Project acronym AnonymClassic
Project The Arabic Anonymous in a World Classic
Researcher (PI) Beatrice GRUENDLER
Host Institution (HI) FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH5, ERC-2016-ADG
Summary AnonymClassic is the first ever comprehensive study of Kalila and Dimna (a book of wisdom in fable form), a text of premodern world literature. Its spread is comparable to that of the Bible, except that it passed from Hinduism and Buddhism via Islam to Christianity. Its Arabic version, produced in the 8th century, when this was the lingua franca of the Near East, became the source of all further translations up to the 19th century. The work’s multilingual history involving circa forty languages has never been systematically studied. The absence of available research has made world literature ignore it, while scholars of Arabic avoided it because of its widely diverging manuscripts, so that the actual shape of the Arabic key version is still in need of investigation. AnonymClassic tests a number of ‘high-risk’ propositions, including three key hypotheses: 1) The anonymous Arabic copyists of Kalila and Dimna are de facto co-authors, 2) their agency is comparable to that of the named medieval translators, and 3) the fluctuation of the Arabic versions is conditioned by the work’s fictional status. AnonymClassic’s methodology relies on a cross-lingual narratological analysis of the Arabic versions and all medieval translations (supported by a synoptic digital edition), which takes precisely the interventions at each stage of transmission (redaction, translation) as its subject. Considering the work’s paths of dissemination from India to Europe, AnonymClassic will challenge the prevalent Western theoretical lens on world literature conceived ‘from above’ with the view ‘from below,’ based on the attested cross-cultural network constituted by its versions. AnonymClassic will introduce a new paradigm of an East-Western literary continuum with Arabic as a cultural bridge. Against the current background of Europe’s diversifying and multicultural society, AnonymClassic purposes to integrate pre-modern Near Eastern literature and culture into our understanding of Global Culture.
Summary
AnonymClassic is the first ever comprehensive study of Kalila and Dimna (a book of wisdom in fable form), a text of premodern world literature. Its spread is comparable to that of the Bible, except that it passed from Hinduism and Buddhism via Islam to Christianity. Its Arabic version, produced in the 8th century, when this was the lingua franca of the Near East, became the source of all further translations up to the 19th century. The work’s multilingual history involving circa forty languages has never been systematically studied. The absence of available research has made world literature ignore it, while scholars of Arabic avoided it because of its widely diverging manuscripts, so that the actual shape of the Arabic key version is still in need of investigation. AnonymClassic tests a number of ‘high-risk’ propositions, including three key hypotheses: 1) The anonymous Arabic copyists of Kalila and Dimna are de facto co-authors, 2) their agency is comparable to that of the named medieval translators, and 3) the fluctuation of the Arabic versions is conditioned by the work’s fictional status. AnonymClassic’s methodology relies on a cross-lingual narratological analysis of the Arabic versions and all medieval translations (supported by a synoptic digital edition), which takes precisely the interventions at each stage of transmission (redaction, translation) as its subject. Considering the work’s paths of dissemination from India to Europe, AnonymClassic will challenge the prevalent Western theoretical lens on world literature conceived ‘from above’ with the view ‘from below,’ based on the attested cross-cultural network constituted by its versions. AnonymClassic will introduce a new paradigm of an East-Western literary continuum with Arabic as a cultural bridge. Against the current background of Europe’s diversifying and multicultural society, AnonymClassic purposes to integrate pre-modern Near Eastern literature and culture into our understanding of Global Culture.
Max ERC Funding
2 435 113 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-01-01, End date: 2022-12-31
Project acronym BuddhistRoad
Project Dynamics in Buddhist Networks in Eastern Central Asia, 6th-14th Centuries
Researcher (PI) Carmen Else Maria Angelika MEINERT
Host Institution (HI) RUHR-UNIVERSITAET BOCHUM
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2016-COG
Summary The objective of this proposal is to create a new framework to enable understanding of the complexities in the dynamics of cultural encounter and religious transfer in pre-modern Eastern Central Asia—the vast area extending from the Taklamakan desert to Northeast China. This region was the crossroads of ancient civilisations. Its uniqueness was determined by complex dynamics of religious and cultural exchanges gravitating around an ancient communication artery, known as the Silk Road. Buddhism was one major factor in this exchange; its transfer predetermined the transfer of adjacent aspects of culture. The religious exchange involved a variety of cultures and civilisations, which were modified and shaped by their adoption of Buddhism. This process overrode the ethnic and linguistic boundaries of the Buddhist universe. One specific aspect of this process was the rise of the local forms of Buddhism. This project intends to investigate such Buddhist localisations between the 6th–14th centuries.
I will create a new trans-regional and trans-cultural vision of the religious transfer in Eastern Central Asian history and will reconstruct this Buddhist network with its entities and relations. It will incorporate the fascinating, but as yet under-researched field of Eastern Central Asian Buddhism into a broader research agenda of Comparative Religious Studies. It will establish a new research approach by bringing together many research fields and agendas (such as Philology, Art History, Archaeology, Religious Studies) into one synthesising narrative based on a unique perspective, in which, religious exchange in Eastern Central Asia will be analysed as a dynamic network emerging in its spatial and temporal aspects. For the first time the multi-layered relationships between the trans-regional Buddhist traditions (Chinese, Indian, Tibetan) and those based on local Buddhist cultures (Khotanese, Uyghur, Tangut, Kitan) will be explored in a systematic way.
Summary
The objective of this proposal is to create a new framework to enable understanding of the complexities in the dynamics of cultural encounter and religious transfer in pre-modern Eastern Central Asia—the vast area extending from the Taklamakan desert to Northeast China. This region was the crossroads of ancient civilisations. Its uniqueness was determined by complex dynamics of religious and cultural exchanges gravitating around an ancient communication artery, known as the Silk Road. Buddhism was one major factor in this exchange; its transfer predetermined the transfer of adjacent aspects of culture. The religious exchange involved a variety of cultures and civilisations, which were modified and shaped by their adoption of Buddhism. This process overrode the ethnic and linguistic boundaries of the Buddhist universe. One specific aspect of this process was the rise of the local forms of Buddhism. This project intends to investigate such Buddhist localisations between the 6th–14th centuries.
I will create a new trans-regional and trans-cultural vision of the religious transfer in Eastern Central Asian history and will reconstruct this Buddhist network with its entities and relations. It will incorporate the fascinating, but as yet under-researched field of Eastern Central Asian Buddhism into a broader research agenda of Comparative Religious Studies. It will establish a new research approach by bringing together many research fields and agendas (such as Philology, Art History, Archaeology, Religious Studies) into one synthesising narrative based on a unique perspective, in which, religious exchange in Eastern Central Asia will be analysed as a dynamic network emerging in its spatial and temporal aspects. For the first time the multi-layered relationships between the trans-regional Buddhist traditions (Chinese, Indian, Tibetan) and those based on local Buddhist cultures (Khotanese, Uyghur, Tangut, Kitan) will be explored in a systematic way.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 717 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-08-01, End date: 2022-07-31
Project acronym C18Signaling
Project Regulation of Cellular Growth and Metabolism by C18:0
Researcher (PI) Aurelio TELEMAN
Host Institution (HI) DEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM HEIDELBERG
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS3, ERC-2016-COG
Summary My lab studies how cells regulate their growth and metabolism during normal development and in disease. Recent work in my lab, published last year in Nature, identified the metabolite stearic acid (C18:0) as a novel regulator of mitochondrial function. We showed that dietary C18:0 acts via a novel signaling route whereby it covalently modifies the cell-surface Transferrin Receptor (TfR1) to regulate mitochondrial morphology. We found that modification of TfR1 by C18:0 ('stearoylation') is analogous to protein palmitoylation by C16:0 - it is a covalent thio-ester link and requires a transferase enzyme. This work made two conceptual contributions. 1) It uncovered a novel signaling route regulating mitochondrial function. 2) Relevant to this grant application, we found by mass spectrometry multiple other proteins that are stearoylated in mammalian cells. This thereby opens a new avenue of research, suggesting that C18:0 signals via several target proteins to regulate cellular growth and metabolism. I propose here to study this C18:0 signaling.
To study C18:0 signaling we will exploit tools recently developed in my lab to 1) identify as complete a set as possible of proteins that are stearoylated in human and Drosophila cells, thereby characterizing the cellular 'stearylome', 2) study how stearoylation affects the molecular function of these target proteins, and thereby cellular growth and metabolism, and 3) study how stearoylation is added, and possibly removed, from target proteins.
This work will change the way we view C18:0 from simply being a metabolite to being an important dietary signaling molecule that links nutritional uptake to cellular physiology. Via unknown mechanisms, dietary C18:0 is clinically known to have special properties for cardiovascular risk. Hence this proposal, discovering how C18:0 signals to regulate cells, will have implications for both normal development and for disease.
Summary
My lab studies how cells regulate their growth and metabolism during normal development and in disease. Recent work in my lab, published last year in Nature, identified the metabolite stearic acid (C18:0) as a novel regulator of mitochondrial function. We showed that dietary C18:0 acts via a novel signaling route whereby it covalently modifies the cell-surface Transferrin Receptor (TfR1) to regulate mitochondrial morphology. We found that modification of TfR1 by C18:0 ('stearoylation') is analogous to protein palmitoylation by C16:0 - it is a covalent thio-ester link and requires a transferase enzyme. This work made two conceptual contributions. 1) It uncovered a novel signaling route regulating mitochondrial function. 2) Relevant to this grant application, we found by mass spectrometry multiple other proteins that are stearoylated in mammalian cells. This thereby opens a new avenue of research, suggesting that C18:0 signals via several target proteins to regulate cellular growth and metabolism. I propose here to study this C18:0 signaling.
To study C18:0 signaling we will exploit tools recently developed in my lab to 1) identify as complete a set as possible of proteins that are stearoylated in human and Drosophila cells, thereby characterizing the cellular 'stearylome', 2) study how stearoylation affects the molecular function of these target proteins, and thereby cellular growth and metabolism, and 3) study how stearoylation is added, and possibly removed, from target proteins.
This work will change the way we view C18:0 from simply being a metabolite to being an important dietary signaling molecule that links nutritional uptake to cellular physiology. Via unknown mechanisms, dietary C18:0 is clinically known to have special properties for cardiovascular risk. Hence this proposal, discovering how C18:0 signals to regulate cells, will have implications for both normal development and for disease.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym CILIARYDISEASE
Project Deciphering mechanisms of ciliary disease
Researcher (PI) Heiko Lickert
Host Institution (HI) HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUENCHEN DEUTSCHES FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM FUER GESUNDHEIT UND UMWELT GMBH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS3, ERC-2009-StG
Summary Ciliopathies are pleiotropic diseases with a wide spectrum of human phenotypes. These include cyst formation in the liver and pancreas, respiratory disorders and a predisposition to diabetes and cancer. The pleiotropic nature of these disorders may reflect the many roles cilia play in physiology and signalling, highlighting the clinical importance of understanding their function in organ development and homeostasis. Despite the biological importance of cilia and decades of research, many aspects of cilia assembly and disassembly remain elusive. The earliest steps of cilia assembly involve conversion of the centrosome into a basal body, which anchors the cilia to the plasma membrane. Odf2 is one of the only proteins known to be important for this process, thus Ofd2 mutant cells lack cilia. During cell cycle re-entry primary cilia disassemble, the basal body dislodges from the plasma membrane and duplicates to serve as the mitotic centrosome. We recently identified Pitchfork, which functions in basal body-to-centrosome conversion and regulates embryonic patterning. The overall aim of this proposal is to better understand the cellular and bio-molecular mechanisms underlying ciliary disease. We will conditionally delete Odf2 and Pitchfork during embryogenesis and organogenesis. This will reveal the different requirements for the process of cilia assembly and disassembly in embryonic development, organ formation and homeostasis. The phenotypes will be analyzed at all levels of complexity. Subcellular imaging and identification of protein interaction partners will uncover the molecular basis of cilia assembly and disassembly. In summary, this project will decipher mechanisms underlying a wide spectrum of human ciliary disease and will open new avenues of clinical research.
Summary
Ciliopathies are pleiotropic diseases with a wide spectrum of human phenotypes. These include cyst formation in the liver and pancreas, respiratory disorders and a predisposition to diabetes and cancer. The pleiotropic nature of these disorders may reflect the many roles cilia play in physiology and signalling, highlighting the clinical importance of understanding their function in organ development and homeostasis. Despite the biological importance of cilia and decades of research, many aspects of cilia assembly and disassembly remain elusive. The earliest steps of cilia assembly involve conversion of the centrosome into a basal body, which anchors the cilia to the plasma membrane. Odf2 is one of the only proteins known to be important for this process, thus Ofd2 mutant cells lack cilia. During cell cycle re-entry primary cilia disassemble, the basal body dislodges from the plasma membrane and duplicates to serve as the mitotic centrosome. We recently identified Pitchfork, which functions in basal body-to-centrosome conversion and regulates embryonic patterning. The overall aim of this proposal is to better understand the cellular and bio-molecular mechanisms underlying ciliary disease. We will conditionally delete Odf2 and Pitchfork during embryogenesis and organogenesis. This will reveal the different requirements for the process of cilia assembly and disassembly in embryonic development, organ formation and homeostasis. The phenotypes will be analyzed at all levels of complexity. Subcellular imaging and identification of protein interaction partners will uncover the molecular basis of cilia assembly and disassembly. In summary, this project will decipher mechanisms underlying a wide spectrum of human ciliary disease and will open new avenues of clinical research.
Max ERC Funding
1 449 640 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-02-01, End date: 2015-01-31
Project acronym CODE4Vision
Project Computational Dissection of Effective Circuitry and Encoding in the Retina for Normal and Restored Vision
Researcher (PI) Tim Gollisch
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN GOETTINGEN - GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITAET GOETTINGEN - STIFTUNG OEFFENTLICHEN RECHTS
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS5, ERC-2016-COG
Summary Understanding how neural circuits process and encode information is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. For the neural network of the retina, such knowledge is also of concrete importance for the development of vision restoration therapies for patients suffering from degeneration of photoreceptors. Artificial stimulation of retinal neurons through electronic implants or inserted light-sensitive proteins (“optogenetics”) aims at reconstructing natural transmission of visual information to the brain. Recreating natural retinal activity, however, will require a thorough understanding of the complex and diverse neural code of the retina. The challenge lies in deciphering the various nonlinear operations and dynamics in the around 30 parallel signalling streams that emerge from the retina, represented by as many types of ganglion cells, the retina’s output neurons.
The CODE4Vision project will tackle this challenge by identifying the effective connectivity between the different types of retinal ganglion cells and their excitatory presynaptic partners, bipolar cells, and by determining the features of information processing between these neuronal layers. We will characterize the layout of bipolar cell inputs to large populations of ganglion cells with novel analyses that we derive from computational statistics and machine learning. We will then study the nonlinear and dynamical features of these connections by designing closed-loop experiments that automatically adjust visual stimuli to the identified layout of bipolar cells. These analyses will be supplemented by direct measurements of connections through simultaneous bipolar and ganglion cell recordings. The results will pave the way towards new models of how the retina encodes natural visual stimuli. Finally, we will apply this knowledge to mouse models of optogenetic vision restoration in order to develop stimulation schemes that emulate natural retinal stimulus encoding.
Summary
Understanding how neural circuits process and encode information is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. For the neural network of the retina, such knowledge is also of concrete importance for the development of vision restoration therapies for patients suffering from degeneration of photoreceptors. Artificial stimulation of retinal neurons through electronic implants or inserted light-sensitive proteins (“optogenetics”) aims at reconstructing natural transmission of visual information to the brain. Recreating natural retinal activity, however, will require a thorough understanding of the complex and diverse neural code of the retina. The challenge lies in deciphering the various nonlinear operations and dynamics in the around 30 parallel signalling streams that emerge from the retina, represented by as many types of ganglion cells, the retina’s output neurons.
The CODE4Vision project will tackle this challenge by identifying the effective connectivity between the different types of retinal ganglion cells and their excitatory presynaptic partners, bipolar cells, and by determining the features of information processing between these neuronal layers. We will characterize the layout of bipolar cell inputs to large populations of ganglion cells with novel analyses that we derive from computational statistics and machine learning. We will then study the nonlinear and dynamical features of these connections by designing closed-loop experiments that automatically adjust visual stimuli to the identified layout of bipolar cells. These analyses will be supplemented by direct measurements of connections through simultaneous bipolar and ganglion cell recordings. The results will pave the way towards new models of how the retina encodes natural visual stimuli. Finally, we will apply this knowledge to mouse models of optogenetic vision restoration in order to develop stimulation schemes that emulate natural retinal stimulus encoding.
Max ERC Funding
1 991 445 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym Cosmic_Gas
Project Mapping the Cosmic Gas Supply with ALMA
Researcher (PI) Fabian WALTER
Host Institution (HI) MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2016-ADG
Summary The molecular gas phase is the material in galaxies out of which stars form. As such, it is the quantity that controls the star formation rate of a galaxy, thereby the overall stellar mass build-up, and ultimately galaxy evolution through cosmic times. In contrast to studies of the stellar mass and star formation, characterizing this fuel supply in galaxies as a function of cosmic epoch is still in its infancy. The ALMA facility now redefines our ability to map out the cosmic cold gas supply, essentially unknown at present. This ERC proposal is based on extensive approved observational ALMA programs, led by the PI: ASPECS is the first-ever approved ALMA large (150h) program, aimed at providing a comprehensive view of the baryon cycle from gas to stars over cosmic time. ASPECS will provide 3D molecular scans in two ALMA bands of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field -- the iconic cosmological deep field. A second focus is the detailed characterization of the molecular gas content at z>6 in host galaxies of the most distant quasars via ALMA. This will assess the role of cold gas in the build-up of the first (t_Universe < 1 Gyr) massive cosmic structures in the Universe, again through significant approved ALMA programs led by the PI’s group. The studies outlined here will fully capitalize on the unparalleled capabilities of ALMA to map out the cosmic gas supply through cosmic history, and will provide crucial insights to define observational strategies for JWST (the PI is member of the European JWST/MIRI science team). Through his track record, past achievements in the field of galaxy evolution studies, and through the available proprietary data, the PI is uniquely positioned to lead this ambitious program, which will define the global state-of-the-art in cosmological galaxy evolution through high-redshift ISM studies.
Summary
The molecular gas phase is the material in galaxies out of which stars form. As such, it is the quantity that controls the star formation rate of a galaxy, thereby the overall stellar mass build-up, and ultimately galaxy evolution through cosmic times. In contrast to studies of the stellar mass and star formation, characterizing this fuel supply in galaxies as a function of cosmic epoch is still in its infancy. The ALMA facility now redefines our ability to map out the cosmic cold gas supply, essentially unknown at present. This ERC proposal is based on extensive approved observational ALMA programs, led by the PI: ASPECS is the first-ever approved ALMA large (150h) program, aimed at providing a comprehensive view of the baryon cycle from gas to stars over cosmic time. ASPECS will provide 3D molecular scans in two ALMA bands of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field -- the iconic cosmological deep field. A second focus is the detailed characterization of the molecular gas content at z>6 in host galaxies of the most distant quasars via ALMA. This will assess the role of cold gas in the build-up of the first (t_Universe < 1 Gyr) massive cosmic structures in the Universe, again through significant approved ALMA programs led by the PI’s group. The studies outlined here will fully capitalize on the unparalleled capabilities of ALMA to map out the cosmic gas supply through cosmic history, and will provide crucial insights to define observational strategies for JWST (the PI is member of the European JWST/MIRI science team). Through his track record, past achievements in the field of galaxy evolution studies, and through the available proprietary data, the PI is uniquely positioned to lead this ambitious program, which will define the global state-of-the-art in cosmological galaxy evolution through high-redshift ISM studies.
Max ERC Funding
2 457 500 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-11-01, End date: 2022-10-31
Project acronym DeepLight
Project Deep imaging with time-reversed light
Researcher (PI) Benjamin JUDKEWITZ
Host Institution (HI) CHARITE - UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN BERLIN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Microscopy enabled the birth of modern neuroscience, by allowing Ramón y Cajal to formulate the neuron doctrine. Since then, remarkable advances in optical resolution, speed and probe development allowed scientists to study the function of neuronal circuits with ever increasing detail – with one critical limitation: No conventional microscope can focus light deeper into intact tissue than a fraction of a mm. This leaves 90% of the intact rodent brain and over 99% of the intact primate brain inaccessible. As a result, the deepest layers of the neocortex and nearly all subcortical structures are currently outside the reach of non-invasive microscopy, representing a fundamental barrier towards further progress in understanding the brain.
Existing fluorescence microscopy techniques, such as confocal and two-photon microscopy, attempt to image deeper by rejecting scattered light or by selecting non-scattered (ballistic) photons for focusing. However, beyond depths of several hundred µm this approach becomes futile because hardly any ballistic photons remain.
We recently achieved two breakthroughs by turning this strategy upside down and focusing with scattered photons: First, we developed a new approach for fluorescence microscopy that uses a process called optical time reversal, with which we achieved an unprecedented imaging depth of 2.5 mm in ex vivo tissue. Second, we discovered a correlational structure of scattered light, which can be exploited for deep tissue imaging.
Still, fundamental challenges remain for in vivo imaging. The goal of this proposal is to break the depth barrier of microscopy and investigate previously unreachable areas of the live brain, by harnessing optical time reversal and scattering correlations. We will demonstrate the power of this approach in layer 6b, the deepest and least understood layer of the mammalian neocortex. This project will thus enable functional imaging of neuronal circuitry at depths that have until now been inaccessible.
Summary
Microscopy enabled the birth of modern neuroscience, by allowing Ramón y Cajal to formulate the neuron doctrine. Since then, remarkable advances in optical resolution, speed and probe development allowed scientists to study the function of neuronal circuits with ever increasing detail – with one critical limitation: No conventional microscope can focus light deeper into intact tissue than a fraction of a mm. This leaves 90% of the intact rodent brain and over 99% of the intact primate brain inaccessible. As a result, the deepest layers of the neocortex and nearly all subcortical structures are currently outside the reach of non-invasive microscopy, representing a fundamental barrier towards further progress in understanding the brain.
Existing fluorescence microscopy techniques, such as confocal and two-photon microscopy, attempt to image deeper by rejecting scattered light or by selecting non-scattered (ballistic) photons for focusing. However, beyond depths of several hundred µm this approach becomes futile because hardly any ballistic photons remain.
We recently achieved two breakthroughs by turning this strategy upside down and focusing with scattered photons: First, we developed a new approach for fluorescence microscopy that uses a process called optical time reversal, with which we achieved an unprecedented imaging depth of 2.5 mm in ex vivo tissue. Second, we discovered a correlational structure of scattered light, which can be exploited for deep tissue imaging.
Still, fundamental challenges remain for in vivo imaging. The goal of this proposal is to break the depth barrier of microscopy and investigate previously unreachable areas of the live brain, by harnessing optical time reversal and scattering correlations. We will demonstrate the power of this approach in layer 6b, the deepest and least understood layer of the mammalian neocortex. This project will thus enable functional imaging of neuronal circuitry at depths that have until now been inaccessible.
Max ERC Funding
1 491 235 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-04-01, End date: 2022-03-31
Project acronym DemandDemoc
Project Demand for Democracy
Researcher (PI) Davide Werner CANTONI
Host Institution (HI) LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Historically, people around the world have demanded democratic institutions. Such democratic movements propel political change and also determine economic outcomes. In this project, we ask, how do political preferences, beliefs, and second-order beliefs shape the strategic decision to participate in a movement demanding democracy? Existing scholarship is unsatisfactory because it is conducted ex post: preferences, beliefs, and behavior have converged to a new equilibrium. In contrast, we examine a democratic movement in real time, studying the ongoing democracy movement in Hong Kong.
Our study is composed of four parts. In Part 1, we collect panel survey data from Hong Kong university students, a particularly politically active subpopulation. We collect data on preferences, behavior, beliefs, and second-order beliefs using incentivized and indirect elicitation to encourage truthful reporting. We analyze the associations among these variables to shed light on the drivers of participation in the democracy movement.
In Part 2, we exploit experimental variation in the provision of information to study political coordination. Among participants in the panel survey, we provide information regarding the preferences and beliefs of other students. We examine whether exposure to information regarding peers causes students to update their beliefs and change their behavior.
In Part 3, we extend the analysis in Part 1 to a nationally representative sample of Hong Kong citizens. To do so, we have added a module regarding political preferences, beliefs, and behavior (including incentivized questions and questions providing cover for responses to politically sensitive topics) to the HKPSSD panel survey.
In Part 4, we study preferences for redistribution – plausibly a central driver for demands for political rights – among Hong Kong citizens and mainland Chinese. We examine how these preferences differ across populations, as well as their link to support for democracy.
Summary
Historically, people around the world have demanded democratic institutions. Such democratic movements propel political change and also determine economic outcomes. In this project, we ask, how do political preferences, beliefs, and second-order beliefs shape the strategic decision to participate in a movement demanding democracy? Existing scholarship is unsatisfactory because it is conducted ex post: preferences, beliefs, and behavior have converged to a new equilibrium. In contrast, we examine a democratic movement in real time, studying the ongoing democracy movement in Hong Kong.
Our study is composed of four parts. In Part 1, we collect panel survey data from Hong Kong university students, a particularly politically active subpopulation. We collect data on preferences, behavior, beliefs, and second-order beliefs using incentivized and indirect elicitation to encourage truthful reporting. We analyze the associations among these variables to shed light on the drivers of participation in the democracy movement.
In Part 2, we exploit experimental variation in the provision of information to study political coordination. Among participants in the panel survey, we provide information regarding the preferences and beliefs of other students. We examine whether exposure to information regarding peers causes students to update their beliefs and change their behavior.
In Part 3, we extend the analysis in Part 1 to a nationally representative sample of Hong Kong citizens. To do so, we have added a module regarding political preferences, beliefs, and behavior (including incentivized questions and questions providing cover for responses to politically sensitive topics) to the HKPSSD panel survey.
In Part 4, we study preferences for redistribution – plausibly a central driver for demands for political rights – among Hong Kong citizens and mainland Chinese. We examine how these preferences differ across populations, as well as their link to support for democracy.
Max ERC Funding
1 494 647 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym DMD
Project Dynamic Mechanism Design: Theory and Applications
Researcher (PI) Benedict Moldovanu
Host Institution (HI) RHEINISCHE FRIEDRICH-WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT BONN
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary We plan to construct a theoretical bridge between classical dynamic allocation models used in Operations Research/Management Science, and between the modern theory of mechanism design. Our theoretical results will generate insights for the construction of applied pricing schemes and testable implications about the pattern of observed prices. The Economics literature has focused on information and incentive issues in static models, whereas the Operations Research/Management Science literature has looked at dynamic models that were often lacking strategic/ informational aspects. There is an increased recent interest in combining these bodies of knowledge, spurred by studies of yield management, and of decentralized platforms for interaction/ communication among agents. A general mechanism design analysis starts with the characterization of all dynamically implementable allocation policies. Variational arguments can be used then to characterize optimal policies. The research will focus on models with multidimensional incomplete information, such as: 1) Add incomplete information to the dynamic & stochastic knapsack problem; 2) Allow for strategic purchase time in dynamic pricing models; 3)Allow for competing mechanism designers. The ensuing control problems are often not standard and require special tools. An additional attack line will be devoted to models that combine design with learning about the environment. The information revealed by an agent affects then both the value of the current allocation, and the option value of future allocations. We plan to: 1) Derive the properties of learning processes that allow efficient, dynamic implementation; 2) Characterize second-best mechanism in cases where adaptive learning and efficiency are not compatible with each other.
Summary
We plan to construct a theoretical bridge between classical dynamic allocation models used in Operations Research/Management Science, and between the modern theory of mechanism design. Our theoretical results will generate insights for the construction of applied pricing schemes and testable implications about the pattern of observed prices. The Economics literature has focused on information and incentive issues in static models, whereas the Operations Research/Management Science literature has looked at dynamic models that were often lacking strategic/ informational aspects. There is an increased recent interest in combining these bodies of knowledge, spurred by studies of yield management, and of decentralized platforms for interaction/ communication among agents. A general mechanism design analysis starts with the characterization of all dynamically implementable allocation policies. Variational arguments can be used then to characterize optimal policies. The research will focus on models with multidimensional incomplete information, such as: 1) Add incomplete information to the dynamic & stochastic knapsack problem; 2) Allow for strategic purchase time in dynamic pricing models; 3)Allow for competing mechanism designers. The ensuing control problems are often not standard and require special tools. An additional attack line will be devoted to models that combine design with learning about the environment. The information revealed by an agent affects then both the value of the current allocation, and the option value of future allocations. We plan to: 1) Derive the properties of learning processes that allow efficient, dynamic implementation; 2) Characterize second-best mechanism in cases where adaptive learning and efficiency are not compatible with each other.
Max ERC Funding
1 123 200 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym DNADEMETHYLASE
Project Functions and mechanism of active DNA demethylation
Researcher (PI) Heinz Christof Niehrs
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT FUR MOLEKULARE BIOLOGIE GGMBH
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS3, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Epigenetic gene regulation is of central importance for development and disease. Despite dramatic progress in epigenetics during the past decade, DNA demethylation remains one of the last big frontiers and very little is known about it. DNA demethylation is a widespread phenomenon and occurs in plants as well as in animals, during development, in the adult, and during somatic cell reprogramming of pluripotency genes. The molecular identity of the DNA demethylase in animal cells remained unresolved and has hampered progress in the field for decades. In 2007 we published that Growth Arrest and DNA Damage 45 a (Gadd45a) is a key player in active DNA demethylation, which opened new avenues in the study of this elusive process. The goal of this project is to further analyze the mechanism of DNA demethylation as well as the role played by Gadd45 in development. Given the many unresolved questions in this burgeoning field, our work promises to be ground-breaking and therefore have a profound impact in unraveling one of the least understood processes of gene regulation. Specifically we will address the following points. I) The biological role of Gadd45 mediated DNA demethylation in mouse embryos and adults is unknown. We have obtained mouse mutants for Gadd45a,b, and g and we will analyze them for developmental defects and dissect the methylation regulation of relevant genes. II) The targeting mechanism by which Gadd45 is binding to and demethylating specific sites in the genome is a central unresolved issue. We have identified a candidate DNA binding protein interacting with Gadd45 and we will analyze its role in site specific targeting of DNA demethylation in vitro and in mouse. III) We found that Gadd45 is an RNA binding protein and we will therefore analyze how non-coding RNAs are involved in targeting and/or activating Gadd45 during DNA demethylation.
Summary
Epigenetic gene regulation is of central importance for development and disease. Despite dramatic progress in epigenetics during the past decade, DNA demethylation remains one of the last big frontiers and very little is known about it. DNA demethylation is a widespread phenomenon and occurs in plants as well as in animals, during development, in the adult, and during somatic cell reprogramming of pluripotency genes. The molecular identity of the DNA demethylase in animal cells remained unresolved and has hampered progress in the field for decades. In 2007 we published that Growth Arrest and DNA Damage 45 a (Gadd45a) is a key player in active DNA demethylation, which opened new avenues in the study of this elusive process. The goal of this project is to further analyze the mechanism of DNA demethylation as well as the role played by Gadd45 in development. Given the many unresolved questions in this burgeoning field, our work promises to be ground-breaking and therefore have a profound impact in unraveling one of the least understood processes of gene regulation. Specifically we will address the following points. I) The biological role of Gadd45 mediated DNA demethylation in mouse embryos and adults is unknown. We have obtained mouse mutants for Gadd45a,b, and g and we will analyze them for developmental defects and dissect the methylation regulation of relevant genes. II) The targeting mechanism by which Gadd45 is binding to and demethylating specific sites in the genome is a central unresolved issue. We have identified a candidate DNA binding protein interacting with Gadd45 and we will analyze its role in site specific targeting of DNA demethylation in vitro and in mouse. III) We found that Gadd45 is an RNA binding protein and we will therefore analyze how non-coding RNAs are involved in targeting and/or activating Gadd45 during DNA demethylation.
Max ERC Funding
2 376 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-06-01, End date: 2015-05-31
