Project acronym 3DSPIN
Project 3-Dimensional Maps of the Spinning Nucleon
Researcher (PI) Alessandro Bacchetta
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary How does the inside of the proton look like? What generates its spin?
3DSPIN will deliver essential information to answer these questions at the frontier of subnuclear physics.
At present, we have detailed maps of the distribution of quarks and gluons in the nucleon in 1D (as a function of their momentum in a single direction). We also know that quark spins account for only about 1/3 of the spin of the nucleon.
3DSPIN will lead the way into a new stage of nucleon mapping, explore the distribution of quarks in full 3D momentum space and obtain unprecedented information on orbital angular momentum.
Goals
1. extract from experimental data the 3D distribution of quarks (in momentum space), as described by Transverse-Momentum Distributions (TMDs);
2. obtain from TMDs information on quark Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM).
Methodology
3DSPIN will implement state-of-the-art fitting procedures to analyze relevant experimental data and extract quark TMDs, similarly to global fits of standard parton distribution functions. Information about quark angular momentum will be obtained through assumptions based on theoretical considerations. The next five years represent an ideal time window to accomplish our goals, thanks to the wealth of expected data from deep-inelastic scattering experiments (COMPASS, Jefferson Lab), hadronic colliders (Fermilab, BNL, LHC), and electron-positron colliders (BELLE, BABAR). The PI has a strong reputation in this field. The group will operate in partnership with the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and in close interaction with leading experts and experimental collaborations worldwide.
Impact
Mapping the 3D structure of chemical compounds has revolutionized chemistry. Similarly, mapping the 3D structure of the nucleon will have a deep impact on our understanding of the fundamental constituents of matter. We will open new perspectives on the dynamics of quarks and gluons and sharpen our view of high-energy processes involving nucleons.
Summary
How does the inside of the proton look like? What generates its spin?
3DSPIN will deliver essential information to answer these questions at the frontier of subnuclear physics.
At present, we have detailed maps of the distribution of quarks and gluons in the nucleon in 1D (as a function of their momentum in a single direction). We also know that quark spins account for only about 1/3 of the spin of the nucleon.
3DSPIN will lead the way into a new stage of nucleon mapping, explore the distribution of quarks in full 3D momentum space and obtain unprecedented information on orbital angular momentum.
Goals
1. extract from experimental data the 3D distribution of quarks (in momentum space), as described by Transverse-Momentum Distributions (TMDs);
2. obtain from TMDs information on quark Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM).
Methodology
3DSPIN will implement state-of-the-art fitting procedures to analyze relevant experimental data and extract quark TMDs, similarly to global fits of standard parton distribution functions. Information about quark angular momentum will be obtained through assumptions based on theoretical considerations. The next five years represent an ideal time window to accomplish our goals, thanks to the wealth of expected data from deep-inelastic scattering experiments (COMPASS, Jefferson Lab), hadronic colliders (Fermilab, BNL, LHC), and electron-positron colliders (BELLE, BABAR). The PI has a strong reputation in this field. The group will operate in partnership with the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and in close interaction with leading experts and experimental collaborations worldwide.
Impact
Mapping the 3D structure of chemical compounds has revolutionized chemistry. Similarly, mapping the 3D structure of the nucleon will have a deep impact on our understanding of the fundamental constituents of matter. We will open new perspectives on the dynamics of quarks and gluons and sharpen our view of high-energy processes involving nucleons.
Max ERC Funding
1 509 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-12-31
Project acronym 4DPHOTON
Project Beyond Light Imaging: High-Rate Single-Photon Detection in Four Dimensions
Researcher (PI) Massimiliano FIORINI
Host Institution (HI) ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI FISICA NUCLEARE
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Goal of the 4DPHOTON project is the development and construction of a photon imaging detector with unprecedented performance. The proposed device will be capable of detecting fluxes of single-photons up to one billion photons per second, over areas of several square centimetres, and will measure - for each photon - position and time simultaneously with resolutions better than ten microns and few tens of picoseconds, respectively. These figures of merit will open many important applications allowing significant advances in particle physics, life sciences or other emerging fields where excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously required.
Our goal will be achieved thanks to the use of an application-specific integrated circuit in 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, that will deliver a timing resolution of few tens of picoseconds at the pixel level, over few hundred thousand individually-active pixel channels, allowing very high rates of photons to be detected, and the corresponding information digitized and transferred to a processing unit.
As a result of the 4DPHOTON project we will remove the constraints that many light imaging applications have due to the lack of precise single-photon information on four dimensions (4D): the three spatial coordinates and time simultaneously. In particular, we will prove the performance of this detector in the field of particle physics, performing the reconstruction of Cherenkov photon rings with a timing resolution of ten picoseconds. With its excellent granularity, timing resolution, rate capability and compactness, this detector will represent a new paradigm for the realisation of future Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, capable of achieving high efficiency particle identification in environments with very high particle multiplicities, exploiting time-association of the photon hits.
Summary
Goal of the 4DPHOTON project is the development and construction of a photon imaging detector with unprecedented performance. The proposed device will be capable of detecting fluxes of single-photons up to one billion photons per second, over areas of several square centimetres, and will measure - for each photon - position and time simultaneously with resolutions better than ten microns and few tens of picoseconds, respectively. These figures of merit will open many important applications allowing significant advances in particle physics, life sciences or other emerging fields where excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously required.
Our goal will be achieved thanks to the use of an application-specific integrated circuit in 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, that will deliver a timing resolution of few tens of picoseconds at the pixel level, over few hundred thousand individually-active pixel channels, allowing very high rates of photons to be detected, and the corresponding information digitized and transferred to a processing unit.
As a result of the 4DPHOTON project we will remove the constraints that many light imaging applications have due to the lack of precise single-photon information on four dimensions (4D): the three spatial coordinates and time simultaneously. In particular, we will prove the performance of this detector in the field of particle physics, performing the reconstruction of Cherenkov photon rings with a timing resolution of ten picoseconds. With its excellent granularity, timing resolution, rate capability and compactness, this detector will represent a new paradigm for the realisation of future Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, capable of achieving high efficiency particle identification in environments with very high particle multiplicities, exploiting time-association of the photon hits.
Max ERC Funding
1 975 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-12-01, End date: 2024-11-30
Project acronym BioDisOrder
Project Order and Disorder at the Surface of Biological Membranes.
Researcher (PI) Alfonso DE SIMONE
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Heterogeneous biomolecular mechanisms at the surface of cellular membranes are often fundamental to generate function and dysfunction in living systems. These processes are governed by transient and dynamical macromolecular interactions that pose tremendous challenges to current analytical tools, as the majority of these methods perform best in the study of well-defined and poorly dynamical systems. This proposal aims at a radical innovation in the characterisation of complex processes that are dominated by structural order and disorder, including those occurring at the surface of biological membranes such as cellular signalling, the assembly of molecular machinery, or the regulation vesicular trafficking.
I outline a programme to realise a vision where the combination of experiments and theory can delineate a new analytical platform to study complex biochemical mechanisms at a multiscale level, and to elucidate their role in physiological and pathological contexts. To achieve this ambitious goal, my research team will develop tools based on the combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular simulations, which will enable probing the structure, dynamics, thermodynamics and kinetics of complex protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions occurring at the surface of cellular membranes. The ability to advance both the experimental and theoretical sides, and their combination, is fundamental to define the next generation of methods to achieve our transformative aims. We will provide evidence of the innovative nature of the proposed multiscale approach by addressing some of the great questions in neuroscience and elucidate the details of how functional and aberrant biological complexity is achieved via the fine tuning between structural order and disorder at the neuronal synapse.
Summary
Heterogeneous biomolecular mechanisms at the surface of cellular membranes are often fundamental to generate function and dysfunction in living systems. These processes are governed by transient and dynamical macromolecular interactions that pose tremendous challenges to current analytical tools, as the majority of these methods perform best in the study of well-defined and poorly dynamical systems. This proposal aims at a radical innovation in the characterisation of complex processes that are dominated by structural order and disorder, including those occurring at the surface of biological membranes such as cellular signalling, the assembly of molecular machinery, or the regulation vesicular trafficking.
I outline a programme to realise a vision where the combination of experiments and theory can delineate a new analytical platform to study complex biochemical mechanisms at a multiscale level, and to elucidate their role in physiological and pathological contexts. To achieve this ambitious goal, my research team will develop tools based on the combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular simulations, which will enable probing the structure, dynamics, thermodynamics and kinetics of complex protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions occurring at the surface of cellular membranes. The ability to advance both the experimental and theoretical sides, and their combination, is fundamental to define the next generation of methods to achieve our transformative aims. We will provide evidence of the innovative nature of the proposed multiscale approach by addressing some of the great questions in neuroscience and elucidate the details of how functional and aberrant biological complexity is achieved via the fine tuning between structural order and disorder at the neuronal synapse.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 945 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym BrightEyes
Project Multi-Parameter Live-Cell Observation of Biomolecular Processes with Single-Photon Detector Array
Researcher (PI) Giuseppe Vicidomini
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE7, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Fluorescence single-molecule (SM) detection techniques have the potential to provide insights into the complex functions, structures and interactions of individual, specifically labelled biomolecules. However, current SM techniques work properly only when the biomolecule is observed in controlled environments, e.g., immobilized on a glass surface. Observation of biomolecular processes in living (multi)cellular environments – which is fundamental for sound biological conclusion – always comes with a price, such as invasiveness, limitations in the accessible information and constraints in the spatial and temporal scales.
The overall objective of the BrightEyes project is to break the above limitations by creating a novel SM approach compatible with the state-of-the-art biomolecule-labelling protocols, able to track a biomolecule deep inside (multi)cellular environments – with temporal resolution in the microsecond scale, and with hundreds of micrometres tracking range – and simultaneously observe its structural changes, its nano- and micro-environments.
Specifically, by exploring a novel single-photon detectors array, the BrightEyes project will implement an optical system, able to continuously (i) track in real-time the biomolecule of interest from which to decode its dynamics and interactions; (ii) measure the nano-environment fluorescence spectroscopy properties, such as lifetime, photon-pair correlation and intensity, from which to extract the biochemical properties of the nano-environment, the structural properties of the biomolecule – via SM-FRET and anti-bunching – and the interactions of the biomolecule with other biomolecular species – via STED-FCS; (iii) visualize the sub-cellular structures within the micro-environment with sub-diffraction spatial resolution – via STED and image scanning microscopy.
This unique paradigm will enable unprecedented studies of biomolecular behaviours, interactions and self-organization at near-physiological conditions.
Summary
Fluorescence single-molecule (SM) detection techniques have the potential to provide insights into the complex functions, structures and interactions of individual, specifically labelled biomolecules. However, current SM techniques work properly only when the biomolecule is observed in controlled environments, e.g., immobilized on a glass surface. Observation of biomolecular processes in living (multi)cellular environments – which is fundamental for sound biological conclusion – always comes with a price, such as invasiveness, limitations in the accessible information and constraints in the spatial and temporal scales.
The overall objective of the BrightEyes project is to break the above limitations by creating a novel SM approach compatible with the state-of-the-art biomolecule-labelling protocols, able to track a biomolecule deep inside (multi)cellular environments – with temporal resolution in the microsecond scale, and with hundreds of micrometres tracking range – and simultaneously observe its structural changes, its nano- and micro-environments.
Specifically, by exploring a novel single-photon detectors array, the BrightEyes project will implement an optical system, able to continuously (i) track in real-time the biomolecule of interest from which to decode its dynamics and interactions; (ii) measure the nano-environment fluorescence spectroscopy properties, such as lifetime, photon-pair correlation and intensity, from which to extract the biochemical properties of the nano-environment, the structural properties of the biomolecule – via SM-FRET and anti-bunching – and the interactions of the biomolecule with other biomolecular species – via STED-FCS; (iii) visualize the sub-cellular structures within the micro-environment with sub-diffraction spatial resolution – via STED and image scanning microscopy.
This unique paradigm will enable unprecedented studies of biomolecular behaviours, interactions and self-organization at near-physiological conditions.
Max ERC Funding
1 861 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-09-01, End date: 2024-08-31
Project acronym DIAPASoN
Project Differential Program Semantics
Researcher (PI) Ugo DAL LAGO
Host Institution (HI) ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Traditionally, program semantics is centered around the notion of program identity, that is to say of program equivalence: a program is identified with its meaning, and programs are considered as equal only if their meanings are the same. This view has been extremely fruitful in the past, allowing for a deep understanding of highly interactive forms of computation as embodied by higher-order or concurrent programs. The byproducts of all this lie everywhere in computer science, from programming language design to verification methodologies. The emphasis on equality — as opposed to differences — is not however in line with the way programs are written and structured in modern complex software systems. Subtasks are delegated to pieces of code which behave as expected only up to a certain probability of error, and only if the environment in which they operate makes this possible deviation irrelevant. These aspects have been almost neglected by the program semantics community until recently, and still have a marginal role. DIAPASON's goal is to study differences between programs as a constitutive and informative concept, rather than by way of relations between them. This will be accomplished by generalizing four major frameworks of program semantics, traditionally used for giving semantics to programs, comparing them, proving properties of them, and controlling their usage of resources: logical relations, bisimulation, game semantics, and linear logic.
Summary
Traditionally, program semantics is centered around the notion of program identity, that is to say of program equivalence: a program is identified with its meaning, and programs are considered as equal only if their meanings are the same. This view has been extremely fruitful in the past, allowing for a deep understanding of highly interactive forms of computation as embodied by higher-order or concurrent programs. The byproducts of all this lie everywhere in computer science, from programming language design to verification methodologies. The emphasis on equality — as opposed to differences — is not however in line with the way programs are written and structured in modern complex software systems. Subtasks are delegated to pieces of code which behave as expected only up to a certain probability of error, and only if the environment in which they operate makes this possible deviation irrelevant. These aspects have been almost neglected by the program semantics community until recently, and still have a marginal role. DIAPASON's goal is to study differences between programs as a constitutive and informative concept, rather than by way of relations between them. This will be accomplished by generalizing four major frameworks of program semantics, traditionally used for giving semantics to programs, comparing them, proving properties of them, and controlling their usage of resources: logical relations, bisimulation, game semantics, and linear logic.
Max ERC Funding
959 562 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-03-01, End date: 2024-02-29
Project acronym DissectPcG
Project Dissecting the Function of Multiple Polycomb Group Complexes in Establishing Transcriptional Identity
Researcher (PI) Diego PASINI
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS3, ERC-2016-COG
Summary The activities of the Polycomb group (PcG) of repressive chromatin modifiers are required to maintain correct transcriptional identity during development and differentiation. These activities are altered in a variety of tumours by gain- or loss-of-function mutations, whose mechanistic aspects still remain unclear.
PcGs can be classified in two major repressive complexes (PRC1 and PRC2) with common pathways but distinct biochemical activities. PRC1 catalyses histone H2A ubiquitination of lysine 119, and PRC2 tri-methylation of histone H3 lysine 27. However, PRC1 has a more heterogeneous composition than PRC2, with six mutually exclusive PCGF subunits (PCGF1–6) essential for assembling distinct PRC1 complexes that differ in subunit composition but share the same catalytic core.
While up to six different PRC1 forms can co-exist in a given cell, the molecular mechanisms regulating their activities and their relative contributions to general PRC1 function in any tissue/cell type remain largely unknown. In line with this biochemical heterogeneity, PRC1 retains broader biological functions than PRC2. Critically, however, no molecular analysis has yet been published that dissects the contribution of each PRC1 complex in regulating transcriptional identity.
We will take advantage of newly developed reagents and unpublished genetic models to target each of the six Pcgf genes in either embryonic stem cells or mouse adult tissues. This will systematically dissect the contributions of the different PRC1 complexes to chromatin profiles, gene expression programs, and cellular phenotypes during stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and adult tissue homeostasis. Overall, this will elucidate some of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of cellular identity and will allow us to further determine the molecular links between PcG deregulation and cancer development in a tissue- and/or cell type–specific manner.
Summary
The activities of the Polycomb group (PcG) of repressive chromatin modifiers are required to maintain correct transcriptional identity during development and differentiation. These activities are altered in a variety of tumours by gain- or loss-of-function mutations, whose mechanistic aspects still remain unclear.
PcGs can be classified in two major repressive complexes (PRC1 and PRC2) with common pathways but distinct biochemical activities. PRC1 catalyses histone H2A ubiquitination of lysine 119, and PRC2 tri-methylation of histone H3 lysine 27. However, PRC1 has a more heterogeneous composition than PRC2, with six mutually exclusive PCGF subunits (PCGF1–6) essential for assembling distinct PRC1 complexes that differ in subunit composition but share the same catalytic core.
While up to six different PRC1 forms can co-exist in a given cell, the molecular mechanisms regulating their activities and their relative contributions to general PRC1 function in any tissue/cell type remain largely unknown. In line with this biochemical heterogeneity, PRC1 retains broader biological functions than PRC2. Critically, however, no molecular analysis has yet been published that dissects the contribution of each PRC1 complex in regulating transcriptional identity.
We will take advantage of newly developed reagents and unpublished genetic models to target each of the six Pcgf genes in either embryonic stem cells or mouse adult tissues. This will systematically dissect the contributions of the different PRC1 complexes to chromatin profiles, gene expression programs, and cellular phenotypes during stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and adult tissue homeostasis. Overall, this will elucidate some of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of cellular identity and will allow us to further determine the molecular links between PcG deregulation and cancer development in a tissue- and/or cell type–specific manner.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-11-01, End date: 2022-10-31
Project acronym DYNAPOL
Project Modeling approaches toward bioinspired dynamic materials
Researcher (PI) Giovanni Maria PAVAN
Host Institution (HI) POLITECNICO DI TORINO
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Nature uses self-assembly to build fascinating supramolecular materials, such as microtubules and protein filaments, that can self-heal, reconfigure, adapt or respond to specific stimuli in dynamic way. Building synthetic (polymeric) supramolecular materials possessing similar bioinspired properties via the same self-assembly principles is interesting for many applications. But their rational design requires a detailed comprehension of the molecular determinants controlling the assembly (structure, dynamics and properties) that is typically very difficult to reach experimentally.
The aim of this project is to obtain structure-dynamics-property relationships to learn how to control the dynamic bioinspired properties of supramolecular polymers. I propose to unravel the molecular origin of the bioinspired behavior through massive multiscale modeling, advanced simulations and machine learning. First, we will develop ad hoc molecular models to study monomer assembly and the supramolecular structure of various types of self-assembled materials on multiple scales. Second, using advanced simulation approaches we will characterize the supramolecular dynamics of these materials (dynamic exchange of monomers) at high (submolecular) resolution. We will then study bioinspired properties such as the ability of various supramolecular materials to self-heal, adapt or reconfigure dynamically in response to specific stimuli. Our models will be systematically validated by comparison with the experimental evidence from our collaborators. Finally, we will use machine learning approaches to analyze our high-resolution simulations and to identify the key monomer features that control and determine the structure, dynamics and dynamic properties of a supramolecular material (i.e., structure-dynamics-property relationships). This research will produce unprecedented insight and fundamental models for the rational design of artificial dynamic materials with controllable bioinspired properties.
Summary
Nature uses self-assembly to build fascinating supramolecular materials, such as microtubules and protein filaments, that can self-heal, reconfigure, adapt or respond to specific stimuli in dynamic way. Building synthetic (polymeric) supramolecular materials possessing similar bioinspired properties via the same self-assembly principles is interesting for many applications. But their rational design requires a detailed comprehension of the molecular determinants controlling the assembly (structure, dynamics and properties) that is typically very difficult to reach experimentally.
The aim of this project is to obtain structure-dynamics-property relationships to learn how to control the dynamic bioinspired properties of supramolecular polymers. I propose to unravel the molecular origin of the bioinspired behavior through massive multiscale modeling, advanced simulations and machine learning. First, we will develop ad hoc molecular models to study monomer assembly and the supramolecular structure of various types of self-assembled materials on multiple scales. Second, using advanced simulation approaches we will characterize the supramolecular dynamics of these materials (dynamic exchange of monomers) at high (submolecular) resolution. We will then study bioinspired properties such as the ability of various supramolecular materials to self-heal, adapt or reconfigure dynamically in response to specific stimuli. Our models will be systematically validated by comparison with the experimental evidence from our collaborators. Finally, we will use machine learning approaches to analyze our high-resolution simulations and to identify the key monomer features that control and determine the structure, dynamics and dynamic properties of a supramolecular material (i.e., structure-dynamics-property relationships). This research will produce unprecedented insight and fundamental models for the rational design of artificial dynamic materials with controllable bioinspired properties.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 623 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-11-01, End date: 2024-10-31
Project acronym ELFO
Project Electronic Food: enabling edible electronic systems for biomedical and food monitoring applications
Researcher (PI) Mario CAIRONI
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE7, ERC-2019-COG
Summary ELFO will provide the foundations of a new enabling technology for disruptive edible electronic systems, with applications in advanced biomedical devices for continuous monitoring of the health status within the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract, as well as in electronic tags for food monitoring, serving public health and providing at the same time a very powerful tool against counterfeiting. These systems will be unperceivable and mass produced mainly with mask-less, printing and direct-writing methods. Besides being completely safe for ingestion, such devices will also be perceived as food, favouring public acceptance. Such an ambitious plan will be implemented by: i) creating knowledge on electronic properties of food and food derivatives and complementing them with edible solution-processable, mainly carbon-based semiconductors, thus developing an extended library of edible electronic materials; ii) developing large-area, solution-based, printing and direct-writing scalable processes with high lateral resolution for the precise patterning of edible functional materials; iii) developing edible electronic components required in systems, from logic to power and sensors; iv) validating the progress with two proof-of-concept systems, an edible radio-frequency pill with controlled drug delivery, answering the need for compliance monitoring devices and actuators within the gut, and an edible passive food Radio-Frequency identification tag, answering the need for certification and anti-counterfeiting devices directly onto or into food products. ELFO will give solid engineering grounds to the visionary perspectives of edible electronics, introducing imperceptible intelligence in any edible item, thus accessing more information on what we eat, how it is assimilated and enabling biomedical devices for mass health screening.
Summary
ELFO will provide the foundations of a new enabling technology for disruptive edible electronic systems, with applications in advanced biomedical devices for continuous monitoring of the health status within the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract, as well as in electronic tags for food monitoring, serving public health and providing at the same time a very powerful tool against counterfeiting. These systems will be unperceivable and mass produced mainly with mask-less, printing and direct-writing methods. Besides being completely safe for ingestion, such devices will also be perceived as food, favouring public acceptance. Such an ambitious plan will be implemented by: i) creating knowledge on electronic properties of food and food derivatives and complementing them with edible solution-processable, mainly carbon-based semiconductors, thus developing an extended library of edible electronic materials; ii) developing large-area, solution-based, printing and direct-writing scalable processes with high lateral resolution for the precise patterning of edible functional materials; iii) developing edible electronic components required in systems, from logic to power and sensors; iv) validating the progress with two proof-of-concept systems, an edible radio-frequency pill with controlled drug delivery, answering the need for compliance monitoring devices and actuators within the gut, and an edible passive food Radio-Frequency identification tag, answering the need for certification and anti-counterfeiting devices directly onto or into food products. ELFO will give solid engineering grounds to the visionary perspectives of edible electronics, introducing imperceptible intelligence in any edible item, thus accessing more information on what we eat, how it is assimilated and enabling biomedical devices for mass health screening.
Max ERC Funding
1 980 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-09-01, End date: 2025-08-31
Project acronym EXPLORINGMATTER
Project Exploring Matter with Precision Charm and Beauty Production Measurements in Heavy Nuclei Collisions at LHCb
Researcher (PI) Giulia Manca
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAGLIARI
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Collisions of ultra relativistic nuclei are a tool to reach huge energy densities and to form a new state of matter called Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), where quarks and gluons can move freely. A number of experiments have studied the possible formation of QGP, but the behaviour of heavy particles such as charm (c) and beauty (b) quarks when they traverse this medium is largely unknown and is the most powerful tool to prove the creation of the QGP and to characterise it. I will perform novel measurements using the LHCb detector at CERN, which covers an unique kinematic region, essential for a full understanding of QGP and nuclear matter in general. LHCb has been optimised to perform c and b quark physics measurements in proton-proton collisions. In EXPLORINGMATTER I propose to extend the LHCb programme to collect for the first time data in heavy ion collisions. Three experimental scenarios are foreseen: (1) Collisions of protons, benchmark to understand the behaviour of the c and b particles in other more complicated environments, as well as providing the final answers to the mechanism of heavy quarkonium production;(2) Collisions of protons with heavy nuclei, where cold nuclear matter effects in high-energy collisions can be studied in detail to understand lead nuclei collisions, where QGP is expected to be formed. (3) Collisions of heavy nuclei, pursued (a) by analysing heavy nuclei interactions through a dedicated setup in which gas will be injected in the LHCb interaction region, reaching energy densities typical of dedicated fixed target experiments; (b) by collecting heavy ion collision data at the LHC. This second setup, which has not been envisaged by LHCb up to now will revolutionise the measurements in this area thanks to the LHCb coverage and precision not achievable by any other experiment. My measurements will furthermore indicate the route to new experiments that could be designed on the basis of these findings.
Summary
Collisions of ultra relativistic nuclei are a tool to reach huge energy densities and to form a new state of matter called Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), where quarks and gluons can move freely. A number of experiments have studied the possible formation of QGP, but the behaviour of heavy particles such as charm (c) and beauty (b) quarks when they traverse this medium is largely unknown and is the most powerful tool to prove the creation of the QGP and to characterise it. I will perform novel measurements using the LHCb detector at CERN, which covers an unique kinematic region, essential for a full understanding of QGP and nuclear matter in general. LHCb has been optimised to perform c and b quark physics measurements in proton-proton collisions. In EXPLORINGMATTER I propose to extend the LHCb programme to collect for the first time data in heavy ion collisions. Three experimental scenarios are foreseen: (1) Collisions of protons, benchmark to understand the behaviour of the c and b particles in other more complicated environments, as well as providing the final answers to the mechanism of heavy quarkonium production;(2) Collisions of protons with heavy nuclei, where cold nuclear matter effects in high-energy collisions can be studied in detail to understand lead nuclei collisions, where QGP is expected to be formed. (3) Collisions of heavy nuclei, pursued (a) by analysing heavy nuclei interactions through a dedicated setup in which gas will be injected in the LHCb interaction region, reaching energy densities typical of dedicated fixed target experiments; (b) by collecting heavy ion collision data at the LHC. This second setup, which has not been envisaged by LHCb up to now will revolutionise the measurements in this area thanks to the LHCb coverage and precision not achievable by any other experiment. My measurements will furthermore indicate the route to new experiments that could be designed on the basis of these findings.
Max ERC Funding
1 849 957 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym Hairy Cell Leukemia
Project Genetics-driven targeted therapy of Hairy Cell Leukemia
Researcher (PI) Enrico Tiacci
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PERUGIA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL), a chronic B-cell neoplasm, is initially sensitive to chemotherapy with purine analogs, but ~40% of patients eventually relapses and becomes less responsive to these drugs. Furthermore, purine analogs may cause myelotoxicity, immune-suppression and severe opportunistic infections. Therefore, molecularly-targeted less toxic drugs are highly desirable in HCL. However, its low incidence and the initial efficacy of purine analogs has made HCL an orphan in the world of cancer research and has spoiled the academic and industrial interest in developing better treatments for this disease. But recently we identified the V600E activating mutation in the BRAF kinase as the key genetic lesion of HCL (similar to BCR-ABL1 in chronic myeloid leukemia). Orally available specific BRAF inhibitors (e.g., Vemurafenib) have in the meantime showed remarkable efficacy in melanoma patients harboring the BRAF-V600E mutation, although resistance to such drugs eventually develops in this malignancy through reactivation of MEK (the downstream target of BRAF). The ground-breaking objective of this project is to introduce for the first time in HCL, by means of phase-2 investigator-driven pilot clinical trials, the concept of BRAF and/or MEK inhibition as an oral, non chemotherapy-based, entirely out-patient, genetics-driven and rationally designed treatment strategy, first in patients with active disease despite (or severe toxicity from) previous chemotherapy with purine analogs, and then, potentially, in the frontline setting. In comparison to melanoma, deeper and longer effect of BRAF inhibition may be expected in HCL, due to its much lower genetic complexity and proliferation rate. Anyway, potential mechanisms of resistance will be searched for to identify other genes recurrently mutated or aberrantly expressed in HCL patients developing resistance to BRAF inhibition (if any), and the clinical feasibility of combined BRAF and MEK inhibition will be addressed.
Summary
Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL), a chronic B-cell neoplasm, is initially sensitive to chemotherapy with purine analogs, but ~40% of patients eventually relapses and becomes less responsive to these drugs. Furthermore, purine analogs may cause myelotoxicity, immune-suppression and severe opportunistic infections. Therefore, molecularly-targeted less toxic drugs are highly desirable in HCL. However, its low incidence and the initial efficacy of purine analogs has made HCL an orphan in the world of cancer research and has spoiled the academic and industrial interest in developing better treatments for this disease. But recently we identified the V600E activating mutation in the BRAF kinase as the key genetic lesion of HCL (similar to BCR-ABL1 in chronic myeloid leukemia). Orally available specific BRAF inhibitors (e.g., Vemurafenib) have in the meantime showed remarkable efficacy in melanoma patients harboring the BRAF-V600E mutation, although resistance to such drugs eventually develops in this malignancy through reactivation of MEK (the downstream target of BRAF). The ground-breaking objective of this project is to introduce for the first time in HCL, by means of phase-2 investigator-driven pilot clinical trials, the concept of BRAF and/or MEK inhibition as an oral, non chemotherapy-based, entirely out-patient, genetics-driven and rationally designed treatment strategy, first in patients with active disease despite (or severe toxicity from) previous chemotherapy with purine analogs, and then, potentially, in the frontline setting. In comparison to melanoma, deeper and longer effect of BRAF inhibition may be expected in HCL, due to its much lower genetic complexity and proliferation rate. Anyway, potential mechanisms of resistance will be searched for to identify other genes recurrently mutated or aberrantly expressed in HCL patients developing resistance to BRAF inhibition (if any), and the clinical feasibility of combined BRAF and MEK inhibition will be addressed.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
