Project acronym AGALT
Project Asymptotic Geometric Analysis and Learning Theory
Researcher (PI) Shahar Mendelson
Host Institution (HI) TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Country Israel
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary In a typical learning problem one tries to approximate an unknown function by a function from a given class using random data, sampled according to an unknown measure. In this project we will be interested in parameters that govern the complexity of a learning problem. It turns out that this complexity is determined by the geometry of certain sets in high dimension that are connected to the given class (random coordinate projections of the class). Thus, one has to understand the structure of these sets as a function of the dimension - which is given by the cardinality of the random sample. The resulting analysis leads to many theoretical questions in Asymptotic Geometric Analysis, Probability (most notably, Empirical Processes Theory) and Combinatorics, which are of independent interest beyond the application to Learning Theory. Our main goal is to describe the role of various complexity parameters involved in a learning problem, to analyze the connections between them and to investigate the way they determine the geometry of the relevant high dimensional sets. Some of the questions we intend to tackle are well known open problems and making progress towards their solution will have a significant theoretical impact. Moreover, this project should lead to a more complete theory of learning and is likely to have some practical impact, for example, in the design of more efficient learning algorithms.
Summary
In a typical learning problem one tries to approximate an unknown function by a function from a given class using random data, sampled according to an unknown measure. In this project we will be interested in parameters that govern the complexity of a learning problem. It turns out that this complexity is determined by the geometry of certain sets in high dimension that are connected to the given class (random coordinate projections of the class). Thus, one has to understand the structure of these sets as a function of the dimension - which is given by the cardinality of the random sample. The resulting analysis leads to many theoretical questions in Asymptotic Geometric Analysis, Probability (most notably, Empirical Processes Theory) and Combinatorics, which are of independent interest beyond the application to Learning Theory. Our main goal is to describe the role of various complexity parameters involved in a learning problem, to analyze the connections between them and to investigate the way they determine the geometry of the relevant high dimensional sets. Some of the questions we intend to tackle are well known open problems and making progress towards their solution will have a significant theoretical impact. Moreover, this project should lead to a more complete theory of learning and is likely to have some practical impact, for example, in the design of more efficient learning algorithms.
Max ERC Funding
750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-03-01, End date: 2014-02-28
Project acronym AIDA
Project Architectural design In Dialogue with dis-Ability Theoretical and methodological exploration of a multi-sensorial design approach in architecture
Researcher (PI) Ann Heylighen
Host Institution (HI) KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Country Belgium
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH2, ERC-2007-StG
Summary This research project is based on the notion that, because of their specific interaction with space, people with particular dis-abilities are able to appreciate spatial qualities or detect misfits in the environment that most architects—or other designers—are not even aware of. This notion holds for sensory dis-abilities such as blindness or visual impairment, but also for mental dis-abilities like autism or Alzheimer’s dementia. The experiences and subsequent insights of these dis-abled people, so it is argued, represent a considerable knowledge resource that would complement and enrich the professional expertise of architects and designers in general. This argument forms the basis for a methodological and theoretical exploration of a multi-sensorial design approach in architecture. On the one hand, a series of retrospective case studies will be conducted to identify and describe the motives and elements that trigger or stimulate architects’ attention for the multi-sensorial spatial experiences of people with dis-abilities when designing spaces. On the other hand, the research project will investigate experimentally in real time to what extent design processes and products in architecture can be enriched by establishing a dialogue between the multi-sensorial ‘knowing-in-action’ of people with dis-abilities and the expertise of professional architects/designers. In this way, the research project aims to develop a more profound understanding of how the concept of Design for All can be realised in architectural practice. At least as important, however, is its contribution to innovation in architecture tout court. The research results are expected to give a powerful impulse to quality improvement of the built environment by stimulating and supporting the development of innovative design concepts.
Summary
This research project is based on the notion that, because of their specific interaction with space, people with particular dis-abilities are able to appreciate spatial qualities or detect misfits in the environment that most architects—or other designers—are not even aware of. This notion holds for sensory dis-abilities such as blindness or visual impairment, but also for mental dis-abilities like autism or Alzheimer’s dementia. The experiences and subsequent insights of these dis-abled people, so it is argued, represent a considerable knowledge resource that would complement and enrich the professional expertise of architects and designers in general. This argument forms the basis for a methodological and theoretical exploration of a multi-sensorial design approach in architecture. On the one hand, a series of retrospective case studies will be conducted to identify and describe the motives and elements that trigger or stimulate architects’ attention for the multi-sensorial spatial experiences of people with dis-abilities when designing spaces. On the other hand, the research project will investigate experimentally in real time to what extent design processes and products in architecture can be enriched by establishing a dialogue between the multi-sensorial ‘knowing-in-action’ of people with dis-abilities and the expertise of professional architects/designers. In this way, the research project aims to develop a more profound understanding of how the concept of Design for All can be realised in architectural practice. At least as important, however, is its contribution to innovation in architecture tout court. The research results are expected to give a powerful impulse to quality improvement of the built environment by stimulating and supporting the development of innovative design concepts.
Max ERC Funding
1 195 385 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-05-01, End date: 2013-10-31
Project acronym AVIANEGG
Project Evolutionary genetics in a ‘classical’ avian study system by high throughput transcriptome sequencing and SNP genotyping
Researcher (PI) Jon Slate
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Long-term studies of free-living vertebrate populations have proved a rich resource for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes, because individuals’ life histories can be measured by tracking them from birth/hatching through to death. In recent years the ‘animal model’ has been applied to pedigreed long-term study populations with great success, dramatically advancing our understanding of quantitative genetic parameters such as heritabilities, genetic correlations and plasticities of traits that are relevant to microevolutionary responses to environmental change. Unfortunately, quantitative genetic approaches have one major drawback – they cannot identify the actual genes responsible for genetic variation. Therefore, it is impossible to link evolutionary responses to a changing environment to molecular genetic variation, making our picture of the process incomplete. Many of the best long-term studies have been conducted in passerine birds. Unfortunately genomics resources are only available for two model avian species, and are absent for bird species that are studied in the wild. I will fill this gap by exploiting recent advances in genomics technology to sequence the entire transcriptome of the longest running study of wild birds – the great tit population in Wytham Woods, Oxford. Having identified most of the sequence variation in the great tit transcriptome, I will then genotype all birds for whom phenotype records and blood samples are available This will be, by far, the largest phenotype-genotype dataset of any free-living vertebrate population. I will then use gene mapping techniques to identify genes and genomic regions responsible for variation in a number of key traits such as lifetime recruitment, clutch size and breeding/laying date. This will result in a greater understanding, at the molecular level, how microevolutionary change can arise (or be constrained).
Summary
Long-term studies of free-living vertebrate populations have proved a rich resource for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes, because individuals’ life histories can be measured by tracking them from birth/hatching through to death. In recent years the ‘animal model’ has been applied to pedigreed long-term study populations with great success, dramatically advancing our understanding of quantitative genetic parameters such as heritabilities, genetic correlations and plasticities of traits that are relevant to microevolutionary responses to environmental change. Unfortunately, quantitative genetic approaches have one major drawback – they cannot identify the actual genes responsible for genetic variation. Therefore, it is impossible to link evolutionary responses to a changing environment to molecular genetic variation, making our picture of the process incomplete. Many of the best long-term studies have been conducted in passerine birds. Unfortunately genomics resources are only available for two model avian species, and are absent for bird species that are studied in the wild. I will fill this gap by exploiting recent advances in genomics technology to sequence the entire transcriptome of the longest running study of wild birds – the great tit population in Wytham Woods, Oxford. Having identified most of the sequence variation in the great tit transcriptome, I will then genotype all birds for whom phenotype records and blood samples are available This will be, by far, the largest phenotype-genotype dataset of any free-living vertebrate population. I will then use gene mapping techniques to identify genes and genomic regions responsible for variation in a number of key traits such as lifetime recruitment, clutch size and breeding/laying date. This will result in a greater understanding, at the molecular level, how microevolutionary change can arise (or be constrained).
Max ERC Funding
1 560 770 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-10-01, End date: 2014-06-30
Project acronym BIOIONS
Project Biological ions in the gas-phase: New techniques for structural characterization of isolated biomolecular ions
Researcher (PI) Caroline Dessent
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF YORK
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Recent intensive research on the laser spectroscopy of neutral gas-phase biomolecules has yielded a detailed picture of their structures and conformational preferences away from the complications of the bulk environment. In contrast, work on ionic systems has been sparse despite the fact that many important molecular groups are charged under physiological conditions. To address this probelm, we have developed a custom-built laser spectrometer, which incorporates a distincitive electrospray ionisation (ESI) cluster ion source, dedicated to producing biological anions (ATP,oligonucleotides) and their microsolvated clusters for structural characterization. Many previous laser spectrometers with ESI sources have suffered from producing "hot" congested spectra as the ions were produced at ambient temperatures. This is a particularly serious limitation for spectroscopic studies of biomolecules, since these systems can possess high internal energies due tothe presence of numerous low frequency modes. Our spectrometer overcomes this problem by exploiting the newly developed physics technique of "buffer gas cooling" to produce cold ESI molecular ions. In this proposal, we now seek to exploit the new laser-spectrometer to perform detailed spectroscopic interrogations of ESI generated biomolecular anions and clusters. In addition to traditional ion-dissociation spectroscopies, we propose to develop two new laser spectroscopy techniques (Two-color tuneable IR spectroscopy and Dipole-bound excited state spectroscopy) to give the broadest possible structural characterizations of the systems of interest. Studies will focus on ATP/GTP-anions, olignonucleotides, and sulphated and carboxylated sugars. These methodologies will provide a general approach for performing temperature-controlled spectroscopic characterizations of isolated biological ions, with measurements on the corresponding micro-solvated clusters providing details of how the molecules are perturbed by solvent.
Summary
Recent intensive research on the laser spectroscopy of neutral gas-phase biomolecules has yielded a detailed picture of their structures and conformational preferences away from the complications of the bulk environment. In contrast, work on ionic systems has been sparse despite the fact that many important molecular groups are charged under physiological conditions. To address this probelm, we have developed a custom-built laser spectrometer, which incorporates a distincitive electrospray ionisation (ESI) cluster ion source, dedicated to producing biological anions (ATP,oligonucleotides) and their microsolvated clusters for structural characterization. Many previous laser spectrometers with ESI sources have suffered from producing "hot" congested spectra as the ions were produced at ambient temperatures. This is a particularly serious limitation for spectroscopic studies of biomolecules, since these systems can possess high internal energies due tothe presence of numerous low frequency modes. Our spectrometer overcomes this problem by exploiting the newly developed physics technique of "buffer gas cooling" to produce cold ESI molecular ions. In this proposal, we now seek to exploit the new laser-spectrometer to perform detailed spectroscopic interrogations of ESI generated biomolecular anions and clusters. In addition to traditional ion-dissociation spectroscopies, we propose to develop two new laser spectroscopy techniques (Two-color tuneable IR spectroscopy and Dipole-bound excited state spectroscopy) to give the broadest possible structural characterizations of the systems of interest. Studies will focus on ATP/GTP-anions, olignonucleotides, and sulphated and carboxylated sugars. These methodologies will provide a general approach for performing temperature-controlled spectroscopic characterizations of isolated biological ions, with measurements on the corresponding micro-solvated clusters providing details of how the molecules are perturbed by solvent.
Max ERC Funding
1 250 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-10-01, End date: 2015-06-30
Project acronym BIOSELFORGANIZATION
Project Biophysical aspects of self-organization in actin-based cell motility
Researcher (PI) Kinneret Magda Keren
Host Institution (HI) TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Country Israel
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Cell motility is a fascinating dynamic process crucial for a wide variety of biological phenomena including defense against injury or infection, embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. A spatially extended, self-organized, mechanochemical machine consisting of numerous actin polymers, accessory proteins and molecular motors drives this process. This impressive assembly self-organizes over several orders of magnitude in both the temporal and spatial domains bridging from the fast dynamics of individual molecular-sized building blocks to the persistent motion of whole cells over minutes and hours. The molecular players involved in the process and the basic biochemical mechanisms are largely known. However, the principles governing the assembly of the motility apparatus, which involve an intricate interplay between biophysical processes and biochemical reactions, are still poorly understood. The proposed research is focused on investigating the biophysical aspects of the self-organization processes underlying cell motility and trying to adapt these processes to instill motility in artificial cells. Important biophysical characteristics of moving cells such as the intracellular fluid flow and membrane tension will be measured and their effect on the motility process will be examined, using fish epithelial keratocytes as a model system. The dynamics of the system will be further investigated by quantitatively analyzing the morphological and kinematic variation displayed by a population of cells and by an individual cell through time. Such measurements will feed into and direct the development of quantitative theoretical models. In parallel, I will work toward the development of a synthetic physical model system for cell motility by encapsulating the actin machinery in a cell-sized compartment. This synthetic system will allow cell motility to be studied in a simplified and controlled environment, detached from the complexity of the living cell.
Summary
Cell motility is a fascinating dynamic process crucial for a wide variety of biological phenomena including defense against injury or infection, embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. A spatially extended, self-organized, mechanochemical machine consisting of numerous actin polymers, accessory proteins and molecular motors drives this process. This impressive assembly self-organizes over several orders of magnitude in both the temporal and spatial domains bridging from the fast dynamics of individual molecular-sized building blocks to the persistent motion of whole cells over minutes and hours. The molecular players involved in the process and the basic biochemical mechanisms are largely known. However, the principles governing the assembly of the motility apparatus, which involve an intricate interplay between biophysical processes and biochemical reactions, are still poorly understood. The proposed research is focused on investigating the biophysical aspects of the self-organization processes underlying cell motility and trying to adapt these processes to instill motility in artificial cells. Important biophysical characteristics of moving cells such as the intracellular fluid flow and membrane tension will be measured and their effect on the motility process will be examined, using fish epithelial keratocytes as a model system. The dynamics of the system will be further investigated by quantitatively analyzing the morphological and kinematic variation displayed by a population of cells and by an individual cell through time. Such measurements will feed into and direct the development of quantitative theoretical models. In parallel, I will work toward the development of a synthetic physical model system for cell motility by encapsulating the actin machinery in a cell-sized compartment. This synthetic system will allow cell motility to be studied in a simplified and controlled environment, detached from the complexity of the living cell.
Max ERC Funding
900 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-08-01, End date: 2013-07-31
Project acronym BRAINPLASTICITY
Project In vivo imaging of functional plasticity in the mammalian brain
Researcher (PI) Adi Mizrahi
Host Institution (HI) THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
Country Israel
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary "The dynamic nature of the brain operates at disparate time scales ranging from milliseconds to months. How do single neurons change over such long time scales? This question remains stubborn to answer in the field of brain plasticity mainly because of limited tools to study the physiology of single neurons over time in the complex environment of the brain. The research aim of this proposal is to reveal the physiological changes of single neurons in the mammalian brain over disparate time scales using time-lapse optical imaging. Specifically, we aim to establish a new team that will develop genetic and optical tools to probe the physiological activity of single neurons, in vivo. As a model system, we will study a unique neuronal population in the mammalian brain; the adult-born local neurons in the olfactory bulb. These neurons have tremendous potential to reveal how neurons develop and maintain in the intact brain because they are accessible both genetically and optically. By following the behavior of adult-born neurons in vivo we will discover how neurons mature and maintain over days and weeks. If our objectives will be met, this study has the potential to significantly ""raise the bar"" on how neuronal plasticity is studied and reveal some basic secrets of the ever changing mammalian brain."
Summary
"The dynamic nature of the brain operates at disparate time scales ranging from milliseconds to months. How do single neurons change over such long time scales? This question remains stubborn to answer in the field of brain plasticity mainly because of limited tools to study the physiology of single neurons over time in the complex environment of the brain. The research aim of this proposal is to reveal the physiological changes of single neurons in the mammalian brain over disparate time scales using time-lapse optical imaging. Specifically, we aim to establish a new team that will develop genetic and optical tools to probe the physiological activity of single neurons, in vivo. As a model system, we will study a unique neuronal population in the mammalian brain; the adult-born local neurons in the olfactory bulb. These neurons have tremendous potential to reveal how neurons develop and maintain in the intact brain because they are accessible both genetically and optically. By following the behavior of adult-born neurons in vivo we will discover how neurons mature and maintain over days and weeks. If our objectives will be met, this study has the potential to significantly ""raise the bar"" on how neuronal plasticity is studied and reveal some basic secrets of the ever changing mammalian brain."
Max ERC Funding
1 750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-08-01, End date: 2013-07-31
Project acronym CHEMBIOMECH
Project Exploring mechanism in chemical biology by high-throughput approaches
Researcher (PI) Florian Hollfelder
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary In the biomedical sciences, where endless combinatorial diversity of genes, proteins and synthetic molecules is involved, miniaturisation has not simply allowed an increase in the speed at which experiment can be performed: it has given birth to new areas such as combinatorial chemistry and biology, proteomics, genomics, and more recently, systems and synthetic biology. In all these areas, the synthesis, assay and analysis of large molecular ensembles has become the essence of experimental progress. However, it is the systematic analysis of the enormous amounts of data generated that will ultimately lead to an understanding of fundamental chemical and biological problems. This proposal deals with approaches in which libraries of molecules are employed to give such mechanistic insight – into how enzyme catalysis is brought about in proteins and polymeric enzyme models and into the molecular recognition and cell biology of drug delivery reagents. In each case considerable technical challenges are involved in the way diversity is brought about and probed: ranging from either using the tools of synthetic chemistry to using gene repertoires in emulsion microdroplet reactors with femtolitre volumes, handled in microfluidic devices.
Summary
In the biomedical sciences, where endless combinatorial diversity of genes, proteins and synthetic molecules is involved, miniaturisation has not simply allowed an increase in the speed at which experiment can be performed: it has given birth to new areas such as combinatorial chemistry and biology, proteomics, genomics, and more recently, systems and synthetic biology. In all these areas, the synthesis, assay and analysis of large molecular ensembles has become the essence of experimental progress. However, it is the systematic analysis of the enormous amounts of data generated that will ultimately lead to an understanding of fundamental chemical and biological problems. This proposal deals with approaches in which libraries of molecules are employed to give such mechanistic insight – into how enzyme catalysis is brought about in proteins and polymeric enzyme models and into the molecular recognition and cell biology of drug delivery reagents. In each case considerable technical challenges are involved in the way diversity is brought about and probed: ranging from either using the tools of synthetic chemistry to using gene repertoires in emulsion microdroplet reactors with femtolitre volumes, handled in microfluidic devices.
Max ERC Funding
563 848 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2013-08-31
Project acronym CODING_IN_V1
Project How visual information is represented by neuronal networks in the primary visual cortex
Researcher (PI) Thomas D. Mrsic-Flogel
Host Institution (HI) University College London
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The vast majority of our knowledge about how the brain encodes information has been obtained from recordings of one or few neurons at a time or from global mapping methods such as fMRI. These approaches have left unexplored how neuronal activity is distributed in space and time within a cortical column and how hundreds of neurons interact to process sensory information. By taking advantage of the most recent advances in two-photon microscopy, the proposed project addresses two broad aims, with a particular focus on the function and development of primary visual cortex: 1) to understand how cortical neuronal networks encode visual information, and 2) to understand how they become specialised for sensory processing during postnatal development. For the first aim, we will use in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to record activity simultaneously from hundreds of neurons in visual cortex while showing different visual stimuli to anaesthetised mice. This approach enables us for the first time to characterise in detail how individual neurons and neuronal subsets interact within a large cortical network in response to artificial and natural stimuli. Genetically-encoded fluorescent proteins expressed in distinct cell-types will inform us how excitatory and inhibitory neurons interact to shape population responses during vision. For the second aim, the same approach will be used to describe the maturation of cortical network function after the onset of vision and to assess the role of visual experience in this process. We will additionally use Channelrhodopsin-2, a genetic tool for remote control of action potential firing, to examine the role of correlated neuronal activity on establishment of functional cortical circuits. Together, this work will bring us closer to unravelling how sensory coding emerges on the level of neuronal networks.
Summary
The vast majority of our knowledge about how the brain encodes information has been obtained from recordings of one or few neurons at a time or from global mapping methods such as fMRI. These approaches have left unexplored how neuronal activity is distributed in space and time within a cortical column and how hundreds of neurons interact to process sensory information. By taking advantage of the most recent advances in two-photon microscopy, the proposed project addresses two broad aims, with a particular focus on the function and development of primary visual cortex: 1) to understand how cortical neuronal networks encode visual information, and 2) to understand how they become specialised for sensory processing during postnatal development. For the first aim, we will use in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to record activity simultaneously from hundreds of neurons in visual cortex while showing different visual stimuli to anaesthetised mice. This approach enables us for the first time to characterise in detail how individual neurons and neuronal subsets interact within a large cortical network in response to artificial and natural stimuli. Genetically-encoded fluorescent proteins expressed in distinct cell-types will inform us how excitatory and inhibitory neurons interact to shape population responses during vision. For the second aim, the same approach will be used to describe the maturation of cortical network function after the onset of vision and to assess the role of visual experience in this process. We will additionally use Channelrhodopsin-2, a genetic tool for remote control of action potential firing, to examine the role of correlated neuronal activity on establishment of functional cortical circuits. Together, this work will bring us closer to unravelling how sensory coding emerges on the level of neuronal networks.
Max ERC Funding
1 080 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-07-01, End date: 2013-06-30
Project acronym DCBIF
Project Flight dynamics and control of birds and insects
Researcher (PI) Graham Keith Taylor
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE6, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Insects bristle with sensors, but how do they exploit this rich sensory information to achieve their extraordinary stability and manoeuvrability? Bird and insect wings deform in flight, and have passively deployable structures such as feathers and flaps, but how do they exploit these features when aircraft designers shy away from aeroelasticity? Birds fly without a vertical tailfin, but how do they maintain yaw stability when most aircraft require one to fly safely? Questions such as these drive my research on bird and insect flight dynamics. My research is unique in using the engineering tools of flight dynamics and control theory to analyse physiological and biomechanical data from real animals. One research track will use measurements of the forces and torques generated by insects flying tethered in a virtual-reality flight simulator to parameterise their equations of motion, in order to model the input-output relationships of their sensorimotor control systems. A second research track will measure the detailed wing kinematics and deformations of free-flying insects in order to analyse the effects of aeroelasticity on flight manoeuvres. A third research track will measure the wing and tail kinematics of free-flying birds using onboard wireless video cameras, and use system identification techniques to model how these affect the body dynamics measured using onboard instrumentation. Applying these novel experimental techniques will allow me to make and test quantitative predictions about flight stability and control. This highly interdisciplinary research bridges the fields of physiology and biomechanics, with significant feeds to and from engineering. My research will break new ground, developing novel experimental techniques and theoretical models in order to test and generate new hypotheses of adaptive function. Its broader impacts include the public interest in all things flying, and potential military and civilian applications in flapping micro-air vehicles.
Summary
Insects bristle with sensors, but how do they exploit this rich sensory information to achieve their extraordinary stability and manoeuvrability? Bird and insect wings deform in flight, and have passively deployable structures such as feathers and flaps, but how do they exploit these features when aircraft designers shy away from aeroelasticity? Birds fly without a vertical tailfin, but how do they maintain yaw stability when most aircraft require one to fly safely? Questions such as these drive my research on bird and insect flight dynamics. My research is unique in using the engineering tools of flight dynamics and control theory to analyse physiological and biomechanical data from real animals. One research track will use measurements of the forces and torques generated by insects flying tethered in a virtual-reality flight simulator to parameterise their equations of motion, in order to model the input-output relationships of their sensorimotor control systems. A second research track will measure the detailed wing kinematics and deformations of free-flying insects in order to analyse the effects of aeroelasticity on flight manoeuvres. A third research track will measure the wing and tail kinematics of free-flying birds using onboard wireless video cameras, and use system identification techniques to model how these affect the body dynamics measured using onboard instrumentation. Applying these novel experimental techniques will allow me to make and test quantitative predictions about flight stability and control. This highly interdisciplinary research bridges the fields of physiology and biomechanics, with significant feeds to and from engineering. My research will break new ground, developing novel experimental techniques and theoretical models in order to test and generate new hypotheses of adaptive function. Its broader impacts include the public interest in all things flying, and potential military and civilian applications in flapping micro-air vehicles.
Max ERC Funding
1 954 565 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-06-01, End date: 2014-05-31
Project acronym DESI_JEDI-IMAGING
Project Development of mass spectrometric techniques for 3D imaging and in-vivo analysis of biological tissues
Researcher (PI) Zoltan Takats
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE4, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Recent development of atmospheric pressure desorption ionization methods has opened a unique area of application for analytical mass spectrometry. Most of these methods do not require any modification of samples, and this feature, together with the minimal invasiveness of these methods allows direct analytical interrogation of biological tissues, even the real-time, in-vivo observation of biochemical processes. The proposed research focuses on the development of atmospheric pressure desorption ionization mass spectrometric methods for the characterization of biological tissues. The first question to answer is aimed at the nature of information which can be obtained, using a variety of desorption ionization methods including desorption electrospray ionization and jet desorption ionization methods. Preliminary results show, that APDI-MS methods provide information on lipids, metabolic compounds, drugs and certain proteins. First task of the proposed research is to implement a chemical imaging system, which is capable of producing 3D concentration distribution functions for various constituents of tissue samples. The developed methodology will be used to tackle fundamental pathophysiological problems including development of various malignant tumors. A database will be created for the unequivocal identification of various tissues including healthy and malignant tissue samples. In-vivo applications of MS will also be developed. JeDI-MS,similarly to water jet surgery, also utilizes high velocity water jet can directly be used as an intelligent scalpel. Real-time in-situ tissue identification has the potential of revolutionizing cancer surgery, since this way the amount of removed tissue can be minimized, while the tumor removal efficiency is maximized. The identical experimental platform can also be used to gather real-time in-situ metabolic information, which can help to understand pathophysiological changes.
Summary
Recent development of atmospheric pressure desorption ionization methods has opened a unique area of application for analytical mass spectrometry. Most of these methods do not require any modification of samples, and this feature, together with the minimal invasiveness of these methods allows direct analytical interrogation of biological tissues, even the real-time, in-vivo observation of biochemical processes. The proposed research focuses on the development of atmospheric pressure desorption ionization mass spectrometric methods for the characterization of biological tissues. The first question to answer is aimed at the nature of information which can be obtained, using a variety of desorption ionization methods including desorption electrospray ionization and jet desorption ionization methods. Preliminary results show, that APDI-MS methods provide information on lipids, metabolic compounds, drugs and certain proteins. First task of the proposed research is to implement a chemical imaging system, which is capable of producing 3D concentration distribution functions for various constituents of tissue samples. The developed methodology will be used to tackle fundamental pathophysiological problems including development of various malignant tumors. A database will be created for the unequivocal identification of various tissues including healthy and malignant tissue samples. In-vivo applications of MS will also be developed. JeDI-MS,similarly to water jet surgery, also utilizes high velocity water jet can directly be used as an intelligent scalpel. Real-time in-situ tissue identification has the potential of revolutionizing cancer surgery, since this way the amount of removed tissue can be minimized, while the tumor removal efficiency is maximized. The identical experimental platform can also be used to gather real-time in-situ metabolic information, which can help to understand pathophysiological changes.
Max ERC Funding
1 750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2013-08-31
