Project acronym BOYS WILL BE BOYS?
Project Boys will be boys? Gender differences in the socialization of disruptive behaviour in early childhood
Researcher (PI) Judit Mesman
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2009-StG
Summary The aim of the proposed project is to shed light on early childhood gender-differentiated socialization and gender-specific susceptibility to parenting within families in relation to disruptive behaviour in boys and girls in the first four years of life. The popular saying boys will be boys refers to the observation that boys show more disruptive behaviours (e.g., noncompliance or aggression) than girls, a pattern that has been confirmed frequently in scientific research. There is also evidence that parents treat boys differently from girls in ways that are likely to foster boys disruptive behaviour, and that boys are more susceptible to problematic family functioning than girls. The crucial question is whether gender differences in socialization, susceptibility to socialization, and children s behavioural outcomes are also salient when the same parents are doing the parenting of both a boy and a girl. Within-family comparisons are necessary to account for structural differences between families. To this end, families with two children born 22-26 months apart will be recruited from the general population. To account for birth order and gender-combination effects, the sample includes four groups of 150 families each, with the following sibling combinations: girl-boy, boy-girl, girl-girl, and boy-boy. The study has a four-wave longitudinal design, based on the youngest sibling with assessments at ages 12, 24, 36, and 48 months, because gender differences in disruptive behaviour develop during the toddler years. Each assessment consists of two home visits: one with mother and one with father, including observations of both children and of the children separately. Parenting behaviours will be studied in reaction to specific child behaviours, including aggression, noncompliance, and prosocial behaviours.
Summary
The aim of the proposed project is to shed light on early childhood gender-differentiated socialization and gender-specific susceptibility to parenting within families in relation to disruptive behaviour in boys and girls in the first four years of life. The popular saying boys will be boys refers to the observation that boys show more disruptive behaviours (e.g., noncompliance or aggression) than girls, a pattern that has been confirmed frequently in scientific research. There is also evidence that parents treat boys differently from girls in ways that are likely to foster boys disruptive behaviour, and that boys are more susceptible to problematic family functioning than girls. The crucial question is whether gender differences in socialization, susceptibility to socialization, and children s behavioural outcomes are also salient when the same parents are doing the parenting of both a boy and a girl. Within-family comparisons are necessary to account for structural differences between families. To this end, families with two children born 22-26 months apart will be recruited from the general population. To account for birth order and gender-combination effects, the sample includes four groups of 150 families each, with the following sibling combinations: girl-boy, boy-girl, girl-girl, and boy-boy. The study has a four-wave longitudinal design, based on the youngest sibling with assessments at ages 12, 24, 36, and 48 months, because gender differences in disruptive behaviour develop during the toddler years. Each assessment consists of two home visits: one with mother and one with father, including observations of both children and of the children separately. Parenting behaviours will be studied in reaction to specific child behaviours, including aggression, noncompliance, and prosocial behaviours.
Max ERC Funding
1 611 970 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-02-01, End date: 2015-03-31
Project acronym FROMCHILDTOPARENT
Project From the Child's Genes to Parental Environment and Back to the Child: Gene-environment Correlations in Early Social Development
Researcher (PI) Ariel Knafo
Host Institution (HI) THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2009-StG
Summary The role of children's behavior and temperament is increasingly acknowledged in family research. Gene-environment Correlation (rGE) processes may account for some child effects, as parents react to children s behavior which is in part genetically influenced (evocative rGE). In addition, passive rGE, in which parenting and children s behavior are correlated through overlapping genetic influences on family members behavior may account in part for the parenting-child behavior relationships. The proposed project will be the first one to directly address these issues with DNA information on family members and quality observational data on parent and child behaviors, following children through early development. Two separate longitudinal studies will investigate the paths from children s genes to their behavior, to the way parents react and modify their parenting towards the child, affecting child development: Study 1 will follow first-time parents from pregnancy through children s early childhood, decoupling parent effect and child effects. Study 2 will follow dizygotic twins and their parents through middle childhood, capitalizing on genetic differences between twins reared by the same parents. We will test the hypothesis that parents' characteristics, such as parenting style and parental attitudes, are associated with children's genetic tendencies. Both parenting and child behaviors will be monitored consecutively, to investigate the co-development of parents and children in an evocative rGE process. Child and parent candidate genes relevant to social behavior, notably those from the dompaminergic and serotonergic systems, will be linked to parents behaviors. Pilot results show children s genes predict parenting, and an important task for the study will be to identify mediators of this effect, such as children s temperament. We will lay the ground for further research into the complexity of gene-environment correlations as children and parents co-develop.
Summary
The role of children's behavior and temperament is increasingly acknowledged in family research. Gene-environment Correlation (rGE) processes may account for some child effects, as parents react to children s behavior which is in part genetically influenced (evocative rGE). In addition, passive rGE, in which parenting and children s behavior are correlated through overlapping genetic influences on family members behavior may account in part for the parenting-child behavior relationships. The proposed project will be the first one to directly address these issues with DNA information on family members and quality observational data on parent and child behaviors, following children through early development. Two separate longitudinal studies will investigate the paths from children s genes to their behavior, to the way parents react and modify their parenting towards the child, affecting child development: Study 1 will follow first-time parents from pregnancy through children s early childhood, decoupling parent effect and child effects. Study 2 will follow dizygotic twins and their parents through middle childhood, capitalizing on genetic differences between twins reared by the same parents. We will test the hypothesis that parents' characteristics, such as parenting style and parental attitudes, are associated with children's genetic tendencies. Both parenting and child behaviors will be monitored consecutively, to investigate the co-development of parents and children in an evocative rGE process. Child and parent candidate genes relevant to social behavior, notably those from the dompaminergic and serotonergic systems, will be linked to parents behaviors. Pilot results show children s genes predict parenting, and an important task for the study will be to identify mediators of this effect, such as children s temperament. We will lay the ground for further research into the complexity of gene-environment correlations as children and parents co-develop.
Max ERC Funding
1 443 687 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31
Project acronym HI-ONE
Project Hybrid Inorganic-Organic NanoElectronics
Researcher (PI) Wilfred Gerard Van Der Wiel
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2009-StG
Summary This project aims at combining inorganic and organic materials in hybrid nanoelectronic structures for addressing a set of key problems in solid-state physics: (1) the magnetic ordering of 2D spin systems and their interaction with conduction electrons, (2) the coherent transport properties of organic molecules, and (3) reliable electronic characterization of single nanostructures. For all objectives we will integrate top-down and bottom-up (self-assembly) techniques, benefitting from strong collaborations with leading chemistry groups. For Objective 1, we will apply self-assembled monolayers of organic paramagnetic molecules on various substrates. This geometry offers great tunability for the nature, density and ordering of spins, and for their interaction with underlying electrons. We will study (many-body) phenomena that lie at the very heart of solid-state physics: the Kondo effect, RKKY interaction, spin glasses and the 2D Ising/Heisenberg model, addressing open questions concerning the extension of the Kondo cloud, RKKY-Kondo competition, and the relevance for high-Tc superconductivity. For Objective 2, molecular monolayers are inserted in an electron interferometer, allowing a systematic study of molecular charge coherence. We will study how coherence depends on the molecule s characteristics, such as length and chemical composition. For Objective 3 we will attach single nanostructures (quantum dots) by an innovative self-assembly method to highly-conductive, selectively metallized DNA molecules, bridging the gap between nano and micro. A crucial advantage compared to conventional (top-down) nanocontacting schemes is the high control and reproducibility afforded by sequence-specificity of DNA hybridization, enabling a wide range of fascinating experiments.
Summary
This project aims at combining inorganic and organic materials in hybrid nanoelectronic structures for addressing a set of key problems in solid-state physics: (1) the magnetic ordering of 2D spin systems and their interaction with conduction electrons, (2) the coherent transport properties of organic molecules, and (3) reliable electronic characterization of single nanostructures. For all objectives we will integrate top-down and bottom-up (self-assembly) techniques, benefitting from strong collaborations with leading chemistry groups. For Objective 1, we will apply self-assembled monolayers of organic paramagnetic molecules on various substrates. This geometry offers great tunability for the nature, density and ordering of spins, and for their interaction with underlying electrons. We will study (many-body) phenomena that lie at the very heart of solid-state physics: the Kondo effect, RKKY interaction, spin glasses and the 2D Ising/Heisenberg model, addressing open questions concerning the extension of the Kondo cloud, RKKY-Kondo competition, and the relevance for high-Tc superconductivity. For Objective 2, molecular monolayers are inserted in an electron interferometer, allowing a systematic study of molecular charge coherence. We will study how coherence depends on the molecule s characteristics, such as length and chemical composition. For Objective 3 we will attach single nanostructures (quantum dots) by an innovative self-assembly method to highly-conductive, selectively metallized DNA molecules, bridging the gap between nano and micro. A crucial advantage compared to conventional (top-down) nanocontacting schemes is the high control and reproducibility afforded by sequence-specificity of DNA hybridization, enabling a wide range of fascinating experiments.
Max ERC Funding
1 750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-12-01, End date: 2014-11-30
Project acronym LANGUAGE IN OUR HAND
Project Language in our hand: The role of modality in shaping spatial language development in deaf and hearing children
Researcher (PI) Asli Ozyurek-Hagoort
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH4, ERC-2009-StG
Summary The world's languages differ substantially from each other. Yet, all children learn the language(s) they are born into quite easily. A major scientific question in language has been to what extent follows a universal trajectory based on an innate design for language, and to what extent it is shaped by specific properties of the language that is being learned. By comparing the acquisition of a spoken language with a language that uses a visuo-spatial format, namely signed languages, a unique window of opportunity is created for investigating this fundamental question. Compared to spoken languages, signed languages represent spatial relations in an analogue way rather than arbitrarily. The proposed study will use a novel approach to investigate whether these differences influence the trajectory of how deaf versus hearing children learn to express spatial relations in their native languages (i.e., Turkish Sign Language versus Turkish). Spatial language development of deaf children will be compared with spoken language development as well as to the co-speech gestures of hearing children as the first time. Thus the proposed study will bring together state-of-the-art research in language acquisition, sign language, and gesture studies in a unique and ground-breaking way. Furthermore gathering data on acquisition of less studied and typologically different signed and spoken languages is critical to test some of previous research results based on Western languages. Due to spread use of cochlear implants fewer deaf children learn sign languages in European countries. The context in Turkey provides an unprecedented opportunity to conduct such a study with many participants before cochlear implants are also widespread in Turkey.
Summary
The world's languages differ substantially from each other. Yet, all children learn the language(s) they are born into quite easily. A major scientific question in language has been to what extent follows a universal trajectory based on an innate design for language, and to what extent it is shaped by specific properties of the language that is being learned. By comparing the acquisition of a spoken language with a language that uses a visuo-spatial format, namely signed languages, a unique window of opportunity is created for investigating this fundamental question. Compared to spoken languages, signed languages represent spatial relations in an analogue way rather than arbitrarily. The proposed study will use a novel approach to investigate whether these differences influence the trajectory of how deaf versus hearing children learn to express spatial relations in their native languages (i.e., Turkish Sign Language versus Turkish). Spatial language development of deaf children will be compared with spoken language development as well as to the co-speech gestures of hearing children as the first time. Thus the proposed study will bring together state-of-the-art research in language acquisition, sign language, and gesture studies in a unique and ground-breaking way. Furthermore gathering data on acquisition of less studied and typologically different signed and spoken languages is critical to test some of previous research results based on Western languages. Due to spread use of cochlear implants fewer deaf children learn sign languages in European countries. The context in Turkey provides an unprecedented opportunity to conduct such a study with many participants before cochlear implants are also widespread in Turkey.
Max ERC Funding
1 159 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2014-12-31
Project acronym MORPHOSTASIS
Project Morphostasis of the intestinal mucosa and it's deregulation in cancer and inflammation
Researcher (PI) Gijs Van Den Brink
Host Institution (HI) Academisch Medisch Centrum bij de Universiteit van Amsterdam
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2009-StG
Summary Stem cells at the base of the intestinal crypts are in a dynamic equilibrium with their differentiated derivatives. Homeostatic equilibria depend on the presence of negative feedback loops. The role of the Wnt signaling pathway as a driver of epithelial stem cell self renewal and proliferation in the intestine has been relatively well characterized. Much less is known about the negative feedback signals that must exist to control stem cell behavior and the way these may be deregulated in disease. We found that Indian hedgehog is secreted by differentiated intestinal epithelial cells and acts as a negative feedback signal. Hedgehog signaling acts as a break on Wnt signaling in intestinal precursor cells via a secondary signal in the mesenchyme. We will use conditional mutant mice, our large biobank of patient materials and in vitro experiments to further characterize the signals involved in this feedback loop. Our objective is to study the role of this epithelial mesenchymal signaling circuit in the normal intestine and examine the way it is deregulated in intestinal cancer development and inflammation.
Summary
Stem cells at the base of the intestinal crypts are in a dynamic equilibrium with their differentiated derivatives. Homeostatic equilibria depend on the presence of negative feedback loops. The role of the Wnt signaling pathway as a driver of epithelial stem cell self renewal and proliferation in the intestine has been relatively well characterized. Much less is known about the negative feedback signals that must exist to control stem cell behavior and the way these may be deregulated in disease. We found that Indian hedgehog is secreted by differentiated intestinal epithelial cells and acts as a negative feedback signal. Hedgehog signaling acts as a break on Wnt signaling in intestinal precursor cells via a secondary signal in the mesenchyme. We will use conditional mutant mice, our large biobank of patient materials and in vitro experiments to further characterize the signals involved in this feedback loop. Our objective is to study the role of this epithelial mesenchymal signaling circuit in the normal intestine and examine the way it is deregulated in intestinal cancer development and inflammation.
Max ERC Funding
1 524 462 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-10-01, End date: 2014-09-30
Project acronym NANOFORBIO
Project Nanostructures for biology
Researcher (PI) Cornelis Dekker
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary I propose to employ our advanced capabilities for nanofabrication to explore new biology at the single-molecule and single-cell level. I choose to specifically address two directions of intense scientific interest: (i) With my team I will develop and exploit solid-state nanopores for the study of real-time translocation of individual biomolecules. In the past few years, my group has attained a leading position in this field and we want to apply our advanced knowledge to push the technology and use it to resolve some pressing questions in cell biology and biotechnology. Specifically, we will explore screening of DNA-protein complexes at the single-molecule level, and we will build biomimetic nanopores to address the physical mechanism of selection and controlled molecular transport of the nuclear pore complex. (ii) We will use nanofabrication to create well-defined landscapes for bacteria. This will allow biophysical studies of the interaction between bacteria and their habitat with an unprecedented control of the spatial structure and habitat parameters. I strongly believe that this approach constitutes a major new tool to experimentally address a number of fundamental issues in the ecology and evolution of bacteria for the first time in a controlled environment. Additionally, it opens up a way to explore the biophysics of bacteria in confined space, where we will study a new bacterial phenotype in nanofabricated slits which we recently discovered. While this research is primarily driven by the quest for understanding physical mechanisms in biology, it can also be expected to have profound impact on applications in antibiotics, gene therapy, and DNA sequencing.
Summary
I propose to employ our advanced capabilities for nanofabrication to explore new biology at the single-molecule and single-cell level. I choose to specifically address two directions of intense scientific interest: (i) With my team I will develop and exploit solid-state nanopores for the study of real-time translocation of individual biomolecules. In the past few years, my group has attained a leading position in this field and we want to apply our advanced knowledge to push the technology and use it to resolve some pressing questions in cell biology and biotechnology. Specifically, we will explore screening of DNA-protein complexes at the single-molecule level, and we will build biomimetic nanopores to address the physical mechanism of selection and controlled molecular transport of the nuclear pore complex. (ii) We will use nanofabrication to create well-defined landscapes for bacteria. This will allow biophysical studies of the interaction between bacteria and their habitat with an unprecedented control of the spatial structure and habitat parameters. I strongly believe that this approach constitutes a major new tool to experimentally address a number of fundamental issues in the ecology and evolution of bacteria for the first time in a controlled environment. Additionally, it opens up a way to explore the biophysics of bacteria in confined space, where we will study a new bacterial phenotype in nanofabricated slits which we recently discovered. While this research is primarily driven by the quest for understanding physical mechanisms in biology, it can also be expected to have profound impact on applications in antibiotics, gene therapy, and DNA sequencing.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 091 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-03-01, End date: 2015-02-28
Project acronym SIRAID
Project SIRT6 activation for countering age-related metabolic diseases
Researcher (PI) Haim Cohen
Host Institution (HI) BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2009-StG
Summary The significant increase in the human lifespan during the last century confronts us with great medical challenges. To answer them, one must understand and control the mechanisms that determine the rate of ageing. The sirtuins, and in particular the mammalian member SIRT6, are a family of NAD+ dependent deacetylases that were implicated in ageing and the regulation of metabolism. Much evidence correlates SIRT6 with the regulation of ageing, primarily the manifestation of ageing related pathologies in SIRT6 deficient mice, and the induction of SIRT6 by calorie-restricted diet that delays ageing and reduces its related diseases. Nonetheless, the role of SIRT6 in ageing and the mechanisms by which it might act are still elusive. To explore it at the molecular mechanistic level, SIRAID aims to i) study the role of SIRT6 in glucose and fat metabolism under high fat diet; ii) to determine whether SIRT6 is involved in regulating life span, and to characterise how SIRT6 is activated by calorie restriction; and iii) to perform large scale SILAC-based proteomics screening for SIRT6 substrates. These results will then be used for the development of small activator molecules of SIRT6 that may be used therapeutically for age related metabolic diseases. Taken together, we suggest a multifaceted approach that will allow us to explore the role of SIRT6 in ageing and metabolism, and to translate this knowledge to counter and prevent the medical problems associated with human longevity.
Summary
The significant increase in the human lifespan during the last century confronts us with great medical challenges. To answer them, one must understand and control the mechanisms that determine the rate of ageing. The sirtuins, and in particular the mammalian member SIRT6, are a family of NAD+ dependent deacetylases that were implicated in ageing and the regulation of metabolism. Much evidence correlates SIRT6 with the regulation of ageing, primarily the manifestation of ageing related pathologies in SIRT6 deficient mice, and the induction of SIRT6 by calorie-restricted diet that delays ageing and reduces its related diseases. Nonetheless, the role of SIRT6 in ageing and the mechanisms by which it might act are still elusive. To explore it at the molecular mechanistic level, SIRAID aims to i) study the role of SIRT6 in glucose and fat metabolism under high fat diet; ii) to determine whether SIRT6 is involved in regulating life span, and to characterise how SIRT6 is activated by calorie restriction; and iii) to perform large scale SILAC-based proteomics screening for SIRT6 substrates. These results will then be used for the development of small activator molecules of SIRT6 that may be used therapeutically for age related metabolic diseases. Taken together, we suggest a multifaceted approach that will allow us to explore the role of SIRT6 in ageing and metabolism, and to translate this knowledge to counter and prevent the medical problems associated with human longevity.
Max ERC Funding
1 510 968 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-10-01, End date: 2014-09-30
