Laureates of the interdisciplinary call 2020

Projects funded in 2020

• Emmanuel Farge (Institut Curie), Mickaël Tanter (ESPCI) and Didier Meseure (Hôpital Curie) - Peristaltic mechanical inhibition of bowel inflammation by   β-catenin dependent mechanotransductive stimulation in vivo | Il n'existe actuellement aucun traitement curatif des maladies inflammatoires du colon, mais des traitements ayant des effets secondaires importants. Le projet consiste à tester le rôle anti-inflammatoire des contraintes mécaniques péristaltiques musculaires du colon sur ses cellules épithéliales.

• Stéphane Dieudonné (ENS), Fekrije Selimi (Collège de France) and Vincent Hakim (ENS) - Dynamics of Inferior Olivary Neurons (DION) | We will combine cutting edge genetic tools and in vivo imaging of neuronal activity to analyze the neuronal code in the olivo-cerebellar pathway during behavior, and to build a mathematical model of this brain circuit fundamental for motor learning and execution.

• Wolfgang Keil (Institut Curie) and Francis Corson (ENS) - Cell-fate specification in dynamic signaling environments during C. elegans vulval development | During development, cells take a multitude of decisions about which roles to acquire in the future organism. These decisions are based on complex and highly dynamic intra- and intercellular signals. This project investigates the biophysical principles of such decisions, using the nematode C. elegans as a model system.

• Clotilde Policar (ENS), Joëlle Vinh (ESPCI) and Elaine Del Nery (Institut Curie) - Quantification and Evaluation of Mn-Based Antioxidant Catalytic Drugs Mimicking Superoxide Dismutase in INflammatory Epithelial Cells | Inflammatory processes are associated with oxidative stress, against which anti-oxidants mimicking a metalloprotein can be effective catalytic drugs. Their effects on the redox state of cells from the gut will be assessed by quantification of proteins but also by a metabolic screening using cell imaging.

• Thomas Walter (Mines ParisTech, Institut Curie), Christophe Zimmer (Institut Pasteur) and Arnaud Echard (Institut Pasteur) - Deep learning for high throughput analysis of cytokinesis | Defects in cell division are a frequent cause of cancer initiation, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In order to pinpoint the genes responsible, we will analyze hundreds of movies of cell division using artificial intelligence methods known as deep learning.