ERC Advanced Grant, recent awardees

2026

• The Pestov Identity on the Frame Bundle and Associated Homogeneous Fibrations

  Andrei Moroianu · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

  ABSTRACT We prove a global Pestov identity on the (orthonormal) frame bundle of a Riemannian manifold and deduce similar identities on associated homogeneous fibrations. As a particular example, this provides a concise proof of the Pestov identity on the unit tangent bundle of the manifold.

• Ultra‐Wideline 2D Correlations Among Low‐ <i>γ</i> Species in Solid‐State NMR via the Progressive Saturation of a Common Proton Reservoir

  Rihards Aleksis · Latvijas Organiskās Sintēzes Institūts · LV

  ABSTRACT Ultra‐wideline nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra arising from large chemical shift anisotropy and/or quadrupolar broadening can span several MHz, rendering two‐dimensional (2D) correlations between low‐γ nuclei subject to these interactions exceptionally challenging. The limited pulse excitation bandwidth, poor sensitivity, and weak internuclear couplings make correlations between such spins nearly impossible in practice. To deal with such cases, this study introduces the PROgres

• miRNA-26b Is Associated with Increased Connexin-40 Expression in Endothelial Cells Under Flow Conditions

  Marcus Igl · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DE

  Endothelial cell dysfunction is the initial step in atherosclerosis, in which gap junction proteins such as connexin 40 (Cx40) might play an important role. Previously, we could demonstrate that miRNA-26b, a 21-nucleotide miRNA, is highly expressed in human atherosclerotic plaques and plays a key causal role in atherogenesis. There is evidence that miRNA-26b and Cx40 play crucial roles in sustaining endothelial health. However, their potential effects on atherosclerosis-related processes remain

• Dynamic bidirectional coupling of membrane morphology and rod organization in flexible vesicles

  Stijn van der Ham · Inspire Institute · US

  The ordering of rod-like particles in soft, deformable containers emerges from the interplay of anisotropic interactions, geometric confinement, and boundary compliance. This competition couples internal particle organization to container morphology, producing behavior distinct from both rigid confinement and bulk systems. Such coupling is also relevant to biological contexts in which filamentous structures are confined by deformable membranes. Using a minimal model combining experiments and sim

• Chiral symmetry restoration effects onto the meson spectrum from a Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter approach

  Anonymous · University of Graz · AT

  Light meson spectra are studied in a Dyson-Schwinger/Bethe-Salpeter approach to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). By varying the interaction strength of three sets of models for the quark-antiquark interaction, the transition from the chiral symmetric to the chirally broken regime in the vacuum is studied. The simplest type of these models leads to degenerate meson spectra for a large domain of the strength parameter. The more sophisticated and thus more realistic models show significantly smaller p

• Inventory of User Expectations for Technology (iExpect)

  Steeven Villa

• Achieving cell-type specific transduction with adeno-associated viral vectors in pigeons

  Noemi Rook · Ruhr University Bochum · DE

  Birds are valuable models for studying learning, cognition, song, and vision, yet tools for controlling and recording brain activity with millisecond precision remain underutilized in avian research. Advances in methods such as chemogenetics, optogenetics, and in vivo imaging have transformed rodent studies but require gene delivery techniques, like adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), in non-transgenic species. This study validates AAV tools for precise gene expression in pigeons. We identified bot

• The characterisation and reactivity of a Rh ^{<scp>iii</scp>} η ¹ -σ-alkane complex and the role of a structurally responsive phosphine ligand in solid-state molecular organometallic chemistry

  Joe C. Goodall · University of York · GB

  to a weakly coordinating σ-alkane. These reversible bond activations of the chelating ligand in response to changes in the co-ligands demonstrate that significant structural reorganisation is possible in the crystalline environment.

• NR2F6-modified CAR T cells drive extrinsic immunogenic cell death and antigen-agnostic immunity in solid tumors

  Victoria Klepsch · Innsbruck Medical University · AT

• Shaping Function: Polymeric 3D Systems With Unconventional Geometries for Biomedical Applications

  M Oliveira · University of Aveiro · PT

  Polymer geometry is a primary determinant of physical behavior and biological performance. Beyond conventional spherical and bulk morphologies, unconventional three-dimensional (3D) architectures - ranging from anisotropic particles and fibers to complex membrane-based systems - have emerged as powerful tools for biomedicine. Advances in fabrication methods, including microfluidics, lithography, and physical deformation techniques, now enable precise control of particle shape, anisotropy, and co

• Double-coated PLGA nanoparticles with hierarchical surface architecture for CD44-targeted siRNA delivery

  Fabiana Quaglia · Federico II University Hospital · IT

  Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) remains a materials challenge because it requires nanocarriers that stabilize polyanionic cargo, support cellular interactions, and enable cytosolic delivery. Although poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) are used due to biocompatibility, biodegradability, and regulatory acceptance, siRNA delivery with PLGA requires interfacial engineering to meet these constraints. Here, a modular double-coated PLGA NP platform (dcNPs2.0) i

• Senescence dynamics define therapeutic windows for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in DBA/2-mdx mice

  Aina Calls-Cobos · Fleet Science Center · US

  BACKGROUND: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe X-linked disorder marked by progressive muscle degeneration and regeneration, inflammation and fibrosis. Cellular senescence has emerged as a potential driver of chronic muscle damage, yet its temporal dynamics and therapeutic relevance remain unclear. METHODS: We analyzed senescent cell burden in skeletal and cardiac muscles of the DBA/2-mdx mouse model, which closely mimics features of human DMD. The senolytic combination of dasatinib a

• Retrovirus insertions in host transcripts trigger de novo piRNA immunity

  Baptiste Rafanel · Institute of Molecular Biotechnology · AT

  How host organisms adapt their defense systems to newly invading transposable elements remains poorly understood. Here, we show how Drosophila melanogaster acquired PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA)-mediated immunity against the endogenous retrovirus Tirant. We uncover two distinct modes of de novo piRNA biogenesis by combining genetics, small RNA profiling, and population genomics. The primary route involves antisense insertions into the flamenco cluster, a master locus for transposon control. Unexp

• Enantioselective Cupraelectrocatalyzed C−H Activation for C−Het Bond Formation

  Prof. Dr. Lutz Ackermann · University of Göttingen · DE

  Chiral aryl phosphorus compounds are key motifs in medicinal chemistry, materials science, and agrochemistry. Electrochemical, transition-metal-catalyzed C−H activation offers an economical route to these structures. However, enantioselective C−H phosphorylation of ferrocenyl derivatives catalyzed by earth-abundant metals has remained elusive. Here we disclose the enantioselective cupraelectrocatalyzed C−H phosphorylation of ferrocenyl amides, providing planar chiral ferrocenylphosphorus compoun

• Global dataset of soil eukaryotic communities created with a uniform protocol and long read sequencing

  Vladimir Mikryukov · University of Tartu · EE

  N, as well as P, K, Ca, Mg, and total C and N contents. GloSED is the first database that enables ecological and biogeographic studies of entire soil eukaryotic communities from local to global scales.

• Diabetes Management Strategies in Intensive Care Settings

  Greet Van den Berghe · KU Leuven · BE

  Critically ill patients often develop hyperglycemia, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Randomized controlled trials have shown that the benefits of tight glucose control (TGC) are context-dependent. TGC reduced morbidity and mortality in patients receiving early parenteral nutrition, using a protocol that included accurate glucose measurements and avoided insulin boluses. Benefit was less pronounced in patients not receiving early parenteral nutrition, which is associat

• Diabetes Management Strategies in Intensive Care Settings

  Greet Van den Berghe · KU Leuven · BE

  Critically ill patients often develop hyperglycemia, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Randomized controlled trials have shown that the benefits of tight glucose control (TGC) are context-dependent. TGC reduced morbidity and mortality in patients receiving early parenteral nutrition, using a protocol that included accurate glucose measurements and avoided insulin boluses. Benefit was less pronounced in patients not receiving early parenteral nutrition, which is associat

• The temperature dependence of amyloid <i>β</i> solubility reveals the hydrophobic effect as the main driving force for fibril formation

  Max Lindberg · Lund University · SE

  The aggregation of amyloid proteins into fibrillar and oligomeric aggregates is linked to a number of neurodegenerative diseases. While the disease onset remains elusive in many cases, an understanding of the driving forces for the aggregation may help finding possible causes. While effects on amyloid formation kinetics are more commonly studied, gaining insights into these driving forces require a thermodynamic approach with equilibrium measurements. Here we investigate the temperature dependen

• Integrable gauge theories at finite temperature

  UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · SE · €2,456,500

  We propose a project to explore the properties of supersymmetric gauge theories at finite temperature, with special emphasis on those that are integrable in the large N limit. In particular we study the de-confinement of these theories using the newest integrability methods which have recently proved to be a powerful tool in finding the Hagedorn temperature as a function of the theory's coupling. Progress in this field can lead to better understanding of the long unsolved problem of confineme

• CONTRACT: Conformal Calibration for Reliable AI-Based Wireless Communications

  Northeastern University - London · UK · €2,489,890

  CONTRACT sets out to investigate a novel, theoretically principled, framework for the reliable deployment of artificial intelligence (AI)-based black-box models in wireless systems. Given the highly non-deterministic patterns of traffic and connectivity conditions, AI is currently viewed as an essential technology to ensure the support of communication services with widely heterogeneous performance requirements, ranging from cloud gaming to Industry 4.0. However, AI ``apps'' are, by and large,

• Brain-inspired Computational Memory

  RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG · DE · €2,493,073

  Deep neural networks (DNNs) have transformed the field of AI in recent years. However, a significant challenge persists in the form of inefficient hardware implementations of DNNs. Computation in memory (CIM) is an emerging approach that tackles the processor-memory divide in modern computing systems, enhancing their suitability for DNNs. CIM draws inspiration from certain computational principles found in the human brain, such as hard-wired neural networks and analogue processing.A key question

• Numerical Analysis for Stable AI

  THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH · UK · €2,498,941

  From a numerical analysis perspective I will identify, quantify and mitigate vulnerabilities in current artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.Novel mathematical research will emerge along six overlapping axes:Inevitability: rigorously understand the inescapable endgame of the attack-versus-defence paradigm. Under what conditions is it inevitable that adversaries willsucceed? Formalizing such conditions will allow us to understand and, where possible, overcome current AI instabilities.Editabili

• Efficient odour representations in the olfactory bulb: Flexible lateral interactions synchronize co-active columns

  UNIVERSITAET REGENSBURG · DE · €3,453,563

  How is the percept of a smell generated from the fractionated representation of odours at the periphery where olfactory receptor channels detect structural elements of odour molecules? While this problem seems akin to the detection of a “Gestalt”/object by the visual system using its contours, there is a fundamental difference between olfaction and vision due to the discontinuous, non-topographical nature of odour representation. Recently my group has discovered intriguing subcellular mechanisms

• Quantifying Evolution: a platform for the synthetic evolution of molecular ecosystems.

  UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO · IT · €2,435,177

  Among the fundamental processes governing Nature, evolution is one of the most thoroughlAmong the fundamental processes governing Nature, evolution is one of the most thoroughly described and less formalized. The grand goal of describing evolution via clean universal laws is made difficult by the inherent complexity of both the biological systems and the available experimental models, which generally involve a large number of potentially relevant variables of difficult quantification. This proje

• Unravelling the molecular determinants of insecticide sensitivity in the Hymenoptera HYMOTOX

  THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER · UK · €2,485,038

  Hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, ants, and bees) are an environmentally and economically important order of insects that carry out vital ecosystem services in their role as parasitoids, predators, and pollinators. However, while performing this function, hymenopteran species may come into contact with potentially harmful xenobiotics in the environment such as pesticides. We have recently demonstrated that the impact of pesticides on the health of managed bee species is profoundly influenced by the

• Assured Recompilation of Vintage Executables via Binary Lifting: Unfreezing Legacy Software from Obsolete Toolchain Dependence

  TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT BERLIN · DE · €2,500,000

  A lot of everyday infrastructure is powered by legacy software that depends on obsolete toolchains. Such software is literally “stuck in time” and cannot benefit from innovations in modern compilers such as automated security mitigations applied during compilation. There are often other undesirable consequences, such as a need to use outdated hardware platforms.Unfortunately, modernizing such legacy software isn’t as simple as taking the ancient source code (if it exists) and re-running it throu

• The Discrimination-Inequality Cycle: Bridging Unequal Treatment and Unequal Outcomes across Countries, Regions and Workplaces

  FONDATION NATIONALE DES SCIENCES POLITIQUES · FR · €2,499,511

  Social science research has made impressive strides in studying discrimination (unequal treatment) and inequality (unequal outcomes), but often examines them separately. DISEQUAL bridges this gap by exploring the mutually reinforcing relations between discrimination and inequality – conceptualized as the Discrimination-Inequality Cycle. The project advances the field through three key objectives: 1) Assessing the relations between discrimination and inequality combining experimental and observat

• Zambezian Entanglements in the South Central African Iron Age

  UNIVERSITY OF YORK · UK · €2,813,408

  ZAMBEZI introduces a radical new precolonial history of an African region in the Middle Zambezi Valley. The project explores the site of Ingombe Ilede in Zambia and its regional setting, using a nested methodology offering three levels of innovation: (1) deep understanding of a crucial but under-explored site; (2) pioneering methodologies offering unique detail on human settlement and mobility; and (3) a transformative view of the African past derived from an exploration of diversity and conting

• The Catholic Church and the environment.

  UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA · ES · €2,494,173

  Fifty-six years ago, historian Lynn White Jr. published his “J’accuse” against the Judeo-Christian tradition, blaming it for fostering a culture that exploited nature. Half a century later, Pope Francis published an environmental manifesto, positioning himself as a champion against climate change. Has the Catholic Church (CC) embraced environmentalism? What have been its key environmental interventions, turning points, and internal and external frictions?CATCH will provide the first comprehensiv

• Phylogenetic taxonomy and classification of fungi

  TARTU ULIKOOL · EE · €3,305,750

  The kingdom Fungi comprises >150,000 currently recognised species distributed across 80 classes in 20 phyla. Total species numbers are estimated at 2-3 million and our preliminary eDNA analyses suggest at least double numbers of higher-ranking taxa. However, current nomenclatural regulations fall short in DNA-based taxonomic descriptions. PhylFun aims to develop the concept and methodology for DNA-based phylogenetic classification of organisms, using fungi as examples, for an improved taxon comm