Project acronym AGNES
Project ACTIVE AGEING – RESILIENCE AND EXTERNAL SUPPORT AS MODIFIERS OF THE DISABLEMENT OUTCOME
Researcher (PI) Taina Tuulikki RANTANEN
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH3, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary The goals are 1. To develop a scale assessing the diversity of active ageing with four dimensions that are ability (what people can do), activity (what people do do), ambition (what are the valued activities that people want to do), and autonomy (how satisfied people are with the opportunity to do valued activities); 2. To examine health and physical and psychological functioning as the determinants and social and build environment, resilience and personal skills as modifiers of active ageing; 3. To develop a multicomponent sustainable intervention aiming to promote active ageing (methods: counselling, information technology, help from volunteers); 4. To test the feasibility and effectiveness on the intervention; and 5. To study cohort effects on the phenotypes on the pathway to active ageing.
“If You Can Measure It, You Can Change It.” Active ageing assessment needs conceptual progress, which I propose to do. A quantifiable scale will be developed that captures the diversity of active ageing stemming from the WHO definition of active ageing as the process of optimizing opportunities for health and participation in the society for all people in line with their needs, goals and capacities as they age. I will collect cross-sectional data (N=1000, ages 75, 80 and 85 years) and model the pathway to active ageing with state-of-the art statistical methods. By doing this I will create novel knowledge on preconditions for active ageing. The collected cohort data will be compared to a pre-existing cohort data that was collected 25 years ago to obtain knowledge about changes over time in functioning of older people. A randomized controlled trial (N=200) will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the envisioned intervention promoting active ageing through participation. The project will regenerate ageing research by launching a novel scale, by training young scientists, by creating new concepts and theory development and by producing evidence for active ageing promotion
Summary
The goals are 1. To develop a scale assessing the diversity of active ageing with four dimensions that are ability (what people can do), activity (what people do do), ambition (what are the valued activities that people want to do), and autonomy (how satisfied people are with the opportunity to do valued activities); 2. To examine health and physical and psychological functioning as the determinants and social and build environment, resilience and personal skills as modifiers of active ageing; 3. To develop a multicomponent sustainable intervention aiming to promote active ageing (methods: counselling, information technology, help from volunteers); 4. To test the feasibility and effectiveness on the intervention; and 5. To study cohort effects on the phenotypes on the pathway to active ageing.
“If You Can Measure It, You Can Change It.” Active ageing assessment needs conceptual progress, which I propose to do. A quantifiable scale will be developed that captures the diversity of active ageing stemming from the WHO definition of active ageing as the process of optimizing opportunities for health and participation in the society for all people in line with their needs, goals and capacities as they age. I will collect cross-sectional data (N=1000, ages 75, 80 and 85 years) and model the pathway to active ageing with state-of-the art statistical methods. By doing this I will create novel knowledge on preconditions for active ageing. The collected cohort data will be compared to a pre-existing cohort data that was collected 25 years ago to obtain knowledge about changes over time in functioning of older people. A randomized controlled trial (N=200) will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the envisioned intervention promoting active ageing through participation. The project will regenerate ageing research by launching a novel scale, by training young scientists, by creating new concepts and theory development and by producing evidence for active ageing promotion
Max ERC Funding
2 044 364 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym ALEM
Project ADDITIONAL LOSSES IN ELECTRICAL MACHINES
Researcher (PI) Matti Antero Arkkio
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "Electrical motors consume about 40 % of the electrical energy produced in the European Union. About 90 % of this energy is converted to mechanical work. However, 0.5-2.5 % of it goes to so called additional load losses whose exact origins are unknown. Our ambitious aim is to reveal the origins of these losses, build up numerical tools for modeling them and optimize electrical motors to minimize the losses.
As the hypothesis of the research, we assume that the additional losses mainly result from the deterioration of the core materials during the manufacturing process of the machine. By calorimetric measurements, we have found that the core losses of electrical machines may be twice as large as comprehensive loss models predict. The electrical steel sheets are punched, welded together and shrink fit to the frame. This causes residual strains in the core sheets deteriorating their magnetic characteristics. The cutting burrs make galvanic contacts between the sheets and form paths for inter-lamination currents. Another potential source of additional losses are the circulating currents between the parallel strands of random-wound armature windings. The stochastic nature of these potential sources of additional losses puts more challenge on the research.
We shall develop a physical loss model that couples the mechanical strains and electromagnetic losses in electrical steel sheets and apply the new model for comprehensive loss analysis of electrical machines. The stochastic variables related to the core losses and circulating-current losses will be discretized together with the temporal and spatial discretization of the electromechanical field variables. The numerical stochastic loss model will be used to search for such machine constructions that are insensitive to the manufacturing defects. We shall validate the new numerical loss models by electromechanical and calorimetric measurements."
Summary
"Electrical motors consume about 40 % of the electrical energy produced in the European Union. About 90 % of this energy is converted to mechanical work. However, 0.5-2.5 % of it goes to so called additional load losses whose exact origins are unknown. Our ambitious aim is to reveal the origins of these losses, build up numerical tools for modeling them and optimize electrical motors to minimize the losses.
As the hypothesis of the research, we assume that the additional losses mainly result from the deterioration of the core materials during the manufacturing process of the machine. By calorimetric measurements, we have found that the core losses of electrical machines may be twice as large as comprehensive loss models predict. The electrical steel sheets are punched, welded together and shrink fit to the frame. This causes residual strains in the core sheets deteriorating their magnetic characteristics. The cutting burrs make galvanic contacts between the sheets and form paths for inter-lamination currents. Another potential source of additional losses are the circulating currents between the parallel strands of random-wound armature windings. The stochastic nature of these potential sources of additional losses puts more challenge on the research.
We shall develop a physical loss model that couples the mechanical strains and electromagnetic losses in electrical steel sheets and apply the new model for comprehensive loss analysis of electrical machines. The stochastic variables related to the core losses and circulating-current losses will be discretized together with the temporal and spatial discretization of the electromechanical field variables. The numerical stochastic loss model will be used to search for such machine constructions that are insensitive to the manufacturing defects. We shall validate the new numerical loss models by electromechanical and calorimetric measurements."
Max ERC Funding
2 489 949 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28
Project acronym AMETIST
Project Advanced III-V Materials and Processes Enabling Ultrahigh-efficiency ( 50%) Photovoltaics
Researcher (PI) Mircea Dorel GUINA
Host Institution (HI) TAMPEREEN KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Compound semiconductor solar cells are providing the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency, yet their performance lacks far behind the theoretical potential. This is a position we will challenge by engineering advanced III-V optoelectronics materials and heterostructures for better utilization of the solar spectrum, enabling efficiencies approaching practical limits. The work is strongly motivated by the global need for renewable energy sources. To this end, AMETIST framework is based on three vectors of excellence in: i) material science and epitaxial processes, ii) advanced solar cells exploiting nanophotonics concepts, and iii) new device fabrication technologies.
Novel heterostructures (e.g. GaInNAsSb, GaNAsBi), providing absorption in a broad spectral range from 0.7 eV to 1.4 eV, will be synthesized and monolithically integrated in tandem cells with up to 8-junctions. Nanophotonic methods for light-trapping, spectral and spatial control of solar radiation will be developed to further enhance the absorption. To ensure a high long-term impact, the project will validate the use of state-of-the-art molecular-beam-epitaxy processes for fabrication of economically viable ultra-high efficiency solar cells. The ultimate efficiency target is to reach a level of 55%. This would enable to generate renewable/ecological/sustainable energy at a levelized production cost below ~7 ¢/kWh, comparable or cheaper than fossil fuels. The work will also bring a new breath of developments for more efficient space photovoltaic systems.
AMETIST will leverage the leading position of the applicant in topical technology areas relevant for the project (i.e. epitaxy of III-N/Bi-V alloys and key achievements concerning GaInNAsSb-based tandem solar cells). Thus it renders a unique opportunity to capitalize on the group expertize and position Europe at the forefront in the global competition for demonstrating more efficient and economically viable photovoltaic technologies.
Summary
Compound semiconductor solar cells are providing the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency, yet their performance lacks far behind the theoretical potential. This is a position we will challenge by engineering advanced III-V optoelectronics materials and heterostructures for better utilization of the solar spectrum, enabling efficiencies approaching practical limits. The work is strongly motivated by the global need for renewable energy sources. To this end, AMETIST framework is based on three vectors of excellence in: i) material science and epitaxial processes, ii) advanced solar cells exploiting nanophotonics concepts, and iii) new device fabrication technologies.
Novel heterostructures (e.g. GaInNAsSb, GaNAsBi), providing absorption in a broad spectral range from 0.7 eV to 1.4 eV, will be synthesized and monolithically integrated in tandem cells with up to 8-junctions. Nanophotonic methods for light-trapping, spectral and spatial control of solar radiation will be developed to further enhance the absorption. To ensure a high long-term impact, the project will validate the use of state-of-the-art molecular-beam-epitaxy processes for fabrication of economically viable ultra-high efficiency solar cells. The ultimate efficiency target is to reach a level of 55%. This would enable to generate renewable/ecological/sustainable energy at a levelized production cost below ~7 ¢/kWh, comparable or cheaper than fossil fuels. The work will also bring a new breath of developments for more efficient space photovoltaic systems.
AMETIST will leverage the leading position of the applicant in topical technology areas relevant for the project (i.e. epitaxy of III-N/Bi-V alloys and key achievements concerning GaInNAsSb-based tandem solar cells). Thus it renders a unique opportunity to capitalize on the group expertize and position Europe at the forefront in the global competition for demonstrating more efficient and economically viable photovoltaic technologies.
Max ERC Funding
2 492 719 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym ATLAS
Project Bioengineered autonomous cell-biomaterials devices for generating humanised micro-tissues for regenerative medicine
Researcher (PI) Joao Felipe Colardelle da Luz Mano
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary New generations of devices for tissue engineering (TE) should rationalize better the physical and biochemical cues operating in tandem during native regeneration, in particular at the scale/organizational-level of the stem cell niche. The understanding and the deconstruction of these factors (e.g. multiple cell types exchanging both paracrine and direct signals, structural and chemical arrangement of the extra-cellular matrix, mechanical signals…) should be then incorporated into the design of truly biomimetic biomaterials. ATLAS proposes rather unique toolboxes combining smart biomaterials and cells for the ground-breaking advances of engineering fully time-self-regulated complex 2D and 3D devices, able to adjust the cascade of processes leading to faster high-quality new tissue formation with minimum pre-processing of cells. Versatile biomaterials based on marine-origin macromolecules will be used, namely in the supramolecular assembly of instructive multilayers as nanostratified building-blocks for engineer such structures. The backbone of these biopolymers will be equipped with a variety of (bio)chemical elements permitting: post-processing chemistry and micro-patterning, specific/non-specific cell attachment, and cell-controlled degradation. Aiming at being applied in bone TE, ATLAS will integrate cells from different units of tissue physiology, namely bone and hematopoietic basic elements and consider the interactions between the immune and skeletal systems. These ingredients will permit to architect innovative films with high-level dialogue control with cells, but in particular sophisticated quasi-closed 3D capsules able to compartmentalise such components in a “globe-like” organization, providing local and long-range order for in vitro microtissue development and function. Such hybrid devices could be used in more generalised front-edge applications, including as disease models for drug discovery or test new therapies in vitro.
Summary
New generations of devices for tissue engineering (TE) should rationalize better the physical and biochemical cues operating in tandem during native regeneration, in particular at the scale/organizational-level of the stem cell niche. The understanding and the deconstruction of these factors (e.g. multiple cell types exchanging both paracrine and direct signals, structural and chemical arrangement of the extra-cellular matrix, mechanical signals…) should be then incorporated into the design of truly biomimetic biomaterials. ATLAS proposes rather unique toolboxes combining smart biomaterials and cells for the ground-breaking advances of engineering fully time-self-regulated complex 2D and 3D devices, able to adjust the cascade of processes leading to faster high-quality new tissue formation with minimum pre-processing of cells. Versatile biomaterials based on marine-origin macromolecules will be used, namely in the supramolecular assembly of instructive multilayers as nanostratified building-blocks for engineer such structures. The backbone of these biopolymers will be equipped with a variety of (bio)chemical elements permitting: post-processing chemistry and micro-patterning, specific/non-specific cell attachment, and cell-controlled degradation. Aiming at being applied in bone TE, ATLAS will integrate cells from different units of tissue physiology, namely bone and hematopoietic basic elements and consider the interactions between the immune and skeletal systems. These ingredients will permit to architect innovative films with high-level dialogue control with cells, but in particular sophisticated quasi-closed 3D capsules able to compartmentalise such components in a “globe-like” organization, providing local and long-range order for in vitro microtissue development and function. Such hybrid devices could be used in more generalised front-edge applications, including as disease models for drug discovery or test new therapies in vitro.
Max ERC Funding
2 498 988 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-12-01, End date: 2021-10-31
Project acronym ATOP
Project Atomically-engineered nonlinear photonics with two-dimensional layered material superlattices
Researcher (PI) zhipei SUN
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2018-ADG
Summary The project aims at introducing a paradigm shift in the development of nonlinear photonics with atomically-engineered two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals superlattices (2DSs). Monolayer 2D materials have large optical nonlinear susceptibilities, a few orders of magnitude larger than typical traditional bulk materials. However, nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency of monolayer 2D materials is typically weak mainly due to their extremely short interaction length (~atomic scale) and relatively large absorption coefficient (e.g.,>5×10^7 m^-1 in the visible range for graphene and MoS2 after thickness normalization). In this context, I will construct atomically-engineered heterojunctions based 2DSs to significantly enhance the nonlinear optical responses of 2D materials by coherently increasing light-matter interaction length and efficiently creating fundamentally new physical properties (e.g., reducing optical loss and increasing nonlinear susceptibilities).
The concrete project objectives are to theoretically calculate, experimentally fabricate and study optical nonlinearities of 2DSs for next-generation nonlinear photonics at the nanoscale. More specifically, I will use 2DSs as new building blocks to develop three of the most disruptive nonlinear photonic devices: (1) on-chip optical parametric generation sources; (2) broadband Terahertz sources; (3) high-purity photon-pair emitters. These devices will lead to a breakthrough technology to enable highly-integrated, high-efficient and wideband lab-on-chip photonic systems with unprecedented performance in system size, power consumption, flexibility and reliability, ideally fitting numerous growing and emerging applications, e.g. metrology, portable sensing/imaging, and quantum-communications. Based on my proven track record and my pioneering work on 2D materials based photonics and optoelectronics, I believe I will accomplish this ambitious frontier research program with a strong interdisciplinary nature.
Summary
The project aims at introducing a paradigm shift in the development of nonlinear photonics with atomically-engineered two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals superlattices (2DSs). Monolayer 2D materials have large optical nonlinear susceptibilities, a few orders of magnitude larger than typical traditional bulk materials. However, nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency of monolayer 2D materials is typically weak mainly due to their extremely short interaction length (~atomic scale) and relatively large absorption coefficient (e.g.,>5×10^7 m^-1 in the visible range for graphene and MoS2 after thickness normalization). In this context, I will construct atomically-engineered heterojunctions based 2DSs to significantly enhance the nonlinear optical responses of 2D materials by coherently increasing light-matter interaction length and efficiently creating fundamentally new physical properties (e.g., reducing optical loss and increasing nonlinear susceptibilities).
The concrete project objectives are to theoretically calculate, experimentally fabricate and study optical nonlinearities of 2DSs for next-generation nonlinear photonics at the nanoscale. More specifically, I will use 2DSs as new building blocks to develop three of the most disruptive nonlinear photonic devices: (1) on-chip optical parametric generation sources; (2) broadband Terahertz sources; (3) high-purity photon-pair emitters. These devices will lead to a breakthrough technology to enable highly-integrated, high-efficient and wideband lab-on-chip photonic systems with unprecedented performance in system size, power consumption, flexibility and reliability, ideally fitting numerous growing and emerging applications, e.g. metrology, portable sensing/imaging, and quantum-communications. Based on my proven track record and my pioneering work on 2D materials based photonics and optoelectronics, I believe I will accomplish this ambitious frontier research program with a strong interdisciplinary nature.
Max ERC Funding
2 442 448 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-09-01, End date: 2024-08-31
Project acronym BI-DSC
Project Building Integrated Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Researcher (PI) Adelio Miguel Magalhaes Mendes
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary In the last decade, solar and photovoltaic (PV) technologies have emerged as a potentially major technology for power generation in the world. So far the PV field has been dominated by silicon devices, even though this technology is still expensive.Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) are an important type of thin-film photovoltaics due to their potential for low-cost fabrication and versatile applications, and because their aesthetic appearance, semi-transparency and different color possibilities.This advantageous characteristic makes DSC the first choice for building integrated photovoltaics.Despite their great potential, DSCs for building applications are still not available at commercial level. However, to bring DSCs to a marketable product several developments are still needed and the present project targets to give relevant answers to three key limitations: encapsulation, glass substrate enhanced electrical conductivity and more efficient and low-cost raw-materials. Recently, the proponent successfully addressed the hermetic devices sealing by developing a laser-assisted glass sealing procedure.Thus, BI-DSC proposal envisages the development of DSC modules 30x30cm2, containing four individual cells, and their incorporation in a 1m2 double glass sheet arrangement for BIPV with an energy efficiency of at least 9% and a lifetime of 20 years. Additionally, aiming at enhanced efficiency of the final device and decreased total costs of DSCs manufacturing, new materials will be also pursued. The following inner-components were identified as critical: carbon-based counter-electrode; carbon quantum-dots and hierarchically TiO2 photoelectrode. It is then clear that this project is divided into two research though parallel directions: a fundamental research line, contributing to the development of the new generation DSC technology; while a more applied research line targets the development of a DSC functional module that can be used to pave the way for its industrialization.
Summary
In the last decade, solar and photovoltaic (PV) technologies have emerged as a potentially major technology for power generation in the world. So far the PV field has been dominated by silicon devices, even though this technology is still expensive.Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) are an important type of thin-film photovoltaics due to their potential for low-cost fabrication and versatile applications, and because their aesthetic appearance, semi-transparency and different color possibilities.This advantageous characteristic makes DSC the first choice for building integrated photovoltaics.Despite their great potential, DSCs for building applications are still not available at commercial level. However, to bring DSCs to a marketable product several developments are still needed and the present project targets to give relevant answers to three key limitations: encapsulation, glass substrate enhanced electrical conductivity and more efficient and low-cost raw-materials. Recently, the proponent successfully addressed the hermetic devices sealing by developing a laser-assisted glass sealing procedure.Thus, BI-DSC proposal envisages the development of DSC modules 30x30cm2, containing four individual cells, and their incorporation in a 1m2 double glass sheet arrangement for BIPV with an energy efficiency of at least 9% and a lifetime of 20 years. Additionally, aiming at enhanced efficiency of the final device and decreased total costs of DSCs manufacturing, new materials will be also pursued. The following inner-components were identified as critical: carbon-based counter-electrode; carbon quantum-dots and hierarchically TiO2 photoelectrode. It is then clear that this project is divided into two research though parallel directions: a fundamental research line, contributing to the development of the new generation DSC technology; while a more applied research line targets the development of a DSC functional module that can be used to pave the way for its industrialization.
Max ERC Funding
1 989 300 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-03-01, End date: 2018-08-31
Project acronym BioELCell
Project Bioproducts Engineered from Lignocelluloses: from plants and upcycling to next generation materials
Researcher (PI) Orlando Rojas Gaona
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary BioELCell will deliver ground-breaking approaches to create next material generation based on renewable resources, mainly cellulose and lignin micro- and nano-particles (MNC, MNL). Our action will disassemble and re-engineer these plant-based polymers into functional materials that will respond to the demands of the bioeconomy of the future, critically important to Europe and the world. My ambitious, high gain research plan is underpinned in the use of multiphase systems with ultra-low interfacial tension to facilitate nanocellulose liberation and atomization of lignin solution streams into spherical particles.
BioELCell will design novel routes to control MNC and MNL reassembly in new 1-D, 2-D and 3-D structures. The systematic methodologies that I propose will address the main challenges for lignocellulose processing and deployment, considering the important effects of interactions with water. This BioELCell action presents a transformative approach by integrating complementary disciplines that will lead to a far-reaching understanding of lignocellulosic biopolymers and solve key challenges in their use, paving the way to functional product development. Results of this project permeates directly or indirectly in the grand challenges for engineering, namely, water use, carbon sequestration, nitrogen cycle, food and advanced materials. Indeed, after addressing the key fundamental elements of the research lines, BioELCell vindicates such effects based on rational use of plant-based materials as a sustainable resource, making possible the generation of new functions and advanced materials.
BioELCell goes far beyond what is known today about cellulose and lignin micro and nano-particles, some of the most promising materials of our century, which are emerging as key elements for the success of a sustainable society.
Summary
BioELCell will deliver ground-breaking approaches to create next material generation based on renewable resources, mainly cellulose and lignin micro- and nano-particles (MNC, MNL). Our action will disassemble and re-engineer these plant-based polymers into functional materials that will respond to the demands of the bioeconomy of the future, critically important to Europe and the world. My ambitious, high gain research plan is underpinned in the use of multiphase systems with ultra-low interfacial tension to facilitate nanocellulose liberation and atomization of lignin solution streams into spherical particles.
BioELCell will design novel routes to control MNC and MNL reassembly in new 1-D, 2-D and 3-D structures. The systematic methodologies that I propose will address the main challenges for lignocellulose processing and deployment, considering the important effects of interactions with water. This BioELCell action presents a transformative approach by integrating complementary disciplines that will lead to a far-reaching understanding of lignocellulosic biopolymers and solve key challenges in their use, paving the way to functional product development. Results of this project permeates directly or indirectly in the grand challenges for engineering, namely, water use, carbon sequestration, nitrogen cycle, food and advanced materials. Indeed, after addressing the key fundamental elements of the research lines, BioELCell vindicates such effects based on rational use of plant-based materials as a sustainable resource, making possible the generation of new functions and advanced materials.
BioELCell goes far beyond what is known today about cellulose and lignin micro and nano-particles, some of the most promising materials of our century, which are emerging as key elements for the success of a sustainable society.
Max ERC Funding
2 486 182 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-08-01, End date: 2023-07-31
Project acronym CHALLENGE
Project Persistent bullying cases: towards tailored intervention approaches to maximize efficiency
Researcher (PI) Christina SALMIVALLI
Host Institution (HI) TURUN YLIOPISTO
Country Finland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH3, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary Bullying in schools is widespread, with adverse effects on youth and high costs for societies. Research on bullying prevention has so far focused on average effects of anti-bullying programs and mainly concerned universal, preventive measures. While important, this has overshadowed attempts to uncover how exactly school personnel intervene in particular bullying cases and when and why that fails. CHALLENGE will open up new research horizons by shifting the focus from average program effects to the characteristics and conditions of youth who remain victimized or continue bullying despite targeted interventions. The next big questions in the field are tackled in four work packages:
WP1 uncovers the key features of persistent bullying, such as the extent to which it is due to school-level factors or rather varies across bullying cases (within schools).
WP2 elucidates the plight of persistent victims by testing why victimized youth are most maladjusted in contexts where the overall level of victimization is decreasing (healthy context paradox, Garandeau & Salmivalli, 2019).
WP3 tests the efficacy of different targeted interventions in real-life conditions, uncovering challenge factors that increase the risk of a bullying case remaining unresolved. Moreover, it tests how youth characteristics affect their cognitive, emotional and motivational responses to different interventions.
WP4 utilizes molecular genetics to test genetic susceptibility to intervention effects at the individual level.
CHALLENGE uses quantitative, qualitative, and DNA analyses, combines longitudinal and experimental designs, and harnesses novel tools to collect real-time intervention data and to register children’s responses to interventions. It bridges the perspectives of developmental and social psychology, child psychiatry, and genetics, builds theory on persistent bullying and enables the development of tailored measures for specific target groups where available interventions have failed
Summary
Bullying in schools is widespread, with adverse effects on youth and high costs for societies. Research on bullying prevention has so far focused on average effects of anti-bullying programs and mainly concerned universal, preventive measures. While important, this has overshadowed attempts to uncover how exactly school personnel intervene in particular bullying cases and when and why that fails. CHALLENGE will open up new research horizons by shifting the focus from average program effects to the characteristics and conditions of youth who remain victimized or continue bullying despite targeted interventions. The next big questions in the field are tackled in four work packages:
WP1 uncovers the key features of persistent bullying, such as the extent to which it is due to school-level factors or rather varies across bullying cases (within schools).
WP2 elucidates the plight of persistent victims by testing why victimized youth are most maladjusted in contexts where the overall level of victimization is decreasing (healthy context paradox, Garandeau & Salmivalli, 2019).
WP3 tests the efficacy of different targeted interventions in real-life conditions, uncovering challenge factors that increase the risk of a bullying case remaining unresolved. Moreover, it tests how youth characteristics affect their cognitive, emotional and motivational responses to different interventions.
WP4 utilizes molecular genetics to test genetic susceptibility to intervention effects at the individual level.
CHALLENGE uses quantitative, qualitative, and DNA analyses, combines longitudinal and experimental designs, and harnesses novel tools to collect real-time intervention data and to register children’s responses to interventions. It bridges the perspectives of developmental and social psychology, child psychiatry, and genetics, builds theory on persistent bullying and enables the development of tailored measures for specific target groups where available interventions have failed
Max ERC Funding
2 424 001 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-10-01, End date: 2025-09-30
Project acronym COLOUR
Project THE COLOUR OF LABOUR: THE RACIALIZED LIVES OF MIGRANTS
Researcher (PI) Cristiana BASTOS
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH6, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary This project is about the racialization of migrant labourers across political boundaries, with a main focus on impoverished Europeans who served in huge numbers as indentured labourers in nineteenth-century Guianese, Caribbean and Hawaiian sugar plantations and in the workforce of late nineteenth and early twentieth century New England cotton mills.
With this project I aim to provide major, innovative contributions on three fronts:
(i) theory-making, by working the concepts of race, racism, racialization, embodiment and memory in association with migrant work across political boundaries and imperial classifications;
(ii) social relevance of basic research, by linking an issue of pressing urgency in contemporary Europe to substantive, broad-scope, and multi-sited anthropological/historical research on the wider structures of domination, rather than to targeted problem-solving research of immediate applicability;
(iii) disciplinary scope, by proposing to unsettle historical anthropology and ethnographic history from within the boundaries of a single empire, and to overcome the limitations of existing comparative studies, by inquiring into the flows and interactions between competing empires.
I will also:
(iv) strengthen the methodology for multi-sited, multi-period research in anthropology;
(v) contribute to an anthropology of global connections and trans-local approaches;
(vi) promote the multidisciplinary and combined-methods approach to complex subjects;
(vii) narrate a poorly known set of historical situations of labour racializations involving Europeans and document the ways they reverberate through generations; and
(viii) make the analysis available to both academic audiences and the different communities involved in the research.
Summary
This project is about the racialization of migrant labourers across political boundaries, with a main focus on impoverished Europeans who served in huge numbers as indentured labourers in nineteenth-century Guianese, Caribbean and Hawaiian sugar plantations and in the workforce of late nineteenth and early twentieth century New England cotton mills.
With this project I aim to provide major, innovative contributions on three fronts:
(i) theory-making, by working the concepts of race, racism, racialization, embodiment and memory in association with migrant work across political boundaries and imperial classifications;
(ii) social relevance of basic research, by linking an issue of pressing urgency in contemporary Europe to substantive, broad-scope, and multi-sited anthropological/historical research on the wider structures of domination, rather than to targeted problem-solving research of immediate applicability;
(iii) disciplinary scope, by proposing to unsettle historical anthropology and ethnographic history from within the boundaries of a single empire, and to overcome the limitations of existing comparative studies, by inquiring into the flows and interactions between competing empires.
I will also:
(iv) strengthen the methodology for multi-sited, multi-period research in anthropology;
(v) contribute to an anthropology of global connections and trans-local approaches;
(vi) promote the multidisciplinary and combined-methods approach to complex subjects;
(vii) narrate a poorly known set of historical situations of labour racializations involving Europeans and document the ways they reverberate through generations; and
(viii) make the analysis available to both academic audiences and the different communities involved in the research.
Max ERC Funding
2 161 397 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym ComplexiTE
Project An integrated multidisciplinary tissue engineering approach combining novel high-throughput screening and advanced methodologies to create complex biomaterials-stem cells constructs
Researcher (PI) Rui Luis Goncalves Dos Reis
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDADE DO MINHO
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary New developments on tissue engineering strategies should realize the complexity of tissue remodelling and the inter-dependency of many variables associated to stem cells and biomaterials interactions. ComplexiTE proposes an integrated approach to address such multiple factors in which different innovative methodologies are implemented, aiming at developing tissue-like substitutes with enhanced in vivo functionality. Several ground-breaking advances are expected to be achieved, including: i) improved methodologies for isolation and expansion of sub-populations of stem cells derived from not so explored sources such as adipose tissue and amniotic fluid; ii) radically new methods to monitor human stem cells behaviour in vivo; iii) new macromolecules isolated from renewable resources, especially from marine origin; iv) combinations of liquid volumes mingling biomaterials and distinct stem cells, generating hydrogel beads upon adequate cross-linking reactions; v) optimised culture of the produced beads in adequate 3D bioreactors and a novel selection method to sort the beads that show a (pre-defined) positive biological reading; vi) random 3D arrays validated by identifying the natural polymers and cells composing the positive beads; v) 2D arrays of selected hydrogel spots for brand new in vivo tests, in which each spot of the implanted chip may be evaluated within the living animal using adequate imaging methods; vi) new porous scaffolds of the best combinations formed by particles agglomeration or fiber-based rapid-prototyping. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to develop breakthrough research specifically focused on the above mentioned key issues and radically innovative approaches to produce and scale-up new tissue engineering strategies that are both industrially and clinically relevant, by mastering the inherent complexity associated to the correct selection among a great number of combinations of possible biomaterials, stem cells and culturing conditions.
Summary
New developments on tissue engineering strategies should realize the complexity of tissue remodelling and the inter-dependency of many variables associated to stem cells and biomaterials interactions. ComplexiTE proposes an integrated approach to address such multiple factors in which different innovative methodologies are implemented, aiming at developing tissue-like substitutes with enhanced in vivo functionality. Several ground-breaking advances are expected to be achieved, including: i) improved methodologies for isolation and expansion of sub-populations of stem cells derived from not so explored sources such as adipose tissue and amniotic fluid; ii) radically new methods to monitor human stem cells behaviour in vivo; iii) new macromolecules isolated from renewable resources, especially from marine origin; iv) combinations of liquid volumes mingling biomaterials and distinct stem cells, generating hydrogel beads upon adequate cross-linking reactions; v) optimised culture of the produced beads in adequate 3D bioreactors and a novel selection method to sort the beads that show a (pre-defined) positive biological reading; vi) random 3D arrays validated by identifying the natural polymers and cells composing the positive beads; v) 2D arrays of selected hydrogel spots for brand new in vivo tests, in which each spot of the implanted chip may be evaluated within the living animal using adequate imaging methods; vi) new porous scaffolds of the best combinations formed by particles agglomeration or fiber-based rapid-prototyping. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to develop breakthrough research specifically focused on the above mentioned key issues and radically innovative approaches to produce and scale-up new tissue engineering strategies that are both industrially and clinically relevant, by mastering the inherent complexity associated to the correct selection among a great number of combinations of possible biomaterials, stem cells and culturing conditions.
Max ERC Funding
2 320 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-05-01, End date: 2018-04-30
