Project acronym BLOCKCHAINSOCIETY
Project The Disrupted Society: mapping the societal effects of blockchain technology diffusion
Researcher (PI) Balazs BODO
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Recent advances in cryptography yielded the blockchain technology, which enables a radically new and decentralized method to maintain authoritative records, without the need of trusted intermediaries. Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency blockchain application has already demonstrated that it is possible to operate a purely cryptography-based, global, distributed, decentralized, anonymous financial network, independent from central and commercial banks, regulators and the state.
The same technology is now being applied to other social domains (e.g. public registries of ownership and deeds, voting systems, the internet domain name registry). But research on the societal impact of blockchain innovation is scant, and we cannot properly assess its risks and promises. In addition, crucial knowledge is missing on how blockchain technologies can and should be regulated by law.
The BlockchainSociety project focuses on three research questions. (1) What internal factors contribute to the success of a blockchain application? (2) How does society adopt blockchain? (3) How to regulate blockchain? It breaks new ground as it (1) maps the most important blockchain projects, their governance, and assesses their disruptive potential; (2) documents and analyses the social diffusion of the technology, and builds scenarios about the potential impact of blockchain diffusion; and (3) it creates an inventory of emerging policy responses, compares and assesses policy tools in terms of efficiency and impact. The project will (1) build the conceptual and methodological bridges between information law, the study of the self-governance of technological systems via Science and Technology Studies, and the study of collective control efforts of complex socio-technological assemblages via Internet Governance studies; (2) address the most pressing blockchain-specific regulatory challenges via the analysis of emerging policies, and the development of new proposals.
Summary
Recent advances in cryptography yielded the blockchain technology, which enables a radically new and decentralized method to maintain authoritative records, without the need of trusted intermediaries. Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency blockchain application has already demonstrated that it is possible to operate a purely cryptography-based, global, distributed, decentralized, anonymous financial network, independent from central and commercial banks, regulators and the state.
The same technology is now being applied to other social domains (e.g. public registries of ownership and deeds, voting systems, the internet domain name registry). But research on the societal impact of blockchain innovation is scant, and we cannot properly assess its risks and promises. In addition, crucial knowledge is missing on how blockchain technologies can and should be regulated by law.
The BlockchainSociety project focuses on three research questions. (1) What internal factors contribute to the success of a blockchain application? (2) How does society adopt blockchain? (3) How to regulate blockchain? It breaks new ground as it (1) maps the most important blockchain projects, their governance, and assesses their disruptive potential; (2) documents and analyses the social diffusion of the technology, and builds scenarios about the potential impact of blockchain diffusion; and (3) it creates an inventory of emerging policy responses, compares and assesses policy tools in terms of efficiency and impact. The project will (1) build the conceptual and methodological bridges between information law, the study of the self-governance of technological systems via Science and Technology Studies, and the study of collective control efforts of complex socio-technological assemblages via Internet Governance studies; (2) address the most pressing blockchain-specific regulatory challenges via the analysis of emerging policies, and the development of new proposals.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 631 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-01-01, End date: 2022-12-31
Project acronym BONEPHAGY
Project Defining the role of the FGF – autophagy axis in bone physiology
Researcher (PI) Carmine SETTEMBRE
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE TELETHON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Autophagy is a fundamental cellular catabolic process deputed to the degradation and recycling of a variety of intracellular materials. Autophagy plays a significant role in multiple human physio-pathological processes and is now emerging as a critical regulator of skeletal development and homeostasis. We have discovered that during postnatal development in mice, the growth factor FGF18 induces autophagy in the chondrocyte cells of the growth plate to regulate the secretion of type II collagen, a major component of cartilaginous extracellular matrix. The FGF signaling pathways play crucial roles during skeletal development and maintenance and are deregulated in many skeletal disorders. Hence our findings may offer the unique opportunity to uncover new molecular mechanisms through which FGF pathways regulate skeletal development and maintenance and to identify new targets for the treatment of FGF-related skeletal disorders. In this grant application we propose to study the role played by the different FGF ligands and receptors on autophagy regulation and to investigate the physiological relevance of these findings in the context of skeletal growth, homeostasis and maintenance. We will also investigate the intracellular machinery that links FGF signalling pathways to the regulation of autophagy. In addition, we generated preliminary data showing an impairment of autophagy in chondrocyte models of Achondroplasia (ACH) and Thanathoporic dysplasia, two skeletal disorders caused by mutations in FGFR3. We propose to study the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of FGFR3-related dwarfisms and explore the pharmacological modulation of autophagy as new therapeutic approach for achondroplasia. This application, which combines cell biology, mouse genetics and pharmacological approaches, has the potential to shed light on new mechanisms involved in organismal development and homeostasis, which could be targeted to treat bone and cartilage diseases.
Summary
Autophagy is a fundamental cellular catabolic process deputed to the degradation and recycling of a variety of intracellular materials. Autophagy plays a significant role in multiple human physio-pathological processes and is now emerging as a critical regulator of skeletal development and homeostasis. We have discovered that during postnatal development in mice, the growth factor FGF18 induces autophagy in the chondrocyte cells of the growth plate to regulate the secretion of type II collagen, a major component of cartilaginous extracellular matrix. The FGF signaling pathways play crucial roles during skeletal development and maintenance and are deregulated in many skeletal disorders. Hence our findings may offer the unique opportunity to uncover new molecular mechanisms through which FGF pathways regulate skeletal development and maintenance and to identify new targets for the treatment of FGF-related skeletal disorders. In this grant application we propose to study the role played by the different FGF ligands and receptors on autophagy regulation and to investigate the physiological relevance of these findings in the context of skeletal growth, homeostasis and maintenance. We will also investigate the intracellular machinery that links FGF signalling pathways to the regulation of autophagy. In addition, we generated preliminary data showing an impairment of autophagy in chondrocyte models of Achondroplasia (ACH) and Thanathoporic dysplasia, two skeletal disorders caused by mutations in FGFR3. We propose to study the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of FGFR3-related dwarfisms and explore the pharmacological modulation of autophagy as new therapeutic approach for achondroplasia. This application, which combines cell biology, mouse genetics and pharmacological approaches, has the potential to shed light on new mechanisms involved in organismal development and homeostasis, which could be targeted to treat bone and cartilage diseases.
Max ERC Funding
1 586 430 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym BSP
Project Belief Systems Project
Researcher (PI) Mark BRANDT
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT BRABANT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Belief systems research is vital for understanding democratic politics, extremism, and political decision-making. What is the basic structure of belief systems? Clear answers to this fundamental question are not forthcoming. This is due to flaws in the conceptualization of belief systems. The state-of-the-art treats a belief system as a theoretical latent variable that causes people’s responses on attitudes and values relevant to the belief system. This approach cannot assess a belief system because it cannot assess the network of connections between the beliefs–attitudes and values–that make up the system; it collapses across them and the interrelationships are lost.
The Belief Systems Project conceptualizations belief systems as systems of interconnecting attitudes and values. I conceptualize attitudes and values as interactive nodes in a network that are analysed with network analyses. With these conceptual and empirical tools, I can understand the structure and dynamics of the belief system and will be able to avoid theoretical pitfalls common in belief system assessments. This project will move belief systems research beyond the state-of-the-art in four ways by:
1. Mapping the structure of systems of attitudes and values, something that is not possible using current methods.
2. Answering classic questions about central concepts and clustering of belief systems.
3. Modeling within-person belief systems and their variations, so that I can make accurate predictions about partisan motivated reasoning.
4. Testing how external and internal pressures (e.g., feelings of threat) change the underlying structure and dynamics of belief systems.
Using survey data from around the world, longitudinal panel studies, intensive longitudinal designs, experiments, and text analyses, I will triangulate on the structure of political belief systems over time, between countries, and within individuals.
Summary
Belief systems research is vital for understanding democratic politics, extremism, and political decision-making. What is the basic structure of belief systems? Clear answers to this fundamental question are not forthcoming. This is due to flaws in the conceptualization of belief systems. The state-of-the-art treats a belief system as a theoretical latent variable that causes people’s responses on attitudes and values relevant to the belief system. This approach cannot assess a belief system because it cannot assess the network of connections between the beliefs–attitudes and values–that make up the system; it collapses across them and the interrelationships are lost.
The Belief Systems Project conceptualizations belief systems as systems of interconnecting attitudes and values. I conceptualize attitudes and values as interactive nodes in a network that are analysed with network analyses. With these conceptual and empirical tools, I can understand the structure and dynamics of the belief system and will be able to avoid theoretical pitfalls common in belief system assessments. This project will move belief systems research beyond the state-of-the-art in four ways by:
1. Mapping the structure of systems of attitudes and values, something that is not possible using current methods.
2. Answering classic questions about central concepts and clustering of belief systems.
3. Modeling within-person belief systems and their variations, so that I can make accurate predictions about partisan motivated reasoning.
4. Testing how external and internal pressures (e.g., feelings of threat) change the underlying structure and dynamics of belief systems.
Using survey data from around the world, longitudinal panel studies, intensive longitudinal designs, experiments, and text analyses, I will triangulate on the structure of political belief systems over time, between countries, and within individuals.
Max ERC Funding
1 496 944 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-07-01, End date: 2023-06-30
Project acronym CALMIRS
Project RNA-based regulation of signal transduction –
Regulation of calcineurin/NFAT signaling by microRNA-based mechanisms
Researcher (PI) Leon Johannes De Windt
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2012-StG_20111109
Summary "Heart failure is a serious clinical disorder that represents the primary cause of hospitalization and death in Europe and the United States. There is a dire need for new paradigms and therapeutic approaches for treatment of this devastating disease. The heart responds to mechanical load and various extracellular stimuli by hypertrophic growth and sustained pathological hypertrophy is a major clinical predictor of heart failure. A variety of stress-responsive signaling pathways promote cardiac hypertrophy, but the precise mechanisms that link these pathways to cardiac disease are only beginning to be unveiled. Signal transduction is traditionally concentrated on the protein coding part of the genome, but it is now appreciated that the protein coding part of the genome only constitutes 1.5% of the genome. RNA based mechanisms may provide a more complete understanding of the fundamentals of cellular signaling. As a proof-of-principle, we focus on a principal hypertrophic signaling cascade, cardiac calcineurin/NFAT signaling. Here we will establish that microRNAs are intimately interwoven with this signaling cascade, influence signaling strength by unexpected upstream mechanisms. Secondly, we will firmly establish that microRNA target genes critically contribute to genesis of heart failure. Third, the surprising stability of circulating microRNAs has opened the possibility to develop the next generation of biomarkers and provide unexpected mechanisms how genetic information is transported between cells in multicellular organs and fascilitate inter-cellular communication. Finally, microRNA-based therapeutic silencing is remarkably powerful and offers opportunities to specifically intervene in pathological signaling as the next generation heart failure therapeutics. CALMIRS aims to mine the wealth of these RNA mechanisms to enable the development of next generation RNA based signal transduction biology, with surprising new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities."
Summary
"Heart failure is a serious clinical disorder that represents the primary cause of hospitalization and death in Europe and the United States. There is a dire need for new paradigms and therapeutic approaches for treatment of this devastating disease. The heart responds to mechanical load and various extracellular stimuli by hypertrophic growth and sustained pathological hypertrophy is a major clinical predictor of heart failure. A variety of stress-responsive signaling pathways promote cardiac hypertrophy, but the precise mechanisms that link these pathways to cardiac disease are only beginning to be unveiled. Signal transduction is traditionally concentrated on the protein coding part of the genome, but it is now appreciated that the protein coding part of the genome only constitutes 1.5% of the genome. RNA based mechanisms may provide a more complete understanding of the fundamentals of cellular signaling. As a proof-of-principle, we focus on a principal hypertrophic signaling cascade, cardiac calcineurin/NFAT signaling. Here we will establish that microRNAs are intimately interwoven with this signaling cascade, influence signaling strength by unexpected upstream mechanisms. Secondly, we will firmly establish that microRNA target genes critically contribute to genesis of heart failure. Third, the surprising stability of circulating microRNAs has opened the possibility to develop the next generation of biomarkers and provide unexpected mechanisms how genetic information is transported between cells in multicellular organs and fascilitate inter-cellular communication. Finally, microRNA-based therapeutic silencing is remarkably powerful and offers opportunities to specifically intervene in pathological signaling as the next generation heart failure therapeutics. CALMIRS aims to mine the wealth of these RNA mechanisms to enable the development of next generation RNA based signal transduction biology, with surprising new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities."
Max ERC Funding
1 499 528 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31
Project acronym CANCER INVASION
Project Deciphering and targeting the invasive nature of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Researcher (PI) Anne RIOS
Host Institution (HI) PRINSES MAXIMA CENTRUM VOOR KINDERONCOLOGIE BV
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Introduction: The ability of a cancer cell to invade into the surrounding tissue is the main feature of malignant cancer progression. Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a paediatric high-grade brain tumour with no chance of survival due to its highly invasive nature.
Goal: By combining state-of-the-art imaging and transcriptomics, we aim to identify and target the key mechanisms driving the highly invasive growth of DIPG.
Technology advances: Two unique single cell resolution imaging techniques that we have recently developed will be implemented: Large-scale Single-cell Resolution 3D imaging (LSR-3D) that allows visualization of complete tumour specimens and intravital microscopy using a cranial imaging window that allows imaging of tumour cell behaviour in living mice. In addition, we will apply a technique of live imaging Patch-seq to perform behaviour studies together with single cell RNA profiling.
Expected results: Using a glioma murine model in which the disease is induced in neonates and a new embryonic model based on in utero electroporation, we expect to gain knowledge on the progression of DIPG in maturing brain. LSR-3D imaging on human and murine specimens will provide insight into the cellular tumour composition and its integration in the neuroglial network. With intravital imaging, we will characterize invasive cancer cell behaviour and functional connections with healthy brain cells. In combination with Patch-seq, we will identify transcriptional program(s) specific to invasive behaviour. Altogether, we expect to identify novel key players in cancer invasion and assess their potential to prevent DIPG progression.
Future perspective: With the studies proposed, we will gain fundamental insights into the cancer cell invasion mechanisms that govern DIPG which may provide new potential therapeutic target(s) for this dismal disease. Overall, the knowledge and advanced technologies obtained here will be of great value for the tumour biology field.
Summary
Introduction: The ability of a cancer cell to invade into the surrounding tissue is the main feature of malignant cancer progression. Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a paediatric high-grade brain tumour with no chance of survival due to its highly invasive nature.
Goal: By combining state-of-the-art imaging and transcriptomics, we aim to identify and target the key mechanisms driving the highly invasive growth of DIPG.
Technology advances: Two unique single cell resolution imaging techniques that we have recently developed will be implemented: Large-scale Single-cell Resolution 3D imaging (LSR-3D) that allows visualization of complete tumour specimens and intravital microscopy using a cranial imaging window that allows imaging of tumour cell behaviour in living mice. In addition, we will apply a technique of live imaging Patch-seq to perform behaviour studies together with single cell RNA profiling.
Expected results: Using a glioma murine model in which the disease is induced in neonates and a new embryonic model based on in utero electroporation, we expect to gain knowledge on the progression of DIPG in maturing brain. LSR-3D imaging on human and murine specimens will provide insight into the cellular tumour composition and its integration in the neuroglial network. With intravital imaging, we will characterize invasive cancer cell behaviour and functional connections with healthy brain cells. In combination with Patch-seq, we will identify transcriptional program(s) specific to invasive behaviour. Altogether, we expect to identify novel key players in cancer invasion and assess their potential to prevent DIPG progression.
Future perspective: With the studies proposed, we will gain fundamental insights into the cancer cell invasion mechanisms that govern DIPG which may provide new potential therapeutic target(s) for this dismal disease. Overall, the knowledge and advanced technologies obtained here will be of great value for the tumour biology field.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31
Project acronym CAPE
Project Ghosts from the past: Consequences of Adolescent Peer Experiences across social contexts and generations
Researcher (PI) Tina KRETSCHMER
Host Institution (HI) RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Positive peer experiences are crucial for young people’s health and wellbeing. Accordingly, multiple studies (including my own) have described long-term negative psychological and behavioral consequences when adolescents’ peer relationships are dysfunctional. Paradoxically, knowledge on adult social consequences of adolescent peer experiences –relationships with others a decade later - is much less extensive. Informed by social learning and attachment theory, I tackle this gap and investigate whether and how peer experiences are transmitted to other social contexts, and intergenerationally, i.e., passed on to the next generation. My aim is to shed light on how the “ghosts from peer past” affect young adults’ relationships and their children. To this end, I examine longitudinal links between adolescent peer and young adult close relationships and test whether parents’ peer experiences affect offspring’s peer experiences. Psychological functioning, parenting, temperament, genetic, and epigenetic transmission mechanisms are examined separately and in interplay, which 1) goes far beyond the current state-of-the-art in social development research, and 2) significantly broadens my biosocially oriented work on genetic effects in the peer context. My plans utilize data from the TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives’ Survey) cohort that has been followed from age 11 to 26. To study intergenerational transmission, the TRAILS NEXT sample of participants with children is substantially extended. This project uniquely studies adult social consequences of peer experiences and, at the same time, follows children’s first steps into the peer world. The intergenerational approach and provision for environmental, genetic, and epigenetic mediation put this project at the forefront of developmental research and equip it with the potential to generate the knowledge needed to chase away the ghosts from the peer past.
Summary
Positive peer experiences are crucial for young people’s health and wellbeing. Accordingly, multiple studies (including my own) have described long-term negative psychological and behavioral consequences when adolescents’ peer relationships are dysfunctional. Paradoxically, knowledge on adult social consequences of adolescent peer experiences –relationships with others a decade later - is much less extensive. Informed by social learning and attachment theory, I tackle this gap and investigate whether and how peer experiences are transmitted to other social contexts, and intergenerationally, i.e., passed on to the next generation. My aim is to shed light on how the “ghosts from peer past” affect young adults’ relationships and their children. To this end, I examine longitudinal links between adolescent peer and young adult close relationships and test whether parents’ peer experiences affect offspring’s peer experiences. Psychological functioning, parenting, temperament, genetic, and epigenetic transmission mechanisms are examined separately and in interplay, which 1) goes far beyond the current state-of-the-art in social development research, and 2) significantly broadens my biosocially oriented work on genetic effects in the peer context. My plans utilize data from the TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives’ Survey) cohort that has been followed from age 11 to 26. To study intergenerational transmission, the TRAILS NEXT sample of participants with children is substantially extended. This project uniquely studies adult social consequences of peer experiences and, at the same time, follows children’s first steps into the peer world. The intergenerational approach and provision for environmental, genetic, and epigenetic mediation put this project at the forefront of developmental research and equip it with the potential to generate the knowledge needed to chase away the ghosts from the peer past.
Max ERC Funding
1 464 846 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-02-01, End date: 2023-01-31
Project acronym CELLPATTERN
Project The Cellular Basis of Multicellular Pattern Formation
Researcher (PI) Dolf Weijers
Host Institution (HI) WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS3, ERC-2011-StG_20101109
Summary The formation of plant organs (leaves, roots, flowers) depends on the activity of stem cells (SC), located in stem cell niches (meristems) together with adjoining organizer cells (OC) that prevent SC differentiation. Despite their importance, SC and OC have been poorly described at molecular and cellular level and mechanisms for their coordinated specification are only partially understood. We study the specification of the very first SC and OC for the root in the early Arabidopsis embryo where cell divisions are almost invariant and, in the absence of cell motility, highly predictable. Previously we have established a central role for the transcription factor MONOPTEROS (MP) in OC specification and we have recently found that MP also controls SC specification. Hence, MP offers a unique entry point into studying the genomic and cellular reprogramming that underlies coordinated SC and OC specification. Our recent identification of MP target genes has shown that its function in SC specification is cell-autonomous, while MP-dependent OC specification involves a mobile transcription factor.
In recent years we have developed a set of resources to systematically study embryonic root meristem initiation, and are now in a unique position to answer the following questions in this ERC project:
1. What transcriptional reprogramming underlies the first specification of SC and OC in the plant embryo?
2. What cellular changes follow from transcriptional reprogramming and mediate elongation and asymmetric division of SC and OC?
3. What is the mechanism of directional protein transport that ensures spatiotemporal coordination between SC and OC?
The project will provide genome-wide insight in the cellular reprogramming underlying the coordinated formation of a multicellular structure. Finally, this work will shed light on mechanisms of stem cell and stem cell niche formation.
Summary
The formation of plant organs (leaves, roots, flowers) depends on the activity of stem cells (SC), located in stem cell niches (meristems) together with adjoining organizer cells (OC) that prevent SC differentiation. Despite their importance, SC and OC have been poorly described at molecular and cellular level and mechanisms for their coordinated specification are only partially understood. We study the specification of the very first SC and OC for the root in the early Arabidopsis embryo where cell divisions are almost invariant and, in the absence of cell motility, highly predictable. Previously we have established a central role for the transcription factor MONOPTEROS (MP) in OC specification and we have recently found that MP also controls SC specification. Hence, MP offers a unique entry point into studying the genomic and cellular reprogramming that underlies coordinated SC and OC specification. Our recent identification of MP target genes has shown that its function in SC specification is cell-autonomous, while MP-dependent OC specification involves a mobile transcription factor.
In recent years we have developed a set of resources to systematically study embryonic root meristem initiation, and are now in a unique position to answer the following questions in this ERC project:
1. What transcriptional reprogramming underlies the first specification of SC and OC in the plant embryo?
2. What cellular changes follow from transcriptional reprogramming and mediate elongation and asymmetric division of SC and OC?
3. What is the mechanism of directional protein transport that ensures spatiotemporal coordination between SC and OC?
The project will provide genome-wide insight in the cellular reprogramming underlying the coordinated formation of a multicellular structure. Finally, this work will shed light on mechanisms of stem cell and stem cell niche formation.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 070 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-10-01, End date: 2016-09-30
Project acronym COBHAM
Project The role of consumer behavior and heterogeneity in the integrated assessment of energy and climate policies
Researcher (PI) Massimo Tavoni
Host Institution (HI) POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2013-StG
Summary The objective of this project is to quantify the role of consumers’ behaviour on the design and assessment of policies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and conservation and at promoting climate change mitigation. The project brings together different disciplines –namely energy policy, environmental and ecological economics, behavioral public finance, experimental economics, and technology policy- in an integrated fashion. COBHAM is designed to go beyond the standard analysis of energy and climate policies in the presence of environmental externalities, by accounting for the heterogeneity in consumers’ preferences, the role of social interactions, and the presence of behavioral tendencies and biases. The project seeks to: i) carry out innovative research in the theoretical understanding of the interplay between behavioral tendencies and environmental externalities; ii) generate new empirical data and research on individual preferences by means of original surveys and controlled experiments; iii) enhance integrated assessment models (IAMs) of economy, energy and climate with an advanced representation of consumers’ behavior. In doing so, the project will be able to provide a richer characterization of energy demand and of greenhouse gas emission scenarios, to better estimate consumers’ responsiveness to energy and climate policies, and to provide input to the design of new policy instruments aimed at influencing energy and environmental sustainable behavior. COBHAM is of high public policy relevance given Europe’s legislation on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and can provide important insights also outside the sphere of energy and climate policymaking.
Summary
The objective of this project is to quantify the role of consumers’ behaviour on the design and assessment of policies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and conservation and at promoting climate change mitigation. The project brings together different disciplines –namely energy policy, environmental and ecological economics, behavioral public finance, experimental economics, and technology policy- in an integrated fashion. COBHAM is designed to go beyond the standard analysis of energy and climate policies in the presence of environmental externalities, by accounting for the heterogeneity in consumers’ preferences, the role of social interactions, and the presence of behavioral tendencies and biases. The project seeks to: i) carry out innovative research in the theoretical understanding of the interplay between behavioral tendencies and environmental externalities; ii) generate new empirical data and research on individual preferences by means of original surveys and controlled experiments; iii) enhance integrated assessment models (IAMs) of economy, energy and climate with an advanced representation of consumers’ behavior. In doing so, the project will be able to provide a richer characterization of energy demand and of greenhouse gas emission scenarios, to better estimate consumers’ responsiveness to energy and climate policies, and to provide input to the design of new policy instruments aimed at influencing energy and environmental sustainable behavior. COBHAM is of high public policy relevance given Europe’s legislation on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and can provide important insights also outside the sphere of energy and climate policymaking.
Max ERC Funding
1 451 840 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-08-01, End date: 2019-07-31
Project acronym CRCStemCellDynamics
Project Molecular Subtype Specific Stem Cell Dynamics in Developing and Established Colorectal Cancers
Researcher (PI) Louis Vermeulen
Host Institution (HI) ACADEMISCH MEDISCH CENTRUM BIJ DE UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Annually 1.2 million new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) are seen worldwide and over 50% of patients die of the disease making it a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. A crucial contributing factor to these disappointing figures is that CRC is a heterogeneous disease and tumours differ extensively in the clinical presentation and response to therapy. Recent unsupervised classification studies highlight that only a proportion of this heterogeneity can be explained by the variation in commonly found (epi-)genetic aberrations. Hence the origins of CRC heterogeneity remain poorly understood.
The central hypothesis of this research project is that the cell of origin contributes to the phenotype and functional properties of the pre-malignant clone and the resulting malignancy. To study this concept I will generate cell of origin- and mutation-specific molecular profiles of oncogenic clones and relate those to human CRC samples. Furthermore, I will quantitatively investigate how mutations and the cell of origin act in concert to determine the functional characteristics of the pre-malignant clone that ultimately develops into an invasive intestinal tumour. These studies are paralleled by the investigation of stem cell dynamics within established human CRCs by means of a novel marker independent lineage tracing strategy in combination with mathematical analysis techniques. This will provide critical and quantitative information on the relevance of the cancer stem cell concept in CRC and on the degree of inter-tumour variation with respect to the frequency and functional features of stem-like cells within individual CRCs and molecular subtypes of the disease.
I am convinced that a better and quantitative understanding of the dynamical properties of stem cells during tumour development and within established CRCs will be pivotal for an improved classification, prevention and treatment of CRC.
Summary
Annually 1.2 million new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) are seen worldwide and over 50% of patients die of the disease making it a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. A crucial contributing factor to these disappointing figures is that CRC is a heterogeneous disease and tumours differ extensively in the clinical presentation and response to therapy. Recent unsupervised classification studies highlight that only a proportion of this heterogeneity can be explained by the variation in commonly found (epi-)genetic aberrations. Hence the origins of CRC heterogeneity remain poorly understood.
The central hypothesis of this research project is that the cell of origin contributes to the phenotype and functional properties of the pre-malignant clone and the resulting malignancy. To study this concept I will generate cell of origin- and mutation-specific molecular profiles of oncogenic clones and relate those to human CRC samples. Furthermore, I will quantitatively investigate how mutations and the cell of origin act in concert to determine the functional characteristics of the pre-malignant clone that ultimately develops into an invasive intestinal tumour. These studies are paralleled by the investigation of stem cell dynamics within established human CRCs by means of a novel marker independent lineage tracing strategy in combination with mathematical analysis techniques. This will provide critical and quantitative information on the relevance of the cancer stem cell concept in CRC and on the degree of inter-tumour variation with respect to the frequency and functional features of stem-like cells within individual CRCs and molecular subtypes of the disease.
I am convinced that a better and quantitative understanding of the dynamical properties of stem cells during tumour development and within established CRCs will be pivotal for an improved classification, prevention and treatment of CRC.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 875 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2021-03-31
Project acronym DECIDE
Project The impact of DEmographic Changes on Infectious DisEases transmission and control in middle/low income countries
Researcher (PI) Alessia Melegaro
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2011-StG_20101124
Summary Population structure and change and social contact patterns are major determinants of the observed epidemiology of infectious diseases, including the consequences on health. Demographic structure and the components of demographic dynamics are changing over time and substantially differ within countries and most critically between countries. However, some of the overall consequences of demographic changes remain unclear, though urbanisation and fertility decline will certainly have a profound impact on social structures, family composition and, as a consequence, on disease spread and on the identification of effective public health measures.
DECIDE will explore the following questions:
1. What are the major short- and medium-term impacts of demographic changes on the patterns of infectious disease (morbidity and mortality)?
2. How are these demographic changes affecting contact patterns that are of fundamental importance to the spread of infectious diseases? Are there new and different modes of transmission within and between populations?
3. What are the implications of demographic changes for infection control strategies? What is the interplay between demographic changes and public health policies in shaping future trajectories of infectious diseases?
In order to answer these questions, DECIDE will use the following strategy: analyse harmonised demographic and health survey data (DHS), and health and demographic surveillance system data (HDSS); develop new estimates of social contact patterns and other socio-demographic variables collecting data from representative samples of both urban and rural settings in selected countries; develop a theoretical framework to predict the likely chains through which demographic change influences the burden of infectious diseases; develop and parameterise mathematical population models for the transmission of infectious diseases to evaluate the impact of public health measures under changing demographic conditions.
Summary
Population structure and change and social contact patterns are major determinants of the observed epidemiology of infectious diseases, including the consequences on health. Demographic structure and the components of demographic dynamics are changing over time and substantially differ within countries and most critically between countries. However, some of the overall consequences of demographic changes remain unclear, though urbanisation and fertility decline will certainly have a profound impact on social structures, family composition and, as a consequence, on disease spread and on the identification of effective public health measures.
DECIDE will explore the following questions:
1. What are the major short- and medium-term impacts of demographic changes on the patterns of infectious disease (morbidity and mortality)?
2. How are these demographic changes affecting contact patterns that are of fundamental importance to the spread of infectious diseases? Are there new and different modes of transmission within and between populations?
3. What are the implications of demographic changes for infection control strategies? What is the interplay between demographic changes and public health policies in shaping future trajectories of infectious diseases?
In order to answer these questions, DECIDE will use the following strategy: analyse harmonised demographic and health survey data (DHS), and health and demographic surveillance system data (HDSS); develop new estimates of social contact patterns and other socio-demographic variables collecting data from representative samples of both urban and rural settings in selected countries; develop a theoretical framework to predict the likely chains through which demographic change influences the burden of infectious diseases; develop and parameterise mathematical population models for the transmission of infectious diseases to evaluate the impact of public health measures under changing demographic conditions.
Max ERC Funding
1 210 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-04-01, End date: 2017-12-31
