Project acronym AFRISCREENWORLDS
Project African Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies
Researcher (PI) Lindiwe Dovey
Host Institution (HI) SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES ROYAL CHARTER
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2018-COG
Summary A half century since it came into existence, the discipline of Film and Screen Studies remains mostly Eurocentric in its historical, theoretical and critical frameworks. Although “world cinema” and “transnational cinema” scholars have attempted to broaden its canon and frameworks, several major problems persist. Films and scholarship by Africans in particular, and by people of colour in general, are frequently marginalised if not altogether excluded. This prevents exciting exchanges that could help to re-envision Film and Screen Studies for the twenty-first century, in an era in which greater access to the technological means of making films, and circulating them on a range of screens, means that dynamic “screen worlds” are developing at a rapid rate. AFRISCREENWORLDS will study these “screen worlds” (in both their textual forms and industrial structures), with a focus on Africa, as a way of centring the most marginalised regional cinema. We will also elaborate comparative studies of global “screen worlds” – and, in particular, “screen worlds” in the Global South – exploring their similarities, differences, and parallel developments. We will respond to the exclusions of Film and Screen Studies not only in scholarly ways – through conferences and publications – but also in creative and activist ways – through drawing on cutting-edge creative research methodologies (such as audiovisual criticism and filmmaking) and through helping to decolonise Film and Screen Studies (through the production of ‘toolkits’ on how to make curricula, syllabi, and teaching more globally representative and inclusive). On a theoretical level, we will make an intervention through considering how the concept of “screen worlds” is better equipped than “world cinema” or “transnational cinema” to explore the complexities of audiovisual narratives, and their production and circulation in our contemporary moment, in diverse contexts throughout the globe.
Summary
A half century since it came into existence, the discipline of Film and Screen Studies remains mostly Eurocentric in its historical, theoretical and critical frameworks. Although “world cinema” and “transnational cinema” scholars have attempted to broaden its canon and frameworks, several major problems persist. Films and scholarship by Africans in particular, and by people of colour in general, are frequently marginalised if not altogether excluded. This prevents exciting exchanges that could help to re-envision Film and Screen Studies for the twenty-first century, in an era in which greater access to the technological means of making films, and circulating them on a range of screens, means that dynamic “screen worlds” are developing at a rapid rate. AFRISCREENWORLDS will study these “screen worlds” (in both their textual forms and industrial structures), with a focus on Africa, as a way of centring the most marginalised regional cinema. We will also elaborate comparative studies of global “screen worlds” – and, in particular, “screen worlds” in the Global South – exploring their similarities, differences, and parallel developments. We will respond to the exclusions of Film and Screen Studies not only in scholarly ways – through conferences and publications – but also in creative and activist ways – through drawing on cutting-edge creative research methodologies (such as audiovisual criticism and filmmaking) and through helping to decolonise Film and Screen Studies (through the production of ‘toolkits’ on how to make curricula, syllabi, and teaching more globally representative and inclusive). On a theoretical level, we will make an intervention through considering how the concept of “screen worlds” is better equipped than “world cinema” or “transnational cinema” to explore the complexities of audiovisual narratives, and their production and circulation in our contemporary moment, in diverse contexts throughout the globe.
Max ERC Funding
1 985 578 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym ALTERUMMA
Project Creating an Alternative umma: Clerical Authority and Religio-political Mobilisation in Transnational Shii Islam
Researcher (PI) Oliver Paul SCHARBRODT
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2016-COG
Summary This interdisciplinary project investigates the transformation of Shii Islam in the Middle East and Europe since the 1950s. The project examines the formation of modern Shii communal identities and the role Shii clerical authorities and their transnational networks have played in their religio-political mobilisation. The volatile situation post-Arab Spring, the rise of militant movements such as ISIS and the sectarianisation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have intensified efforts to forge distinct Shii communal identities and to conceive Shii Muslims as part of an alternative umma (Islamic community). The project focusses on Iran, Iraq and significant but unexplored diasporic links to Syria, Kuwait and Britain. In response to the rise of modern nation-states in the Middle East, Shii clerical authorities resorted to a wide range of activities: (a) articulating intellectual responses to the ideologies underpinning modern Middle Eastern nation-states, (b) forming political parties and other platforms of socio-political activism and (c) using various forms of cultural production by systematising and promoting Shii ritual practices and utilising visual art, poetry and new media.
The project yields a perspectival shift on the factors that led to Shii communal mobilisation by:
- Analysing unacknowledged intellectual responses of Shii clerical authorities to the secular or sectarian ideologies of post-colonial nation-states and to the current sectarianisation of geopolitics in the Middle East.
- Emphasising the central role of diasporic networks in the Middle East and Europe in mobilising Shii communities and in influencing discourses and agendas of clerical authorities based in Iraq and Iran.
- Exploring new modes of cultural production in the form of a modern Shii aesthetics articulated in ritual practices, visual art, poetry and new media and thus creating a more holistic narrative on Shii religio-political mobilisation.
Summary
This interdisciplinary project investigates the transformation of Shii Islam in the Middle East and Europe since the 1950s. The project examines the formation of modern Shii communal identities and the role Shii clerical authorities and their transnational networks have played in their religio-political mobilisation. The volatile situation post-Arab Spring, the rise of militant movements such as ISIS and the sectarianisation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have intensified efforts to forge distinct Shii communal identities and to conceive Shii Muslims as part of an alternative umma (Islamic community). The project focusses on Iran, Iraq and significant but unexplored diasporic links to Syria, Kuwait and Britain. In response to the rise of modern nation-states in the Middle East, Shii clerical authorities resorted to a wide range of activities: (a) articulating intellectual responses to the ideologies underpinning modern Middle Eastern nation-states, (b) forming political parties and other platforms of socio-political activism and (c) using various forms of cultural production by systematising and promoting Shii ritual practices and utilising visual art, poetry and new media.
The project yields a perspectival shift on the factors that led to Shii communal mobilisation by:
- Analysing unacknowledged intellectual responses of Shii clerical authorities to the secular or sectarian ideologies of post-colonial nation-states and to the current sectarianisation of geopolitics in the Middle East.
- Emphasising the central role of diasporic networks in the Middle East and Europe in mobilising Shii communities and in influencing discourses and agendas of clerical authorities based in Iraq and Iran.
- Exploring new modes of cultural production in the form of a modern Shii aesthetics articulated in ritual practices, visual art, poetry and new media and thus creating a more holistic narrative on Shii religio-political mobilisation.
Max ERC Funding
1 952 374 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-01-01, End date: 2022-12-31
Project acronym ARCTIC CULT
Project ARCTIC CULTURES: SITES OF COLLECTION IN THE FORMATION OF THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN NORTHLANDS
Researcher (PI) Richard Charles POWELL
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2016-COG
Summary The Arctic has risen to global attention in recent years, as it has been reconfigured through debates about global environmental change, resource extraction and disputes over sovereign rights. Within these discourses, little attention has been paid to the cultures of the Arctic. Indeed, it often seems as if the Circumpolar Arctic in global public understanding remains framed as a 'natural region' - that is, a place where the environment dominates the creation of culture. This framing has consequences for the region, because through this the Arctic becomes constructed as a space where people are absent. This proposal aims to discover how and why this might be so.
The proposal argues that this construction of the Arctic emerged from the exploration of the region by Europeans and North Americans and their contacts with indigenous people from the middle of the eighteenth century. Particular texts, cartographic representations and objects were collected and returned to sites like London, Copenhagen, Berlin and Philadelphia. The construction of the Arctic thereby became entwined within the growth of colonial museum cultures and, indeed, western modernity. This project aims to delineate the networks and collecting cultures involved in this creation of Arctic Cultures. It will bring repositories in colonial metropoles into dialogue with sites of collection in the Arctic by tracing the contexts of discovery and memorialisation. In doing so, it aspires to a new understanding of the consequences of certain forms of colonial representation for debates about the Circumpolar Arctic today.
The project involves research by the Principal Investigator and four Post Doctoral Researchers at museums, archives, libraries and repositories across Europe and North America, as well as in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. A Project Assistant based in Oxford will help facilitate the completion of the research.
Summary
The Arctic has risen to global attention in recent years, as it has been reconfigured through debates about global environmental change, resource extraction and disputes over sovereign rights. Within these discourses, little attention has been paid to the cultures of the Arctic. Indeed, it often seems as if the Circumpolar Arctic in global public understanding remains framed as a 'natural region' - that is, a place where the environment dominates the creation of culture. This framing has consequences for the region, because through this the Arctic becomes constructed as a space where people are absent. This proposal aims to discover how and why this might be so.
The proposal argues that this construction of the Arctic emerged from the exploration of the region by Europeans and North Americans and their contacts with indigenous people from the middle of the eighteenth century. Particular texts, cartographic representations and objects were collected and returned to sites like London, Copenhagen, Berlin and Philadelphia. The construction of the Arctic thereby became entwined within the growth of colonial museum cultures and, indeed, western modernity. This project aims to delineate the networks and collecting cultures involved in this creation of Arctic Cultures. It will bring repositories in colonial metropoles into dialogue with sites of collection in the Arctic by tracing the contexts of discovery and memorialisation. In doing so, it aspires to a new understanding of the consequences of certain forms of colonial representation for debates about the Circumpolar Arctic today.
The project involves research by the Principal Investigator and four Post Doctoral Researchers at museums, archives, libraries and repositories across Europe and North America, as well as in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. A Project Assistant based in Oxford will help facilitate the completion of the research.
Max ERC Funding
1 996 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-10-01, End date: 2022-09-30
Project acronym Asterochronometry
Project Galactic archeology with high temporal resolution
Researcher (PI) Andrea MIGLIO
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The Milky Way is a complex system, with dynamical and chemical substructures, where several competing processes such as mergers, internal secular evolution, gas accretion and gas flows take place. To study in detail how such a giant spiral galaxy was formed and evolved, we need to reconstruct the sequence of its main formation events with high (~10%) temporal resolution.
Asterochronometry will determine accurate, precise ages for tens of thousands of stars in the Galaxy. We will take an approach distinguished by a number of key aspects including, developing novel star-dating methods that fully utilise the potential of individual pulsation modes, coupled with a careful appraisal of systematic uncertainties on age deriving from our limited understanding of stellar physics.
We will then capitalise on opportunities provided by the timely availability of astrometric, spectroscopic, and asteroseismic data to build and data-mine chrono-chemo-dynamical maps of regions of the Milky Way probed by the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, K2, and TESS. We will quantify, by comparison with predictions of chemodynamical models, the relative importance of various processes which play a role in shaping the Galaxy, for example mergers and dynamical processes. We will use chrono-chemical tagging to look for evidence of aggregates, and precise and accurate ages to reconstruct the early star formation history of the Milky Way’s main constituents.
The Asterochronometry project will also provide stringent observational tests of stellar structure and answer some of the long-standing open questions in stellar modelling (e.g. efficiency of transport processes, mass loss on the giant branch, the occurrence of products of coalescence / mass exchange). These tests will improve our ability to determine stellar ages and chemical yields, with wide impact e.g. on the characterisation and ensemble studies of exoplanets, on evolutionary population synthesis, integrated colours and thus ages of galaxies.
Summary
The Milky Way is a complex system, with dynamical and chemical substructures, where several competing processes such as mergers, internal secular evolution, gas accretion and gas flows take place. To study in detail how such a giant spiral galaxy was formed and evolved, we need to reconstruct the sequence of its main formation events with high (~10%) temporal resolution.
Asterochronometry will determine accurate, precise ages for tens of thousands of stars in the Galaxy. We will take an approach distinguished by a number of key aspects including, developing novel star-dating methods that fully utilise the potential of individual pulsation modes, coupled with a careful appraisal of systematic uncertainties on age deriving from our limited understanding of stellar physics.
We will then capitalise on opportunities provided by the timely availability of astrometric, spectroscopic, and asteroseismic data to build and data-mine chrono-chemo-dynamical maps of regions of the Milky Way probed by the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, K2, and TESS. We will quantify, by comparison with predictions of chemodynamical models, the relative importance of various processes which play a role in shaping the Galaxy, for example mergers and dynamical processes. We will use chrono-chemical tagging to look for evidence of aggregates, and precise and accurate ages to reconstruct the early star formation history of the Milky Way’s main constituents.
The Asterochronometry project will also provide stringent observational tests of stellar structure and answer some of the long-standing open questions in stellar modelling (e.g. efficiency of transport processes, mass loss on the giant branch, the occurrence of products of coalescence / mass exchange). These tests will improve our ability to determine stellar ages and chemical yields, with wide impact e.g. on the characterisation and ensemble studies of exoplanets, on evolutionary population synthesis, integrated colours and thus ages of galaxies.
Max ERC Funding
1 958 863 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-04-01, End date: 2023-03-31
Project acronym AWESoMeStars
Project Accretion, Winds, and Evolution of Spins and Magnetism of Stars
Researcher (PI) Sean Patrick Matt
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary This project focuses on Sun-like stars, which possess convective envelopes and universally exhibit magnetic activity (in the mass range 0.1 to 1.3 MSun). The rotation of these stars influences their internal structure, energy and chemical transport, and magnetic field generation, as well as their external magnetic activity and environmental interactions. Due to the huge range of timescales, spatial scales, and physics involved, understanding how each of these processes relate to each other and to the long-term evolution remains an enormous challenge in astrophysics. To face this challenge, the AWESoMeStars project will develop a comprehensive, physical picture of the evolution of stellar rotation, magnetic activity, mass loss, and accretion.
In doing so, we will
(1) Discover how stars lose the vast majority of their angular momentum, which happens in the accretion phase
(2) Explain the observed rotation-activity relationship and saturation in terms of the evolution of magnetic properties & coronal physics
(3) Characterize coronal heating and mass loss across the full range of mass & age
(4) Explain the Skumanich (1972) relationship and distributions of spin rates observed in young clusters & old field stars
(5) Develop physics-based gyrochronology as a tool for using rotation rates to constrain stellar ages.
We will accomplish these goals using a fundamentally new and multi-faceted approach, which combines the power of multi-dimensional MHD simulations with long-timescale rotational-evolution models. Specifically, we will develop a next generation of MHD simulations of both star-disk interactions and stellar winds, to model stars over the full range of mass & age, and to characterize how magnetically active stars impact their environments. Simultaneously, we will create a new class of rotational-evolution models that include external torques derived from our simulations, compute the evolution of spin rates of entire star clusters, & compare with observations.
Summary
This project focuses on Sun-like stars, which possess convective envelopes and universally exhibit magnetic activity (in the mass range 0.1 to 1.3 MSun). The rotation of these stars influences their internal structure, energy and chemical transport, and magnetic field generation, as well as their external magnetic activity and environmental interactions. Due to the huge range of timescales, spatial scales, and physics involved, understanding how each of these processes relate to each other and to the long-term evolution remains an enormous challenge in astrophysics. To face this challenge, the AWESoMeStars project will develop a comprehensive, physical picture of the evolution of stellar rotation, magnetic activity, mass loss, and accretion.
In doing so, we will
(1) Discover how stars lose the vast majority of their angular momentum, which happens in the accretion phase
(2) Explain the observed rotation-activity relationship and saturation in terms of the evolution of magnetic properties & coronal physics
(3) Characterize coronal heating and mass loss across the full range of mass & age
(4) Explain the Skumanich (1972) relationship and distributions of spin rates observed in young clusters & old field stars
(5) Develop physics-based gyrochronology as a tool for using rotation rates to constrain stellar ages.
We will accomplish these goals using a fundamentally new and multi-faceted approach, which combines the power of multi-dimensional MHD simulations with long-timescale rotational-evolution models. Specifically, we will develop a next generation of MHD simulations of both star-disk interactions and stellar winds, to model stars over the full range of mass & age, and to characterize how magnetically active stars impact their environments. Simultaneously, we will create a new class of rotational-evolution models that include external torques derived from our simulations, compute the evolution of spin rates of entire star clusters, & compare with observations.
Max ERC Funding
2 206 205 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym BAHAMAS
Project A holistic approach to large-scale structure cosmology
Researcher (PI) Ian MCCARTHY
Host Institution (HI) LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The standard model of cosmology, the ɅCDM model, is remarkably successful at explaining a wide range of observations of our Universe. However, it is now being subjected to much more stringent tests than ever before, and recent large-scale structure (LSS) measurements appear to be in tension with its predictions. Is this tension signalling that new physics is required? For example, time-varying dark energy, or perhaps a modified theory of gravity? A contribution from massive neutrinos? Before coming to such bold conclusions we must be certain that all of the important systematic errors in the LSS tests have been accounted for.
Presently, the largest source of systematic uncertainty is from the modelling of complicated astrophysical phenomena associated with galaxy formation. In particular, energetic feedback processes associated with star formation and black hole growth can heat and expel gas from collapsed structures and modify the large-scale distribution of matter. Furthermore, the LSS field is presently separated into many sub-fields (each using different models, that usually neglect feedback), preventing a coherent analysis.
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (are the only method which) can follow all the relevant matter components and self-consistently capture the effects of feedback. I have been leading the development of large-scale simulations with physically-motivated prescriptions for feedback that are unrivalled in their ability to reproduce the observed properties of massive systems. With ERC support, I will build a team to exploit these developments, to produce a suite of simulations designed specifically for LSS cosmology applications with the effects of feedback realistically accounted for and which will allow us to unite the different LSS tests. My team and I will make the first self-consistent comparisons with the full range of LSS cosmology tests, and critically assess the evidence for physics beyond the standard model.
Summary
The standard model of cosmology, the ɅCDM model, is remarkably successful at explaining a wide range of observations of our Universe. However, it is now being subjected to much more stringent tests than ever before, and recent large-scale structure (LSS) measurements appear to be in tension with its predictions. Is this tension signalling that new physics is required? For example, time-varying dark energy, or perhaps a modified theory of gravity? A contribution from massive neutrinos? Before coming to such bold conclusions we must be certain that all of the important systematic errors in the LSS tests have been accounted for.
Presently, the largest source of systematic uncertainty is from the modelling of complicated astrophysical phenomena associated with galaxy formation. In particular, energetic feedback processes associated with star formation and black hole growth can heat and expel gas from collapsed structures and modify the large-scale distribution of matter. Furthermore, the LSS field is presently separated into many sub-fields (each using different models, that usually neglect feedback), preventing a coherent analysis.
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (are the only method which) can follow all the relevant matter components and self-consistently capture the effects of feedback. I have been leading the development of large-scale simulations with physically-motivated prescriptions for feedback that are unrivalled in their ability to reproduce the observed properties of massive systems. With ERC support, I will build a team to exploit these developments, to produce a suite of simulations designed specifically for LSS cosmology applications with the effects of feedback realistically accounted for and which will allow us to unite the different LSS tests. My team and I will make the first self-consistent comparisons with the full range of LSS cosmology tests, and critically assess the evidence for physics beyond the standard model.
Max ERC Funding
1 725 982 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym BuildingPlanS
Project Building planetary systems: linking architectures with formation
Researcher (PI) Richard David Alexander
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The last few years have seen an explosion in our knowledge of extra-solar planetary systems. However, most exoplanetary systems look nothing like our own: we see “hot Jupiters” which take just days to orbit their parent stars, planets which meander across entire solar systems on highly eccentric orbits, and even planets orbiting twin, binary suns. These planets formed in relatively homogenous discs of cold dust and gas around young, newly-formed stars, but we do not yet understand how this extraordinarily diverse range of planetary architectures was assembled.
BuildingPlanS will establish how the observed architectures of exoplanets link to the physics of their formation. My team will build comprehensive models of the assembly of planetary systems, in order to:
1) understand how systems of giant planets are built.
2) understand the assembly of compact, tightly-packed planetary systems.
3) determine where and when planets form around binary stars.
By focusing on the three main types of known planetary systems we will determine how key physical processes operate in a wide variety of different environments, and build up a detailed understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve. Recently I have played a key role in developing a robust theory of how young, gas-rich protoplanetary discs evolve; this project will establish how these new ideas shape the formation and evolution of planetary systems. My team will consider how forming and newly-formed planets interact with their parent discs, in order to understand the architectures of young planetary systems. We will then follow how these young systems evolve to maturity over billions of years, and test our results against both new observations of planet-forming discs and our ever-growing census of exoplanetary systems. The overall aim of BuildingPlanS is to link exoplanet architectures with their formation and establish a global picture of how planetary systems are built.
Summary
The last few years have seen an explosion in our knowledge of extra-solar planetary systems. However, most exoplanetary systems look nothing like our own: we see “hot Jupiters” which take just days to orbit their parent stars, planets which meander across entire solar systems on highly eccentric orbits, and even planets orbiting twin, binary suns. These planets formed in relatively homogenous discs of cold dust and gas around young, newly-formed stars, but we do not yet understand how this extraordinarily diverse range of planetary architectures was assembled.
BuildingPlanS will establish how the observed architectures of exoplanets link to the physics of their formation. My team will build comprehensive models of the assembly of planetary systems, in order to:
1) understand how systems of giant planets are built.
2) understand the assembly of compact, tightly-packed planetary systems.
3) determine where and when planets form around binary stars.
By focusing on the three main types of known planetary systems we will determine how key physical processes operate in a wide variety of different environments, and build up a detailed understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve. Recently I have played a key role in developing a robust theory of how young, gas-rich protoplanetary discs evolve; this project will establish how these new ideas shape the formation and evolution of planetary systems. My team will consider how forming and newly-formed planets interact with their parent discs, in order to understand the architectures of young planetary systems. We will then follow how these young systems evolve to maturity over billions of years, and test our results against both new observations of planet-forming discs and our ever-growing census of exoplanetary systems. The overall aim of BuildingPlanS is to link exoplanet architectures with their formation and establish a global picture of how planetary systems are built.
Max ERC Funding
1 945 721 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2021-05-31
Project acronym CATENA
Project Commentary Manuscripts in the History and Transmission of the Greek New Testament
Researcher (PI) HUGH ALEXANDER GERVASE HOUGHTON
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Manuscripts which contain commentary alongside the biblical text are some of the most significant and complicated witnesses to the Greek New Testament. First compiled around the fifth century, the commentaries consist of chains of extracts from earlier writers (catenae). These manuscripts became the main way in which users encountered both the text and the interpretation of the New Testament; revised editions produced in the eleventh and twelfth centuries continued to hold the field until the invention of printing.
Recent advances have shown that commentary manuscripts play a much more important role than previously thought in the history of the New Testament. The number of known copies has increased by 20% following a preliminary survey last year which identified 100 additional manuscripts. A recent comprehensive textual analysis of the Catholic Epistles indicated that all witnesses from the third generation onwards (some 72% of the total) could stem from the biblical text of three commentary manuscripts occupying a key place in the textual tradition. Investigation of the catena on Mark has shown that the selection of extracts could offer a new approach to understanding the theology of the compilers and the transmission of the commentaries.
The CATENA Project will use digital tools to undertake a fuller examination of Greek New Testament commentary manuscripts than has ever before been possible. This will include an exhaustive survey to establish a complete list of witnesses; a database of extracts to examine their principles of organisation and relationships; and electronic transcriptions to determine their role in the transmission of the biblical text. The results will have a direct impact on editions of the Greek New Testament, providing a new understanding of its text and reception and leading to broader insights into history and culture.
Summary
Manuscripts which contain commentary alongside the biblical text are some of the most significant and complicated witnesses to the Greek New Testament. First compiled around the fifth century, the commentaries consist of chains of extracts from earlier writers (catenae). These manuscripts became the main way in which users encountered both the text and the interpretation of the New Testament; revised editions produced in the eleventh and twelfth centuries continued to hold the field until the invention of printing.
Recent advances have shown that commentary manuscripts play a much more important role than previously thought in the history of the New Testament. The number of known copies has increased by 20% following a preliminary survey last year which identified 100 additional manuscripts. A recent comprehensive textual analysis of the Catholic Epistles indicated that all witnesses from the third generation onwards (some 72% of the total) could stem from the biblical text of three commentary manuscripts occupying a key place in the textual tradition. Investigation of the catena on Mark has shown that the selection of extracts could offer a new approach to understanding the theology of the compilers and the transmission of the commentaries.
The CATENA Project will use digital tools to undertake a fuller examination of Greek New Testament commentary manuscripts than has ever before been possible. This will include an exhaustive survey to establish a complete list of witnesses; a database of extracts to examine their principles of organisation and relationships; and electronic transcriptions to determine their role in the transmission of the biblical text. The results will have a direct impact on editions of the Greek New Testament, providing a new understanding of its text and reception and leading to broader insights into history and culture.
Max ERC Funding
1 756 928 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym CELLFITNESS
Project Active Mechanisms of Cell Selection: From Cell Competition to Cell Fitness
Researcher (PI) Eduardo Moreno Lampaya
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACAO D. ANNA SOMMER CHAMPALIMAUD E DR. CARLOS MONTEZ CHAMPALIMAUD
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS3, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary The molecular mechanisms that mediate cell competition, cell fitness and cell selection is gaining interest. With innovative approaches, molecules and ground-breaking hypothesis, this field of research can help understand several biological processes such as development, cancer and tissue degeneration. The project has 3 clear and ambitious objectives: 1. We propose to identify all the key genes mediating cell competition and their molecular mechanisms. In order to reach this objective we will use data from two whole genome screens in Drosophila where we have identified 7 key genes. By the end of this CoG grant, we should have no big gaps in our knowledge of how slow dividing cells are recognised and eliminated in Drosophila. 2. In addition, we will explore how general the cell competition pathways are and how they can impact biomedical research, with a focus in cancer and tissue degeneration. The interest in cancer is based on experiments in Drosophila and mice where we and others have found that an active process of cell selection determines tumour growth. Preliminary results suggest that the pathways identified do not only play important roles in the elimination of slow dividing cells, but also during cancer initiation and progression. 3. We will further explore the role of cell competition in neuronal selection, specially during neurodegeneration, development of the retina and adult brain regeneration in Drosophila. This proposal is of an interdisciplinary nature because it takes a basic cellular mechanism (the genetic pathways that select cells within tissues) and crosses boundaries between different fields of research: development, cancer, regeneration and tissue degeneration. In this ERC CoG proposal, we are committed to continue our efforts from basic science to biomedical approaches. The phenomena of cell competition and its participating genes have the potential to discover novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies against cancer and tissue degeneration.
Summary
The molecular mechanisms that mediate cell competition, cell fitness and cell selection is gaining interest. With innovative approaches, molecules and ground-breaking hypothesis, this field of research can help understand several biological processes such as development, cancer and tissue degeneration. The project has 3 clear and ambitious objectives: 1. We propose to identify all the key genes mediating cell competition and their molecular mechanisms. In order to reach this objective we will use data from two whole genome screens in Drosophila where we have identified 7 key genes. By the end of this CoG grant, we should have no big gaps in our knowledge of how slow dividing cells are recognised and eliminated in Drosophila. 2. In addition, we will explore how general the cell competition pathways are and how they can impact biomedical research, with a focus in cancer and tissue degeneration. The interest in cancer is based on experiments in Drosophila and mice where we and others have found that an active process of cell selection determines tumour growth. Preliminary results suggest that the pathways identified do not only play important roles in the elimination of slow dividing cells, but also during cancer initiation and progression. 3. We will further explore the role of cell competition in neuronal selection, specially during neurodegeneration, development of the retina and adult brain regeneration in Drosophila. This proposal is of an interdisciplinary nature because it takes a basic cellular mechanism (the genetic pathways that select cells within tissues) and crosses boundaries between different fields of research: development, cancer, regeneration and tissue degeneration. In this ERC CoG proposal, we are committed to continue our efforts from basic science to biomedical approaches. The phenomena of cell competition and its participating genes have the potential to discover novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies against cancer and tissue degeneration.
Max ERC Funding
1 968 062 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-06-01, End date: 2019-05-31
Project acronym CentrioleBirthDeath
Project Mechanism of centriole inheritance and maintenance
Researcher (PI) Monica BETTENCOURT CARVALHO DIAS
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACAO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS3, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Centrioles assemble centrosomes and cilia/flagella, critical structures for cell division, polarity, motility and signalling, which are often deregulated in human disease. Centriole inheritance, in particular the preservation of their copy number and position in the cell is critical in many eukaryotes. I propose to investigate, in an integrative and quantitative way, how centrioles are formed in the right numbers at the right time and place, and how they are maintained to ensure their function and inheritance. We first ask how centrioles guide their own assembly position and centriole copy number. Our recent work highlighted several properties of the system, including positive and negative feedbacks and spatial cues. We explore critical hypotheses through a combination of biochemistry, quantitative live cell microscopy and computational modelling. We then ask how the centrosome and the cell cycle are both coordinated. We recently identified the triggering event in centriole biogenesis and how its regulation is akin to cell cycle control of DNA replication and centromere assembly. We will explore new hypotheses to understand how assembly time is coupled to the cell cycle. Lastly, we ask how centriole maintenance is regulated. By studying centriole disappearance in the female germline we uncovered that centrioles need to be actively maintained by their surrounding matrix. We propose to investigate how that matrix provides stability to the centrioles, whether this is differently regulated in different cell types and the possible consequences of its misregulation for the organism (infertility and ciliopathy-like symptoms). We will take advantage of several experimental systems (in silico, ex-vivo, flies and human cells), tailoring the assay to the question and allowing for comparisons across experimental systems to provide a deeper understanding of the process and its regulation.
Summary
Centrioles assemble centrosomes and cilia/flagella, critical structures for cell division, polarity, motility and signalling, which are often deregulated in human disease. Centriole inheritance, in particular the preservation of their copy number and position in the cell is critical in many eukaryotes. I propose to investigate, in an integrative and quantitative way, how centrioles are formed in the right numbers at the right time and place, and how they are maintained to ensure their function and inheritance. We first ask how centrioles guide their own assembly position and centriole copy number. Our recent work highlighted several properties of the system, including positive and negative feedbacks and spatial cues. We explore critical hypotheses through a combination of biochemistry, quantitative live cell microscopy and computational modelling. We then ask how the centrosome and the cell cycle are both coordinated. We recently identified the triggering event in centriole biogenesis and how its regulation is akin to cell cycle control of DNA replication and centromere assembly. We will explore new hypotheses to understand how assembly time is coupled to the cell cycle. Lastly, we ask how centriole maintenance is regulated. By studying centriole disappearance in the female germline we uncovered that centrioles need to be actively maintained by their surrounding matrix. We propose to investigate how that matrix provides stability to the centrioles, whether this is differently regulated in different cell types and the possible consequences of its misregulation for the organism (infertility and ciliopathy-like symptoms). We will take advantage of several experimental systems (in silico, ex-vivo, flies and human cells), tailoring the assay to the question and allowing for comparisons across experimental systems to provide a deeper understanding of the process and its regulation.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
