ERC - progetti finanziati

ll day long, we are bombarded with a barrage of sensory inputs. These processes may be streamlined via a model our brain creates of our world, updated with experience and used to make predictions affecting our output. Recently, this idea has been revisited in the application of Bayesian theories, proposed to describe both healthy sensory perception as well as the impaired predictive ability associated with high-functioning autism. GenPercept is looking for neural mechanisms in both normal sensory processing and neuropsychiatric disorders with a focus on saccades and rhythmic oscillations in brain activity. Scientists hope to find the neural substrate implicated in our response to how the past influences our present perception

Principal Investigator: David Charles Burr
Project Duration: 1st September 2019 – 31st May 2024
Department: Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health
Grant Agreement N.: 832813

The identification of endogenous stem/progenitor cells in various organs has contributed to a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms and the discovery of novel treatment approaches. Recent evidence indicates that renal progenitors (RPC) are implicated in kidney disorders which represent a global health concern. The EU-funded RENOIR project aims to investigate the role of RPC in kidney injury as well as in renal cell carcinoma. Moreover, researchers will track RPC development from embryonic to adult stages and study their niche during kidney growth, homeostasis, and ageing. Ultimately, they will explore RPCs as therapeutic targets for kidney regeneration and disease regression. Culturing RPCs from urine offers the possibility for a personalised treatment approach.

Principal Investigator: Paola Romagnani
Project Duration: 1st July 2015 – 30th June 2020
Department: Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences
Grant Agreement N.: 648274

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects 11% of the adult population and is considered by the WHO as one of the health emergencies of the 21st century. Although cell therapy might be beneficial for CKD, human stem cells that might be used to improve kidney function were so far unknown. Recently, we demonstrated the existence of resident stem cells in the urinary pole of the Bowman’s capsule of adult human kidney and therefore named as adult parietal epithelial multipotent progenitors (APEMP). Injection of APEMP in SCID mice affected by acute renal failure, induced regeneration of tubular structures and reduced morphological and functional kidney damage. More recently, we found that APEMP are highly represented in embryonic kidneys and constitute the common progenitor of tubular cells and podocytes. The first aim of this project is to assess the regenerative properties of APEMP in in vivo models of glomerular injury and their potential use as a novel therapeutic tool to prevent the deterioration of kidney function in chronic renal failure. 

Principal Investigator: Paola Romagnani
Project Duration: 1st October 2008 – 30th September 2012
Department: Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences
Grant Agreement N.: 205027

Peripheral sensory neurons in the skin known as nociceptors alert us to potentially damaging stimuli by detecting signals or responding to chemicals from damaged tissue. Nociceptors transform these stimuli into electrical signals in the brain, causing the sensation of pain. The EU-funded SCOPE project aims to address the limited efficacy of existing analgesic medications against chronic pain associated with cancer and central neuropathies. Researchers will focus on the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel, which is expressed in Schwann cells and is implicated in acute pain. The idea is to investigate the role of the TRPA1–Schwann cell axis in chronic pain and identify putative new drug targets.

Principal Investigator: Pierangelo Geppetti
Project Duration: 1st September 2019 – 28th February 2025
Department: Health Sciences
Grant Agreement N.: 835286

Compared to males, females seem to be protected from kidney diseases including kidney cancer. This sexual dimorphism offers females an advantage against the age-related decline in renal function, which is the main cause of kidney disease. The EU-funded SIMPOSION project is working on the hypothesis that oestrogen signalling in renal progenitors supports their survival and self-renewal. Researchers will also test the rationale that the higher incidence of kidney cancer in males can be explained by lower renal progenitor numbers and a higher proliferation rate. Moreover, this sex hormone renal progenitor axis will be studied under the prism of pregnancy.

Principal Investigator: Paola Romagnani
Project Duration: 1st August 2021 – 31st July 2026
Department: Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences
Grant Agreement N.: 101019891

Exchange of information between different brains usually takes place through the interaction between bodies and the external environment. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish a novel paradigm of brain-to-brain communication based on direct full-optical recording and controlled stimulation of neuronal activity in different subjects. To pursue this challenging objective, we propose to develop optical technologies well beyond the state of the art for simultaneous neuronal “reading” and “writing” across large volumes and with high spatial and temporal resolution, targeted to the transfer of advantageous behaviour in physiological and pathological conditions. We will perform whole-brain high-resolution imaging in zebrafish larvae to disentangle the activity patterns related to different tasks. We will then use these patterns as stimulation templates in other larvae to investigate spatio-temporal subject-invariant signatures of specific behavioural states. This ‘pump and probe’ strategy will allow gaining deep insights into the complex relationship between neuronal activity and subject behaviour.

To move towards clinics-oriented studies on brain stimulation therapies, we will complement whole-brain experiments in zebrafish with large area functional imaging and optostimulation in mammals. We will investigate all-optical brain-to-brain information transfer to boost an advantageous behaviour, i.e. motor recovery, in a mouse model of stroke. Mice showing more effective responses to rehabilitation will provide neuronal activity templates to be elicited in other animals, in order to increase rehabilitation efficiency. We strongly believe that the implementation of new technologies for all-optical transfer of behaviour between different subjects will offer unprecedented views of neuronal activity in healthy and injured brain, paving the way to more effective brain stimulation therapies.

Principal Investigator: Francesco Saverio Pavone
Project Duration: 1st December 2016 – 31st May 2022
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 692943

Distinguishing between the left- and right-handed forms of chiral molecules (enantiomers) is crucial in chemistry and biology. Depending on their handedness, these mirror image molecules can exhibit entirely different chemical or biological properties. Recent observations have shown that even at room temperature electrons exhibit a preferred direction of their spin after propagating through chiral organic or inorganic materials placed between two electrodes. This effect of spin polarisation is called chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS). Funded by the European Research Council, the CASTLE project aims to leverage the CISS effect in quantum applications, such as quantum computers and quantum sensors. Project findings will also have important implications for catalysis, light harvesting and nuclear magnetic resonance applications.

Principal Investigator: Roberta Sessoli
Project Duration: 1st January 2023 – 31st December 2028
Department: Chemistry
Grant Agreement N.: 101071533

Brain activity is the result of complex interactions of large populations of neurons located in different regions. Understanding the connection between brain activation and behaviour outcome requires specific experimental strategies to record and externally control neuronal activity. The EU-funded DAPTOMIC project aims to validate the commercial viability of innovative autonomous microscope additions designed for brain imaging. The main objective is to commercialise the modules developed by the EU-funded BrainBIT project. The ensuing AI-based add-on devices will enable the current-generation microscopes to implement the imaging strategy by targeting the sample to image and the portion of the sample to use for interactive analysis.

Principal Investigator: Francesco Saverio Pavone
Project Duration: 1st June 2021 – 31st May 2023
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 966623

Control over magnetic properties is key to storage devices for writing, reading and accessing data. In contrast to bulk materials, molecules offer opportunities for unprecedented high density, speed and efficiency. The electron spin of atoms generate a small magnetic field that can be controlled through strong, locally applicable and rapidly switchable electric fields. Control enhancement will lead to smaller, more efficient and low-energy devices with numerous applications. The EU-funded ELECTRA project will develop a pioneering experimental technique to study spin-electric effects on both single crystals and thin films. Combining theoretical and experimental approaches, the project will avail new insights into spin-electric effects for a rational molecular design.

Principal Investigator: Mauro Perfetti
Project Duration: 1st June 2022 – 31st May 2027
Department: Chemistry
Grant Agreement N.: 101039890

EU-FER is a project about Economic Uncertainty and FERtility in EUrope. Economic uncertainty may be interpreted as an individual risk factor, mainly related to the labour market (e.g. unemployment, short-term contract jobs, underemployment, or a combination of these), but it may also be conceptualized as a macro-level phenomenon, reflecting the general uncertainty felt by people in times of economic turbulence. The recent Great Recession, spanning 2007 to 2009 and featuring downturns in both financial and labour market fortunes, has fuelled interest in understanding whether economic uncertainty, which does not appear to be a transient phenomenon, affects fertility. The economic uncertainty/fertility nexus is far from being clearly understood: theoretical premises are weak and empirical findings send conflicting messages. The goal of this project is to generate new knowledge on if, how, and under what circumstances economic uncertainty matters for fertility in contemporary Europe, adopting a cross-country comparative approach. The use of new data, methodologies, and tools may advance our knowledge on this topic. EU-FER is based on three pillars: a meta-analysis of previous research, a cross-country laboratory experimentation design, and micro-level longitudinal analyses.

Principal Investigator: Daniele Vignoli
Project Duration: 1st September 2017 – 31st August 2023
Department: Statistics, Computer Science, Applications
Grant Agreement N.: 725961

Intense research efforts are currently aimed at establishing a fundamental link between spintronics, molecular electronics and quantum computation. Novel materials could usher a true revolution in this area, and magnetic graphene nanoribbons, in particular, have attracted impressive theoretical attention. However, creating them with the necessary level of precision has, until now, proved elusive, so that the extensive theoretical work remains fundamentally untested, and the applicative potential untapped. MMGNRs will investigate these uncharted waters, by developing a radically new approach: instead of the usual methods of cutting out graphene nanoribbons from large sheets, or randomly placing magnetic molecules on graphene surfaces, we will create graphene nanoribbons from a molecular bottom-up synthetic procedure, and attach molecular magnetic centres to their sides, at well-defined periodic intervals. In this way, a spin density is injected into the graphene backbone, and the homogeneity of the sample allows studying edge spin with unprecedented accuracy. MMGNRs will test the chemical possibilities offered by this approach, and will then use low-temperature transport and pulsed electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy to reveal the classical and quantum magnetic properties of graphene spin states. The success of MMGNRs will answer three fundamental questions: are our extensive theories of graphene magnetic states, for which there is no clean experimental counterpart, right? Can we use graphene magnetic states to perform quantum logic operations? Is it possible to push the quantum effects to high temperatures, and include them into electronic nanodevices? While answering these questions, MMGNRs will open a totally new area of chemical synthesis, redefine our experimental and theoretical knowledge of spins in graphene, and assess the limits and applicative potential of graphene and molecular spintronic devices.


Principal Investigator: Lapo Bogani
Project Duration: 1st October 2023 – 31st December 2024
Department: Chemistry
Grant Agreement N.: 773048

Molecular nanomagnets, also known as Single Molecule Magnets (SMMs), are a class of molecules that at low temperature exhibit magnetic hysteresis of pure molecular origin and not related to a cooperative effect. In the past fifteen years they have attracted great interest for their potentiality to act as magnetic memory units and for the many quantum effects in the dynamics of their magnetization. Recently our observation that the magnetic bistability is retained when a tetranuclear iron(III) molecular cluster is grafted to a metallic surface has renewed the interest in these materials, which appear the ideal candidates for fundamental investigations on the interplay between conducting electrons and magnetic degrees of freedom in the emerging field of molecular spintronics. In this project we plan to benefit from our leading position in the research on SMMs to explore novel phenomena originated by the combination of SMMs with conducting and magnetic substrates in hybrid structures. Our interdisciplinary approach starts from the design and synthesis of SMMs and includes their assembling on surface from solution or in high vacuum as well as the tuning of the interaction with conducting, and magnetic substrates through chemical tuning of SMMs. We will focus on the quantum dynamics of the magnetization that seems particularly affected by the interaction with a magnetic substrate opening perspectives for novel spintronic devices and for an unexplored strategy to increase the blocking temperature of SMMs. Additional aspects will be investigated, in particular the use of switchable magnetic molecules as well as the possibility to modify the interface with yet unexplored approaches, for instance exploiting the magnetic torque on molecules with large magnetic anisotropy.

Principal Investigator: Roberta Sessoli
Project Duration: 1st January 2011 – 31st December 2015
Dipartimento: Chimica
Grant Agreement N.: 267746

Massive stars and black holes in galaxies work together to launch multiphase, gaseous winds at velocities of hundreds of kilometres per second. These galactic winds play a fundamental role in the evolution of galaxies, as they regulate the formation of new stars by transferring gas from the disk to the surroundings. Despite the recognised importance of these phenomena, the physical processes behind them and their actual impact on the life of different types of galaxies are still unclear, mainly because observations in external galaxies lack the spatial resolution to study in detail these winds and to constrain theoretical models. This ERC project will rectify this situation by using the Milky Way and its main satellites, the Magellanic Clouds, as the closest wind laboratories in the Universe. A unique and powerful combination of observational and theoretical techniques will be used for this project. New, high-resolution, multi-wavelength data from forefront telescopes will be exploited to explore the nature of multiphase material traveling within winds in different galactic environments with unprecedented accuracy, reaching sub-pc resolution in the Milky Way and pc resolution in the Magellanic Clouds. Observational measurements will be accompanied by advanced theoretical modelling and state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations, which will ensure the most accurate interpretation of the data and will provide new invaluable insights on the physics of galactic winds. This project will reveal 1) the detailed physical conditions of multi-phase gas in outflows, 2) the origin and physical mechanisms that drive these winds, 3) the connection with galactic environment, 4) the broader impact on the evolution of different host galaxies. These are all critical aspects to understand the role of galactic winds in shaping the galaxies that we see today. The outcome of this ground-breaking project has therefore the potential to add a key piece to the puzzle of galaxy evolution.

Principal Investigator: Enrico Di Teodoro
Project Duration: 1st September 2022 – 31st August 2027
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 101040751

The goal of NEFERTITI is to make a major step forward in our understanding of the first stars and galaxies by catching the stellar fossils from the early Universe in our Galactic neighborhood. To move beyond the state-of-the-art and study many of these precious fossils, I will adopt a novel approach that integrates theoretical and observational research and that will allow me to fully exploit: i) the huge data-flow from upcoming stellar surveys, ii) my cosmological models, which uniquely link Local data and early cosmic star-formation. The first stars profoundly influenced the primordial Universe, affecting subsequent stellar generations and the build-up of the first galaxies. In spite of extraordinary progress in theoretical modeling and observational techniques little is known about their properties, not even their typical mass. A direct exploration of their formation epochs is a tremendous challenge. Even JWST will not see the faint dwarf galaxies where the first stars formed more than 13 billion years ago. In the Local Group, the living relics of the first stars can be directly observed and used to re-trace the chemical evolution and star-formation of the gas during those “invisible” times. Yet, these early Universe survivors are very rare and difficult to catch. In the present era of wide and deep Local surveys, such as DES, Gaia-ESO, and WEAVE, the total number of stars observed is dramatically increasing. Combining semi-numerical models with radiative transfer codes, I will fully exploit these novel data flow to catch the local stellar fossils and to constrain the mass distribution of the first stars and uncover the physical processes driving the build-up of the first galaxies. NEFERTITI will link Near and Far-field cosmology, give new insights into the formation of the Local Group, guide the interpretation of data from future surveys, and pave the way for the exploitation of new generation spectrographs on the E-ELT (MOSAIC, HIRES).

Principal Investigator: Stefania Salvadori
Project Duration: 1st May 2019 – 31st October 2024
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 804240

Preserving coherence is vital to the development of quantum computer networks. Qubits are delicate entities that must be kept carefully isolated from the external environment. If not, the qubit’s fragile superposition will decohere into a traditional computing state (a one or a zero). Decoherence also degrades entanglement between two or more qubits. The ERC-funded QOMUNE project will leverage multidimensional quantum states (qudits) that are more resilient to external noise. Able to encode several numbers instead of ones and zeroes, qudit computers are more efficient in solving complicated problems than qubit computers. QOMUNE envisages an innovative scheme for qudit generation and transmission and quantum interference.

Principal Investigator: Davide Bacco
Project Duration: 1st September 2023 – 31st August 2028
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 101077917

Supersolids are a paradoxical quantum phase of matter that combines the properties of superfluids and crystals, searched for long time in quantum solids and many other systems. Recently, we discovered a novel cluster phase in a quantum gas of magnetic atoms which realizes a supersolid. However, the limited size, the inhomogeneity, and the lack of appropriate detection methods have allowed so far to assess only very basic properties of supersolids. Here I propose an innovative density-phase microscope and original ideas that combine the best of matter-wave and condensed-matter methods to unveil the extraordinary properties of supersolids. With a two-layer superfluid-supersolid configuration we will measure both density and phase of the supersolid. With controllable optical potentials we will realize large, homogeneous crystal geometries in 1D and 2D. With high-resolution optical addressing we will manipulate locally the wavefunction, e. g. creating phase patterns or force fields, and we will follow the local dynamics. Our main goal is to explore fundamental properties that are largely unknown even theoretically: variable superfluid density under rotation; variable angular momentum of quantized vortices; dissipation-less deformation of the crystal; Josephson effect without barriers; quantum entanglement properties. We will also attempt the realization of new types of supersolid, to prove the generality of the phenomena: with coupled supersolid layers, we will move towards supersolidity in 3D; using a quasi-2D environment, we will attempt to realize two proposed types of strongly interacting and strongly correlated supersolids. Our work will establish connections between supersolids and other patterned quantum phases, such as pair-density waves in superconductors and in helium superfluids, intertwined phases in low-dimensional superfluids, and pasta phases in neutron stars. Our work might open directions for the realization of materials with novel functionalities.  

Principal Investigator: Giovanni Modugno
Project Duration: 1st September 2023 – 31st August 2028 
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 101055319

The main aim of the TICTOCGRAV is to explore the limits of contemporary physics with a new generation of atomic quantum sensors, namely optical atomic clocks and atomic gravimeters. After 100 years of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, both theories have been tested at an unprecedented level. Direct detection of gravitational waves is a great success and represents another impressive confirmation of the present theory of gravitation GR. Indeed, we are living a “Quantum Revolution”, in which advanced quantum concepts are at the heart of several devices, from precision navigation and location on Earth to secure communication protocols based on entangled photons. Despite all this great success in both areas, unfortunately, we still lack a full comprehension at the fundamental level. As a matter of fact, a full quantum treatment of space-time is still under discussion in the community. While several theoretical attempts have been pursued, a clear solution to the problem does not exist yet. Very likely, an answer to this problem will come from high precision experiments capable of measuring tiny gravitational effects on quantum systems as atomic clocks and quantum inertial sensors. TICTOCGRAV will address this questions experimentally by performing ultimate precision tests of gravity with fountains of alkali-earth metals, namely Cadmium and Strontium atoms. Specifically, TICTOCGRAV will perform the highest precision tests so far of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) below 10^-13 with quantum probes, exploring also possible tests of spin-gravity couplings at the same level and of the quantum interference of high precision clocks in a gravitational potential; demonstrating for the first time gravity induced decoherence mechanisms, opening the way towards a possible explanation of quantum to classical transition in macroscopically entangled quantum systems.

Principal Investigator: Nicola Poli
Project Duration: 1st June 2018 – 31st May 2024
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 772126

Topology and symmetry are two fundamental and intertwined concepts driving the behavior of fermionic systems in both condensed-matter and high-energy physics. The goal of the TOPSIM project is to address open problems concerning topological states of fermionic matter from an experimental point of view, by taking advantage of novel possibilities of quantum control on synthetic systems formed by ultracold neutral atoms. We will investigate the behavior of fermionic matter under strong gauge fields in order to study quantum Hall physics and the emergence of topological order in a fully tunable experimental geometry. We will also synthesize fermionic systems exhibiting enlarged interaction symmetries beyond the SU(2) symmetry of electrons, which will allow us to experimentally realize, for the first time, SU(N) models that have no other experimental counterpart in physics, and to use them to study the emergence of long-sought topological states of matter. With these ambitious goals, the TOPSIM project will considerably advance our understanding of topological fermionic matter, paving the way to new methods of investigation of open questions in both high- and low-energy physics, by approaching many-body problems with metrological quantum control.

Principal Investigator: Leonardo Fallani
Project Duration: 1st November 2016 – 30th April 2023
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 682629

The Milky Way contains valuable information regarding the formation and evolution of the galaxy across cosmic time. These remnants offer an opportunity for detailed study, unveiling insights into the initial stars, the accumulation of chemical elements in the universe, dark matter and the hierarchical formation of galaxies. In this context, the ERC-funded TREASURES project will maximise the scientific potential of the large-scale survey 4DWARFS. The project seeks to provide stellar ages, radial velocities and chemical abundances for over 130 000 stars. This includes information in dwarf galaxies and streams, expanding our knowledge by several orders of magnitude. The 4DWARFS survey will gather high-quality spectra of individual stars in nearly 50 dwarf galaxies and multiple stellar streams from systems undergoing disruption.

Principal Investigator: Asa Skuladottir
Project Duration: 1st January 2024 – 31st December 2028
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Grant Agreement N.: 101117455

Historical research has reconstructed international humanitarian aid programmes through the experience of donor countries in northern Europe and the United States. What about the countries of southern Europe? These have been largely overlooked. The EU-funded HumanEuroMed project focuses on Europe’s Mediterranean countries. It will study the experience of various actors like administrations, institutions and NGOs in various countries in the region, such as Greece and Spain. Taking a comparative and transnational perspective, the project will promote a multi-level history of contemporary humanitarian regimes. Specifically, it will compare the linkages between international relief and national welfare. It will also study the role of humanitarian diplomacy and transnational networks.

Principal Investigator: Silvia Salvatici
Project Duration: 1st November 2021 – 31st October 2026
Department: Political and Social Sciences
Grant Agreement N.: 101019166

The history of medieval Eurasia has been somewhat overlooked by historians focusing on the Global Middle Ages. However, the southern Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia (CAM) played an important role between the 9th and 14th centuries (despite being removed from major hubs of power). The EU-funded ArmEn project will shed light on how the CAM was on the crossroads of expanding Eurasian empires and population movements. It will review a large body of Armenian sources, as well as those in Arabic, Georgian, Greek, Persian, Syriac and Turkish. It will explore the locations and agents of entanglements by tracing shared features in the multilingual textual and artistic production of CAM and correlating them to the circulation of ideas and concepts.

Principal Investigator: Zaroui Pogossian
Project Duration: 1st October 2020 – 30th September 2026
Department: Humanities
Grant Agreement N.: 865067

Dante Alighieri at the dawn of the 1300s, as well as Eustache Deschamps almost a century later, conceived poetry as music in itself. But what happens with poetry when it is involved in the complex architecture of polyphony? The aim of this project is to study for the first time the corpus of 14th- and early 15th-century poetry set to music by Ars Nova polyphonists (more than 1200 texts). This repertoire gathers different poetic and musical traditions, as shown by the multilingual anthologies copied during the last years of the Schism. The choice of this corpus is motivated by two primary goals: a) to offer a new interpretation of its meaning and function in the cultural and historical context, one that may be then applied to the rest of coeval European lyric poetry; b) to overcome current disciplinary divisions in order to generate a new methodological balance between the project’s two main fields of interest (Comparative Literature / Musicology). Most Ars Nova polyphonists were directly associated with religious institutions. In many texts, the language of courtly love expresses the values of caritas, the theological virtue that guides wise rulers and leads them to desire the common good. Thus, the poetic figure of the lover becomes a metaphor for the political man, and love poetry can be used as a device for diplomacy, as well as for personal and institutional propaganda. From this unprecedented point of view, the project will develop three

research lines in response to the following questions: 1) How is the relationship between poetry and music, and how is the dialogue between the different poetic and musical traditions viewed in relation to each context of production? 2) To what extent does Ars Nova poetry take part in the ‘soft power’ strategies exercised by the entire European political class of the time? 3) Is there a connection between the multilingualism of the manuscript tradition and the perception of the Ars Nova as a European, intercultural repertoire?

Principal Investigator: Maria Sofia Lannutti
Project Duration: 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2024
Department: Humanities
Grant Agreement N.: 786379