the niche structure mediate changes in HSC fate in response to perturbations such as infection or leukaemia development. I pioneered the combination of confocal and two-photon microscopy to visualise single HSC and their progeny within the bone marrow of live mice and here I propose to combine advanced microscopy techniques with multi-colour genetic lineage marking and highly sensitive expression profiling to track HSC and their clonal progeny in vivo in real time and to study the cellular and molecular composition of their niches during steady state and when responding to infection and leukaemia development. This work will uncover whether functionally distinct HSC subpopulations reside in anatomically distinct niches or rather all HSC niches are in principle equivalent, but change over time to mediate changes in HSC fate balance. The results obtained will provide a comprehensive picture of HSC niche dynamics, which will be critical for the development of regenerative medicine approaches based on in vivo or ex vivo expansion of HSC.

Keywords: intravital microscopy haematopoietic stem cell niche
DropletMicroarrays: Ultra High-Throughput Screening of Cells in 3D Microenvironments (DROPCELLARRAY)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-02-01
End date: 2019-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499820.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499820.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

High-throughput (HT) screening of live cells is crucial to accelerate both fundamental biological research and discovery of new drugs. Current methods for HT cell screenings, however, either require a large number of microplates, are prone to cross-contaminations and are limited to adherent cells (cell microarrays), or are not compatible with adherent cells as well as with spatial indexing (droplet microfluidics). We recently demonstrated the use of superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic microarrays to create high-density arrays of microdroplets or hydrogel micropads. We propose here to develop a new platform for HT cell screening experiments using the unique properties of the superhydrophilic microarrays separated by superhydrophobic thin barriers. The new technology will allow us to perform up to 300K cell experiments in parallel using a single chip. Individual cell experiments will be performed in thousands of completely isolated microdroplet at defined locations on the chip. This will enable spatial indexing, time-lapse measurements and screening of either adherent or non-adherent cells. Parallel manipulations within individual microreservoirs, such as washing, addition of chemical libraries, or staining will be developed to open new possibilities in the field of live cell studies. Superhydrophobic barriers will allow complete isolation of the microreservoirs, thus preventing cross-contamination and cell migration. We will also develop a technology for the HT screening of cells in 3D hydrogel micropads. We will use these methods to gain better understanding of how different parameters of the 3D cell microenvironment influence various aspects of cell behavior. The project will require the development of new technological tools which can later be applied to a wide range of cell screening experiments and biological problems. Our long term aim is to replace the outdated microplate technology with a more powerful and convenient method for cell screening experiments.

Keywords: high-throughput cell screening,microarrays,droplet microfluidics,microfluidics,cell microarrays