Project acronym ABRSEIST
Project Antibiotic Resistance: Socio-Economic Determinants and the Role of Information and Salience in Treatment Choice
Researcher (PI) Hannes ULLRICH
Host Institution (HI) DEUTSCHES INSTITUT FUR WIRTSCHAFTSFORSCHUNG DIW (INSTITUT FUR KONJUNKTURFORSCHUNG) EV
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2018-STG
Summary Antibiotics have contributed to a tremendous increase in human well-being, saving many millions of lives. However, antibiotics become obsolete the more they are used as selection pressure promotes the development of resistant bacteria. The World Health Organization has proclaimed antibiotic resistance as a major global threat to public health. Today, 700,000 deaths per year are due to untreatable infections. To win the battle against antibiotic resistance, new policies affecting the supply and demand of existing and new drugs must be designed. I propose new research to identify and evaluate feasible and effective demand-side policy interventions targeting the relevant decision makers: physicians and patients. ABRSEIST will make use of a broad econometric toolset to identify mechanisms linking antibiotic resistance and consumption exploiting a unique combination of physician-patient-level antibiotic resistance, treatment, and socio-economic data. Using machine learning methods adapted for causal inference, theory-driven structural econometric analysis, and randomization in the field it will provide rigorous evidence on effective intervention designs. This research will improve our understanding of how prescribing, resistance, and the effect of antibiotic use on resistance, are distributed in the general population which has important implications for the design of targeted interventions. It will then estimate a structural model of general practitioners’ acquisition and use of information under uncertainty about resistance in prescription choice, allowing counterfactual analysis of information-improving policies such as mandatory diagnostic testing. The large-scale and structural econometric analyses allow flexible identification of physician heterogeneity, which ABRSEIST will exploit to design and evaluate targeted, randomized information nudges in the field. The result will be improved rational use and a toolset applicable in contexts of antibiotic prescribing.
Summary
Antibiotics have contributed to a tremendous increase in human well-being, saving many millions of lives. However, antibiotics become obsolete the more they are used as selection pressure promotes the development of resistant bacteria. The World Health Organization has proclaimed antibiotic resistance as a major global threat to public health. Today, 700,000 deaths per year are due to untreatable infections. To win the battle against antibiotic resistance, new policies affecting the supply and demand of existing and new drugs must be designed. I propose new research to identify and evaluate feasible and effective demand-side policy interventions targeting the relevant decision makers: physicians and patients. ABRSEIST will make use of a broad econometric toolset to identify mechanisms linking antibiotic resistance and consumption exploiting a unique combination of physician-patient-level antibiotic resistance, treatment, and socio-economic data. Using machine learning methods adapted for causal inference, theory-driven structural econometric analysis, and randomization in the field it will provide rigorous evidence on effective intervention designs. This research will improve our understanding of how prescribing, resistance, and the effect of antibiotic use on resistance, are distributed in the general population which has important implications for the design of targeted interventions. It will then estimate a structural model of general practitioners’ acquisition and use of information under uncertainty about resistance in prescription choice, allowing counterfactual analysis of information-improving policies such as mandatory diagnostic testing. The large-scale and structural econometric analyses allow flexible identification of physician heterogeneity, which ABRSEIST will exploit to design and evaluate targeted, randomized information nudges in the field. The result will be improved rational use and a toolset applicable in contexts of antibiotic prescribing.
Max ERC Funding
1 498 920 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31
Project acronym ACAP
Project Acency Costs and Asset Pricing
Researcher (PI) Thomas Mariotti
Host Institution (HI) FONDATION JEAN-JACQUES LAFFONT,TOULOUSE SCIENCES ECONOMIQUES
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The main objective of this research project is to contribute at bridging the gap between the two main branches of financial theory, namely corporate finance and asset pricing. It is motivated by the conviction that these two aspects of financial activity should and can be analyzed within a unified framework. This research will borrow from these two approaches in order to construct theoretical models that allow one to analyze the design and issuance of financial securities, as well as the dynamics of their valuations. Unlike asset pricing, which takes as given the price of the fundamentals, the goal is to derive security price processes from a precise description of firm’s operations and internal frictions. Regarding the latter, and in line with traditional corporate finance theory, the analysis will emphasize the role of agency costs within the firm for the design of its securities. But the analysis will be pushed one step further by studying the impact of these agency costs on key financial variables such as stock and bond prices, leverage, book-to-market ratios, default risk, or the holding of liquidities by firms. One of the contributions of this research project is to show how these variables are interrelated when firms and investors agree upon optimal financial arrangements. The final objective is to derive a rich set of testable asset pricing implications that would eventually be brought to the data.
Summary
The main objective of this research project is to contribute at bridging the gap between the two main branches of financial theory, namely corporate finance and asset pricing. It is motivated by the conviction that these two aspects of financial activity should and can be analyzed within a unified framework. This research will borrow from these two approaches in order to construct theoretical models that allow one to analyze the design and issuance of financial securities, as well as the dynamics of their valuations. Unlike asset pricing, which takes as given the price of the fundamentals, the goal is to derive security price processes from a precise description of firm’s operations and internal frictions. Regarding the latter, and in line with traditional corporate finance theory, the analysis will emphasize the role of agency costs within the firm for the design of its securities. But the analysis will be pushed one step further by studying the impact of these agency costs on key financial variables such as stock and bond prices, leverage, book-to-market ratios, default risk, or the holding of liquidities by firms. One of the contributions of this research project is to show how these variables are interrelated when firms and investors agree upon optimal financial arrangements. The final objective is to derive a rich set of testable asset pricing implications that would eventually be brought to the data.
Max ERC Funding
1 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-11-01, End date: 2014-10-31
Project acronym AcetyLys
Project Unravelling the role of lysine acetylation in the regulation of glycolysis in cancer cells through the development of synthetic biology-based tools
Researcher (PI) Eyal Arbely
Host Institution (HI) BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2015-STG
Summary Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline that offers powerful tools to control and manipulate fundamental processes in living matter. We propose to develop and apply such tools to modify the genetic code of cultured mammalian cells and bacteria with the aim to study the role of lysine acetylation in the regulation of metabolism and in cancer development. Thousands of lysine acetylation sites were recently discovered on non-histone proteins, suggesting that acetylation is a widespread and evolutionarily conserved post translational modification, similar in scope to phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Specifically, it has been found that most of the enzymes of metabolic processes—including glycolysis—are acetylated, implying that acetylation is key regulator of cellular metabolism in general and in glycolysis in particular. The regulation of metabolic pathways is of particular importance to cancer research, as misregulation of metabolic pathways, especially upregulation of glycolysis, is common to most transformed cells and is now considered a new hallmark of cancer. These data raise an immediate question: what is the role of acetylation in the regulation of glycolysis and in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells? While current methods rely on mutational analyses, we will genetically encode the incorporation of acetylated lysine and directly measure the functional role of each acetylation site in cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines. Using this methodology, we will study the structural and functional implications of all the acetylation sites in glycolytic enzymes. We will also decipher the mechanism by which acetylation is regulated by deacetylases and answer a long standing question – how 18 deacetylases recognise their substrates among thousands of acetylated proteins? The developed methodologies can be applied to a wide range of protein families known to be acetylated, thereby making this study relevant to diverse research fields.
Summary
Synthetic biology is an emerging discipline that offers powerful tools to control and manipulate fundamental processes in living matter. We propose to develop and apply such tools to modify the genetic code of cultured mammalian cells and bacteria with the aim to study the role of lysine acetylation in the regulation of metabolism and in cancer development. Thousands of lysine acetylation sites were recently discovered on non-histone proteins, suggesting that acetylation is a widespread and evolutionarily conserved post translational modification, similar in scope to phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Specifically, it has been found that most of the enzymes of metabolic processes—including glycolysis—are acetylated, implying that acetylation is key regulator of cellular metabolism in general and in glycolysis in particular. The regulation of metabolic pathways is of particular importance to cancer research, as misregulation of metabolic pathways, especially upregulation of glycolysis, is common to most transformed cells and is now considered a new hallmark of cancer. These data raise an immediate question: what is the role of acetylation in the regulation of glycolysis and in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells? While current methods rely on mutational analyses, we will genetically encode the incorporation of acetylated lysine and directly measure the functional role of each acetylation site in cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines. Using this methodology, we will study the structural and functional implications of all the acetylation sites in glycolytic enzymes. We will also decipher the mechanism by which acetylation is regulated by deacetylases and answer a long standing question – how 18 deacetylases recognise their substrates among thousands of acetylated proteins? The developed methodologies can be applied to a wide range of protein families known to be acetylated, thereby making this study relevant to diverse research fields.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 375 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym ACHILLES-HEEL
Project Crop resistance improvement by mining natural and induced variation in host accessibility factors
Researcher (PI) Sebastian Schornack
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS9, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Increasing crop yield to feed the world is a grand challenge of the 21st century but it is hampered by diseases caused by filamentous plant pathogens. The arms race between pathogen and plant demands constant adjustment of crop germplasm to tackle emerging pathogen races with new virulence features. To date, most crop disease resistance has relied on specific resistance genes that are effective only against a subset of races. We cannot solely rely on classical resistance genes to keep ahead of the pathogens. There is an urgent need to develop approaches based on knowledge of the pathogen’s Achilles heel: core plant processes that are required for pathogen colonization.
Our hypothesis is that disease resistance based on manipulation of host accessibility processes has a higher probability for durability, and is best identified using a broad host-range pathogen. I will employ the filamentous pathogen Phytophthora palmivora to mine plant alleles and unravel host processes providing microbial access in roots and leaves of monocot and dicot plants.
In Aim 1 I will utilize plant symbiosis mutants and allelic variation to elucidate general mechanisms of colonization by filamentous microbes. Importantly, allelic variation will be studied in economically relevant barley and wheat to allow immediate translation into breeding programs.
In Aim 2 I will perform a comparative study of microbial colonization in monocot and dicot roots and leaves. Transcriptional profiling of pathogen and plant will highlight common and contrasting principles and illustrate the impact of differential plant anatomies.
We will challenge our findings by testing beneficial fungi to assess commonalities and differences between mutualist and pathogen colonization. We will use genetics, cell biology and genomics to find suitable resistance alleles highly relevant to crop production and global food security. At the completion of the project, I expect to have a set of genes for resistance breeding.
Summary
Increasing crop yield to feed the world is a grand challenge of the 21st century but it is hampered by diseases caused by filamentous plant pathogens. The arms race between pathogen and plant demands constant adjustment of crop germplasm to tackle emerging pathogen races with new virulence features. To date, most crop disease resistance has relied on specific resistance genes that are effective only against a subset of races. We cannot solely rely on classical resistance genes to keep ahead of the pathogens. There is an urgent need to develop approaches based on knowledge of the pathogen’s Achilles heel: core plant processes that are required for pathogen colonization.
Our hypothesis is that disease resistance based on manipulation of host accessibility processes has a higher probability for durability, and is best identified using a broad host-range pathogen. I will employ the filamentous pathogen Phytophthora palmivora to mine plant alleles and unravel host processes providing microbial access in roots and leaves of monocot and dicot plants.
In Aim 1 I will utilize plant symbiosis mutants and allelic variation to elucidate general mechanisms of colonization by filamentous microbes. Importantly, allelic variation will be studied in economically relevant barley and wheat to allow immediate translation into breeding programs.
In Aim 2 I will perform a comparative study of microbial colonization in monocot and dicot roots and leaves. Transcriptional profiling of pathogen and plant will highlight common and contrasting principles and illustrate the impact of differential plant anatomies.
We will challenge our findings by testing beneficial fungi to assess commonalities and differences between mutualist and pathogen colonization. We will use genetics, cell biology and genomics to find suitable resistance alleles highly relevant to crop production and global food security. At the completion of the project, I expect to have a set of genes for resistance breeding.
Max ERC Funding
1 991 054 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym ACO
Project The Proceedings of the Ecumenical Councils from Oral Utterance to Manuscript Edition as Evidence for Late Antique Persuasion and Self-Representation Techniques
Researcher (PI) Peter Alfred Riedlberger
Host Institution (HI) OTTO-FRIEDRICH-UNIVERSITAET BAMBERG
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH5, ERC-2015-STG
Summary The Acts of the Ecumenical Councils of Late Antiquity include (purportedly) verbatim minutes of the proceedings, a formal framework and copies of relevant documents which were either (allegedly) read out during the proceedings or which were later attached to the Acts proper. Despite this unusual wealth of documentary evidence, the daunting nature of the Acts demanding multidisciplinary competency, their complex structure with a matryoshka-like nesting of proceedings from different dates, and the stereotype that their contents bear only on Christological niceties have deterred generations of historians from studying them. Only in recent years have their fortunes begun to improve, but this recent research has not always been based on sound principles: the recorded proceedings of the sessions are still often accepted as verbatim minutes. Yet even a superficial reading quickly reveals widespread editorial interference. We must accept that in many cases the Acts will teach us less about the actual debates than about the editors who shaped their presentation. This does not depreciate the Acts’ evidence: on the contrary, they are first-rate material for the rhetoric of persuasion and self-representation. It is possible, in fact, to take the investigation to a deeper level and examine in what manner the oral proceedings were put into writing: several passages in the Acts comment upon the process of note-taking and the work of the shorthand writers. Thus, the main objective of the proposed research project could be described as an attempt to trace the destinies of the Acts’ texts, from the oral utterance to the manuscript texts we have today. This will include the fullest study on ancient transcript techniques to date; a structural analysis of the Acts’ texts with the aim of highlighting edited passages; and a careful comparison of the various editions of the Acts, which survive in Greek, Latin, Syriac and Coptic, in order to detect traces of editorial interference.
Summary
The Acts of the Ecumenical Councils of Late Antiquity include (purportedly) verbatim minutes of the proceedings, a formal framework and copies of relevant documents which were either (allegedly) read out during the proceedings or which were later attached to the Acts proper. Despite this unusual wealth of documentary evidence, the daunting nature of the Acts demanding multidisciplinary competency, their complex structure with a matryoshka-like nesting of proceedings from different dates, and the stereotype that their contents bear only on Christological niceties have deterred generations of historians from studying them. Only in recent years have their fortunes begun to improve, but this recent research has not always been based on sound principles: the recorded proceedings of the sessions are still often accepted as verbatim minutes. Yet even a superficial reading quickly reveals widespread editorial interference. We must accept that in many cases the Acts will teach us less about the actual debates than about the editors who shaped their presentation. This does not depreciate the Acts’ evidence: on the contrary, they are first-rate material for the rhetoric of persuasion and self-representation. It is possible, in fact, to take the investigation to a deeper level and examine in what manner the oral proceedings were put into writing: several passages in the Acts comment upon the process of note-taking and the work of the shorthand writers. Thus, the main objective of the proposed research project could be described as an attempt to trace the destinies of the Acts’ texts, from the oral utterance to the manuscript texts we have today. This will include the fullest study on ancient transcript techniques to date; a structural analysis of the Acts’ texts with the aim of highlighting edited passages; and a careful comparison of the various editions of the Acts, which survive in Greek, Latin, Syriac and Coptic, in order to detect traces of editorial interference.
Max ERC Funding
1 497 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2021-04-30
Project acronym ACOULOMODE
Project Advanced coupling of low order combustor simulations with thermoacoustic modelling and controller design
Researcher (PI) Aimee Morgans
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2012-StG_20111012
Summary "Combustion is essential to the world’s energy generation and transport needs, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Mitigating its impact on the climate and human health, by reducing its associated emissions, is thus a priority. One significant challenge for gas-turbine combustion is combustion instability, which is currently inhibiting reductions in NOx emissions (these damage human health via a deterioration in air quality). Combustion instability is caused by a two-way coupling between unsteady combustion and acoustic waves - the large pressure oscillations that result can cause substantial mechanical damage. Currently, the lack of fast, accurate modelling tools for combustion instability, and the lack of reliable ways of suppressing it are severely hindering reductions in NOx emissions.
This proposal aims to make step improvements in both fast, accurate modelling of combustion instability, and in developing reliable active control strategies for its suppression. It will achieve this by coupling low order combustor models (these are fast, simplified models for simulating combustion instability) with advances in analytical modelling, CFD simulation, reduced order modelling and control theory tools. In particular:
* important advances in accurately incorporating the effect of entropy waves (temperature variations resulting from unsteady combustion) and non-linear flame models will be made;
* new active control strategies for achieving reliable suppression of combustion instability, including from within limit cycle oscillations, will be developed;
* an open-source low order combustor modelling tool will be developed and widely disseminated, opening access to researchers worldwide and improving communications between the fields of thermoacoustics and control theory.
Thus the proposal aims to use analytical and computational methods to contribute to achieving low NOx gas-turbine combustion, without the penalty of damaging combustion instability."
Summary
"Combustion is essential to the world’s energy generation and transport needs, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Mitigating its impact on the climate and human health, by reducing its associated emissions, is thus a priority. One significant challenge for gas-turbine combustion is combustion instability, which is currently inhibiting reductions in NOx emissions (these damage human health via a deterioration in air quality). Combustion instability is caused by a two-way coupling between unsteady combustion and acoustic waves - the large pressure oscillations that result can cause substantial mechanical damage. Currently, the lack of fast, accurate modelling tools for combustion instability, and the lack of reliable ways of suppressing it are severely hindering reductions in NOx emissions.
This proposal aims to make step improvements in both fast, accurate modelling of combustion instability, and in developing reliable active control strategies for its suppression. It will achieve this by coupling low order combustor models (these are fast, simplified models for simulating combustion instability) with advances in analytical modelling, CFD simulation, reduced order modelling and control theory tools. In particular:
* important advances in accurately incorporating the effect of entropy waves (temperature variations resulting from unsteady combustion) and non-linear flame models will be made;
* new active control strategies for achieving reliable suppression of combustion instability, including from within limit cycle oscillations, will be developed;
* an open-source low order combustor modelling tool will be developed and widely disseminated, opening access to researchers worldwide and improving communications between the fields of thermoacoustics and control theory.
Thus the proposal aims to use analytical and computational methods to contribute to achieving low NOx gas-turbine combustion, without the penalty of damaging combustion instability."
Max ERC Funding
1 489 309 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-01-01, End date: 2017-12-31
Project acronym aCROBAT
Project Circadian Regulation Of Brown Adipose Thermogenesis
Researcher (PI) Zachary Philip Gerhart-Hines
Host Institution (HI) KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS4, ERC-2014-STG
Summary Obesity and diabetes have reached pandemic proportions and new therapeutic strategies are critically needed. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a major source of heat production, possesses significant energy-dissipating capacity and therefore represents a promising target to use in combating these diseases. Recently, I discovered a novel link between circadian rhythm and thermogenic stress in the control of the conserved, calorie-burning functions of BAT. Circadian and thermogenic signaling to BAT incorporates blood-borne hormonal and nutrient cues with direct neuronal input. Yet how these responses coordinately shape BAT energy-expending potential through the regulation of cell surface receptors, metabolic enzymes, and transcriptional effectors is still not understood. My primary goal is to investigate this previously unappreciated network of crosstalk that allows mammals to effectively orchestrate daily rhythms in BAT metabolism, while maintaining their ability to adapt to abrupt changes in energy demand. My group will address this question using gain and loss-of-function in vitro and in vivo studies, newly-generated mouse models, customized physiological phenotyping, and cutting-edge advances in next generation RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry. Preliminary, small-scale validations of our methodologies have already yielded a number of novel candidates that may drive key facets of BAT metabolism. Additionally, we will extend our circadian and thermogenic studies into humans to evaluate the translational potential. Our results will advance the fundamental understanding of how daily oscillations in bioenergetic networks establish a framework for the anticipation of and adaptation to environmental challenges. Importantly, we expect that these mechanistic insights will reveal pharmacological targets through which we can unlock evolutionary constraints and harness the energy-expending potential of BAT for the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes.
Summary
Obesity and diabetes have reached pandemic proportions and new therapeutic strategies are critically needed. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a major source of heat production, possesses significant energy-dissipating capacity and therefore represents a promising target to use in combating these diseases. Recently, I discovered a novel link between circadian rhythm and thermogenic stress in the control of the conserved, calorie-burning functions of BAT. Circadian and thermogenic signaling to BAT incorporates blood-borne hormonal and nutrient cues with direct neuronal input. Yet how these responses coordinately shape BAT energy-expending potential through the regulation of cell surface receptors, metabolic enzymes, and transcriptional effectors is still not understood. My primary goal is to investigate this previously unappreciated network of crosstalk that allows mammals to effectively orchestrate daily rhythms in BAT metabolism, while maintaining their ability to adapt to abrupt changes in energy demand. My group will address this question using gain and loss-of-function in vitro and in vivo studies, newly-generated mouse models, customized physiological phenotyping, and cutting-edge advances in next generation RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry. Preliminary, small-scale validations of our methodologies have already yielded a number of novel candidates that may drive key facets of BAT metabolism. Additionally, we will extend our circadian and thermogenic studies into humans to evaluate the translational potential. Our results will advance the fundamental understanding of how daily oscillations in bioenergetic networks establish a framework for the anticipation of and adaptation to environmental challenges. Importantly, we expect that these mechanistic insights will reveal pharmacological targets through which we can unlock evolutionary constraints and harness the energy-expending potential of BAT for the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes.
Max ERC Funding
1 497 008 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2020-04-30
Project acronym ACROSS
Project Australasian Colonization Research: Origins of Seafaring to Sahul
Researcher (PI) Rosemary Helen FARR
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2017-STG
Summary One of the most exciting research questions within archaeology is that of the peopling of Australasia by at least c.50,000 years ago. This represents some of the earliest evidence of modern human colonization outside Africa, yet, even at the greatest sea-level lowstand, this migration would have involved seafaring. It is the maritime nature of this dispersal which makes it so important to questions of technological, cognitive and social human development. These issues have traditionally been the preserve of archaeologists, but with a multidisciplinary approach that embraces cutting-edge marine geophysical, hydrodynamic and archaeogenetic analyses, we now have the opportunity to examine the When, Where, Who and How of the earliest seafaring in world history.
The voyage from Sunda (South East Asia) to Sahul (Australasia) provides evidence for the earliest ‘open water’ crossing in the world. A combination of the sparse number of early archaeological finds and the significant changes in the palaeolandscape and submergence of the broad north western Australian continental shelf, mean that little is known about the routes taken and what these crossings may have entailed.
This project will combine research of the submerged palaeolandscape of the continental shelf to refine our knowledge of the onshore/offshore environment, identify potential submerged prehistoric sites and enhance our understanding of the palaeoshoreline and tidal regime. This will be combined with archaeogenetic research targeting mtDNA and Y-chromosome data to resolve questions of demography and dating.
For the first time this project takes a truly multidisciplinary approach to address the colonization of Sahul, providing an unique opportunity to tackle some of the most important questions about human origins, the relationship between humans and the changing environment, population dynamics and migration, seafaring technology, social organisation and cognition.
Summary
One of the most exciting research questions within archaeology is that of the peopling of Australasia by at least c.50,000 years ago. This represents some of the earliest evidence of modern human colonization outside Africa, yet, even at the greatest sea-level lowstand, this migration would have involved seafaring. It is the maritime nature of this dispersal which makes it so important to questions of technological, cognitive and social human development. These issues have traditionally been the preserve of archaeologists, but with a multidisciplinary approach that embraces cutting-edge marine geophysical, hydrodynamic and archaeogenetic analyses, we now have the opportunity to examine the When, Where, Who and How of the earliest seafaring in world history.
The voyage from Sunda (South East Asia) to Sahul (Australasia) provides evidence for the earliest ‘open water’ crossing in the world. A combination of the sparse number of early archaeological finds and the significant changes in the palaeolandscape and submergence of the broad north western Australian continental shelf, mean that little is known about the routes taken and what these crossings may have entailed.
This project will combine research of the submerged palaeolandscape of the continental shelf to refine our knowledge of the onshore/offshore environment, identify potential submerged prehistoric sites and enhance our understanding of the palaeoshoreline and tidal regime. This will be combined with archaeogenetic research targeting mtDNA and Y-chromosome data to resolve questions of demography and dating.
For the first time this project takes a truly multidisciplinary approach to address the colonization of Sahul, providing an unique opportunity to tackle some of the most important questions about human origins, the relationship between humans and the changing environment, population dynamics and migration, seafaring technology, social organisation and cognition.
Max ERC Funding
1 134 928 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-02-01, End date: 2023-01-31
Project acronym ACROSSBORDERS
Project Across ancient borders and cultures: An Egyptian microcosm in Sudan during the 2nd millennium BC
Researcher (PI) Julia Budka
Host Institution (HI) LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2012-StG_20111124
Summary Pharaonic Egypt is commonly known for its pyramids and tomb treasures. The present knowledge of Egyptian everyday life and social structures derives mostly from mortuary records associated with the upper classes, whereas traces of ordinary life from domestic sites are generally disregarded. Settlement archaeology in Egypt and Nubia (Ancient North Sudan) is still in its infancy; it is timely to strenghten this field. Responsible for the pottery at three major settlement sites (Abydos and Elephantine in Egypt; Sai Island in Sudan), the PI is in a unique position to co-ordinate a research project on settlement patterns in Northeast Africa of the 2nd millennium BC based on the detailed analysis of material remains. The selected case studies situated across ancient and modern borders and of diverse environmental and cultural preconditions, show very similar archaeological remains. Up to now, no attempt has been made to explain this situation in detail.
The focus of the project is the well-preserved, only partially explored site of Sai Island, seemingly an Egyptian microcosm in New Kingdom Upper Nubia. Little time is left to conduct the requisite large-scale archaeology as Sai is endangered by the planned high dam of Dal. With the application of microarchaeology we will introduce an approach that is new in Egyptian settlement archaeology. Our interdisciplinary research will result in novel insights into (a) multifaceted lives on Sai at a micro-spatial level and (b) domestic life in 2nd millennium BC Egypt and Nubia from a macroscopic view. The present understanding of the political situation in Upper Nubia during the New Kingdom as based on written records will be significantly enlarged by the envisaged approach. Furthermore, in reconstructing Sai Island as “home away from home”, the project presents a showcase study of what we can learn about acculturation and adaptation from ancient cultures, in this case from the coexistence of Egyptians and Nubians
Summary
Pharaonic Egypt is commonly known for its pyramids and tomb treasures. The present knowledge of Egyptian everyday life and social structures derives mostly from mortuary records associated with the upper classes, whereas traces of ordinary life from domestic sites are generally disregarded. Settlement archaeology in Egypt and Nubia (Ancient North Sudan) is still in its infancy; it is timely to strenghten this field. Responsible for the pottery at three major settlement sites (Abydos and Elephantine in Egypt; Sai Island in Sudan), the PI is in a unique position to co-ordinate a research project on settlement patterns in Northeast Africa of the 2nd millennium BC based on the detailed analysis of material remains. The selected case studies situated across ancient and modern borders and of diverse environmental and cultural preconditions, show very similar archaeological remains. Up to now, no attempt has been made to explain this situation in detail.
The focus of the project is the well-preserved, only partially explored site of Sai Island, seemingly an Egyptian microcosm in New Kingdom Upper Nubia. Little time is left to conduct the requisite large-scale archaeology as Sai is endangered by the planned high dam of Dal. With the application of microarchaeology we will introduce an approach that is new in Egyptian settlement archaeology. Our interdisciplinary research will result in novel insights into (a) multifaceted lives on Sai at a micro-spatial level and (b) domestic life in 2nd millennium BC Egypt and Nubia from a macroscopic view. The present understanding of the political situation in Upper Nubia during the New Kingdom as based on written records will be significantly enlarged by the envisaged approach. Furthermore, in reconstructing Sai Island as “home away from home”, the project presents a showcase study of what we can learn about acculturation and adaptation from ancient cultures, in this case from the coexistence of Egyptians and Nubians
Max ERC Funding
1 497 460 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-12-01, End date: 2018-04-30
Project acronym ACTINIT
Project Brain-behavior forecasting: The causal determinants of spontaneous self-initiated action in the study of volition and the development of asynchronous brain-computer interfaces.
Researcher (PI) Aaron Schurger
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2014-STG
Summary "How are actions initiated by the human brain when there is no external sensory cue or other immediate imperative? How do subtle ongoing interactions within the brain and between the brain, body, and sensory context influence the spontaneous initiation of action? How should we approach the problem of trying to identify the neural events that cause spontaneous voluntary action? Much is understood about how the brain decides between competing alternatives, leading to different behavioral responses. But far less is known about how the brain decides "when" to perform an action, or "whether" to perform an action in the first place, especially in a context where there is no sensory cue to act such as during foraging. This project seeks to open a new chapter in the study of spontaneous voluntary action building on a novel hypothesis recently introduced by the applicant (Schurger et al, PNAS 2012) concerning the role of ongoing neural activity in action initiation. We introduce brain-behavior forecasting, the converse of movement-locked averaging, as an approach to identifying the neurodynamic states that commit the motor system to performing an action "now", and will apply it in the context of information foraging. Spontaneous action remains a profound mystery in the brain basis of behavior, in humans and other animals, and is also central to the problem of asynchronous intention-detection in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). A BCI must not only interpret what the user intends, but also must detect "when" the user intends to act, and not respond otherwise. This remains the biggest challenge in the development of high-performance BCIs, whether invasive or non-invasive. This project will take a systematic and collaborative approach to the study of spontaneous self-initiated action, incorporating computational modeling, neuroimaging, and machine learning techniques towards a deeper understanding of voluntary behavior and the robust asynchronous detection of decisions-to-act."
Summary
"How are actions initiated by the human brain when there is no external sensory cue or other immediate imperative? How do subtle ongoing interactions within the brain and between the brain, body, and sensory context influence the spontaneous initiation of action? How should we approach the problem of trying to identify the neural events that cause spontaneous voluntary action? Much is understood about how the brain decides between competing alternatives, leading to different behavioral responses. But far less is known about how the brain decides "when" to perform an action, or "whether" to perform an action in the first place, especially in a context where there is no sensory cue to act such as during foraging. This project seeks to open a new chapter in the study of spontaneous voluntary action building on a novel hypothesis recently introduced by the applicant (Schurger et al, PNAS 2012) concerning the role of ongoing neural activity in action initiation. We introduce brain-behavior forecasting, the converse of movement-locked averaging, as an approach to identifying the neurodynamic states that commit the motor system to performing an action "now", and will apply it in the context of information foraging. Spontaneous action remains a profound mystery in the brain basis of behavior, in humans and other animals, and is also central to the problem of asynchronous intention-detection in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). A BCI must not only interpret what the user intends, but also must detect "when" the user intends to act, and not respond otherwise. This remains the biggest challenge in the development of high-performance BCIs, whether invasive or non-invasive. This project will take a systematic and collaborative approach to the study of spontaneous self-initiated action, incorporating computational modeling, neuroimaging, and machine learning techniques towards a deeper understanding of voluntary behavior and the robust asynchronous detection of decisions-to-act."
Max ERC Funding
1 338 130 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30
