Project acronym 3DNANOMECH
Project Three-dimensional molecular resolution mapping of soft matter-liquid interfaces
Researcher (PI) Ricardo Garcia
Host Institution (HI) AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary Optical, electron and probe microscopes are enabling tools for discoveries and knowledge generation in nanoscale sicence and technology. High resolution –nanoscale or molecular-, noninvasive and label-free imaging of three-dimensional soft matter-liquid interfaces has not been achieved by any microscopy method.
Force microscopy (AFM) is considered the second most relevant advance in materials science since 1960. Despite its impressive range of applications, the technique has some key limitations. Force microscopy has not three dimensional depth. What lies above or in the subsurface is not readily characterized.
3DNanoMech proposes to design, build and operate a high speed force-based method for the three-dimensional characterization soft matter-liquid interfaces (3D AFM). The microscope will combine a detection method based on force perturbations, adaptive algorithms, high speed piezo actuators and quantitative-oriented multifrequency approaches. The development of the microscope cannot be separated from its applications: imaging the error-free DNA repair and to understand the relationship existing between the nanomechanical properties and the malignancy of cancer cells. Those problems encompass the different spatial –molecular-nano-mesoscopic- and time –milli to seconds- scales of the instrument.
In short, 3DNanoMech aims to image, map and measure with picoNewton, millisecond and angstrom resolution soft matter surfaces and interfaces in liquid. The long-term vision of 3DNanoMech is to replace models or computer animations of bimolecular-liquid interfaces by real time, molecular resolution maps of properties and processes.
Summary
Optical, electron and probe microscopes are enabling tools for discoveries and knowledge generation in nanoscale sicence and technology. High resolution –nanoscale or molecular-, noninvasive and label-free imaging of three-dimensional soft matter-liquid interfaces has not been achieved by any microscopy method.
Force microscopy (AFM) is considered the second most relevant advance in materials science since 1960. Despite its impressive range of applications, the technique has some key limitations. Force microscopy has not three dimensional depth. What lies above or in the subsurface is not readily characterized.
3DNanoMech proposes to design, build and operate a high speed force-based method for the three-dimensional characterization soft matter-liquid interfaces (3D AFM). The microscope will combine a detection method based on force perturbations, adaptive algorithms, high speed piezo actuators and quantitative-oriented multifrequency approaches. The development of the microscope cannot be separated from its applications: imaging the error-free DNA repair and to understand the relationship existing between the nanomechanical properties and the malignancy of cancer cells. Those problems encompass the different spatial –molecular-nano-mesoscopic- and time –milli to seconds- scales of the instrument.
In short, 3DNanoMech aims to image, map and measure with picoNewton, millisecond and angstrom resolution soft matter surfaces and interfaces in liquid. The long-term vision of 3DNanoMech is to replace models or computer animations of bimolecular-liquid interfaces by real time, molecular resolution maps of properties and processes.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 928 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym ARISYS
Project Engineering an artificial immune system with functional components assembled from prokaryotic parts and modules
Researcher (PI) VIctor De Lorenzo Prieto
Host Institution (HI) AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS9, ERC-2012-ADG_20120314
Summary The objective of this project is to overcome current limitations for antibody production that are inherent to the extant immune system of vertebrates. This will be done by creating an all-in-one artificial/synthetic counterpart based exclusively on prokaryotic parts, devices and modules. To this end, ARISYS will exploit design concepts, construction hierarchies and standardization notions that stem from contemporary Synthetic Biology for the assembly and validation of (what we believe is) the most complex artificial biological system ventured thus far. This all-bacterial immune-like system will not only simplify and make affordable the manipulations necessary for antibody generation, but will also permit the application of such binders by themselves or displayed on bacterial cells to biotechnological challenges well beyond therapeutic and health-related uses. The work plan involves the assembly and validation of autonomous functional modules for [i] displaying antibody/affibody (AB) scaffolds attached to the surface of bacterial cells, [ii] conditional diversification of target-binding sequences of the ABs, [iii] contact-dependent activation of gene expression, [iv] reversible bi-stable switches, and [v] clonal selection and amplification of improved binders. These modules composed of stand-alone parts and bearing well defined input/output functions, will be assembled in the genomic chassis of streamlined Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida strains. The resulting molecular network will make the ABs expressed and displayed on the cell surface to proceed spontaneously (or at the user's decision) through subsequent cycles of affinity and specificity maturation towards antigens or other targets presented to the bacterial population. In this way, a single, easy-to-handle (albeit heavily engineered) strain will govern all operations that are typically scattered in a multitude of separate methods and apparatuses for AB production.
Summary
The objective of this project is to overcome current limitations for antibody production that are inherent to the extant immune system of vertebrates. This will be done by creating an all-in-one artificial/synthetic counterpart based exclusively on prokaryotic parts, devices and modules. To this end, ARISYS will exploit design concepts, construction hierarchies and standardization notions that stem from contemporary Synthetic Biology for the assembly and validation of (what we believe is) the most complex artificial biological system ventured thus far. This all-bacterial immune-like system will not only simplify and make affordable the manipulations necessary for antibody generation, but will also permit the application of such binders by themselves or displayed on bacterial cells to biotechnological challenges well beyond therapeutic and health-related uses. The work plan involves the assembly and validation of autonomous functional modules for [i] displaying antibody/affibody (AB) scaffolds attached to the surface of bacterial cells, [ii] conditional diversification of target-binding sequences of the ABs, [iii] contact-dependent activation of gene expression, [iv] reversible bi-stable switches, and [v] clonal selection and amplification of improved binders. These modules composed of stand-alone parts and bearing well defined input/output functions, will be assembled in the genomic chassis of streamlined Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida strains. The resulting molecular network will make the ABs expressed and displayed on the cell surface to proceed spontaneously (or at the user's decision) through subsequent cycles of affinity and specificity maturation towards antigens or other targets presented to the bacterial population. In this way, a single, easy-to-handle (albeit heavily engineered) strain will govern all operations that are typically scattered in a multitude of separate methods and apparatuses for AB production.
Max ERC Funding
2 422 271 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-05-01, End date: 2019-04-30
Project acronym BEMOTHER
Project Becoming a mother: An integrative model of adaptations for motherhood during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Researcher (PI) Oscar VILARROYA
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH4, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary Pregnancy involves biological adaptations that are necessary for the onset, maintenance and regulation of maternal behavior. We were the first group to find (1, 2) that pregnancy is associated with consistent, pronounced and long-lasting reductions in cerebral gray matter (GM) volume in areas of the social-cognition network. The aim of BEMOTHER is to develop an integrative model of the adaptations for motherhood that occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period by: i) establishing when the brain of pregnant women begins to change and how it evolves; ii) characterizing the dynamics of cognitive performance, theory-of-mind, maternal-infant bonding and psychiatric measures; iii) assessing the effect of environmental and/or psychological factors in the maternal adaptations, iv) identifying the metabolomics biomarkers associated with maternal adaptations, and v) integrating the previous findings within the Research Domain Criteria framework (RDoC) (3). We will use a prospective longitudinal design at 5 time points (1 pre-pregnancy session, 2 intra-pregnancy sessions and 2 postpartum sessions) during which neuroimaging, psychological, behavioral and metabolomics data will be acquired in 3 groups of women: a group of nulliparous women who will be undergoing a full-term pregnancy, another group of nulliparous women whose same-sex partners will undergo a full-term pregnancy, and a group of control nulliparous women. We will provide the longitudinal RDoC-based model at the end of the study, but we will also deliver intermediate longitudinal evaluations after the postpartum session, as well as cross-sectional analyses after the first intra-pregnancy session and the postpartum session. BEMOTHER is timely and innovative. It adopts the translational RDoC framework in order to provide a pioneering, comprehensive and dynamic characterization of the adaptations for motherhood, addressing the interaction among different functional domains at different levels of analysis.
Summary
Pregnancy involves biological adaptations that are necessary for the onset, maintenance and regulation of maternal behavior. We were the first group to find (1, 2) that pregnancy is associated with consistent, pronounced and long-lasting reductions in cerebral gray matter (GM) volume in areas of the social-cognition network. The aim of BEMOTHER is to develop an integrative model of the adaptations for motherhood that occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period by: i) establishing when the brain of pregnant women begins to change and how it evolves; ii) characterizing the dynamics of cognitive performance, theory-of-mind, maternal-infant bonding and psychiatric measures; iii) assessing the effect of environmental and/or psychological factors in the maternal adaptations, iv) identifying the metabolomics biomarkers associated with maternal adaptations, and v) integrating the previous findings within the Research Domain Criteria framework (RDoC) (3). We will use a prospective longitudinal design at 5 time points (1 pre-pregnancy session, 2 intra-pregnancy sessions and 2 postpartum sessions) during which neuroimaging, psychological, behavioral and metabolomics data will be acquired in 3 groups of women: a group of nulliparous women who will be undergoing a full-term pregnancy, another group of nulliparous women whose same-sex partners will undergo a full-term pregnancy, and a group of control nulliparous women. We will provide the longitudinal RDoC-based model at the end of the study, but we will also deliver intermediate longitudinal evaluations after the postpartum session, as well as cross-sectional analyses after the first intra-pregnancy session and the postpartum session. BEMOTHER is timely and innovative. It adopts the translational RDoC framework in order to provide a pioneering, comprehensive and dynamic characterization of the adaptations for motherhood, addressing the interaction among different functional domains at different levels of analysis.
Max ERC Funding
2 465 131 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-10-01, End date: 2025-09-30
Project acronym BILITERACY
Project Bi-literacy: Learning to read in L1 and in L2
Researcher (PI) Manuel Francisco Carreiras Valina
Host Institution (HI) BCBL BASQUE CENTER ON COGNITION BRAIN AND LANGUAGE
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH4, ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
Summary Learning to read is probably one of the most exciting discoveries in our life. Using a longitudinal approach, the research proposed examines how the human brain responds to two major challenges: (a) the instantiation a complex cognitive function for which there is no genetic blueprint (learning to read in a first language, L1), and (b) the accommodation to new statistical regularities when learning to read in a second language (L2). The aim of the present research project is to identify the neural substrates of the reading process and its constituent cognitive components, with specific attention to individual differences and reading disabilities; as well as to investigate the relationship between specific cognitive functions and the changes in neural activity that take place in the course of learning to read in L1 and in L2. The project will employ a longitudinal design. We will recruit children before they learn to read in L1 and in L2 and track reading development with both cognitive and neuroimaging measures over 24 months. The findings from this project will provide a deeper understanding of (a) how general neurocognitive factors and language specific factors underlie individual differences – and reading disabilities– in reading acquisition in L1 and in L2; (b) how the neuro-cognitive circuitry changes and brain mechanisms synchronize while instantiating reading in L1 and in L2; (c) what the limitations and the extent of brain plasticity are in young readers. An interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach is one of the keys to success of the present project, along with strong theory-driven investigation. By combining both we will generate breakthroughs to advance our understanding of how literacy in L1 and in L2 is acquired and mastered. The research proposed will also lay the foundations for more applied investigations of best practice in teaching reading in first and subsequent languages, and devising intervention methods for reading disabilities.
Summary
Learning to read is probably one of the most exciting discoveries in our life. Using a longitudinal approach, the research proposed examines how the human brain responds to two major challenges: (a) the instantiation a complex cognitive function for which there is no genetic blueprint (learning to read in a first language, L1), and (b) the accommodation to new statistical regularities when learning to read in a second language (L2). The aim of the present research project is to identify the neural substrates of the reading process and its constituent cognitive components, with specific attention to individual differences and reading disabilities; as well as to investigate the relationship between specific cognitive functions and the changes in neural activity that take place in the course of learning to read in L1 and in L2. The project will employ a longitudinal design. We will recruit children before they learn to read in L1 and in L2 and track reading development with both cognitive and neuroimaging measures over 24 months. The findings from this project will provide a deeper understanding of (a) how general neurocognitive factors and language specific factors underlie individual differences – and reading disabilities– in reading acquisition in L1 and in L2; (b) how the neuro-cognitive circuitry changes and brain mechanisms synchronize while instantiating reading in L1 and in L2; (c) what the limitations and the extent of brain plasticity are in young readers. An interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach is one of the keys to success of the present project, along with strong theory-driven investigation. By combining both we will generate breakthroughs to advance our understanding of how literacy in L1 and in L2 is acquired and mastered. The research proposed will also lay the foundations for more applied investigations of best practice in teaching reading in first and subsequent languages, and devising intervention methods for reading disabilities.
Max ERC Funding
2 487 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
Project acronym BIOFORCE
Project Simultaneous multi-pathway engineering in crop plants through combinatorial genetic transformation: Creating nutritionally biofortified cereal grains for food security
Researcher (PI) Paul Christou
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD DE LLEIDA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS9, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary BIOFORCE has a highly ambitious applied objective: to create transgenic cereal plants that will provide a near-complete micronutrient complement (vitamins A, C, E, folate and essential minerals Ca, Fe, Se and Zn) for malnourished people in the developing world, as well as built-in resistance to insects and parasitic weeds. This in itself represents a striking advance over current efforts to address food insecurity using applied biotechnology in the developing world. We will also address fundamental mechanistic aspects of multi-gene/pathway engineering through transcriptome and metabolome profiling. Fundamental science and applied objectives will be achieved through the application of an exciting novel technology (combinatorial genetic transformation) developed and patented by my research group. This allows the simultaneous transfer of an unlimited number of transgenes into plants followed by library-based selection of plants with appropriate genotypes and phenotypes. All transgenes integrate into one locus ensuring expression stability over multiple generations. This proposal represents a new line of research in my laboratory, founded on incremental advances in the elucidation of transgene integration mechanisms in plants over the past two and a half decades. In addition to scientific issues, BIOFORCE address challenges such as intellectual property, regulatory and biosafety issues and crucially how the fruits of our work will be taken up through philanthropic initiatives in the developing world while creating exploitable opportunities elsewhere. BIOFORCE is comprehensive and it provides a complete package that stands to make an unprecedented contribution to food security in the developing world, while at the same time generating new knowledge to streamline and simplify multiplex gene transfer and the simultaneous modification of multiple complex plant metabolic pathways
Summary
BIOFORCE has a highly ambitious applied objective: to create transgenic cereal plants that will provide a near-complete micronutrient complement (vitamins A, C, E, folate and essential minerals Ca, Fe, Se and Zn) for malnourished people in the developing world, as well as built-in resistance to insects and parasitic weeds. This in itself represents a striking advance over current efforts to address food insecurity using applied biotechnology in the developing world. We will also address fundamental mechanistic aspects of multi-gene/pathway engineering through transcriptome and metabolome profiling. Fundamental science and applied objectives will be achieved through the application of an exciting novel technology (combinatorial genetic transformation) developed and patented by my research group. This allows the simultaneous transfer of an unlimited number of transgenes into plants followed by library-based selection of plants with appropriate genotypes and phenotypes. All transgenes integrate into one locus ensuring expression stability over multiple generations. This proposal represents a new line of research in my laboratory, founded on incremental advances in the elucidation of transgene integration mechanisms in plants over the past two and a half decades. In addition to scientific issues, BIOFORCE address challenges such as intellectual property, regulatory and biosafety issues and crucially how the fruits of our work will be taken up through philanthropic initiatives in the developing world while creating exploitable opportunities elsewhere. BIOFORCE is comprehensive and it provides a complete package that stands to make an unprecedented contribution to food security in the developing world, while at the same time generating new knowledge to streamline and simplify multiplex gene transfer and the simultaneous modification of multiple complex plant metabolic pathways
Max ERC Funding
2 290 046 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-04-01, End date: 2014-03-31
Project acronym CADENCE
Project Catalytic Dual-Function Devices Against Cancer
Researcher (PI) Jesus Santamaria
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2016-ADG
Summary Despite intense research efforts in almost every branch of the natural sciences, cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is thus remarkable that little or no therapeutic use has been made of a whole discipline, heterogeneous catalysis, which is noted for its specificity and for enabling chemical reactions in otherwise passive environments. At least in part, this could be attributed to practical difficulties: the selective delivery of a catalyst to a tumour and the remote activation of its catalytic function only after it has reached its target are highly challenging objectives. Only recently, the necessary tools to overcome these problems seem within reach.
CADENCE aims for a breakthrough in cancer therapy by developing a new therapeutic concept. The central hypothesis is that a growing tumour can be treated as a special type of reactor in which reaction conditions can be tailored to achieve two objectives: i) molecules essential to tumour growth are locally depleted and ii) toxic, short-lived products are generated in situ.
To implement this novel approach we will make use of core concepts of reactor engineering (kinetics, heat and mass transfer, catalyst design), as well as of ideas borrowed from other areas, mainly those of bio-orthogonal chemistry and controlled drug delivery. We will explore two different strategies (classical EPR effect and stem cells as Trojan Horses) to deliver optimized catalysts to the tumour. Once the catalysts have reached the tumour they will be remotely activated using near-infrared (NIR) light, that affords the highest penetration into body tissues.
This is an ambitious project, addressing all the key steps from catalyst design to in vivo studies. Given the novel perspective provided by CADENCE, even partial success in any of the approaches to be tested would have a significant impact on the therapeutic toolbox available to treat cancer.
Summary
Despite intense research efforts in almost every branch of the natural sciences, cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is thus remarkable that little or no therapeutic use has been made of a whole discipline, heterogeneous catalysis, which is noted for its specificity and for enabling chemical reactions in otherwise passive environments. At least in part, this could be attributed to practical difficulties: the selective delivery of a catalyst to a tumour and the remote activation of its catalytic function only after it has reached its target are highly challenging objectives. Only recently, the necessary tools to overcome these problems seem within reach.
CADENCE aims for a breakthrough in cancer therapy by developing a new therapeutic concept. The central hypothesis is that a growing tumour can be treated as a special type of reactor in which reaction conditions can be tailored to achieve two objectives: i) molecules essential to tumour growth are locally depleted and ii) toxic, short-lived products are generated in situ.
To implement this novel approach we will make use of core concepts of reactor engineering (kinetics, heat and mass transfer, catalyst design), as well as of ideas borrowed from other areas, mainly those of bio-orthogonal chemistry and controlled drug delivery. We will explore two different strategies (classical EPR effect and stem cells as Trojan Horses) to deliver optimized catalysts to the tumour. Once the catalysts have reached the tumour they will be remotely activated using near-infrared (NIR) light, that affords the highest penetration into body tissues.
This is an ambitious project, addressing all the key steps from catalyst design to in vivo studies. Given the novel perspective provided by CADENCE, even partial success in any of the approaches to be tested would have a significant impact on the therapeutic toolbox available to treat cancer.
Max ERC Funding
2 483 136 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31
Project acronym CANCER&AGEING
Project COMMOM MECHANISMS UNDERLYING CANCER AND AGEING
Researcher (PI) Manuel Serrano
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACION CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLOGICAS CARLOS III
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS1, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary "In recent years, we have made significant contributions to the understanding of the tumour suppressors p53, p16INK4a, and ARF, particularly in relation with cellular senescence and aging. The current project is motivated by two hypothesis: 1) that the INK4/ARF locus is a sensor of epigenetic damage and this is at the basis of its activation by oncogenes and aging; and, 2) that the accumulation of cellular damage and stress is at the basis of both cancer and aging, and consequently ""anti-damage genes"", such as tumour suppressors, simultaneously counteract both cancer and aging. With regard to the INK4/ARF locus, the project includes: 1.1) the generation of null mice for the Regulatory Domain (RD) thought to be essential for the proper regulation of the locus; 1.2) the study of the INK4/ARF anti-sense transcription and its importance for the assembly of Polycomb repressive complexes; 1.3) the generation of mice carrying the human INK4/ARF locus to analyze, among other aspects, whether the known differences between the human and murine loci are ""locus autonomous""; and, 1.4) to analyze the INK4/ARF locus in the process of epigenetic reprogramming both from ES cells to differentiated cells and, conversely, from differentiated cells to induced-pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. With regard to the impact of ""anti-damage genes"" on cancer and aging, the project includes: 2.1) the analysis of the aging of super-INK4/ARF mice and super-p53 mice; 2.2) we have generated super-PTEN mice and we will examine whether PTEN not only confers cancer resistance but also anti-aging activity; and, finally, 2.3) we have generated super-SIRT1 mice, which is among the best-characterized anti-aging genes in non-mammalian model systems (where it is named Sir2) involved in protection from metabolic damage, and we will study the cancer and aging of these mice. Together, this project will significantly advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and aging."
Summary
"In recent years, we have made significant contributions to the understanding of the tumour suppressors p53, p16INK4a, and ARF, particularly in relation with cellular senescence and aging. The current project is motivated by two hypothesis: 1) that the INK4/ARF locus is a sensor of epigenetic damage and this is at the basis of its activation by oncogenes and aging; and, 2) that the accumulation of cellular damage and stress is at the basis of both cancer and aging, and consequently ""anti-damage genes"", such as tumour suppressors, simultaneously counteract both cancer and aging. With regard to the INK4/ARF locus, the project includes: 1.1) the generation of null mice for the Regulatory Domain (RD) thought to be essential for the proper regulation of the locus; 1.2) the study of the INK4/ARF anti-sense transcription and its importance for the assembly of Polycomb repressive complexes; 1.3) the generation of mice carrying the human INK4/ARF locus to analyze, among other aspects, whether the known differences between the human and murine loci are ""locus autonomous""; and, 1.4) to analyze the INK4/ARF locus in the process of epigenetic reprogramming both from ES cells to differentiated cells and, conversely, from differentiated cells to induced-pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. With regard to the impact of ""anti-damage genes"" on cancer and aging, the project includes: 2.1) the analysis of the aging of super-INK4/ARF mice and super-p53 mice; 2.2) we have generated super-PTEN mice and we will examine whether PTEN not only confers cancer resistance but also anti-aging activity; and, finally, 2.3) we have generated super-SIRT1 mice, which is among the best-characterized anti-aging genes in non-mammalian model systems (where it is named Sir2) involved in protection from metabolic damage, and we will study the cancer and aging of these mice. Together, this project will significantly advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and aging."
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-04-01, End date: 2015-03-31
Project acronym CDAC
Project "The role of consciousness in adaptive behavior: A combined empirical, computational and robot based approach"
Researcher (PI) Paulus Franciscus Maria Joseph Verschure
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH4, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "Understanding the nature of consciousness is one of the grand outstanding scientific challenges and two of its features stand out: consciousness is defined as the construction of one coherent scene but this scene is experienced with a delay relative to the action of the agent and not necessarily the cause of actions and thoughts. Did evolution render solutions to the challenge of survival that includes epiphenomenal processes? The Conscious Distributed Adaptive Control (CDAC) project aims at resolving this paradox by using a multi-disciplinary approach to show the functional role of consciousness in adaptive behaviour, to identify its underlying neuronal principles and to construct a neuromorphic robot based real-time conscious architecture. CDAC proposes that the shift from surviving in a physical world to one that is dominated by intentional agents requires radically different control architectures combining parallel and distributed control loops to assure real-time operation together with a second level of control that assures coherence through sequential coherent representation of self and the task domain, i.e. consciousness. This conscious scene is driving dedicated credit assignment and planning beyond the immediately given information. CDAC advances a comprehensive framework progressing beyond the state of the art and will be realized using system level models of a conscious architecture, detailed computational studies of its underlying neuronal substrate focusing, empirical validation with a humanoid robot and stroke patients and the advancement of beyond state of the art tools appropriate to the complexity of its objectives. The CDAC project directly addresses one of the main outstanding questions in science: the function and genesis of consciousness and will advance our understanding of mind and brain, provide radically new neurorehabilitation technologies and contribute to realizing a new generation of robots with advanced social competence."
Summary
"Understanding the nature of consciousness is one of the grand outstanding scientific challenges and two of its features stand out: consciousness is defined as the construction of one coherent scene but this scene is experienced with a delay relative to the action of the agent and not necessarily the cause of actions and thoughts. Did evolution render solutions to the challenge of survival that includes epiphenomenal processes? The Conscious Distributed Adaptive Control (CDAC) project aims at resolving this paradox by using a multi-disciplinary approach to show the functional role of consciousness in adaptive behaviour, to identify its underlying neuronal principles and to construct a neuromorphic robot based real-time conscious architecture. CDAC proposes that the shift from surviving in a physical world to one that is dominated by intentional agents requires radically different control architectures combining parallel and distributed control loops to assure real-time operation together with a second level of control that assures coherence through sequential coherent representation of self and the task domain, i.e. consciousness. This conscious scene is driving dedicated credit assignment and planning beyond the immediately given information. CDAC advances a comprehensive framework progressing beyond the state of the art and will be realized using system level models of a conscious architecture, detailed computational studies of its underlying neuronal substrate focusing, empirical validation with a humanoid robot and stroke patients and the advancement of beyond state of the art tools appropriate to the complexity of its objectives. The CDAC project directly addresses one of the main outstanding questions in science: the function and genesis of consciousness and will advance our understanding of mind and brain, provide radically new neurorehabilitation technologies and contribute to realizing a new generation of robots with advanced social competence."
Max ERC Funding
2 469 268 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym CELLDOCTOR
Project Quantitative understanding of a living system and its engineering as a cellular organelle
Researcher (PI) Luis Serrano
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACIO CENTRE DE REGULACIO GENOMICA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS2, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary The idea of harnessing living organisms for treating human diseases is not new but, so far, the majority of the living vectors used in human therapy are viruses which have the disadvantage of the limited number of genes and networks that can contain. Bacteria allow the cloning of complex networks and the possibility of making a large plethora of compounds, naturally or through careful redesign. One of the main limitations for the use of bacteria to treat human diseases is their complexity, the existence of a cell wall that difficult the communication with the target cells, the lack of control over its growth and the immune response that will elicit on its target. Ideally one would like to have a very small bacterium (of a mitochondria size), with no cell wall, which could be grown in Vitro, be genetically manipulated, for which we will have enough data to allow a complete understanding of its behaviour and which could live as a human cell parasite. Such a microorganism could in principle be used as a living vector in which genes of interests, or networks producing organic molecules of medical relevance, could be introduced under in Vitro conditions and then inoculated on extracted human cells or in the organism, and then become a new organelle in the host. Then, it could produce and secrete into the host proteins which will be needed to correct a genetic disease, or drugs needed by the patient. To do that, we need to understand in excruciating detail the Biology of the target bacterium and how to interface with the host cell cycle (Systems biology aspect). Then we need to have engineering tools (network design, protein design, simulations) to modify the target bacterium to behave like an organelle once inside the cell (Synthetic biology aspect). M.pneumoniae could be such a bacterium. It is one of the smallest free-living bacterium known (680 genes), has no cell wall, can be cultivated in Vitro, can be genetically manipulated and can enter inside human cells.
Summary
The idea of harnessing living organisms for treating human diseases is not new but, so far, the majority of the living vectors used in human therapy are viruses which have the disadvantage of the limited number of genes and networks that can contain. Bacteria allow the cloning of complex networks and the possibility of making a large plethora of compounds, naturally or through careful redesign. One of the main limitations for the use of bacteria to treat human diseases is their complexity, the existence of a cell wall that difficult the communication with the target cells, the lack of control over its growth and the immune response that will elicit on its target. Ideally one would like to have a very small bacterium (of a mitochondria size), with no cell wall, which could be grown in Vitro, be genetically manipulated, for which we will have enough data to allow a complete understanding of its behaviour and which could live as a human cell parasite. Such a microorganism could in principle be used as a living vector in which genes of interests, or networks producing organic molecules of medical relevance, could be introduced under in Vitro conditions and then inoculated on extracted human cells or in the organism, and then become a new organelle in the host. Then, it could produce and secrete into the host proteins which will be needed to correct a genetic disease, or drugs needed by the patient. To do that, we need to understand in excruciating detail the Biology of the target bacterium and how to interface with the host cell cycle (Systems biology aspect). Then we need to have engineering tools (network design, protein design, simulations) to modify the target bacterium to behave like an organelle once inside the cell (Synthetic biology aspect). M.pneumoniae could be such a bacterium. It is one of the smallest free-living bacterium known (680 genes), has no cell wall, can be cultivated in Vitro, can be genetically manipulated and can enter inside human cells.
Max ERC Funding
2 400 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-03-01, End date: 2015-02-28
Project acronym CHEMAGEB
Project CHEMometric and High-throughput Omics Analytical Methods for Assessment of Global Change Effects on Environmental and Biological Systems
Researcher (PI) Roman Tauler Ferrer
Host Institution (HI) AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary We propose to develop new chemometric and high-throughput analytical methods to assess the effects of environmental and climate changes on target biological systems which are representative of ecosystems. This project will combine powerful chemometric and analytical high-throughput methodologies with toxicological tests to examine the effects of environmental stressors (like chemical pollution) and of climate change (like temperature, water scarcity or food shortage), on genomic and metabonomic profiles of target biological systems. The complex nature of experimental data produced by high-throughput analytical techniques, such as DNA microarrays, hyphenated chromatography-mass spectrometry or multi-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, requires powerful data analysis tools to extract, summarize and interpret the large amount of information that such megavariate data sets may contain. There is a need to improve and automate every step in the analysis of the data generated from genomic and metabonomic studies using new chemometric and multi- and megavariate tools. The main purpose of this project is to develop such tools. As a result of the whole study, a detailed report on the effects of global change and chemical pollution on the genomic and metabonomic profiles of a selected set of representative target biological systems will be delivered and used for global risk assessment. The information acquired, data sets and computer software will be stored in public data bases using modern data compression and data management technologies. And all the methodologies developed in the project will be published.
Summary
We propose to develop new chemometric and high-throughput analytical methods to assess the effects of environmental and climate changes on target biological systems which are representative of ecosystems. This project will combine powerful chemometric and analytical high-throughput methodologies with toxicological tests to examine the effects of environmental stressors (like chemical pollution) and of climate change (like temperature, water scarcity or food shortage), on genomic and metabonomic profiles of target biological systems. The complex nature of experimental data produced by high-throughput analytical techniques, such as DNA microarrays, hyphenated chromatography-mass spectrometry or multi-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, requires powerful data analysis tools to extract, summarize and interpret the large amount of information that such megavariate data sets may contain. There is a need to improve and automate every step in the analysis of the data generated from genomic and metabonomic studies using new chemometric and multi- and megavariate tools. The main purpose of this project is to develop such tools. As a result of the whole study, a detailed report on the effects of global change and chemical pollution on the genomic and metabonomic profiles of a selected set of representative target biological systems will be delivered and used for global risk assessment. The information acquired, data sets and computer software will be stored in public data bases using modern data compression and data management technologies. And all the methodologies developed in the project will be published.
Max ERC Funding
2 454 280 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31
Project acronym COMP-DES-MAT
Project Advanced tools for computational design of engineering materials
Researcher (PI) Francisco Javier (Xavier) Oliver Olivella
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE INTERNACIONAL DE METODES NUMERICS EN ENGINYERIA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the consolidation of the nascent and revolutionary philosophy of “Materials by Design” by resorting to the enormous power provided by the nowadays-available computational techniques. Limitations of current procedures for developing material-based innovative technologies in engineering, are often made manifest; many times only a catalog, or a data basis, of materials is available and these new technologies have to adapt to them, in the same way that the users of ready-to-wear have to take from the shop the costume that fits them better, but not the one that fits them properly. This constitutes an enormous limitation for the intended goals and scope. Certainly, availability of materials specifically designed by goal-oriented methods could eradicate that limitation, but this purpose faces the bounds of experimental procedures of material design, commonly based on trial and error procedures.
Computational mechanics, with the emerging Computational Materials Design (CMD) research field, has much to offer in this respect. The increasing power of the new computer processors and, most importantly, development of new methods and strategies of computational simulation, opens new ways to face the problem. The project intends breaking through the barriers that presently hinder the development and application of computational materials design, by means of the synergic exploration and development of three supplementary families of methods: 1) computational multiscale material modeling (CMM) based on the bottom-up, one-way coupled, description of the material structure in different representative scales, 2) development of a new generation of high performance reduced-order-modeling techniques (HP-ROM), in order to bring down the associated computational costs to affordable levels, and 3) new computational strategies and methods for the optimal design of the material meso/micro structure arrangement and topology (MATO) .
Summary
The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the consolidation of the nascent and revolutionary philosophy of “Materials by Design” by resorting to the enormous power provided by the nowadays-available computational techniques. Limitations of current procedures for developing material-based innovative technologies in engineering, are often made manifest; many times only a catalog, or a data basis, of materials is available and these new technologies have to adapt to them, in the same way that the users of ready-to-wear have to take from the shop the costume that fits them better, but not the one that fits them properly. This constitutes an enormous limitation for the intended goals and scope. Certainly, availability of materials specifically designed by goal-oriented methods could eradicate that limitation, but this purpose faces the bounds of experimental procedures of material design, commonly based on trial and error procedures.
Computational mechanics, with the emerging Computational Materials Design (CMD) research field, has much to offer in this respect. The increasing power of the new computer processors and, most importantly, development of new methods and strategies of computational simulation, opens new ways to face the problem. The project intends breaking through the barriers that presently hinder the development and application of computational materials design, by means of the synergic exploration and development of three supplementary families of methods: 1) computational multiscale material modeling (CMM) based on the bottom-up, one-way coupled, description of the material structure in different representative scales, 2) development of a new generation of high performance reduced-order-modeling techniques (HP-ROM), in order to bring down the associated computational costs to affordable levels, and 3) new computational strategies and methods for the optimal design of the material meso/micro structure arrangement and topology (MATO) .
Max ERC Funding
2 372 973 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31
Project acronym COTURB
Project Coherent Structures in Wall-bounded Turbulence
Researcher (PI) Javier Jimenez SendIn
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary Turbulence is a multiscale phenomenon for which control efforts have often failed because the dimension of the attractor is large. However, kinetic energy and drag are controlled by relatively few slowly evolving large structures that sit on top of a multiscale cascade of smaller eddies. They are essentially single-scale phenomena whose evolution can be described using less information than for the full flow. In evolutionary terms they are punctuated ‘equilibria’ for which chaotic evolution is only intermittent. The rest of the time they can be considered coherent and predictable for relatively long periods. Coherent structures studied in the 1970s in free-shear flows (e.g. jets) eventually led to increased understanding and to industrial applications. In wall-bounded cases (e.g. boundary layers), proposed structures range from exact permanent waves and orbits to qualitative observations such as hairpins or ejections. Although most of them have been described at low Reynolds numbers, there are reasons to believe that they persist at higher ones in the ‘LES’ sense in which small scales are treated statistically. Recent computational and experimental advances provide enough temporally and spatially resolved data to quantify the relevance of such models to fully developed flows. We propose to use mostly existing numerical data bases to test the various models of wall-bounded coherent structures, to quantify how often and how closely the flow approaches them, and to develop moderate-time predictions. Existing solutions will be extended to the LES equations, methods will be sought to identify them in fully turbulent flows, and reduced-order models will be developed and tested. In practical situations, the idea is to be able to detect large eddies and to predict them ‘most of the time’. If simple enough models are found, the process will be implemented in the laboratory and used to suggest control strategies.
Summary
Turbulence is a multiscale phenomenon for which control efforts have often failed because the dimension of the attractor is large. However, kinetic energy and drag are controlled by relatively few slowly evolving large structures that sit on top of a multiscale cascade of smaller eddies. They are essentially single-scale phenomena whose evolution can be described using less information than for the full flow. In evolutionary terms they are punctuated ‘equilibria’ for which chaotic evolution is only intermittent. The rest of the time they can be considered coherent and predictable for relatively long periods. Coherent structures studied in the 1970s in free-shear flows (e.g. jets) eventually led to increased understanding and to industrial applications. In wall-bounded cases (e.g. boundary layers), proposed structures range from exact permanent waves and orbits to qualitative observations such as hairpins or ejections. Although most of them have been described at low Reynolds numbers, there are reasons to believe that they persist at higher ones in the ‘LES’ sense in which small scales are treated statistically. Recent computational and experimental advances provide enough temporally and spatially resolved data to quantify the relevance of such models to fully developed flows. We propose to use mostly existing numerical data bases to test the various models of wall-bounded coherent structures, to quantify how often and how closely the flow approaches them, and to develop moderate-time predictions. Existing solutions will be extended to the LES equations, methods will be sought to identify them in fully turbulent flows, and reduced-order models will be developed and tested. In practical situations, the idea is to be able to detect large eddies and to predict them ‘most of the time’. If simple enough models are found, the process will be implemented in the laboratory and used to suggest control strategies.
Max ERC Funding
2 497 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-02-01, End date: 2021-07-31
Project acronym DYNAMO
Project Dynamical processes in open quantum systems: pushing the frontiers of theoretical spectroscopy
Researcher (PI) Angel Secades Rubio
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary "Scope ""Energy Materials. In this project we develop new concepts for building a novel theoretical framework (the ab-initio non-equilibrium dynamical modelling tool”) for understanding, identifying, and quantifying the different contributions to energy harvesting and storage as well as describing transport mechanisms in natural light harvesting complexes, photovoltaic materials, fluorescent proteins and artificial (nanostructured) devices by means of theories of open quantum systems, non-equilibrium processes and electronic structure. We address cutting-edge applications along three major scientific challenges: i) characterize matter out of equilibrium, ii) control material processes at the electronic level and tailor material properties, iii) master energy and information on the nanoscale. The long-term goal is developing a set of theoretical tools for the quantitative prediction of energy transfer phenomena in real systems.
We will provide answers to the following questions: What are the design principles from the environment-assisted quantum transport in photosynthetic organisms that can be transferred to nanostructured materials such as organic photovoltaic materials and biomimetic materials? What are the fundamental limits of excitonic transport properties such as exciton diffusion lengths and recombination rates? What is the role of quantum coherence in the energy transport in photosynthetic complexes and photovoltaic materials? What is the role of spatial confinement in water and proton transfer through porous membranes (nano-capillarity)?
The ground-breaking nature of the project lies in being the first systematic development and application of the theories of open quantum systems and quantum optimal control within an ab-initio framework (time-dependent-density functional theory). The project will open new methodological, applicative and theoretical horizons of research."
Summary
"Scope ""Energy Materials. In this project we develop new concepts for building a novel theoretical framework (the ab-initio non-equilibrium dynamical modelling tool”) for understanding, identifying, and quantifying the different contributions to energy harvesting and storage as well as describing transport mechanisms in natural light harvesting complexes, photovoltaic materials, fluorescent proteins and artificial (nanostructured) devices by means of theories of open quantum systems, non-equilibrium processes and electronic structure. We address cutting-edge applications along three major scientific challenges: i) characterize matter out of equilibrium, ii) control material processes at the electronic level and tailor material properties, iii) master energy and information on the nanoscale. The long-term goal is developing a set of theoretical tools for the quantitative prediction of energy transfer phenomena in real systems.
We will provide answers to the following questions: What are the design principles from the environment-assisted quantum transport in photosynthetic organisms that can be transferred to nanostructured materials such as organic photovoltaic materials and biomimetic materials? What are the fundamental limits of excitonic transport properties such as exciton diffusion lengths and recombination rates? What is the role of quantum coherence in the energy transport in photosynthetic complexes and photovoltaic materials? What is the role of spatial confinement in water and proton transfer through porous membranes (nano-capillarity)?
The ground-breaking nature of the project lies in being the first systematic development and application of the theories of open quantum systems and quantum optimal control within an ab-initio framework (time-dependent-density functional theory). The project will open new methodological, applicative and theoretical horizons of research."
Max ERC Funding
1 877 497 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym DYSTRUCTURE
Project The Dynamical and Structural Basis of Human Mind Complexity: Segregation and Integration of Information and Processing in the Brain
Researcher (PI) Gustavo Deco
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH4, ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
Summary "Perceptions, memories, emotions, and everything that makes us human, demand the flexible integration of information represented and computed in a distributed manner. The human brain is structured into a large number of areas in which information and computation are highly segregated. Normal brain functions require the integration of functionally specialized but widely distributed brain areas. Furthermore, human behavior entails a flexible task- dependent interplay between different subsets of these brain areas in order to integrate them according to the corresponding goal-directed requirements. We contend that the functional and encoding roles of diverse neuronal populations across areas are subject to intra- and inter-cortical dynamics. More concretely, we hypothesize that coherent oscillations within frequency-specific large-scale networks and coherent structuring of the underlying fluctuations are crucial mechanisms for the flexible integration of distributed processing and interaction of representations.
The project aims to elucidate precisely the interplay and mutual entrainment between local brain area dynamics and global network dynamics and their breakdown in brain diseases. We wish to better understand how segregated distributed information and processing are integrated in a flexible and context-dependent way as required for goal-directed behavior. It will allow us to comprehend the mechanisms underlying brain functions by complementing structural and activation based analyses with dynamics. We expect to gain a full explanation of the mechanisms that mediate the interactions between global and local spatio-temporal patterns of activity revealed at many levels of observations (fMRI, EEG, MEG) in humans under task and resting conditions, complemented and further constrained by using more detailed characterization of brain dynamics via Local Field Potentials and neuronal recording in animals under task and resting conditions."
Summary
"Perceptions, memories, emotions, and everything that makes us human, demand the flexible integration of information represented and computed in a distributed manner. The human brain is structured into a large number of areas in which information and computation are highly segregated. Normal brain functions require the integration of functionally specialized but widely distributed brain areas. Furthermore, human behavior entails a flexible task- dependent interplay between different subsets of these brain areas in order to integrate them according to the corresponding goal-directed requirements. We contend that the functional and encoding roles of diverse neuronal populations across areas are subject to intra- and inter-cortical dynamics. More concretely, we hypothesize that coherent oscillations within frequency-specific large-scale networks and coherent structuring of the underlying fluctuations are crucial mechanisms for the flexible integration of distributed processing and interaction of representations.
The project aims to elucidate precisely the interplay and mutual entrainment between local brain area dynamics and global network dynamics and their breakdown in brain diseases. We wish to better understand how segregated distributed information and processing are integrated in a flexible and context-dependent way as required for goal-directed behavior. It will allow us to comprehend the mechanisms underlying brain functions by complementing structural and activation based analyses with dynamics. We expect to gain a full explanation of the mechanisms that mediate the interactions between global and local spatio-temporal patterns of activity revealed at many levels of observations (fMRI, EEG, MEG) in humans under task and resting conditions, complemented and further constrained by using more detailed characterization of brain dynamics via Local Field Potentials and neuronal recording in animals under task and resting conditions."
Max ERC Funding
2 467 530 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-07-01, End date: 2017-06-30
Project acronym e-DOTS
Project Engineering Carbon Nanodots for (Nano)Technological and Biomedical Applications
Researcher (PI) Maurizio Prato
Host Institution (HI) ASOCIACION CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION COOPERATIVA EN BIOMATERIALES- CIC biomaGUNE
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary e-DOTS takes advantage of nanoscale and process-intensification principles, information technology and automation/robotics to translate molecular properties to nanoparticles for use in technologically advanced challenges, ranging from high-quality bioimaging to green catalysis in water.
A stringent molecular control over the synthesis and multivalent properties of “carbon nanodots”, 2-5 nm spherical nanoparticles, will allow us to shape a nanofabrication space with engineered functions. The core-shell structure of carbon nanodots, consisting of a confined core and an outer functional shell can be rationally designed by controlled chemical approaches and by a tailored choice of the proper starting materials.
e-DOTS scientific objectives are planned to go beyond the state of the art, with the aim to:
(i) elucidate the mechanism and the structural details in the conversion of small molecules to nanoparticles;
(ii) expand the carbon nanodots preparation process window and allow its automated exploration, directed at ambitious targets;
(iii) design and prepare carbon nanodots with tailored properties – in terms of size, charge, luminescence, chirality, and outer-shell functions – outperforming current technologies in green catalysis and biomedical imaging.
(iv) investigate and ensure the safety profile of carbon nanodots in a safe-by-design approach.
e-DOTS is a highly interdisciplinary project, based on frontier methods that the Prato group has successfully designed for the molecular modification of very diverse carbon nanostructures. Delving into fundamental aspects of carbon nanodots will allow to unfold their full potential in technological and biological applications.
e-DOTS will thus offer unprecedented opportunities to the scientific community, since the specific molecular properties of the reactants can be transferred, combined and enhanced up to the nanoscale, yielding carbon nanodots tailored to function.
Summary
e-DOTS takes advantage of nanoscale and process-intensification principles, information technology and automation/robotics to translate molecular properties to nanoparticles for use in technologically advanced challenges, ranging from high-quality bioimaging to green catalysis in water.
A stringent molecular control over the synthesis and multivalent properties of “carbon nanodots”, 2-5 nm spherical nanoparticles, will allow us to shape a nanofabrication space with engineered functions. The core-shell structure of carbon nanodots, consisting of a confined core and an outer functional shell can be rationally designed by controlled chemical approaches and by a tailored choice of the proper starting materials.
e-DOTS scientific objectives are planned to go beyond the state of the art, with the aim to:
(i) elucidate the mechanism and the structural details in the conversion of small molecules to nanoparticles;
(ii) expand the carbon nanodots preparation process window and allow its automated exploration, directed at ambitious targets;
(iii) design and prepare carbon nanodots with tailored properties – in terms of size, charge, luminescence, chirality, and outer-shell functions – outperforming current technologies in green catalysis and biomedical imaging.
(iv) investigate and ensure the safety profile of carbon nanodots in a safe-by-design approach.
e-DOTS is a highly interdisciplinary project, based on frontier methods that the Prato group has successfully designed for the molecular modification of very diverse carbon nanostructures. Delving into fundamental aspects of carbon nanodots will allow to unfold their full potential in technological and biological applications.
e-DOTS will thus offer unprecedented opportunities to the scientific community, since the specific molecular properties of the reactants can be transferred, combined and enhanced up to the nanoscale, yielding carbon nanodots tailored to function.
Max ERC Funding
2 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-01-01, End date: 2025-12-31
Project acronym eNANO
Project FREE ELECTRONS AS ULTRAFAST NANOSCALE PROBES
Researcher (PI) Javier Garcia de Abajo
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary With eNANO I will introduce a disruptive approach toward controlling and understanding the dynamical response of material nanostructures, expanding nanoscience and nanotechnology in unprecedented directions. Specifically, I intend to inaugurate the field of free-electron nanoelectronics, whereby electrons evolving in the vacuum regions defined by nanostructures will be generated, guided, and sampled at the nanoscale, thus acting as probes to excite, detect, image, and spectrally resolve polaritonic modes (e.g., plasmons, optical phonons, and excitons) with atomic precision over sub-femtosecond timescales. I will exploit the wave nature of electrons, extending the principles of nanophotonics from photons to electrons, therefore gaining in spatial resolution (by relying on the large reduction in wavelength) and strength of interaction (mediated by Coulomb fields, which in contrast to photons render nonlinear interactions ubiquitous when using free electrons). I will develop the theoretical and computational tools required to investigate this unexplored scenario, covering a wide range of free-electron energies, their elastic interactions with the material atomic structures, and their inelastic coupling to nanoscale dynamical excitations. Equipped with these techniques, I will further address four challenges of major scientific interest: (i) the fundamental limits to the space, time, and energy resolutions achievable with free electrons; (ii) the foundations and feasibility of pump-probe spectral microscopy at the single-electron level; (iii) the exploration of quantum-optics phenomena by means of free electrons; and (iv) the unique perspectives and potential offered by vertically confined free-electrons in 2D crystals. I will face these research frontiers by combining knowledge from different areas through a multidisciplinary theory group, in close collaboration with leading experimentalists, pursuing a radically new approach to study and control the nanoworld.
Summary
With eNANO I will introduce a disruptive approach toward controlling and understanding the dynamical response of material nanostructures, expanding nanoscience and nanotechnology in unprecedented directions. Specifically, I intend to inaugurate the field of free-electron nanoelectronics, whereby electrons evolving in the vacuum regions defined by nanostructures will be generated, guided, and sampled at the nanoscale, thus acting as probes to excite, detect, image, and spectrally resolve polaritonic modes (e.g., plasmons, optical phonons, and excitons) with atomic precision over sub-femtosecond timescales. I will exploit the wave nature of electrons, extending the principles of nanophotonics from photons to electrons, therefore gaining in spatial resolution (by relying on the large reduction in wavelength) and strength of interaction (mediated by Coulomb fields, which in contrast to photons render nonlinear interactions ubiquitous when using free electrons). I will develop the theoretical and computational tools required to investigate this unexplored scenario, covering a wide range of free-electron energies, their elastic interactions with the material atomic structures, and their inelastic coupling to nanoscale dynamical excitations. Equipped with these techniques, I will further address four challenges of major scientific interest: (i) the fundamental limits to the space, time, and energy resolutions achievable with free electrons; (ii) the foundations and feasibility of pump-probe spectral microscopy at the single-electron level; (iii) the exploration of quantum-optics phenomena by means of free electrons; and (iv) the unique perspectives and potential offered by vertically confined free-electrons in 2D crystals. I will face these research frontiers by combining knowledge from different areas through a multidisciplinary theory group, in close collaboration with leading experimentalists, pursuing a radically new approach to study and control the nanoworld.
Max ERC Funding
1 899 788 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-12-01, End date: 2023-11-30
Project acronym EpiFold
Project Engineering epithelial shape and mechanics: from synthetic morphogenesis to biohybrid devices
Researcher (PI) Xavier Trepat Guixer
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE BIOENGINYERIA DE CATALUNYA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary All surfaces of our body, both internal and external, are covered by thin cellular layers called epithelia. Epithelia are responsible for fundamental physiological functions such as morphogenesis, compartmentalization, filtration, transport, environmental sensing and protection against pathogens. These functions are determined by the three-dimensional (3D) shape and mechanics of epithelia. However, how mechanical processes such as deformation, growth, remodeling and flow combine to enable functional 3D structures is largely unknown. Here we propose technological and conceptual advances to unveil the engineering principles that govern epithelial shape and mechanics in 3D, and to apply these principles towards the design of a new generation of biohybrid devices. By combining micropatterning, microfluidics, optogenetics and mechanical engineering we will implement an experimental platform to (1) sculpt epithelia of controlled geometry, (2) map the stress and strain tensors and luminal pressure, and (3) control these variables from the subcellular to the tissue levels. We will use this technology to engineer the elementary building blocks of epithelial morphogenesis and to reverse-engineer the shape and mechanics of intestinal organoids. We will then apply these engineering principles to build biohybrid devices based on micropatterned 3D epithelia actuated through optogenetic and mechanical control. We expect this project to enable, for the first time, full experimental access to the 3D mechanics of epithelial tissues, and to unveil the mechanical principles by which these tissues adopt and sustain their shape. Finally, our project will set the stage for a new generation of biohybrid optomechanical devices. By harnessing the capability of 3D epithelia to sense and respond to chemical and mechanical stimuli, to self-power and self-repair, and to secrete, filter, digest and transport molecules, these devices will hold unique potential to power functions in soft robots.
Summary
All surfaces of our body, both internal and external, are covered by thin cellular layers called epithelia. Epithelia are responsible for fundamental physiological functions such as morphogenesis, compartmentalization, filtration, transport, environmental sensing and protection against pathogens. These functions are determined by the three-dimensional (3D) shape and mechanics of epithelia. However, how mechanical processes such as deformation, growth, remodeling and flow combine to enable functional 3D structures is largely unknown. Here we propose technological and conceptual advances to unveil the engineering principles that govern epithelial shape and mechanics in 3D, and to apply these principles towards the design of a new generation of biohybrid devices. By combining micropatterning, microfluidics, optogenetics and mechanical engineering we will implement an experimental platform to (1) sculpt epithelia of controlled geometry, (2) map the stress and strain tensors and luminal pressure, and (3) control these variables from the subcellular to the tissue levels. We will use this technology to engineer the elementary building blocks of epithelial morphogenesis and to reverse-engineer the shape and mechanics of intestinal organoids. We will then apply these engineering principles to build biohybrid devices based on micropatterned 3D epithelia actuated through optogenetic and mechanical control. We expect this project to enable, for the first time, full experimental access to the 3D mechanics of epithelial tissues, and to unveil the mechanical principles by which these tissues adopt and sustain their shape. Finally, our project will set the stage for a new generation of biohybrid optomechanical devices. By harnessing the capability of 3D epithelia to sense and respond to chemical and mechanical stimuli, to self-power and self-repair, and to secrete, filter, digest and transport molecules, these devices will hold unique potential to power functions in soft robots.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 470 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-01-01, End date: 2025-12-31
Project acronym HECTOR
Project MICROWAVE-ASSISTED MICROREACTORS: DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY EFFICIENT GAS PHASE CONTACTOR WITH DIRECT CATALYST HEATING
Researcher (PI) Jesus Marcos SantamarIa Ramiro
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary While heterogeneous catalysis is often considered a mature science, the so-called enabling technologies are often able to produce significant enhancements in the rate of reaction or in the selectivity towards a given product. Two of these enabling technologies constitute the focal point of this project, where nonclassical energy input by microwave iradiation and alternative reaction engineering (microreactors operating under a stable solid-gas temperature gap) will be used to obtain substantial improvements in the yield or in the energy efficiency of chemical processes.
This project aims for a breakthrough in reactor engineering by developing a new type of heterogeneous catalytic reactor, capable of operating under a controlled solid-gas temperature difference.
To implement this innovative technology, we will deploy different materials that are sensitive to microwave radiation (zeolite films with/without deposition of metallic particles, metallic films and nanoparticles) on the channels of microreactors made of materials that are transparent to microwaves. A basic study of adsorption and heating processes under microwave irradiation will lead to the selection of materials and conditions that enable operation under a significant temperature difference between the catalyst and the gas phase. The advantages obtained from this novel concept will be exploited in specific, industrially important, reaction processes (CO oxidation in H2 streams; VOC combustion in lean mixtures; ethylene epoxidation), where significant improvements in reaction yield and/or operating costs are expected. At the same time, new scientific and technological insight will be gained in the area of catalyst heating by microwaves.
Summary
While heterogeneous catalysis is often considered a mature science, the so-called enabling technologies are often able to produce significant enhancements in the rate of reaction or in the selectivity towards a given product. Two of these enabling technologies constitute the focal point of this project, where nonclassical energy input by microwave iradiation and alternative reaction engineering (microreactors operating under a stable solid-gas temperature gap) will be used to obtain substantial improvements in the yield or in the energy efficiency of chemical processes.
This project aims for a breakthrough in reactor engineering by developing a new type of heterogeneous catalytic reactor, capable of operating under a controlled solid-gas temperature difference.
To implement this innovative technology, we will deploy different materials that are sensitive to microwave radiation (zeolite films with/without deposition of metallic particles, metallic films and nanoparticles) on the channels of microreactors made of materials that are transparent to microwaves. A basic study of adsorption and heating processes under microwave irradiation will lead to the selection of materials and conditions that enable operation under a significant temperature difference between the catalyst and the gas phase. The advantages obtained from this novel concept will be exploited in specific, industrially important, reaction processes (CO oxidation in H2 streams; VOC combustion in lean mixtures; ethylene epoxidation), where significant improvements in reaction yield and/or operating costs are expected. At the same time, new scientific and technological insight will be gained in the area of catalyst heating by microwaves.
Max ERC Funding
1 851 179 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2017-02-28
Project acronym HELD
Project Hetero-structures for Efficient Luminescent Devices
Researcher (PI) Hendrik Jan BOLINK
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2018-ADG
Summary We propose to engineer stable-highly luminescent heterostructures based on defect tolerant benign perovskites and their integration into efficient planar/thin film optoelectronic devices. Primary targeted devices are: blue and white planar electroluminescent devices, high efficiency solar cells and electrically pumped lasers.
We will use processing methods that are compatible with large area industrial processes, in particular focusing on vapour deposition using thermal sublimation of the perovskite precursors. The boundaries of this simple, scalable and economic coating method will be determined using an advanced real time in-situ optical monitoring system based on hyperspectral imaging. This tool will unveil the limits and processing conditions for the preparation of uniform and very thin (< 10 nm) crystalline thin-film semiconductors.
We will also attempt to replace the toxic lead in today’s most studied perovskite materials, by less toxic materials such as tin and silver/bismuth mixtures. Here vacuum based processing is beneficial in view of the limited air-stability and solubility of their pre-cursor salts.
Accurate vapour deposition methods will allow the fabrication of perovskites in multiple layered heterostructures (MLH) that passivate the perovskite crystal boundaries. This will increase their thermal and structural stability and above all their photoluminescence efficiency. With the sophisticated processing control, multiple quantum wells (MQWs) will be engineered. MQWs are promising for light-emitting devices, in particular for lasers.
The impact of the project is large on various fields ranging from processes, materials and device engineering, physics, and energy. High efficiency, planar LEDs and solar cells, can shift the energy landscape and strongly help to meet the worlds CO2 reduction targets. The demonstration of electrically pumped lasing in easily processed thin film semiconductors will generate so far un-available fields of science.
Summary
We propose to engineer stable-highly luminescent heterostructures based on defect tolerant benign perovskites and their integration into efficient planar/thin film optoelectronic devices. Primary targeted devices are: blue and white planar electroluminescent devices, high efficiency solar cells and electrically pumped lasers.
We will use processing methods that are compatible with large area industrial processes, in particular focusing on vapour deposition using thermal sublimation of the perovskite precursors. The boundaries of this simple, scalable and economic coating method will be determined using an advanced real time in-situ optical monitoring system based on hyperspectral imaging. This tool will unveil the limits and processing conditions for the preparation of uniform and very thin (< 10 nm) crystalline thin-film semiconductors.
We will also attempt to replace the toxic lead in today’s most studied perovskite materials, by less toxic materials such as tin and silver/bismuth mixtures. Here vacuum based processing is beneficial in view of the limited air-stability and solubility of their pre-cursor salts.
Accurate vapour deposition methods will allow the fabrication of perovskites in multiple layered heterostructures (MLH) that passivate the perovskite crystal boundaries. This will increase their thermal and structural stability and above all their photoluminescence efficiency. With the sophisticated processing control, multiple quantum wells (MQWs) will be engineered. MQWs are promising for light-emitting devices, in particular for lasers.
The impact of the project is large on various fields ranging from processes, materials and device engineering, physics, and energy. High efficiency, planar LEDs and solar cells, can shift the energy landscape and strongly help to meet the worlds CO2 reduction targets. The demonstration of electrically pumped lasing in easily processed thin film semiconductors will generate so far un-available fields of science.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 175 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-09-01, End date: 2024-08-31
Project acronym LightNet
Project LightNet - Tracking the Coherent Light Path in Photosynthetic Networks
Researcher (PI) Niek van Hulst
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Country Spain
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary ature has developed photosynthesis to power life. Networks of light harvesting antennas capture the sunlight to funnel the photonic energy towards reaction centres. Surprisingly, quantum coherences are observed in the energy transfer of photosynthetic complexes, even at room temperature.
Does nature exploit quantum concepts? Does the coherence help to find an optimal path for robust or efficient transfer? How are the coherences sustained? What is their spatial extent in a real light-harvesting network? So far only solutions of complexes were studied, far from the natural network operation, putting on hold conclusions as to a biological role of the coherences.
My group recently succeeded in the first detection of coherent oscillations of a single photo-synthetic complex at physiological conditions, and non-classical photon emission of individual complexes. These pioneering results, together with our expertise in nanophotonics, pave the way to address photosynthetic networks in real nano-space and on femtosecond timescale. Specific objectives are:
--Ultrafast single protein detection: tracing the fs coherent energy transfer path of an individual complex; addressing the very nature of the persistent coherences.
-Beyond fluorescence: light harvesting complex are designed for light transport, not emission. I will explore innovative alternatives: optical antennas to enhance quantum efficiency; detection of stimulated emission; and electrical read-out on graphene.
-Nanoscale light transport: using local excitation and detection by nanoholes, nanoslits and scanning antenna probes I will spatially map the extent of the inter-complex transfer.
-The network: combining both coherent fs excitation and localized nanoscale excitation/detection I will track the extent of coherences throughout the network.
The impact of this first exploration of light transport in a nanoscale bionetwork ranges to solar energy management, molecular biology, polymer chemistry and material science.
Summary
ature has developed photosynthesis to power life. Networks of light harvesting antennas capture the sunlight to funnel the photonic energy towards reaction centres. Surprisingly, quantum coherences are observed in the energy transfer of photosynthetic complexes, even at room temperature.
Does nature exploit quantum concepts? Does the coherence help to find an optimal path for robust or efficient transfer? How are the coherences sustained? What is their spatial extent in a real light-harvesting network? So far only solutions of complexes were studied, far from the natural network operation, putting on hold conclusions as to a biological role of the coherences.
My group recently succeeded in the first detection of coherent oscillations of a single photo-synthetic complex at physiological conditions, and non-classical photon emission of individual complexes. These pioneering results, together with our expertise in nanophotonics, pave the way to address photosynthetic networks in real nano-space and on femtosecond timescale. Specific objectives are:
--Ultrafast single protein detection: tracing the fs coherent energy transfer path of an individual complex; addressing the very nature of the persistent coherences.
-Beyond fluorescence: light harvesting complex are designed for light transport, not emission. I will explore innovative alternatives: optical antennas to enhance quantum efficiency; detection of stimulated emission; and electrical read-out on graphene.
-Nanoscale light transport: using local excitation and detection by nanoholes, nanoslits and scanning antenna probes I will spatially map the extent of the inter-complex transfer.
-The network: combining both coherent fs excitation and localized nanoscale excitation/detection I will track the extent of coherences throughout the network.
The impact of this first exploration of light transport in a nanoscale bionetwork ranges to solar energy management, molecular biology, polymer chemistry and material science.
Max ERC Funding
2 856 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
