Project acronym 1stProposal
Project An alternative development of analytic number theory and applications
Researcher (PI) ANDREW Granville
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary The traditional (Riemann) approach to analytic number theory uses the zeros of zeta functions. This requires the associated multiplicative function, say f(n), to have special enough properties that the associated Dirichlet series may be analytically continued. In this proposal we continue to develop an approach which requires less of the multiplicative function, linking the original question with the mean value of f. Such techniques have been around for a long time but have generally been regarded as “ad hoc”. In this project we aim to show that one can develop a coherent approach to the whole subject, not only reproving all of the old results, but also many new ones that appear inaccessible to traditional methods.
Our first goal is to complete a monograph yielding a reworking of all the classical theory using these new methods and then to push forward in new directions. The most important is to extend these techniques to GL(n) L-functions, which we hope will now be feasible having found the correct framework in which to proceed. Since we rarely know how to analytically continue such L-functions this could be of great benefit to the subject.
We are developing the large sieve so that it can be used for individual moduli, and will determine a strong form of that. Also a new method to give asymptotics for mean values, when they are not too small.
We wish to incorporate techniques of analytic number theory into our theory, for example recent advances on mean values of Dirichlet polynomials. Also the recent breakthroughs on the sieve suggest strong links that need further exploration.
Additive combinatorics yields important results in many areas. There are strong analogies between its results, and those for multiplicative functions, especially in large value spectrum theory, and its applications. We hope to develop these further.
Much of this is joint work with K Soundararajan of Stanford University.
Summary
The traditional (Riemann) approach to analytic number theory uses the zeros of zeta functions. This requires the associated multiplicative function, say f(n), to have special enough properties that the associated Dirichlet series may be analytically continued. In this proposal we continue to develop an approach which requires less of the multiplicative function, linking the original question with the mean value of f. Such techniques have been around for a long time but have generally been regarded as “ad hoc”. In this project we aim to show that one can develop a coherent approach to the whole subject, not only reproving all of the old results, but also many new ones that appear inaccessible to traditional methods.
Our first goal is to complete a monograph yielding a reworking of all the classical theory using these new methods and then to push forward in new directions. The most important is to extend these techniques to GL(n) L-functions, which we hope will now be feasible having found the correct framework in which to proceed. Since we rarely know how to analytically continue such L-functions this could be of great benefit to the subject.
We are developing the large sieve so that it can be used for individual moduli, and will determine a strong form of that. Also a new method to give asymptotics for mean values, when they are not too small.
We wish to incorporate techniques of analytic number theory into our theory, for example recent advances on mean values of Dirichlet polynomials. Also the recent breakthroughs on the sieve suggest strong links that need further exploration.
Additive combinatorics yields important results in many areas. There are strong analogies between its results, and those for multiplicative functions, especially in large value spectrum theory, and its applications. We hope to develop these further.
Much of this is joint work with K Soundararajan of Stanford University.
Max ERC Funding
2 011 742 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2020-07-31
Project acronym 3D-E
Project 3D Engineered Environments for Regenerative Medicine
Researcher (PI) Ruth Elizabeth Cameron
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary "This proposal develops a unified, underpinning technology to create novel, complex and biomimetic 3D environments for the control of tissue growth. As director of Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, I have recently been approached by medical colleagues to help to solve important problems in the separate therapeutic areas of breast cancer, cardiac disease and blood disorders. In each case, the solution lies in complex 3D engineered environments for cell culture. These colleagues make it clear that existing 3D scaffolds fail to provide the required complex orientational and spatial anisotropy, and are limited in their ability to impart appropriate biochemical and mechanical cues.
I have a strong track record in this area. A particular success has been the use of a freeze drying technology to make collagen based porous implants for the cartilage-bone interface in the knee, which has now been commercialised. The novelty of this proposal lies in the broadening of the established scientific base of this technology to enable biomacromolecular structures with:
(A) controlled and complex pore orientation to mimic many normal multi-oriented tissue structures
(B) compositional and positional control to match varying local biochemical environments,
(C) the attachment of novel peptides designed to control cell behaviour, and
(D) mechanical control at both a local and macroscopic level to provide mechanical cues for cells.
These will be complemented by the development of
(E) robust characterisation methodologies for the structures created.
These advances will then be employed in each of the medical areas above.
This approach is highly interdisciplinary. Existing working relationships with experts in each medical field will guarantee expertise and licensed facilities in the required biological disciplines. Funds for this proposal would therefore establish a rich hub of mutually beneficial research and opportunities for cross-disciplinary sharing of expertise."
Summary
"This proposal develops a unified, underpinning technology to create novel, complex and biomimetic 3D environments for the control of tissue growth. As director of Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, I have recently been approached by medical colleagues to help to solve important problems in the separate therapeutic areas of breast cancer, cardiac disease and blood disorders. In each case, the solution lies in complex 3D engineered environments for cell culture. These colleagues make it clear that existing 3D scaffolds fail to provide the required complex orientational and spatial anisotropy, and are limited in their ability to impart appropriate biochemical and mechanical cues.
I have a strong track record in this area. A particular success has been the use of a freeze drying technology to make collagen based porous implants for the cartilage-bone interface in the knee, which has now been commercialised. The novelty of this proposal lies in the broadening of the established scientific base of this technology to enable biomacromolecular structures with:
(A) controlled and complex pore orientation to mimic many normal multi-oriented tissue structures
(B) compositional and positional control to match varying local biochemical environments,
(C) the attachment of novel peptides designed to control cell behaviour, and
(D) mechanical control at both a local and macroscopic level to provide mechanical cues for cells.
These will be complemented by the development of
(E) robust characterisation methodologies for the structures created.
These advances will then be employed in each of the medical areas above.
This approach is highly interdisciplinary. Existing working relationships with experts in each medical field will guarantee expertise and licensed facilities in the required biological disciplines. Funds for this proposal would therefore establish a rich hub of mutually beneficial research and opportunities for cross-disciplinary sharing of expertise."
Max ERC Funding
2 486 267 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31
Project acronym AFRIGOS
Project African Governance and Space: Transport Corridors, Border Towns and Port Cities in Transition
Researcher (PI) Paul Christopher Nugent
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary AFRIGOS investigates the process of 'respacing' Africa, a political drive towards regional and continental integration, on the one hand, and the re-casting of Africa's engagement with the global economy, on the other. This is reflected in unprecedented levels of investment in physical and communications infrastructure, and the outsourcing of key functions of Customs, Immigration and security agencies. AFRIGOS poses the question of how far respacing is genuinely forging institutions that are facilitating or obstructing the movement of people and goods; that are enabling or preventing urban and border spaces from being more effectively and responsively governed; and that take into account the needs of African populations whose livelihoods are rooted in mobility and informality. The principal research questions are approached through a comparative study of port cities, border towns and other strategic nodes situated along the busiest transport corridors in East, Central, West and Southern Africa. These represent sites of remarkable dynamism and cosmopolitanism, which reflects their role in connecting African urban centres to each other and to other global cities.
AFRIGOS considers how governance 'assemblages' are forged at different scales and is explicitly comparative. It works through 5 connected Streams that address specific questions: 1. AGENDA-SETTING is concerned with policy (re-)formulation. 2. PERIPHERAL URBANISM examines governance in border towns and port cities. 3. BORDER WORKERS addresses everyday governance emerging through the interaction of officials and others who make their livelihoods from the border. 4. CONNECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE looks as the transformative effects of new technologies. 5. PEOPLE & GOODS IN MOTION traces the passage of people and goods and the regimes of regulation to which they are subjected. AFRIGOS contributes to interdisciplinary research on borderland studies, multi-level governance and the everyday state.
Summary
AFRIGOS investigates the process of 'respacing' Africa, a political drive towards regional and continental integration, on the one hand, and the re-casting of Africa's engagement with the global economy, on the other. This is reflected in unprecedented levels of investment in physical and communications infrastructure, and the outsourcing of key functions of Customs, Immigration and security agencies. AFRIGOS poses the question of how far respacing is genuinely forging institutions that are facilitating or obstructing the movement of people and goods; that are enabling or preventing urban and border spaces from being more effectively and responsively governed; and that take into account the needs of African populations whose livelihoods are rooted in mobility and informality. The principal research questions are approached through a comparative study of port cities, border towns and other strategic nodes situated along the busiest transport corridors in East, Central, West and Southern Africa. These represent sites of remarkable dynamism and cosmopolitanism, which reflects their role in connecting African urban centres to each other and to other global cities.
AFRIGOS considers how governance 'assemblages' are forged at different scales and is explicitly comparative. It works through 5 connected Streams that address specific questions: 1. AGENDA-SETTING is concerned with policy (re-)formulation. 2. PERIPHERAL URBANISM examines governance in border towns and port cities. 3. BORDER WORKERS addresses everyday governance emerging through the interaction of officials and others who make their livelihoods from the border. 4. CONNECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE looks as the transformative effects of new technologies. 5. PEOPLE & GOODS IN MOTION traces the passage of people and goods and the regimes of regulation to which they are subjected. AFRIGOS contributes to interdisciplinary research on borderland studies, multi-level governance and the everyday state.
Max ERC Funding
2 491 364 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym Arctic Domus
Project Arctic Domestication: Emplacing Human-Animal Relationships in the Circumpolar North
Researcher (PI) David George Anderson
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
Summary This 6-year project aims to co-ordinate field research in each of these fields to elaborate a new model of emplaced human-animal relations evoking recent theoretical concerns of the definition of the person, the attribution of agency, and renewed attention to ‘built environments’. The project will work inductively from empirical observations in seven field sites across the circumpolar Arctic from the Russian Federation, to Fennoscandia, to Canada. The circumpolar Arctic originally provided many of the primary thought experiments for classic models of cultural evolution. It has now again become the focus of powerful debates over the balance between the protection of cultural heritage and the development of natural resources to fuel a future for industrial economies. The human-non-human relationships chosen for study cover the full range of theoretical and political discourse within the sciences today from primary encounters in domination to contemporary bio-technical innovations in farming. The team will transcend typical ‘existential’ models of domination between people and animals by describing complex social settings where more than one species interact with the cultural landscape. The team will also challenge existing definitions between wild and tame by instead examining what links these behaviour types together. Further, the team members will examine how domestication was never a sudden, fleeting intuition but rather a process wherein people and domesticates are sometimes closer and sometimes farther from each other. Finally, the research team, working within the above mentioned literatures, will develop a renewed model – a new way of describing – these relationships which does not necessarily rely upon metaphors of domination, competition, individual struggle, origins, or hybridity. The strength of the team, and the principle investigator, is their demonstrated ability to carry out fieldwork in this often difficult to access region.
Summary
This 6-year project aims to co-ordinate field research in each of these fields to elaborate a new model of emplaced human-animal relations evoking recent theoretical concerns of the definition of the person, the attribution of agency, and renewed attention to ‘built environments’. The project will work inductively from empirical observations in seven field sites across the circumpolar Arctic from the Russian Federation, to Fennoscandia, to Canada. The circumpolar Arctic originally provided many of the primary thought experiments for classic models of cultural evolution. It has now again become the focus of powerful debates over the balance between the protection of cultural heritage and the development of natural resources to fuel a future for industrial economies. The human-non-human relationships chosen for study cover the full range of theoretical and political discourse within the sciences today from primary encounters in domination to contemporary bio-technical innovations in farming. The team will transcend typical ‘existential’ models of domination between people and animals by describing complex social settings where more than one species interact with the cultural landscape. The team will also challenge existing definitions between wild and tame by instead examining what links these behaviour types together. Further, the team members will examine how domestication was never a sudden, fleeting intuition but rather a process wherein people and domesticates are sometimes closer and sometimes farther from each other. Finally, the research team, working within the above mentioned literatures, will develop a renewed model – a new way of describing – these relationships which does not necessarily rely upon metaphors of domination, competition, individual struggle, origins, or hybridity. The strength of the team, and the principle investigator, is their demonstrated ability to carry out fieldwork in this often difficult to access region.
Max ERC Funding
2 497 830 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-07-01, End date: 2018-06-30
Project acronym ARTIMATTER
Project "Lego-Style Materials, Structures and Devices Assembled on Demand from Isolated Atomic Planes"
Researcher (PI) Andre Geim
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary "Following the advent of graphene with its wide range of unique properties, several other one-atom-thick crystals have been isolated and their preliminary studies have been undertaken. They range from semiconducting monolayers of MoS2 and NbSe2, which similar to graphene exhibit the electric field effect and relatively high electronic quality, to wide-gap insulators such as boron-nitride monolayers that can serve as atomically-thin tunnel barriers.
This library of two-dimensional crystals opens a possibility to construct various 3D structures with on-demand properties, which do not exist in nature but can be assembled in Lego style by stacking individual atomic planes on top of each other in a desired sequence. This project is to explore this new avenue.
We will design, fabricate and study multilayer materials ranging from basic heterostructures that consist of a few alternating layers of graphene and boron nitride and already exhibit a rich spectrum of new phenomena, as recently demonstrated by the applicant’s group, to complex artificial materials containing many layers of different 2D crystals and mimicking, for example, layered superconductors. In a similar manner, various electronic, optoelectronic, micromechanical and other devices will be developed and investigated. The applicant’s aim is to search for new materials with unique properties, novel devices with better characteristics and new physics that is likely to emerge along the way.
The proposed research offers many exciting opportunities and can lead to the development of a large unexplored field with impact exceeding even that of graphene research. This presents a unique, once-in-decade, opportunity to make a very significant breakthrough in condensed matter physics and materials science."
Summary
"Following the advent of graphene with its wide range of unique properties, several other one-atom-thick crystals have been isolated and their preliminary studies have been undertaken. They range from semiconducting monolayers of MoS2 and NbSe2, which similar to graphene exhibit the electric field effect and relatively high electronic quality, to wide-gap insulators such as boron-nitride monolayers that can serve as atomically-thin tunnel barriers.
This library of two-dimensional crystals opens a possibility to construct various 3D structures with on-demand properties, which do not exist in nature but can be assembled in Lego style by stacking individual atomic planes on top of each other in a desired sequence. This project is to explore this new avenue.
We will design, fabricate and study multilayer materials ranging from basic heterostructures that consist of a few alternating layers of graphene and boron nitride and already exhibit a rich spectrum of new phenomena, as recently demonstrated by the applicant’s group, to complex artificial materials containing many layers of different 2D crystals and mimicking, for example, layered superconductors. In a similar manner, various electronic, optoelectronic, micromechanical and other devices will be developed and investigated. The applicant’s aim is to search for new materials with unique properties, novel devices with better characteristics and new physics that is likely to emerge along the way.
The proposed research offers many exciting opportunities and can lead to the development of a large unexplored field with impact exceeding even that of graphene research. This presents a unique, once-in-decade, opportunity to make a very significant breakthrough in condensed matter physics and materials science."
Max ERC Funding
2 200 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-05-01, End date: 2018-04-30
Project acronym BEAM-ME-UP
Project From Radio-Frequency to Giga-Bit
Optical- and Quantum-Wireless
Researcher (PI) Lajos Hanzo
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE7, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary The majority of the globe's population carries a mobile phone, but with the increasing proliferation of smart phones and tablet-computers the tele-traffic is predicted to grow 1000-fold over the next decade, especially, when aiming for creating the impression of ubiquitous and flawless 'tele-presence' based on crisp, three-dimensional (3D) video with its sense of joy and wonder. For tele-presence to become a reality requires a further quantum-leap from the popular 3G/4G smart phones and tablet-computers. This project will create the link-level enabling techniques of this transformational quantum leap to immersive Giga-bit 3D video communications, relying on Optical Wireless (OW) hotspots and their ad hoc networking.
As a result, the Beam-Me-Up project will contribute to job- and wealth-creation in numeorus ways, as exemplified by the often-quoted economic benefits of 3G/4G phones on businesses. From an environmental perspective, flawless tele-presence has the potential of eliminating millions of flights/trips and hence will considerably reduce CO2 emissions, whilst reducing the related business-costs as well as saving precious time for the work-force. However, the transfiguration of the voice-only phone into today's intelligent smart phone was facilitated by a 1000-fold transmission-rate increase, which would result in a proportionally increased power consumption, CO2 emissions and in a soaring energy-bill. Tele-presence based on crisp Avatar-style 3D video has even higher bitrates and energy consumption. These radically new high-rate 3D tele-presence services can no longer be accommodated in the severely congested Radio Frequency (RF) band.
Hence the project will create a suite of new OW system components, operating in the visible-light domain and will conceive low-power, low-complexity OW solutions to enable immersive Giga-bit 3D wireless video communications over heterogeneous networks.
Summary
The majority of the globe's population carries a mobile phone, but with the increasing proliferation of smart phones and tablet-computers the tele-traffic is predicted to grow 1000-fold over the next decade, especially, when aiming for creating the impression of ubiquitous and flawless 'tele-presence' based on crisp, three-dimensional (3D) video with its sense of joy and wonder. For tele-presence to become a reality requires a further quantum-leap from the popular 3G/4G smart phones and tablet-computers. This project will create the link-level enabling techniques of this transformational quantum leap to immersive Giga-bit 3D video communications, relying on Optical Wireless (OW) hotspots and their ad hoc networking.
As a result, the Beam-Me-Up project will contribute to job- and wealth-creation in numeorus ways, as exemplified by the often-quoted economic benefits of 3G/4G phones on businesses. From an environmental perspective, flawless tele-presence has the potential of eliminating millions of flights/trips and hence will considerably reduce CO2 emissions, whilst reducing the related business-costs as well as saving precious time for the work-force. However, the transfiguration of the voice-only phone into today's intelligent smart phone was facilitated by a 1000-fold transmission-rate increase, which would result in a proportionally increased power consumption, CO2 emissions and in a soaring energy-bill. Tele-presence based on crisp Avatar-style 3D video has even higher bitrates and energy consumption. These radically new high-rate 3D tele-presence services can no longer be accommodated in the severely congested Radio Frequency (RF) band.
Hence the project will create a suite of new OW system components, operating in the visible-light domain and will conceive low-power, low-complexity OW solutions to enable immersive Giga-bit 3D wireless video communications over heterogeneous networks.
Max ERC Funding
2 470 416 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-03-01, End date: 2018-02-28
Project acronym CANBUILD
Project Building a Human Tumour Microenvironment
Researcher (PI) Frances Rosemary Balkwill
Host Institution (HI) QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS4, ERC-2012-ADG_20120314
Summary Even at their earliest stages, human cancers are more than just cells with malignant potential. Cells and extracellular matrix components that normally support and protect the body are coerced into a tumour microenvironment that is central to disease progression. My hypothesis is that recent advances in tissue engineering, biomechanics and stem cell biology make it possible to engineer, for the first time, a complex 3D human tumour microenvironment in which individual cell lineages of malignant, haemopoietic and mesenchymal origin will communicate, evolve and grow in vitro. The ultimate aim is to build this cancerous tissue with autologous cells: there is an urgent need for models in which we can study the interaction of human immune cells with malignant cells from the same individual in an appropriate 3D biomechanical microenvironment.
To achieve the objectives of the CANBUILD project, I have assembled a multi-disciplinary team of collaborators with international standing in tumour microenvironment research, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, mechanobiology, stem cell research and 3D computer-assisted imaging.
The goal is to recreate the microenvironment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer metastases in the omentum. This is a major clinical problem, my lab has extensive knowledge of this microenvironment and we have already established simple 3D models of these metastases.
The research plan involves:
Deconstruction of this specific tumour microenvironment
Construction of artificial scaffold, optimising growth of cell lineages, assembly of the model
Comparison to fresh tissue
Investigating the role of individual cell lineages
Testing therapies that target the tumour microenvironment
My vision is that this project will revolutionise the practice of human malignant cell research, replacing misleading systems based on cancer cell monoculture on plastic surfaces and allowing us to better test new treatments that target the human tumour microenvironment.
Summary
Even at their earliest stages, human cancers are more than just cells with malignant potential. Cells and extracellular matrix components that normally support and protect the body are coerced into a tumour microenvironment that is central to disease progression. My hypothesis is that recent advances in tissue engineering, biomechanics and stem cell biology make it possible to engineer, for the first time, a complex 3D human tumour microenvironment in which individual cell lineages of malignant, haemopoietic and mesenchymal origin will communicate, evolve and grow in vitro. The ultimate aim is to build this cancerous tissue with autologous cells: there is an urgent need for models in which we can study the interaction of human immune cells with malignant cells from the same individual in an appropriate 3D biomechanical microenvironment.
To achieve the objectives of the CANBUILD project, I have assembled a multi-disciplinary team of collaborators with international standing in tumour microenvironment research, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, mechanobiology, stem cell research and 3D computer-assisted imaging.
The goal is to recreate the microenvironment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer metastases in the omentum. This is a major clinical problem, my lab has extensive knowledge of this microenvironment and we have already established simple 3D models of these metastases.
The research plan involves:
Deconstruction of this specific tumour microenvironment
Construction of artificial scaffold, optimising growth of cell lineages, assembly of the model
Comparison to fresh tissue
Investigating the role of individual cell lineages
Testing therapies that target the tumour microenvironment
My vision is that this project will revolutionise the practice of human malignant cell research, replacing misleading systems based on cancer cell monoculture on plastic surfaces and allowing us to better test new treatments that target the human tumour microenvironment.
Max ERC Funding
2 431 035 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-06-01, End date: 2018-05-31
Project acronym CARDIOEPIGEN
Project Epigenetics and microRNAs in Myocardial Function and Disease
Researcher (PI) Gianluigi Condorelli
Host Institution (HI) HUMANITAS MIRASOLE SPA
Country Italy
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS4, ERC-2011-ADG_20110310
Summary Heart failure (HF) is the ultimate outcome of many cardiovascular diseases. Re-expression of fetal genes in the adult heart contributes to development of HF. Two mechanisms involved in the control of gene expression are epigenetics and microRNAs (miRs). We propose a project on epigenetic and miR-mediated mechanisms leading to HF.
Epigenetics refers to heritable modification of DNA and histones that does not modify the genetic code. Depending on the type of modification and on the site affected, these chemical changes up- or down-regulate transcription of specific genes. Despite it being a major player in gene regulation, epigenetics has been only partly investigated in HF. miRs are regulatory RNAs that target mRNAs for inhibition. Dysregulation of the cardiac miR signature occurs in HF. miR expression may itself be under epigenetic control, constituting a miR-epigenetic regulatory network. To our knowledge, this possibility has not been studied yet.
Our specific hypothesis is that the profile of DNA/histone methylation and the cross-talk between epigenetic enzymes and miRs have fundamental roles in defining the characteristics of cells during cardiac development and that the dysregulation of these processes determines the deleterious nature of the stressed heart’s gene programme. We will test this first through a genome-wide study of DNA/histone methylation to generate maps of the main methylation modifications occurring in the genome of cardiac cells treated with a pro-hypertrophy regulator and of a HF model. We will then investigate the role of epigenetic enzymes deemed important in HF, through the generation and study of knockout mice models. Finally, we will test the possible therapeutic potential of modulating epigenetic genes.
We hope to further understand the pathological mechanisms leading to HF and to generate data instrumental to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this disease.
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is the ultimate outcome of many cardiovascular diseases. Re-expression of fetal genes in the adult heart contributes to development of HF. Two mechanisms involved in the control of gene expression are epigenetics and microRNAs (miRs). We propose a project on epigenetic and miR-mediated mechanisms leading to HF.
Epigenetics refers to heritable modification of DNA and histones that does not modify the genetic code. Depending on the type of modification and on the site affected, these chemical changes up- or down-regulate transcription of specific genes. Despite it being a major player in gene regulation, epigenetics has been only partly investigated in HF. miRs are regulatory RNAs that target mRNAs for inhibition. Dysregulation of the cardiac miR signature occurs in HF. miR expression may itself be under epigenetic control, constituting a miR-epigenetic regulatory network. To our knowledge, this possibility has not been studied yet.
Our specific hypothesis is that the profile of DNA/histone methylation and the cross-talk between epigenetic enzymes and miRs have fundamental roles in defining the characteristics of cells during cardiac development and that the dysregulation of these processes determines the deleterious nature of the stressed heart’s gene programme. We will test this first through a genome-wide study of DNA/histone methylation to generate maps of the main methylation modifications occurring in the genome of cardiac cells treated with a pro-hypertrophy regulator and of a HF model. We will then investigate the role of epigenetic enzymes deemed important in HF, through the generation and study of knockout mice models. Finally, we will test the possible therapeutic potential of modulating epigenetic genes.
We hope to further understand the pathological mechanisms leading to HF and to generate data instrumental to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this disease.
Max ERC Funding
2 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2018-09-30
Project acronym COIMBRA
Project Combinatorial methods in noncommutative ring theory
Researcher (PI) Agata Smoktunowicz
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary As noted by T Y Lam in his book, A first course in noncommutative rings, noncommutative ring theory is a fertile meeting ground for group theory (group rings), representation theory (modules), functional analysis (operator algebras), Lie theory (enveloping algebras), algebraic geometry (finitely generated algebras, differential operators), noncommutative algebraic geometry (graded domains), arithmetic (orders, Brauer groups), universal algebra (co-homology of rings, projective modules) and quantum physics (quantum matrices). As such, noncommutative ring theory is an area which has the potential to produce developments in many areas and in an efficient manner. The main aim of the project is to develop methods which could be applicable not only in ring theory but also in other areas, and then apply them to solve several important open questions in mathematics. The Principal Investigator, along with two PhD students and two post doctorates, propose to: study basic open questions on infinite dimensional associative noncommutative algebras; pool their expertise so as to tackle problems from a number of related areas of mathematics using noncommutative ring theory, and develop new approaches to existing problems that will benefit future researchers. A part of our methodology would be to first improve (in some cases) Bergman's Diamond Lemma, and then apply it to several open problems. The Diamond Lemma gives bases for the algebras defined by given sets of relations. In general, it is very difficult to determine if the algebra given by a concrete set of relations is non-trivial or infinite dimensional. Our approach is to introduce smaller rings, which we will call platinum rings. The next step would then be to apply the Diamond Lemma to the platinum ring instead of the original rings. Such results would have many applications in group theory, noncommutative projective geometry, nonassociative algebras and no doubt other areas as well.
Summary
As noted by T Y Lam in his book, A first course in noncommutative rings, noncommutative ring theory is a fertile meeting ground for group theory (group rings), representation theory (modules), functional analysis (operator algebras), Lie theory (enveloping algebras), algebraic geometry (finitely generated algebras, differential operators), noncommutative algebraic geometry (graded domains), arithmetic (orders, Brauer groups), universal algebra (co-homology of rings, projective modules) and quantum physics (quantum matrices). As such, noncommutative ring theory is an area which has the potential to produce developments in many areas and in an efficient manner. The main aim of the project is to develop methods which could be applicable not only in ring theory but also in other areas, and then apply them to solve several important open questions in mathematics. The Principal Investigator, along with two PhD students and two post doctorates, propose to: study basic open questions on infinite dimensional associative noncommutative algebras; pool their expertise so as to tackle problems from a number of related areas of mathematics using noncommutative ring theory, and develop new approaches to existing problems that will benefit future researchers. A part of our methodology would be to first improve (in some cases) Bergman's Diamond Lemma, and then apply it to several open problems. The Diamond Lemma gives bases for the algebras defined by given sets of relations. In general, it is very difficult to determine if the algebra given by a concrete set of relations is non-trivial or infinite dimensional. Our approach is to introduce smaller rings, which we will call platinum rings. The next step would then be to apply the Diamond Lemma to the platinum ring instead of the original rings. Such results would have many applications in group theory, noncommutative projective geometry, nonassociative algebras and no doubt other areas as well.
Max ERC Funding
1 406 551 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-06-01, End date: 2018-05-31
Project acronym COOPERATION
Project Putting Strong Reciprocity into Context: The Role of Incentives, Social Norms, and Culture for Voluntary Cooperation
Researcher (PI) Simon Gaechter
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
Summary Many important social problems—from the workplace to climate change—require the cooperation of individuals in situations in which collective welfare is jeopardized by self-interest and contractual solutions that align collective and individual interest are not feasible. While this suggests a bleak outcome if people are selfish, recent research in the behavioural sciences suggests that rather than being selfish, many people are non-strategic ‘strong reciprocators’ who cooperate if others cooperate and who punish unfair behaviour even if such cooperation or punishment is individually costly. The fundamental importance of strong reciprocity is that is helps achieving cooperation in situations in which self-interest predicts its breakdown.
The major ambition and innovation of this research programme is to “put strong reciprocity into context” by investigating how incentives, social and cultural context, and gender and personality differences, shape strong reciprocity and, as a consequence, cooperation.
I propose four linked work packages, which all address key open questions of interest to economists and other behavioural scientists. First, I investigate how incentives influence strong reciprocity: Under which conditions do incentives undermine or enhance strong reciprocity and thereby cooperation? Second, I investigate how strong reciprocity relates to social norms of cooperation and is shaped by social context. Third, I use cross-cultural experiments to study the role of cultural influences on strong reciprocity and how culture interacts with incentive structures: when does culture matter for cooperation? Finally, I study personality and gender differences in strong reciprocity.
All projects use economic experiments and insights from across the behavioural sciences. The overarching objective is to develop a ‘behavioural economics of cooperation’, that is, the basic science of relevant behavioural principles that are needed to achieve sustainable cooperation.
Summary
Many important social problems—from the workplace to climate change—require the cooperation of individuals in situations in which collective welfare is jeopardized by self-interest and contractual solutions that align collective and individual interest are not feasible. While this suggests a bleak outcome if people are selfish, recent research in the behavioural sciences suggests that rather than being selfish, many people are non-strategic ‘strong reciprocators’ who cooperate if others cooperate and who punish unfair behaviour even if such cooperation or punishment is individually costly. The fundamental importance of strong reciprocity is that is helps achieving cooperation in situations in which self-interest predicts its breakdown.
The major ambition and innovation of this research programme is to “put strong reciprocity into context” by investigating how incentives, social and cultural context, and gender and personality differences, shape strong reciprocity and, as a consequence, cooperation.
I propose four linked work packages, which all address key open questions of interest to economists and other behavioural scientists. First, I investigate how incentives influence strong reciprocity: Under which conditions do incentives undermine or enhance strong reciprocity and thereby cooperation? Second, I investigate how strong reciprocity relates to social norms of cooperation and is shaped by social context. Third, I use cross-cultural experiments to study the role of cultural influences on strong reciprocity and how culture interacts with incentive structures: when does culture matter for cooperation? Finally, I study personality and gender differences in strong reciprocity.
All projects use economic experiments and insights from across the behavioural sciences. The overarching objective is to develop a ‘behavioural economics of cooperation’, that is, the basic science of relevant behavioural principles that are needed to achieve sustainable cooperation.
Max ERC Funding
2 072 844 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
