Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Adaptive evolution of meiosis in response to genome and habitat change (EVO-MEIO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator 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: Switzerland,United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2015-CoG, 2015)
Start date: 2016-04-01
End date: 2021-03-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1972386.0
EU funding (EUR): 750793.25
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Organisms rely on conserved cellular “house-keeping” processes for survival and fertility, but many of these can be upset by common environmental or cellular stresses. What happens if such a challenge becomes more than transient? Meiosis is a well-suited model for understanding how a constrained multiprotein process can evolve; it is biochemically well characterized, critical for fertility in sexual eukaryotes, and its core structures and functions are conserved across kingdoms. Yet proteins that orchestrate meiosis often have high primary sequence divergence among taxa and in some cases have undergone selective sweeps. We hypothesize this pattern reflects a need to repeatedly retune meiotic structures to new conditions over evolutionary time. Environment and genome architecture can both affect meiosis, but a common and particularly potent challenge is whole genome duplication (WGD), which has occurred in most major eukaryotic lineages. But WGD doubles the number of copies of each homolog present, and this can lead to formation of multivalent chromosome associations in meiosis, which can cause meiotic instability and low fertility. Nevertheless, many fertile and meiotically stable polyploids exist, showing that evolution can overcome this challenge. Here we will study how meiotic stability evolved in autopolyploid Arabidopsis arenosa. We previously showed selection acted on eight structural meiosis proteins and hypothesize these co-evolved as an “adaptive module” to prevent multivalent formation by reducing genome-wide crossover rates. This multidisciplinary research programme melds cytological, molecular, genetic, and genomic approaches to discover how meiosis functionally evolved before and after WGD. This work will provide novel insights into how a functionally constrained multiprotein process can evolve in response to challenges, and by providing understanding of crossover rate evolution and polyploid stabilization, is also relevant to rational crop improvement.

Keywords: polyploidy,adaptation,meiosis
Trions and sp3-Defects in Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes for Optoelectronics (TRIFECTs)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Panel description: Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-04-01
End date: 2024-07-31
Duration (months): 64.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1998500.0
EU funding (EUR): 1998500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) combine solution-processability, large carrier mobilities, narrow emission linewidths and environmental stability for optoelectronic devices with light-emission in the near-infrared (800-1800 nm, e.g., for optical data communication and bio-imaging) when sorted by (n,m) species. The recent availability of highly pure, monochiral semiconducting SWNTs as bulk materials allows us to employ and further tailor their charge transport and light emission properties and thus enables their application in practical devices. Two new emissive species - charged excitons (trions) and bright sp3-defects - were recently discovered in SWNTs and have fundamentally changed our notions about SWNT luminescence. Both show red-shifted, narrow and enhanced emission. However, very little is yet known about their photophysical properties and especially their interactions with each other and their environment (e.g., in devices). Their emissive properties could potentially be tailored by external magnetic fields, dielectric environment and additional functional groups. Strong light-matter coupling in suitable optical cavities could be applied to create trion-polaritons in SWNTs as new low-mass charge carriers in polaritonic devices. Trions and emissive sp3-defects are not limited to SWNTs and hence these concepts could be transferred and applied to other low-dimensional semiconductors. The goals of this project are to - understand and use trions and trion-polaritons for light emission and polaritonic charge transport, - understand and tune the interactions of sp3-defects with charges and trions in SWNTs, - modify and apply sp3-defects for enhanced light emission from SWNTs in optoelectronic devices, - explore trions in new low-dimensional materials (e.g., graphene nanoribbons and novel monolayered semiconductors).

Keywords: carbon nanotubes,sp3 defects,quasiparticles,trions,polaritons,charge transport,light emission,magneto optics
FABRICATION OF SENSOR PACKAGES ENABLED BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (TINKER)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Technologies for Factories of the Future
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Austria,Austria,Austria,Austria,Austria,Germany,Germany,Italy,Germany,Germany,Israel,Austria,Greece,Finland,France,Czechia
Call: Assembly of micro parts (RIA) (H2020-NMBP-TR-IND-2020-singlestage, 2020)
Start date: 2020-10-01
End date: 2024-03-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10241526.25
EU funding (EUR): 10241526.25
Participants: 16
Project status: SIGNED

The vision of TINKER is to provide a new cost- and resource efficient pathway for RADAR and LIDAR sensor package fabrication with high throughput up to 250units/min, improved automation by 20%, improved accuracy by 50% and reliability by a factor of 100 to the European automotive and microelectronic industry via additive manufacturing and inline feedback control mechanisms. Autonomous driving and self-driving cars represent one prominent example for the use of microelectronics and sensor, most importantly RADAR and LIDAR sensors. Their respective markets have a big potential, e.g. it is estimated that the market size of LIDAR in automotive will double itself in the next two years (within 2020 to 2022). The public awareness and the industrial need for further miniaturization of such sensor packages is the main driver of ongoing efforts in the automotive sector to be able to integrate such devices into the car body like in the bumps and head lamps instead of attaching them (e.g. on top of the car in case of LIDAR device). Safety (for the driver and others) is the most important key aspect of the automotive sector. Therefore highly-value and high performance RADAR and LIDAR systems are required for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) as well as robotic cars. Current bottlenecks are relevantly large size of such sensor devices, their weight and power consumption. Since these factors are highly limited within cars, further miniaturization and improving functionality and efficient use of resources is highly demanded.
Cooperative Lewis base / Metal-Catalyzed Enantioselective Annulations (COOPCAT)

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: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2021-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224933.76
EU funding (EUR): 224933.76
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

We plan to make innovative use of two catalysts in combination to achieve reactivity impossible with single catalysts acting alone and so develop new synthetic methods for the synthesis of biologically important compound classes. Catalytic approaches to chemical synthesis provide great benefits in terms of reducing the demand for energy and resources, and outwork will enable a ‘greener’ approach to molecules of value in medicine and healthcare. The combination of two catalysts (one acidic, one nucleophilic) offers particular advantages, but presents challenges of compatibility that we intend to overcome. Previously, Gong has demonstrated that chiral isothiourea Lewis base catalyst may be combined with the second mode of activation, such as Lewis acid catalysis, to enable α-amination of esters and decarboxylative [4+2] annulation of 4-ethynyl dihydrobenzooxazinones. We will build on this work by developing a new class of catalytic asymmetric C1 ammonium enolates as nucleophiles for ring opening and ring expansion chemistry. A chiral Lewis base and a metal salt will work together to promote acylammonium ion formation, ring opening, ring expansion and [4+3] and [4+2] cycloaddition chemistry. The reactions will exhibit regio- and stereocontrol, and we will aim for high yield and enantiopurity. This cooperative catalytic strategy, using a chiral Lewis base and a metal salt together, provides a powerful synthetic tool for the rapid stereoselective synthesis of small ring natural products and other bioactive targets. For the first time, it will provide a method for enantioselective [3+2], [4+2] and [5+2] annulations to generate ε-lactones, dihydropyridazinone, and dihydroquinolinone structures. It remains a challenge to selectively generate diverse products from identical substrates, and we intend to demonstrate that this is possible by employing catalyst rather than substrate control.

Keywords: asymmetric cooperative catalysis,chiral isothiourea lewis base catalyst,asymmetric c1 ammonium enolates,enantioselective 3 2,4 2 and 5 2 annulations
“Alcohol-impaired driving PREVENTion and personal authentication by a vehicle ignition interlock system“ (PREVENT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Smart, green and integrated transport
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Bulgaria
Call: Small business innovation research for Transport and Smart Cities Mobility (H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2017-05-01
End date: 2017-10-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

One of the greatest challenges we face in this regard is the level of safety of different means of transport, especially road transport, being one of the most widely used one, is safety. Every day, millions of EU citizens use the roads. Statistics is more than eloquent – in 2014, 25,700 people did not make it home and more than 200,000 people came home with life-changing, serious injuries. For the period 2003–2013 , the total number of road casualties equaled 422,569 (the population of a mid-sized city). In addition to the fatalities, the number of people injured in this period was 18 million. Furthermore, the social cost of road accidents is officially estimated to have cost EUR 130 billion per year. One of the main problems associated with road safety is driving under influence. About 25% of all road fatalities in Europe are alcohol-related . As the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in a driver increases, the crash rate also rises. Biodit Global Technology strives to provide an adequate solution of the problem related to drink-driving through the development and commercialization of an innovative non-invasive alcohol ignition interlock device which has the highest level of accuracy, compatibility with existing ignition systems as well as additional layer of security preventing manipulation of tests. During the Phase 1 we aim to examine the economic viability of the project and gain further detailed knowledge regarding the target market, including better understanding of the market segments, end-users needs and preferences as well as identify potential risks and bottlenecks for the further commercialization of the PREVENT device. Phase 1 project will conclude with the development of an elaborate business plan outlining the strategy for product development and commercialization.

Keywords: alcohol interlocks,innovative solution,non invasive alcohol detection,finger vein pattern recognition,transport safety,fighting alcohol impaired driving
Development of three dimensional coronary blood perfusion model in beating heart using advanced computational and experimental techniques. (PERFHeart)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Ireland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2021-02-01
End date: 2023-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 196590.72
EU funding (EUR): 196590.72
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Coronary vascular disease(CVD) has been studied for many decades and has been found to be a very complex problem. Despite dramatic medical advances over the last few decades, CVD remain a leading cause of death globally and the number one cause of death in the European Union (EU). Inspite of the tedious and creative work by many expert scientists from many different perspectives, the disease has only partially been understood. The approach that is taken here differs in basic tenets from earlier approaches, in that it starts from a very basic system of study inorder to progressively build higher levels of complexity. It is understood that the vast majority of the life threatening pathologies are associated with an imbalance between the demand in oxygen and the supply provided by the RBCs. This project will start studying the structure of the microvascular geometry and upscale the coronary circulation from there. The microvascular bed will be embedded into a beating heart with all complexities associated with it:contracting muscle fibre, complex fibre architecture, valves, coronary arteries and veins, etc. On that level, the project will multi-stage and multiscale with finite element (FE) modelling of myocardial contraction, deformation and perfusion. The interdisciplinary perspective in this study is strong with contributions from engineers, clinicians and biomaterial scientists. The scope of the study is usage of FE modelling for autoregulation of coronary perfusion which extends the applications of FE model to common pathologies such as ischemic heart disease, infarction or reperfusion issues and devices such as stents or cardiac assist devices, that improve coronary blood perfusion. This project is in line with the European heart health charter to promote research in the field of cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: coronary blood perfusion,finite element model,cardiac modeling,beating heart
HETeRoaromatic biomolecules Ultrafast Spectroscopy in liQuids (HETRUSQ)

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: Physics
Countries involved: Italy
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-05-01
End date: 2023-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171473.28
EU funding (EUR): 171473.28
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

I propose to determine the complete "structure-dynamics-function" picture of the photoinduced processes happening in heteroaromatic bimolecules in solution under ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. Whilst light induced processes are essential to life (vision and light harvesting processes such as photosynthesis are two prominent examples), they can also be extremely detrimental, as is the case for UV radiation damage of DNA. Nucleobases readily absorb UV light, accessing an electronically excited state and potentially triggering a structural rearrangement, leading to photolesions. Still, these “building blocks” of life present an inherent resistance ("photostability") to these processes, compared to other classes of molecules. This property, far from being comprehensively understood, is believed to be linked with how efficiently these molecules release the excess energy of the photo-prepared electronically excited state through non-radiative relaxation pathways (conical intersections - CIs). The location and topography of CIs can be extremely environment-dependent, particularly in a polar solvent like water: it is thus the interplay between solute and solvent that governs the dynamics and, thus, biological function of these molecules. I propose to perform few-fs resolved deep ultraviolet (DUV) pump - extreme ultraviolet (XUV) probe time resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (TRPES) studies on heteroaromatic biomolecules in solution, with the goal of determining their solvent dependent structural changes (location of the relevant CIs) and the early stages (first tens of fs) of the related ultrafast relaxation pathways. A deeper understanding of the relationship between the structure, dynamics and function of heteroaromatic biomolecules in solution under UV exposure could have multiple implications, from the more basic improvement of auxiliary protections against UV (e.g. better sunscreens) to more advanced materials- and bio- engineering based on nature mimicking.

Keywords: attosecond science,non adiabatic molecular dynamics,conical intersections,ultrafast optics,ultrashort uv pulses
Textile-reinforced tailored concrete structures (TexTaConStruct)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2023-01-31
Duration (months): 16.0
Total project cost (EUR): 149955.84
EU funding (EUR): 149955.84
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The concrete industry is facing major challenges in terms of the global climate crisis as this sector is accountable for 6 to 7 % of global carbon emissions. The proposed research tackles this problem using a multidisciplinary approach with new materials and advanced structural engineering. Textile reinforcement is a novel composite material that allows for a crucial reduction of the embodied CO2 when it comes to designing concrete components. Due to the fact that textile fabrics are made of materials with chemically inert properties, the reinforcement does not need to be excessively protected from environmental impact by concrete cover. In contrast to ordinary steel reinforced concrete (RC)-structures, which often appear massive in shape and execution, with a high wastage of cement that in many cases would not be necessary for the load bearing capacity, textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) allows for a reduction in the required material mass. However, while the form optimization of TRC structures is advantageous in achieving CO2 savings, even greater gains can be realised if the concrete materials within the structural component are also optimized. The fellowship will capitalise on the exciting potential to further decrease the embodied CO2 by functionally grading the concrete in profiled lightweight TRC elements according to the environmental and mechanical conditions the structure is subjected to. The inert characteristics of the textile reinforcement offer new possibilities to incorporate concretes with low amounts of cement clinker whereby the concrete is graded to meet performance objectives while concurrently minimising the carbon intensity. The combination of the extensive expertise of the applicant in the field of textile reinforcement and the fundamental knowledge of the host organisation on functionally graded concrete represents an ideal synergy to realise the fellowship research aspirations for next generation low carbon cementitious structures.

Keywords: textile reinforced concrete,functionally graded concrete,optimized structure
Protein design from sub-domain sized fragments (Protein Lego)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Panel description: Molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics, synthetic and chemical biology, drug design, innovative methods and modelling
Countries involved: Germany,Germany
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2014-CoG, 2014)
Start date: 2015-09-01
End date: 2021-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1950000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1928750.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Proteins are ubiquitous, very diverse, and participate in virtually every cellular process. Nature has generated this impressive set of proteins using mechanisms such as recombination of smaller, sub-domain sized protein fragments that serve as building blocks in a Lego-like manner. Based on these observations we propose a rational design strategy in which new functional proteins are build from fragments of existing proteins. With this approach we aim to tackle a long-standing goal in biochemistry, namely the design of complex, custom-made proteins. Initial experiments that recombine fragments from the same as well as from different folds have been successful in creating new proteins. Moreover, the utilized fragments contribute their unique functional properties to the protein chimeras, which is a tremendous advantage of using existing subunits for the design. Here, we aim to generalize this approach. We will identify common structural fragments and classify them based on their associated functions. We will build stable hybrid proteins from different folds, transfer functional sites associated with particular fragments, and thereby learn about general design rules. The proposed approach offers a rigorous test for the identification of minimal determinants of protein structure and function. It simultaneously allows us to test our understanding of protein evolution and will have profound implications on the current view of structural classification and interactions. And lastly, the development of a reliable methodology for the design of complex proteins will be very valuable for synthetic biology and bioengineering approaches.

Keywords: protein design,protein engineering,molecular evolution,origin of protein domains,structural classification