Support for PEI Research: 35 Projects Selected
Since 2017, UM’s I-SITE Excellence Program has provided €20.8 million in research funding. At the campus level, this represents an unprecedented commitment. With €3.8 million in funding, the Research Support Call for Proposals will fund 35 of the 80 projects submitted. Work can begin as early as the first half of November 2022.
The UM’s Strategic and Structural Investments Committee, composed primarily of representatives from PEI partner organizations, met on October 4 and approved the evaluation committee’s recommendation to select 35 of the submitted projects. This call for projects focuses on identifying projects likely to lead to project submissions to the ERC and on stimulating applied research that could lead to future maturation programs. It also includes a component for funding research equipment.
A platform for submitting proposals to the European Research Council (ERC)
The first phase of this call for proposals aims to support the development of projects that have the potential to lead to proposals submitted tothe European Research Council (ERC). The evaluation criteria focus on the scientific excellence of the principal investigator and their team, as well as the project’s credibility with a view to a future ERC submission. 18 projects selected:
- Investigating Virus-Host Interactions in Human Primary Models of Genetically Modified Respiratory Epithelium (InVirium)
, Caroline Goujon, Montpellier Institute for Research (IRIM), Biology and Health Cluster - Efficient water nanofiltration using carbon nanotubes: the origin of the super-fast flow (NanoFlow)
, and Adrien Noury, Charles Coulomb Laboratory (L2C), MIPS Cluster - Nuclear Pores and Chromatin Organization—Role of the Nucleoporin TPR in Heterochromatin Exclusion (NAChO)
Charlène Boumendil, Institute of Human Genetics (IGH), Biology-Health Division - Exploring human-pathogen genomic interactions in rapidly mutating RNA viruses (INTERGEN)
Vincent Pedergnana, Mivegec, AEB Cluster - Are urban birds pre-adapted to global warming?
Anne Charmantier, Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), AEB Division - Verindex – Verified data structures for term indexing
, and Simon Robillard, Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM), MIPS Cluster - Automatic Prover for Arborescent Combinatorial Objects (APACE)
, Matthieu Rosenfeld, Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM), MIPS Cluster - Optogenetic manipulations and Rho-GTPase biosensors in plants (OptoSens)
Alexandre Martniere, Montpellier Institute of Plant Sciences (IPSiM), AEB Cluster - Magnesium nanoparticles for hierarchically porous silicon (MaNa)
, Tangi Aubert, Charles Gerhardt Institute of Molecular and Materials Chemistry (ICGM), Chemistry Division - Breakthrough concept for carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation, for the relocation of pharmaceutical production to Europe (Rebirth)
Marc Taillefer, Charles Gerhardt Institute of Molecular and Materials Chemistry (ICGM), Chemistry Cluster - 3D imaging of genome architecture and transcriptional regulation in the fly brain (fly-Scope)
Marcelo Nollmann, Center for Structural Biochemistry (CBS), Biology-Health Cluster - Particulate Plastic Footprint: an indicator for assessing the environmental impact of the long-term fate of plastic packaging (PlastiPrint)
Valérie Guillard, Agopolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies (IATE), AEB Cluster - The “social microbiome”: the missing mechanism mediating the sociality-fitness nexus? (SO FIT)
Alice Baniel, Montpellier Institute of Evolutionary Sciences (ISEM), AEB Cluster - Deep-Learning-Based Emulators of Mantle Phase Transformations for Geodynamic Models (LEARNING)
, Nestor Cerpa, Géosciences Montpellier (GM), AEB Cluster - Variations in the response of fish to marine heatwaves from a metabolic, genetic, and molecular perspective (VAMAHEAT)
Nicolas Loiseau, Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation, and Conservation (MARBEC), AEB Division - Mechanisms of Antigenic Variation in Malaria (MOTIVATOR)
Antoine Claessens, Laboratory of Pathogen-Host Interactions (LPHI), Biology and Health Division - Irrigation for agroecological transitions in agriculture: a frontier in science for sustainable water and land management (IrriSust)
Crystèle LEAUTHAUD, Water Management, Stakeholders, and Uses (G-EAU), AEB Division - Deciphering the synchronous motions of electrons, atoms, and ions during galvanic replacement reactions. (NANOGATE)
Yaovi HOLADE, European Institute of Membranes (IEM), Chemistry Division
Supporting innovative projects
The second component is dedicated to fostering applied research that could lead to future commercialization programs. The scientific excellence of the project is evaluated based on its innovative nature, its intellectual property strategy, its potential impact, and its credibility with regard to future (pre)commercialization. 8 projects selected:
- Targeting a new signaling cascade with specific inhibitors for the treatment of obesity (NewObTrea)
, Anna Castro, CRBM, Biology-Health Cluster - New antiviral compounds targeting the viral capsid and acting as inhibitors of HIV-1 nuclear import (Caddis)
, Nathalie Arhel, IRIM, Biology-Health Division - Autonomous Agroecology in Vegetable Farming: Co-design of new autonomous vegetable production systems combining agroecological and digital innovations (AAutonoM)
Véronique Bellon-Maurel, ITAP, AEB Division - Development of "safe" pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine (SPLUSCs)
, Domenico Maiorano, Institute of Human Genetics (IGH), Biology-Health Cluster - A universal vaccine against flaviviruses (FlaviVax)
, Julien Pompon, Mivegec, AEB Division - 3-dimensional flow-based blood-brain barrier for neuropharmacological testing (BBB-Flow)
Nicolas Marchi, Institute of Functional Genetics (IGF), Biology and Health Cluster - Biomarkers and Epigenetic Therapies for Aggressive Forms of Prostate Cancer (CAPRE)
, Eric Julien, IRCM, Biology and Health Division - Development of active compounds against chemoresistant cancers (Chimio-R)
, Pierre CUQ, IBMM, Chemistry Division
Research Facilities
A third component aims to support research organizations and platforms designated by institutions in their efforts to acquire equipment for research purposes. Nine projects were selected:
- Equipment for Space Imaging in Africa
Principal Investigator: Laurent Dusseau, Montpellier University Space Center (CSUM), MIPS Cluster - New scanning electron microscope for health, energy, and the environment
Principal Investigator: Éric Clot, Platform for Electron Microscopy and Analytics (MEA), Chemistry Division - "In situ" cellular imaging platform for adaptive processes in plants
Principal Investigator: Carole Gauron, Plant Diversity, Adaptation, and Development (DIADE), AEB Division - Construction of an experimental module in the experimental ecology facility
Principal Investigator: Marie-Laure Navas, Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), AEB Division - Montpellier Cores for Life
Principal Investigator: Laurent Journot, Biocampus Montpellier, Biology and Health Cluster - Microbial identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry
Principal Investigator: Patricia Licznar-Fajardo, Hydrosciences Montpellier, AEB Cluster - Imaging of biosensors in plants
Principal Investigator: Carine Alco, Montpellier Institute of Plant Sciences (Ipsim), AEB Division - Purchase of a mid-infrared spectrometer for soil analysis
Project Leader: Tiphaine Chevallier, Eco&Sols, AEB Division - Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography system coupled with a mass spectrometer
Principal Investigator: Gilles Subra, Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules (IBMM), Chemistry Division