Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
309509
Acronym:
RNAI
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Unveiling the Molecular Basis of RNA Interference with Single Molecule Fluorescence
Recent groundbreaking discoveries have changed our view on RNA from that of a passive information
carrier to an important regulatory element. MicroRNA is a small regulatory RNA that controls nearly all
mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. Since this regulation process (termed RNA interference/RNAi) occurs in a
sequence-specific manner, we can manipulate gene expression using custom-designed small RNAs. This
remarkable discovery introduced the possibility of RNA-based gene therapy and triggered intensive
research on the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), the core machinery of RNAi. The molecular
mechanism of RISC is, however, poorly understood due to the limited spatial and temporal resolution
of traditional tools, which has deterred development of an RNAi assay applicable to medical sciences. I
will use single-molecule fluorescence to investigate the entire process of RISC action with high spatiotemporal resolution. From RISC assembly through target mRNA search to target mRNA
degradation, it requires the cooperative action of multiple RISC components. As the protein-protein
and protein-RNA interactions are dynamic processes, it is challenging to study them in bulk where the
interactions are diffusion-limited and subsequent processes are masked from observation. With singlemolecule microscopy, I will observe all the processes in real time and quantitatively examine the
kinetics. In addition, I will dissect the complex processes of RISC action by observing multiple RISC
components simultaneously, using multicolor FRET that I have developed. Furthermore, to elucidate
the complex nature of RNAi, I will reconstitute protein complexes with a single-molecule
immunoprecipitation technique that I have recently innovated. This first single-molecule study on RISC
will enable us to reveal novel molecular mechanisms of RNAi. The fruitful outcome will aid the
development of RNAi free from off-target interactions, which will lead to RNAi-based gene therapy in
the near future.
End Date:
31/8/2017
Project ID:
310930
Acronym:
NUCLEARACTIN
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Project ID:
311318
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PROTDYN2FUNCTION
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Proteins are highly flexible objects that perform their functions by sampling a wide range of
conformations. The characterization of such motions is, therefore, crucial to establish the link between
protein structure and function. In this project we will use advanced nuclear magnetic resonance in
solution state and solid state to characterize functionally important motions in two challenging classes
of proteins. The first target of these studies will be a large molecular chaperone of close to 1MDa in
size. Conformational changes and dynamics are a prerequisite for the function of this assembly, as it
binds, encloses and folds unfolded substrate proteins. Atomic-resolution structures of such large
objects frozen in their crystal lattice do not provide access to dynamic information nor insight into the
folding process itself. Here, we will exploit the complementary advantages of solid- and solution-state
NMR spectroscopy to probe the dynamics, allostery and binding in a 1MDa object. Furthermore, we
will study how the chaperone cage influences folding, by observing in real time and at atomic
resolution how substrate proteins achieve their native fold inside and outside this large molecular
edifice. We will furthermore study the mechanism of substrate translocation across membranes by
characterizing structure, interactions and dynamics in a solute carrier protein. The dynamics of integral
membrane proteins is currently poorly understood. This relates to the need to address membrane
protein dynamics in an environment that closely resembles the native membrane. NMR techniques on
proteoliposomes as well as nanodiscs are uniquely suited to get insight into native dynamics. We will
use such techniques to relate the process of substrate translocation to inherent protein dynamics over
a wide range of time scales. The development of novel NMR methods will be an integral part of these
studies, and will allow us to probe protein motion at unprecedented detail.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
335439
Acronym:
ABDESIGN
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Project ID:
337116
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRXN-PURGE
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Project ID:
339367
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NCB-TNT
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Most of our drugs derive from natural products, many more natural products possess biological activity
but our inability to synthesise novel analogues hampers our ability to use them either as tools or
medicines. Cyclic peptides are common structural motifs in natural products and medicines
(vancomycin, gramicidin). They are widely recognised to constitute a promising and still underexploited
class of molecule for novel therapeutics; specifically an important role for cyclic peptides in the
inhibition of protein-protein interactions has been demonstrated. We will harness the power of the
recently identified macrocyclases from the ribosomally-derived cyanobactin superfamily to prepare
diverse modified cyclic peptides. These enzymes exhibit the remarkable ability to macrocyclise
unactivated peptide substrates. Different members of this family of macrocyclases process peptides
into macrocycles containing from six up to twenty residues. We have characterised and re-engineered
one member of the family (PatG) which makes eight residue macrocycles. We will determine the
structural and biochemical features of the macrocyclases that are known to lead to six or to twenty
residue macrocycles. We will use these insights to put these enzymes to work in novel chemical
reactions. We will combine macrocyclases with other enzymes from the cyanobactin biosynthetic
pathways (whose structures and mechanism we have largely determined) and work on solid phase
peptide substrates. By bringing together the power of solid phase methods (split and pool) and the
novel chemistry enabled by the enzymes, we will generate highly diverse macrocyclic scaffolds
containing amino acids, enzymatically modified amino acids, non-natural amino acids and non-amino
acid building blocks. Successful completion of the project will revolutionise the design of cyclic peptideinspired libraries with diverse backbone scaffolds for applications in target identification, drug
discovery and tool screening.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
617837
Acronym:
TRANSLATE
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Project ID:
637733
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PentaBrain
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
In the brain, Cys-loop receptors mediate fast neurotransmission. They function as allosteric signal
transducers across the plasma membrane: upon binding of one or more neurotransmitter molecules to
an extracellular site, the receptors undergo complex conformational transitions that result in transient
opening of an intrinsic ion channel. The Cys-loop family comprises receptors activated by serotonin,
acetylcholine, glycine and GABA. Mammalian receptors are also the targets of a legion of psycho-active
and therapeutic compounds (including nicotine, benzodiazepines, anti-emetics, general anaesthetics).
Our structural knowledge is currently limited to invertebrate homologues. Atomic structures
mammalian receptors are therefore acutely missing in order to understand their physiological role in
molecular terms, and to be able to develop new drugs targeting them. The project proposes to
decipher the operation mechanism, the pharmacology and conformational transitions of mammalian
Cys-loop receptors. Starting with a solid body of preliminary results, we will obtain new high-resolution
structures, taking advantage of antibody-based crystallization chaperones. We will try and record for
the first time a molecular movie of the gating conformational transition in cristallo. On the way, we
will also investigate the potential of antibody-based modulators of Cys-loop receptors for biomedical
applications.The applicant has solved in the past the structures of a bacterial Cys-loop receptor and of
the mouse serotonin receptor. The proposed research will take place at the CNRS in Grenoble, France,
in a very favourable environment for structural biology.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
647278
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CilDyn
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Molecular analysis of the Hedgehog signal transduction complex in the primary cilium
The unexpected connection between the primary cilium and cell-to-cell signalling is one of the most
exciting discoveries in cell and developmental biology in the last decade. In particular, the Hedgehog
(Hh) pathway relies on the primary cilium to fulfil its fundamental functions in orchestrating vertebrate
development. This microtubule-based antenna, up to 5 m long, protrudes from the plasma
membrane of almost every human cell and is the essential compartment for the entire Hh signalling
cascade. All its molecular components, from the most upstream transmembrane Hh receptor down to
the ultimate transcription factors, are dynamically localised and enriched in the primary cilium. The aim
of this proposal, which combines structural biology and live cell imaging, is to understand the function
and signalling consequences of the multivalent interactions between Hh signal transducer proteins as
well as their spatial and temporal regulation in the primary cilium. The key questions my laboratory will
address are: What are the rules for assembly of Hh signal transduction complexes? How dynamic are
these complexes in size and organisation? How are these processes linked to the transport and
accumulation in the primary cilium?I will combine state-of-the art structural biology techniques (with
an emphasis on X-ray crystallography) to study the molecular architecture of binary and higher-order
Hh signal transduction complexes and live cell fluorescence microscopy (for protein localisation and
direct protein interactions). These two approaches will allow me to identify and define specific proteinprotein interfaces at the atomic level and test their functional consequences in the cell in real time. My
goal is to consolidate a world-class morphogen signal transduction laboratory, deciphering
fundamental biological insights. Importantly, my results and reagents can potentially feed into the
development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics and reagents promoting stem cell therapy.
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
647474
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NeuroInCellNMR
Evaluation Panel:
LS1 - Molecular and Structural
Biology and Biochemistry
Project ID:
309831
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PATHOPROT
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Project ID:
310018
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IHCAP
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Project ID:
310325
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NONCODEVOL
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Recent genomics analyses have facilitated the discovery of a novel major class of stable transcripts,
now called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). A growing number of analyses have implicated lncRNAs in
the regulation of gene expression, dosage compensation and imprinting, and there is increasing
evidence suggesting the involvement of lncRNAs in various diseases such as cancer. Despite recent
advances, however, the role of the large majority of lncRNAs remains unknown and there is current
debate on what fraction of lncRNAs may just represent transcriptional noise. Moreover, despite a
growing number of lncRNAs catalogues for diverse model species, we lack a proper understanding of
how these molecules evolve across genomes. Evolutionary analyses of protein-coding genes have
proved tremendously useful in elucidating functional relationships and in understanding how the
processes in which they are involved are shaped during evolution. Similar insights may be expected
from a proper evolutionary characterization of lncRNAs, although the lack of proper tools and basic
knowledge of underlying evolutionary mechanisms are a sizable challenge. Here, I propose to combine
state-of-the-art computational and sequencing techniques in order to elucidate what evolutionary
mechanisms are shaping this enigmatic component of eukaryotic genomes.The first goal is to enable
large-scale phylogenomic analyses of lncRNAs by developing, for these molecules, methodologies that
are now standard in the evolutionary analysis of protein-coding genes. The second goal is to explore, at
high levels of resolution, the evolutionary dynamics of lncRNAs across selected eukaryotic groups for
which novel genome-wide data will be produced experimentally using recently developed sequencing
techniques that enable obtaining genome-wide footprints of RNA secondary structure. Finally, this
dataset will be used to test the impact on lncRNAs evolution of processes known to be important in
protein-coding genes.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
310765
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MACMODEL
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Harvesting the power of a new model organism: stem cells, regeneration and ageing in
Macrostomum lignano
The stem-cell theory of ageing posits that the functional decline in adult stem cells is one of the
factors contributing to ageing. Importantly, the number of stem cells does not diminish with age in
many tissues but rather there are intrinsic and extrinsic changes that affect their functionality. Is it
possible to reverse these changes? Experiments in the emerging model Macrostomum lignano suggest
that this is indeed the case. Remarkably, induced regeneration in this animal leads to extended
lifespan: repeated amputation, followed by regeneration, results in animals that live far beyond the
median lifespan of 205 days. Regeneration in M. lignano is facilitated by stem cells called neoblasts,
and it appears that regeneration resets the ageing program in these animals. Due to its high
regeneration capacity, small size, transparency and clear morphology, ease of culture, short generation
time and amenability to genetic manipulation, M. lignano has great potential as a model organism for
stem cell research. I have recently started developing genomic and genetic tools and resources for this
model, and at present my group has generated a draft genome assembly, produced de novo
transcriptome assembly, discovered several neoblast marker genes and made the first stable
transgenic lines in this animal. Here I propose to study molecular mechanisms underlying rejuvenation
in M. lignano, and to further advance M. lignano as a model organism through development of missing
genetic tools and resources. I will address how young, aged and regenerated worms differ in their gene
and small RNA expression profiles, and what are the differences and variation levels between neoblasts
of young, old and regenerated animals. The biological roles of the identified candidate genes and their
effects on the lifespan and neoblast activity will be investigated. In parallel, methods for efficient
transgenesis and gene manipulation will be developed, and the genome annotation improved.
End Date:
31/10/2017
Project ID:
311000
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AGELESS
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Project ID:
648039
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DUB-DECODE
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Project ID:
294523
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WNTEXPORT
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Sorting processes that ensure short and long-range action of Wnts in developing epithelia
Wnts are signaling proteins that act both at short and long range in developing tissues. Several
proteins, such as Wntless, are specifically devoted to Wnt secretion, indicating that Wnts may follow a
distinct secretory route. Moreover, Wnts carry two lipid modifications, which are likely to interfere
with diffusion in the extracellular space. Much of our work will focus on the trafficking of Wingless (the
main Drosophila Wnt), which forms a concentration gradient in wing imaginal discs. To chart the route
taken by Wingless from the ER to responding cells, we will devise techniques (e.g. BirA-dependent in
vivo biotinylation) to pulse label endogenously expressed Wingless in the secretory pathway and at the
cell surface. Wingless routing will also be investigated in conditions that alter Evi/Wntless trafficking.
We will capitalize on our observation that Wingless and Wntless are present on exosomes in
conditioned medium. These exosomes will be purified and characterized by mass spectrometry and the
resulting information will be used to devise rigorous functional assays. Similar approaches will be used
to identify and characterize proteins that associate with soluble Wingless, which is also present in
conditioned medium. Our proposed approaches will also enable us to assess, for the first time, the
function of exosomes in an intact animal. Once secreted, Wingless and associated proteins spread in
the extracellular space while remaining associated with the epithelial surface. We will use single
molecule imaging in a reconstituted system along with mathematical modeling to test the hypothesis
that the glypican-Wnt interaction is sufficiently strong to ensure surface retention while allowing
diffusion in two dimensions. Finally we will use biochemical approaches and molecular genetics in
Drosophila and mice to investigate the mode of action of Notum, a glypican-modifying enzyme that
could be relevant to the progression of Wnt signaling dependent cancers.
End Date:
30/6/2017
Project ID:
322699
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
THE FUSION MACHINE
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Project ID:
323052
Acronym:
SYMDEV
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Project ID:
339847
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MYODYN
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Myosins are fascinating proteins with unique biochemical and physical properties. The multiple roles
that they play in the dynamics of intracellular membranes are only beginning to emerge. Recent
findings from the research team have highlighted unexpected roles in membrane deformation and in
membrane fission played by two myosins (myosin 1b and myosin II) functioning at the interface
between the Golgi, TGN (Trans-Golgi Network) and endosomes. Building on these results, we propose
to establish a comprehensive model describing how several myosins work in concert with F-actin and
with microtubule-based motors for sustaining transport events and membrane dynamics in a region of
the cell at the crossroads of complex trafficking pathways. Towards this general objective, our main
goals are: Goal 1: to understand the role of myosin 1b in membrane deformation Goal 2: to understand
the role of nonmuscle myosin II in membrane fission Goal 3: to characterize the actin structures
required for myosin functions Goal 4: to identify and to characterize other myosins functioning at the
Golgi/TGN/endosome interface and to investigate their functional coordination Goal 5: to understand
how myosins are functionally coordinated with microtubule-based motors. The function of myosins will
be studied both at the cellular and physical level using two main original methodological approaches
available to the research team: minimal in vitro assays (giant liposomes and membrane nanotubes) and
normalized cell systems (micropatterns). This proposal represents a new development in the activity of
the research team composed of cell biologists, experimental and theoretical physicists. Success of this
proposal will rely on the strong experience of cross-disciplinary approaches that allowed the research
team in the past to elucidate several physical mechanisms underlying transport processes and
membrane dynamics.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
637530
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
REPROWORM
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Project ID:
639234
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PROCELLDEATH
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Project ID:
647186
Acronym:
MolCellTissMech
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Project ID:
649024
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
RegEvolve
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Comparative analysis of planarian regeneration - why some worms r eg ener ate w hi l e other s
dont
The ability to regenerate lost body parts is widespread amongst animals, yet humans, for example, can
only regenerate specific organs. Why some animals regenerate while others hardly do remains a
fascinating conundrum, especially so in face of survival of the fittest. Even amongst planarian
flatworms, famous for their ability to regenerate from random tissue fragments, species exist that have
completely lost the ability to regenerate. This proposal will exploit the unique diversity of planarian
regenerative abilities amongst to ask why some worms regenerate while others do not. We and others
have established that planarian Wnt signalling acts as critical node in the evolution of regeneration
defects. Using this finding as strategic focus for comparisons between regenerating and nonregenerating species, we will investigate i) the cell biological mechanisms that shape Wnt pathway
activity; ii) the genomic mechanisms that differentially deploy critical pathway regulators; and iii)
evolutionary mechanisms in form of life history trait trade-offs as possible driving force behind the drift
of regenerative abilities. Key to the project is a diverse collection of regenerating and regenerationdeficient species that my lab has established. Focused comparisons between our two primary model
species D. lacteum and S. mediterranea, employing pan-planarian antibodies and functional genomics,
will allow us to understand the detailed causes of altered pathway activity. Comparisons amongst the
entire collection of 50 species will provide the necessary breadth for identifying and studying the
evolutionary principles that naturally select regeneration-deficient planarians. The comparative
approach of RegEvolve will thus uniquely bridge the proximate (molecular)- with the ultimate
(evolutionary) causes of regeneration defects and such interdisciplinary endeavour between molecular
and evolutionary regeneration research will lead to new and profound insights into both fields.
End Date:
30/9/2020
Project ID:
671083
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ACTOMYOSIN RING
Evaluation Panel:
LS3 - Cellular and
Developmental Biology
Understanding Cytokinetic Actomyosin Ring Assembly Through Genetic Code Expansion, Click
Chemistry, DNA origami, and in vitro Reconstitution
The mechanism of cell division is conserved in many eukaryotes, from yeast to man. A contractile ring
of filamentous actin and myosin II motors generates the force to bisect a mother cell into two
daughters. The actomyosin ring is among the most complex cellular machines, comprising over 150
proteins. Understanding how these proteins organize themselves into a functional ring with
appropriate contractile properties remains one of the great challenges in cell biology. Efforts to
generate a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of actomyosin ring assembly have been
hampered by the lack of structural information on the arrangement of actin, myosin II, and actin
modulators in the ring in its native state. Fundamental questions such as how actin filaments are
assembled and organized into a ring remain actively debated. This project will investigate key issues
pertaining to cytokinesis in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which divides employing an
actomyosin based contractile ring, using the methods of genetics, biochemistry, cellular imaging, DNA
origami, genetic code expansion, and click chemistry. Specifically, we will (1) attempt to visualize actin
filament assembly in live cells expressing fluorescent actin generated through synthetic biological
approaches, including genetic code expansion and click chemistry (2) decipher actin filament polarity in
the actomyosin ring using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of labelled dimeric and
multimeric myosins V and VI generated through DNA origami approaches (3) address when, where,
and how actin filaments for cytokinesis are assembled and organized into a ring and (4) reconstitute
actin filament and functional actomyosin ring assembly in permeabilized spheroplasts and in
supported bilayers. Success in the project will provide major insight into the mechanism of actomyosin
ring assembly and illuminate principles behind cytoskeletal self-organization.
End Date:
31/10/2020
Project ID:
309322
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TUMORGAN
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
The failure to bring about major advances in cancer care over the past decades points to the need for a
revolution in our view of cancer as a disease caused by a lack of growth control in malignant cells. We
propose that a tumor should be considered a communicating organ made of multiple cell types that
collectively evolve into a clinically manifested and deadly disease. With this proposition follows that
targeting of communication within tumors to attenuate the support from the stroma is the only viable
strategy to achieve long term therapeutic benefit. Our research addresses the need to study the
cellular context of cancer with a higher resolution. The general aim of the proposed work is to identify
subsets of different cell types within the tumor stroma that hold utility as therapeutic targets and
biomarkers. The work will be performed through a set of experiments bridging basic biology, preclinical studies and molecular oncology. The specific aims are: 1) Identification of cellular subsets of
the tumor vasculature 2) Investigation of the therapeutic utility of cellular subsets of the tumor
vasculature 3) Exploration of the potential of cellular subsets of the tumor vasculature as biomarkers
The aims of the study will be pursued through a series of methodological refinements. Firstly,
identification of novel components of tumors will be achieved by the assembly of a mouse genetic tool
box enabling isolation, lineage tracing and functional studies. Secondly, single cell transcriptome
sequencing will be performed to identify cellular subsets using materials from both mouse and man.
Thirdly, the utility as therapeutic targets of the new cellular subsets will be assessed using a live
imaging approach. Fourthly, the clinical significance of the new cellular subsets will be investigated
using exclusive patient materials. Taken together, the information provided by our studies will enable
us to take cancer therapy into a new era of personalized medicine.
End Date:
28/2/2018
Project ID:
311082
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AGEINGSTEMCELLFATE
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
The Role of Ectopic Adipocyte Progenitors in Age-related Stem Cell Dysfunction, Systemic
Inflammation, and Metabolic Disease
Ageing is accompanied by ectopic white adipose tissue depositions in skeletal muscle and other
anatomical locations, such as brown adipose tissue and the bone marrow. Ectopic fat accrual
contributes to organ dysfunction, systemic insulin resistance, and other perturbations that have been
implicated in metabolic diseases. This research proposal aims to identify the regulatory cues that
control the development of ectopic progenitor cells that give rise to this type of fat. It is hypothesized
that an age-related dysfunction of the stem cell niche leads to an imbalance between (1) tissue-specific
stem cells and (2) fibroblast-like, primarily adipogenic progenitors that reside within many tissues.
Novel methodologies that assess stem/progenitor cell characteristics on the single cell level will be
combined with animal models of lineage tracing to determine the developmental origin of these
adipogenic progenitors and processes that regulate their function. Notch signalling is a key signalling
pathway that relies on direct physical interaction to control stem cell fate. It is proposed that impaired
Notch activity contributes to the phenotypical shift of precursor cell distribution in aged tissues. Lastly,
the role of the stem cell niche in ectopic adipocyte progenitor formation will be analyzed. External
signals originating from the surrounding niche cells regulate the developmental fate of stem cells.
Secreted factors and their role in the formation of ectopic adipocyte precursors during senescence will
be identified using a combination of biochemical and systems biology approaches. Accomplishment of
these studies will help to understand the basic processes of stem cell ageing and identify mechanisms
of age-related functional decline in tissue regeneration. By targeting the population of tissue-resident
adipogenic progenitor cells, therapeutic strategies could be developed to counteract metabolic
complications associated with the ageing process.
End Date:
28/2/2018
Project ID:
311549
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CALMIRS
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
322977
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WAYS
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Role of Liver Estrogen Receptor in female Energy Metabolism, Reproduction and Aging: What About
Your Liver Sexual Functions?
In mammals, the liver is the peripheral integrator of nutrient availability and energetic needs of the
entire organism. We recently demonstrated that dietary amino acids (AA) activate liver Estrogen
Receptors (ER) and that, in case of food scarcity, the lowered circulating AA decrease liver ER activity
and reduce IGF-1 synthesis with the consequent blockage of the estrous cycle. Here, we hypothesize
that in females liver ERa is also a sensor of the endogenous signalling induced by transitions among
reproductive stages and a key organizer for the changes required to adapt energy metabolism to
reproductive necessities. Thus, we propose that in mammals liver ERa is regulated by reproductive
functions and that, in case of ovary malfunctioning, the altered estrogenic signalling causes metabolic
impairment leading to local and perhaps systemic disruption of energy homeostasis. To demonstrate
our theory, we will explore: i) the molecular pathways activating liver ERa and the related ERa
transcriptome by genome-wide analytical tools; ii) the hepatic metabolism and the systemic
consequences of liver ER pharmacological and genetic manipulations by means of metabolomic
technologies; iii) the association between altered signalling on liver ER and the onset of metabolic
disorders; iv) the molecular interactions between ER and PPAR activity and the effect of estrogens on
liver autophagy. WAYS research is facilitated by a series of tools such as ER conditional KO, reporter
mice, arrays of genes known as target of liver ERa, and others generated by our laboratory in
collaboration with EU groups in previous EU programs. The vision of the liver as a functional unit with
reproductive organs constitutes a paradigm shift in our understanding of woman physiology; thus, the
full comprehension of liver ERa activity and regulation will be a critical step for the conception of new
therapies for several diseases affecting women including the metabolic syndrome or the non-alcoholic
steatosis.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
336204
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ISLETMESENCHYME
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
614847
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
LIFEWITHOUTINSULIN
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
616917
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
RARITOR
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
The mammalian Target Of Rapamycin (mTOR) is a master regulator of growth. mTOR is a protein kinase
that exists in two distinct complexes in the cell and transduces virtually all anabolic signals from the
environment: nutrients, such as glucose and amino acids, growth factor peptides, such as insulin and
insulin like growth factors, oxygen, mitochondrial metabolites, energy status. mTOR is required to
sustain cell responses to nutrient availability including cell growth, proliferation, macromolecule
biosynthesis, and suppress autophagy. During the past ten years we have generated and characterized
a wide panel of mouse mutants in the mTOR pathway. We were involved in revealing specific
phenotypes that increased our knowledge of mTOR roles in pathophysiology: mutants with small cells,
mutants resistant to tumorigenesis in specific tissues and after specific oncogenic insults, mutants
mimicking caloric restriction and promoting longevity, mutants with muscle dystrophy, mutants with
altered insulin action. The overall goal of our research proposal for the next five years is twofold. From
one hand we want to better understand fundamental processes including cell size control and
organismal longevity. To this end we want to determine the molecular targets of the mTORC1/S6
kinase cassette that may explain the alterations in cell size and lifespan when these kinases are
deregulated (project 1). From the other hand we want to understand and cure rare human genetic
diseases that arise from pathological changes in the activity of the mTOR pathway in children or that
may benefit from therapeutical intervention on this pathway. These diseases include Tuberous
Sclerosis Complex, PEComas and hemangiomas (project 2), metabolic diseases (projects 3), lysosomal
storage diseases (project 4). The translational approaches in this proposal will stem from a close
interaction with multiple Medical Dept. in our shared research campus of the Necker Children Hospital.
End Date:
31/1/2020
Project ID:
617676
Acronym:
PHONICS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Positioning the nucleus for cell migration and muscle fiber function
The cell nucleus is positioned at specific places within the cytoplasm and this position is important for
different cellular, developmental and physiological processes. Nuclear positioning depends on
connections between nuclear envelope proteins and the cytoskeleton. In migrating cells, we found that
the nucleus is positioned away from the front of the cell and this event is important for cell migration.
We performed an RNAi screen for nuclear positioning and found new nuclear envelope proteins
involved in nuclear positioning. In fully developed myofibers, nuclei are specifically positioned at the
periphery of the myofiber, while during development and regeneration, as well as in multiple muscle
pathologies, the nucleus is centrally positioned. We found new mechanisms drive nuclear movement
during myofiber formation. We also showed that nuclear position is important for muscle function.
However why nuclear positioning is important for myofiber activity remains an open question. We
now propose to use unique systems to monitor cell migration and myofiber formation in combination
with biochemistry, cell biology, high- and super-resolution microscopy approaches to: 1) Identify novel
molecular mechanisms that mediate nuclear positioning during cell migration and myofiber formation.
3) Determine a role for nuclear positioning in myofiber function as well as the significance of altered
nuclear positioning in different forms of muscle pathology. The proposed work will establish new
mechanisms for nuclear positioning. Importantly, by identifying mechanisms and understanding the
role of nuclear positioning in myofiber function, we will lay the foundations for future studies to
ameliorate or treat muscle disorders as well as other conditions where nucleus positioning may prove
to play a role such as cancer.
End Date:
30/6/2019
Project ID:
637458
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MISTRANSMITO
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
638193
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CRCStemCellDynamics
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Molecular Subtype Specific Stem Cell Dynamics in Developing and Established Colorectal Cancers
Annually 1.2 million new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) are seen worldwide and over 50% of patients
die of the disease making it a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. A crucial contributing factor to
these disappointing figures is that CRC is a heterogeneous disease and tumours differ extensively in the
clinical presentation and response to therapy. Recent unsupervised classification studies highlight that
only a proportion of this heterogeneity can be explained by the variation in commonly found (epi)genetic aberrations. Hence the origins of CRC heterogeneity remain poorly understood. The central
hypothesis of this research project is that the cell of origin contributes to the phenotype and functional
properties of the pre-malignant clone and the resulting malignancy. To study this concept I will
generate cell of origin- and mutation-specific molecular profiles of oncogenic clones and relate those to
human CRC samples. Furthermore, I will quantitatively investigate how mutations and the cell of origin
act in concert to determine the functional characteristics of the pre-malignant clone that ultimately
develops into an invasive intestinal tumour. These studies are paralleled by the investigation of stem
cell dynamics within established human CRCs by means of a novel marker independent lineage tracing
strategy in combination with mathematical analysis techniques. This will provide critical and
quantitative information on the relevance of the cancer stem cell concept in CRC and on the degree of
inter-tumour variation with respect to the frequency and functional features of stem-like cells within
individual CRCs and molecular subtypes of the disease. I am convinced that a better and quantitative
understanding of the dynamical properties of stem cells during tumour development and within
established CRCs will be pivotal for an improved classification, prevention and treatment of CRC.
End Date:
31/3/2020
Project ID:
638891
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NutrientSensingVivo
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
A major role of metabolic alterations in the development of several human diseases, as diabetes,
cancer and in the onset of ageing is becoming increasingly evident. This has a deep impact for human
health due to the alarming increase in nutrient intake and obesity in the last decades. Fundamental
aspects of how aberrant nutrient fluctuations trigger deregulated hormone levels and endocrine
signals have been elucidated, being a prime example the phenomenon of insulin resistance. In
contrast, how changes in nutrient levels elicit direct cell-autonomous signal transduction cascades and
the consequences of these responses in physiology are less clear.The signalling circuitry of direct
nutrient sensing converges with that of hormones in the regulation of the mechanistic target of
rapamycin (mTOR) kinase, a driver of anabolism, cell growth and proliferation. Deregulation of
mTORC1 activity underlies the pathogenesis of cancer and diabetes, and its inhibitor rapamycin is
approved as an anti-cancer agent and delays ageing from yeast to mammals. In spite of its importance
for human disease, our understanding of the nutrient sensing signalling pathway and its impact in
physiology is largely incomplete, as only a few years ago the direct molecular link between nutrients
and mTORC1 activation, the Rag GTPases, were identified.The present proposal aims to determine how
the nutrient sensing signalling pathway affects mammalian physiology and metabolism, and whether
its deregulation contributes to cancer, insulin resistance and aging. In particular, the objectives are: 1)
To identify novel regulators of the Rag GTPases with unbiased and candidate-based approaches. 2) To
establish the consequences of deregulated nutrient-dependent activation of mTORC1 in physiology, by
means of genetically engineered mice. 3) To determine the impact of the nutrient sensing pathway in
the effects of dietary restriction and nutrient limitation in glucose homeostasis and cancer.
End Date:
31/12/2020
Project ID:
639382
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
aCROBAT
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Obesity and diabetes have reached pandemic proportions and new therapeutic strategies are critically
needed. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a major source of heat production, possesses significant energydissipating capacity and therefore represents a promising target to use in combating these diseases.
Recently, I discovered a novel link between circadian rhythm and thermogenic stress in the control of
the conserved, calorie-burning functions of BAT. Circadian and thermogenic signaling to BAT
incorporates blood-borne hormonal and nutrient cues with direct neuronal input. Yet how these
responses coordinately shape BAT energy-expending potential through the regulation of cell surface
receptors, metabolic enzymes, and transcriptional effectors is still not understood. My primary goal is
to investigate this previously unappreciated network of crosstalk that allows mammals to effectively
orchestrate daily rhythms in BAT metabolism, while maintaining their ability to adapt to abrupt
changes in energy demand. My group will address this question using gain and loss-of-function in vitro
and in vivo studies, newly-generated mouse models, customized physiological phenotyping, and
cutting-edge advances in next generation RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry. Preliminary, smallscale validations of our methodologies have already yielded a number of novel candidates that may
drive key facets of BAT metabolism. Additionally, we will extend our circadian and thermogenic studies
into humans to evaluate the translational potential. Our results will advance the fundamental
understanding of how daily oscillations in bioenergetic networks establish a framework for the
anticipation of and adaptation to environmental challenges. Importantly, we expect that these
mechanistic insights will reveal pharmacological targets through which we can unlock evolutionary
constraints and harness the energy-expending potential of BAT for the prevention and treatment of
obesity and diabetes.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
646849
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
LYMPHORG
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
646903
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
INFANTLEUKEMIA
Evaluation Panel:
LS4 - Physiology,
Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
Project ID:
309865
Acronym:
NEUROCODEC
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
311149
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ER-HSP
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
311403
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GLISFCO
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Odors are key components for sensory communication involved in behaviors such as social
communication or food search. Recently, molecular receptors, neuronal architecture, physiological
regulation, and behavioral consequences underlying these biological processes are starting to be
revealed in an increasing number of animal models. But more and more breakthroughs are highlighting
some unexpected results asking for deeper studies. The Drosophila melanogaster has proven to be a
particular powerful tool to understand, to test, and to manipulate the complex neurogenetical
interactions between molecular and cellular partners controlling such behaviors. We have shown that a
subset of glia is mastering the activity of a population of neurons involved in chemoperception in
Drosophila (e.g. glutamatergic neurons). We have also recently uncovered a striking molecular and
neuronal architecture regulating courtship using food odors instead of classical pheromones in fruit
flies. Our emerging team at the CSGA-UMR 6265 CNRS will expand these pioneer works to understand
how glia and neurons are interacting to impact fly chemosensory choice. For this aim, we will develop
powerful genetic tools in Drosophila to reveal and to manipulate the communication between glial
cells and neurons in peripheral sensory organs and in projection centers in the brain. We will also look
for conserved mechanisms in other insect species (mosquito). The expected data are susceptible to
touch a large scientific public since olfaction plays a key sensory modality in most animal species. The
collected data on glial function in neuronal activity control will have also a strong impact on finding
new strategies to understand neuronal disorders in humans.
End Date:
31/10/2017
Project ID:
322541
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MESSI
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
323113
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NETSIGNAL
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
In the past decade, astroglia have emerged as an active and critical partner in neural circuit
communication in the brain, in health and disease. However, the increasing variety of mechanisms
which reportedly contribute to astroglia-neuron signal exchange is nearing a conceptual bottleneck.
How these multiple and diverse mechanisms relate to the functional organisation of astroglia, whether
this relationship persists or whether it adapts to neural activity remains poorly understood. Building
upon substantial preliminary work and extensive collaboration, our overall objective is to establish
principles that guide signal formation, integration and propagation in neural circuits interacting with
astroglia. We will focus mainly on hippocampal circuitry and combine single-cell electrophysiology,
multi-photon excitation imaging, time-resolved and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy,
pharmaco- and optogenetic tools and extensive biophysical and neural network modelling. Firstly, we
will establish whether and how glia-neuron signal exchange relates to the structure and function of
individual synaptic connections represented by postsynaptic dendritic spines and presynaptic axonal
boutons. Secondly, we will identify cellular mechanisms by which individual astrocytes integrate, in
space and time, calcium signals arising from distinct types of local physiological input. Thirdly, we will
determine physiological machinery that prompts use-dependent, meta-plastic changes in the neural
circuit-astroglia exchange and in glial signal processing. Fourthly, we will establish the relationship
between neural network oscillations and periodic activities of astroglial assemblies. Finally, we will
undertake a computational and theoretical analysis of principles that govern the role astroglia in
information handling by neural networks. We expect that the results will provide novel and conceptual
insights into the basic machinery underpinning the activity of brain circuits.
End Date:
31/5/2018
Project ID:
323606
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PARIETALACTION
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
We will use univariate and multivariate functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) techniques,
surface and stereo EEG, and in depth single cell recording to investigate the role of human parietal lobe
in the monocular or stereoscopic observation of actions performed by conspecifics either using their
biological effectors or artificial implements (tools, spears, bicycle, microphone, etc). The fMRI
techniques will provide evidence for segregated processing of different types of observed actions
within the parietal cortex. The EEG techniques will provide the time course of the electric activity in the
parietal regions in comparison to the events and dynamic changes in the video and the time course in
other parts of the action observation network. The stereo EEG also provides a more precise localization
than fMRI, serving as an important confirmation of the fMRI results. The single cell recordings are
crucial to demonstrate the selectivity of the neuronal processes for actions observed, their postural or
kinematic parameters or localization in the visual field. This selectivity is crucial to show the presence
of mirror neurons for the different types of actions and the use of tools, to document the contribution
of the parietal neurons to discrimination between actions, and to assess the benefits of stereoscopic
viewing. This project should yield a comprehensive view of the role of parietal lobe in action planning
and understanding, including using artificial implements, and pave the way for understanding how
higher-order parietal cognitive processes are rooted in the simpler action planning and understanding
capacities.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
335561
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CHEMOSENSORYCIRCUITS
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Smell and taste are the least studied of all senses. Very little is known about chemosensory information
processing beyond the level of receptor neurons. Every morning we enjoy our coffee thanks to our
brains ability to combine and process multiple sensory modalities. Meanwhile, we can still review a
document on our desk by adjusting the weights of numerous sensory inputs that constantly bombard
our brains. Yet, the smell of our coffee may remind us that pleasant weekend breakfast through
associative learning and memory. In the proposed project we will explore the function and the
architecture of neural circuits that are involved in olfactory and gustatory information processing,
namely habenula and brainstem. Moreover we will investigate the fundamental principles underlying
multimodal sensory integration and the neural basis of behavior in these highly conserved brain areas.
To achieve these goals we will take an innovative approach by combining two-photon calcium imaging,
optogenetics and electrophysiology with the expanding genetic toolbox of a small vertebrate, the
zebrafish. This pioneering approach will enable us to design new types of experiments that were
unthinkable only a few years ago. Using this unique combination of methods, we will monitor and
perturb the activity of functionally distinct elements of habenular and brainstem circuits, in vivo. The
habenula and brainstem are important in mediating stress/anxiety and eating habits respectively.
Therefore, understanding the neural computations in these brain regions is important for
comprehending the neural mechanisms underlying psychological conditions related to anxiety and
eating disorders. We anticipate that our results will go beyond chemical senses and contribute new
insights to the understanding of how brain circuits work and interact with the sensory world to shape
neural activity and behavioral outputs of animals.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
335590
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEVAI
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
337011
Acronym:
LUNAR.CLOCK
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
339237
Acronym:
P75NTR
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Understanding death-receptor signaling and physiology in the nervous system: A roadmap for the
development of new treatments to neurodegenerative diseases and neurotrauma
The aim of this proposal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and physiological relevance of
death-receptor signaling in the nervous system and to harness this knowledge for the development of
novel treatments to neurodegenerative diseases and neurotrauma. The main focus is on the p75
neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), which is predominantly expressed in the developing nervous system
and is highly induced upon different types of adult neural injury. Additional studies on other death
receptors, such as DR6, are also described. p75NTR signaling can induce neuronal death, reduce axonal
growth and decrease synaptic function, hence there is a good rationale for inhibiting p75NTR in neural
injury and neurodegeneration. Recent discoveries from my laboratory have clarified the mechanism of
p75NTR activation and provided new insights into the underlying logic of p75NTR signaling, paving the
way for a genetic dissection of p75NTR function and physiology. These discoveries have open new
avenues to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand-specific responses and downstream
signal propagation by death-receptors, unravel the physiological relevance of death-receptor signaling
pathways in health and disease, and develop new strategies to block death-receptor activity in neural
injury and neurodegeneration. To drive progress in this research area it is proposed to: i) Elucidate the
mechanisms by which p75NTR and other death receptors become activated by different ligands and
elicit distinct, ligand-specific cellular responses; ii) Elucidate the mechanisms underlying the specificity
and diversity of p75NTR signaling and decipher their underlying logic; iii) Elucidate the physiological
significance of distinct p75NTR signaling pathways through genetic dissection in knock-in mice; iv)
Harness this knowledge to identify and characterize novel p75NTR inhibitors. This is research of a highgain/high-risk nature, posed to open unique opportunities in research & development.
End Date:
31/5/2019
Project ID:
340318
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PEPTIDELEARNING
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Humanity has always been intrigued by the nearly mythical properties of the brain. With its billions of
neurons and innumerable connections, the brain is of such complex nature, that trying to understand it
may seem a vain project. Yet, by using the mini-brain of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans,
which shares many components with the human brain but counts only 302 neurons, thorough research
can penetrate into this complexity. We here pursue to deliver a much-needed understanding of how
learning and memory processes are regulated by neuropeptide signaling in the brain. Neuropeptides
are small regulatory proteins that are implicated in a variety of processes. Growing evidence exists for
their involvement in learning and memory, but how they exert these effects is largely unexplored. In C.
elegans we recently disentangled a conserved vasopressin/ocytocin-related system that as in
humans mediates associative learning. As such, we can deliver the experience, model and logical
approach to provide detailed insights in neuropeptidergic control of learning and memory. We will first
identify the endogenous ligand of all orphan C. elegans neuropeptide GPCRs, as this will provide the
essential basis to build this project on. Mutants of neuropeptide-receptor pairs will then be tested for
their ability to learn or maintain associative short- or long-term memory. We will also define in which
cells and circuits relevant neuropeptides and receptors are needed for these functions, in order to
generate models of neuropeptidergic control of learning and memory. We envisage the use of novel
tools and cutting-edge experimental setups to take this research beyond its current horizon. Via single
cell RNA sequencing, optogenetic analyses and in vivo calcium imaging, we will develop a workflow to
build integrative models of associative learning and memory processes mediated by neuropeptides,
which will serve as a scaffold for the study of these processes in more complex brains.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
615094
Acronym:
EVONEURO
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
638314
Acronym:
MoNaLISA
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
639272
Acronym:
SurfaceInhibition
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
640093
Acronym:
LOCOMOUSE
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Project ID:
646880
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SynChI
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Pathological neuronal synchrony is the hallmark of many neurological disorders, including Parkinsons
disease (PD) and Huntingtons disease (HD), which further share deficits in cholinergic signaling.
Moreover, recent findings have underscored the therapeutic relevance of the synchrony among striatal
cholinergic interneurons (ChI) that orchestrate this signaling. They have shown that excessively
synchronous ChI discharge induces di-synaptic release of dopamine, GABA and glutamate. Here, I
propose to elucidate how ChI synchronization is generated under normal and pathological conditions
and thereby identify novel therapeutic targets to treat PD and HD. This study has only very recently
become feasible with the advent of powerful tools that I have mastered to explore ChI synchrony. We
will employ a combination of cutting-edge in vitro and in vivo techniques to simultaneously record a far
larger population of pre-identified ChIs than is currently possible. We will express GCaMP6, a
genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI), exclusively in ChIs, and use multiphoton microscopy to
image calcium transients from several ChIs simultaneously in conjunction with intracellular recording
from individual ChIs in acute brain slices and in anesthetized mice. Additionally, we will use endoscopic
GECI imaging in freely-moving classically conditioned mice. We will employ modern analyses that
reveal low-dimensional structures in large neuronal datasets to quantify synchrony (1) during on-going
activity; (2) during optogenetic activation of afferents; and (3), in the freely-moving mice, while
presenting conditioned cues. Finally, we will study the origins of pathological synchrony in PD and HD
mouse models and explore means to correct this condition. This comprehensive approach should
explain the pathological ChI synchrony observed in PD; identify novel targets to treat PD and HD; and
create a general methodology to study pathological synchrony in many other neurological disorders.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
647989
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Brain circRNAs
Evaluation Panel:
LS5 - Neurosciences and Neural
Disorders
Rounding the circle: Unravelling the biogenesis, function and mechanism of action of circRNAs in the
Drosophila brain.
Tight regulation of RNA metabolism is essential for normal brain function. This includes co and posttranscriptional regulation, which are extremely prevalent in neurons. Recently, circular RNAs
(circRNAs), a highly abundant new type of regulatory non-coding RNA have been found across the
animal kingdom. Two of these RNAs have been shown to act as miRNA sponges but no function is
known for the thousands of other circRNAs, indicating the existence of a widespread layer of previously
unknown gene regulation.The present proposal aims to comprehensively determine the role and mode
of actions of circRNAs in gene expression and RNA metabolism in the fly brain. We will do so by
studying their biogenesis, transport, and mechanism of action, as well as by determining the roles of
circRNAs in neuronal function and behaviour. Briefly, we will: 1) identify factors involved in the
biogenesis, localization, and stabilization of circRNAs; 2) determine neuro-developmental, molecular,
neural and behavioural phenotypes associated with down or up regulation of specific circRNAs; 3)
study the molecular mechanisms of action of circRNAs: identify circRNAs that work as miRNA sponges
and determine whether circRNAs can encode proteins or act as signalling molecules and 4) perform
mechanistic studies in order to determine cause-effect relationships between circRNA function and
brain physiology and behaviour. The present proposal will reveal the key pathways by which circRNAs
control gene expression and influence neuronal function and behaviour. Therefore it will be one of the
pioneer works in the study of this new and important area of research, which we predict will
fundamentally transform the study of gene expression regulation in the brain
End Date:
31/1/2021
Project ID:
309704
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
MUTFLYGUTBACT
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Franois Eric Leulier
francois.leulier@ens-lyon.fr
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, LYON, FR
www.cnrs.fr
Host-intestinal bacteria mutualism: "Learning on the fly"
Metazoans establish reciprocal interactions with the bacterial communities that colonize their mucosal
surfaces. These interactions contribute to many aspects of host physiology including the promotion of
digestive efficiency and proper immune system development and homeostasis. In return, the
microbiota derives benefit from the association with its host by inhabiting a nutrient rich environment.
When deregulated this relationship results in pathological outcomes such as episodic infectious
diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, metabolic disorders or even some cancers. Despite recent
progress, a clear view of the physiological benefits associated with host/microbiota relationship
remains elusive. Hence the molecular mechanisms through which the microbiota exerts its beneficial
influences are still largely undefined. The goal of this research proposal is to decipher the molecular
dialogue governing the mutualistic interaction between intestinal bacteria and their host. To this end,
we will use an animal model, Drosophila melanogaster and one of its natural commensals,
Lactobacillus plantarum. We aim to develop a multiscale functional approach to study the molecular
mechanisms underlying their mutualistic association. This integrated approach will couple a host and a
bacteria centred-view of this beneficial interaction to identify, the bacterial and host genetic networks
required to sustain a mutualistic relationship. We will reveal how these molecular activities translate
into cellular, tissular and organismal functional benefits and will uncover the interdependency of these
benefits. Using a model lactic acid bacteria species and an animal host model with evolutionary
conserved molecular and physiological features, our approach is relevant to most lactobacilli/host
interactions including those occurring in humans. This project will provide fresh and unbiased insight
into the fundamental biological question of host/microbe mutualism.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
323035
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ANTI-VIROME
Prof. Frank Kirchhoff
frank.kirchhoff@uni-ulm.de
UNIVERSITAET ULM, ULM, DE
https://www.uni-ulm.de
Evaluation Panel:
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
A combined evolutionary and proteomics approach to the discovery, induction and application of
antiviral immunity factors
Humans are equipped with a variety of intrinsic immunity or host restriction factors. These evolved
under positive selection pressure for diversification and represent a first line of defence against
invading viruses. Unfortunately, however, many pathogens have evolved effective antagonists against
our defences. For example, the capability of HIV-1 to counteract human restriction factors that
interfere with reverse transcription, uncoating and virion release has been a prerequisite for the global
spread of AIDS. We are just beginning to understand the diversity and induction of antiretroviral
factors and how pandemic HIV-1 group M (major) strains evolved to counteract all of them. Here, I
propose to use a genetics, proteomics and evolutionary approach to discover and define as-yetunknown antiviral effectors and their inducers. To identify novel antiviral factors, we will examine the
capability of all primate genes that are under strong positive selection pressure to inhibit HIV and its
simian (SIV) precursors. This examination from the evolutionary perspective of the invading pathogen
will also reveal which adaptations allowed HIV-1 to cause the AIDS pandemic. Furthermore, complex
peptide-protein libraries representing essentially the entire human peptidome, will be utilized to
identify novel specific inducers of antiviral restriction factors. My ultimate aim is to unravel the
network of inducers and effectors of antiviral immunity - the "Anti-Virome" - and to use this knowledge
to develop novel effective preventive and therapeutic approaches based on the induction of
combinations of antiviral factors targeting different steps of the viral life cycle. The results of this
innovative and interdisciplinary program will provide fundamental new insights into intrinsic immunity
and may offer alternatives to conventional vaccine and therapeutic approaches because most
restriction factors have broad antiviral activity and are thus effective against various pathogens.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
323040
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EPINFLAM
Prof. Manolis Pasparakis
pasparakis@uni-koeln.de
UNIVERSITAET ZU KOELN, KOELN, DE
www.uni-koeln.de
Evaluation Panel:
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Project ID:
335809
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUMOFLU
Dr. Benjamin Hale
hale.ben@virology.uzh.ch
UNIVERSITAET ZUERICH, ZURICH, CH
http://www.uzh.ch
Evaluation Panel:
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Project ID:
337399
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
PNEUMOCELL
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Jan-Willem Veening
j.w.veening@rug.nl
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN, GRONINGEN, NL
www.rug.nl
Project ID:
340217
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
MCS-INTEST
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Prof. Georgios Kollias
kollias@fleming.gr
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTER ALEXANDER FLEMING, VARI, EL
www.fleming.gr
Mesenchymal Cells of the Lamina Propria in Intestinal Epithelial and Immunological Homeostasis.
Mesenchymal cells (MCs) of the intestinal lamina propria refer to a variety of cell types, most
commonly intestinal myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, pericytes, and mesenchymal stromal cells, which show
many similarities in terms of origin, function and molecular markers. Understanding the physiological
significance of MCs in epithelial and immunological homeostasis and the pathophysiology of chronic
intestinal inflammatory and neoplastic disease remains a great challenge. In this proposal, we put
forward the challenging hypothesis that, especially during acute or chronic inflammatory and
tumorigenic conditions, MCs play important physiological roles in intestinal homeostasis regulating key
processes such as epithelial damage, regeneration and tumorigenesis, intestinal inflammation and
lymphoid tissue formation. We further posit that a unifying principle underlying such functions would
be the innate character of MCs, which we hypothesize are capable of directly sensing and metabolizing
innate signals from microbiota or cytokines in order to exert homeostatic epithelial and immunological
regulatory functions in the intestine. We will be using genetic approaches to target innate pathways in
MCs and state of the art phenotyping to discover the physiologically important signals orchestrating
intestinal homeostasis in various animal models of intestinal pathophysiology. We will also study MC
lineage relations and plasticity during disease and develop ways to interfere therapeutically with MC
physiology to achieve translational added value for intestinal diseases, as well as for a range of other
pathologies sharing similar characteristics.
End Date:
30/6/2019
Project ID:
614578
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
DANGER ATP
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Pablo Pelegrin Vivancos
pablo.pelegrin@ffis.es
FUNDACION PARA LA FORMACION E INVESTIGACION SANITARIAS DE LA
REGION DE MURCIA, MURCIA, ES
www.ffis.es
Regulation of inflammatory response by extracellular ATP and P2X7 receptor signalling: through and
beyond the inflammasome.
Inflammatory diseases affect over 80 million people worldwide and accompany many diseases of
industrialized countries, being the majority of them infection-free conditions. There are few efficient
anti-inflammatory drugs to treat chronic inflammation and thus, there is an urgent need to validate
novel targets. We now know that innate immunity is the main coordinator and driver of inflammation.
Recently, we and others have shown that the activation of purinergic P2X7 receptors (P2X7R) in
immune cells is a novel and increasingly validated pathway to initiate inflammation through the
activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and the release of IL-1 and IL-18 cytokines. However, how
NLRP3 sense P2X7R activation is not fully understood. Furthermore, extracellular ATP, the physiological
P2X7R agonist, is a crucial danger signal released by injured cells, and one of the most important
mediators of infection-free inflammation. We have also identified novel signalling roles for P2X7R
independent on the NLRP3 inflammasome, including the release of proteases or inflammatory lipids.
Therefore, P2X7R has generated increasing interest as a therapeutic target in inflammatory diseases,
being drug like P2X7R antagonist in clinical trials to treat inflammatory diseases. However, it is often
questioned the functionality of P2X7R in vivo, where it is thought that extracellular ATP levels are
below the threshold to activate P2X7R. The overall significance of this proposal relays to elucidate how
extracellular ATP controls host-defence in vivo, ultimately depicting P2X7R signalling through and
beyond inflammasome activation. We foresee that our results will generate a leading innovative
knowledge about in vivo extracellular ATP signalling during the host response to infection and sterile
danger.
End Date:
31/8/2019
Project ID:
615680
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
VIVARNASILENCING
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Ronald Van Rij
r.vanrij@ncmls.ru.nl
STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT, NIJMEGEN, NL
www.ru.nl and www.umcn.nl
Antiviral Defense in the Vector Mosquito Aedes aegypti: induction and suppression of RNA silencing
pathways
BACKGROUND: Mosquitoes and other blood-feeding arthropods transmit important human and animal
viruses (arthropod-borne viruses, arboviruses). With the increasing global threat of arboviruses, it is
essential to understand the virus-vector interactions that determine virus transmission. The mosquito
antiviral immune response is a key determinant of virus replication and transmission. We recently
showed that arboviruses are targeted by a poorly-understood RNA silencing pathway in the major
vector mosquito Aedes aegypti: the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway. Our (published and
unpublished) observations imply that the piRNA pathway contributes to antiviral defense against
different classes of viruses in somatic tissues of mosquitoes. Moreover, we identified a novel class of
endogenous gene-derived piRNAs in mosquitoes that may form a new paradigm for piRNA-based
regulation of cellular gene expression. AIM: This proposal has a three-fold aim: i) to delineate the
biogenesis and function of the novel classes of virus- and gene-derived piRNAs, ii) to characterize
mechanisms by which (arbo)viruses suppress or evade antiviral RNA silencing pathways, and by doing
so, iii) to establish mosquitoes as an experimental model to characterize the complex piRNA
machinery. APPROACH: We will use Aedes cell lines that recapitulate all aspects of piRNA biogenesis.
This allows us to use a unique, powerful approach of genomic, cell biological, biochemical, and
proteomic methodologies to study piRNA biogenesis and function. IMPORTANCE AND INNOVATION:
This is the first study to comprehensively characterize viral and cellular piRNA biogenesis and function
in mosquitoes. This proposal provides novel insights into the antiviral response in mosquitoes and may
uncover novel regulatory functions of endogenous piRNAs. Moreover, it establishes a platform for
functional and biochemical dissection of the complex biogenesis of piRNAs - the most enigmatic class
of small silencing RNAs.
End Date:
31/7/2019
Project ID:
616050
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
MYELOSHOCK
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Pierre Bruhns
bruhns@pasteur.fr
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE (INSERM),
PARIS, FR
www.inserm.fr
Role of myeloid cells, their mediators and their antibody receptors in allergic shock (anaphylaxis)
using humanized mouse models and clinical samples
Anaphylaxis is a hyperacute allergic reaction of increasing incidence that can be of fatal consequence
and that has no specific treatment. Anaphylaxis is thought to rely on mechanisms involving mast cells
that bear allergen-specific IgE and that release histamine when encountering allergen. Clinical cases,
however, report anaphylaxis in the absence of specific IgE or medical history of allergy. We reported
that murine models of anaphylaxis rely on IgG, rather than on IgE, that enable neutrophils, monocytes
and basophils, rather than mast cells, to release Platelet Activating Factor following engagement of
their IgG receptors. Supporting these findings, allergen-specific IgG are found in anaphylactic patients,
and we reported that anaphylaxis in mice expressing a human IgG receptor relies also on circulating
myeloid cells. We aim at unravelling the parameters that control anaphylaxis in a novel clinicallyrelevant model of drug-induced anaphylaxis, strengthened by human-based studies involved patients
undergoing drug-induced anaphylaxis in collaboration with clinicians and, altogether, rethink the
principles of anaphylaxis. Do allergen-specific IgG concur to anaphylaxis in humans? Do these IgG
antibodies regulate IgE-induced reactions? Which IgG receptors are involved? In which tissue does the
anaphylactic reaction start? Which cell type(s) are responsible? Among the mediators that are
released, which ones are responsible for the shock? Can an anaphylactic reaction be stopped
specifically for an allergen? We propose to address these questions by exploiting humanized mice we
obtained and by establishing novel models, by visualizing anaphylactic reactions in real time in vivo, by
dissecting the cascade of events leading to the shock. Finally, we aim at establishing the proof of
concept of allergen capture/encapsulation and propose the first allergen-specific strategy for treating
the life-threatening clinical situation that represents drug-induced anaphylaxis.
End Date:
31/8/2019
Project ID:
617432
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
MOMAAV
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Federico Mingozzi
fmingozzi@genethon.fr
UNIVERSITE PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE - PARIS 6, PARIS, FR
www.upmc.fr
Project ID:
639209
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
ComBact
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Dr. Suzan Rooijakkers
s.h.m.rooijakkers@umcutrecht.nl
UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT, UTRECHT, NL
www.umcutrecht.nl
How complement molecules kill bacteria
This proposal aims to provide insight into how bacteria are killed by the complement system, an
important part of the host immune response against bacterial infections. Complement is a large
protein network in plasma that labels bacteria for phagocytosis and directly kills them via the
formation of a pore-forming complex (Membrane Attack Complex (MAC)). Currently we do not
understand how complement activation results in bacterial killing. This knowledge gap is mainly caused
by the lack of tools to study the enzymes that trigger MAC formation: the C5 convertases. In my lab,
we recently established a novel assay system for C5 convertases that allows us for the first time to
study these enzymes under purified conditions. This model, combined with my expertise in
microbiology, places my lab in a unique position to understand C5 convertase biology (Aim 1),
determine the enzyme's role in MAC functioning (Aim 2) and elucidate how the MAC kills bacteria (Aim
3). Thus, I aim to provide insight into the molecular events necessary for bacterial killing by the
complement system. I will use biochemical, structural and microbiological approaches to elucidate the
precise molecular arrangement of C5 convertases in vitro and on bacterial cells. I will generate unique
tools to study how C5 convertases regulate MAC insertion into bacterial membranes. Finally, I will
engineer fluorescent bacteria and labeled complement proteins to perform advanced microscopy
analyses of how MAC kills bacteria.
These insights will lead to fundamental knowledge about the
functioning of complement and will create new avenues for blocking the undesired complement
activation during systemic infections and acute inflammatory processes. Furthermore this knowledge
will improve desired complement activation by therapeutic antibodies and vaccination strategies in
infectious diseases. Finally, this work opens up new possibilities to understand how both humans and
bacteria regulate complement.
End Date:
29/2/2020
Project ID:
640511
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PERSYST
Evaluation Panel:
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Project ID:
669415
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PHII
Prof. Alberto Mantovani
alberto.mantovani@humanitasresearch.it
HUMANITAS MIRASOLE SPA, ROZZANO, IT
www.humanitas.it
Evaluation Panel:
LS6 - Immunity and Infection
Project ID:
294099
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PRESBYOPIA
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
The human crystalline lens has the capability to dynamically change its shape to focus near and far
objects. By age 55, the accommodation capability is lost and optical aids are needed for near vision.
Many questions remain open that are critical to understand accommodation, the failure in presbyopia,
and the prospects for its correction. Multifocal presbyopic corrections are increasingly used. However,
the ideal multifocal pattern, and the optical factors affecting depth-of-focus and adaptation to
simultaneous vision remain to be elucidated. The most satisfactory treatment of presbyopia should rely
on the restoration of the dynamic and continuous focusing ability of the eye, and this could be
achieved in the form of accommodative intraocular lenses (IOLs). Current approaches, relying on
potential IOL axial shifts, have proved little effective accommodative amplitude. The project will seek in
nature innovative solutions to treat presbyopia. Deeper understanding of the crystalline lens changes
with dynamic accommodation and aging will be gained. Novel imaging techniques will be developed
and used to assess the dynamic changes of crystalline lens structure, gradient index distribution and
microscopic structure of the lens fibers and capsule. In addition, the treatment of presbyopia by
multifocal corrections will be explored. Wavefront sensing and optical coherence tomography will be
used to understand the bases for the multifocality found in some animal species (as possible
inspiration for multifocal patterns), and adaptive optics and visual simulation to understand the
reasons for the limited performance of current multifocal treatments, to investigate neural adaptation
to the blur in simultaneous vision and to test the proposed new multifocal patterns. Finally, the
understanding of the crystalline lens properties and the biomechanics of the implanted IOLs gained in
the project will allow to develop a first prototype of crystalline-lens mimicking accommodative IOL.
End Date:
30/4/2017
Project ID:
294683
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
RADMED
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Oxidative stress, an excess of radical and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), has been suggested as a
major disease mechanism. However, the major clinical trials using anti-oxidants have been failures,
even suggesting serious side effects. Here, I propose completely different approaches: First, instead of
letting radicals form and then scavenge them we will identify their diseases-relevant sources and
prevent their formation or specifically repair the damage caused by ROS. Second, we will differentiate
beneficial signalling roles of ROS. In combination, this will result in unprecedented precision and
molecular specificity. In 2010, I submitted a somewhat related proposal to the ERC and received a
comment as being too focused on essential hypertension. This proposal has a much broader focus
and impact beyond cardiovascular diseases. In the past months we achieved major breakthroughs by
identifying a radical/ROS source (NOX4) as fundamental mechanism in stroke, the fastest growing and
soon no 1 cause of death. We are also developing in phase II a radical formation inhibitor for
neurotrauma. Moreover, our basic research facilitated the development of drug classes re-activating
an oxidatively damaged signalling receptor, now in phase III. Further, we identified angiogenesis as a
radical/ROS-dependent and protective (!) signalling event. This proposal is just the beginning: our basic
science will open up new fields and leap forward in personalized medicine with groundbreaking
technologies and approaches. We will contribute to the diagnosis and early identification of patients at
risk and to monitor their successful treatment (in vitro/blood-based); to the localization of disease
processes (in vivo/molecular imaging) before the onset of symptoms; and to a new generation of more
effective, predictable, and mechanism-based drugs. We also expect to later apply our findings and
tools to neurobiology and oncology, where ROS also play physiological and pathological roles.
End Date:
31/7/2017
Project ID:
308223
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MATRIX
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
In silico and in vitro Models of Angiogenesis: unravelling the role of the extracellular matrix
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from the existing vasculature, is a process that is
fundamental to normal tissue growth, wound repair and disease. The control of angiogenesis is of
utmost importance for tissue regenerative therapies as well as cancer treatment, however this remains
a challenge. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a one of the key controlling factors of angiogenesis. The
mechanisms through which the ECM exerts its influence are poorly understood. MAtrix will create
unprecedented opportunities for unraveling the role of the ECM in angiogenesis. It will do so by
creating a highly innovative, multiscale in silico model that provides quantitative, subcellular resolution
on cell-matrix interaction, which is key to the understanding of cell migration. In this way, MAtrix goes
substantially beyond the state of the art in terms of computational models of angiogenesis. It will
integrate mechanisms of ECM-mediated cell migration and relate them to intracellular regulatory
mechanisms of angiogenesis. Apart from its innovation in terms of computational modelling, MAtrix
impact is related to its interdisciplinarity, involving computer simulations and in vitro experiments. This
will enable to investigate research hypotheses on the role of the ECM in angiogenesis that are
generated by the in silico model. State of the art technologies (fluorescence microscopy, cell and ECM
mechanics, biomaterials design) will be applied in conjunction with the in silico model- to quantity
cell-ECM mechanical interaction at a subcellular level and the dynamics of cell migration. In vitro
experiments will be performed for a broad range of biomaterials and their characteristics. In this way,
MAtrix will deliver a proof-of-concept that an in silico model can help in identifying and prioritising
biomaterials characteristics, relevant for angiogenesis. MAtrix findings can have a major impact on the
development of therapies that want to control the angiogenic response.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
309767
Acronym:
INTERACT
Principal
Investigator:
Host Institution:
inez.germeys@kuleuven.be
UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT/KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN,
MAASTRICHT/LEUVEN, NL/BE
http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/https://www.kuleuven.be/
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic
Tools, Therapies
and Public Health
Project ID:
310612
Acronym:
HEART4FLOW
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
310884
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Prof. Anna Caecilia Josephina Wilhelmina Janssens
cecile.janssens@emory.edu
STICHTING VU-VUMC, AMSTERDAM, NL
www.vu.nl
Acronym:
GENOMICMEDICINE
Towards evidence-based genomic medicine: filling the evidence gaps through modelling studies
At increasingly high rate, genome-wide association and whole genome sequencing studies unravel
genetic variants implicated in common diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer, dementia and
type 2 diabetes. One of the major promises is that these advances will lead to more personalized
medicine, in which preventive and therapeutic interventions are targeted to individuals based on their
genetic profiles. There is increasing interest in the early adoption of novel applications and many
commercial applications are already marketed without supporting empirical evidence. Already now,
regulatory agencies like the US Food and Drug Administration face substantial gaps in empirical
evidence, which hamper proper recommendations. The increasing interest in genomic medicine, the
evidence gaps and the scarcity of research budgets are strong incentives to search for novel strategies
that make the process of translation research more efficient and effective. This project aims to
investigate modelling approaches that can be used to predict the expected outcomes of empirical
studies on the basis of published epidemiological and intervention studies. This approach can be used
to 1) identify genomic applications that are promising and warrant further empirical research, and 2)
fill in evidence gaps by identifying applications that are not expected to improve health or health care.
When they are valid, precise and simple, modelling studies can optimize the process of translational
research so that time and money are allocated to the most promising applications. In this project, I will
1) characterize empirical studies in translational research in terms of the main outcome measures used
and their key determinants; 2) develop simulation models that predict outcome measures; 3)
investigate how accuracy and precision of the estimates vary with varying model complexity; and 4).
investigate the generalizability of the modelling approaches.
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
321121
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
GEM-TRAIT
PE10 - Earth System Science
Prof. Yadvinder Singh Malhi
yadvinder.malhi@ouce.ox.ac.uk
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,
OXFORD, UK
www.ox.ac.uk
GEM-TRAIT: The Global Ecosystems Monitoring and Trait Study: a novel approach to quantifying the
role of biodiversity in the functioning and future of tropical forests.
This proposal directly addresses one of the great challenges in Earth system science: how will the
terrestrial biosphere respond to global atmospheric change and, more specifically, how does the
biodiversity of the biosphere moderate or affect that response? This proposal focuses on tropical
forests. We are currently unable to understand how tropical forests will respond to climate change
because there is (i) a data-deficit: we simply do not have the data to understand the relationship
between tropical forest diversity and ecosystem science; and (ii) a theory-deficit: we have not
developed an adequate and quantitative theoretical framework to relate functional biodiversity to
ecosystem function. This proposal will directly address both these deficits. Firstly, I will build a unique
global tropical ecosystems monitoring network (GEM), that will measure in comprehensive detail the
structure, productivity and metabolism of 47 tropical forest sites over a globally synchronous 2.5 year
period. In addition, I will develop a large dataset of functional diversity by collecting functional traits of
leaves and wood. Secondly, the theory deficit will be addressed by drawing on the recent development
of a novel mathematical formalism that links biodiversity to ecosystem function. This formalism
focuses on the distribution of traits within an ecosystem, links this distribution to ecosystem function,
and develops predictions of how the shape of the distribution is controlled by environment, biological
interactions and previous states of the ecosystem. I will further develop this theory, test its predictions
against my unique field data, and ultimately use it to develop a new biodiversity-focussed way of
representing tropical forests in ecosystem and Earth system models. This new approach used to
answer questions such as: how does the functional diversity of tropical forests affect their resilience to
climate change, and how will this diversity respond to atmospheric change?
End Date:
30/4/2018
Project ID:
311736
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PD-HUMMODEL
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
322737
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRIPLE-BC
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Identification and functional validation of drugable targets/pathways for triple negative breast
cancer
Patients suffering from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have a poor prognosis as these tumors
frequently confer resistance against chemotherapeutic agents and lack drug targets such as estrogen
receptor, progesterone receptor, and epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Insufficient knowledge on
the biology of this specific breast tumor type and its heterogeneity hinder the identification of
potential novel drug targets. Lethality enhancer screening is an ideal approach to identify new drug
targets in tumors with specific genetic aberrations. We plan to adapt this concept of synthetic lethality
by anticipating that while TNBC cells confer resistance to available anticancer drugs, specific knock
down of particular genes by RNA-interference (RNAi) may result in a synergistic cell killing. Another
important aspect of our approach is that we will concentrate in our screens on the top 500 candidate
genes shown to be crucial in TNBC for cellular processes. The genes will be prioritized by Bayesian
network analysis on prior knowledge on clinical TNBC from our own extensive genomics and
proteomics studies, the literature, next generation sequencing efforts, and databases listing drugability
of targets. We will employ RNAi-based knock down of drugable targets in 22 cell lines to reveal genes
essential for drug resistance in TNBC. In addition to 2D cultures, screens will also be applied to 3D
cultures, which are thought to better reflect the in vivo situation. The most effective combinations for
each TNBC subtype will further be functionally investigated in vitro and in vivo to unravel the molecular
nature of the synthetic lethality. Finally, translational studies will be performed to establish the
potential clinical relevance of the identified targets/pathways in large numbers of human TNBC and
non-TNBC tumors on tissue microarrays. It is expected that the newly designed (combination)
therapies result in a decline in TNBC mortality and reduction of healthcare costs.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
322856
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRIPOD
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Deciphering the regulatory T cell repertoire: towards biomarkers and biotherapies for autoimmune
diseases
The discovery of regulatory T cells (Tregs) is a breakthrough in immunology: it revolutionises our
understanding of autoimmune disease (AID) pathophysiology and treatment opportunities. Treg
numbers or function is defective in most mouse and human AIDs and their restoration induces clinical
improvement, as we recently showed using low-dose IL-2 to induce Tregs in patients with AID. The
TRiPoD project is based on 3 well supported assertions: - Tregs have huge therapeutic potential - Deep
understanding of the Treg T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is key to exploiting this potential - Deep
sequencing technologies required for this purpose have come of age TRiPoD aims (i) to decipher the
Treg repertoire against insulin and myelin at high resolution, (ii) to discover biomarkers for AIDs, and
(iii) to develop therapies based on engineered Tregs. Deep sequencing of TCRs from insulin- and
myelin-specific Tregs generated in vitro will identify dominant TCRs and antigen-specific Treg
signatures. These will be analysed during thymocyte differentiation, at steady state and during disease
progression, in mice and humans. Their potential as biomarkers (e.g. a Treg TCR specific for insulin for
monitoring type 1 diabetes [T1D]) will be tested in experimental models and in clinical trials of IL-2 in
T1D and multiple sclerosis (MS). We will also generate antigen-specific Tregs expressing the dominant
TCRs. These will be engineered for suicide gene expression to improve safety and for autocrine IL-2
production to ensure better survival and function. Ultimately, TRiPoD will contribute to a better
understanding of the pathophysiology of T1D and MS, identify novel biomarkers for the follow-up of
patients at high risk of, or with T1D or MS, and generate novel therapeutics for clinical development.
More generally, our results and new approaches developed in TRiPoD should pioneer biomarker
discovery and biotherapies in other immunopathologies.
End Date:
30/4/2018
Project ID:
336189
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
THERACAV
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Focused Ultrasound Surgery (FUS) is rapidly emerging as a technique setting the gold-standard for the
treatment of a wide range of diseases, including cancer. Current practise relies on the conversion of
acoustic energy to thermal, for localised and minimally-invasive ablation with non-ionising radiation.
Cavitation (the formation, and subsequent pressure driven dynamics, of bubbles) is a common
occurrence at the high intensities typically employed for FUS. The extremely rapid, often violent
evolution of cavitation in tissue exposed to focused ultrasound, poses a high risk of collateral damage
to healthy tissue proximal to the site of pathology. TheraCav will demonstrate cavitation can be
controlled and harnessed, to redefine the remit of FUS to include targeted drug delivery and rapid
ablation formation via enhanced heating. Conceptually, cavitation could act to significantly
permeabilise targeted tissue, rendering specific volumes highly susceptible to drug delivery through
extravasation from the vasculature. Moreover, cavitation may actively pump and promote drug
transport directly to the diseased tissue. If cavitation is to fulfil this potential, however, it is crucial that
precise monitoring and control strategies are developed, demonstrating that it can be safely
introduced and utilised tissue. Through a series of novel and ambitious objectives, TheraCav will
develop techniques and devices to deliver this capability, calibrated against a recent innovation that
has allowed the direct observation of cavitation at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. A
series of translational work packages will test the monitoring and control strategies developed, in
tissue-mimicking materials and ultimately soft-embalmed cadaver models, for anatomical verification.
Finally, a radical and highly ambitious objective of activating photodynamic therapy drug compounds,
via cavitation sonoluminescence and reactive oxygen species production, will be investigated.
End Date:
30/9/2018
Project ID:
336267
Acronym:
3D-OA-HISTO
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
336331
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
INCELL
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
336454
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CONQUEST
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Clinical ultrasound platform for the quantitative and longitudinal imaging of theranostics and cellular
therapy
The success of modern medical treatments such as cellular therapy and targeted treatments requires
appropriate tools for in vivo monitoring. Imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET)
are key candidates due to their noninvasive nature. However, these imaging techniques are extremely
expensive and can involve radiation, both of which hinder their longitudinal and repetitive use.
Ultrasound has so far been unsuitable due to the absence of a label to differentiate regions of interest
from tissue background, the main problem being that current ultrasound contrast agents (CAs) have
active lifetimes in the order of minutes. The CoNQUeST platform (Clinical Nanoparticles for
Quantitative Ultrasound with high STability) proposed here is an entirely new type of ultrasound CA
that is extremely stable (lifetime of a year) and is not affected by insonation. This mechanism of
contrast generation appears completely novel: The polymeric particles are under 200nm in diameter
and must contain a soluble metal (M.Srinivas et al., patent pending, filed 09/2012). Based on the
current state of the art, these particles are too small and do not contain the requisite gaseous
component for ultrasound contrast. CoNQUeST particles are applicable to longitudinal and repeated
imaging, as is necessary for cell tracking, due to their stability. Furthermore, these particles can be
chemically bound to targeting agents, dyes and drugs, and are suitable for multimodal imaging,
including MRI (both 1H and 19F), fluorescence and SPECT. Finally, the CoNQUeST agents are suitable
for clinical use. I propose the application of the CoNQUeST agents to a clinical trial for tracking
dendritic cell therapy in melanoma patients, longitudinal theranostic imaging in preclinical models and
thorough characterisation of this novel mechanism of ultrasound contrast generation.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
337333
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SMALLVESSELMRI
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Towards understanding cerebral small vessel disease: Innovative, MRI-based, functional markers to
discover the terra incognita between large vessels and macroscopic brain lesions
Small vessel disease (SVD) causes 25% of all cerebral strokes and is a major cause of cognitive decline
(dementia) and functional disability (ageing) in the elderly. Two important challenges hamper the
development of effective treatments. First, still little is known about the mechanism by which SVD
leads to macroscopic, ischemic brain damage and, thus, to cognitive decline. Second, the current
clinical markers and image-based markers of SVD do not reflect SVD itself, but macroscopic brain
damage secondary to SVD. Unlike large vessels, small vessels are not visible with current imaging
techniques, which leave, thus, a terra incognita of small vessel pathology between large vessels on
the one hand, and macroscopic brain damage on the other. The aim of this program is to remove the
major current obstacle towards developing effective treatments for SVD, by innovative magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that yield non-invasive markers of small vessel (dys)function in
the human brain. I will use two innovative sets of image-based markers to discover the terra
incognita. The first set comprises pulsatile tissue motion, strain and potential pulsations in the
capillary flow, recognizing the role of stress and strain in cell function (including endothelial cells and
neurons). The second set uses the perivascular fluid as an endogenous marker of the blood-brainbarrier function, which is located in the endothelium of the small vessels. These innovative, imagebased markers will open a window towards the mechanism by which SVD leads to brain damage.
Further, these markers will enable the selection and monitoring of patients who are eligible for new
treatments. I will obtain the required sensitivity and resolution, by exploiting the benefits of high field
MRI (7T). I am experienced in cardiac strain imaging, high field brain imaging, and have been successful
in multiple translational projects that have introduced new MRI technology into patient studies.
End Date:
30/11/2018
Project ID:
338040
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HYPERPOLARIZED MRI
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Citicoline and deoxyglucose as new molecular imaging probes of DNP hyperpolarized MRI for cancer
and neuroimaging
Radioactively labeled deoxyglucose and choline are the leading molecular imaging probes for positron
emission tomography (PET). The clinical applications for this imaging modality include brain function,
cardiac imaging, and inflammation, along with oncological applications which are taking the lead. The
radiation exposure associated with these examinations is limiting the use of this powerful technology
in repeated examinations, in specific populations (pregnant women and children), as a screening tool
for the wide population, and as a clinical research tool. Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) is an evolving pre-clinical and clinical imaging modality which is non-invasive and nonradioactive. As in PET, the molecular imaging probe used is at the heart of this examination. Originally
developed for the purpose of distinguishing the metabolic products of the injected molecular probe,
our group, in collaborations with researchers abroad, is a pioneer in showing that direct imaging of
specific molecular probes (stable isotope labeled choline and glucose analogs) with hyperpolarized MRI
is capable of showing specific tissue uptake, a pre-requisite for diagnostic imaging. The purpose of the
current proposal is to establish hyperpolarized MRI capabilities in our own lab and reach two general
goals: 1) to use various physiological and pharmacological models to further establish and characterize
the conditions in which non-radioactive choline and glucose analogs and derivatives can be useful as
imaging probes; and 2) to investigate further the molecular probe that is best suitable for these
imaging applications in terms of pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and imaging efficiency. Our focus will
be on 1) the actual chemical entity of the probes - where citicoline and deoxyglucose are promising
candidates; and 2) the stable isotope labeling strategy. The overriding goal is to aid in translation of this
pre-clinical imaging approach to clinical use.
End Date:
31/10/2018
Project ID:
338991
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VASCMIR
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
The central hypothesis of VascmiR is that microRNAs (miRs) fundamentally control pathological
remodelling of the vasculature. The complexity of vascular bed heterogeneity and subsequent
response to injury, the potential importance of miRNA in vascular pathology and the paucity in
knowledge relating to many facets of miRNA function in the vessel wall including target pathways,
mechanistic features of miRNA-mediated cell:cell communication mediated by miRNA export and
uptake etc. provides an excellent opportunity for groundbreaking basic and translational research in
the field. VascmiR will envelop these concepts in a broad, cutting edge portfolio of high risk and indepth studies that encompass fundamental research, mouse genetics to create novel models and miR
intervention studies in small and large animal models coupled with targeted miRNA therapeutics.
Collective synergy by assessing pulmonary as well as peripheral venous and arterial pathological
vascular remodelling models of disease under a single funding mechanism will afford substantial
scientific advancement. VascmiR will go beyond current state-of-the-art and create new knowledge of
miRNA in vascular pathologies, all of which have
important unmet clinical need. VascmiR will
streamline fundamental new opportunities for targeted miRNA-based therapeutics to improve human
health in cardiovascular setting. I envisage that a co-ordinated, multifaceted and integrative
programme in these vascular pathology settings to better understand the mechanistic role of miRNA in
vascular remodelling will have a major impact on the field, leading to early translation of advanced
miRNA therapeutics in the vasculature.
End Date:
30/6/2019
Project ID:
339228
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SEECAT
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Cataract is the opacification of the crystalline lens of the human eye. It is usually related with age and is
one of the leading causes of blindness. The increase in light scatter in the lens reduces the contrast in
the retinal images severely degrading vision. The current solution is to perform surgery to remove the
natural lens that is substituted by an artificial intraocular lens. This is a successful procedure restoring
good quality of vision in most patients. However, in many situations it would be incredible
advantageous to actually see through a cataractous eye. The optics of the eye is affected by two
factors: aberrations and scatter. In the last decade, correcting optical aberrations in the eye was
accomplished by using adaptive optics techniques. This permitted to obtain high resolution images of
the retina and also to improve vision. However, the possibility of correcting scatter in the eye was
never considered before. We propose here the use of spatial and temporal advanced photonics
techniques for imaging through the turbid media of the cataractous lens. We envision two direct
applications of this technology: a dedicated fundus camera to register images of the retina in patients
affected by cataracts and a novel type of opto-electronics spectacles restoring some vision in cataract
patients. The fundus camera would offer clinicians the unique opportunity to determine if there is any
retinal pathology underneath the cataractous eye. The scatter-correcting goggles would be useful in
those cases where surgery were not possible for any reason or as a temporarily relieve until the
surgery is performed. The same type of technology could be applied in the case of normal eyes with
lower levels of scatter but desiring to achieve a better than normal vision for some specific tasks. This
proposal presents a completely new and disruptive idea, which if successful would render immediate
and significant benefits to patients worldwide.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
340248
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
INDIVUHEART
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Heart failure (HF) is the common end-stage of different medical conditions. It is the only growing
cardiovascular disease and its prognosis remains worse than that of many malignancies. The lack of
evidence-based treatment for patients with diastolic HF (HFpEF) exemplifies that the current one for
all therapy has to be advanced by an individualized approach. Inherited cardiomyopathies can serve
as paradigmatic examples of different HF pathogenesis. Both gain- and loss-of-function mutations of
the same gene cause disease, calling for disease-specific agonism or antagonism of this genes
function. However, mutations alone do not predict the severity of cardiomyopathies nor therapy,
because their impact on cardiac myocyte function is modified by numerous factors, including the
genetic context. Today, patient-specific cardiac myocytes can be evaluated by the induced pluripotent
stem cell (hiPSC) technology. Yet, unfolding the true potential of this technology requires robust,
quantitative, high content assays. Our recently developed method to generate 3D-engineered heart
tissue (EHT) from hiPSC provide an automated, high content analysis of heart muscle function and the
response to stressors in the dish. The aim of this project is to make the technology a clinically
applicable test. Major steps are (i) in depths clinical phenotyping and genotyping of patients with
cardiomyopathies or HFpEF, (ii) follow-up of the clinical course, (iii) generation of hiPSC lines (40
patients, 40 healthy controls), and (iv) quantitative assessment of hiPSC-EHT function under basal
conditions and in response to pro-arrhythmic or cardio-active drugs and chronic afterload
enhancement. The product of this study is an SOP-based assay with standard values for hiPSC-EHT
function/stress responses from healthy volunteers and patients with different heart diseases. The
project could change clinical practice and be a step towards individualized risk prediction and therapy
of HF.
End Date:
31/5/2019
Project ID:
617060
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DIRECT
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Cancer is a devastating disease affecting 1 in 3 people in their lifetime. The incidence is rising because
of our aging population and causes a huge economic impact on our society because of hospitalization
and lost productivity. Radiotherapy alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy is used
in ~50% of all patients and uses ionizing radiation to induce DNA breaks that are lethal to cells. While
significant progress has been made, radiotherapy is often limited because of side-effects in normal
tissues and tumor control often fails because of resistance and metastases. Novel treatment paradigms
are urgently needed. Among the key classical biological factors that determine radiation response in
normal and tumor cells are the 4R; Reoxygenation, Repopulation, Redistribution and Repair. They are
determined by intrinsic (genetic) as well as extrinsic factors from the tumor microenvironment and
underlie tumor heterogeneity a hallmark of cancers and a decisive factor in clinical response. Yet,
standard cancer treatments are largely based on the flawed assumption that tumors are homogenous
within and between patients. We hypothesized that NOTCH signaling and tumor hypoxia cause tumor
heterogeneity and are tumor selective therapeutic targets. First we will study key biological
mechanisms that determine intra tumor heterogeneity, second we will establish their role in therapy
response and third we will exploit this knowledge to enhance radiotherapy and provide proof of
concept of a highly innovative approach to selectively activate cancer therapeutics targeting the
NOTCH stem cell pathway in therapy resistant tumor cells without adverse effects in normal tissues.
DIRECT interrogates the molecular details of key cancer therapy response parameters providing
opportunities for the next generation of tumor cell specific treatments that improve disease outcome.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
617471
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HAIRY CELL LEUKEMIA
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL), a chronic B-cell neoplasm, is initially sensitive to chemotherapy with purine
analogs, but ~40% of patients eventually relapses and becomes less responsive to these drugs.
Furthermore, purine analogs may cause myelotoxicity, immune-suppression and severe opportunistic
infections. Therefore, molecularly-targeted less toxic drugs are highly desirable in HCL. However, its
low incidence and the initial efficacy of purine analogs has made HCL an orphan in the world of cancer
research and has spoiled the academic and industrial interest in developing better treatments for this
disease. But recently we identified the V600E activating mutation in the BRAF kinase as the key genetic
lesion of HCL (similar to BCR-ABL1 in chronic myeloid leukemia). Orally available specific BRAF
inhibitors (e.g., Vemurafenib) have in the meantime showed remarkable efficacy in melanoma patients
harboring the BRAF-V600E mutation, although resistance to such drugs eventually develops in this
malignancy through reactivation of MEK (the downstream target of BRAF). The ground-breaking
objective of this project is to introduce for the first time in HCL, by means of phase-2 investigatordriven pilot clinical trials, the concept of BRAF and/or MEK inhibition as an oral, non chemotherapybased, entirely out-patient, genetics-driven and rationally designed treatment strategy, first in patients
with active disease despite (or severe toxicity from) previous chemotherapy with purine analogs, and
then, potentially, in the frontline setting. In comparison to melanoma, deeper and longer effect of
BRAF inhibition may be expected in HCL, due to its much lower genetic complexity and proliferation
rate. Anyway, potential mechanisms of resistance will be searched for to identify other genes
recurrently mutated or aberrantly expressed in HCL patients developing resistance to BRAF inhibition
(if any), and the clinical feasibility of combined BRAF and MEK inhibition will be addressed.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
636855
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ONCOMECHAML
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
637780
Acronym:
BIOELECPRO
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
640643
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SEGWAY
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Study on Environmental and GenomeWide predictors of early structural brain Alterations in Young
students
Mounting evidence suggests that early life factors have an important impact on the occurrence of latelife neurological diseases. From a public health perspective this is of particular relevance for dementia,
the prevalence of which is increasing drastically, with no available preventive treatment, and
epidemiological data suggesting that pathological processes may begin many years before clinical
diagnosis. MRI-defined structural brain phenotypes are powerful intermediate markers for dementia,
and can already show measurable alterations in young and middle-aged adults. These include global
and regional brain volumes, gray matter volume and cortical thickness, and markers of white matter
integrity. The SEGWAY project aims to: (i) explore the heritability and genetic determinants of
structural brain phenotypes in young adults in their early twenties participating in the i-Share study,
the largest ongoing student cohort; (ii) take a lifetime perspective by examining the shared genetic
contribution to structural brain alterations in young adulthood (i-Share) and late-life, among
participants of a large French population-based study (3C-Dijon); (iii) explore the interaction between
genetic variants and vascular risk factors with established impact on structural brain phenotypes, in
both age groups; (iv) examine the clinical significance of genetic risk variants for structural brain
alterations by testing their association with cognitive performance in young and older adults.
Replication and of our findings will be sought in the multigenerational Framingham Heart Study and
other independent samples. Identifying common biological mechanisms underlying both early and latelife structural brain changes would provide important information on the mechanisms and timecourse
of brain aging throughout a lifetime and could be of major importance for identifying of molecular drug
targets and characterizing high risk populations most likely to benefit from early interventions.
End Date:
30/11/2020
Project ID:
646734
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IXSI3D
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Translating Hybrid Imaging for Interventions: Intra-operative Guidance and Evaluation using 2D and
3D Interventional X-ray Scintigraphy Imaging
I propose to research, build and evaluate Interventional X-ray and Scintigraphy Imaging (IXSI). This will
provide for the first time real-time, multimodality imaging during medical interventions by combining
live x-ray and live nuclear imaging simultaneously from an identical viewpoint. The hybrid x-ray/nuclear
imaging device will enable surgeons and interventional radiologists to exploit the power of molecular
imaging in the operating theatre and intervention room through i) live guidance using 2D imaging and
ii) 3D quantitative evaluation (IXSI3D). Systems, like the successful PET/CT and SPECT/CT, have
revolutionized diagnostic medical imaging; however they acquire x-ray (anatomical information) and
nuclear images (molecular information) in sequence. Our new technology brings live, hybrid imaging to
operations and interventions. This will have a broad and powerful impact, particularly in oncological
applications, including internal radiotherapy, tumor resection and biopsies.For combined X-ray/nuclear
imaging, an x-ray tube, an x-ray detector and a gamma camera with collimator are required. Our
concept relies on placing these three elements in one line, thus enabling imaging of the same field-ofview. However, straight-forward combination of these elements would block the line of views. Inspired
by how eyes see around the nose, I invented a gamma camera geometry that sees around the x-ray
tube. I have created a prototype, and using a provisional set-up based on this novel concept (patent
pending), I have demonstrated IXSIs basic principles. This proposal describes the quantum leap in
medical imaging: clinical realization of IXSI for guidance, and the development of IXSI3D that enables
intra-operative quantitative evaluation. I will develop algorithms and hardware, build a mobile system
and prove its potential in a clinical research protocol. This will be the start of a new era in imageguided intervention.
End Date:
30/11/2020
Project ID:
647047
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CRADLE
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
323977
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MEMOTV
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Project ID:
324182
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PIPP
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
647973
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Drug-Seq
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
648124
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NANOBUBBLE
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
649116
Acronym:
PROGSY
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Project ID:
670951
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CleverGenes
Evaluation Panel:
LS7 - Diagnostic Tools,
Therapies and Public Health
Novel Gene Therapy Based on the Activation of Endogenous Genes for the Treatment of Ischemia Concepts of endogenetherapy, release of promoter pausing, promoter-targeted ncRNAs and nuclear
RNAi
Background: Therapeutic angiogenesis with vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) has great
potential to become a novel, minimally invasive new treatment for a large number of patients with
severe myocardial ischemia. However, this requires development of new technology. Advancing stateof-the-art: We propose a paradigm shift in gene therapy for chronic ischemia by activating endogenous
VEGF-A,-B and -C genes and angiogenic transcription programs from the native promoters instead of
gene transfer of exogenous cDNA to target tissues. We will develop a new platform technology
(endogenetherapy) based on our novel concept of the release of promoter pausing and new promotertargeted upregulating short hairpinRNAs, tissue-specific superenhancerRNAs activating specific
transcription centers involving gene clusters in different chromosomal regions, small circularRNAs
formed from self-splicing exons-introns that can be regulated with oligonucleotides and small
molecules such as metabolites, nuclear RNAi vectors and specific CRISPR/gRNAmutatedCas9-VP16
technology with an ability to target integration into genomic safe harbor sites. After preclinical studies
in mice and in a newly developed chronic cardiac ischemia model in pigs with special emphasis on the
analysis of clinically relevant blood flow, metabolic and functional outcomes based on MRI, ultrasound,
photoacoustic and PET imaging, the best construct will be taken to a phase I clinical study in patients
with severe myocardial ischemia. Since endogenetherapy also involves epigenetic changes, which are
reversible and long-lasting, we expect to efficiently activate natural angiogenic programs. Significance:
If successful, this approach will begin a new era in gene therapy. Since there is a clear lack of
technology capable of targeted upregulation of endogenous genes, the novel endogenetherapy
approach may become widely applicable beyond cardiovascular diseases also in other areas of
medicine and biomedical research.
End Date:
31/10/2020
Project ID:
268904
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DIVERSITY
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
The study of host-pathogen systems is of central importance to the control of infectious disease, but
also provides unique opportunities to observe evolution in action. Many pathogen species have
diversified under selection pressures from the host; conversely, genes that are important in host
defence also exhibit high degrees of polymorphism. This proposal divides into two parts: (1) the
evolution of pathogen diversity under host immune selection, and (2) the evolution of host diversity
under pathogen selection.
I have developed a body of theoretical work showing that discrete
population structures can arise through immune selection rather than limitations on genetic exchange.
The predictions of this framework concerning the structure and dynamics of antigenic, metabolic and
virulence genes will be empirically tested using three different systems: the bacterial pathogen,
Neisseira meningitidis, the influenza virus, and the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The
current theory will also be expanded and modified to address a number of outstanding questions such
whether it can explain the occurrence of influenza pandemics. With regard to host diversity, we will be
attempting to validate and extend a novel framework incoporating epistatic interactions between
malaria-protective genetic disorders of haemoglobin to understand their intriguing geographical
distribution and their mode of action against the malarial disease. We will also be exploring the
potential of mechanisms that can organise pathogens into discrete strains to generate patterns among
host genes responsible for pathogen recognition, such as the Major Histocompatibility Complex. The
co-evolution of hosts and pathogens under immune selection thus forms the ultimate theme of this
proposal.
End Date:
31/5/2017
Project ID:
309403
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GENOMEFUN
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Understanding the genetic and genomic processes behind adaptive phenotypes remains a holy grail in
biology. Fungi are poorly studied regarding these processes, despite their great tractability as model
eukaryote organisms and their medical, industrial, and ecological importance. This project therefore
aims to investigate the major evolutionary forces in the adaptive divergence of fungi as model
eukaryotes with small genomes by the integration of high-throughput sequencing and innovative
approaches. Two groups of fungi will be used to investigate different time scales and footprints of
adaptation. The first model group are Penicillium fungal species. Some species being used for cheese
and antibiotic production, they are excellent models for understanding adaptive processes under
strong and recent selection. The second model is Microbotryum violaceum, a complex of sibling
species, causing anther smut disease on different Caryophyllaceae plant species. This model is ideal to
address the question of long term pathogen-host adaptation. We will integrate high-throughput
sequencing and state-of-the-art inference methods to identify the evolutionary processes involved in
adaptive divergence and the genomic consequences of domestication. Different experimental and
sequencing approaches will then help to validate the flagged genes and genomic regions. The proposed
research should yield unprecedented insights into the genomics of adaptive divergence, i.e. on the
kinds of traits, the genetic architecture of these traits, the genomic regions and processes involved, and
the importance of neutral processes. There are also applied implications for understanding emerging
fungal diseases in plants and processes of domestication in micro-organisms, and more generally
adaptation to global changes.
End Date:
28/2/2018
Project ID:
309453
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
POLYINBREED
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Coevolutionary Quantitative Genetics of Polyandry and Inbreeding in the Wild: New Theory and Test
A fundamental aim in biology is to understand the (co)evolutionary dynamics of the adaptive
reproductive strategies that translate ecology into evolution. However, until now, it has not been
possible to explicitly test key hypotheses explaining the evolution of major reproductive strategies in
wild populations experiencing real-life ecological variation. I will revolutionise our understanding of the
(co)evolution of two fundamental reproductive strategies, and our approach to achieving such
understanding, by deriving entirely new evolutionary quantitative genetic theory and providing the
first explicit tests of this theory in nature. Genetic polyandry (female reproduction with multiple
males) and inbreeding (reproduction among relatives) are fundamental reproductive strategies that
profoundly influence the social, genetic and genomic structures of populations. Yet decades of
research have failed to explain their (co)evolution and persistence in the face of sexually antagonistic
selection. Current theory is inadequate because it does not consider ecology or coevolution or make
critical quantitative predictions that permit definitive test of key hypotheses in wild populations. Key
forces of direct and indirect selection on genetic variation underlying polyandry and inbreeding have
consequently never been explicitly estimated. I will derive new theory that defines the (co)evolution of
polyandry and inbreeding in terms of sex-specific genetic (co)variances, thereby providing the
conceptual advance required to drive a new generation of empirical test. I will estimate these genetic
(co)variances through state-of-the-art quantitative genetic analysis of outstanding wild population
data, thereby providing the first explicit tests of key hypotheses explaining the (co)evolution of
polyandry and inbreeding in nature. I will thereby initiate and implement a new approach to
understanding the evolution of reproductive strategies and answer long-standing questions in biology.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
310820
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
STATEMIG
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Fitness drivers in long-distance migrants: the interacting roles of physiology, social biology, ecological
and physical environments
Long distance migration in birds is among the most dramatic and exciting phenomena in nature.
However despite many years of study, there are still huge gaps in our understanding of how this
behaviour shapes individual ecology and influences population processes. For example, we have very
little understanding of how migratory animals manage trade offs within and among seasons and how
these in turn drive variation in productivity, survival or breeding phenology. Increased understanding in
this area has important implications for ecology, evolution conservation and management Our lack of
progress in this area is almost inevitable given the complex nature of migration. Migration is sequential
in nature, meaning that an animals state in one season is heavily influenced by previous conditions.
Therefore the costs/benefits of behaviours can be carried over into subsequent seasons and thus the
processes regulating fitness may not occur at the time it is being expressed. This also means that
regulating processes and response can also be separated spatially making it even harder to identify
cause. These effects are likely to be emphasized in migrants because fuelling flights and breeding also
places huge physiological demands on migratory birds. Yet few studies have linked the stress incurred
during migration with subsequent fitness. Integrating mechanism and function would provide very
important insights into the ecology and evolution of migration. In order to progress we need to able to
follow large numbers of individuals throughout their annual cycles, tracking the different conditions
they experience and how this influences their state at each point in time. I would use state of the art
technologies and statistical tools to follow migratory geese throughout the year and integrate, for the
first time, how interactions among physiological, social, ecological and climatic environments underpin
state and in turn fitness across the annual cycle.
End Date:
31/1/2018
Project ID:
310886
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HISTFUNC
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
311024
Acronym:
NEOTROPICS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
311092
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
JAWEVOL
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
The Origin of Jawed Vertebrates and the Evolution of Morphology in Deep Time
Jawed vertebrates account for more than 99% of modern vertebrate diversity. Collectively, they
comprise chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) and osteichthyans (bony fishes and terrestrial
vertebrates, including humans). The anatomy of jawed vertebrates includes a series of complex traits
such as jaws, teeth, paired appendages, and novel skeletal tissues such as bone. In spite of the
intensive investigation of jawed vertebrate evolution in comparative morphology and molecular
developmental evolution, the origin and early diversification of this important group remains
mysterious. This project seeks to inject a large body of fresh data into the problem of early jawed
vertebrate origins and evolution and develop modernized tools for morphological phylogenetics. We
will use an integration of expeditionary fieldwork, modern digital imaging technology, and newly
developed numerical methods in phylogenetics to address the problems of early jawed vertebrate
origins. The work will focus on the morphology and relationships of fossil jawed vertebrates from the
Palaeozoic Era (approx. 540-250 million years ago) which exhibit the earliest evidence of jaws, teeth,
and paired appendages. Fieldwork in Mongolia will deliver new taxonomic and morphological data
from poorly explored regions and attack a major geographic bias in existing fossil archives. The project
will exploit computed tomography scanning to analyze existing fossil archives of extract species. This
work will provide a detailed scheme of phylogenetic relationships inferring the relationships of early
fossil forms to modern jawed vertebrate lineages and document the evolutionary assembly of complex
morphological traits of jawed vertebrates. These results will yield refined timelines for jawed
vertebrate evolution that can help calibrate molecular clock studies and deliver a rich comparative
framework for evolutionary morphological and developmental studies.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
311870
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CANCOOP
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Although it is clear that human collaborative skills are exceptional, elucidating similarities and
differences of proximate processes underlying cooperative interactions between non-primate and
primate taxa may have important implications for our understanding of cooperation in humans and
non human-animals via a profound knowledge of 1) socio-cognitive skills as adaptations to specific
environments and/or 2) the evolutionary background and origin of our own skills. The closely related
wolves and dogs constitute the ideal non-primate model to implement this approach, since
cooperation is at the core of their social organization and they are adapted to very different
environments. I propose a series of experiments with wolves (N = 20) and identically raised and kept
dogs (N= 20) that will focus on cognitive processes closely linked to the emotional system such as
empathy, inequity aversion and delayed gratification that are thought to be involved in triggering and
maintaining primate cooperation. In Part 1 of the project, we will investigate whether and to what
extent these processes are present in canines, while in Part 2 we will elucidate how they influence
partner choice in cooperative interactions. Using social network theory, we will integrate knowledge
about animals emotional tendencies and cognitive abilities to model canine cooperation. This is an
important step towards unifying theoretical and empirical approaches in animal behaviour. CanCoop
incorporates innovative methods and a novel approach that has the potential to elucidate the
interactions between proximate and ultimate processes in regard to cooperation. The nature of
CanCoop guarantees public and media attention needed for proper societal dissemination of the
results, which will be relevant for animal behaviour, social sciences, wildlife and zoo management.
End Date:
31/1/2018
Project ID:
322564
Acronym:
NEWGENES
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
322603
Acronym:
SIP-VOL+
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Prof. lo Niinemets
ylo.niinemets@emu.ee
EESTI MAAULIKOOL, TARTU, EE
www.emu.ee
Project ID:
335542
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MARKETS
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Throughout the Earths history, the mutualism between plants and their fungal partners has mediated
nutrient cycles and energy flow in ecosystems. Underground, mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots form
vast networks of connected individuals, in which sugars from roots are exchanged for nutrients from
fungi. How is cooperation maintained in plant-fungal networks? Selfish individuals can potentially
exploit the collaboration, reaping nutrient benefits while paying no costs. So, why cooperate at all? I
recently demonstrated that plant and fungal partners are able to detect variation in nutrient
provisioning by the other, and adjust their own strategy accordingly (Kiers et al. Science 2011). We
argued that the partnership functions like an economic market: partners compete by trading resources,
and those offering the best rate of exchange are rewarded. While this work suggests that plants and
fungi can successfully negotiate conditions of trade, we have yet to conclusively demonstrate what
drives fair trade dynamics. In particular, we do not know how partner performance is evaluated, nor
how trade strategies respond to changes in resource levels. I present an interdisciplinary program of
research to address this problem by investigating four aspects critical to market regulation in nature:
(1) Responses to external resources, (2) Partner decisions, (3) Network formation, (4) Conflict
resolution within networks.
Using a combination of gene-level characterization, microscale
manipulation of nutrient landscapes, experimental evolution, and game theory, I will test: (1) how
plant and fungal trading strategies respond to changing resource levels; (2) how hosts control fungal
behavior, stimulating them to collect specific nutrients; (3) the role of fungal fusion in network
formation; (4) how genetic conflicts within a fungal network are resolved. This work opens up a new
field of research into how markets evolve and are stabilized in non-animal systems.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
337023
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ECOSTRESS
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
339347
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SPACERADARPOLLINATOR
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Space use by bees radar tracking of spatial movement patterns of key pollinators
Current radar tracking technology to monitor insect movements in space allows us to catch only
glimpses of their spatial movements it is severely constrained by the restricted range that can be
covered, the fact that individuals can only be tracked one at a time, and the lack of a height dimension.
Here we propose ground-breaking technology advances to make insect telemetry fit for the 21st
century, to answer multiple fundamental questions in pollinator space use and its implications for the
plants they pollinate. We will work towards transponder miniaturisation to make application to a large
number of insect species viable; we will develop radar technology to allow coverage of areas of up to
10km2 and the exploration of the 3rd dimension of insect flight, and we will adapt the equipment so
that multiple individuals can be traced simultaneously. We will identify the rules of bee movements at
the landscape scale, and the extent to which they use familiar landmarks and learnt vectors to link
multiple locations. We will explore whether speed-accuracy tradeoffs are relevant in landmark
navigation. Natural resource exploration and exploitation will be monitored over the entire foraging
career of select individuals, and we will quantify individual differences in space use. Tracking bees in
three dimensions will allow us to ask whether looking at the landscape from above aids efficient
navigation. The tracking of multiple bees simultaneously will allow us to monitor competitive
interactions as well as the possibility of social learning in space use. For the first time we will also track
the spatial movement strategies of queens and males to see how they interface the search for mates
with the need to forage efficiently. Our findings will have wide-ranging applications not just for the
understanding of pollinator space use, but also for the conservation, management, and the
understanding of mating patterns in the plants they pollinate.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
340904
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EVOLVINGNODULES
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Molecular inventions underlying the evolution of the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis
Crop production worldwide is sustained through nitrogen fertilizer produced via the energy-demanding
Haber-Bosch process. One group of closely related plants evolved to become independent of nitrogen
from the soil by engaging in symbiosis with bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen to plant-usable
ammonium and are hosted within specialized organs, the root nodules. Nodulation evolved several
times independently but exclusively in four related orders, the Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales and
Rosales (FaFaCuRo) based on a putative genetic predisposition to evolve root nodules acquired by a
common ancestor of this clade. This project aims to identify the elusive genetic switches involved in
the evolution of nodulation. It builds on the underlying idea that a succession of events co-opted
preexisting developmental programs to be activated by symbiotic stimuli. We will systematically
investigate and compare the prewired connections between signaling pathways and developmental
modules present in non-nodulating and nodulating relatives, to identify components acquired by
nodulators. The Rosaceae represent a particularly attractive family to test evolutionary hypotheses by
transferring candidate switches from a nodulator into the genome of closely related sister genera to
enable nitrogen fixing root nodule symbiosis. Most genera of the Rosaceae including economically
valuable targets such as apple and strawberry are non-nodulating. A minority of Rosaceae form
ancestral, lateral root related actinorhiza nodules with Frankia actinobacteria, which differs from the
derived, more complex symbiosis of legumes with rhizobia. Frankia strains have a very broad host
range and can fix nitrogen at ambient oxygen concentrations thus imposing minimal constraints on a
host environment suitable for efficient symbiosis. Thus, by retracing small evolutionary steps within the
Rosaceae we will take a huge leap towards nitrogen-fertilizer independent crops for sustainable
agriculture.
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
614725
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PATHPHYLODYN
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
616346
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WATERWALKING
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Water-walking insects: marrying evo-devo with ecology for a better understanding of morphological
evolution
Understanding the origin of the remarkable biodiversity in nature is an important goal in biological
studies. Despite recent advances in evolutionary developmental biology, our understanding of the
interaction between developmental genetic processes and the ecological environment in shaping the
phenotype remains largely fragmented. This is mainly because of the difficulty to transfer molecular
genetic tools to natural systems where we have a good understanding of the ecology. In this proposal,
we combine original natural systems, water-walking insects, with state of the art tools of functional
and developmental genetics, to study the interplay between developmental genetic pathways and the
ecological environment, and how this interaction can shape adaptive phenotypic change. About 200
million years ago, the common ancestor of water-walking insects (Heteroptera, Gerromorpha) invaded
water surface and radiated into a diverse array of niches, from shorelines to open oceans. This
ecological transition and specialization is associated with an array of adaptive changes that enabled
these insects to support their body weight and generate efficient propulsion on the water surface. In
this project, we aim to develop a multilevel functional approach that combines developmental and
evolutionary genetics, ecology, and comparative genomics and transcriptomics, to study a set of key
morphological traits directly associated with the initial event of transition to water surface life, and the
diversification that followed. To achieve this, we chose three water-walking insects, along with a
terrestrial and under-water outgroups, based on their morphology, ecology, and amenability for
laboratory culturing and functional experiments. We will identify the genes and genetic changes
responsible for the development and evolution of the hydrophobic bristles a key trait that was
instrumental in the transition from terrestrial to water surface life. In addition, we will identify the
geneti
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
336019
Acronym:
RATE
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
616474
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EVOCOGN
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
I aim to determine how cognitive abilities evolve under natural selection; one of the most important,
yet poorly understood issues in modern biology. Comparative studies inform us how species differ, and
hence, one can infer selective pressures. However, studies of how heritable inter-individual cognitive
differences determine fitness in the face of natural selection are absent. I will use methods and
paradigms developed in comparative psychology, cognitive science and behavioural ecology, applying
them to free-living animals, and so determine how cognition evolves. Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)
present an ideal system. Large numbers (100s) of individuals can be reared under controlled conditions
and then exposed to natural selection pressures. Precocial chicks can be reared without differences in
parental care. During rearing, chicks will complete a suite of automated cognitive training and testing,
and their performance will be recorded. Conditions before and during rearing will be manipulated
including maternal investment in eggs and diet complexity during rearing. Crucially, these captive
reared birds will be released and exposed to natural selection. Surviving birds will be recaptured and
bred from, producing large broods so that heritability can be studied. Empirical work will describe how
individuals vary in their performance across a suite of cognitive domains; how such performance links
to their natural behaviours; how their performance contributes to their fitness; how variation in
performance is inherited; and how variation in performance is influenced by early life maternal or
environmental factors. These are all significant steps in themselves, but the real strength of this project
is addressing them in synchrony in a single, free-living study system. This provides a robust framework
to tackle the broad question of how cognitive performance evolves that can be applied across a wider
suite of conditions and taxa, including humans.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
617279
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EVOLRECOMBADAPT
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Meiotic recombination is a key source of genetic diversity with considerable implications for the
genomic landscape and evolutionary process. By shuffling parental alleles to produce novel haplotypes,
recombination impacts the strength of selection on nearby polymorphisms, and can increase the rate
of adaptation in natural populations. Recombination defects can have serious phenotypic
consequences: inviable gametes, miscarriages and developmental abnormalities. Strikingly,
recombination rate differs by orders of magnitude across the genome, among individuals, sexes,
populations and species. Despite recent progress, we know little about how molecular constraints and
evolutionary forces interact to shape recombination in natural populations. We will close this
knowledge gap using threespine stickleback fishan exceptional evolutionary model system that
bridges molecular genetic studies and adaptive evolution in the wild. This research program combines
next-generation genomics with cutting-edge molecular biology and transgenics. We will 1) create
kilobase-scale maps of the recombination landscape in adaptively diverging populations; 2) genetically
dissect factors cis- and trans-acting factors that cause recombination variation; 3) characterize
molecular mechanisms of recombination modifiers using cutting-edge techniques; and 4) test
evolutionary theory that predicts natural selection favours recombination suppression in hybrids. This
will significantly improve our understanding of recombination and introduce sophisticated genetic
engineering techniques that further cement sticklebacks as an evolutionary model organism. Our
ultimate goal is to understand how molecular mechanisms and natural selection shape and constrain
recombination during adaptive divergence. This research connects a fundamental biological process
that underlies severe human diseases with the tempo of adaptation in natural populations
End Date:
31/7/2019
Project ID:
617457
Acronym:
PHYLOCANCER
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
637643
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TREECLIMBERS
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
638240
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SEXSEA
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Origin and evolution of the sexes and reproductive systems: novel insights from a distant eukaryotic
lineage
Sexual reproduction is an extraordinarily widespread phenomenon that assures the production of new
genetic combinations in nearly all eukaryotic lineages. Although the core mechanisms of sexual
reproduction (meiosis and syngamy) are highly conserved, the control mechanisms that determine
whether an individual is male or female are remarkably labile across eukaryotes. In genetically
controlled sexual systems, gender is determined by sex chromosomes, which have emerged
independently and repeatedly during evolution. Sex chromosomes have been studied in only a handful
of classical model organism, and empirical knowledge on the origin and evolution of the sexes is still
surprisingly incomplete. The goal of our project is to exploit the remarkable richness of sexual
characteristics of the brown algae to gain novel insights into the functional and evolutionary
interactions between the sex chromosomes and key eukaryotic reproductive and life cycle features.
First, we will use the model brown alga Ectocarpus to reveal the fundamental genetic mechanisms by
which sex chromosomes control reproductive and life cycle traits of broad importance to all
eukaryotes, including sex determination and asexual reproduction through parthenogenesis but also
the control of gamete size and the regulation of developmental switches during the life cycle. Secondly,
we will employ a combination of experimental and computational approaches on selected brown algal
species exhibiting a range of reproductive and life cycle features to understand the long term
evolutionary consequences of the variations in these traits to the structure of their sex chromosomes,
in a phylogenetic context. These analyses will not only reveal fundamental forces that shape sex
chromosome evolution in the scope of the tree of life, but will also uncover the mechanisms underlying
important evolutionary transitions between major reproductive and life cycle modes and shed new
light on the origin and evolution of the sexes.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
638333
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ComplEvol
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
During evolution, organisms adapt to diverse environmental conditions by evolving new morphological
and/or biochemical traits, some of which are of impressive complexity. This is for example the case of
eyes, wings or complex biochemical pathways, which all involve multiple components. The evolution of
such complex traits has always intrigued evolutionary biologists, including Charles Darwin, and is still
only partially understood. How can natural selection on random mutations lead over time to novel
complex ecological adaptations that allow organisms to thrive in diverse environments? This question
will be addressed here by studying a species complex that presents exceptional variation in a key
ecological adaptation, namely C4 photosynthesis. This trait results from multiple anatomical and
biochemical components that function together to increase plant productivity in warm and dry
environments. Capitalizing on a species complex of grasses that includes C4 as well as the ancestral C3
photosynthetic types and multiple intermediate states, the ComplEvol project will combine methods
from different fields to infer (i) the history of mutations that generated components for C4
photosynthesis during the dispersal into different ecological conditions, (ii) the factors controlling the
spread of these mutations among populations, (iii) the effects of these mutations on the properties of
the encoded C4 enzymes, (iv) the effects of different anatomical and biochemical C4 components on
the performance of the plants (fundamental niche), and (v) the relationships between these
components and the distribution of individuals in contrasted environments (realised niche). The
incorporation of these different dimensions of evolution and ecology will shed new lights on the
processes that allow over time the emergence of major ecological novelties through the repeated
action of natural selection on minor changes within populations.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
638873
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BeeDanceGap
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Project ID:
639096
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HybridMiX
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Genetic Mapping of Evolutionary Developmental Variation using Hybrid Mouse in vitro Crosses
Discovering the genetic changes underlying species differences is a central goal in evolutionary
genetics. Most evolutionarily important traits affecting fitness are complex or quantitative traits,
whose genetic bases are elusive. In mammals, dissecting the genetic basis of complex trait variation is
particularly challenging, because efficient genetic mapping requires enormous pedigrees or specialized
genetic panels that are typically beyond the resources of individual groups. Using a radically novel
method to circumvent breeding limitations by breeding mice in vitro, I propose to dissect the genetic
basis of evolutionary developmental variation. This ground-breaking approach will allow me to create
large genetic mapping panels of potentially any size from mouse interspecific hybrids of increasing
evolutionary divergence. In vitro crosses promise a breakthrough in evolutionary biology: by bypassing
hybrid sterility and inviability, we will ask which genetic changes underlie species differences. The
proposed experiments address how genetic changes accumulate during evolution of new species to
shape gene regulatory networks and cause phenotypic changes at the gene expression, fitness and
organismal level. This research has the potential to revolutionize genetic mapping. If realized, its
impact on personalized medicine, agricultural science and evolutionary research cannot be
understated.
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
294780
Acronym:
NOVABREED
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
309485
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BIOLEAP
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
335284
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
METALSYM
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
336559
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ERGOX
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Oxidative stress causes cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and infective disease. Much of
cellular oxidative stress is mediated, communicated, mitigated or amplified by a complex system of
sulphur containing small metabolites or protein based cysteines. Characterization of key players and
reactions in this network is crucial for preventive and therapeutic interventions. I propose a new
perspective on sulphur biochemistry. The reactivity of sulphur with the oxidative stressors superoxide,
peroxides or hydroxyl radicals is well established, but far less is known about reactions between
sulphur and molecular oxygen. I shall demonstrate that this reaction is fundamental to cellular life, and
how advances in this field provide new options in medicine, biotechnology and the food industry.
Assisted by a team of three PhD students and a postdoctoral researcher I intend to establish this new
research field by identification, characterization and engineering of enzymatic activities which catalyse
oxidative carbon-sulfur bond formation and cleavage. Specific systems in this study include the
biosynthetic enzymes for ergothioneine, sparsomycine and alliin, all of which are sulphur containing
secondary metabolites with potent activities on cellular functions.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
339341
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AMAIZE
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Understanding how organisms regulate size is one of the most fascinating open questions in biology.
The aim of the AMAIZE project is to unravel how growth of maize leaves is controlled. Maize leaf
development offers great opportunities to study the dynamics of growth regulatory networks,
essentially because leaf development is a linear system with cell division at the leaf basis followed by
cell expansion and maturation. Furthermore, the growth zone is relatively large allowing easy access of
tissues at different positions. Four different perturbations of maize leaf size will be analyzed with
cellular resolution: wild-type and plants having larger leaves (as a consequence of GA20OX1
overexpression), both grown under either well-watered or mild drought conditions. Firstly, a 3D
cellular map of the growth zone of the fourth leaf will be made. RNA-SEQ of three different tissues
(adaxial- and abaxial epidermis; mesophyll) obtained by laser dissection with an interval of 2.5 mm
along the growth zone will allow for the analysis of the transcriptome with high resolution.
Additionally, the composition of fifty selected growth regulatory protein complexes and DNA targets of
transcription factors will be determined with an interval of 5 mm along the growth zone.
Computational methods will be used to construct comprehensive integrative maps of the cellular and
molecular processes occurring along the growth zone. Finally, selected regulatory nodes of the growth
regulatory networks will be further functionally analyzed using a transactivation system in maize.
AMAIZE opens up new perspectives for the identification of optimal growth regulatory networks that
can be selected for by advanced breeding or for which more robust variants (e.g. reduced susceptibility
to drought) can be obtained through genetic engineering. The ability to improve the growth of maize
and in analogy other cereals could have a high impact in providing food security
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
340469
Acronym:
ADREEM
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
615945
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PEPTIDEPADLOCK
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Peptide padlocks evolved towards infinite affinity for antibody nanoassembly and ultrasensitive cell
capture
Our ability to tailor individual proteins is now sophisticated, but our ability to assemble such proteins
into larger structures is still primitive. Proteins are typically joined by reversible or non-specific
linkages. We have designed a unique way to connect protein building blocks irreversibly and precisely,
via spontaneous isopeptide bond formation. This involves modifying proteins with a short peptide tag
(SpyTag) that is based upon remarkable chemistry used by pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria. Here we
will develop this novel approach to address major challenges in synthetic biology. We will engineer
SpyTag capture towards infinite affinity (defined as diffusion-limited on-rate and no off-rate), to
transform the sensitivity of peptide detection in living systems. We will also apply SpyTag to create a
new generation of protein polymers, irreversibly assembled with molecular precision and tailored
branching. In parallel we will harness SpyTag to enhance circulating tumor cell (CTC) capture, one of
the most promising ways to achieve early cancer diagnosis. In capturing CTCs and other rare cells from
blood, the high forces mean that even the strongest non-covalent linkages fail. SpyTag covalent
bridging, in concert with super-resolution live cell fluorescence microscopy, will give us the opportunity
to answer key questions about the forces and membrane dynamics at the magnetic bead:cell synapse.
We will exploit these insights and SpyTag-assembled antibody polymers to dramatically reduce the
threshold of antigen expression for CTC capture. This comprehensive program of research will explore
novel concepts in protein recognition and cellular response to force, while creating conceptually new
tools, making it possible for biologists in a wide range of areas to step beyond existing barriers.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
639226
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MAMI
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied Life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Recent reports suggest that early microbial colonization has an important role for in promoting health.
This may contribute to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, allergies and inflammatory
conditions. Advances in understanding host-microbe interactions imply that maternal microbiota plays
a crucial role on health programming. This process begins in utero and it is modulated by mode of
delivery and diet. My research has shown that i) specific shifts in milk microbial composition are
associated with lactation time and mode of delivery, ii) milk microbes drive the infant microbiota
composition; iii) maternal microbiota dysbiosis may be transferred to the infant. However, factors
defining maternal microbiota and its biological role upon infants health are not yet fully understood.
Hence, this project aims to characterize maternal microbes to be transferred to neonates and
determine their function in infant health programming. The specific aims are:(1) understanding how
the maternal microbiome is influenced by host and environmental factors;(2) characterizing the
microbial core and bioactive compounds transmitted to the offspring mainly via breastfeeding and
their key roles in the microbial modulation and host response;(3) understanding the interactions
among breast milk bioactive compounds and their role in infant health;(4) shedding light on how
maternal microbes influence the infant immune system & (5)development of new dietary strategies
and therapies based on microbial replacement and modulation. To achieve these objectives, a systems
biology approach by means of state-of-the-art techniques and new methodologies based on
subpopulation enrichment by flow cytometer-sorter to study hostmicrobe interactions will be used.
Results obtained will demonstrate the interaction between infant nutrition, microbes and host
response in early life and its key role in health programming, enabling new applications in the field of
personalized nutrition & medicine.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
647275
Acronym:
ProFF
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied Life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
647857
Acronym:
SENSOILS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
LS9 - Applied Life Sciences and
Non-Medical Biotechnology
Project ID:
306457
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
FANTAST
Dr. Timothy Daniel Browning
t.d.browning@bristol.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL, BRISTOL, UK
www.bristol.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE1 - Mathematics
Project ID:
337039
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WALLXBIRGEOM
Dr. Arend Bayer
arend.bayer@ed.ac.uk
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, EDINBURGH, UK
www.ed.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE1 - Mathematics
Project ID:
340340
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COMPASP
Prof. Stanislav Smirnov
stanislav.smirnov@unige.ch
UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE, GENEVE, CH
www.unige.ch
Evaluation Panel:
PE1 - Mathematics
Project ID:
615216
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
LIFEINVERSE
PE1 - Mathematics
Prof. Martin Burger
martin.burger@wwu.de
WESTFAELISCHE WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAET MUENSTER, MUENSTER, DE
www.uni-muenster.de
Project ID:
616797
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VORT3DEULER
Dr. Jose Luis Rodrigo
j.rodrigo@warwick.ac.uk
THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, COVENTRY, UK
www.warwick.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE1 - Mathematics
Project ID:
647133
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
IChaos
PE1 - Mathematics
Dr. Alexander Bufetov
alexander.bufetov@univ-amu.fr
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, MARSEILLE, FR
www.cnrs.fr
Intermediate Chaos
The transition from order to chaos has been a central theme of investigation in dynamical systems in
the last two decades. Structures that exhibit a mix of deterministic and chaotic properties, for example,
quasi-crystals, naturally arise in problems of geometry and mathematical physics. Despite intense
study, key questions about these structures remain wide open.The proposed research is an
investigation of intermediate chaos in ergodic theory of dynamical systems. Specific examples include
systems of geometric origin such as interval exchange maps, translation and Hamiltonian flows on
surfaces of higher genus, symbolic substitution systems important in the study of quasi-crystals as well
as dynamical systems arising in asymptotic combinatorics and mathematical physics such as
determinantal and Pfaffian point processes. Specific tasks include computation of the Hausdorff
dimension for the spectral measure of interval exchange maps (problem posed by Ya. Sinai), limit
theorems for Hamiltonian flows on surfaces of higher genus (question of A. Katok), development of
entropy theory and functional limit theorems for determinantal point processes and a description of
the ergodic decomposition for infinite orthogonally-invariant measures on the space of infinite real
matrices (the real case of the problem, posed in 2000 by A. Borodin and G. Olshanski, of harmonic
analysis on the infinite-dimensional analogue of the Grassmann manifold). The project consolidates the
proposer's past work, in particular, his limit theorems for translation flows (Annals of Math. 2014), his
proof of the 1985 Vershik-Kerov entropy conjecture (GAFA 2012) and his solution of the complex case
of the Borodin-Olshanski problem (preprint 2013). The proposer is currently PI of project ANR-11-IDEX0001-02 (1.11.2013--30.10.2015; budget 360000 euro) under the Programme "Investissements
d'avenir" of the Government of the French Republic.
End Date:
31/12/2020
Project ID:
306284
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
QUAERERE
Prof. Johannes Renatus Quaas
johannes.quaas@uni-leipzig.de
UNIVERSITAET LEIPZIG, LEIPZIG, DE
http://www.uni-leipzig.de
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
307582
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
CARBONSINK
PE10 - Earth System Science
Dr. Alexandra Turchyn
avt25@cam.ac.uk
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE, UK
www.cam.ac.uk
Life beneath the ocean floor: The subsurface sink of carbon in the marine environment
One prominent idea for mitigating global climate change is to remove CO2 from the atmosphere by
storing it in fluids in the natural environment; for example dissolved within sediments below the ocean
floor or in oceanic crust. This carbon sequestration is popular because it would allow us to place
carbon into semi-permanent (on human timescales) storage, buying time to wean us from our
dependence on carbon-based energy sources. Application of such a mitigation technique presumes
knowledge of what will happen to carbon when it is dissolved in various environments. Studies of
naturally produced excess dissolved CO2 are, however, equivocal; this lack of knowledge represents a
huge deficit in our comprehension of the global carbon cycle and specifically the processes removing
carbon from the surface of the planet over geological timescales. This proposal will resolve the sink for
CO2 within marine sediments and oceanic crust. Beneath much of the ocean floor exists the deep
biosphere, microbial populations living largely in the absence of oxygen, consuming organic carbon
that has fallen to the sea floor, producing a large excess of dissolved inorganic carbon. This dissolved
inorganic carbon can diffuse back to the ocean or can precipitate in situ as carbonate minerals.
Previous attempts to quantify the flux of carbon through the deep biosphere focused mostly on studies
of sulfur and carbon, and these studies cannot reveal the fate of the produced inorganic carbon. I
propose a novel approach to constrain the fate of carbon through the study of the subsurface calcium
cycle. Calcium is the element involved in precipitating carbon as in situ carbonate minerals and thus
will directly provide the required mass balance to determine the fate of CO2 in the marine subsurface.
This mass balance will be achieved through experiments, measurements, and numerical modeling, to
achieve the primary objective of constraining the fate of carbon in submarine environments.
End Date:
30/11/2017
Project ID:
339206
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
DIOLS
PE10 - Earth System Science
Prof. Stefan Schouten
stefan.schouten@nioz.nl
STICHTING KONINKLIJK NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR ZEEONDERZOEK
(NIOZ), DEN HOORN TEXEL, NL
www.nioz.nl
Project ID:
308074
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ELITE
Prof. Emmanuelle J Javaux
ej.javaux@ulg.ac.be
UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE, LIEGE, BE
www.ulg.ac.be
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
335915
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SEISMIC
Dr. Andre Niemeijer
a.r.niemeijer@uu.nl
UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT, UTRECHT, NL
www.uu.nl
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Slip and Earthquake Nucleation in Experimental and Numerical Simulations: a Multi-scale, Integrated
and Coupled Approach
Earthquakes represent one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters affecting our planet and
one of the hardest to predict. To improve seismic hazard evaluation in earthquake-prone regions, an
understanding of earthquake nucleation and of the underlying microphysical and chemical processes is
crucial. A better understanding of the processes that control earthquake nucleation is also of rapidly
growing importance for mitigation of induced seismicity, caused by activities such as gas and oil
production, and geological storage of CO2 or gas. The SEISMIC project is a multi-scale study aimed at
understanding the parameters that control slip (in)stability in experiments and models addressing
earthquake nucleation. A central question to be tackled is what controls the velocity-dependence of
fault friction and hence the potential for accelerating, seismogenic slip, and on what length scales the
processes operate. A novel acoustic imaging technique will be developed and applied in experiments to
obtain direct information on the internal microstructural evolution of fault slip zones during
deformation, and on how this evolution leads to unstable slip. The SEISMIC project will link
experiments with sophisticated numerical models of grain-scale frictional processes. Using both
experiments and grain scale modelling, the SEISMIC project will in turn directly test boundary element
models for large scale fault slip. The coupling of experiments with grain-scale numerical models, based
on in-situ imaging, will provide the first, integrated, multiscale physical basis for extrapolation and
upscaling of lab friction parameters to natural conditions. Ultimately, the SEISMIC project will test and
validate the resulting models for fault slip by simulating and comparing patterns of seismicity for two
natural-laboratory cases: a) for the lAquila region of Central Italy, and b) for a reservoir-scale case
study involving induced seismicity in the Netherlands.
End Date:
31/8/2018
Project ID:
339390
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ACRCC
Prof. Theodore Shepherd
theodore.shepherd@reading.ac.uk
THE UNIVERSITY OF READING, READING, UK
http://www.rdg.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
340863
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
PROMETHEUS
PE10 - Earth System Science
Prof. Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz
juanma.garciaruiz@gmail.com
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS,
MADRID, ES
http://www.csic.es
Project ID:
340923
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TGRES
Prof. Richard David Pancost
r.d.pancost@bristol.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL, BRISTOL, UK
www.bristol.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
616027
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
STARDUST2ASTEROIDS
PE10 - Earth System Science
Prof. Martin Bizzarro
bizzarro@snm.ku.dk
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET, COPENHAGEN, DK
www.ku.dk
Stardust to asteroids: Unravelling the formation and earliest evolution of a habitable solar system
As far as we know, our solar system is unique. It could, in principle, be the only planetary system in the
Universe to harbor intelligent life or, indeed, life at all. As such, attempting to reconstruct its history is
one of the most fundamental pursuits in the natural sciences. Whereas astronomical observations of
star- forming regions provide a framework for understanding the formation of low-mass stars and the
early evolution of planetary systems in general, direct information about the earliest solar system can
only come from primitive meteorites and their components and some differentiated meteorites that
record the birth of the solar system. The main objective of this proposal is to investigate the timescales
and processes including the role of supernovas leading to the formation of the solar system by
measurement of isotopic variations in meteorites. To achieve our objectives, we will integrate longlived and short-lived radioisotope chronometers with the presence/absence of nucleosynthetic
anomalies in various meteorites and meteoritic components. Our isotopic measurements will be
obtained using state-of-the-art technologies such as second-generation mass spectrometers housed in
laboratories directed by the PI and fully dedicated to cosmochemistry. This will allow us to: 1) define
the mechanism and timescale for the collapse of the protosolar molecular cloud and emergence of the
protoplanetary disk, 2) constrain the source and locale of chondrule-forming event(s) as well as the
nature of the mechanism(s) required to transport chondrules to the accretion regions of chondrites,
and 3) provide robust estimates of the timing and mechanism of asteroidal differentiation. We aim to
understand how the variable initial conditions imposed by the range of possible stellar environments
and protoplanetary disk properties regulated the formation and assemblage of disk solids into
asteroidal and planetary bodies comprising our solar system.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
637483
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
TERRA
PE10 - Earth System Science
Dr. Richard James Butler
butler.richard.j@gmail.com
THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, BIRMINGHAM, UK
www.bham.ac.uk
375 Million Years of the Diversification of Life on Land: Shifting the Paradigm?
Life on land today is spectacularly diverse, representing 7595% of all species on Earth. However, it
remains unclear how this extraordinary diversity has been acquired across deep geological time. This
research project will address this major knowledge gap by reassessing the dominant paradigm of
terrestrial diversification, an exponential increase in diversity over the last 375 million years, using the
rich and well-studied fossil record of tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) as an exemplar group.
Previous analyses of tetrapod diversification have been based on an outdated and problematic dataset
that is likely to artificially inflate apparent diversity towards the present day. A major new dataset will
be assembled, detailing the spatial and temporal distribution of terrestrial tetrapods across their entire
fossil record in unprecedented detail. These data will be analysed using the latest approaches to
sampling-standardisation in order to generate completely novel, rigorous curves of diversification
through time. These will be compared within a cutting-edge statistical framework to alternate
diversification models, as well as to changes in rock record sampling, global environments (e.g. sea
level and atmospheric composition) and marine diversity. These comparisons will allow us to address
the following key questions: (i) Does terrestrial diversification follow an exponential pattern over the
last 375 million years? (ii) Is the terrestrial fossil record as complete as the marine fossil record? (iii) Are
long-term patterns of terrestrial diversification driven by physical changes in the Earth system such as
climate change? (iv) Did marine and terrestrial biodiversity follow similar trajectories across geological
time? (v) How severely did mass extinction events impact upon terrestrial tetrapod diversification? Our
work will establish a new, rigorous paradigm for the long-term pattern of terrestrial diversification, and
test and identify its drivers.
End Date:
30/6/2020
Project ID:
637770
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
WAPITI
PE10 - Earth System Science
Dr. Jean-Baptiste Bruno Salle
jbsallee@gmail.com
UNIVERSITE PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE - PARIS 6, PARIS, FR
www.upmc.fr
Water-mass transformation and Pathways In The Weddell Sea: uncovering the dynamics of a global
climate chokepoint from In-situ measurements
Deep water formed around the Antarctic continent drives the world ocean circulation. 50-70% of this
deep water is formed within only about 10% of the Antarctic circumpolar band: the Weddell Sea.
Subtle changes in the circulation of the Weddell Sea can lead to major changes in floating ice-shelves,
with critical implications for global sea-level, the production of deep water and the global ocean
overturning circulation. Despite these critical climate implications, the Antarctic shelf circulation
remains poorly understood. I propose an ambitious project at the crossroads of experimental and
numerical oceanography. By drawing on the strengths of each discipline I will explore the regional
water-mass pathways in the Weddell Sea: an unchartered cornerstone for understanding the polar
ocean circulation and its links to global climate. A key issue facing climate scientists will be addressed:
What sets the tridimensional water-mass structure and pathways in the Weddell Sea and modulates
the flow of deep waters between the Antarctica ice-shelves and the global ocean circulation? To
address this question I propose to investigate several key aspects of the Weddell Sea system: the
dynamical forcing of the Weddell gyre and its response to atmospheric variability; the forcing and the
circulation on the continental shelf and its interaction with the gyre; and the time-scale and mixing
associated with bottom water sinking along the continental shelf. WAPITI approaches these objectives
through a series of innovations, including (i) an ambitious field experiment to investigate the shelf
circulation and processes, (ii) a powerful conceptual framework applied for the first time to a realistic
eddy-resolving model of the Weddell gyre, and (iii) a novel instrument that will be developed to
directly observe the sinking of deep water into the abyssal ocean for the first time. Collectively, the
project will contribute a new insight into global climate feedbacks.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
637776
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ALKENoNE
Dr. Jaime Lynn Garrand
jaime.toney@glasgow.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW, GLASGOW, UK
www.gla.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
638665
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
EURO-LAB
PE10 - Earth System Science
Dr. Catherine Ann Rychert
c.rychert@soton.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON, SOUTHAMPTON, UK
http://www.southampton.ac.uk
Project ID:
339787
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEXT
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a hypothetical, very slow radioactive process whose observation
would establish unambiguously that massive neutrinos are Majorana particles --- that is to say,
identical to their antiparticles ---, which implies that a new physics scale beyond the Standard Model
must exist. Furthermore, it would prove that total lepton number is not a conserved quantity,
suggesting that this new physics could also be the origin of the observed asymmetry between matter
and antimatter in the Universe. In recent years, many innovative ideas have been put forward to
improve the sensitivity of \bbonu\ experiments. In general, these propositions have sought to increase
the number of experimental signatures available to reject backgrounds while attempting to use
isotopes and detector techniques which can be more easily scaled to large masses. The objective of
this project is to realize the NEXT experiment, an innovativedetector based on a high-pressure xenon
gas (HPXe) TPC that will run at the Laboratorio Subterr\'aneo de Canfranc (LSC), in Spain. Our primary
goal is to complete the construction and commissioning of a 150 kg HPXe TPC (NEXT-100) by 2014, and
start a physics run in 2015 that can improve the present bound set by the EXO experiment and perhaps
discover the Majorana nature of neutrinos. In addition, we will carry out an R\&D program focused in
demonstrating the scalability of the technology to the ton scale.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
648982
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
STERCP
Prof. Noel Sebastian Keenlyside
noel.keenlyside@gfi.uib.no
UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN, BERGEN, NO
www.uib.no
Evaluation Panel:
PE10 - Earth System Science
Project ID:
291038
Acronym:
INTERFACE
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Project ID:
307245
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SAGNACSPEEDMETER
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Interferometry beyond the Standard Quantum Limit using a Velocity Sensitive Sagnac Interferometer
From the very first Michelson Interferometer invented over 100 years ago to todays kilometre-scale
gravitational wave detectors the sensitivity of interferometric length measurements has been
improved by about 10 orders of magnitude and is now limited by the so-called Standard Quantum Limit
(SQL), a manifestation of Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle. The SQL is comprised of the inevitable
combination of sensing noise (photon shot noise) and back action noise (photon radiation pressure
noise) when repeatedly measuring the position of a test mass. However, by measuring a different
variable, i.e. the test mass velocity (speedmeter) instead of its position (position-meter), it is possible
to evade back action noise. The momentum of a free test mass can be measured continuously to
arbitrary accuracy without being limited by the SQL. Since a Sagnac interferometer is sensitive only to
the time-dependent part of the arm-length difference it is automatically a speed meter and therefore
brings measurements beyond the SQL into our reach. Theoretical analyses have shown that the
speedmeter approach is the most promising track towards wide-band sub-SQL measurements. An
experimental test of this technique is urgently required! Therefore, my three main objectives of this
proposal are: 1) Realisation of an ultra-low noise, quantum radiation pressure dominated speedmeter
test bed. 2) Experimental demonstration of back action noise supression in a Sagnac speedmeter. 3)
Development of speedmeter based sub-SQL interferometery for future gravitational wave detectors
such as the Einstein Telescope. By the end of this project I will have demonstrated the sub-SQL
potential of the Sagnac speedmeter configuration. A positive outcome of this project is expected to
lead to the Sagnac speedmeter superseding the Michelson interferometer as state-of-the-art
instrument for ultra-high sensitivity lengths measurements.
End Date:
31/8/2017
Project ID:
307286
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
XD-STRING
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
String theory predicts the existence of several spatial dimensions in addition to the three of our
everyday experience. The space spanned by these dimensions might be small enough to have escaped
detection so far. The aim of this project is to characterize which spaces are allowed by the dynamics of
the theory, and what physics they give rise to. A few years ago, I discovered a reformulation of
supergravity in terms of differential forms, based on the so-called generalized complex geometry. This
method was originally limited to string theory vacuum solutions, and over the years it has permitted to
find many of them, often with applications to AdS/CFT. Recently, I was able to extend it to deal with
any kind of spacetime dependence; this will allow to probe the choice of extra dimensions more
extensively, for example by studying black hole solutions. It will help single out interesting geometries
for the extra dimensions, even before one sets out to understand the effective four-dimensional
Lagrangian that would result from compactifying string theory on it. Moreover, I plan to extend the
method even further, to deal with controlled supersymmetry breaking. That would open the possibility
of producing systematically vacuum solutions which have a positive cosmological constant. The vacua
obtained in this way would be fully classical, and under better control than current models.
End Date:
31/8/2017
Project ID:
307783
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
3D-QUEST
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Quantum information was born from the merging of classical information and quantum physics. Its
main objective consists of understanding the quantum nature of information and learning how to
process it by using physical systems which operate by following quantum mechanics laws. Quantum
simulation is a fundamental instrument to investigate phenomena of quantum systems dynamics, such
as quantum transport, particle localizations and energy transfer, quantum-to-classical transition, and
even quantum improved computation, all tasks that are hard to simulate with classical approaches.
Within this framework integrated photonic circuits have a strong potential to realize quantum
information processing by optical systems. The aim of 3D-QUEST is to develop and implement
quantum simulation by exploiting 3-dimensional integrated photonic circuits. 3D-QUEST is structured
to demonstrate the potential of linear optics to implement a computational power beyond the one of a
classical computer. Such "hard-to-simulate" scenario is disclosed when multiphoton-multimode
platforms are realized. The 3D-QUEST research program will focus on three tasks of growing difficulty.
A-1. To simulate bosonic-fermionic dynamics with integrated optical systems acting on 2 photon
entangled states. A-2. To pave the way towards hard-to-simulate, scalable quantum linear optical
circuits by investigating m-port interferometers acting on n-photon states with n>2. A-3. To exploit 3dimensional integrated structures for the observation of new quantum optical phenomena and for the
quantum simulation of more complex scenarios.
3D-QUEST will exploit the potential of the
femtosecond laser writing integrated waveguides. This technique will be adopted to realize 3dimensional capabilities and high flexibility, bringing in this way the optical quantum simulation in to
new regime.
End Date:
31/7/2017
Project ID:
307986
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
STRONGINT
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
"The strong interaction at neutron-rich extremes" (STRONGINT) will investigate the structure of matter
at the neutron-rich frontier in the laboratory and in the cosmos based on chiral effective field theory
(EFT) interactions. Chiral EFT opens up a systematic path to investigate many-body forces and provides
unique constraints for three-neutron and four-neutron interactions. We will for the first time explore
the predicted many-body forces in neutron matter and neutron-rich matter. One milestone will be set
by the development of a systematic power counting for neutron-rich matter. This will enable us to
carry out diagrammatic approaches, and to develop ground-breaking nonperturbative Monte-Carlo
calculations. Our results will strongly constrain the nuclear equation of state at the extremes reached
in core-collapse supernovae and neutron stars. Based on the developments for neutron-rich matter,
we will investigate spin correlations and develop a systematic description of neutrino-matter
interactions, which can set the new standard for supernova simulations. Our pioneering studies have
revealed new facets of three-body forces in neutron-rich nuclei, such as their role in determining the
location of the neutron dripline in oxygen and in elucidating the doubly-magic nature of calcium-48.
We will investigate the impact of chiral three-nucleon forces on key regions in the r-process path and
develop a chiral EFT for valence-shell interactions. This will open new horizons for understanding the
shell structure of nuclei. Another milestone will be set by the first calculation of neutrino-less doublebeta decay based on chiral EFT interactions and consistent electroweak currents. The proposed
interdisciplinary problems are essential for a successful and quantitative understanding of these big
science questions.
End Date:
31/8/2017
Project ID:
335146
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Dr. Geoffrey Gaston Joseph Jean-Vincent Compre
gcompere@ulb.ac.be
UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES, BRUXELLES, BE
www.ulb.ac.be
Acronym:
HOLOBHC
Project ID:
335260
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PDF4BSM
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
With the recent discovery of a Higgs-like particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), particle physics
has entered a completely new era. The central goal for high energy physics in the following years will
be the detailed determination of the properties of this new particle, in particular checking its
consistency with the Standard Model Higgs boson hypothesis, and to further explore the highest
energy domain in search for further new physics, like supersymmetry or extra dimensions, closely
related to the Higgs-like boson properties and to dark matter and dark energy studies. It is thus of
paramount importance to be able to provide accurate theoretical predictions for signal and
background processes both for Higgs production and for hypothetical new particles, in order to
optimize both the characterization of cross sections, couplings and branching fractions, but also to
maxime the LHC discovery potential. A crucial ingredient of these theoretical predictions for an hadron
collider as the LHC are the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) of the proton. This project aims to fully
exploit the LHC potential to achieve the ultimate experimental and theoretical precision in the
determination of PDFs to make essential contributions to our understanding of the structure of the
nucleon, in particular in the regions more relevant for Higgs and BSM physics searches at the LH, the
match between PDFs and NLO Monte Carlo event generators, a crucial tool for accurate exclusive
event description at the LHC, and to propose new avenues in New Physics searches from precision LHC
measurements, where PDFs are often the dominant systematic uncertainties.
End Date:
30/6/2019
Project ID:
335739
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
FIELDS-KNOTS
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
This project is concerned with fundamental problems arising at the interface of quantum field theory,
knot theory, and the theory of random matrices. The main aim of the project is to understand two of
the most profound phenomena in physics and mathematics, namely quantization and categorification,
and to establish an explicit and rigorous framework where they come into play in an interrelated
fashion. The project and its aims focus on the following areas:
- Knot homologies and
superpolynomials. The aim of the project in this area is to determine homological knot invariants and
to derive an explicit form of colored superpolynomials for a large class of knots and links. - Super-Apolynomial. The aim of the project in this area is to develop a theory of the super-A-polynomial, to find
an explicit form of the super-A-polynomial for a large class of knots, and to understand its properties. Three-dimensional supersymmetric N=2 theories. This project aims to find and understand dualities
between theories in this class, in particular theories related to knots by 3d-3d duality, and to generalize
this duality to the level of homological knot invariants. - Topological recursion and quantization. The
project aims to develop a quantization procedure based on the topological recursion, to demonstrate
its consistency with knot-theoretic quantization of A-polynomials, and to generalize this quantization
scheme to super-A-polynomials. All these research areas are connected via remarkable dualities
unraveled very recently by physicists and mathematicians. The project is interdisciplinary and aims to
reach the above goals by taking advantage of these dualities, and through simultaneous and
complementary development in quantum field theory, knot theory, and random matrix theory, in
collaboration with renowned experts in each of those fields.
End Date:
30/11/2018
Project ID:
339253
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PALP
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
The field of attosecond science is now entering the second decade of its existence, with good prospects
for breakthroughs in a number of areas. We want to take the next step in this development: from
mastering the generation and control of attosecond pulses to breaking new marks starting with the
simplest systems, atoms. The aim of the present application is to advance the emerging new research
field Ultrafast Atomic Physics, where one- or two-electron wave packets are created by absorption of
attosecond pulse(s) and analyzed or controlled by another short pulse. Our project can be divided into
three parts: 1. Interferometric measurements using tunable attosecond pulses How long time does it
take for an electron to escape its potential? We will measure photoemission time delays for several
atomic systems, using a tunable attosecond pulse source. This type of measurements will be extended
to multiple ionization and excitation processes, using coincidence measurements to disentangle the
different channels and infrared ionization for analysis. 2. XUV pump/XUV probe experiments using
intense attosecond pulses How long does it take for an atom to become an ion once a hole has been
created? Using intense attosecond pulses and the possibility to do XUV pump/ XUV probe experiments,
we will study the transition between nonsequential double ionization, where the photons are absorbed
simultaneously and all electrons emitted at the same time and sequential ionization where electrons
are emitted one at a time. 3. "Complete" attosecond experiments using high-repetition rate
attosecond pulses We foresee a paradigm shift in attosecond science with the new high repetition rate
systems based on optical parametric chirped pulse amplification which are coming to age. We want to
combine coincidence measurement with angular detection, allowing us to characterize (two-particle)
electronic wave packets both in time and in momentum and to study their quantum-mechanical
properties.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
615117
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
QUANTSTRO
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
In 2009 my research team created the first Bose-Einstein condensate of strontium. This breakthrough
is the foundation of my research program, which will investigate quantum many-body phenomena with
a focus on quantum magnetism and physics related to the quantum Hall effect. We are especially
interested in studying unusual, strongly correlated quantum states, among them states with
topological order. The unique properties of strontium make it ideally suited to follow four different
approaches to this physics. 1) We will immerse our quantum gas into artificial gauge fields, which e.g.
let neutral atoms behave as if they were charged particles in a strong magnetic field. These fields will
allow us to study quantum Hall states or topological insulators. 2) We will study SU(N) magnetism,
which is an unusual form of magnetism not found in condensed matter, but of high interest for theory.
A high degree of frustration can lead to spin liquid behaviour. 3) We will use sympathetic
Pomeranchuk cooling of a potassium spin mixture by fermionic strontium to reach low entropy
quantum phases. Our goal is to study magnetically ordered states and frustrated antiferromagnetism.
4) We will create RbSr ground-state molecules, which are polar, open-shell molecules. They will allow
us to engineer unique quantum-many body systems with long-range interactions, e.g. lattice-spin
models that can support topological states. We will pursue this research not only on our existing Rb/Sr
quantum gas mixture apparatus, but we will construct a new K/Sr quantum gas microscope. This
machine will be very valuable to explore exotic quantum states. The properties of strontium will enable
an innovative single-atom detection method based on shelving in a metastable state and quench
cooling, which will allow us to take internal state-resolved, 3D, or super-resolution images of the lattice
gas.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
617185
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TOPCOUP
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Determination of top couplings in associated top pair events using ATLAS data
The discovery of a new particle, compatible with the Higgs boson, at the Large Hadron Collider, marked
a major triumph of the Standard Model of particle physics. However, many fundamental questions
remain and direct or indirect evidence of new physics can be probed with the large number of protonproton collision data, collected in 2011 and 2012 at 7 and 8 TeV centre-of-mass energy. With this
proposal we plan to exploit the large sample of top-quark pair events that is already recorded, and the
sample that will be collected from 2015 onwards, at the ultimate energy of 14 TeV. In particular we
plan to study the coupling of top quarks to neutral bosons, by measuring the production of associated
. Anomalous electromagnetic or weak couplings could be uncovered by studying
tt, ttZ and ttH
kinematic properties of the resulting photon or Z-boson, once the signal is established. By studying the
production in detail the mechanism of Yukawa coupling of the Higgs boson to fermions will be
ttH
tested, possibly providing important confidence in the characterisation of the new boson. In all
measurements we plan to include the tt dilepton channel, that, despite the smaller branching fraction
has typically superior signal-to-noise ratios. An essential part of the programme will be the calibration
of the b-tagging algorithms, where we plan to use tt events. For associated Higgs production we will
explore the decays H bb and H .
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
637352
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GQCOP
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
The proposed research programme addresses issues of fundamental and technological importance in
quantum information science and its interplay with complexity. The main aim of this project is to
provide a new paradigmatic foundation for the characterisation of quantumness in cooperative
phenomena and to develop novel platforms for its practical utilisation in quantum technology
applications.To reach its main goal, this programme will target five specific objectives:O1. Constructing
a quantitative theory of quantumness in composite systems;O2. Benchmarking genuine quantumness
in information and communication protocols;O3. Devising practical solutions for quantum-enhanced
metrology in noisy conditions;O4. Developing quantum thermal engineering for refrigerators and heat
engines;O5. Establishing a cybernetics framework for regulative phenomena in the quantum
domain.This project is deeply driven by the scientific curiosity to explore the ultimate range of
applicability of quantum mechanics. Along the route to satisfying such curiosity, this project will fulfill
a crucial two-fold mission. On the fundamental side, it will lead to a radically new level of
understanding of quantumness, in its various manifestations, and the functional role it plays for natural
and artificial complex systems traditionally confined to a classical domain of investigation. On the
practical side, it will deliver novel concrete recipes for communication, sensing and cooling
technologies in realistic conditions, rigorously assessing in which ways and to which extent these can
be enhanced by engineering and harnessing quantumness.Along with a skillful team which this grant
will allow to assemble, benefitting from the vivid research environment at Nottingham, and mainly
thanks to his creativity, broad mathematical and physical preparation and relevant inter-disciplinary
expertise, the applicant is in a unique position to accomplish this timely and ambitious mission.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
639022
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NewNGR
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
In recent years general relativity (GR) has become an increasingly important new tool in areas of
physics beyond its traditional playground in astrophysics. The main motivation for this comes from the
AdS/CFT correspondence which conjectures an equivalence between gravity in anti-de Sitter (AdS)
spaces and certain conformal field theories (CFTs). Via this correspondence, GR now plays a key role in
improving our understanding of non-gravitational physics at strong coupling.
The AdS/CFT
correspondence naturally leads to the study of GR in dimensions greater than four and/or in AdS
spaces. Our current understanding of GR in these new settings is rather limited but it has been realized
that the physics of gravity can be significantly different than in the 4d asymptotically flat case.
Moreover, to access these new gravitational phenomena numerical methods have been and will be
essential. However, the use of numerical GR beyond the traditional 4d asymptotically flat case is still in
its infancy. The goal of this project is to improve our understanding of GR in higher dimensions and/or
AdS spaces using numerical techniques. To achieve this goal, we will focus on the study of the following
topics: 1. Develop stable codes for doing numerical GR in AdS and higher dimensions. We will use
numerical GR and the AdS/CFT correspondence to study out of equilibrium phenomena in strongly
coupled CFTs. We will also use numerical GR to understand the endpoint of the various black hole
instabilities and thereby address long standing conjectures in GR. 2. New types of stationary black
holes. We will use numerical GR to numerically construct new types of black holes in higher dimensions
and in AdS, with novel topologies and fewer symmetries than the known ones. We shall apply them to
the study of equilibrium configurations in strongly coupled gauge theories at finite temperature.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
639068
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BSMFLEET
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Project ID:
639729
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
preQFT
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Ambitious Questions: * How does the relatively calm macroscopic universe survive and emerge from
the violent quantum fluctuations of its underlying microphysics? * How do classical notions of space
and time emerge from fundamental principles, and what governs their evolution? These questions are
difficult to answer---perhaps impossible given current ideas and frameworks---but I believe a strategic
path forward is to thoroughly understand the quantum predictions of our Yang-Mills and Gravity
theories, and unambiguously identify their non-perturbative UV completions. The first step forward,
and the goal of this project, is to move towards the trivialization of perturbative calculations.
Consider the notion of failure-point calculations -- calculations that push modern methods and worldclass technologies to their breaking-point. Such calculations, for their very success, engender the
chance of cultivating and exploiting previously unappreciated structure. In doing so, such calculations
advance the state of the art forward to some degree, dependent on the class of the problems and
nature of the solution. With scattering amplitude calculations, we battle against (naive) combinatorial
complexity as we go either higher in order of quantum correction ( loop order ), or higher in number of
external particles scattering (multiplicity), so our advances must be revolutionary to lift us forward. Yet I
and others have shown that the very complications of generalized gauge freedom promise a potential
salvation at least as powerful as the complications that confront us. The potential reward is enormous,
a rewriting of perturbative quantum field theory to make these principles manifest and calculation
natural, an ambitious but now realistic goal. The path forward is optimized through strategic
calculations.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
646623
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEUCOS
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
The discovery of cosmic neutrinos is one of the major breakthroughs in science in the year 2013. These
neutrinos are expected to point back to the origin of the cosmic rays, which are produced in the most
powerful accelerators in the universe. In order to solve the puzzle where the highest energetic
neutrinos and cosmic rays come from, the key information could be the composition of the observed
cosmic ray flux. The question critical for the future development of high-energy astrophysics is
especially how heavier nuclei can be accelerated and escape from the sources, such as gamma-ray
bursts or active galactic nuclei, without disintegration, or what the consequences for the neutrino
fluxes and cosmic ray compositions at the sources are. Neutrinos, on the other hand, may be good for
surprises, such as new physics only detectable at extreme energies, distances, or densities. In addition,
the possibility to measure neutrino properties in neutrino telescopes has been emerging, either using
astrophysical or atmospheric neutrino fluxes, which means that the border line between neutrino
physics and astrophysics applications in these experiments fades. The key idea of this proposal is
therefore to combine the expertise from astrophysics and particle physics in a multi-disciplinary
working group 1) to study the effect of heavy nuclei on the source fluxes from multiple messengers,
such as a neutrinos, cosmic rays, and gamma-rays, using efficient descriptions for the radiation
processes and particle interactions, and 2) to optimize future experiment infrastructure in ice and sea
water for both astro- and particle physics applications. The key goals are to eventually identify the
origin of the cosmic rays and cosmic neutrinos, and to solve the open questions in particle physics,
such as neutrino mass hierarchy and leptonic CP violation.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
647356
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CutLoops
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
The traditional formulation of relativistic quantum theory is ill-equipped to handle the range of difficult
computations needed to describe particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) within a suitable
time frame. Yet, recent work shows that probability amplitudes in quantum gauge field theories, such
as those describing the Standard Model and its extensions, take surprisingly simple forms. The
simplicity indicates deep structure in gauge theory that has already led to dramatic computational
improvements, but remains to be fully understood. For precision calculations and investigations of the
deep structure of gauge theory, a comprehensive method for computing multi-loop amplitudes
systematically and efficiently must be found.The goal of this proposal is to construct a new and
complete approach to computing amplitudes from a detailed understanding of their singularities,
based on prior successes of so-called on-shell methods combined with the latest developments in the
mathematics of Feynman integrals. Scattering processes relevant to the LHC and to formal
investigations of quantum field theory will be computed within the new framework.
End Date:
30/9/2020
Project ID:
647771
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DIVI
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
Project ID:
648615
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VIBRA
Evaluation Panel:
PE2 - Fundamental
Constituents of Matter
The VIBRA project aims at developing an innovative microscope for real-time non-invasive imaging of
cells and tissues, which promises to have a revolutionary impact on several fields of biology and
medicine. Chemically specific vibrational signatures of molecules enable their direct structural
characterization. Reliable and quantitative endogenous bio-markers can be established, e.g., to follow
cell differentiation and to identify crucial properties of tissues (malignant vs benign phenotype of a
tumour). In this way neoplasms can be located and their borders with normal tissue traced for surgery.
Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy demonstrated this capability, but it is intrinsically too slow for
imaging. Coherent Raman microscopy, on the other hand, can reach extremely high speed (up to the
video rate) but at the expense of poor chemical selectivity, being limited to a single vibrational
frequency.The ground-breaking goal of VIBRA is to combine the most detailed molecular information
over the entire vibrational spectrum with the highest acquisition speed. The PI will develop a complete
coherent Raman microscope for near-video-rate broadband vibrational imaging. This high risk/high
gain goal will be achieved by the combination of four key developments: improved pulsed laser source;
optimized non-linear interaction, enhancing the signal; increase in acquisition speed, thanks to
innovative spectrometers; parallel on-board data processing.In the final application phase, the VIBRA
project will validate the performances of the novel vibrational imaging system studying two important
bio-medical problems: cancerous cell differentiation and detection of neuronal tumours. This will pave
the way towards future virtual histopathology: intraoperative non-invasive evaluation of cancerous
tissue. My vision is to allow researchers and doctors without a specific knowledge in lasers and optics
to routinely visualize functional properties of cells and tissues in vivo.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
291073
Acronym:
GLASSDEF
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
306447
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ABINITIODGA
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Some of the most fascinating physical phenomena are experimentally observed in strongly correlated
electron systems and, on the theoretical side, only poorly understood hitherto. The aim of the ERC
project AbinitioDGA is the development, implementation and application of a new, 21th century
method for the ab initio calculation of materials with such strong electronic correlations. AbinitioDGA
includes strong electronic correlations on all time and length scales and hence is a big step beyond the
state-of-the-art methods, such as the local density approximation, dynamical mean field theory, and
the GW approach (Green function G times screened interaction W). It has the potential for an
extraordinary high impact not only in the field of computational materials science but also for a better
understanding of quantum critical heavy fermion systems, high-temperature superconductors, and
transport through nano- and heterostructures. These four physical problems and related materials will
be studied within the ERC project, besides the methodological development. On the technical side,
AbinitioDGA realizes Hedin's idea to include vertex corrections beyond the GW approximation. All
vertex corrections which can be traced back to a fully irreducible local vertex and the bare non-local
Coulomb interaction are included. This way, AbinitioDGA does not only contain the GW physics of
screened exchange and the strong local correlations of dynamical mean field theory but also non-local
correlations beyond on all length scales. Through the latter, AbinitioDGA can prospectively describe
phenomena such as quantum criticality, spin-fluctuation mediated superconductivity, and weak
localization corrections to the conductivity. Nonetheless, the computational effort is still manageable
even for realistic materials calculations, making the considerable effort to implement AbinitioDGA
worthwhile.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
306845
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
D4PARTICLES
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
307387
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PHYMORPH
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Morphogenesis is the remarkable process by which a developing organism acquires its shape. While
molecular and genetic studies have been highly successful in explaining the cellular basis of
development and the role of biochemical gradients in coordinating cell fate, understanding
morphogenesis remains a central challenge for both biophysics and developmental biology. Indeed,
shape is imposed by structural elements, so that an investigation of morphogenesis must address how
these elements are controlled at the cell level, and how the mechanical properties of these elements
lead to specific growth patterns. Using plants as model systems, we will tackle the following questions:
i.
Does the genetic identity of a cell correspond to a mechanical identity? ii. Do the mechanical
properties of the different cell domains predict shape changes? iii. How does the intrinsic stochasticity
of cell mechanics and cell growth lead to reproducible shapes? To do so, we will develop a unique
combination of physical and biological approaches. For instance, we will measure simultaneously
physical properties and growth in specific cell groups by building a novel tool coupling atomic force
microscopy and upright confocal microscopy; we will integrate the data within physical growth models;
and we will validate our approaches using genetic and pharmacological alterations of cell mechanics.
In plants, shape is entirely determined by the extracellular matrix (cell walls) and osmotic pressure.
From that perspective, plants cells involve fewer mechanical parameters than animal cells and are thus
perfectly suited to study the physical basis of morphogenesis. Therefore we propose such a study
within the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana, a small population of stem cells that
orchestrates the aerial architecture of the plant.
This work will unravel the physical basis of
morphogenesis and shed light on how stochastic cell behaviour can lead to robust shapes.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
308136
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
POLAFLOW
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
321031
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DM
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
The elegant Dirac equation, describing the linear dispersion (energy/momentum) relation of electrons
at relativistic speeds, has profound consequences such as the prediction of antiparticles, reflection less
tunneling (Klein paradox) and others. Recent discovery of graphene and topological insulators (TI)
highlights the scientific importance and technological promise of materials with relativistic Dirac
dispersion" of electrons for functional materials and device applications with novel functionalities. One
might use term Dirac materials to encompass a subset of (materials) systems in which the low energy
phase space for fermion excitations is reduced compared to conventional band structure predictions
(i.e. point or lines of nodes vs. full Fermi Surface). Dirac materials are characterized by universal low
energy properties due to presence of the nodal excitations. It is this reduction of phase space due to
additional symmetries that can be turned on and off that opens a new door to functionality of Dirac
materials. We propose to use the sensitivity of nodes in the electron spectrum of Dirac materials to
induce controlled modifications of the Dirac points/lines via band structure engineering in artificial
structures and via inelastic scattering processes with controlled doping. Proposed research will expand
our theoretical understanding and guide design of materials and engineered geometries that allow
tunable energy profiles of Dirac carriers.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
337425
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUPERCONDUCTINGMOTT
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
340210
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MUNATOP
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
340906
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MOLPROCOMP
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
From Structure Property to Structure Process Property Relations in Soft Matter a Computational
Physics Approach
From cell biology to polymer photovoltaics, (self-)assembly processes that give rise to morphology and
functionality result from non-equilibrium processes, which are driven by both, external forces, such as
flow due to pressure gradients, inserting energy, or manipulation on a local molecular level, or internal
forces, such as relaxation into a state of lower free energy. The resulting material is arrested in a
metastable state. Most previous work has focused on the relationship between structure and
properties, while insight into the guiding principles governing the formation of a (new) material, has
been lacking. However, a comprehensive molecular level understanding of non-equilibrium assembly
would allow for control and manipulation of material processes and their resulting properties. This lag
of knowledge can be traced to the formidable challenge in obtaining a molecular picture of nonequilibrium assembly. Non-equilibrium processes have been studied extensively on a macroscopic level
by non-equilibrium thermodynamics. We take a novel route approaching the challenge from a
molecular point of view. Recent advances in experimental, but especially computational modeling, now
allow to follow (supra-) molecular structural evolution across the range of length and time scales
necessary to comprehend, and ultimately control and manipulate macroscopic functional properties of
soft matter at the molecular level. Soft matter is particularly suited for that approach, as it is slow
and easy to manipulate. We take the computational physics route, based on simulations on different
levels of resolution (all atom, coarse grained, continuum) in combination with recent multiscale and
adaptive resolution techniques. This work will initiate the way towards a paradigm change from
conventional Structure Property Relations (SPR) to molecularly based Structure Process Property
Relations (SPPR).
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
615767
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CIRQUSS
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
615564
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
APARTHEID-STOPS
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Apartheid -- The Global Itinerary: South African Cultural Formations in Transnational Circulation,
1948-1990
This proposal proceeds from an anomaly. Apartheid routinely breached the separation that it names.
Whereas the South African regime was deeply isolationist in international terms, new research links it
to the Cold War and decolonization. Yet this trend does not consider sufficiently that the global contest
over the meaning of apartheid and resistance to it occurs on the terrain of culture. My project argues
that studying the global circulation of South African cultural formations in the apartheid era provides
novel historiographic leverage over Western liberalism during the Cold War. It recasts apartheid as an
apparatus of transnational cultural production, turning existing historiography inside out. This study
seeks: To provide the first systematic account of the deterritorialization of apartheidas political
signifier and as apparatus generating circuits of transnational cultural production. To analyze these
itinerant cultural formations across media and national borders, articulating new intersections. To
map the itineraries of major South African exiles, where exile is taken to be a system of interlinked
circuits of affiliation and cultural production. To revise the historiography of states other than South
Africa through the lens of deterritorialized apartheid-era formations at their respective destinations.
To show how apartheid reveals contradictions within Western liberalism during the Cold War, with
special reference to racial inequality. Methodologically, I introduce the model of thick convergence to
analyze three periods: 1. Kliptown & Bandung: Novel possibilities, 1948-1960. 2. Sharpeville &
Memphis: Drumming up resistance, 1960-1976. 3. From Soweto to Berlin: Spectacle at the barricades,
1976-1990. Each explores a cultural dominant in the form of texts, soundscapes or photographs. My
work stands at the frontier of transnational research, furnishing powerful new insights into why South
Africa matters on the stage of global history.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
616811
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRANSITION
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Large Deviations and Non Equilibrium Phase Transitions for Turbulent Flows, Climate, and the Solar
System
The aim of this project is to predict and compute extremely rare but essential trajectories in complex
physical systems. We will compute rare transitions trajectories, first between two different turbulent
attractors in models of planetary jet dynamics, and second between two configurations of ocean
currents for a model of the thermohaline circulation. We will compute the dynamics and the
probability for collisions between two planets in the solar system, on time scales of order of billions of
years. We will evaluate rare events that lead to extremely large drags or torques on objects embedded
in turbulent flows, directly from the dynamics. Because of the huge range of time scales, all those
trajectories are not accessible through direct numerical simulations. The project's unity stems from the
methodology based on large-deviations theory. Large deviation rate functions generalize the concept
of entropy or free energy in non-equilibrium extended systems: they provide a global characterization
of their most probable state, their large fluctuations and their phase transitions. Impressive explicit
computations of large deviation rate functions have been recently performed in simple nonequilibrium systems. The main aim of this project is to bridge the gap between those extremely
interesting new concepts and algorithms, and complex dynamical systems such as turbulent flows,
semi-realistic models of fluids related to climate dynamics, or the long time behavior of the solar
system. In order to achieve this goal, we will use macroscopic fluctuation theory, instanton theory, and
other analytical methods in order to compute explicitly large deviation rate functions for essential
macroscopic quantities (the velocity or density fields). We will also develop and use algorithms
specifically dedicated at computing the statistics of extremely rare trajectories, based on the
generalization of importance sampling implemented through cloning or multilevel splitting methods.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
615594
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRANSRIGHTS
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Gender citizenship and sexual rights in Europe: transgender lives from a transnational perspective
The TRANSRIGHTS project investigates transgender lives and the institutional apparatus that frames
them. Rather than focusing exclusively on self displayed identities, four lines of inquiry will be
developed. Firstly, gender politics and sexual rights are analyzed as the opposition between politics of
equality and of difference is unable to provide answers for the inclusion of trans-people. Secondly, by
comparing the lives of trans-people in five European countries Portugal, France, United Kingdom, the
Netherlands and Sweden we wish to attain an overview of how institutional frameworks impact on
these lives. Thirdly, our approach will take into account the immigration of trans-individuals to Europe,
whether in search for recognition or as a way of survival often leading to sex work. Fourthly, by
comparing different countries, different groups of transgender people, different forms of attaining
inclusion or dealing with exclusion, different conceptions of gender citizenship and sexual rights, we
wish not only to gain a deeper understanding of societal change and its impact on the lives of
transgender individuals, but also to identify the gaps between policies and rights and the categories
actually mobilized for self-identification. Such a task implies examining the voices of trans-people, the
effect of policies on the materiality of lives as well as conceptualizations of selfhood that do not
necessarily confine to the European context. Project outputs will contribute to the fields of gender,
sexuality and citizenship by providing a grounded theoretical debate, discussing the gender categories
of citizenship. Trans-people are a heterogeneous group that represents one of the most challenging
boundaries for framing this debate within and beyond Europe. The voices of trans-people are essential
to avoid an excessive reduction of lives to institutional categories, whether from the institutional
apparatus, the LGBT movements or the social sciences.
End Date:
31/8/2019
Project ID:
638760
Acronym:
STATOPINS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
639739
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Strained2DMaterials
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
647100
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUSPINTRONICS
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Magnetic, electric-field and light induced control of spin-polarized supercurrents: fundamentals for
an offbeat electronics
This project aims at establishing the basis for high-temperature superconducting spintronics. The
innovative idea is to use spin-polarized superconducting pairs -instead of normal electrons- to convey
and manipulate information, taking advantage of the coherent transport inherent to superconductivity.
To further increase the potential of this approach, we intend to create multiple control knobs:
magnetic field, the classical one in spintronics, as well as the knobs customary in conventional
electronics: electric field and light. This will endow superconducting spintronics with a magnetic and
electric memory, as well as with photosensitivity. The basic ingredient for this ambitious project is
complex-oxide heterostructures. The approach consists of combining the following fundamental
effects:(a)
Superconducting proximity effects, in order to transfer superconductivity into
ferromagnets.(b) Ferroelectric field-effects, in order to modulate the superconductor/ferromagnet
interactions and tune Josephson coupling. (c) Spin-torque and ferromagnetic resonance effects, in
order to couple superconductivity and magnetization dynamics.(d) Photoconductivity and
photoelectric effects, in order to manipulate the interactions between superconductors and
ferroics.This research is essentially fundamental, but the novel concepts pursued will increase the
technological possibilities of superconductivity and spintronics -whose applications are at present
completely disconnected.
End Date:
30/9/2020
Project ID:
647471
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUPERNEMS
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
648011
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
QuantumMagnonics
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Interfacing spin waves with superconducting quantum circuits for single magnon creation and
detection
The proposed project will experimentally interface ferromagnets with superconducting quantum
circuits to study dynamics within the magnet. To this end, magnonic elements made up by thin,
structured magnetic films will be strongly coupled to the qubit. Superconducting qubits are ideal
detectors due to their quantum limited back-action on the measured object and energy resolution.
Spectroscopy and coherence measurements on the hybrid system will be made in order to address
fundamental aspects such as spin wave generation, detection, coherence, or wave propagation down
to mK temperatures and at ultra-low power (atto-watts). Amplitude and phase noise of spin wave
resonators will be determined. At the final stage of the project, the quantum limited resolution of
qubits will facilitate single magnon creation and detection. Quantum states are swapped between
qubit and magnon, and superpositioned and entangled states will be explored. Monitoring the qubit
response to its magnetic environment the low and high-frequency flux noise spectrum of spin waves
will be inferred. The research methodology employs junctions, resonators, and qubits as research
objects and detectors. The samples will be characterized at cryogenic temperatures by transport,
magnetometry, resonator and qubit setups. Magnetic materials will be deposited and structured
beneath or ontop the superconducting quantum circuits. Exploring spin wave dynamics in thin films by
coupling to a superconducting qubit complements conventional measurement techniques based on
photon, electron or neutron scattering methods, which require highly populated excitations. The
project connects to and extends research objects of ground-breaking nature to open up new horizons
for quantum, magnon and spin electronics. Magnetic material physics is enhanced by new research
concepts such as quantum resolved spectroscopy and coherence measurements on intrinsic dynamic
states.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
648589
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUPER-2D
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
The goal of this project is to prepare and functionalize layered materials and then to characterize them
in-situ using a novel combination of electrical transport, photoelectron and optical spectroscopy. This
approach provides a solution to the intense research efforts in trying to engineer, probe and unravel
many-body physics and the superconducting coupling mechanism in layered solids. The materials
under investigation are based on the families of graphene, dichalcogenides and iron based
superconductors. Chemical functionalization using dopants and strain allows for an unprecedented
control over their physical properties. The proposed material systems provide a new arena to explore
diverse condensed matter phenomena such as electron correlation, electron-phonon coupling and
superconductivity. The groundbreaking aspects of this proposal are as follows: (1) development of a
unique setup where electrical transport, angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) and optical
spectroscopy is measured in-situ on the same sample, (2) large-area deterministic layer-by-layer
growth by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and molecular beam epitaxy, (3) the effects of mechanical
strain and hence large pseudomagnetic fields on the electronic band structure will be investigated
using ARPES, (4) the effects of alkali metal doping on the superconducting transition temperature and
the spectral function will be investigated using transport, ARPES and optical spectroscopies shining
light onto the superconducting pairing mechanisms in different classes of materials. The proposal's
feasibility is firmly grounded on the pioneering work of the PIs group on superconducting coupling in
functionalized graphene and the in-situ ARPES measurements of a CVD grown graphene/BN
heterostructure.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
669598
Acronym:
SynDiv
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
670918
Acronym:
PICOPROP
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE3 - Condensed Matter
Physics
Project ID:
307358
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ANGLE
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Accelerated design and discovery of novel molecular materials via global lattice energy minimisation
The goal of crystal engineering is the design of functional crystalline materials in which the
arrangement of basic structural building blocks imparts desired properties. The engineering of organic
molecular crystals has, to date, relied largely on empirical rules governing the intermolecular
association of functional groups in the solid state. However, many materials properties depend
intricately on the complete crystal structure, i.e. the unit cell, space group and atomic positions, which
cannot be predicted solely using such rules. Therefore, the development of computational methods for
crystal structure prediction (CSP) from first principles has been a goal of computational chemistry that
could significantly accelerate the design of new materials. It is only recently that the necessary
advances in the modelling of intermolecular interactions and developments in algorithms for
identifying all relevant crystal structures have come together to provide predictive methods that are
becoming reliable and affordable on a timescale that could usefully complement an experimental
research programme. The principle aim of the proposed work is to establish the use of state-of-the-art
crystal structure prediction methods as a means of guiding the discovery and design of novel molecular
materials. This research proposal both continues the development of the computational methods for
CSP and, by developing a computational framework for screening of potential molecules, develops the
application of these methods for materials design. The areas on which we will focus are organic
molecular semiconductors with high charge carrier mobilities and, building on our recently published
results in Nature [1], the development of porous organic molecular materials. The project will both
deliver novel materials, as well as improvements in the reliability of computational methods that will
find widespread applications in materials chemistry. [1] Nature 2011, 474, 367-371.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
307523
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
LIGHT
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Optimization of catalytic materials and hence of chemical processes heavily relies on gaining detailed
insight into the complex dynamics underlying the outcome of a catalytic process and using this
information in the rational design of improved catalysts. So far, spectroscopic approaches have already
contributed importantly; however a strong need for new and improved in situ spectroscopic methods
with micro- and nanometer resolution still remains. This project aims to develop advanced light
microscopy tools that will significantly contribute to this goal.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
320737
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CHEMAGEB
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
CHEMometric and High-throughput Omics Analytical Methods for Assessment of Global Change
Effects on Environmental and Biological Systems
We propose to develop new chemometric and high-throughput analytical methods to assess the
effects of environmental and climate changes on target biological systems which are representative of
ecosystems. This project will combine powerful chemometric and analytical high-throughput
methodologies with toxicological tests to examine the effects of environmental stressors (like chemical
pollution) and of climate change (like temperature, water scarcity or food shortage), on genomic and
metabonomic profiles of target biological systems. The complex nature of experimental data produced
by high-throughput analytical techniques, such as DNA microarrays, hyphenated chromatography-mass
spectrometry or multi-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, requires powerful data
analysis tools to extract, summarize and interpret the large amount of information that such
megavariate data sets may contain. There is a need to improve and automate every step in the analysis
of the data generated from genomic and metabonomic studies using new chemometric and multi- and
megavariate tools. The main purpose of this project is to develop such tools. As a result of the whole
study, a detailed report on the effects of global change and chemical pollution on the genomic and
metabonomic profiles of a selected set of representative target biological systems will be delivered and
used for global risk assessment. The information acquired, data sets and computer software will be
stored in public data bases using modern data compression and data management technologies. And
all the methodologies developed in the project will be published.
End Date:
31/3/2018
Project ID:
320951
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DREAMS
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Project ID:
335879
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BIOGRAPHENE
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Graphene a one atom thin material has the potential to act as a sensor, primarily the surface and
the edges of graphene. This proposal aims at exploring new biosensing routes by exploiting the unique
surface and edge chemistry of graphene.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
615834
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ESTYMA
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Excited state quantum dynamics in molecular aggregates: a unified description from biology to
devices
The coherent dynamics of excitons in systems of biological interest and in organic materials can now be
studied with advanced experimental techniques, including two dimensional electronic spectroscopy,
with time resolution of few femtoseconds. The theory of open quantum systems, that should support
the interpretation of these new experiments, has been developed in different contexts over the past
60 years but seems now very inadequate for the problems of current interest. First of all, the systems
under investigation are extremely complex and the most common approach, based on the
development of phenomenological models, is often not very informative. Many different models yield
results in agreement with the experiments and there is no systematic way to derive these models or to
select the best model among many. Secondly, the quantum dynamics of excitons is so fast that one
cannot assume that the dynamics of environment is much faster than the dynamics of the system, an
assumption crucial for most theories. A remedy to the current limitation is proposed here through the
following research objectives. (1) A general and automatic protocol will be developed to generate
simple treatable models of the system from an accurate atomistic description of the same system
based on computational chemistry methods. (2) A professionally-written software will be developed to
study the quantum dynamics of model Hamiltonians for excitons in molecular aggregates. This
software will incorporate different methodologies and will be designed to be usable also by nonspecialists in the theory of quantum open systems (e.g. spectroscopists, computational chemists). (3) A
broad number of problems will be studied with this methodology including (i) exciton dynamics in light
harvesting complexes and artificial proteins and (ii) exciton dynamics in molecular aggregates of
relevance for organic electronics devices.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
638258
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NanoChemBioVision
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Project ID:
638278
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SUPERFOAM
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Project ID:
648991
Acronym:
3MC
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Project ID:
669723
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COMP-MICR-CROW-MEM
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Cell membranes form a highly complex and heterogeneous mixture of membrane proteins and lipids.
Understanding the protein-lipid interplay that gives rise to the lateral organisation principles of cell
membranes is essential for life and health. Thus, investigations of these crowded membranes is
emerging as a new and exceptionally exciting frontier at the crossroads of biology, life sciences,
physics, and chemistry.However, our current understanding of the detailed organisation of cellular
membranes remains rather elusive. Characterisation of the structural heterogeneity in-vivo remains
very challenging, owing to the lack of experimental methods suitable for studying these fluctuating
nanoscale assemblies of lipids and proteins with the required spatio-temporal resolution. In recent
years, computer simulations have become a unique investigatory tool for understanding the driving
forces governing the lateral organisation of cellular membrane components and this computational
microscopy has become indispensible as a complement to traditional microscopy methods.In this ERC
project I will, using advanced computational microscopy, study the interaction of lipids and proteins in
complex, crowded, membrane patches, to enable the driving forces of membrane protein sorting and
clustering to be unravelled at conditions closely mimicking real cellular membranes. The specific
objectives are: To develop a novel computational microscopy framework for simulating biomolecular
processes at multiple resolutions. To use this new computational microscopy framework to
investigate the driving forces of membrane protein sorting and clustering. To provide a molecular
view of realistic, crowded, biological membranes composed of hundreds of different lipids and
proteins.The outcomes will enable subsequent studies of many different types of cell membranes
based on forthcoming lipidomics studies and progress in structural characterisation of membrane
proteins.
End Date:
31/10/2020
Project ID:
305868
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
LAB-SMART
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Lewis Acidic Borocations: improving Suzuki couplings, Material synthesis, Alkylation and Radical
Transformations
Carbon-carbon bond formation is arguably the most important reaction in synthetic chemistry,
exemplified by the award of five noble prizes. The most recent Nobel prize was awarded for the
development of palladium catalysed cross coupling, of which Suzuki cross coupling is the most widely
applied version in industry and academia and utilizes organo-boronates (RB(OR)2) as the nucleophilic
component. The aims of this project are; (i) to simplify the synthesis of organo-boron compounds that
are utilized in (a) Suzuki cross coupling and (b) as boron containing materials for organic electronic
applications. (ii) Reduce the dependency on expensive and toxic palladium by a) extending the Friedel
Crafts C-C bond forming reaction to broad scope, electrophilic trifluoromethylation and electrophilic
arylation (b) generating and applying efficient iron catalysts in an iron analogue of the Suzuki Reaction.
To achieve each of our aims we will utilise the unique properties of electrophilic borocations.
Previously we have used boro-cations that combine a coordinatively unsaturated and electrophilic
boron centre with a masked form of a strong base to develop fundamentally new reactivity. These
borocations enabled the sequential one pot activation of a substrate by a strong Lewis acid (the borocation) and then release of the masked Lewis base for a subsequent step (e.g., deprotonation). This
concept of a boron reagent enabling sequential reactivity by subsequent dissociation of a group is a
continual theme through this proposal. This property of borocations will be combined with appropriate
leaving groups on the nucleophile to tackle the important challenges outlined above. Key to expanding
the synthetic utility is design of the borocation to enable the release not only of a neutral Lewis base
(for direct borylation, including the synthesis of RB(OR)2) but also an anionic group (for
arylation/alkenylation) or a cationic moiety (for alkylation).
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
306250
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IPES
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
iPes project aims to provide adequate support to Dr. David Mecerreyes (DM) who is at the stage of
consolidating an independent research team. During his scientific career, DM has demonstrated
creative thinking and excellent capacity to carry out research and going beyond the state of the art. His
meritorious record of research, scientific publications (128 ISI articles, h index = 33), project
conception, private sector experience, networking ability (participated in 10 European collaborative
projects) and capacity for supervising and coordinating a research team are presented in detail in the
initial part of the proposal. He recently moved from the private sector to create a new research group
at the University of the Basque Country. He is now in an excellent academic position and research
environment to commit and be devoted to an ERC frontier research project. DMs proposal passed to
the second stage in the ERC starting grant call of last year. This year the research project has been rebuilt taking into account his group directions and the detected weak points of last years proposal. This
is his last opportunity for participating to the ERC starting-grant call. iPes proposes an innovative
research programme at the forefront of polymer chemistry. The proposal goes in depth into the topic
of energetic polymers. iPes activities will fully develop the field of polymers for energy storage by using
an innovative macromolecular engineering approach generating the ground for future innovations. The
main S&T goal is to obtain new polymeric materials, to get an insight into their unique electronic
properties, to model the new energetic polymers and to investigate their application in innovative
battery prototypes. These technologies are currently dominated by inorganic electrode materials. iPes
aims at bringing polymer chemistry to a next level and developing basic knowledge about innovative
polymeric materials which may open up new opportunities for Energy Storage.
End Date:
30/11/2017
Project ID:
307609
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MINT
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
We present a plan to design, synthesize and exploit the properties of mechanically interlocked carbon
nanotubes (MINTs). The scientific aim of the project is to introduce the mechanical bond as a new tool
for the derivatization of carbon nanotubes. The mechanical link combines the advantages of covalent
and supramolecular modifications, namely: kinetic stability (covalent) and conserved chemical
structure (supramolecular). Besides this, its dynamic nature opens up unique opportunities for both
fundamental studies and applications. From a technological point of view, MINTs should have a
practical impact in the fields of molecular electronics and molecular machinery. A general modular
approach to MINT-based materials for photovoltaic devices and electrochemical sensors is presented.
We also expect to exploit the rigidity and low dimensionality of SWNTs to construct molecular
machines that utilize them as tracks to move across long distances, which is not possible in smallmolecule molecular machines. To achieve these goals we will exploit the PIs expertise in the chemical
modification of carbon nanostructures, in the self-assembly of electroactive materials and in the
synthesis and characterization of mechanically interlocked molecules.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
307784
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PHELIX
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Supramolecular helices are a striking expression of chirality which is found at every level of biological
materials, from plant cell walls to bones. Helical biomaterials formed out of equilibrium display
multiple length scales, adaptation of structure to function and responsiveness to changing
environments, a unique set of features that constitutes a fascinating source of inspiration for materials
science. However, matching the complexity of these biological architectures by rational design of
synthetic systems remains a major contemporary challenge. The aim of this project is to develop
sophisticated helical materials with responsive architectures that are of interest in optical
communication, energy management, photonic materials and mechanical actuation. The innovative
and versatile approach proposed here consists in using light i) to engineer the period, handedness and
orientation of the cholesteric helix, and ii) to stabilise the structures formed out of equilibrium by insitu formation of polymer networks. Three tasks will run concurrently: Task 1: Stimuli-responsive
infrared super-reflectors Task 2: Dynamic templates for long range ordering of nano-objects Task 3:
Photomechanical actuation of helicoids and spiral ribbons Phelix will yield complex systems that
reach beyond the state of the art in stimuli-responsive materials, push the frontiers of research on
supramolecular helices and shed new light on transmission of chirality across length scales. Ultimately,
the omnipresence of helical structures in nature means that biomedical applications could be
envisioned also. The proposal builds on my recent investigations on light-responsive helices in
cholesteric liquid crystals. I have demonstrated the expertise in liquid crystals, photochemistry and
microscopy required for this research and my leadership experience ensures its success.
End Date:
31/10/2017
Project ID:
335383
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NINA
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
339312
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ORBITMOL
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Orbital molecules are made up of coupled orbital states on several metal ions within an orbitallyordered (and sometimes also charge-ordered) solid such as a transition metal oxide. Spin-singlet
dimers (a weak metal-metal bond) are known in several materials, but recent discoveries of more
exotic species such as 18-electron heptamers in AlV2O4 and 3-atom trimerons in magnetite (Fe3O4)
have shown that a general new class of quantum electronic states that we call orbital molecules
awaits exploration. The discovery of trimerons is particularly important as it provides the solution to
the important and long-running problem of the low temperature Verwey phase of magnetite. This was
discovered in 1939 but remained contentious as the complex superstructure was unknown. The
applicant and co-workers recently used a synchrotron microcrystal technique to solve the structure.
This showed that the Verwey transition is driven by Fe2+/3+ charge ordering in a first approximation,
but with the formation of a self-organised network of trimeron orbital molecules that had not been
predicted in over 70 years of previous study. To expand the magnetite discovery into a general
breakthrough in understanding quantum matter, this project will explore chemical tuning of orbital
molecule self-organisation, discovery of novel orbital molecule orders in frustrated networks, and
investigations of trimeron glass and liquid phases in magnetite. Evidence for liquid phases is key to
possible applications. The project will develop high resolution diffraction and total scattering methods
to determine long range and local orbital molecule orders, with further characterisation from
magnetisation and conductivity measurements. Samples will be synthesised at ambient and high
pressures. This study will pioneer a new area of research in the electronic properties of solids, and may
help to underpin future post-silicon orbitronic technologies based on the creation and manipulation of
orbital states.
End Date:
31/1/2019
Project ID:
340324
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NANOGRAPH@LSI
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Nanostructuring graphene and graphitic substrates for controlled and reproducible functionalization
Graphene is a new class of promising material with exceptional properties and thus warrants a
plethora of potential applications in various domains of science and technology. However, due to
intrinsic zero bandgap and inherently low solubility, a prerequisite for the use of graphene in several
applications is its controlled and reproducible functionalization in a nanostructured fashion. Being a
surface-only nanomaterial, its properties are extremely sensitive not only to chemical modification
but also to noncovalent interactions with simple organic molecules. A systematic knowledge base for
targeted functionalization of graphene still eludes the scientific community. The present experimental
protocols suffer from important shortcomings. Firstly, graphene functionalization occurs randomly in
solution based methods and there is scarcity of methods that can exert precise control over how and
where the reactions/interactions occur. Secondly, due to random functionalization, producing
reproducible samples of structurally uniform graphene and graphitic materials remains a major
challenge. Lastly, a molecular level understanding of the functionalization process is still lacking which
precludes systematic strategies for manipulation of graphene and graphitic materials.
NANOGRAPH@LSI aims to develop systematic experimental protocols for controlled and reproducible
(covalent, non-covalent as well as the combination of both) functionalization of graphene and graphitic
materials in a nanostructured fashion at the liquid-solid interface (LSI), along with the implementation
of new nanoscale characterisation tools, targeting a broad range of applications in the fields of
electronics, i.e. graphene bandgap engineering, sensing, and separation. Supramolecular self-assembly
of organic building blocks at the liquid-solid interface will be employed as a basic strategy. In view of
the above mentioned applications, also upscaling protocols will be developed and implemented.
End Date:
31/10/2018
Project ID:
340698
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DISORDER CONTROL
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Better performance of future computers and communication equipment requires substantially higher
speeds of switching devices at lower energy consumption. Those requirements can only be achieved by
substantial improvement of the transport properties of the materials employed. The transport of
charge and heat is strongly influenced by disorder. In recent years we have found a unique class of
crystalline materials which combines an exceptionally high, yet tuneable degree of disorder with
remarkable transport properties. This class includes the best phase change materials, superconductors
with an unconventional coupling mechanism, good thermoelectrics, as well as known topological
insulators. For these different phenomena disorder is either very beneficial or if unconditioned rather detrimental. Hence we need to be able to control disorder in these materials to tailor their
properties. Exploring this concept requires the ability to understand, eliminate or harness the effects of
disorder. Recently we have demonstrated an Anderson-type transition from insulating to metallic
behaviour upon annealing. However, to fully utilize these ideas it is mandatory to realize devices with a
more directly controllable degree of disorder. Within the framework of this project, we will develop a
tuneable Anderson insulator to delocalize charge carriers. This allows us to address a) the transition
from an insulator to a metal, the impact of disorder on superconductors (b) and topological insulators
(c) and finally d) the ability to control thermoelectric properties by tuneable electronic disorder. From
the results to be obtained we expect consequences for a wide range of materials listed in our treasure
map, with promising new technological applications in various devices.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
614897
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRANS-NANO
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Advancing the Study of Chemical, Structural and Surface Transformations in Colloidal Nanocrystals
Colloidal inorganic nanocrystals (NCs) are among the most investigated nanomaterials in Nanoscience
due to their high versatility. Research on NCs went through much advancement lately, especially on
synthesis, assembly and on the study of their transformations, most notably via cation exchange (all
fields in which the PI has contributed already). However, the integration of NCs with fabrication tools
that employ conditions such as irradiation, etching and annealing is at a very early stage since we do
not have a systematic knowledge of what transformations are triggered in the NCs under those
conditions. Also, an issue related to the incorporation of NCs in materials/devices is whether, over
time, the NCs will remain as they are, or they will transform into other structures. Plus, these
transformations in NCs are poorly studied as they require fast recording techniques. This proposal will
embark on an ambitious investigation of post-synthetic transformations in solution-grown NCs: by
advancing the understanding of various aspects of chemical, structural and surface transformation of
NCs, we will uncover new fabrication techniques that will employ such nanostructures as the key
ingredients. This in turn will have a strong impact in opto-electronics, as several electronic components
entirely made of NCs will be delivered. Four objectives are targeted: i) developing radically new sets of
experimental tools for the investigation of chemical transformations in NCs, above all the ability to
monitor in real time these transformations; ii) developing solution-grown nanostructures able to
undergo programmed transformations under a defined stimulus; iii) understanding the role of
irradiation on the fate of surface ligands and on cation exchange reactions in NCs; iv) combining
chemical, structural and surface transformations towards NC-based opto-electronics. The success of
the proposal hinges on the proven capabilities of the PI, with ample support from the host Institution.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
615653
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SYNMICS
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
635928
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PRISM
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
637313
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ENTANGLED-TM-ALKANE
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
639005
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Crosstag
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
640003
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEURAMORPH
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
646740
Acronym:
RadMag
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
646747
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
N2FEED
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
647106
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TUSUPO
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
647281
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SOLACYLIN
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
A preparative approach to geometric effects in innovative solar cell types based on a nanocylindrical
structure
The ERC Consolidator Grant project SOLACYLIN aims at providing experimental insight into the function
of 'third-generation' photovoltaic systems by generating materials stacks structured in a well-defined,
accurately tunable, nanocylindrical geometry. To this goal, we will develop and exploit advanced
preparative methods based on two fundamental ingredients: (a) ordered 'anodic' porous oxides and (b)
atomic layer deposition (ALD). The former solids will be generated as templates providing ordered
arrays of straight, cyclindrical pores, the diameter and length of which can be varied between 20 nm
and 300 nm and between 0.5 microns and 50 microns, respectively. The latter method will be used to
coat the inner pore walls with one or several layers of the photovoltaic stack, each with a thickness set
to values chosen between 1 nm and 30 nm. We will invent and characterize novel surface reaction
schemes for the deposition in ALD mode (from the gas phase and from solutions) of functional
materials (doped semiconductors and intrinsic light absorbers) with tailored chemical and physical
properties. We will investigate the experimental conditions in which they can be combined in a way
that optimizes the quality of their interfaces. Finally, we will quantify the electrical and photovoltaic
performance of p-i-n junctions prepared with our methods. We will have the unique capability of
describing in a systematic, accurate manner how the experimental photovoltaic parameters depend on
the individual thicknesses of the individual layers and on the length of the cylinders. This direct
experimental handle on the amount of light absorbed, on the one hand, and the charge carrier
transport distances to the electrical contacts, on the other hand, will be correlated with the relevant
material parameters (absorption coefficients, carrier mobilities). This information will unveil the
phenomena limiting the efficiency of each type of solar cell, and suggest avenues to remedy them.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
647719
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Supramol
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
648283
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GROWMOF
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Project ID:
669054
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
multiBB
Evaluation Panel:
PE5 - Synthetic Chemistry and
Materials
Multiple bonding between atoms is immensely important to chemistry, biology, physics and their
associated industries; multiple bonds are both ubiquitous in everyday products and extremely useful
functionalities for effecting chemical transformations. While very common with the elements carbon,
nitrogen and oxygen, multiple bonding is in comparison extremely rare with other elements. Multiple
bonding between heavier elements of the main group of the periodic table becomes less favourable
the heavier the element becomes. However, this does not explain the relative paucity of multiple
bonding with boron, which is immediately to carbon's left on the periodic table. In particular, isolable,
stable compounds containing multiple bonds between two boron atoms are extremely rare, and until
2007 only a handful of charged examples existed.A revolution in this field has recently been witnessed
with the syntheses of the first neutral compounds with boron-boron double bonds, diborenes, and the
first compounds with boron-boron triple bonds, diborynes. The first neutral diborenes were prepared
in 2007, however, we have recently developed a number of rational, selective and more general routes
to these compounds. The first diboryne compounds were prepared by our group in 2012. The
significance of these two families of molecules is not only their unusual multiple bonding but also the
extremely high electron density on the boron atoms, an unusual situation for an element that is known
for its electron-poor character. This high electron density leads to strong boron-based nucleophilicity
and extremely high reduction potentials both highly novel phenomena.This proposal aims to: (A)
comprehensively explore the syntheses of these unique compounds and the limits thereof, and to (B)
exploit the unusual reactivity of these electron-rich boron molecules in synthesis, small-molecule
activation and materials science.
End Date:
30/4/2021
Project ID:
306337
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IP4EC
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
The objective is to develop image processing algorithms for cinema that allow people watching a movie
on a screen to see the same details and colors as people at the shooting location can. It is due to
camera and display limitations that the shooting location and the images on the screen are perceived
very differently. We want to be able to use common cameras and displays (as opposed to highly
expensive hardware systems) and work solely on processing the video so that our perception of the
scene and of the images on the screen match, without having to add artifical lights when shooting or to
manually correct the colors to adapt to a particular display device. Given that in terms of sensing
capabilities cameras are in most regards better than human photoreceptors, the superiority of human
vision over camera systems lies in the better processing which is carried out in the retina and visual
cortex. Therefore, rather than working on the hardware, improving lenses and sensors, we will instead
use, whenever possible, existing knowledge on visual neuroscience and models on visual perception to
develop software methods mimicking neural processes in the human visual system, and apply these
methods to images captured with a regular camera. From a technological standpoint, reaching our
goal will be a remarkable achievement which will impact how movies are made (in less time, with less
equipment, with smaller crews, with more artistic freedom) but also which movies are made (since
good-visual-quality productions will become more affordable.) We also anticipate a considerable
technological impact in the realm of consumer video. From a scientific standpoint, this will imply
finding solutions for several challenging open problems in image processing and computer vision, but it
also has a strong potential to bring methodological advances to other domains like experimental
psychology and visual neuroscience.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
306994
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SEEVS
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
307483
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
FLEXABLE
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
308036
Acronym:
L3VISU
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
637640
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ImmRisk
Evaluation Panel:
LS2 - Genetics, Genomics,
Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology
Defining how environmental factors influence downstream effects of immune-mediated disease riskSNPs
In the last few years genome-wide association studies have revealed thousands of genetic variants
associated to immune-mediated diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Although it
is evident that non-genetic factors can also trigger these diseases, presumably by interacting with the
risk SNPs, we do not know what these factors are or how they affect risk-SNPs.I hypothesize that
environmental factors that increase disease risk also mediate the downstream molecular effects of
disease-associated genetic variants. Since I am able to identify the downstream molecular effects of
many risk-SNPs, and can identify molecular pathways regulated by specific exogenous factors like viral,
bacterial or fungal stimuli, I now propose to combine these two approaches into a new analytical
framework that will allow me to identify some of the exogenous factors that interact with risk-SNPs
and together predispose to immune-mediated diseases.My aim is to determine how exogenous
triggers alter molecular pathways that are critical in immune-mediated diseases. For this we will
generate single-cell RNA-seq data on white blood cells from 100 individuals (~1,000 cells per person)
and conduct expression QTL analyses. We will then use this information to identify exogenous risk
factors for immune-mediated diseases by re-analysing public RNA-seq data from >20,000 samples
generated in the presence and absence of different (disease) stimuli.This project is given direction by
three developments by my research group: (1) our collection and integration of large functional
genomics datasets, (2) our ability to develop computational frameworks for identifying the
downstream consequences of SNPs using such datasets, and (3) my methodology to identify contextspecific eQTLs.This research will improve insight into the complex interplay between risk-SNPs and
exogenous factors in modulating the molecular pathways that are crucial for the development of
immune-mediated diseases.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
321162
Acronym:
HELIOS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
637709
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GREYZONE
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
Illuminating the 'Grey Zone': Addressing Complex Complicity in Human Rights Violations
The grey zone of bystanders, collaborators and beneficiaries of violence escapes the scope of main
Transitional Justice (TJ) institutions and poses tough questions for scholars and architects of postconflict societies. This interdisciplinary project shifts the focus of academic and political debates by
pursuing three objectives: conceptually, it departs from the dominant victim-perpetrator paradigm and
theorises the many faces in the grey zone by analysing the interplay between structure and agency;
normatively, it argues that no account of TJ is complete without engaging the grey zone; empirically, it
tests if, in tackling the grey zone, cinematographic and literary representations can supplement typical
TJ mechanisms (trials, truth commissions, lustration). Four cases are analysed: authoritarianism plus
military occupation (Vichy France), apartheid (South Africa), totalitarianism (Romania 19451989) and
military dictatorship (Argentina 19761983). The cases provide a variety of contexts of complicity and
feature the most frequently used TJ mechanisms. They serve to a) examine the relationship between
the official story emerging from state-orchestrated TJ mechanisms and artistic narratives of complicity;
b) contextually distinguish disclosive from obscuring artistic representations of the grey zone; c)
explore the contribution of these representations to TJ efforts by studying their effect on public
debates aboutand institutional responses tothe past. Working at the frontiers between political
science, philosophy, history, law, literature and cinema, this pioneering project has critical and
institutional impact. Critically, it discloses the limits of current TJ theory and practice by emphasising
the negative political effects of ignoring general complicity in violence. Institutionally, it seeks to enrich
the toolkit of scholars and practitioners by pointing to the potential use of cinema and literature in civic
education aimed at deterrence and reconciliation.
End Date:
29/2/2020
Project ID:
339233
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ALEXANDRIA
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
340113
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VHIA
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
614331
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SSS
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Similarity search is the task of identifying, in a collection of items, the ones that are similar to a given
query item. This task has a range of important applications (e.g. in information retrieval, pattern
recognition, statistics, and machine learning) where data sets are often big, high dimensional, and
possibly noisy. State-of-the-art methods for similarity search offer only weak guarantees when faced
with big data. Either the space overhead is excessive (1000s of times larger than the space for the data
itself), or the work needed to report the similar items may be comparable to the work needed to go
through all items (even if just a tiny fraction of the items are similar). As a result, many applications
have to resort to the use of ad-hoc solutions with only weak theoretical guarantees. This proposal aims
at strengthening the theoretical foundation of scalable similarity search, and developing novel practical
similarity search methods backed by theory. In particular we will: - Leverage new types of embeddings
that are kernelized, asymmetric, and complex-valued. - Consider statistical models of noise in data,
and design similarity search data structures whose performance guarantees are phrased in statistical
terms. - Build a new theory of the communication complexity of distributed, dynamic similarity search,
emphasizing the communication bottleneck present in modern computing infrastructures. The
objective is to produce new methods for similarity search that are: 1) Provably robust, 2) scalable to
large and high-dimensional data sets, 3) substantially more resource efficient than current state-oftheart solutions, and 4) able to provide statistical guarantees on query answers. The study of similarity
search has been an incubator for techniques (e.g. locality-sensitive hashing and random projections)
that have wide-ranging applications. The new techniques developed in this project are likely to have
significant impacts beyond similarity search.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
615074
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ERCC
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Traditionally, cryptographic protocols were run on servers or personal computers which have large and
easily scalable computational resources. For these applications there exist a large variety of wellestablished cryptographic systems. Right now, we are in the midst of the shift toward ubiquitous
computing on resource constrained devices (RCDs): small devices with severe constraints in terms of
computing power, code size, and network capacities. RCDs are used virtually everywhere: smart
phones, bank cards, electronic ID-cards, medical implants, cars, RFIDs as bar code replacement, etc.
Due to their computational constraints, many current cryptographic security solutions are no longer
applicable to RCDs. Existing solutions are often ad-hoc and do not come with a formal security
treatment. The central objective of the ERCC project is to initiate an overarching formal treatment of
cryptographic solutions for RCDs, particularly focusing on efficiency. The main conceptual novelty is to
follow the concept of provable security. We intend to design new cryptographic protocols that have a
mathematical proof of security (assuming the hardness of some mathematical problem) and are still
competitive with constructions currently used on RCDs. While we certainly cannot hope that all our
new provably secure constructions will be superior to existing ad-hoc constructions, recent preliminary
research results give rise to optimism. Concretely, we will base our new protocols on hard problems in
ideal and structures lattices and we will study weaker (yet still realistic) security models for RCDs
allowing for efficient instantiations.
End Date:
31/10/2019
Project ID:
617393
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CAUSALPATH
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Next Generation Causal Analysis: Inspired by the Induction of Biological Pathways from Cytometry
Data
Discovering the causal mechanisms of a complex system of interacting components is necessary in
order to control it. Computational Causal Discovery (CD) is a field that offers the potential to discover
causal relations under certain conditions from observational data alone or with a limited number of
interventions/manipulations. An important, challenging biological problem that may take decades of
experimental work is the induction of biological cellular pathways; pathways are informal causal
models indispensable in biological research and drug design. Recent exciting advances in flow/mass
cytometry biotechnology allow the generation of large-sample datasets containing measurements on
single cells, thus setting the problem of pathway learning suitable for CD methods. CAUSALPATH builds
upon and further advances recent breakthrough developments in CD methods to enable the induction
of biological pathways from cytometry and other omics data. As a testbed problem we focus on the
differentiation of human T-cells; these are involved in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, as well
as cancer and thus, are targets of new drug development for a range of chronic diseases. The biological
problem acts as our campus for general novel formalisms, practical algorithms, and useful tools
development, pointing to fundamental CD problems: presence of feedback cycles, presence of latent
confounding variables, CD from time-course data, Integrative Causal Analysis (INCA) of heterogeneous
datasets and others. Three features complement CAUSALPATHs approach: (A) methods development
will co-evolve with biological wet-lab experiments periodically testing the algorithmic postulates, (B)
Open-source tools will be developed for the non-expert, and (C) Commercial exploitation of the results
will be sought out. CAUSALPATH brings together an interdisciplinary team, committed to this vision. It
builds upon the PIs group recent important results on INCA algorithms.
End Date:
31/12/2019
Project ID:
637277
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
FLEXILOG
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Semantic search engines use structured knowledge to improve traditional web search, e.g. by directly
answering questions from users. Current approaches to semantic search rely on the unrealistic
assumption that all true facts about a given domain are explicitly stated in their knowledge base or on
the web. To reach their full potential, semantic search engines need the ability to reason about known
facts. However, existing logics cannot adequately deal with the imperfect nature of knowledge from
the web. One problem is that relevant information tends to be distributed over several heterogeneous
knowledge bases that are inconsistent with each other. Moreover, domain theories are seldom
complete, which means that a form of so-called plausible reasoning is needed. Finally, as relevant
logical theories do not exist for many domains, reasoning may need to rely on imperfect probabilistic
theories that have been learned from the web. To overcome these challenges, FLEXILOG will introduce
a family of logics for robust reasoning with messy real-world knowledge, based on vector-space
representations of natural language terms (i.e. of lexical knowledge). In particular, we will use lexical
knowledge to estimate the plausibility of logical models, using conceptual simplicity as a proxy for
plausibility (i.e. Occams razor). This will enable us to implement various forms of commonsense
reasoning, equipping classical logic with the ability to draw plausible conclusions based on regularities
that are observed in a knowledge base. We will then generalise our approach to probabilistic logics,
and show how we can use the resulting lexically informed probabilistic logics to learn accurate and
comprehensive domain theories from the web. This project will enable a robust data-driven approach
to logic-based semantic search, and more generally lead to fundamental progress in a variety of
knowledge-intensive applications for which logical inference has traditionally been too brittle.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
637972
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ResiBots
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Despite over 50 years of research in robotics, most existing robots are far from being as resilient as the
simplest animals: they are fragile machines that easily stop functioning in difficult conditions. The goal
of this proposal is to radically change this situation by providing the algorithmic foundations for lowcost robots that can autonomously recover from unforeseen damages in a few minutes. The current
approach to fault tolerance is inherited from safety-critical systems (e.g. spaceships or nuclear plants).
It is inappropriate for low-cost autonomous robots because it relies on diagnostic procedures, which
require expensive proprioceptive sensors, and contingency plans, which cannot cover all the possible
situations that an autonomous robot can encounter. It is here contended that trial-and-error learning
algorithms provide an alternate approach that does not require diagnostic, nor pre-defined
contingency plans. In this project, we will develop and study a novel family of such learning algorithms
that make it possible for autonomous robots to quickly discover compensatory behaviors. We will thus
shed a new light on one of the most fundamental questions of robotics: how can a robot be as adaptive
as an animal? The techniques developed in this project will substantially increase the lifespan of robots
without increasing their cost and open new research avenues for adaptive machines.
End Date:
30/4/2020
Project ID:
639595
Acronym:
Hi-EST
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
640110
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BASTION
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
We are in the midst of the shift towards the Internet of Things (IoT), where more and more (legacy)
devices are connected to the Internet and communicate with each other. This paradigm shift brings
new security challenges and unfortunately many current security solutions are not applicable anymore,
e.g., because of a lack of clear network boundaries or resource-constrained devices. However, security
plays a central role: In addition to its classical function in protecting against manipulation and fraud, it
also enables novel applications and innovative business models. We propose a research program that
leverages binary analysis techniques to improve the security within the IoT. We concentrate on the
software level since this enables us to both analyze a given device for potential security vulnerabilities
and add security features to harden the device against future attacks. More specifically, we
concentrate on the firmware (i.e., the combination of persistent memory together with program code
and data that powers such devices) and develop novel mechanism for binary analysis of such software.
We design an intermediate language to abstract away from the concrete assembly level and this
enables an analysis of many different platforms within a unified analysis framework. We transfer and
extend program analysis techniques such as control-/data-flow analysis or symbolic execution and
apply them to our IL. Given this novel toolset, we can analyze security properties of a given firmware
image (e.g., uncovering undocumented functionality and detecting memory corruption or logical
vulnerabilities,). We also explore how to harden a firmware by retrofitting security mechanisms (e.g.,
adding control-flow integrity or automatically eliminating unnecessary functionality). This research will
deepen our fundamental understanding of binary analysis methods and apply it to a novel area as it
lays the foundations of performing this analysis on the level of intermediate languages.
End Date:
29/2/2020
Project ID:
640550
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DASMT
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Rapid translation between European languages is a cornerstone of good governance in the EU, and of
great academic and commercial interest. Statistical approaches to machine translation constitute the
state-of-the-art. The basic knowledge source is a parallel corpus, texts and their translations. For
domains where large parallel corpora are available, such as the proceedings of the European
Parliament, a high level of translation quality is reached. However, in countless other domains where
large parallel corpora are not available, such as medical literature or legal decisions, translation quality
is unacceptably poor. Domain adaptation as a problem of statistical machine translation (SMT) is a
relatively new research area, and there are no standard solutions. The literature contains inconsistent
results and heuristics are widely used. We will solve the problem of domain adaptation for SMT on a
larger scale than has been previously attempted, and base our results on standardized corpora and
open source translation systems. We will solve two basic problems. The first problem is determining
how to benefit from large out-of-domain parallel corpora in domain-specific translation systems. This is
an unsolved problem. The second problem is mining and appropriately weighting knowledge available
from in-domain texts which are not parallel. While there is initial promising work on mining, weighting
is not well studied, an omission which we will correct. We will scale mining by first using Wikipedia, and
then mining from the entire web. Our work will lead to a break-through in translation quality for the
vast number of domains with less parallel text available, and have a direct impact on SMEs providing
translation services. The academic impact of our work will be large because solutions to the challenge
of domain adaptation apply to all natural language processing systems and in numerous other areas of
artificial intelligence research based on machine learning approaches.
End Date:
30/11/2020
Project ID:
647544
Acronym:
PAW
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
647557
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SSBD
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
666981
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TAMING
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
In many important areas and applications of science one has to solve non convex optimization
problems and ideally and ultimately one would like to find the global optimum. However in most cases
one is faced with NP-hard problems and therefore in practice one has been often satisfied with only a
local optimum obtained with some ad-hoc (local) optimization algorithm. TAMING intends to provide a
systematic methodology for solving hard non convex polynomial optimization problems in all areas of
science. Indeed the last decade has witnessed the emergence of Polynomial Optimization as a new
field in which powerful positivity certificates from real algebraic geometry have permitted to develop
an original and systematic approach to solve (at global optimality) optimization problems with
polynomial (and even semi-algebraic) data. The backbone of this powerful methodology is the
moment-SOS approach also known as Lasserre hierarchy which has attracted a lot of attention in
many areas (e.g., optimization, applied mathematics, quantum computing, engineering, theoretical
computer science) with important potential applications. It is now a basic tool for analyzing hardness of
approximation in combinatorial optimization and the best candidate algorithm to prove/disprove the
famous Unique Games Conjecture. Recently it has also become a promising new method for solving
the important Optimal Power Flow Problem in the strategic domain of Energy Networks (as the only
method that could solve to optimality certain types of such problems). However in its present form this
promising methodology inherits a high computational cost and a (too) severe problem size limitation
which precludes from its application many important real life problems of significant size. Proving that
indeed this methodology can fulfill its promises and solve important practical problems in various areas
poses major theoretical & practical challenges.
End Date:
31/8/2019
Project ID:
306633
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PETAL
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
The aim of the PETAL project is to provide a radically novel approach to polarization control issues and
to transform this parameter into an additional fully exploited asset rather than a problem to be
avoided. While current opto-electronic technologies are principally based on complex active-feedback
loop control and algorithms, the breakthrough idea of PETAL is to explore a new type of phenomenon
based on the unexpected ability of light to self-pull, self-trap and self-stabilize its own polarization
state. Based on a nonlinear effect occurring in optical fibers, this all-optical, broadband and quasiinstantaneous polarization condensation phenomenon could find many applications in photonics and
open up the path to new exciting researches and horizons. In this project, PETAL will first focus on
proof-of-principle and theoretical/numerical modeling of the polarization condensation phenomenon
before implementing this concept in novel and original optical functions for telecommunication
applications. In particular, PETAL will report the first experimental observation of an all-optical selfstabilization and control of signal polarization with an error free transmission. PETAL will also show that
polarization condensation could provide optical regeneration or detection of polarization multiplexed
signals and could be used to implement ideal polarization beam splitter or simplify current coherent
receiver. Based on this novel concept, PETAL will also demonstrate new all-optical functions for signal
processing such as optical flip-flop memory, isotropic-like span transmission or polarization-based
router. Moreover, PETAL aims to go beyond the polarization issues and will generalize this concept to
spatial mode multiplexing applications. Finally, miniaturization and multi-implementation of these
novel functions will be carried out in a same device so as to report the first field-trial experiment of
such a technology.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
306772
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
SWIFT
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
320377
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NETSAT
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
A paradigm shift is emerging in spacecraft engineering from single, large, and multifunctional satellites
towards cooperating groups of small satellites. This will enable innovative applications in areas like
Earth observation or telecommunication. Related interdisciplinary research in the field of formation
control and networked satellites are key challenges of this proposal. Modern miniaturization
techniques allow realization of satellites of continuously smaller masses, thus enabling cost-efficient
implementation of distributed multi-satellite systems. In preparation my team has already realized two
satellites at only 1 kg mass in the University Wrzburgs Experimental satellite (UWE) program,
emphasizing crucial components for formation flying, like communication (UWE-1, launched 2005),
attitude determination (UWE-2, launched 2009), and attitude control (UWE-3, launched 2013). My
vision for the proposed project is to demonstrate formation control of four pico-satellites in-orbit for
the first time worldwide. To realize this objective, innovative multi-satellite networked orbit control
based on relative position and attitude of each satellite is to be implemented in order to enable Earth
observations based on multipoint measurements. Related sensor systems used in my laboratory in
research for advanced characterization of teams of mobile robots will be transferred to the space
environment. Breakthroughs are expected by combining optimal control strategies for coordination of
relative motion with a robust flow of information in the network of satellites and ground stations,
implemented via innovative use of ad-hoc networks in space. Based on my teams expertise in
implementing very small satellites, first time a system composed of four satellites will be launched to
demonstrate autonomous distributed formation control in orbit. This research evaluation in space is
expected to open up significant application potential for future distributed satellite system services in
Earth observation.
End Date:
31/7/2019
Project ID:
321149
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HARMONY
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Harmonic identification, mitigation and control in power electronics based power systems
Global electrical energy consumption is still increasing which demands that power capacity and power
transmission capabilities must be doubled within 20 years. Today 40 % of the global energy
consumption is processed by electricity in 2040 this may be up to 70 %. Electrical power production is
changing from conventional, fossil based sources to renewable power resources. Highly efficient and
sustainable power electronics in power generation, power transmission/distribution and end-user
applications are introduced to ensure more efficient use of electricity. Traditional centralized electricity
production with unidirectional power flows in transmission and distribution system will be replaced by
the operation and control of intelligent distribution systems which are much more based on power
electronics systems and having bidirectional power flow. Such large scale expansion of power
electronics usage will change the characteristic of the power system by introducing more harmonics
from generation, from the efficient load systems all resulting in a larger risk of instability and more
losses in the future power system. The projects goal is to obtain Harmony between the renewable
energy sources, the future power system and the loads in order to keep stability at all levels seen from
a harmonic point of view. The project establishes the necessary theories, models and methods to
identify harmonic problems in a power electronic based power system, a theoretical and hardware
platform to enable control of harmonics and mitigate them, and develops on-line methods to monitor
the harmonic state of the power system. The outcomes are new tools for identifying stability problems
in power electronics based power systems and new control methods for reducing the harmonic
presence and reduce the overall instability risks. Further, new design methods for active and passive
filters in renewable energy systems, in the power system and in the power electronics based loads will
be developed
End Date:
28/2/2018
Project ID:
336716
Acronym:
NANOSCOPY
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
337508
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DANCER
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
A key challenge for the 21st century is, therefore to provide billions of people with the means to
access, move and manipulate, what has become, huge volumes of information. The environmental and
economic implications becoming serious, making energy efficient data communications key to the
operation of todays society. In this project, the Principal Investigator will develop a new framework
for optical interconnects and provide a common platform that spans Fibre-to-the-home to chip-to-chip
links, even as far as global on-chip interconnects. The project is based on the efficient coupling of the
Photonic Crystal resonators with the outside world. These provide the ultimate confinement of light in
both space and time allowing orders of magnitude improvements in performance relative to the state
of the art, yet in a simpler simple system- the innovators dream. New versions of the key components
of optical links- light sources, modulators and photo-detectors- will be realised in this new framework
providing a new paradigm for energy efficient communication.
End Date:
30/11/2018
Project ID:
338402
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NETVOLUTION
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Although the Internet is a great technological achievement, more than 40 years after its creation some
of its original security and reliability problems remain unsolved. The root cause of these problems is
the rigidity of the Internet architecture or in other words the Internet ossification problem, i.e., the
basic architectural components of the Internet are set to stone and cannot be changed. The most
ossified component of the Internet architecture is the inter-domain routing system. In this project, our
goal is to address this challenge and to introduce a new Internet routing architecture that 1) enables
innovation at the inter-domain level, 2) is backward-compatible with the present Internet architecture,
and 3) provides concrete economic incentives for adopting it. We propose a new Internet routing
paradigm based on a novel techno-economic framework, which exploits emerging technologies and
meets these three goals. Our novel idea is that the combination of routing control logic outsourcing
with Software Defined Networking (SDN) principles enables to innovate at the inter-domain level and
therefore has the potential for a major break-through in the architecture of the Internet routing
system. SDN is a rapidly emerging new computer networking architecture that makes the routing
control plane of a network programmable. Based on our framework, we propose to design, build, and
verify a better inter-domain routing system, which solves fundamental security, reliability, and
manageability problems of the Internet architecture. Our work will be organized in four core topics 1)
build a mutli-domain centralized routing control platform, 2) improve the reliability and security of the
current inter-domain routing system, 3) design techniques for resolving tussles between competing
network domains, 4) introduce advanced network monitoring and security techniques that intelligently
correlate data from multiple domain to diagnose routing outages and attacks.
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
340200
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WEAR3D
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Wearable displays have advanced rapidly over the past few decades but they are limited in field-ofview due to optical constraints. Likewise, 3D displays have several technological and viewing
discomfort limitations. These limitations result from the missing 3D depth cues in stereoscopic displays,
which are essential for real 3D and for interactive augmented reality (AR) applications. Wear3D
proposal aims to overcome the two fundamental scientific challenges of wearable displays and make
them as natural as wearing a pair of eyeglasses: (i) Eliminate the relay lenses. We need to overcome
the focusing problem of the eyes in order to completely eliminate the large relay lenses. As a result,
miniaturization of wearable displays will be possible by taking full advantage of the advancements in
micro-technologies; (ii) Provide all the essential 3D depth cues to avoid perceptual errors and viewing
discomfort. We need to enable the two eyes to fixate at the correct depth of the objects rather than
the display panel without losing resolution. Thereby, eliminating the conflict between the
accommodation and convergence. Overcoming these challenges would enable a display which can
provide natural looking and interactive 3D and very wide field-of-view (>100deg) in an eyeglasses form
factor. Such a display goes far beyond the state-of-the art in wearable displays and open new research
directions for intelligent human-computer interfaces and AR.
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
615170
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DIDYMUS
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
MICROMACHINED OPTOMECHANICAL DEVICES: looking at cells, tissues, and organs ... with a gentle
touch.
Every time we grab an object to look at its geometrical details or to feel if it is hard or soft, we are
ineluctably confronted with the limits of our senses. Behind its appearances, the object may still hide
information that, encrypted in its microscopic features, remains undetected to our macroscopic
assessment. In life sciences, those limits are more than just frustrating: they are an obstacle to study
and detect life threatening conditions. Many different instruments may overcome those limits, but the
vast majority of them rely either on sight (optics) or touch (mechanics) separately. On the contrary, I
believe that it is from the combination of those two senses that we have more chances to tackle the
future challenges of cell biology, tissue engineering, and medical diagnosis. Inspired by this tantalizing
perspective, and supported by a technology that I have brought from blackboard to market, I have now
designed a scientific program to breach into the microscopic scale via an unbeaten path. The program
develops along three projects addressing the three most relevant scales in life sciences: cells, tissues,
and organs. In the first project, I will design and test a new optomechanical probe to investigate how a
prolonged mechanical load on a brain cell of a living animal may trigger alterations in its Central
Nervous System. With the second project, I will develop an optomechanical tactile instrument that can
assess how subsurface tissues deform in response to a mechanical stroke a study that may change
the way physicians look at tissue classification. For the third project, I will deliver an acousto-optical gas
trace sensors so compact that can penetrate inside the lungs of an adult patient, where it could be
used for early detection of pulmonary life threatening diseases. Each project represents an opportunity
to open an entire new field, where optics and micromechanics are combined to extend our senses well
beyond their natural limits.
End Date:
31/5/2019
Project ID:
637935
Acronym:
CONT-ACT
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
638992
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
OPT4SMART
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
640079
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
QPE
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
646923
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DBSModel
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Multiscale Modelling of the Neuromuscular System for Closed Loop Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective therapy for treating the symptoms of Parkinsons disease
(PD). Despite its success, the mechanisms of DBS are not understood and there is a need to improve
DBS to improve long-term stimulation in a wider patient population, limit side-effects, and extend
battery life. Currently DBS operates in open-loop, with stimulus parameters empirically set. Closedloop DBS, which adjusts parameters based on the state of the system, has the potential to overcome
current limitations to increase therapeutic efficacy while reducing side-effects, costs and energy.
Several key questions need to be addressed before closed loop DBS can be implemented clinically. This
research will develop a new multiscale model of the neuromuscular system for closed-loop DBS. The
model will simulate neural sensing and stimulation on a scale not previously considered, encompassing
the electric field around the electrode, the effect on individual neurons and neural networks, and
generation of muscle force. This will involve integration across multiple temporal and spatial scales, in
a complex system with incomplete knowledge of system variables. Experiments will be conducted to
validate the model, and identify new biomarkers of neural activity that can used with signals from the
brain to enable continuous symptom monitoring. The model will be used to design a new control
strategy for closed-loop DBS that can accommodate the nonlinear nature of the system, and short- and
long-term changes in system behavior. Though challenging, this research will provide new insights into
the changes that take place in PD and the mechanisms by which DBS exerts its therapeutic influence.
This knowledge will be used to design a new strategy for closed-loop DBS, ready for testing in patients,
with the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes in PD and fundamentally change the way
in which implanted devices utilise electrical stimulation to modulate neural activity.
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
648328
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
QUANTUMMETALINK
Evaluation Panel:
PE7 - Systems and
Communication Engineering
Project ID:
279022
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PLASMAPOR
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Plasma penetration into porous materials for biomedical, textile and filtration applications.
My group will explore the undeveloped field of penetration of non-thermal plasma into porous
structures. Porous materials are an exciting class of materials with a wide range of applications.
However, given the narrow dimensions of the porous network, modifying in a homogeneous way an
entire porous material is a challenging task.
This project is based on the use of non-thermal
atmospheric pressure plasmas for an effective internal surface modification of 3D porous structures. To
make plasma technology reach this desired level of controlled penetration into porous structures, a far
better understanding of the penetration of chemical active species into porous structures is required.
Therefore, my project envisages a thorough study of the interactions between a non-thermal plasma
and a second phase, the second phase being a porous substrate. Through diagnostics of the processrelevant plasma parameters and a quantitative analysis of the plasma-induced effects, the knowledge
on the physics and chemistry of such hybrid plasma systems will be enhanced and, in most cases,
newly founded. My group will start exploring this exciting field by focussing on three cornerstone
research lines. Firstly, I will develop new plasma reactor concepts enabling effective plasma
penetration. Secondly, these newly developed plasma reactors will be employed for the internal
surface modification of porous biodegradable polyester scaffolds used in tissue engineering. Thirdly,
besides the development of biomedical implants, the possibilities for the design of functional porous
textiles and advanced filter materials will also be explored. Realisation of these three cornerstones
would result in a major breakthrough in their specific field which makes this proposal inherently a
relatively high risk/very high gain proposal. I therefore strongly believe that my research program will
open a whole new window of opportunities for porous materials with a large impact on science and
society.
End Date:
31/5/2017
Project ID:
290586
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NMCEL
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
A modular micro nuclear magnetic resonance in vivo platform for the nematode Caenorhabditis
elegans
Using state-of-the-art microsystems simulation, design and micro-engineering, the NMCEL project will
result in a highly integrated and modular and low cost platform that is a high throughput micro-fluidic
lab-on-a-chip and a sophisticated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) detector in one package, suitable
for use in a wide-bore commercial NMR magnet. This unique platform targets the controlled in vivo
NMR spectroscopy and imaging of the model organism C. elegans, for this purpose the high throughput
micro-fluidic lab-on-a-chip has the necessary infrastructure to feed, hold, move and immobilise a large
population of C. elegans on demand and over its lifecycle and lifetime, with operations synchronised
with the remaining functions of the platform. In turn, the co-integrated NMR detector is specially
adapted to the range of shapes of the nematode, and its motility, and is optimised with regard to NMR
signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution. In order to attain high resolution, the NMR system is
optimised for strong magnetic fields, through the computed layout of devices, the adaptation of
microstructurable materials, and the design of electronics and control circuits. The targeted user of the
platform is a C. elegans micro-biologist with a requirement to detect or discover small molecule (<
1000 Da) metabolites in vivo. High throughput in vivo metabolomic mapping, with a platform that
generates molecular data on an individual-by-individual basis for populations of thousands of
individuals, has the potential to open up a completely new window of research in systems biology. The
NMCEL project aims to address this important step ahead.
End Date:
30/6/2017
Project ID:
306471
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ACTIVEWINDFARMS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Active Wind Farms: Optimization and Control of Atmospheric Energy Extraction in Gigawatt Wind
Farms
With the recognition that wind energy will become an important contributor to the worlds energy
portfolio, several wind farms with a capacity of over 1 gigawatt are in planning phase. In the past,
engineering of wind farms focused on a bottom-up approach, in which atmospheric wind availability
was considered to be fixed by climate and weather. However, farms of gigawatt size slow down the
Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) as a whole, reducing the availability of wind at turbine hub height.
In Denmarks large off-shore farms, this leads to underperformance of turbines which can reach levels
of 40%50% compared to the same turbine in a lone-standing case. For large wind farms, the vertical
structure and turbulence physics of the flow in the ABL become crucial ingredients in their design and
operation. This introduces a new set of scientific challenges related to the design and control of large
wind farms. The major ambition of the present research proposal is to employ optimal control
techniques to control the interaction between large wind farms and the ABL, and optimize overall
farm-power extraction. Individual turbines are used as flow actuators by dynamically pitching their
blades using time scales ranging between 10 to 500 seconds. The application of such control efforts on
the atmospheric boundary layer has never been attempted before, and introduces flow control on a
physical scale which is currently unprecedented. The PI possesses a unique combination of expertise
and tools enabling these developments: efficient parallel large-eddy simulations of wind farms, multiscale turbine modeling, and gradient-based optimization in large optimization-parameter spaces using
adjoint formulations. To ensure a maximum impact on the wind-engineering field, the project aims at
optimal control, experimental wind-tunnel validation, and at including multi-disciplinary aspects,
related to structural mechanics, power quality, and controller design.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
306622
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CA2PVM
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
307836
Acronym:
RETURN
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
320963
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEMESIS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
335380
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CAPS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Capillary suspensions: a novel route for versatile, cost efficient and environmentally friendly material
design
A wide variety of materials including coatings and adhesives, emerging materials for nanotechnology
products, as well as everyday food products are processed or delivered as suspensions. The flow
properties of such suspensions must be finely adjusted according to the demands of the respective
processing techniques, even for the feel of cosmetics and the perception of food products is highly
influenced by their rheological properties. The recently developed capillary suspensions concept has
the potential to revolutionize product formulations and material design. When a small amount (less
than 1%) of a second immiscible liquid is added to the continuous phase of a suspension, the
rheological properties of the mixture are dramatically altered from a fluid-like to a gel-like state or
from a weak to a strong gel and the strength can be tuned in a wide range covering orders of
magnitude. Capillary suspensions can be used to create smart, tunable fluids, stabilize mixtures that
would otherwise phase separate, significantly reduce the amount organic or polymeric additives, and
the strong particle network can be used as a precursor for the manufacturing of cost-efficient porous
ceramics and foams with unprecedented properties. This project will investigate the influence of
factors determining capillary suspension formation, the strength of these admixtures as a function of
these aspects, and how capillary suspensions depend on external forces. Only such a fundamental
understanding of the network formation in capillary suspensions on both the micro- and macroscopic
scale will allow for the design of sophisticated new materials. The main objectives of this proposal are
to quantify and predict the strength of these admixtures and then use this information to design a
variety of new materials in very different application areas including, e.g., porous materials, waterbased coatings, ultra low fat foods, and conductive films.
End Date:
31/7/2018
Project ID:
335746
Acronym:
CRYSTENG-MOF-MMM
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
Pe8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Crystal Engineering of Metal Organic Frameworks for application in Mixed Matrix Membranes
With this proposal, I seek to develop the gas separating membranes of the future. The overall aim is to
produce composite membranes comprising engineered Metal Organic Framework (MOF) particles and
polymers in the form of Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs). By applying these new membranes,
energetically more efficient separations will be possible. Despite the superior performance of
membranes only based on crystalline materials like zeolites or MOFs, polymeric membranes rule the
commercial scene thanks to their easy processing, high reproducibility and mechanical strength.
However, the existing polymeric membrane materials are not optimal: improvements in permeability
are always at the expense of selectivity and vice versa, while plasticization threatens their application
at high pressures. This research aims at utilizing the best of both fields by combining the high
selectivity of MOFs with the easy processing of polymers in the form of Mixed Matrix Membranes. The
main barrier to achieve this goal is the optimization of the MOF-polymer interaction and mass
transport through the composite. This is very challenging because chemical compatibility, particle
morphology and filler dispersion play a key role. Innovatively the project will be the first systematic
study into this multi-scale phenomenon with investigations at all relevant interactions, including MOF
particle tuning targeting the application in MMMs. A thorough study on the synthesis of the selected
MOF structures and on the performance of the composites will allow engineering MOFs at the
molecular and particle levels, resulting in higher selectivity and faster transport. The use of flexible
MOF structures will not only allow a better membrane processing but will also reduce polymer
plasticization. This research will deliver a new generation of mixed matrix membranes, outperforming
the state of the art polymeric membranes.
End Date:
31/8/2018
Project ID:
335928
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GEOPOLYCONC
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
GeopolyConc will provide the necessary scientific basis for the prediction of the long-term durability
performance of alkali-activated geopolymer concretes. These materials can be synthesised from
industrial by-products and widely-available natural resources, and provide the opportunity for a highly
significant reduction in the environmental footprint of the global construction materials industry, as it
expands to meet the infrastructure needs of 21st century society. Experimental and modelling
approaches will be coupled to provide major advances in the state of the art in the science and
engineering of geopolymer concretes. The key scientific focus areas will be: (a) the development of the
first ever rigorous mathematical description of the factors influencing the transport properties of alkaliactivated concretes, and (b) ground-breaking work in understanding and controlling the factors which
lead to the onset of corrosion of steel reinforcing embedded in alkali-activated concretes. This project
will generate confidence in geopolymer concrete durability, which is essential to the application of
these materials in reducing EU and global CO2 emissions. The GeopolyConc project will also be
integrated with leading multinational collaborative test programmes coordinated through a RILEM
Technical Committee (TC DTA) which is chaired by the PI, providing a route to direct international
utilisation of the project outcomes.
End Date:
31/8/2018
Project ID:
335929
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PLASMATS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
337077
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DROPCELLARRAY
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
337739
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HIENA
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Over the past years, carbon nanomaterial such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have
attracted the interest of scientists, because some of their properties are unlike any other engineering
material. Individual graphene sheets and CNTs have shown a Youngs Modulus of 1 TPa and a tensile
strength of 100 GPa, hereby exceeding steel at only a fraction of its weight. Further, they offer high
currents carrying capacities of 10^9 A/cm, and thermal conductivities up to 3500 W/mK, exceeding
diamond. Importantly, these off-the-chart properties are only valid for high quality individualized
nanotubes or sheets. However, most engineering applications require the assembly of tens to millions
of these nanoparticles into one device. Unfortunately, the mechanical and electronic figures of merit of
such assembled materials typically drop by at least an order of magnitude in comparison to the
constituent nanoparticles. In this ERC project, we aim at the development of new techniques to create
structured assemblies of carbon nanoparticles. Herein we emphasize the importance of controlling
hierarchical arrangement at different length scales in order to engineer the properties of the final
device. The project will follow a methodical approach, bringing together different fields of expertise
ranging from macro- and microscale manufacturing, to nanoscale material synthesis and mesoscale
chemical surface modification. For instance, we will pursue combined top-down microfabrication and
bottom-up self-assembly, accompanied with surface modification through hydrothermal processing.
This research will impact scientific understanding of how nanotubes and nanosheets interact, and will
create new hierarchical assembly techniques for nanomaterials. Further, this ERC project pursues
applications with high societal impact, including energy storage and water filtration. Finally, HIENA will
tie relations with EUs rich CNT industry to disseminate its technologic achievements.
End Date:
31/12/2018
Project ID:
337753
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IGYPURTECH
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
339380
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ALEM
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Electrical motors consume about 40 % of the electrical energy produced in the European Union. About
90 % of this energy is converted to mechanical work. However, 0.5-2.5 % of it goes to so called
additional load losses whose exact origins are unknown. Our ambitious aim is to reveal the origins of
these losses, build up numerical tools for modeling them and optimize electrical motors to minimize
the losses. As the hypothesis of the research, we assume that the additional losses mainly result from
the deterioration of the core materials during the manufacturing process of the machine. By
calorimetric measurements, we have found that the core losses of electrical machines may be twice as
large as comprehensive loss models predict. The electrical steel sheets are punched, welded together
and shrink fit to the frame. This causes residual strains in the core sheets deteriorating their magnetic
characteristics. The cutting burrs make galvanic contacts between the sheets and form paths for interlamination currents. Another potential source of additional losses are the circulating currents between
the parallel strands of random-wound armature windings. The stochastic nature of these potential
sources of additional losses puts more challenge on the research. We shall develop a physical loss
model that couples the mechanical strains and electromagnetic losses in electrical steel sheets and
apply the new model for comprehensive loss analysis of electrical machines. The stochastic variables
related to the core losses and circulating-current losses will be discretized together with the temporal
and spatial discretization of the electromechanical field variables. The numerical stochastic loss model
will be used to search for such machine constructions that are insensitive to the manufacturing defects.
We shall validate the new numerical loss models by electromechanical and calorimetric measurements.
End Date:
28/2/2019
Project ID:
340025
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
INTELHYB
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
615456
Acronym:
I-CAD
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
616186
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRITOS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
The aim of this project is to forge a physical understanding of the transitions and of the turbulent flow
of semi-dilute/dense non-colloidal suspensions, for different particle features and suspending fluids. It
is estimated that 10% of the world energy consumption is due to the transport and handling of
granular materials of which particle suspensions are an important part. A deep understanding of the
mechanisms underlying the flow of particle suspensions, the transition to turbulence and the
turbulence characteristics is crucial for many important practical applications involving engineered
complex fluids, such as pastes and paper pulp. A better prediction and control of the flow of
suspensions will therefore have a huge impact. Complex fluids are multiscale by nature where the
physics at the microscale affects the macroscopic behaviour of the flow and vice versa giving rise to
surprising and spectacular phenomena as well as making this one of the most important practical
problem still to solve. Investigating the mechanisms by which the system microstructure determines
the macroscopic flow properties and vice versa will not only give valuable insights into the nature of
flowing suspensions but also will also lead to new ways to model and control it. Future generations of
engineering CFD tools will have to contain models for complex suspensions. The fundamental approach
proposed here, combined with challenging scientific and engineering examples backed up by
experimental evidence, will make this possible and demonstrate it to a wider engineering community.
The proposed project is based on highly accurate simulations of multiphase flow systems and state-ofthe-art experiments. Such a holistic approach will enable us to understand the underlying mechanisms
of instabilities and suspension turbulence and to develop accurate criteria for their prediction far in
advance of what we could achieve with either approach separately.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
616695
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
POTENT
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Engineering Discoidal Polymeric Nanoconstructs for the Multi-Physics Treatment of Brain Tumors
Despite significant advances in chemotherapy, the effective treatment of malignant masses via
systemically injectable agents are still limited by insufficient accumulation at the biological target (<<
10% injected dose per gram tumor) and non-specific sequestration by the reticulo-endothelial system
(tumor/liver < 0.1). The goal of this proposal is to engineer Discoidal Polymeric Nanoconstructs (DPNs)
to preferentially target the malignant neovasculature for the delivery of imaging agents, controlled
release of therapeutic molecules and thermal energy. The central hypothesis is that the size, shape,
surface properties and stiffness (4S parameters) of the DPNs can be controlled during synthesis, and
that therapeutic molecules (Temozolomide), Gd(DOTA) complexes and ultra-small Super-Paramagnetic
Iron Oxide nanoparticles (USPIOs) can be efficiently incorporated within the DPN polymeric matrix.
This will be achieved by pursuing 3 specific aims: i) synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of
poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) DPNs with multiple 4S combinations; ii) in-silico and in
vitro rational selection of DPN configurations with preferential tumor deposition, low macrophage
uptake and high loading; and iii) in-vivo testing of the DPN imaging and therapeutic performance in
mice bearing Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). The innovation stays in i) using synergistically three
different targeting strategies (rational selection of the 4S parameters; magnetic guidance via external
magnets acting on the USPIOs; specific ligand-receptor recognition of the tumor neovasculature); ii)
combining therapeutic and imaging molecules within the same nanoconstruct; and iii) employing
synergistically different therapeutic approaches (molecular and thermal ablation therapies). This would
allow us to support minimally invasive screening via clinical imaging and enhance therapeutic efficacy
in GBM patients.
End Date:
30/6/2019
Project ID:
617336
Acronym:
BTVI
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
617972
Acronym:
STRUBA
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
637460
Acronym:
EyeRegen
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
638307
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AEROFLEX
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Aeroelastic instabilities are at the origin of large deformations of structures and are limiting the
capacities of products in various industrial branches such as aeronautics, marine industry, or wind
electricity production. If suppressing aeroelastic instabilities is an ultimate goal, a paradigm shift in the
technological development is to take advantage of these instabilities to achieve others objectives, as
reducing the drag of these flexible structures. The ground-breaking challenges addressed in this project
are to design fundamentally new theoretical methodologies for (i) describing mathematically
aeroelastic instabilities, (ii) suppressing them and (iii) using them to reduce mean drag of structures at
a low energetic cost. To that aim, two types of aeroelastic phenomena will be specifically studied: the
flutter, which arises as a result of an unstable coupling instability between two stable dynamics, that of
the structures and that the flow, and vortex-induced vibrations which appear when the fluid dynamics
is unstable. An aeroelastic global stability analysis will be first developed and applied to problems of
increasing complexity, starting from two-dimensional free-vibrating rigid structures and progressing
towards three-dimensional free-deforming elastic structures. The control of these aeroelastic
instabilities will be then addressed with two different objectives: their suppression or their use for flow
control. A theoretical passive control methodology will be established for suppressing linear aeroelastic
instabilities, and extended to high Reynolds number flows and experimental configurations. New
perturbation methods for solving strongly nonlinear problems and adjoint-based control algorithm will
allow to use these aeroelastic instabilities for drag reduction. This project will allow innovative control
solutions to emerge, not only in flutter or vortex-induced vibrations problems, but also in a much
broader class of fluid-structure problems.
End Date:
30/6/2020
Project ID:
639495
Acronym:
INTHERM
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
646867
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Learn
Evaluation Panel:
PE6 - Computer Science and
Informatics
Project ID:
639760
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PEDAL
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Plasmonic Enhancement and Directionality of Emission for Advanced Luminescent Solar Devices
Applying photovoltaic (PV) panels to buildings is an important application for wider PV deployment and
to achieving our 20% Renewable Energy EU targets by 2020. PEDAL will develop a disruptive PV
technology where record increases in efficiency are achieved and costs dramatically reduced; (1)
Diffuse solar radiation will be captured to produce higher efficiencies with concentration ratios over 3
in plasmonically enhanced luminescent solar concentrators (PLSC). Current LSC efficiency achieved is
7.1%, [1]. This proposal will boost efficiency utilising metal nanoparticles (MNP) tuned to luminescent
material type in LSCs, to induce plasmonic enhancement of emission (PI and team have achieved 53%
emission enhancement). MNP will be aligned to enable directional emission within the LSC (being
patented by PI and team). These are both huge steps in the reduction of loss mechanisms within the
device and towards major increases in efficiency.(2) Plasmonically enhanced luminescent downshifting
thin-films (PLDS) will be tailored to increase efficiency of solar cells independent of material
composition. MNP will be used, where the plasmonic resonance will be tailored to the luminescent
species to downshift UV. MNP will be aligned to enable directional emission within the PLDS layer,
reducing losses enabling dramatic increases in a layer adaptable to all solar cells.(3) These novel
systems will be designed, up-scaled and a building integrated component fabricated, with the ability
not only to generate power but with options for demand side management. Previous work has been
limited by quantum efficiency of luminescent species, with this breakthrough in both the use of MNP
for plasmonic emission enhancement and alignment inducing directionality of emission, will lead to
efficiencies of both PLSC and PLDS being radically improved. PEDAL is a project based on new
phenomena that will allow far reaching technological impacts in solar energy conversion and lighting.
End Date:
31/3/2020
Project ID:
640598
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEW_FUN
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
647067
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
BIOLOCHANICS
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
647863
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COMIET
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Epithelial barriers protect the body against physical, chemical, and microbial insults. Intestinal
epithelium is one of the most actively renewing tissues in the body and a major site of carcinogenesis.
Functional in vitro models of intestinal epithelium have been pursued for a long time. They are key
elements in basic research, disease modelling, drug discovery, and tissue replacing and have become
prime models for adult stem cell research. By taking advantage of the self-organizing properties of
intestinal stem cells, intestinal organoids have been recently established, showing cell renewals
kinetics resembling to the one found in vivo. However, the development of in vitro 3D tissue
equivalents accounting for the dimensions, architecture and access to the luminal contents of the in
vivo human intestinal tissue together with its self-renewal properties and cell complexity, remains a
challenge. The goal of this project is to engineer intestinal epithelial tissue models that mimic
physiological characteristics found in in vivo human intestinal tissue, to open up new areas of research
on human intestinal diseases. The proposed models will address the in vivo intestinal epithelial cell
renewal and migration, the multicell-type differentiation and the epithelial cell interactions with the
underlying basement membrane while providing access to the luminal content to go beyond the stateof-the-art organoid models. To do this, we propose to develop an experimental setup that combines
microfabrication techniques, tissue engineering components and recent advances in intestinal stem
cell research, exploiting stem cell self-organizing characteristics. We anticipate this setup to
recapitulate the 3D morphology, the spatio-chemical gradients and the dynamic microenvironment of
the living tissue. We expect the new device to prove useful in understanding cell physiology, adult stem
cell behaviour, and organ development as well as in modelling human intestinal diseases.
End Date:
30/11/2020
Project ID:
648375
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
iNanoEOR
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
The era of finding easy oil is coming to an end, and future supply will become more reliant on fossil
fuels produced from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. Many EoR methods have been used,
including mechanical, chemical, thermal and biological approaches, but there are still 50~70% of the
original oil trapped in reservoir rocks after the primary and secondary recovery. NanoEOR, i.e, injecting
nanoparticles (NPs) together with flooding fluids, is an emerging field. However all proposed
applications are based on pre-fabricated NPs, which encountered enormous problems in NP
stabilization and transport under reservoir conditions. This project proposes a revolutionary concept,
iNanoEOR: in-situ production of NPs inside the reservoir for enhanced oil recovery. Rather than premanufacturing, dispersing and stabilizing NPs in advance, NPs will be produced in the reservoir by
controlled hydrothermal reactions, acting as sensors to improve reservoir characterisation, or as
property modifiers to effectively mobilize the trapped oil. This project will validate the innovative
iNanoEOR concept by answering three questions: i) how the concept works? ii) what kind of NPs should
be produced that can effectively mobilize trapped oil? iii) what are desired NP properties to allow them
flow through a reservoir? Three work programs are designed, and a number of breakthroughs beyond
state-of-art research are expected, which include i) proof-of-concept of the innovative iNanoEOR, ii)
developing a new methodology for temperature measurement inside a reservoir, iii) revelation of the
influence of NPs on EOR under reservoir-like conditions, iv) understanding the controlling factors in NP
transport at different scales. The project will not only contribute directly to iNanoEOR, but also
transfers the PIs expertise in nanomaterials and multiphase flow into oil and gas sector and underpin
many NP-related subsurface applications, which currently is non-existing in the Europe.
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
648377
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ReactiveFronts
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Mixing interfaces as reactive hotspots of porous media flows: theoretical upscaling, experimental
imaging and field scale validation
In porous media, mixing interfaces such as contaminant plume fringes or boundaries between water
bodies create highly reactive localized hotspots of chemical and microbiological activity, whether in
engineered or natural systems. These reactive fronts are characterized by high concentration gradients,
complex flow dynamics, variable water saturation, fluctuating redox conditions and multifunctional
biological communities. The spatial and temporal variability of velocity gradients is expected to
elongate mixing interfaces and steepen concentration gradients, thus strongly affecting biochemical
reactivity. However, a major issue with porous media flows is that these essential micro-scale
interactions are inaccessible to direct observation. Furthermore, the lack of a validated upscaling
framework from fluid- to system-scale represents a major barrier to the application of reactive
transport models to natural or industrial problems. The ambition of the ReactiveFronts project is to
address this knowledge gap by setting up a high level interdisciplinary team that will provide a new
theoretical understanding and novel experimental imaging capacities for micro-scale interactions
between flow, mixing and reactions and their impact on reactive front kinetics at the system scale.
ReactiveFronts will develop an original approach to this long-standing problem; combining theoretical,
laboratory and field experimental methods.The focus on reactive interface dynamics, which represents
a paradigm shift for reactive transport modelling in porous media, will require the development of
original theoretical approaches (WP1) and novel microfluidic experiments (WP2). This will form a
strong basis for the study of complex features at increasing spatial scales, including the coupling
between fluid dynamics and biological activity (WP4), the impact of 3D flow topologies and chaotic
mixing on effective reaction kinetics (WP3), and the field scale assessment of these interactions (WP5).
End Date:
30/9/2020
Project ID:
669505
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COTURB
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Turbulence is a multiscale phenomenon for which control efforts have often failed because the
dimension of the attractor is large. However, kinetic energy and drag are controlled by relatively few
slowly evolving large structures that sit on top of a multiscale cascade of smaller eddies. They are
essentially single-scale phenomena whose evolution can be described using less information than for
the full flow. In evolutionary terms they are punctuated equilibria for which chaotic evolution is only
intermittent. The rest of the time they can be considered coherent and predictable for relatively long
periods. Coherent structures studied in the 1970s in free-shear flows (e.g. jets) eventually led to
increased understanding and to industrial applications. In wall-bounded cases (e.g. boundary layers),
proposed structures range from exact permanent waves and orbits to qualitative observations such as
hairpins or ejections. Although most of them have been described at low Reynolds numbers, there are
reasons to believe that they persist at higher ones in the LES sense in which small scales are treated
statistically. Recent computational and experimental advances provide enough temporally and spatially
resolved data to quantify the relevance of such models to fully developed flows. We propose to use
mostly existing numerical data bases to test the various models of wall-bounded coherent structures,
to quantify how often and how closely the flow approaches them, and to develop moderate-time
predictions. Existing solutions will be extended to the LES equations, methods will be sought to identify
them in fully turbulent flows, and reduced-order models will be developed and tested. In practical
situations, the idea is to be able to detect large eddies and to predict them most of the time. If simple
enough models are found, the process will be implemented in the laboratory and used to suggest
control strategies.
End Date:
31/1/2021
Project ID:
670747
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
FireBar-Concept
Evaluation Panel:
PE8 - Products and Processes
Engineering
Project ID:
306478
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COSMICDAWN
Dr. Hiranya Vajramani Peiris
h.peiris@ucl.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON, LONDON, UK
http://www.ucl.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Project ID:
338251
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
STELLARAGES
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Dr. Saskia Hekker
hekker@mps.mpg.de
MAX PLANCK GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.,
GTTINGEN, DE
www.mpg.de
Accurate ages of stars
Age is a fundamental property of stars. It is an essential tool to understand many diverse phenomena
in astrophysics, including the evolution of stars, planetary systems, and the Galaxy. However, age is
currently the most poorly known property of a star, often to no better than 30-40% accuracy, which is
not good enough. The ages of stars cannot be measured directly; they can only be determined by
comparing age-sensitive observables with model predictions. Asteroseismology, the study of stellar
oscillations, offers the unique opportunity to estimate the ages of stars to within 5-10% of their
lifetime. Using state-of-the-art space observations (CoRoT and Kepler) of stellar oscillation frequencies
combined with ground-based spectroscopy (e.g. APOGEE), I propose to uniformly determine accurate
ages of thousands of stars with unprecedented precision. Building on my extensive experience in this
field, I plan to develop and implement new asteroseismic diagnostics for a large number of mainsequence stars, subgiants and red giants. These new age determination methods are expected to be
calibrated using stars in binary systems and clusters, and compared with classical methods. Uniform
age determinations for a large sample of stars in different directions in the sky will greatly advance the
study of stellar populations in the Galaxy. This project is ambitious, and success requires a dedicated
approach from a competent team with the right resources and the right leader.
End Date:
30/9/2018
Project ID:
339231
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HOME
Prof. Dirk Schulze-Makuch
dirksm@wsu.edu
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN, BERLIN, DE
www.tu-berlin.de
Evaluation Panel:
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Habitability of Martian Environments: Exploring the Physiological and Environmental Limits of Life
The low average temperature and low water activity of the Martian near-surface environment makes it
challenging for living organisms to persist and propagate. Nonetheless, recent mission results indicate
that environmental conditions exceed locally and temporarily the lower thresholds for life to exist.
Furthermore, specific soil minerals, or combinations thereof, appear to provide a suitable habitat for
microbial life, especially if associated with low-temperature brines or hygroscopic salts. Thus, a
quantitative understanding of the habitability potential of the Martian near-surface environment, past
and present, is very much needed and the focus of this proposal. To achieve this objective, we will test
different types of soils and some of Earths hardiest organisms, using them as models (Marsanalogues), to see if they can survive and perhaps even grow under the various environmental stresses
known to exist on Mars. A major tool of our laboratory investigations will be the experimentally proven
state-of-the-art Mars Simulation Chamber at the German AeroSpace Center, to which various soils
materials and microorganisms will be exposed. The planned experimental investigations and models
will be concurrently updated by analyzed mission data, particularly from landers and rovers (e.g.,
Curiosity Rover), to adjust our work to the newest Martian geochemical and environmental data
available. Results from our proposed work will timely provide critical scientific knowledge to interpret
incoming data from ESAs ExoMars mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2016/2018. As one
important deliverable of our work we will also construct a Mars Soil Analyzer, an instrument which will
be designed for a future mission to Mars with the objective to achieve Technology Readiness Level 6 at
the completion of the proposed study.
End Date:
31/7/2019
Project ID:
615929
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
SPCND
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Dr. Mark Sullivan
m.sullivan@soton.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON, SOUTHAMPTON, UK
http://www.southampton.ac.uk
Supernovae: Physics and Cosmology in the Next Decade
Exploding stars, or supernovae, impact upon many diverse areas of astrophysics, from galaxy
formation, to stellar evolution, to cosmology and studies of dark energy. I am playing a leading role in
new, wide-field, high-cadence optical surveys that are revolutionising the study of supernovae,
searching vast volumes of space, locating hundreds of events to study their demographics in detail, and
uncovering new and bizarre types of explosions. In concert with a major European Southern
Observatory public spectroscopic survey, PESSTO, these imaging surveys will provide an extraordinary
dataset for understanding all facets of the supernova and explosive transient population. My work will
perform several tests of the progenitors and physics of the classical type Ia supernovae in an attempt
to understand how these crucial standard candles depend on their progenitor stellar populations. I will
use these results to inform a new generation of models of type Ia supernovae. I will this distill these
results to make a detailed measurement of the dark energy that powers the accelerating universe in
which we live, greatly improving upon existing measurements of the variation of dark energy over the
last ten billion years. A final aspect of my research is an innovative search for superluminous
supernovae: a new class of supernova explosion a hundred times brighter than traditional supernovae,
capable of being studied in the very distant universe. These objects may become cosmology's new
standard candle, visible far beyond the reach of type Ia supernovae. My new search will significantly
increase both the quantity and quality of superluminous supernova observations, allowing us to further
our understanding of these enigmatic objects and use them in a cosmological setting for the first time.
End Date:
31/5/2019
Project ID:
617119
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EXOLIGHTS
Dr. Giovanna Tinetti
g.tinetti@ucl.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON, LONDON, UK
http://www.ucl.ac.uk
Evaluation Panel:
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Project ID:
638809
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AIDA
Prof. Andrei Albert Mesinger
ricercaeuropea@sns.it
SCUOLA NORMALE SUPERIORE DI PISA, PISA, IT
www.sns.it
Evaluation Panel:
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Project ID:
646908
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
S4F
Dr. Jes Kristian Jrgensen
jeskj@nbi.dk
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET, COPENHAGEN, DK
www.ku.dk
Evaluation Panel:
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Project ID:
646928
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
Multi-Pop
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Prof. Nathan Bastian
n.j.bastian@ljmu.ac.uk
LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY, LIVERPOOL, UK
http://www.ljmu.ac.uk
Project ID:
647208
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
imbh
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Dr. Peter Gustaaf Jonker
p.jonker@sron.nl
STICHTING SRON NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR SPACE RESEARCH, UTRECHT,
NL
www.sron.nl
Do intermediate-mass black holes exist?
With this proposed project I will determine whether intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) exist. I
propose to use ESA's new Gaia mission, the rich Hubble Space Telescope data archive, and state-of-theart techniques to investigate systems predicted to exist but not yet found hitherto, such as recoiled
hyper-compact stellar systems, red-supergiant mass donors to ultra-luminous X-ray sources, and white
dwarf tidal disruption events. The latter can only be detected if black holes with masses less than 1E5
Msun are involved. Using these systems and events we can probe the sphere of influence of the IMBH
and determine the black hole mass dynamically.Currently, there are strong indications for the
existence of IMBHs, but dynamical evidence, the irrefutable proof of their existence, is still lacking.
Whereas the unequivocal detection of an IMBH will be a breakthrough discovery in itself, it has also
important consequences for searches of dark matter annihilation signals, it will provide a baseline for
the rate predictions of gravitational wave radiation events involving IMBHs, and the properties of a
population of IMBHs provides important constraints on the growth of supermassive black holes and
galaxies. Finally, if we discover IMBHs in hyper-compact star clusters it validates numerical relativity
simulations that predict that merging black holes receive a recoil kick.My membership of Gaia's Data
Processing and Analysis Consortium gives me a distinct advantage in analysing and interpreting Gaia
data that, through the superb angular resolution, immediate spectroscopic observations and all-sky
coverage, provides unique capabilities ideally suited for answering the question whether IMBHs
exist.My proposed project is the first to recognize the potential of Gaia (WP1&2) as well as the
implications of having red supergiant mass donors in some ultra-luminous X-ray sources (WP3) for
answering the question on the existence of IMBHs.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
638115
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
InfoAggregation
Evaluation Panel:
SH1 - Markets, Individuals and
Institutions
Elections are the foundation for democratic decision making. This research program will examine the
effects of biased and privately informed entitieselection organizerson the ability of elections to
aggregate information: Existing theory demonstrates that large electorates can reach correct decisions
by aggregating information dispersed among many voters. However, existing theory does not account
for the ubiquitous presence of biased organizers who intend to affect the election outcome. Examples
of biased organizers may include a CEO holding a shareholder vote, a regional government holding a
referendum, and political parties in general elections. This project will develop and analyze new
models of voting that account for the effects of biased organizers on information aggregation. One of
the examples I consider is an election organizer who can increase voter participation at some cost (e.g.,
through advertising). Preliminary work suggests that the presence of biased organizers has significant
impact. As increasing participation becomes cheap, equilibria exist where the election organizer
recruits a large number voters and yet the majority votes almost surely for the organizers favorite
policy. This failure of information aggregation contrasts starkly with existing results for elections in
which the number of voters is exogenously large.
I will study the effectiveness of institutional
safeguards against such manipulation, including supermajority rules, publicity requirements, and the
regulation of communication to voters, and I will apply the theory in the context of shareholder voting
and corporate control. Thus, this research program has important implications for the design of
elections in realistic voting scenarios.
End Date:
30/6/2020
Project ID:
295769
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GLOBALSPORT
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
In the last few decades, the erosion of the social and economic structures that previously provided a
straightforward raison dtre to men have transformed, in all societies of the world, masculinity into a
problematic category. In the Global South, deepening economic, political and social insecurities have
further compounded the fragility of masculinity. Younger men in particular find it increasingly difficult
to secure a productive role in local economies, and many in the worlds more destitute countries are
investing their hopes in the possibility of becoming a successful professional athlete. But athletic talent
can only translate into economic productivity in the industrial North, and athletic migrations have
become, for large number of boys, young men, families, villages, nations and states in the Global
South, the solution for a masculinity under threat, the way out of economic precarity, and the
embodiment of millenarian hope. At the same time, athletic bodies are inherently fragile, the sports
industry fickle, and the paths of migrant athletes strewn with obstacles, rendering deeply problematic
yet unavoidable the dependence of so many individuals on the success of a few. This multi-sited
comparative ethnographic project seeks to investigate the migratory dynamics at play between
selected developing countries and selected countries in the industrial world in three different sports,
soccer-football, rugby union, and cricket. It explores ways in which these three sports represent for
young talented hopeful in the Global South various embodiments of hope for the redemption of
masculinity and of its productive potentials. The research will open new theoretical avenues for an
understanding of the constitution of masculinity in the context of globalisation, changes in the
structure of nation-states and the meaning of citizenship, and the constitution of everyday lives in
more destitute regions of the world.
End Date:
31/8/2017
Project ID:
312420
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
REDEFTIE
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Redefining tie strength how social media (can) help us to get non-redundant useful information
and emotional support
Social media offer us effortless ways to stay in touch with large numbers of individuals. These
individuals can be friends (strong ties), acquaintances (weak ties), or people we barely know (absent
ties). Decades of social capital research have shown that strong ties are useful because they provide us
with emotional support and weak ties are useful because they provide us with non-redundant useful
information, but absent ties do not provide us with any benefits at all. Now, social media challenge
these conclusions. Through social media, people connect to absent ties daily, so apparently there are
benefits involved. My central question therefore is: To what extent do social media change how, and
from whom, we seek and receive informational and emotional support? Social media technologies
have changed the frequency and nature of our social connections. Smart phones allow a constant
connection with our social network, sometimes even preventing us from socializing face-to-face.
Twitter facilitates asymmetric relationships, such that even marginalized individuals can connect to
important information sources. Facebook has set a norm where individuals who in the past we would
merely have nodded to, are now embedded in our network of friends. It seems natural to assume
that, if the way we maintain our social network changes, the way we extract social capital from that
network also changes. To deepen our understanding of the effects of social media use on receiving
informational and emotional support, I will employ several methods. By means of a large longitudinal
study (subproject 1) in a representative sample, I aim to detect causal relationships between social
media use at time t and informational and emotional benefits at time t+x. In addition, two subprojects
will study in detail the cognitive and affective processes underlying informational (subproject 2) and
emotional (subproject 3) benefits of social media use.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
313172
Acronym:
DISCONEX
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
323899
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
AUTHORITARIANGLOBAL
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
336230
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
UNIJURIS
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Unilateralism and the protection of global interests: opportunities and limits of the exercise of state
jurisdiction
In the 20th century, states have increasingly sought to apply their laws to situations and persons
beyond their borders. They typically did so to protect their own interests from harm spilling over their
borders. Recently, however, states appear to be giving their laws extraterritorial application to
protect global interests, not only when prosecuting international criminals, but also by enacting
emissions trading schemes to tackle global warming, by taking sanctions against foreign vessels
involved in illegal fishing on the high seas docking in their port, and by fighting foreign corrupt practices
with a view to furthering good governance in developing countries. Thus, it appears that a novel
principle of jurisdiction is crystallizing that protects global interests through unilateral application of
domestic (or regional) law. It is the aim of this research to study this development in-depth, and to
examine in particular whether, and under what circumstances, international law countenances such
an exercise of unilateral jurisdiction that is aimed at the protection of global interests. The project
consists of two pillars. Pillar 1 studies three cases of states or regional organizations unilaterally
applying their own laws to (partly) foreign situations considered as threatening global interests: (a) the
exercise of unilateral jurisdiction aimed at mitigating climate change; (b) the exercise of port state
jurisdiction aimed at protecting sustainable fishing and biological diversity on the high seas; (c) the
exercise of unilateral jurisdiction to tackle foreign corruption practices. Pillar 2 is synthetic in nature,
and assesses whether, and to what extent, general rules of jurisdiction and jurisdictional restraint
concerning the protection of global interests are developing across various fields, including but not
limited to the fields studied in Pillar 1.
End Date:
31/10/2018
Project ID:
340430
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MIGPROSP
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Risk and uncertainty are inherent in any decision-making procedure, but while a substantial body of
work on the governance of international migration focuses on challenges posed to governance
systems, we know remarkably little about the impact of risk and uncertainty on: (i) the cognitive biases
of actors within migration governance systems; (ii) the susceptibility of these biases to change; (iii) the
relationship between cognitive bias and broader questions of systemic resilience, vulnerability and
adaptation and (iv) the similarities and differences in migration governance between major world
regions. Each of these is a significant gap in our knowledge of international migration governance. To
address this gap this project will focus on the context of decision to ask: what are the causes and
consequences of the cognitive biases concerning risk and uncertainty held by actors in migration
governance systems? The project will: (i) test the causes and consequences of the frames held by
actors in migration governance systems, specify the scope for these frames to change and to analyse
the likely systemic effects of change on migration governance systems in four major world regions. (ii)
develop a comparative regional analysis of the micro-political foundations of migration governance and
their implications for system adaptation and change. (iii) significantly advance conceptual and
methodological understanding of international migration governance through the use of concepts of
systemic adaptation, vulnerability and resilience that bridge behavioural theories of choice with
theories of institutional and organisational change. (iv) disseminate the results effectively through a
range of appropriate outlets and through engagement with a range of users of the results of this work
in academia, policy-making communities, NGOs and the wider public.
End Date:
31/3/2019
Project ID:
647755
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DYNPOR
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
First principle molecular dynamics simulations for complex chemical transformations in nanoporous
materials
Chemical transformations in nanoporous materials are vital in many application domains, such as
catalysis, molecular separations, sustainable chemistry,. Model-guided design is indispensable to
tailoring materials at the nanometer scale level.
At real operating conditions, chemical
transformations taking place at the nanometer scale have a very complex nature, due to the interplay
of several factors such as the number of particles present in the pores of the material, framework
flexibility, competitive pathways, entropy effects, The textbook concept of a single transition state is
far too simplistic in such cases. A restricted number of configurations of the potential energy surface is
not sufficient to capture the complexity of the transformation. My objective is to simulate complex
chemical transformations in nanoporous materials using first principle molecular dynamics methods at
real operating conditions, capturing the full complexity of the free energy surface. To achieve these
goals advanced sampling methods will be used to explore the interesting regions of the free energy
surface. The number of guest molecules at real operating conditions will be derived and the diffusion
of small molecules through pores with blocking molecules will be studied. New theoretical models will
be developed to keep track of both the framework flexibility and entropy of the lattice. The selected
applications are timely and rely on an extensive network with prominent experimental partners. The
applications will encompass contemporary catalytic conversions in zeolites, active site engineering in
metal organic frameworks and structural transitions in nanoporous materials, and the expected
outcomes will have the potential to yield groundbreaking new insights. The results are expected to
have impact far beyond the horizon of the current project as they will contribute to the transition from
static to dynamically based modeling tools within heterogeneous catalysis
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
616702
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
IBIAS
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
617930
Acronym:
ERADICATION
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - Institutions, Values,
Beliefs and Behaviour
Project ID:
639275
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VITAL
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
Epidemiological reports from around the world suggest that more people than ever before are living
with (especially chronic) diseases. As a consequence, sustained efforts to reduce morbidity and
mortality rates have been joined by systematised efforts to improve the lives the quality of life of
those living with disease in ways that are measurable and auditable.VITAL will focus on the making of
quality of life. While social studies of medicine have of late been marked by a bio-turn, it is apparent
that within contemporary medicine, life is envisaged as much more than cellular and molecular
activity; it is also a social activity and a personal experience. Not only is life sustained, it is also lived. In
recent decades, morbid living living with disease has come to be the object of novel forms of
knowledge, expertise, measurement and management while also generating new medical practices
and attendant ways of relating to oneself.VITAL suggests a shift in attention from the ways in which the
social sciences have previously studied morbid living and related issues of quality of life. Rather than
continue longstanding efforts to understand how people cope with disease or to refine definitions and
instruments for measuring the quality of life of the sick, in VITAL we will empirically study the coproduction of quality of life within healthcare through four ethnographically-grounded studies of how
quality of life is assembled, mobilised, negotiated and practiced in concrete medical settings. The four
studies will focus on how knowledge about living with disease is assembled and mobilised, on the one
hand, and how morbid living is negotiated and practiced on the other.The key outcomes of VITAL will
be theoretical advancement of understandings of vitality in the 21st century beyond molecular biology
and methodological innovation to facilitate empirical study of co-production processes that involve
social science knowledge and practice.
End Date:
31/5/2020
Project ID:
639583
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ToxicExpertise
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
Project ID:
647314
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Becoming Men
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
Project ID:
648693
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EVILTONGUE
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
No Sword Bites So Fiercly as an Evil Tongue?Gossip Wrecks Reputation, but Enhances Cooperation
Social norms in general, and norms of cooperation in particular, are the cement of all human societies.
For the difficult problems of the maintenance and enforcement of social norms and of cooperation,
humans have developed surprisingly complex solutions. Reputation mechanisms and gossip are
certainly among the compound informal solutions. According to common wisdom, gossip channels
mainly negative and often fictitious information. If it is so, how can dishonest gossip and the resulting
biased reputations legitimize social order and promote cooperation? This is the main puzzle we tackle
in the proposed project exploiting a wide scale of instruments. We use analytical modeling and agentbased simulation to derive hypotheses. We test simple hypotheses in small group experiments. We
develop new methodological tools to appropriately analyze the triadic nature of gossip embedded in
network flows of information. We utilize dynamic network datasets from primary and secondary school
classes, and we gather qualitative and quantitative information from organizations to test conditional
hypotheses about the role that gossip plays in reputation and cooperation in different developmental
and social contexts of life. In addition, we apply new communication technologies currently under
development to explore the hidden world of gossip and the dynamics of reputations in dormitories and
organizations. With the insights gained, we can overcome common stereotypes about gossip and
highlight how gossip is related to credible reputational signals, cooperation, and social order. Expected
results will help us to outline the conditions that can promote cooperativeness in work groups, and
they will help to construct successful prevention strategies of social exclusion and other potentially
harmful consequences of the evil tongue.
End Date:
30/11/2020
Project ID:
312290
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
GENDERBALL
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Implications of the Shifting Gender Balance in Education for Reproductive Behaviour in Europe
This project is the first comprehensive study of the demographic consequences of a major recent
development in Europe: while men have always received more education than women in the past, this
gender balance in education has now turned around. For the first time in history, there are more highly
educated women than men reaching the reproductive ages and looking for a partner. I expect that this
will have profound consequences for the demography of reproduction because mating practices have
always implied that men are the majority in higher education. These traditional practices are no longer
compatible with the new gender distribution in education. The objective of my project is to study in
depth the consequences of this historically new situation for reproductive behaviour. The first step of
the project is to reconstruct country-specific time series charting the shifting gender balance in
education across time and space at different ages. These can then be used as contextual information in
subsequent multilevel analyses of reproductive behaviour. In the second part, I will investigate how the
reversal of the gender balance is influencing patterns of assortative mating by level of education. Third, I
will study how the shifting gender balance is connected to the timing and probability of marriage versus
unmarried cohabitation and to the timing and quantum of fertility. Finally, I will investigate the
consequences for divorce and separation. Existing data sources will be used that cover a wide range of
European countries. This project will not only be ground breaking by setting the research agenda for a
new era in the European reproductive landscape. It will also introduce methodological innovations.
First, agent based modelling will be used as a method to study assortative mating. Second, I propose a
new way to study the causal effect of the gender balance in education. These methodological
innovations will prove useful for many other social science projects.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
336155
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
COBHAM
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
The role of consumer behavior and heterogeneity in the integrated assessment of energy and
climate policies
The objective of this project is to quantify the role of consumers behaviour on the design and
assessment of policies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and conservation and at promoting
climate change mitigation. The project brings together different disciplines namely energy policy,
environmental and ecological economics, behavioral public finance, experimental economics, and
technology policy- in an integrated fashion. COBHAM is designed to go beyond the standard analysis of
energy and climate policies in the presence of environmental externalities, by accounting for the
heterogeneity in consumers preferences, the role of social interactions, and the presence of
behavioral tendencies and biases. The project seeks to: i) carry out innovative research in the
theoretical understanding of the interplay between behavioral tendencies and environmental
externalities; ii) generate new empirical data and research on individual preferences by means of
original surveys and controlled experiments; iii) enhance integrated assessment models (IAMs) of
economy, energy and climate with an advanced representation of consumers behavior. In doing so,
the project will be able to provide a richer characterization of energy demand and of greenhouse gas
emission scenarios, to better estimate consumers responsiveness to energy and climate policies, and
to provide input to the design of new policy instruments aimed at influencing energy and
environmental sustainable behavior. COBHAM is of high public policy relevance given Europes
legislation on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and can provide important insights also outside the
sphere of energy and climate policymaking.
End Date:
31/7/2019
Project ID:
340753
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEXTGENBIM
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Project ID:
615159
Acronym:
DEPRIVEDHOODS
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Project ID:
637462
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
DecentLivingEnergy
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Energy and emissions thresholds for providing decent living standards to all
There is confusion surrounding how poverty eradication will contribute to climate change. This is due
to knowledge gaps related to the material basis of poverty, and the relationship between energy and
human development. Addressing this issue rigorously requires bridging gaps between global justice,
economics, energy systems analysis, and industrial ecology, and applying this knowledge to projections
of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. This project will develop a body of knowledge that quantifies the
energy needs and related climate change impacts for providing decent living standards to all. The
research will address three questions: which goods and services, and with what characteristics,
constitute decent living standards? What energy resources are required to provide these goods and
services in different countries, and what impact will this energy use have on climate change? How do
the constituents of decent living and their energy needs evolve as countries develop? The first task will
operationalize basic needs views of human development and advance their empirical validity by
discerning characteristics of basic goods in household consumption patterns. The second will quantify
the energy needs (and climate-related emissions) for decent living constituents and reveal their
dependence on culture, climate, technology, and other contextual conditions in countries. This will be
done using lifecycle analysis and input-output analysis, and mapping energy to climate change using
state-of-the-art energy-economy integrated assessment modelling tools for 5 emerging economies that
face the challenges of eradicating poverty and mitigating climate change. The third task will shed light
on path dependencies and trends in the evolution of basic goods and their energy intensity using
empirical analysis. This research will identify opportunities to shift developing societies towards lowcarbon pathways, and help quantify burden-sharing arrangements for climate mitigation.
End Date:
31/5/2018
Project ID:
637768
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EQUALIZE
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Project ID:
639403
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
WORKANDHOME
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Project ID:
647860
Acronym:
LIFECOURSE
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH3 - Environment, Space and
Population
Project ID:
295603
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ADAM
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Listening in realistic situations is an active process that engages perceptual and cognitive faculties,
endowing speech with meaning, music with joy, and environmental sounds with emotion. Through
hearing, humans and other animals navigate complex acoustic scenes, separate sound mixtures, and
assess their behavioral relevance. These remarkable feats are currently beyond our understanding and
exceed the capabilities of the most sophisticated audio engineering systems. The goal of the proposed
research is to investigate experimentally a novel view of hearing, where active hearing emerges from a
deep interplay between adaptive sensory processes and goal-directed cognition. Specifically, we shall
explore the postulate that versatile perception is mediated by rapid-plasticity at the neuronal level. At
the conjunction of sensory and cognitive processing, rapid-plasticity pervades all levels of auditory
system, from the cochlea up to the auditory and prefrontal cortices. Exploiting fundamental statistical
regularities of acoustics, it is what allows humans and other animal to deal so successfully with natural
acoustic scenes where artificial systems fail. The project builds on the internationally recognized
leadership of the PI in the fields of physiology and computational modeling, combined with the
expertise of the Co-Investigator in psychophysics. Building on these highly complementary fields and
several technical innovations, we hope to promote a novel view of auditory perception and cognition.
We aim also to contribute significantly to translational research in the domain of signal processing for
clinical hearing aids, given that many current limitations are not technological but rather conceptual.
The project will finally result in the creation of laboratory facilities and an intellectual network unique
in France and rare in all of Europe, combining cognitive, neural, and computational approaches to
auditory neuroscience.
End Date:
30/9/2017
Project ID:
313398
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
INTERACT
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Project ID:
313502
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ROSE
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Restriction and Obviation in Scalar Expressions: the semantics and pragmatics of range markers
across and throughout languages
Most languages have a fairly well developed system of words for numbers, called numerals. It is crosslinguistically common, moreover, for languages to have a very rich paradigm of modifiers of such
numerals. For instance, English allows the numeral "fifty" to be modified by comparatives ("more than
50"), (adverbial) superlatives ("at least 50"), equatives ("as many as 50"), locative prepositions ("over
50"), directional prepositions ("up to 50"), disjunctions ("50 or more") and adverbs ("exactly 50"). As
illustrated by the set of English modifiers, typically, such paradigms do not consist of specialised
vocabulary but instead consist of expressions 'borrowed' from other areas of the grammar. This project
sets out to use the rich vocabulary of modified numerals to make
advances in semantics and
pragmatics. In particular, we will look at a subset of modifiers that have restrictions on their use,
restrictions that may be obviated in specific contexts. This subset contains e.g. adverbial superlatives
and directional prepositions. Accordingly, there is a semantic connection between superlativity and
spatial expression that needs to be explored. More importantly, however, the found connections will
clarify the nature of numerical, and more generally scalar, quantification. This is very welcome, since
there is a surprising lack of insight in how we use numerical expressions to communicate quantitative
information. In particular, there is no consensus as to what semantic and pragmatic processes govern
the relatively simple meanings conveyed by sentences containing numerals and similarly scalar
expressions. What is needed right now to break through this standstill are projects that aim at
uncovering hitherto unexplored connections within language. Significant theoretical progress
moreover relies on access to large bodies of new and reliable data. To this end, the project includes indepth cross-linguistic and experimental studies.
End Date:
28/2/2018
Project ID:
648429
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
TRANSPOP
Evaluation Panel:
SH2 - The Social World,
Diversity and Common Ground
T he Tr ans for mati on of Popul ar Poli tic s i n Eur opes L ong Ni neteenth C entury
How did ordinary people acquire the capacity to mobilize and influence the political decision-making
process? How did standard forms of popular collective action emerge and get institutionalized in
European modernity? To address these questions, this project explores the transformation of European
popular politics in the long nineteenth-century (c. 1789-1914), while also offering a systematic and
empirically rigorous causal account of the processes that led to the emergence of the typical forms of
social movement activities that dominate the current landscape of popular protest. The project will
seek to address two interconnected problems in current scholarship. First, it will enrich our knowledge
of the scope and variety of popular politics in the period by focusing on cases (Hungary, Italy, the
Netherlands, and Spain) that unlike the core cases of Great Britain and France have not been studied
exhaustively.
Second, it will transcend the limitations of existing treatments that have focused
predominantly on class formation and state building as the ultimate determinants of popular politics in
the period. Through careful archival research and innovative quantitative techniques, the participants
will consider an interrelated set of questions on the proper causal relationship between political scale
and political mobilization and on the varied cultural and organizational forms of social movement
activity.
End Date:
31/7/2020
Project ID:
648433
Acronym:
ICONICAL
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
PE4 - Physical and Analytical
Chemical Sciences
Project ID:
313695
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
LOWLANDS
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
There are noticeable asymmetries in availability of high-quality natural language processing (NLP). We
can adequately summarize English newspapers and translate them into Korean, but we cannot
translate Korean newspaper articles into English, and summarizing micro-blogs is much more difficult
than summarizing newspaper articles. This is a fundamental problem for modern societies, their
development and democracy, as well as perhaps the most important research problem in NLP right
now. Most NLP technologies rely on highly accurate syntactic parsing. Reliable parsing models can be
induced from large collections of manually annotated data, but such collections are typically limited to
sampled newswire in major languages. Highly accurate parsing is therefore not available for other
languages and other domains. The NLP community is well aware of this problem, but unsupervised
techniques that do not rely on manually annotated data cannot be used for real-world applications,
where highly accurate parsing is needed, and sample bias correction methods that automatically
correct the bias in newswire when parsing, say, micro-blogs, do not yet lead to robust improvements
across the board. The objective of this project is to develop new learning methods for parsing natural
language for which no unbiased labeled data exists. In order to do so, we need to fundamentally
rethink the unsupervised parsing problem, including how we evaluate unsupervised parsers, but we
also need to supplement unsupervised learning techniques with robust methods for automatically
correcting sample selection biases in related data. Such methods will be applicable to both crossdomain and cross-language syntactic parsing and will pave the way toward robust and scalable NLP.
The societal impact of robust and scalable NLP is unforeseeable and comparable to how efficient
information retrieval techniques have revolutionized modern societies.
End Date:
31/12/2017
Project ID:
323943
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
HUMVOL
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
At the heart of human nature lies the idea of a free agent, whose conscious thoughts and decisions
motivate their voluntary actions, and who is therefore responsible for what they do. Voluntary actions
can be defined as actions that an individual agent generates internally, rather than in response to any
environmental event. However, the concept of voluntary action remains controversial, and lacks a
scientific evidence base. Neuroscience rejects dualistic notions of conscious free will, and instead
views actions as products of mechanistic brain processes, which are often unconscious. Thus, volition
is often eliminated from psychology, or replaced with alternative, more behaviourist formulations such
as executive function, or reward-directed action. However, the generative quality of human action,
and the strong subjective experience of agency and responsibility for ones own actions, still require
scientific investigation. Even if we may not have conscious free will as envisaged, cognitive
neuroscience has acquired appropriate methods to investigate and measure what we do have, and to
explore implications for society. HUMVOL therefore aims to investigate scientifically the neural bases
of human volition (Work Package WP1), agency (WP2) and responsibility (WP3). Subjective aspects are
not neglected, because they may offer powerful cues to the mechanisms and functions of voluntary
action. The core methods are behavioural, psychophysical and neural experiments with healthy
volunteers. EEG and fMRI will allow direct measures of brain processes associated with volition, while
subliminal priming and non-invasive brain stimulation will allow their direct manipulation. Mental
chronometry and explicit agency judgements allow the impact of these processes on subjective
experience to be assessed. Finally, interdisciplinary engagements will focus on how neuroscientific
evidence could influence societal concepts of voluntary action, particularly in the Law.
End Date:
31/5/2018
Project ID:
324186
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PROBIO
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
This project aims, first, to rethink central issues in the philosophy of biology by elaborating an ontology
for biology that takes full account of the processual nature of living systems as an interacting hierarchy
of processes at diverse spatial and temporal scales. The concept of a stable biological thing will be
analysed as a stabilised process relative to an appropriate time scale, and this conception should make
possible a better understanding of familiar biological pluralisms (about genes, organisms, species,
etc) in terms of different ways in which distinct scientific practices intersect with biological processes.
Second, the concept of process developed will be used to rethink some further highly topical
philosophical issues in contemporary philosophy of science.
The processual perspective will be
deployed to provide a critique of the widely discussed recent versions of mechanism. The project will
explore generally the relevance of this perspective to influential contemporary accounts of causation
and explanation, especially those that have been derived from mechanism. Finally the project will
apply the preceding ideas to some important areas of contemporary biology: systems biology,
synthetic biology, and microbiology. These investigations will be carried on in parallel with the more
general philosophical enquiries, with the idea that the two will be mutually informative: the
philosophical analyses will not only be applied to scientific concepts, but will also themselves be
evaluated for their relevance to real cutting edge biology. This evaluation will be guided by interaction
with scientific practitioners and an expert Advisory Board, as well as text-based study. The project
aims to be of direct relevance to both philosophy and science.
End Date:
30/4/2018
Project ID:
335607
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EMOTIONS IN CONFLICT
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Project ID:
615539
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CAREGIVING
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
The plasticity of parental caregiving: characterizing the brain mechanisms underlying normal and
disrupted development of parenting
The survival of species depends critically on infant survival and development. Human infants are,
however, vulnerable and completely dependent on caregiving parents, not just for survival but also for
their development. Darwin and Lorenz have long argued that there are specific infant facial features
that elicit attention and responsiveness in adults. Until recently this has not been possible to study but
neuroimaging has started to reveal some of the brain circuitry. However, it is not known how the brain
changes over time in new parents as they gain experience with caregiving. Equally, little is known
about the underlying brain mechanisms associated with disruption to normal parental caregiving. I
propose to study the brain changes associated with normal and disrupted development of parental
caregiving in new parents who will undergo neuroimaging and psychological testing using standardised
databases and test batteries of caregiving tasks. Subproject 1 will investigate the normal development
of parental caregiving, beginning before pregnancy, using a longitudinal study of structural and
functional brain changes in both women and men combined with their behavioural measures on
caregiving tasks. Subproject 2 will investigate the disrupted development of parental caregiving using a
cross-sectional design to study the brain and behavioural effects on caregiving during potential
disruptive changes to the parent or child. Specifically, my focus will be on A) parental sleep disruption
and B) infant craniofacial abnormality of cleft lip and palate. Finally, understanding the full brain
mechanisms and architecture underlying parental caregiving requires a mechanistic synthesis of the
findings of normal and disrupted development. Subproject 3 will use our existing advanced
computational models to combine the findings from normal and disrupted development in order to
identify the fundamental brain mechanisms and networks underlying the development of parenting.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
617700
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EXPECT HEAL-TH
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Empowering expectations for health and disease: training the immune and endocrine system
Expectations about health and disease induce immune and endocrine responses and directly affect
health and treatment outcomes. However, there is an urge to understand the mechanical
underpinnings how expectations affect immune and endocrine responses and how this knowledge can
be used for therapeutic interventions. My research group studies the main expectancy learning
mechanisms for itch and pain as a generic expectancy model across symptoms and conditions. We
recently showed that dual expectancy learning processes (i.e. conditioning and suggestions) are most
powerful for itch symptoms, corresponding with findings for other symptoms and conditions. Based on
these studies, I propose a groundbreaking dual expectancy learning approach, testing whether
combined expectancy learning processes (i.e. both conditioning and suggestions, offered with
personalized cues and exposure to relevant stressors) affect most profoundly the immune and
endocrine system, in turn affecting health and disease outcomes. The major aim is to unravel the
central mechanisms of how peoples expectations affect immune and endocrine responses and related
health outcomes, through the use of pioneering multidisciplinary methods in healthy and clinical
populations. First, we systematically train immune and endocrine responses and relate them to
psychological, neurobiological and genetic mechanisms. Second, we test these manipulations for
physical health challenges (e.g. inflammatory or allergic histamine reactions) in healthy subjects and
patients. Third, we study the long-term effects in chronic inflammatory itch and pain conditions (e.g.
replacing anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapies, reducing side effects). This interdisciplinary, crossboundary project progresses key theoretical knowledge of the central expectation mechanisms for
immune and endocrine responses. Findings open new horizons for health prevention and therapeutic
interventions for various inflammatory conditions and physical symptoms.
End Date:
31/8/2019
Project ID:
648963
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
EVOLPROOF
Evaluation Panel:
LS8 - Evolutionary, Population
and Environmental Biology
Ar e HPV v acci nes ev ol uti on -pr oof? Mul til ev el ev ol uti onar y ec ol ogy of human onc
ov ir us es
There is a threat that evolutionary responses can render vaccines ineffective, as illustrated by the
emergence of the increasingly virulent Marek Disease Virus strains in poultry following vaccination
campaigns. Assessing the evolution-proof nature of vaccines targeting human viruses is challenging
because it requires an understanding of the epidemiology, the within-host ecology and the
evolutionary potential of the virus. To date, most investigations into the spread of vaccine-resistant
strains are theoretical and are rarely constrained by data.We propose a novel alliance between
evolutionary ecology and clinical research to assess the risk of vaccines selecting for resistant or
virulent strains. Human papillomaviruses (HPV) and their vaccines provide an ideal study system.
However, the scope of the project is wider and encompasses other DNA viruses. The project is divided
into three parts. In Part A, we will decipher HPV within-host dynamics in genital infections. By
combining mathematical modelling and longitudinal patient data, we will be able to parameterise
within-host models and compare them. In Part B, we will jointly analyse host, virus and genital
microbiota diversity using a community ecology approach to understand the infectious process. These
results will be integrated into evolutionary epidemiology models allowing for diverse infections. In Part
C, we will estimate virus substitution rates and use the results from Parts 1 and 2 to develop a
multilevel analysis of HPV evolution in response to vaccination. We will also tackle more general
questions related to the evolution of the virulence of human oncoviruses.A major asset of the project is
the collection of clinical data in order to address a major public health issue using ideas and methods
from evolutionary ecology. This will set a new agenda for the study of human viral infections and
establish a perennial leading research group in Europe.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
637488
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
MotMotLearn
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Project ID:
637915
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Corruption Roots
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
For many years, human cooperation has been praised as beneficial in organizational and personal
settings. Indeed, cooperation allows people to develop trust, build meaningful relationships, achieve
mutually beneficial outcomes, and strengthen bonding with one's group members. However, while the
benefits of cooperation are clear, very little is known about its possible negative aspects. Such negative
aspects include the potential emergence of unethical conduct among cooperating partners, or as
termed here corrupt collaboration. Such joint unethical efforts, benefiting (directly or indirectly) one
or more of the involved parties, occur in business, sports, and even academia. Corrupt collaboration
emerges when one party bends ethical rules (here: lie) to set the stage for another party to further
bend ethical rules and get the job done, that is, secure personal profit based on joint unethical acts.
We propose that corrupt collaborations most commonly occur when all involved parties gain from the
corrupt behavior. The current proposal is aimed at unfolding the roots and nature of corrupt
collaborations; their existence, the psychological and biological processes underlying them, and the
settings most likely to make corrupt collaboration emerge and spread. Accordingly, the information
gathered in the current proposal has the potential to change the commonly held conceptions regarding
the unidimensional positive nature of cooperation. It will help create a comprehensive
understanding of cooperation and, specifically, when it should be encouraged or, alternatively,
monitored.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
639291
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VARIKIN
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Cultural Evolution of Kinship Diversity: Variation in Language, Cognition, and Social Norms Regarding
Family
Why do human societies differ in whom they class as family? Why are cousins classed with siblings in
some societies but not others? Accounting for the variable ways that cultures classify kin is an enduring
puzzle. The VARIKIN project takes a cultural evolutionary approach to variety and unity and engages
different fieldscultural phylogenetics, corpus linguistics, and cross-cultural child development.
VARIKIN-Evolution asks how and why does kinship diversity evolve across cultures and over time?
Using comparative phylogenetic modeling of cultural evolution we investigate the dynamics of how
kinship terminologies and family norms change in eight language families. Are there universal
patterns of change, or does local cultural history and context determine changes in family
organisation? How do social norms drive change in kinship terminology? VARIKIN-Usage investigates
how people use kinship language by using corpus linguistics, surveys, and interviews to quantify
patterns of usage in spoken and written language. How frequently are kinship terms used in different
contexts and what meanings are more prevalent? Do patterns vary between languages, and can the
patterns of usage at the individual level be linked to historical processes of change? VARIKINDevelopment investigates how children acquire and understand kinship across cultures. Using
participant observation and elicitation tasks, we characterise childrens social learning of kinship in a
small-scale, non-Western community. Are there cross-cultural patterns of acquisition? Can socialisation
produce constraints on the kinds of kinship children can learn? These three research directions are
united by a coherent framework for the integration of macro- and micro-evolutionary processes. With
a highly multidisciplinary background, the Applicant is uniquely positioned to direct this vanguard
project towards a comprehensive understanding of diversity in how we classify our social worlds.
End Date:
30/6/2020
Project ID:
639445
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NewEat
Evaluation Panel:
SH4 - The Human Mind and Its
Complexity
Transdiagnostic views on eating disorders and obesity and new approaches for treatment
Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and
overweight/obesity are highly prevalent in the EU and worldwide. They cause tremendous suffering,
elevate suicide rates, and account for multiple organic effects that increase all-cause mortality.
Etiological and maintenance factors are not well understood and transdiagnostic theoretical models
across eating and weight disorders are largely missing. The present project aims to develop an
integrated theoretical framework by studying psychological factors that contribute to non-homeostatic
eating across the full spectrum of eating-related disorders. It is proposed that high levels on
psychological traits such as restraint eating (i.e., chronic dieting behaviour), emotional eating (i.e.,
eating in response to negative emotional events rather than hunger), craving/food addiction (i.e.,
intense and chronic urge to consume palatable foods), impulsivity (i.e., inadequate food consumption
planning and low self-control), and low self-esteem influence neural systems that balance appetitive
(mostly bottom-up) with regulatory (mostly top-down) processes. This model is tested in the four
patient groups and healthy controls utilizing an integrated set of assessment methods, involving
psychometric testing, smartphone based ambulatory assessment, and neurocognitive laboratory
measurement. Derived from this model, novel behavioural interventions such as smartphone based
stimulus control and cognitive inhibition training will be developed. Results will have implications for
theoretical models of eating and weight disorders as well as for neuroaffective models of appetite
regulation. Smartphone technology might usefully complement current interventions in supporting an
effective transfer to daily life and help alleviate the burden for patients with eating-related mental and
physical diseases.
End Date:
30/6/2020
Project ID:
335949
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ARISTOTLE
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Aristotle in the Italian Vernacular: Rethinking Renaissance and Early-Modern Intellectual History (c.
1400c. 1650)
From the twelfth to the seventeenth century, Aristotles writings lay at the foundation of Western
culture, providing a body of knowledge and a set of analytical tools applicable to all areas of human
investigation. Scholars of the Renaissance have emphasized the remarkable longevity and versatility of
Aristotelianism, but their attention has remained firmly, and almost exclusively, fixed on the
transmission of Aristotles works in Latin. Scarce attention has gone to works in the vernacular.
Nonetheless, several important Renaissance figures wished to make Aristotles works accessible and
available outside the narrow circle of professional philosophers and university professors. They
believed that his works could provide essential knowledge to a broad set of readers, and embarked on
an intense programme of translation and commentary to see this happen. It is the argument of this
project that vernacular Aristotelianism made fundamental contributions to the thought of the period,
anticipating many of the features of early modern philosophy and contributing to a new encyclopaedia
of knowledge. Our project aims to offer the first detailed and comprehensive study of the vernacular
diffusion of Aristotle through a series of analyses of its main texts. We will thus study works that fall
within the two main Renaissance divisions of speculative philosophy (metaphysics, natural philosophy,
mathematics, and logic) and civil philosophy (ethics, politics, rhetoric, and poetics). We will give strong
attention to the contextualization of the texts they examine, as is standard practice in the best kind of
intellectual history, focusing on institutional contexts, reading publics, the value of the vernacular, new
visions of knowledge and eclecticism. With the work of the PI, two professors, 5 post-docs and two PhD
students we aim to make considerable advances in the understanding of both speculative and civil
philosophy within vernacular Aristotelianism.
End Date:
30/4/2019
Project ID:
336564
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
VR3PP
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
The project will investigate how the emergence of photography as a new technology played a pivotal
role in the wider acceptance of bacteriological explanations of pestilence in the course of the third
plague pandemic (1855-1959) and how it transformed public consciousness of infectious disease,
hygiene, and the role of international cooperation in the protection of public health, by establishing
plague as a paradigmatic agent of death and disorder in the modern age, whilst, at the same time,
opening up an era where the meaning of health emergencies is actively and publically negotiated on a
cross-cultural global basis. The project will collect and analyse for the first time all visual documents of
the third plague pandemic, which broke out in 1855 in Southwest China and raged across the globe
until 1959, causing the death of approximately 12 million people. The projects aim is to engage in a
historical and anthropological analysis of this global network of visual representations, underlining how
it played a crucial role in the negotiation of geopolitical, colonial and biopolitical relations at the turn of
the 20th century, with great bearing on public health consciousness and the social imagination of a
new era of globalised hygienic modernity. Research will focus on four regions: China and Japan; India;
Africa; South and North America, the first investigated by the Principal Investigator, while the rest
being allocated to 3 postdoctoral researchers, all employed full-time in the project. While investigating
the visual record of plague in their respective regions, researchers will engage in a collaborative and
interdisciplinary analysis of the entangled history of the visual representation of the third pandemic,
taking as a common analytical ground 4 different but vitally interlinked aspects of the visual
representation of the pandemic: a) the built environment; b) civil disturbance and public order; c)
death, corpses and burial; d) race, class and discrimination.
End Date:
30/9/2018
Project ID:
615574
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NAMO
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Modern historiography produced in Asia belongs to the history-paradigm of the European humanities
and it is from within these epistemological confines that Western as well as Eastern scholars of Asian
studies view the Asian writing of the past. While source criticism and historicism have today become
key parts of historical consciousness in Asia, Asian historical representations are nonetheless firmly
embedded in pre-modern Asian literary traditions via specific uses in historical writing of traditional
rhetorical structures of narrative, emplotment, tropes, and literary imagery. Taking such linkage
between present and past Asian traditions of historiography as its premise, project NAMO with four
team members consisting of the PI and three Postdocs will examine the literary features of Asian
historiography in India, China, and Tibet across the longue dure of the classical, medieval, and modern
periods. First, a new method for the study of the literary forms that characterize historiography in Asia
will be established by adapting basic analytical principles from Asian literary theories drawn from
twelve classical Indian and Chinese works on poetics. Next, the team will determine the specific literary
characteristics of narrative, plot, tropes, and historical explanation found in seventeen classical and
medieval histories composed in China, India, and Tibet. Finally, it will be examined to which extent
those traditional literary features still function as constitutive rhetorical elements in modern Asian
history writing. This will be done by analyzing the literary forms used in a selection of twenty
representative histories written in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India during the
period 1980-2010. The outcome will be a novel approach for the empirical study of Asian history that
will open up a new level of comparative work in the theory of history across non-Western and Western
traditions.
End Date:
30/11/2019
Project ID:
636983
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PLATINUM
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Papyri and LAtin Texts: INsights and Updated Methodologies.Towards a philological, literary, and
historical approach to Latin papyri
The aim of PLATINUM is to scrutinize Latin texts on papyrus from several points of view in order to
highlight their substantial contribution to our knowledge of innovations in ancient Roman literature,
language, history, and society, especially in the multilingual and multicultural contexts of the Eastern
part of the Empire between the 1st century B.C. and 8th century A.D. The first phase of the project will
consist in assembling, updating and publishing critical editions, in order to present a new and more
accurate corpus of Latin papyri on an easily accessible online platform. The second phase will be
focused on providing the texts with a specific, pluridisciplinary commentary that gives new insights on
Roman culture. Coming mainly from Egypt and other Roman provinces (as well as Herculaneum and
Ravenna), Latin papyri deserve more scholarly attention not only from papyrologists and
paleographers, but also from scholars of Latin language, as well as intellectual and cultural historians of
Rome. Latin papyri, tablets, and ostraka (potsherds) are constantly increasing in number through
archaeological discoveries. Because they are so rare, they are even more valuable than the Greek
papyri, which have garnered much attention. The Latin papyri have hitherto represented a border-line
field of study that has not been fully exploited either by papyrologists or by scholars of Latin literature.
Moreover, the obsolete bibliography and the considerable number of unpublished texts make the
study of Latin papyri (and bilingual Latin-Greek, Latin-Coptic, Latin-Punic texts) - whether literary (e.g.
Cicero, Vergil, law), paraliterary (grammar, medicine, magic), or documentary (letters, official registers,
receipts) a pioneering and challenging task. A more through study will reveal the untapped potential
of Latin texts on papyrus for renewing our knowledge of the circulation and reception of Latin language
and education, as a cultural engine in Mediterranean societies.
End Date:
31/3/2020
Project ID:
639276
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
PhilPharm
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Project ID:
670446
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Filmcolors
Evaluation Panel:
SH5 - Cultures and Cultural
Production
Film is in essence colored light projected onto a screen. Its aesthetics are thus highly determined by the
material properties of film and the optical configuration of the cinematic apparatus. To this day,
however, there is no systematic study of the relationship between the technology and aesthetics of
film colors, despite the fact that, following the digital turn in film production and distribution, the
understanding of this relationship is more essential than ever before.Over 200 film color processes
were developed since the invention of film. They are presented on the Timeline of Historical Film
Colors, which will be an integral part of the project.The groundbreaking nature of this project lies in a
truly interdisciplinary research design with a novel methodology to explore the interaction of
technological advances and limitations with film color aesthetics, identifying diachronic patterns of
stylistic means. To this end it develops a tool through recent advancements in digital humanities for
crowd-sourcing of color analyses of large groups of films. In-depth studies of technical papers and
scientific measurements of film colors will investigate the technical basis of films aesthetic
appearance. These insights will be applied to the digitization and restoration of historical films to
explore and disseminate the results. While every serious art restoration connects scientific analyses
with art-historical and aesthetic investigations, a similar approach is rarely applied to film. In summary,
the present research proposal capitalizes on the principal investigators preceding studies to bridge the
gap between technology and aesthetics. With the methods described here, the results will trace
previously hidden roots of aesthetic developments of film colors. While the project is ambitious, it
builds on a sizable methodological foundation to optimize risk management and guarantee significant
advances in the understanding of film colors.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
295555
Acronym:
LAR
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Project ID:
312542
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
CARCHIPELAGO
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Project ID:
336608
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEITHER NOR
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Neither visitors, nor colonial victims: Muslims in Interwar Europe and European Trans-cultural
History
No comprehensive attempt has yet been made to cover the history of Muslims in interwar Europe.
Historians of the modern Middle East underestimate the role of interwar Muslim actors in writing a
history of Islam, whereas historians of Europe underestimate their role in intra-European
developments. Existing works focus either on the nineteenth-century Muslim travelers, diplomats,
students and residents or on the later post-World War II influx of Muslim immigrant workers. Based on
personal and official archives, memoirs, press writings and correspondences, this project analyses the
multiple aspects of the global Muslim religious, political and intellectual affiliations in interwar Europe,
broadly defined. How did Muslims in interwar Europe act and interact among each other; and within
the European socio-political and cultural context? The project answers this question by studying the
intellectual and religio-political roles played by Muslim intellectual agents during the interwar years
and up until the rest of World War II (1918-1946). We hypothesize that histoire croise (entangled
history) is the most appropriate approach to study the encounters and experiences of Muslim actors in
interwar Europe from within. By exploring the complex relationship between the historical data and
the social, political, theological and cultural patterns of Muslims as a new social structure in interwar
Europe, the study represents a step towards a systematic global approach of Muslim connections in
interwar Europe. The project contributes to our historical conceptualization of Europe itself as much as
to our understanding of the contemporary scene of Islam in Europe and the world today, without
resorting to a neatly tailored hypothesis. Many Muslim groups in the West nowadays still trace their
heritage to the ideas of the great reformers of the early 20th century. More historical reflection on
Islam in Europe can put the present fear" for Islamization of the West into perspective.
End Date:
31/5/2019
Project ID:
670519
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
MAMSIE
PE9 - Universe Sciences
Prof. Conny Aerts
conny@ster.kuleuven.be
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN, LEUVEN, BE
www.kuleuven.be
Mixing and Angular Momentum tranSport of massIvE stars
With the CoRoT & Kepler data analysed, the time is optimal to move from observational
asteroseismology to innovative stellar modelling of the steal factories of the Universe. With MAMSIE,
we follow the footsteps of helioseismologists some 30 years after them, but this time we shall be
developing inversion methods for stellar structure based on gravity-mode oscillations that probe the
deep stellar interior. MAMSIE will lead to new models for a variety of single and binary stars with
masses between 3 and 30 M whose space photometry and high-resolution spectroscopy reveal
sufficient seismic information on their gravity modes to invert the frequencies and compute the stars
structure. In contrast to the conventional theoretical approach to stellar evolution, the data-driven
approach of MAMSIE will allow us to include angular momentum transport due to internal gravity
waves, as well as mixing prescriptions for turbulent entrainment, from coupling of the output of 3D
hydrodynamical simulations of these phenomena to specialised seismic observables of relevance for
massive stars. Our sample includes slow and fast rotators, with and without a magnetic field, with and
without a stellar wind. The new models will be placed in an evolutionary context for optimal
assessment of the evolution of internal rotation, angular momentum, and chemical mixing throughout
stellar life of massive stars. The output of the stellar modelling will provide fundamentals for all topics
in modern astrophysics that rely on massive star models. MAMSIE is overarching and will require a
multidisciplinary team led by an expert in gravity-mode oscillations working in close collaboration with
a 3D hydrodynamics expert; it will offer a highly competitive environment for PhD and postdoctoral
research on the astrophysics of massive stars.
End Date:
31/12/2020
Project ID:
617777
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
UP-NORTH
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Project ID:
647467
Acronym:
JEWSEAST
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Jews and Christians in the East: Strategies of Interaction between the Mediterranean and the Indian
Ocean
This project analyzes Jews in Eastern Christian communities and Eastern Christian sources, beyond the
Byzantine context, namely, relations between Jews and Christian communities in the Middle East
Central Asia, the Caucasus, Ethiopia, and South India. In order to obtain a truly accurate understanding
of the dynamics of Jewish-Christian relations in the non-Latin world during the Middle Ages, these
various regions and traditions must be studied together because they were all profoundly
interconnected through the exchange and translation of texts, artistic motifs and techniques, and other
goods, via long-distance trade along the silk road, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean, which,
of course, also entailed the movement and encounter of peoples, Jews and Christians among them.
The research team endeavors to answer four intertwined questions: 1) what we can know about actual
real-life interactions between Jews and a variety of Eastern Christian communities; 2) what were the
meanings and functions of invented or rhetorical Jewish identities; 3) what is the significance of JewishChristian polemics, both written and visual, in lands or among communities where: a) there were
supposedly few to no Jews, or Jewish identity was invented; b) there were Jewish and Christian
communities who had the opportunity to be in regular contact with one another; 4) how were
Christian stories, laws, biblical interpretations, or motifs in which Jews featured prominently, or Jewish
tales and motifs about Christians transformed as they were transported from one cultural milieu to
another? Because scholars have examined Jewish relations with Christians, and even Muslims primarily
in the context of uneven power relationships; namely Jewish-Christian relations in Western Europe or
Byzantium, or Jewish-Muslim relations in the Islamic one leaving Jewish-Christian relations untouched
apart from shared communal structures, this project opens a new field.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
648427
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
NEGEVBYZ
Evaluation Panel:
SH6 - The Study of the Human
Past
Crisis on the margins of the Byzantine Empire: A bio-archaeological project on resilience and collapse
in early Christian development of the Negev Desert
This project proposes an innovative, integrative and data-intensive approach to understand the
parameters for long-term sustainable functioning of complex societies under vulnerable conditions.
The broad aim of the research is to explore contexts of collapse and resilience in an ancient society
with high levels of socio-political complexity and technological ingenuity within a resource-limited
environment. It focuses on the Byzantine early Christian urban centres of the Negev Desert (4th-7th
cent. AD) disclosing both the triumph of human ingenuity in conquering the desert through large-scale
human settlement and agricultural development as well as a striking and as yet ambiguous case of
wholesale systemic collapse. To test hypotheses regarding social disintegration, economic stress,
environmental degradation due to climatic or anthropogenic causes, and the question of plague the
project integrates approaches in the archaeology of households, landscapes and garbage through use
of biomolecular, botanical, zoological, geological, chronometric, artifactual and contextual sources of
data. Dealing with societal vulnerability in marginal regions is timely and relevant in a world where
accelerating development rapidly expands such problems, previously localized, to global levels.
Although it is a risky endeavour to engage the record of past societies to inform the present and
forecast the future due to the typically underdetermined nature of historical and proxy data, this
project offers substantial gain to theoretical and empirical research on societal vulnerability in two
main avenues: (1) providing an opportunity to critically re-evaluate the current state of knowledge in
the field based on an extensive corpus of new, high-quality data and (2) drawing more nuanced and
informed broad generalizations regarding limiting states for human ingenuity in reconciling social and
economic development with sustainable management of the environment and its resources.
End Date:
31/8/2020
Project ID:
610028
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
IMBALANCE-P
SYG6 - Synergy
Prof. Josep Penuelas
josep.penuelas@uab.cat
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION ECOLOGICA YAPLICACIONES FORESTALES,
BELLATERRA, ES
http://www.creaf.uab.es/
Project ID:
610055
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
ICE2ICE
Prof. Eystein Jansen
post@geo.uib.no
UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN, BERGEN, NO
www.uib.no
Evaluation Panel:
SYG6 - Synergy
Project ID:
610115
Principal Investigator:
Host Institution:
Acronym:
Evaluation Panel:
SC2
SYG6 - Synergy
Prof. Henning Sirringhaus
hs220@cam.ac.uk
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE, UK
www.cam.ac.uk