Project acronym 3D-JOINT
Project 3D Bioprinting of JOINT Replacements
Researcher (PI) Johannes Jos Malda
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary The world has a significant medical challenge in repairing injured or diseased joints. Joint degeneration and its related pain is a major socio-economic burden that will increase over the next decade and is currently addressed by implanting a metal prosthesis. For the long term, the ideal solution to joint injury is to successfully regenerate rather than replace the damaged cartilage with synthetic implants. Recent advances in key technologies are now bringing this “holy grail” within reach; regenerative approaches, based on cell therapy, are already clinically available albeit only for smaller focal cartilage defects.
One of these key technologies is three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing, which provides a greatly controlled placement and organization of living constructs through the layer-by-layer deposition of materials and cells. These tissue constructs can be applied as tissue models for research and screening. However, the lack of biomechanical properties of these tissue constructs has hampered their application to the regeneration of damaged, degenerated or diseased tissue.
Having established a cartilage-focussed research laboratory in the University Medical Center Utrecht, I have addressed this biomechanical limitation of hydrogels through the use of hydrogel composites. Specifically, I have pioneered a 3D bio-printing technology that combines accurately printed small diameter thermoplast filaments with cell invasive hydrogels to form strong fibre-reinforced constructs. This, in combination with bioreactor technology, is the key to the generation of larger, complex tissue constructs with cartilage-like biomechanical resilience. With 3D-JOINT I will use my in-depth bio-printing and bioreactor knowledge and experience to develop a multi-phasic 3D-printed biological replacement of the joint.
Summary
The world has a significant medical challenge in repairing injured or diseased joints. Joint degeneration and its related pain is a major socio-economic burden that will increase over the next decade and is currently addressed by implanting a metal prosthesis. For the long term, the ideal solution to joint injury is to successfully regenerate rather than replace the damaged cartilage with synthetic implants. Recent advances in key technologies are now bringing this “holy grail” within reach; regenerative approaches, based on cell therapy, are already clinically available albeit only for smaller focal cartilage defects.
One of these key technologies is three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing, which provides a greatly controlled placement and organization of living constructs through the layer-by-layer deposition of materials and cells. These tissue constructs can be applied as tissue models for research and screening. However, the lack of biomechanical properties of these tissue constructs has hampered their application to the regeneration of damaged, degenerated or diseased tissue.
Having established a cartilage-focussed research laboratory in the University Medical Center Utrecht, I have addressed this biomechanical limitation of hydrogels through the use of hydrogel composites. Specifically, I have pioneered a 3D bio-printing technology that combines accurately printed small diameter thermoplast filaments with cell invasive hydrogels to form strong fibre-reinforced constructs. This, in combination with bioreactor technology, is the key to the generation of larger, complex tissue constructs with cartilage-like biomechanical resilience. With 3D-JOINT I will use my in-depth bio-printing and bioreactor knowledge and experience to develop a multi-phasic 3D-printed biological replacement of the joint.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 871 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30
Project acronym ALLEGRO
Project unrAvelLing sLow modE travelinG and tRaffic: with innOvative data to a new transportation and traffic theory for pedestrians and bicycles
Researcher (PI) Serge Hoogendoorn
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH3, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary A major challenge in contemporary traffic and transportation theory is having a comprehensive understanding of pedestrians and cyclists behaviour. This is notoriously hard to observe, since sensors providing abundant and detailed information about key variables characterising this behaviour have not been available until very recently. The behaviour is also far more complex than that of the much better understood fast mode. This is due to the many degrees of freedom in decision-making, the interactions among slow traffic participants that are more involved and far less guided by traffic rules and regulations than those between car-drivers, and the many fascinating but complex phenomena in slow traffic flows (self-organised patterns, turbulence, spontaneous phase transitions, herding, etc.) that are very hard to predict accurately.
With slow traffic modes gaining ground in terms of mode share in many cities, lack of empirical insights, behavioural theories, predictively valid analytical and simulation models, and tools to support planning, design, management and control is posing a major societal problem as well: examples of major accidents due to bad planning, organisation and management of events are manifold, as are locations where safety of slow modes is a serious issue due to interactions with fast modes.
This programme is geared towards establishing a comprehensive theory of slow mode traffic behaviour, considering the different behavioural levels relevant for understanding, reproducing and predicting slow mode traffic flows in cities. The levels deal with walking and cycling operations, activity scheduling and travel behaviour, and knowledge representation and learning. Major scientific breakthroughs are expected at each of these levels, in terms of theory and modelling, by using innovative (big) data collection and experimentation, analysis and fusion techniques, including social media data analytics, using augmented reality, and remote and crowd sensing.
Summary
A major challenge in contemporary traffic and transportation theory is having a comprehensive understanding of pedestrians and cyclists behaviour. This is notoriously hard to observe, since sensors providing abundant and detailed information about key variables characterising this behaviour have not been available until very recently. The behaviour is also far more complex than that of the much better understood fast mode. This is due to the many degrees of freedom in decision-making, the interactions among slow traffic participants that are more involved and far less guided by traffic rules and regulations than those between car-drivers, and the many fascinating but complex phenomena in slow traffic flows (self-organised patterns, turbulence, spontaneous phase transitions, herding, etc.) that are very hard to predict accurately.
With slow traffic modes gaining ground in terms of mode share in many cities, lack of empirical insights, behavioural theories, predictively valid analytical and simulation models, and tools to support planning, design, management and control is posing a major societal problem as well: examples of major accidents due to bad planning, organisation and management of events are manifold, as are locations where safety of slow modes is a serious issue due to interactions with fast modes.
This programme is geared towards establishing a comprehensive theory of slow mode traffic behaviour, considering the different behavioural levels relevant for understanding, reproducing and predicting slow mode traffic flows in cities. The levels deal with walking and cycling operations, activity scheduling and travel behaviour, and knowledge representation and learning. Major scientific breakthroughs are expected at each of these levels, in terms of theory and modelling, by using innovative (big) data collection and experimentation, analysis and fusion techniques, including social media data analytics, using augmented reality, and remote and crowd sensing.
Max ERC Funding
2 458 700 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31
Project acronym ARTECHNE
Project Technique in the Arts. Concepts, Practices, Expertise (1500-1950)
Researcher (PI) Sven Georges Mathieu Dupré
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary The transmission of ‘technique’ in art has been a conspicuous ‘black box’ resisting analysis. The tools of the humanities used to study the transmission of ideas and concepts are insufficient when it comes to understanding the transmission of something as non-propositional and non-verbal as ‘technique’. The insights of the neurosciences in, for example, the acquisition and transmission of drawing skills are not yet sufficiently advanced to be historically restrictive. However, only in the most recent years, the history of science and technology has turned to how-to instructions as given in recipes. This project proposes to undertake the experimental reconstruction of historical recipes to finally open the black box of the transmission of technique in the visual and decorative arts. Considering ‘technique’ as a textual, material and social practice, this project will write a long-term history of the theory and practice of the study of ‘technique’ in the visual and decorative arts between 1500 and 1950. The three central research questions here are: (1) what is technique in the visual and decorative arts, (2) how is technique transmitted and studied, and (3) who is considered expert in technique, and why? This project will make a breakthrough in our understanding of the transmission of technique in the arts by integrating methodologies typical for the humanities and historical disciplines with laboratory work. Also, by providing a history of technique in the arts, this project lays the historical foundations of the epistemologies of conservation, restoration and technical art history precisely at a moment of greatest urgency. The connection between the history of science and technology and the expertise in conservation, restoration and technical art history (in the Ateliergebouw in Amsterdam) this project envisions builds the intellectual infrastructure of a new field of interdisciplinary research, unique in Europe.
Summary
The transmission of ‘technique’ in art has been a conspicuous ‘black box’ resisting analysis. The tools of the humanities used to study the transmission of ideas and concepts are insufficient when it comes to understanding the transmission of something as non-propositional and non-verbal as ‘technique’. The insights of the neurosciences in, for example, the acquisition and transmission of drawing skills are not yet sufficiently advanced to be historically restrictive. However, only in the most recent years, the history of science and technology has turned to how-to instructions as given in recipes. This project proposes to undertake the experimental reconstruction of historical recipes to finally open the black box of the transmission of technique in the visual and decorative arts. Considering ‘technique’ as a textual, material and social practice, this project will write a long-term history of the theory and practice of the study of ‘technique’ in the visual and decorative arts between 1500 and 1950. The three central research questions here are: (1) what is technique in the visual and decorative arts, (2) how is technique transmitted and studied, and (3) who is considered expert in technique, and why? This project will make a breakthrough in our understanding of the transmission of technique in the arts by integrating methodologies typical for the humanities and historical disciplines with laboratory work. Also, by providing a history of technique in the arts, this project lays the historical foundations of the epistemologies of conservation, restoration and technical art history precisely at a moment of greatest urgency. The connection between the history of science and technology and the expertise in conservation, restoration and technical art history (in the Ateliergebouw in Amsterdam) this project envisions builds the intellectual infrastructure of a new field of interdisciplinary research, unique in Europe.
Max ERC Funding
1 907 944 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31
Project acronym ASICA
Project New constraints on the Amazonian carbon balance from airborne observations of the stable isotopes of CO2
Researcher (PI) Wouter Peters
Host Institution (HI) WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Severe droughts in Amazonia in 2005 and 2010 caused widespread loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere. This loss, almost twice the annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the EU, suggests a large sensitivity of the Amazonian carbon balance to a predicted more intense drought regime in the next decades. This is a dangerous inference though, as there is no scientific consensus on the most basic metrics of Amazonian carbon exchange: the gross primary production (GPP) and its response to moisture deficits in the soil and atmosphere. Measuring them on scales that span the whole Amazon forest was thus far impossible, but in this project I aim to deliver the first observation-based estimate of pan-Amazonian GPP and its drought induced variations.
My program builds on two recent breakthroughs in our use of stable isotopes (13C, 17O, 18O) in atmospheric CO2: (1) Our discovery that observed δ¹³C in CO2 in the atmosphere is a quantitative measure for vegetation water-use efficiency over millions of square kilometers, integrating the drought response of individual plants. (2) The possibility to precisely measure the relative ratios of 18O/16O and 17O/16O in CO2, called Δ17O. Anomalous Δ17O values are present in air coming down from the stratosphere, but this anomaly is removed upon contact of CO2 with leaf water inside plant stomata. Hence, observed Δ17O values depend directly on the magnitude of GPP. Both δ¹³C and Δ17O measurements are scarce over the Amazon-basin, and I propose more than 7000 new measurements leveraging an established aircraft monitoring program in Brazil. Quantitative interpretation of these observations will break new ground in our use of stable isotopes to understand climate variations, and is facilitated by our renowned numerical modeling system “CarbonTracker”. My program will answer two burning question in carbon cycle science today: (a) What is the magnitude of GPP in Amazonia? And (b) How does it vary over different intensities of drought?
Summary
Severe droughts in Amazonia in 2005 and 2010 caused widespread loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere. This loss, almost twice the annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the EU, suggests a large sensitivity of the Amazonian carbon balance to a predicted more intense drought regime in the next decades. This is a dangerous inference though, as there is no scientific consensus on the most basic metrics of Amazonian carbon exchange: the gross primary production (GPP) and its response to moisture deficits in the soil and atmosphere. Measuring them on scales that span the whole Amazon forest was thus far impossible, but in this project I aim to deliver the first observation-based estimate of pan-Amazonian GPP and its drought induced variations.
My program builds on two recent breakthroughs in our use of stable isotopes (13C, 17O, 18O) in atmospheric CO2: (1) Our discovery that observed δ¹³C in CO2 in the atmosphere is a quantitative measure for vegetation water-use efficiency over millions of square kilometers, integrating the drought response of individual plants. (2) The possibility to precisely measure the relative ratios of 18O/16O and 17O/16O in CO2, called Δ17O. Anomalous Δ17O values are present in air coming down from the stratosphere, but this anomaly is removed upon contact of CO2 with leaf water inside plant stomata. Hence, observed Δ17O values depend directly on the magnitude of GPP. Both δ¹³C and Δ17O measurements are scarce over the Amazon-basin, and I propose more than 7000 new measurements leveraging an established aircraft monitoring program in Brazil. Quantitative interpretation of these observations will break new ground in our use of stable isotopes to understand climate variations, and is facilitated by our renowned numerical modeling system “CarbonTracker”. My program will answer two burning question in carbon cycle science today: (a) What is the magnitude of GPP in Amazonia? And (b) How does it vary over different intensities of drought?
Max ERC Funding
2 269 689 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31
Project acronym BayesianMarkets
Project Bayesian markets for unverifiable truths
Researcher (PI) Aurelien Baillon
Host Institution (HI) ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Subjective data play an increasing role in modern economics. For instance, new welfare measurements are based on people’s subjective assessments of their happiness or their life satisfaction. A problem of such measurements is that people have no incentives to tell the truth. To solve this problem and make those measurements incentive compatible, I will introduce a new market institution, called Bayesian markets.
Imagine we ask people whether they are happy with their life. On Bayesian markets, they will trade an asset whose value is the proportion of people answering Yes. Only those answering Yes will have the right to buy the asset and those answering No the right to sell it. Bayesian updating implies that “Yes” agents predict a higher value of the asset than “No” agents do and, consequently, “Yes” agents want to buy it while “No” agents want to sell it. I will show that truth-telling is then the optimal strategy.
Bayesian markets reward truth-telling the same way as prediction markets (betting markets) reward people for reporting their true subjective probabilities about observable events. Yet, unlike prediction markets, they do not require events to be objectively observable. Bayesian markets apply to any type of unverifiable truths, from one’s own happiness to beliefs about events that will never be observed.
The present research program will first establish the theoretical foundations of Bayesian markets. It will then develop the proper methodology to implement them. Finally, it will disseminate the use of Bayesian markets via applications.
The first application will demonstrate how degrees of expertise can be measured and will apply it to risks related to climate change and nuclear power plants. It will contribute to the political debate by shedding new light on what true experts think about these risks. The second application will provide the first incentivized measures of life satisfaction and happiness.
Summary
Subjective data play an increasing role in modern economics. For instance, new welfare measurements are based on people’s subjective assessments of their happiness or their life satisfaction. A problem of such measurements is that people have no incentives to tell the truth. To solve this problem and make those measurements incentive compatible, I will introduce a new market institution, called Bayesian markets.
Imagine we ask people whether they are happy with their life. On Bayesian markets, they will trade an asset whose value is the proportion of people answering Yes. Only those answering Yes will have the right to buy the asset and those answering No the right to sell it. Bayesian updating implies that “Yes” agents predict a higher value of the asset than “No” agents do and, consequently, “Yes” agents want to buy it while “No” agents want to sell it. I will show that truth-telling is then the optimal strategy.
Bayesian markets reward truth-telling the same way as prediction markets (betting markets) reward people for reporting their true subjective probabilities about observable events. Yet, unlike prediction markets, they do not require events to be objectively observable. Bayesian markets apply to any type of unverifiable truths, from one’s own happiness to beliefs about events that will never be observed.
The present research program will first establish the theoretical foundations of Bayesian markets. It will then develop the proper methodology to implement them. Finally, it will disseminate the use of Bayesian markets via applications.
The first application will demonstrate how degrees of expertise can be measured and will apply it to risks related to climate change and nuclear power plants. It will contribute to the political debate by shedding new light on what true experts think about these risks. The second application will provide the first incentivized measures of life satisfaction and happiness.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2020-12-31
Project acronym BREATHE
Project Biochemically modified messenger RNA encoding nucleases for in vivo gene correction of severe inherited lung diseases
Researcher (PI) Michael Kormann
Host Institution (HI) EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS7, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Surfactant Protein B (SP-B) deficiency and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are severe, fatal inherited diseases affecting the lungs of ten thousands of people, for which there is currently no available cure. Although gene therapy is a promising therapeutic approach, various technical problems, including numerous physical and immune-mediated barriers, have prevented successful application to date. My recent studies were the first to demonstrate the life-saving efficacy of repeated pulmonary delivery of chemically modified messenger RNA (mRNA) in a mouse model of congenital SP-B deficiency. By incorporating balanced amounts of modified nucleotides to mimic endogenous transcripts, I developed a safe and therapeutically efficient vehicle for lung transfection that eliminates the risk of genomic integration commonly associated with DNA-based vectors. I also assessed the delivery of mRNA-encoded site-specific nucleases to the lung to facilitate targeted gene correction of the underlying disease-causing mutations. In comprehensive studies, we show that a single application of nucleases encoded by nucleotide-modified RNA (nec-mRNA) can generate in vivo correction of terminally differentiated alveolar type II cells, which more than quadrupled the life span of SP-B deficient mice. Together with my working group, I aim to further develop this technology to enhance the efficiency and safety of nec-mRNA-mediated in vivo lung stem cell targeting, providing an ultimate cure by permanent correction. Specifically, we will test this approach in humanized mouse models of SP-B deficiency and CF. Developing and genetically engineering humanized models in vivo will be a critical step towards the safe translation of mRNA based nuclease technology to the clinic. With my competitive edge in lung-transfection technology and strong data, I feel that my group is uniquely suited to achieve these goals and to make a highly valuable contribution to the development of an efficient treatment.
Summary
Surfactant Protein B (SP-B) deficiency and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are severe, fatal inherited diseases affecting the lungs of ten thousands of people, for which there is currently no available cure. Although gene therapy is a promising therapeutic approach, various technical problems, including numerous physical and immune-mediated barriers, have prevented successful application to date. My recent studies were the first to demonstrate the life-saving efficacy of repeated pulmonary delivery of chemically modified messenger RNA (mRNA) in a mouse model of congenital SP-B deficiency. By incorporating balanced amounts of modified nucleotides to mimic endogenous transcripts, I developed a safe and therapeutically efficient vehicle for lung transfection that eliminates the risk of genomic integration commonly associated with DNA-based vectors. I also assessed the delivery of mRNA-encoded site-specific nucleases to the lung to facilitate targeted gene correction of the underlying disease-causing mutations. In comprehensive studies, we show that a single application of nucleases encoded by nucleotide-modified RNA (nec-mRNA) can generate in vivo correction of terminally differentiated alveolar type II cells, which more than quadrupled the life span of SP-B deficient mice. Together with my working group, I aim to further develop this technology to enhance the efficiency and safety of nec-mRNA-mediated in vivo lung stem cell targeting, providing an ultimate cure by permanent correction. Specifically, we will test this approach in humanized mouse models of SP-B deficiency and CF. Developing and genetically engineering humanized models in vivo will be a critical step towards the safe translation of mRNA based nuclease technology to the clinic. With my competitive edge in lung-transfection technology and strong data, I feel that my group is uniquely suited to achieve these goals and to make a highly valuable contribution to the development of an efficient treatment.
Max ERC Funding
1 497 125 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2020-03-31
Project acronym COAT
Project Collapse Of Atmospheric Turbulence
Researcher (PI) Bas Johannes Henricus Van de wiel
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary This project aims to predict the cessation of continuous turbulence in the evening boundary layer. The interaction between the lower atmosphere and the surface is studied in detail, as this plays a crucial role in the dynamics. Present generation forecasting models are incapable to predict whether or not turbulence will survive or collapse under cold conditions. In nature, both situations frequently occur and lead to completely different temperature signatures. As such, significant forecast errors are made, particularly in arctic regions and winter conditions. Therefore, prediction of turbulence collapse is highly relevant for weather and climate prediction.
Key innovation lies in our hypothesis. The collapse of turbulence is explained from a maximum sustainable heat flux hypothesis which foresees in an enforcing positive feedback between the atmosphere and the underlying surface. A comprehensive theory for the transition between the main two nocturnal regimes would be ground-breaking in meteorological literature.
We propose an integrated approach, which combines in-depth theoretical work, simulation with models of various hierarchy (DNS, LES, RANS), and observational analysis. Such comprehensive methodology is new with respect to the problem at hand. An innovative element is the usage of Direct Numerical Simulation in combination with dynamical surface interactions. This advanced technique fully resolves turbulent motions up to their smallest scale without the need to rely on subgrid closure assumptions. From a 10-year dataset (200m mast at Cabauw, Netherlands) nights are classified according to their turbulence characteristics. Multi-night composites are used as benchmark-cases to guide realistic numerical modelling. In the validation phase, generality of the results with respect to both climate and surface characteristics is assessed by comparison with the FLUXNET data-consortium, which operates on a long-term basis over 240 sites across the globe.
Summary
This project aims to predict the cessation of continuous turbulence in the evening boundary layer. The interaction between the lower atmosphere and the surface is studied in detail, as this plays a crucial role in the dynamics. Present generation forecasting models are incapable to predict whether or not turbulence will survive or collapse under cold conditions. In nature, both situations frequently occur and lead to completely different temperature signatures. As such, significant forecast errors are made, particularly in arctic regions and winter conditions. Therefore, prediction of turbulence collapse is highly relevant for weather and climate prediction.
Key innovation lies in our hypothesis. The collapse of turbulence is explained from a maximum sustainable heat flux hypothesis which foresees in an enforcing positive feedback between the atmosphere and the underlying surface. A comprehensive theory for the transition between the main two nocturnal regimes would be ground-breaking in meteorological literature.
We propose an integrated approach, which combines in-depth theoretical work, simulation with models of various hierarchy (DNS, LES, RANS), and observational analysis. Such comprehensive methodology is new with respect to the problem at hand. An innovative element is the usage of Direct Numerical Simulation in combination with dynamical surface interactions. This advanced technique fully resolves turbulent motions up to their smallest scale without the need to rely on subgrid closure assumptions. From a 10-year dataset (200m mast at Cabauw, Netherlands) nights are classified according to their turbulence characteristics. Multi-night composites are used as benchmark-cases to guide realistic numerical modelling. In the validation phase, generality of the results with respect to both climate and surface characteristics is assessed by comparison with the FLUXNET data-consortium, which operates on a long-term basis over 240 sites across the globe.
Max ERC Funding
1 659 580 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2020-12-31
Project acronym COBHUNI
Project Contemporary Bioethics and the History of the Unborn in Islam
Researcher (PI) Thomas Alexander Eich
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary COBHUNI will for the first time provide a comprehensive investigation of the History of the Unborn in Islam until today. This aims at diversifying our understanding of how pre-natal life is conceptualized in texts of Islamic normativity. At the center will be the analysis of statements in the Qur’an and the prophetic sayings (Hadith) relating to the unborn and the commentary tradition which evolved around them over ca. the last millennium. The objectives of COBHUNI: 1. Thematically: Showing how processes of communication a) between religious communities, b) different regions within the Muslim community, and c) the emergence of modern medicine impacted on the imagination of the unborn. 2. Conceptually: Drawing on three new approaches in the study of Islam: a) emergence of Islam within the context of late antiquity, b) canonization studies, and c) study of exegetical literature. 3. Methodologically: Developing and applying computerlinguistic approaches to Arabic text material and thus improving significantly on the state of the art of Arabic Digital Humanities. The realization will encompass the analysis of the text material along two axes. Vertical axis: citations and cross-referencing within the exegetical tradition; Horizontal axis: contextualizing the exegesis and scrutinizing links to other genres. I have been working on contemporary Islamic Bioethics since 2003 and since 2008 I have broadened my research to the historical scope of the topic. With my comprehensive experience in the study of Contemporary Islamic Bioethics and historical texts from Islamic Normativity and my knowledge in the study of Arabic Qur’an and Hadith exegesis I will be able to successfully lead this cutting-edge project. My team will generate additional data and enhance the IT applications necessary for its analysis. My project will offer powerful approaches to show the complex web of influences impacting on the imaginations of the unborn in Islam.
Summary
COBHUNI will for the first time provide a comprehensive investigation of the History of the Unborn in Islam until today. This aims at diversifying our understanding of how pre-natal life is conceptualized in texts of Islamic normativity. At the center will be the analysis of statements in the Qur’an and the prophetic sayings (Hadith) relating to the unborn and the commentary tradition which evolved around them over ca. the last millennium. The objectives of COBHUNI: 1. Thematically: Showing how processes of communication a) between religious communities, b) different regions within the Muslim community, and c) the emergence of modern medicine impacted on the imagination of the unborn. 2. Conceptually: Drawing on three new approaches in the study of Islam: a) emergence of Islam within the context of late antiquity, b) canonization studies, and c) study of exegetical literature. 3. Methodologically: Developing and applying computerlinguistic approaches to Arabic text material and thus improving significantly on the state of the art of Arabic Digital Humanities. The realization will encompass the analysis of the text material along two axes. Vertical axis: citations and cross-referencing within the exegetical tradition; Horizontal axis: contextualizing the exegesis and scrutinizing links to other genres. I have been working on contemporary Islamic Bioethics since 2003 and since 2008 I have broadened my research to the historical scope of the topic. With my comprehensive experience in the study of Contemporary Islamic Bioethics and historical texts from Islamic Normativity and my knowledge in the study of Arabic Qur’an and Hadith exegesis I will be able to successfully lead this cutting-edge project. My team will generate additional data and enhance the IT applications necessary for its analysis. My project will offer powerful approaches to show the complex web of influences impacting on the imaginations of the unborn in Islam.
Max ERC Funding
1 956 338 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31
Project acronym COMBIOSCOPY
Project Computational Biophotonics for Endoscopic Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy
Researcher (PI) Lena Maier-Hein
Host Institution (HI) DEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM HEIDELBERG
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS7, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Key challenges in endoscopic tumor diagnosis and therapy consist of the detection and discrimination of malignant tissue as well as the precise navigation of medical instruments. Currently, a low level of sensitivity and specificity in tumor detection and lack of global orientation lead to both over- and undertreatment, tumor recurrence, intra-operative complications, and high costs. The goal of this multidisciplinary project is to revolutionize clinical endoscopic imaging based on the systematic integration of two new but independant fields of research up until this point: Biophotonics and computer-assisted interventions (COMputational BIOphotonics in endoSCOPY).
For the first time, quantitative multi-modal imaging biomarkers based on structural and functional data are being developed to enhance the physician’s view by providing information that cannot be seen with the naked eye. To this extent, white light images co-registered with multispectral optical and photoacoustic images will be processed in a combined manner to dynamically reconstruct not only the visible surface in 3D but also subsurface anatomical and functional detail such as 3D vessel topology, blood volume and oxygenation. Spatio-temporal registration of multi-modal data acquired before and during the procedure will enable (1) the highly specific local tissue classification and discrimination based on tissue shape, texture, function and radiological contrast imagery as well as (2) global context-aware instrument guidance.
This innovative approach to radiation-free real-time imaging will be implemented and evaluated by means of computer-assisted colonoscopy and laparoscopy. The potential socioeconomic impact of providing high precision minimally-invasive tumor diagnosis and therapy at low cost is extremely high.
Summary
Key challenges in endoscopic tumor diagnosis and therapy consist of the detection and discrimination of malignant tissue as well as the precise navigation of medical instruments. Currently, a low level of sensitivity and specificity in tumor detection and lack of global orientation lead to both over- and undertreatment, tumor recurrence, intra-operative complications, and high costs. The goal of this multidisciplinary project is to revolutionize clinical endoscopic imaging based on the systematic integration of two new but independant fields of research up until this point: Biophotonics and computer-assisted interventions (COMputational BIOphotonics in endoSCOPY).
For the first time, quantitative multi-modal imaging biomarkers based on structural and functional data are being developed to enhance the physician’s view by providing information that cannot be seen with the naked eye. To this extent, white light images co-registered with multispectral optical and photoacoustic images will be processed in a combined manner to dynamically reconstruct not only the visible surface in 3D but also subsurface anatomical and functional detail such as 3D vessel topology, blood volume and oxygenation. Spatio-temporal registration of multi-modal data acquired before and during the procedure will enable (1) the highly specific local tissue classification and discrimination based on tissue shape, texture, function and radiological contrast imagery as well as (2) global context-aware instrument guidance.
This innovative approach to radiation-free real-time imaging will be implemented and evaluated by means of computer-assisted colonoscopy and laparoscopy. The potential socioeconomic impact of providing high precision minimally-invasive tumor diagnosis and therapy at low cost is extremely high.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 699 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30
Project acronym CONNECTINGEUROPE
Project Digital Crossings in Europe: Gender, Diaspora and Belonging
Researcher (PI) Sandra Ponzanesi
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Many immigrants enter Europe both legally and illegally every year. This creates multiple challenges for the Union, including the gender and ethnic segregation of migrant groups, especially women. While it strives for an inclusive and integrated society as envisioned by the EU motto ‘Unity in Diversity’, it is still often perceived more as ‘Fortress Europe.’ This project focuses on the ‘connected migrant’, studying how virtual communities of migrants, or digital diasporas, convey issues of technology, migration, globalisation, alienation and belonging capturing the lives of migrants in their interaction with multiple worlds and media.
More specifically, it will investigate whether digital technologies enhance European integration or foster gender and ethnic segregation, and, if so, how. Using a multi-layered and cutting-edge approach that draws from the humanities, social science and new media studies (i.e. internet studies and mobile media), this research considers: 1. How migration and digital technologies enable digital diasporas (Somali, Turkish, Romanian) and the impact these have on identity, gender and belonging in European urban centres; 2. How these entanglements are connected to and perceived from outside Europe by focusing on transnational ties; and 3. How digital connections create new possibilities for cosmopolitan outlooks, rearticulating Europe’s motto of ‘Unity in Diversity.’
The outcomes of this work will be innovative at three levels. a) Empirically, the project gathers, maps and critically grounds online behaviour by migrant women from a European comparative perspective. b) Methodologically, it breaks new ground by developing new methods of analysis for digital diasporas contributing to the development of ‘postcolonial’ digital humanities. c) Conceptually, it integrates colonial and migrant relations into the idea of Europe, elaborating on the notion of cosmopolitan belonging through virtual connectivity.
Summary
Many immigrants enter Europe both legally and illegally every year. This creates multiple challenges for the Union, including the gender and ethnic segregation of migrant groups, especially women. While it strives for an inclusive and integrated society as envisioned by the EU motto ‘Unity in Diversity’, it is still often perceived more as ‘Fortress Europe.’ This project focuses on the ‘connected migrant’, studying how virtual communities of migrants, or digital diasporas, convey issues of technology, migration, globalisation, alienation and belonging capturing the lives of migrants in their interaction with multiple worlds and media.
More specifically, it will investigate whether digital technologies enhance European integration or foster gender and ethnic segregation, and, if so, how. Using a multi-layered and cutting-edge approach that draws from the humanities, social science and new media studies (i.e. internet studies and mobile media), this research considers: 1. How migration and digital technologies enable digital diasporas (Somali, Turkish, Romanian) and the impact these have on identity, gender and belonging in European urban centres; 2. How these entanglements are connected to and perceived from outside Europe by focusing on transnational ties; and 3. How digital connections create new possibilities for cosmopolitan outlooks, rearticulating Europe’s motto of ‘Unity in Diversity.’
The outcomes of this work will be innovative at three levels. a) Empirically, the project gathers, maps and critically grounds online behaviour by migrant women from a European comparative perspective. b) Methodologically, it breaks new ground by developing new methods of analysis for digital diasporas contributing to the development of ‘postcolonial’ digital humanities. c) Conceptually, it integrates colonial and migrant relations into the idea of Europe, elaborating on the notion of cosmopolitan belonging through virtual connectivity.
Max ERC Funding
1 992 809 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2020-12-31
