TIRIS pillar: Health and well-being
Funding: €170k
Coordinator: Pauline Mortas
Host laboratory: FRAMESPA Laboratoire France Amériques Espagne. Societies, Powers, Actors

This research project offers a history of vaginismus and its treatment in France between the 1860s and the 1960s. This pathology, first named in the 1860s, has hardly been studied by historiography until now. By bringing together the history of medicine, the history of women and gender, and the history of couples and sexuality, this project aims to shed light on the genesis and complex evolution of this medical category. It also measures the effects of the controversies that have marked its history on the difficulty of disseminating knowledge to the general public, and looks at the processes involved in creating ignorance about this pathology. It offers a ‘bottom-up’ history of the doctor-patient relationship, looking at the methods used in medical consultations and the variety of therapeutic treatments for vaginismus.

Finally, it uses medical observations and patients’ files as sources to document the history of practices and representations of sexuality, as well as the history of gender relations within couples. This project will therefore contribute to a history of the construction of medical categories, a history of gynaecology and its institutionalisation, a history of the doctor-patient relationship and gendered inequalities in health. More broadly, it also contributes to a history of the couple, conjugal sexuality and their gradual medicalisation.

TIRIS pillar: Health and well-being
Funding: €170k
Coordinator: Tejan Lodhiyaa
Host laboratory: IPBS Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). It represents a major global public health problem, causing around 1.6 million deaths annually. Mtb is highly competent at evading the host immune response, making TB particularly difficult to treat. Standard treatment involves the use of several antibiotics over a prolonged period, typically 6 to 9 months. The precise mechanisms by which Mtb persists and proliferates in the human body, notably through the production and release of specific metabolites, remain largely unknown. This gap in our understanding constitutes an obstacle to the development of more effective treatments for tuberculosis, likely to reduce the duration and toxicity of current therapies. In this project, integrating various scientific disciplines such as chemistry, molecular biology and immunology, we aim to identify and characterize the metabolites produced by Mtb, and to elucidate their role in modulating the host immune response and in the pathogenesis of TB.

This in-depth knowledge of the underlying mechanisms could pave the way for the development of new therapeutic strategies specifically targeting these processes, with the ultimate aim of better controlling and effectively treating tuberculosis.

TIRIS pillar: Global change and impact
Funding: €170k
Coordinator: Odile Chatirichvili
Host laboratory: LERASS Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches Appliquées en Sciences Sociales

The aim of this project is to produce a lexicometric, textual and literary analysis of a large corpus of accounts of the lives of female mathematicians, both autobiographical and biographical, including Wikipedia pages.The under-feminization of mathematics is an issue raised within the mathematical community and in numerous sociological works. Starting from the observation that the image of mathematics in the general public is strongly influenced by male figures and discourses (stereotypical image of the mathematician, media figures, male narratives and points of view), the aim is to identify the possible forms of a specificity of narratives by and about women, in terms of relationships to practice, to the profession and to storytelling. We’ll be asking what sociological realities do or don’t show up in these narratives, and to what extent they act as vehicles for gender stereotypes and biases, or, on the contrary, can modify behavior, individual and social mechanisms and representations. In particular, this project aims to develop a method for studying the content of a vast set of Wikipedia biographies, based on lexicometric analyses, in collaboration with the WIKI-F (Wikipedia and Women in Science) research team in Toulouse.

TIRIS Pillar : Sustainable Transitions
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Inès Pactat
Host Laboratory : TRACES

The aim of the GEMO project is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the technological transition that occurs in the history of glass at the end of the first millennium AD and to explore its impacts through an inter- and multidisciplinary approach combining archaeology, archaeometry, history of technology, economic history, experimental archaeology and environmental sciences. Its ambition is also to develop an unprecedented collaboration between researchers, glass professionals and museums in Occitania by considering glass as a heritage material which could inspire creative processes.

TIRIS Pillar : Sustainable transitions
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Pablo Simon Marques
Host Laboratory : CEMES

LISaS project aims to develop more efficient and clean synthetic methods for the preparation of new organic materials. Based on the extrusion of sulfur monoxide from soluble precursors containing sulfoxide moieties, we will target unprecedented planar semiconductors for organic electronics. The new compounds will be investigated at the single-molecule and material scale, in order to assess their properties and to understand their performances in electronic devices. The final goal of LISaS is to accelerate sustainable transitions on the road to greener technologies through promising organic materials. 

TIRIS Pillar : Sustainable Transitions
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Jonas Müller
Host Laboratory : LAAS

Increasing demand of large neural networks for artificial intelligence (A.I.) computation creates the need for more environmentally friendly A.I. systems, reducing their over-all energy consumption and total carbon-footprint. This project develops the required key technologies such as vertical gate-all-around (GAA) transistors and ferroelectric memories (FeRAM) in logic devices to create highly energy efficient A.I. systems.

TIRIS Pillar : santé et bien être
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator: Simon Dumas
Host Laboratory : LAAS

Spatial transcriptomics is an emerging field that explores tissues and organs in their spatial contexts, providing valuable insights into complex biological systems. However, current methods are constrained to the analysis of tissue slices in 2D, preventing a comprehensive understanding of tissues. This project introduces a novel approach using microfabricated arrays for one-step transcriptome analysis in 3D, with the potential to revolutionize spatial analysis in various biology domains, including cancer research, developmental biology, and pathology treatment.

TIRIS Pillar : Health and well-being
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Théo Constant
Host Laboratory : LEFE

My project will contribute to the elaboration of a “profile” of the species most likely to transmit zoonoses to humans. Heterothermy, the ability of some mammals and birds to be in a state of torpor (e.g. hibernation), is a characteristic that can limit the number of pathogens in a species. Indeed, the physiological conditions during torpor (e.g. low body temperature) or inactivity for several months may prevent pathogens to develop or be transmitted. Based on data from the scientific literature, I will test whether heterothermic species host and share fewer pathogens than other mammalian and bird species.

TIRIS Pillar : santé et bien être
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Mingmin Zhang
Host Laboratory : IMT

My research project contributes to an in‐depth understanding of propagation phenomena for mathematical problems, especially reaction‐diffusion models, which arise naturally in ecology, biology, epidemiology, etc. Building on existing mathematical tools with developing new ideas, our goal is not only to capture the main feature behind, but also to reveal novel phenomena and precise information that numerical simulations or examination of raw data can hardly show. We also expect our project will have potential far-reaching consequences for practical prediction and guidance in the long run.

TIRIS Pillar : Health and well-being
Funding : 170k€
Coordinator : Miguel Pérez Anton
Host Laboratory : LRSV

Iron (Fe) is an essential element for all living organisms and, in plants, iron deficiency limits growth and yield. In this project, we will employ Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate whether plants can transport iron bound to siderophores of microbial origin as a mechanism to increase their iron uptake capacities. Furthermore, we aim to identify the transporters of such Fe-siderophore complexes in A. thaliana roots. Using the knowledge obtained, we plan to deploy a system to increase plant iron uptake.

TIRIS Pillar: Global change and impact
Funding: 170k€
Coordinator : Marijn Keijzer
Host Laboratory : TSE-R-IAST

Despite the pervasive perception that we live in polarizing societies, there is little evidence to support growing ideological disagreement. Rather than actual disagreement, perceived polarization may be rooted in changes in identity-based affection, belief consolidation or network embeddedness. The debate around pro-environmental action is one domain where the polarization perception paradox can be particularly severe as the perceived controversiality of the topic may not reflect actual concern of a large majority, and prevent effective collective action. This project uses lab-on-the-web experiments, socio-semantic analysis of digital trace data, and computational modeling to build our scientific understanding of political polarization and contribute to a more sustainable society.

Personalization of teaching aids by autistic students

Coordinators: Lucie Bouvet, CERPPS laboratory (Centre d’Etudes et Recherches en Psychopathologie et Psychologie de la Santé), Geraldine Morin, IRIT (UMR5505 CNRS-UT1-UT2-UT3-INP) REVA team and Bertrand Monthubert, Atypie-Friendly program, Toulouse Community of Universities and Establishments.

The AdapToLearn research project aims to improve accessibility and academic success for students with autism at university. In a context where inclusive teaching has become a priority, the project proposes to explore the issue of personalized adaptation of digital educational resources. The scientific objectives of the project are: (1) to identify the sensory, perceptual and cognitive characteristics of autistic students that influence their access to information presented in teaching aids, (2) to develop algorithms for dynamically adapting teaching aids to the particularities of autistic students, and (3) to evaluate the impact of the personalization of teaching aids on the comprehension and learning of autistic students, as well as the underlying cognitive processes.

The research team is made up of experts in psychology and computer science, each bringing complementary skills to the achievement of the project’s objectives. The expected results of the project include a better understanding of the 4/17 accessibility needs of students with autism, and the development of innovative technologies to meet these needs. On a societal level, the project contributes to pedagogical transformation to promote the inclusion of autistic students in higher education.

Coordinators : Virginie Woisard LNPL (Laboratoire de Neuro-psycholinguistique) and Jérôme Farinas IRIT (Institut de recherche en Informatique de Toulouse)

Tongue amputation (glossectomy) is a rare surgical procedure, but sometimes necessary in cases of advanced tongue cancer. It has a major impact on a person’s quality of life, particularly on their ability to communicate and eat, and requires them to adapt in order to ensure the fundamental and vital functions provided by the aerodigestive crossroads. The complexity of rehabilitation processes is at the root of this project, whose main objective is to understand and model the adaptation mechanisms that cover all the dimensions of recovery, compensation and adaptation processes after treatment. It will mobilize complementary expertise in language sciences, anatomy, physiology, neurocognition and computer science.

Coordinators : Ludovic Orlando, CAGT (Centre for Anthropobiology & Genomics of Toulouse) et Klervia Jaouen, GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse)

Over the last 200 years, human activities have caused a serious biodiversity crisis, leading to the extinction of large species of iconic mammals (megafauna) playing key roles in ecology, culture and society. Climate warming, which brought the last Ice Age to an end, also triggered the mass extinction of megafauna, providing a similar scenario to the present for studying the link between climate and population decline. Recent advances in paleogenomics and isotope geochemistry provide a detailed understanding of the behavior, ecology and genetic diversity of species during the extinction.

However, these scientific fields often work in isolation, and BasicExtincT proposes a new interdisciplinary approach to tracking the genetic and behavioral response of megafauna to environmental changes leading to extinction. The project uses Beringian horse fossils to apply advanced paleogenomic and isotope geochemical techniques, with the collaboration of experts from Toulouse and a team of specialized international scientists. This project is of great scientific and social importance in the context of global warming, opening up opportunities to anticipate and mitigate future biodiversity loss.

Coordinators: Thierry CUTARD, ICA (Institut Clément Ader), Alexis PAILLET, CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), Patrick PINET IRAP (Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie) and Stéphane Guillouet TBI (Toulouse Biotechnology Institute).

Indirect additive manufacturing of ceramics is the way of the future. But the use of synthetic ceramic powders and organic additives derived from fossil resources penalizes the environmental impact of the process. This problem becomes even more critical in extremely constrained environments, such as future lunar and Martian bases. The Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process is representative of activities that could be space or terrestrial, and also of the hurdles to be overcome to enable the 3D printing of ceramic parts from a yarn made from natural ceramic grains, binders and biosourced plasticizers. Downstream, we also need to master the thermal cycle required to evacuate additives by gaseous means, then sinter the part to make a high-performance ceramic. BIoFACED’s objectives are to identify ways of using a bio-regenerative system to synthesize organic additives from waste, 5/17 to manufacture an FFF-printable filament, to control the 3D printing of an object, to treat this object thermally in a controlled way and to recycle the gases.

A coupled experimental/digital approach will be used. The project’s ceramic powders are derived from the mechanical preparation of a natural basaltic rock creating a lunar regolith analog. The additives will be bio-polymers from the PolyHydroxyAlcanoates (PHA) family, which can be produced from human waste as well as gaseous waste from the thermal debinding/sintering process. In addition to its obvious interest for human settlement on the Moon and then Mars, this project underpins crucial research in terms of raw material optimization and energy efficiency in terrestrial processes. For the latter, a “closed-loop recycling” approach will be evaluated through life cycle analyses based on comparisons with existing processes on Earth.

Coordinator : Emiliano Lorini, Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT) et Bastien Trémolière Laboratoire Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie (CLLE)

The CaRe project is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study, from the perspective of artificial intelligence (AI) and psychology, of collective reasoning and its role in decision-making. Collective reasoning is the type of multi-faceted reasoning of a human or artificial agent that involves reasoning about the minds of others, team reasoning and ethical reasoning.

In particular, the CaRe project aims to formalize collective reasoning using logic, game theory and social choice theory; develop new algorithms to endow an artificial conversational agent with collective reasoning capabilities; and evaluate the proposed formal models and algorithms through experiments on human-human (H-H) and human-machine (H-M) interaction. The CaRe project will provide a new understanding of how to design and build reliable and ethical AI systems that look after the well-being of humans.

Coordinators : Camille Dumat DYNAFOR (Dynamique et Ecologie des Paysages Agriforestiers) attached to CERTOP, Mathieu Hanemian LIPME (Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Microbes-Environnement) and Hélène Guétat-Bernard LISST (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités Société)

Farmers, gardeners and scientists are looking for ways to produce more sustainably for the benefit of global health, in the face of global change and the tightening of French “health-environment” regulations. Agroecology provides a response to these issues by stimulating the natural regulation of ecosystem services (ES), in particular through plant diversification. Vegetable Plant Associations (PPAs), agroecological practices developed in gardens and in (peri)Urban Agriculture (UA), reconcile high yield and biocontrol. But scientific, agronomic and social obstacles are slowing down their adoption by farmers. For this reason, APPs will be studied from multiple angles by the community of players on the Toulouse “Society-Research-Training” continuum brought together in the CoCultures project: gardeners, market gardeners and (teacher-)researchers from 5 complementary laboratories to generate interdisciplinary scientific field data integrating the complexity of socio-agronomic processes.

An initial inventory of APPs and other agroecological practices will be carried out in a panel of 50 gardens and 5 vegetable farms, and the motivations associated with these practices and their transmission between actors will be studied. A participatory PPA experiment, co-constructed during workshops, will then be implemented for 2 years on UA sites, and the key components of these socio-ecosystems will be analyzed, in particular agrobiological transformations and stakeholder practices. Ultimately, “turnkey” APP solutions and results will be valorized by stakeholders, contributing to transmission and spin-off through the scientific, educational and media channels structured during the CoCultures project.

Coordinators: Magali Suzanne CBI (Centre de Biologie Intégrative), Morgan Delarue LAAS (Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes) and Wylie Ahmed LPT (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique)

The physics of living organisms is a growing field of research that studies how living organisms respond to physical challenges. Physical stress plays an important role in development, but also in the development of tumors and aging. Pioneering studies in the field have revealed that cells can adapt and respond to different environmental cues, but the impact of cell mechanics in vivo is still poorly understood. Epithelial cell death is sensitive to mechanical factors such as crowding. Surprisingly, recent data from Suzanne’s team indicate that this is also true during morphogenesis, indicating that cell death is not purely genetically controlled.

However, how external stress is detected and translated at the cellular level into a death signal is far from understood. DAMS aims to elucidate the fundamental principles governing the response of living tissues to mechanical stress, using apoptosis as an indicator of the cellular response. As stress is an important parameter in cancer progression, our research will advance knowledge in the fields of cancer biology, developmental biology, biophysics and physiology.

Coordinators: Manoel Manghi LPT (Theoretical Physics Laboratory) and Kerstin Bystricky MCD (Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Unit)

The interdisciplinary GENDYN project aims to understand the mechanisms linking gene dynamics in eukaryotic cell nuclei and the control of transcription by combining numerical modeling, polymer physics and in vivo imaging. It brings together physicists around M. Manghi (LPT, Toulouse, scientific coordinator) and K. Bystricky’s team of biologists (CBI, Toulouse). A PhD and a 2-year post-doc are required. We plan to study the biological activity of RNA polymerase (RNAP2) on gene dynamics during transcription. The originality of this theoretical (using statistical polymer physics and stochastic dynamics with memory) and numerical (Brownian dynamics simulations) work lies in taking into account, at the molecular level, the forces exerted by RNAP2 on chromatin dynamics. Memory effects and viscoelastic properties, the source of abnormal underdiffusion, are incorporated into the model. The model will then be compared and validated quantitatively by directly studying gene trajectories imaged in vivo.

This mapping is carried out on human mammary tumor cells via the measurement of the mean square displacement of chromatin, and enables the quantitative study of the change in gene dynamics when transcription is activated. The model will be adjusted to reproduce this modulation and elucidate the competition between activity and local slowing, taking into account the compaction of the domains within which transcription takes place (formation of chromatin loops, steric hindrance, modification of interactions). The aim is thus to define the fundamental principles of genome behavior in response to stimuli, or of its normal or pathological state. Our results will ultimately enable us to propose diagnostic tools and better understand the action of therapeutic compounds.

Coordinators : Cléa MARTINEZ CGI (Centre Génie Industriel), François Taulelle LISST (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires) and Ygal Fijalkow CERTOP (Centre d’Etude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir)

Medical desertification in France, particularly worrying in rural areas, calls for an innovative approach to improving access to primary care. Our project, entitled MAillage Territorial pour Améliorer l’Accès aux soins dans les zones Rurales et Isolées (MATAARI), aims to assess access to healthcare in the territory, study the implementation of local strategies, analyze the use of healthcare structures, and propose new healthcare organizations adapted to local geographical and demographic realities. To meet these complex challenges, we adopt a transdisciplinary approach combining sociology, geography and industrial engineering.

Coordinators: Olivier Vanderhaegue GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse), Jérémie Cavé GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse), Mireille Bruyère CERTOP (Centre d’Étude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir), Mikaël Akimowicz LEREPS (Laboratoire d’Étude et de Recherche sur l’Économie, les Politiques et les Systèmes sociaux) and Ludovic Montastruc LGC (Laboratoire de Génie Chimique)

The metabolism of Western societies is based on massive use of subsoil mineral and energy resources, leading to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as rising social inequalities and international tensions. The transition to sustainable operation involves social, technological, energy, political and economic transformations on a variety of scales. The ORES project proposes an original approach at the interface between Geosciences and Human and Social Sciences to characterize the obstacles and levers of an energy and ecological transition on the scale of the Occitanie region. The project targets the energy and agriculture sectors, which meet essential needs, represent major pollution sources, and are characterized by conflicts over land and water use and occupation.

The aims of the project are (i) to assess the mineral resource requirements of different energy transition scenarios for the Occitanie region, integrating subsoil resources that can be mobilized through recycling and taking into account environmental impacts, particularly in terms of land use and water requirements, and (ii) to characterize the conflicts of use and socio-technical controversies within the agricultural sector generated by these energy transition projects.

Porteurs : Catherine Letondal, Corinne Bieder, Isabelle Laplace et Sylvain Pauchet de l’ENAC (Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile), Vincent Gerbaud LGC (Laboratoire de Génie Chimique) et Philippe Dugot, Bruno Revelli et Jean-Marc Zuliani LISST (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires)

La nécessité de faire évoluer le transport aérien semble faire consensus aujourd’hui, mais les leviers d’action envisagés varient selon les acteurs : les constructeurs proposent de nouvelles technologies, les services de la navigation aérienne étudient des opérations optimisées tandis que certains mouvements citoyens ou politiques souhaitent que la question soit abordée sous l’angle des modèles de développement économique ou encore de l’équité. Le problème se complique lorsque l’on prend en compte les diérences des territoires et des jeux d’acteurs associés, avec une variabilité existant d’une région du monde à l’autre et dans les diérents types d’usages du transport aérien (passagers, fret, sanitaire…).  Le projet propose d’avancer sur une étude des besoins futur de mobilité aérienne avec un angle peu exploré, celui des scénarios qui relient mobilité aérienne et territoires. La question de recherche à construire dans un esprit interdisciplinaire est d’expliciter ces liens : quels sont les impacts sur les territoires du développement de la mobilité aérienne ? Quelles dimensions des territoires (habitat, emploi, tourisme…) peuvent amener des transformations des moyens de transport ?

Les problématiques territoriales seront exprimées à des échelles diérentes et mobilisant un jeu d’acteurs complexe, certains déjà investis dans les nécessités de penser la transition. Ces questions seront étudiées par une équipe interdisciplinaire de spécialistes des aspects techniques et sociétaux du domaine du transport aérien, de géographes, de modélisateurs systémiques. Ces problématiques seront explorées à travers une étude des contextes existants à plusieurs échelles (régionales, nationales, continentales). La conception de scénarios socio-économiques représentant des futurs possibles s’appuiera sur une modélisation générique et un outil de simulation conçu de manière collaborative et itérative tout au long du projet. Ces outils seront proposés aux acteurs concernés

Our teams (IPBS and SPCMIB) have recently discovered, in collaboration with the LCC and through a multidisciplinary approach, the cytotoxic mechanism of action of a vast family of small molecules inspired by natural compounds produced by marine sponges. These molecules act as prodrugs bioactivated into cytotoxic compounds by HSD17B11, a human enzyme of the Short-Chain Dehydrogenases/Reductases (SDRs) super-family (eLife 2022). To exploit the therapeutic potential of this mechanism against small-cell lung cancer, we have developed new synthetic approaches to generate more active, selective and stable derivatives in biological media and in animals (J Med Chem 2023; patent 2021).

Furthermore, we have shown that this mechanism is generalizable, i.e. that new prodrugs selectively bioactivated by other SDRs can be developed.We are currently the only teams in the world to exploit SDR bioactivation for therapeutic approaches. The project we are proposing aims to capitalize on our advances to develop the first prodrugs bioactivated by two SDRs that are barely expressed in normal tissues but overexpressed in cancers with a poor prognosis: liver and pancreatic cancers. We have already identified hit compounds for each of the two enzymes. A PhD chemist will exploit a new synthesis strategy developed with the LCC to generate a panel of analogues with the aim of increasing activity, selectivity and stability in animals. A PhD biologist will test these analogues, validating their mechanism of action and anticancer activity in mouse models. This work will enable the development of new targeted cancer therapies, while reinforcing Toulouse’s leading position in these new therapeutic approaches.

Coordinators: Gladys BARRAGAN-JASON of SETE (Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale), Axel Carlier of IRIT (Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse) and Hélène Crochet of CLLE (Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie).

The Human-Nature Connection (HNC)-defined as the tendency to consider nature as part of oneself-is a promising lever for developing a sustainable relationship between humans and nature, since it is positively linked to human and ecosystem health. This interdisciplinary project will study the environmental, developmental and cultural causes and consequences of CHN, and will identify and validate effective nature-based solutions for conserving life while improving human health and well-being.

Coordinators: Sandrine BARON from TRACES (Travaux et Recherches sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés) and Franck POITRASSON from GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse).

Isotopes are a cutting-edge approach in history and archaeology for reconstructing trade routes and exchange networks. In the case of gold, however, our knowledge remains very limited due to the virtual absence of data on gold mining references and the need to preserve heritage materials. The mobilization of Earth Sciences and Physical Chemistry instruments will enable us to develop isotopic measurements on medieval African gold coins at the submillimeter scale. The same data will be acquired on ores, providing a reference to trace the origin of the gold used.

Coordinators : Gabor MOLNAR from LCC (Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination) and Isabelle Séguy from LAAS (Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes).

The MolElec project aims to study the synthesis of bistable molecules on electrode surfaces, with a view to integrating them as switching units in electronic devices. This multidisciplinary project, of major importance for tomorrow’s micro/nanoelectronics, will be developed in collaboration between researchers from the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination and the Laboratoire d’Analyse d’Architectures et de Systèmes, specialized in molecular sciences and micro/nanotechnologies respectively.

Coordinators: Nawal GUERMOUCHE of LAAS (Systems Analysis and Architecture Laboratory) and Viviane KOSTRUBIEC of CERPPS (Center for Studies and Research in Psychopathology and Health).

When the traffic intensified, I panicked and abandoned my car right in the middle of the intersection”, says Anna, a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To help drivers like Anna, our team is developing MoveTSA, a driving assistance system specially designed for ASD. Thanks to artificial intelligence and IoT, MoveTSA will be able to detect stressful road situations in real time and propose adaptive solutions, for serene, safe and inclusive driving for all.

Coordinators: Angélique RISSONS from ISAE-SUPAERO and Coralie Sengenès from RESTORE (Geroscience and rejuvenation research center).

The fascial system is a continuous matrix of connective tissue enveloping and linking the body’s anatomical elements. Its viscoelastic, filamentous texture could, under mechanical action, transmit a cell-organ signal and enable cell migration.
Using a biophysical approach, FASTIORG proposes to study the migration of adipose stromal cells via fascia for muscle regeneration, and to design an in-vivo optical sensor measuring fascia dynamics.

Coordinators : LIGIA BARNA du TBI (Toulouse Biotechnology Institute), Gabriel Colletis du LEREPS (Laboratoire d’Etude et de Recherche sur l’Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes sociaux) et Ludovic Montastruc du LGC (Laboratoire de Génie Chimique).

Like all the transitions we are currently undergoing, the transition to a circular economy requires a scientific, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary foundation, with a clear identification of generic scientific questions, methods and research tools to ensure the desired effects. The MUTTEC project brings together researchers in economics and social sciences (LEREPS/DSPEG), systems and process engineering and modeling, environment and bioresources (LGC/MST2I, TBI/BABS), and complex systems computer science (IRIT/MST2I), to help clarify and formalize the circular economy concept. Through developments based on the multi-agent approach and coupling with multi-physical and economic modeling, we will try to give a representation of a circular system and apply it to case studies.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Coordinators: Melina MACOUIN from GET (Geosciences Environnement Toulouse), Laurent Cassayre from LGC (Laboratoire de Génie Chimique) and Béatrice Milard from LISST (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires).

“The SILENCE project aims to support the recent acquisition of sounds on the surface of Mars by creating a new paradigm: extreme, planetary and oceanic acoustics. From physics to social sciences and humanities, through 7 laboratories, it proposes 3 lines of research: perception and classification of sounds; modeling and experimentation of propagation in extreme environments; acoustic immersion and construction of mental representations of these soundscapes.” Resp. S. Maurice (IRAP, UT) & P. Gaillard (CLLE, UT2).

Coordinators: Micheline ABBAS from LGC (Laboratoire de Génie Chimique), Bruno Lartiges from GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse) and Pascale Magaud from ICA (Institut Clément Ader).

The production of biofuels from microalgae is a promising way of producing carbon-neutral fuels. The microalgae concentration stage required for harvesting is currently a technological bottleneck. This project uses a coupled numerical/experimental approach to understand and quantify the impact of culture parameters (lighting, pH, temperature, nutrients, CO2 , microalgae family and shape) on the physical phenomena governing microalgae transport in microchannels. These results will enable us to design microfluidic devices for concentrating microalgae which, through multiplication and parallelization, will be able to process large volumes of cultures at low energy.

Coordinators: Karine VAN DER STRAETEN from TSE-R (Toulouse School of Economics – Research) and Stergos Afantenos from IRIT (Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse.

At the intersection of computer science, quantitative political economy and mathematics, this project aims to use recent advances in complex and voluminous data processing — in particular text analysis and mining — to propose new measures of political polarization in Europe. Using as data politicians’ speeches, press articles and texts posted on social networks, it will explore new mathematical methods for constructing indicators of the polarization of political debate and the distance between citizens and elected representatives.

Coordinators: Jean-Philippe NOUGAYREDE from IRSD (Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive) and Yohan Davit from IMFT (Institut de Mécanique des Fluides).

The Colowars project will use an oxygen gradient microfluidic chip to study how inter-bacterial interactions at the lumen-epithelium interface modulate the production of a genotoxin implicated in colorectal cancer.

Coordinators: Pierre CORDELIER from CRCT (Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Toulouse) and Sylvain Cussat Blanc from IRIT (Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse).

Computational models are essential in modern oncology, as they enable the generation of new therapeutic hypotheses, which will be essential to better combat the most lethal tumors such as pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Oncolytic viruses represent a promising new therapeutic strategy, as they infect and destroy cancer cells while stimulating the immune system. However, the interactions between tumor and virus are complex, and difficult to capture from a biological point of view. This program aims to create the first computational model to optimize virotherapy in pancreatic cancer, using complex biological data to rapidly evaluate thousands of scenarios. Experimental protocols will be validated in the laboratory using patient resources and preclinical mouse models. The aim is to optimize treatment doses and times by modeling, including in combination with immunotherapy, to pave the way for effective clinical trials in pancreatic cancer treatment.