BGU Winners December 2010 - June 2010 (Poster 1 / Poster 2)

BGU Winners April - November 2009 (Poster 1  /  Poster 2)

Bottom-Up_SysChem
Research Title:	Systems Chemistry from Bottom Up: Switching, Gating and Oscillations in Non Enzymatic Peptide Networks
Contract type:	Support for Frontier Research- ERC Starting Grant
EC Ref. No.	259204
Subprogramm area:	IDEAS-ERC
BGU PI	Dr. Gonen Ahskenasy, Department of Chemistry, BGU
Contact:	gonenash@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The study of synthetic molecular networks is of fundamental importance for understanding the organizational principles of biological systems and may well be the key to unraveling the origins of life. In addition, such systems may be useful for parallel synthesis of molecules, implementation of catalysis via multi-step pathways, and as media for various applications in nano-medicine and nanoelectronics. We have been involved recently in developing peptide-based replicating networks and revealed their dynamic characteristics. We argue here that the structural information embedded in the polypeptide chains is sufficiently rich to allow the construction of peptide 'Systems Chemistry', namely, to facilitate the use of replicating networks as cell-mimetics, featuring complex dynamic behavior. To bring this novel idea to reality, we plan to take a unique holistic approach by studying such networks both experimentally and via simulations, for elucidating basic-principles and towards applications in adjacent fields, such as molecular electronics. Towards realizing these aims, we will study three separate but inter-related objectives: (i) design and characterization of networks that react and rewire in response to external triggers, such as light, (ii) design of networks that operate via new dynamic rules of product formation that lead to oscillations, and (iii) exploitation of the molecular information gathered from the networks as means to control switching and gating in molecular electronic devices. We believe that achieving the project's objectives will be highly significant for the development of the arising field of Systems Chemistry, and in addition will provide valuable tools for studying related scientific fields, such as systems biology and molecular electronics.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

PortLEGO
Research Title:	Development of an accessible platform for ex vivo site specific post-translational modifications of proteins
Contract type:	Support for Frontier Research- ERC Starting Grant
EC Ref. No.	260647
Subprogramm area:	IDEAS-ERC
BGU PI	Dr. Lital Alfonta, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, BGU
Contact:	alfontal@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The incorporation of unnatural amino acids (more than 50 to date) into proteins in vivo has resulted in the generation of proteins with novel chemical, biological, and physical properties. However, some unnatural amino acids possess properties, such as an inability to cross the cell membrane or a level of toxicity dangerous to the organism, that restrict their incorporation into proteins in vivo. In addition, even when an unnatural amino acid crosses the cell membrane, its transport efficiency within the cell is very low. We propose to overcome these limitations by exploiting translational components—evolved tRNA-synthetases and their cognate suppressor-tRNA from Archea—for the incorporation of an array of unnatural amino acids into proteins in vitro in a cell-free protein translation system. The expressed recombinant proteins containing the unnatural amino acids will be purified from the reaction mixture and used for further research. Using the cell free system, first we will demonstrate our new approach by incorporating novel unnatural amino acids, i.e., thiolysine analogues, into proteins using the broad substrate specificity of evolved tRNA synthetases. We will then incorporate a thiolysine analogue into PCNA for the sitespecific ubiquitination and SUMOylation of these proteins for in vitro studies of the interactions between PCNA and interacting proteins and to follow the progress of the replication fork. This unique approach will show for the first time the use of evolved synthetases in a cell free translation system, with the advantage being that previously un-incorporable unnatural amino acids can be incorporated using this approach. Our overall aim is to enable the introduction of new functionalities into proteins.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

GIAVAP
Research Title:	Genetic Improvement of Algae for Value Added Products
Contract type:	Collaborative Project, Large- Scale Integrating Project
EC Ref. No.	266401
Subprogramm area:	Cooperation (FAB)- Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology
BGU PI	Prof. Sammy Boussiba, Department of Agriculture and Biotechnologies of Drylands, BGU
Contact:	sammy@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Microalgae are a highly promising resource for the sustainable production of a wide variety of biomaterials for a wide range of applications. Microalgae can transform solar energy at high efficiency directly into valuable biological products using marginal water resources, waste nutrients and exhaust CO2 without the needs for high value cropland. A wide variety of eukaryotic microalgae of high evolutionary diversity produce naturally valuable products like polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, medically active carbohydrates etc. Nevertheless only a few commercially viable algal products have entered the market. Algal cultivation and induction of high value product accumulation is a complex problem, algae grow in diluted solutions and require large areas and water volumes, causing high cultivation and harvesting costs and posing contamination problems and variable productivities due to climate variability. Genetic modifications to make microalgae better suit industrial applications are possible over a wide range of target mechanisms: stress tolerance, product accumulation pathways, cellular chlorophyll contents, novel metabolic pathways, resistance to pathogens and competition, etc. Due to the wide variability of algal strains under consideration, available techniques for genetic manipulations have to be adapted or developed for all algal strains of interest. Our consortium will adapt genetic engineering techniques to various algal strains of economic interest focusing on carotenoid and PUFA production and the overexpression of peptides of commercial value. In parallel we will develop cultivation technologies, harvesting and extraction methods for lipids, carotenoids and proteins using existing model algae strains that will then be adapted to suitable improved strains.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

FAME
Research Title:	Prices and Expectations in Asset Markets – a Field Experiment
Contract type:	International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	268360
Subprogramm area:	IRG-International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Yaron Lahav, Department of Business Administration, BGU
Contact:	yaron.lahav@gmail.com
Short description:	The field of experimental asset markets applies experiments as a research procedure to investigate price patterns in asset markets. Initial research in the field exhibited deviations of prices from fundamental values and presented possible explanations to this phenomenon. One of the advantages of the experimental approach is its ability to elicit traders’ actual beliefs regarding future prices and by that, to model the way traders form their beliefs in asset markets. The purpose of this study is to conduct a field experiment in order to improve the ability of the experimental approach to simulate trade in real asset markets. The experimental design will enable subjects to trade several months, without the recognition that they participate in an experiment. Results, therefore, will be more reliable as an explanation to the field. In addition, the unique experimental design will elicit the beliefs of participants regarding future prices to better understand the way traders in asset markets interpret information and form their beliefs.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

IEPHCN
Research Title:	Information Exchange Policies for Human-Computer Negotiation
Contract type:	International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	268362
Subprogramm area:	IRG-International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Kobi Gal, Department of Information Systems Engineering, BGU
Contact:	kobig@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	This proposal addresses problems central to the design of computer agents that can negotiate proficiently with people in strategic settings. Due to advancing technology heterogeneous groups that include both people and computer agents making decisions together are becoming prevalent. Despite the numerous benefits of computer-aided negotiation, the design of agents that negotiate with people has received less attention than the design of agents for multi-agent settings that comprise solely computer agents. This proposal focuses on computational strategies for information exchange that can facilitate human-computer negotiation by allowing people to change their positions. The research program will consist of settings that vary in complexity across multiple dimensions, including the expressiveness of the argumentation protocol, the availability of information about participants' preferences and goals, the extent to which participants can renege on past commitments during the negotiation, and the number of rounds of
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

Proteostasis
Research Title:	Cell-type-specific modulation of protein homeostasis in health and disease
Contract type:	International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	268285
Subprogramm area:	IRG-International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Anat Ben Zvi, Department of Life Science, BGU
Contact:	anatbz@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The correct folding and assembly of proteins and protein complexes is essential to cellular function. Cells have evolved a network of proteins that detect and correct protein damage to maintain proteome health. However, many protein-misfolding diseases, including Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, are characterized by the accumulation of damaged proteins with devastating consequences for protein homeostasis (proteostasis), resulting in a collection of deleterious phenotypes and affecting many processes. Given that protein expression is cell-type specific, the proteins affected across different cell types are expected to vary. If this is in fact true, then the protein expression profile of a cell will have a profound impact on the folding capacity of its proteins in health and disease. The objective of this project is to determine how cellular proteostasis is adjusted in a cell-specific manner. To this end, I will combine several complementary approaches to compare proteostasis network interactions in different cell types of Caenorhabditis elegans. I will begin by using fluorescent sensors that enable a real-time assessment of proteostasis in a living organism to identify sensor interaction with the proteostasis network in muscle cells. I will then perform cross-tissue analyses of sensor interactions with the proteostasis networks in neuronal and intestinal cells. Finally, I will examine how the chronic expression of misfolded proteins influences sensor interactions with the proteostasis network. This approach will allow me to examine how protein interactions with the cellular proteostasis machinery are changed in response to an altered cellular environment and to determine how the resources of proteostasis are distributed in health and disease. I believe that the proposed research will have broad implications for elucidating the dynamics and limitations of the cellular proteostasis network in a living organism, with long-term implications for therapeutics..
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

RSCS
Research Title:	Automata Based Interfaces for Dynamic Resource Scheduling in Control Systems
Contract type:	International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	268310
Subprogramm area:	IRG-International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Gera Weiss, Department of  Information Systems Engineering, BGU
Contact:	geraw@cs.bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The proposed project addresses the emerging need for efficient resource utilization in embedded control software. The main objective is to combine control theory and scheduling theory in such a way as to remove the need for strict requirements on hard deadlines for control software components without compromising the ability to use them in safety-critical applications. To this end, I will conduct research on interfaces for components of software control systems that allow integration of dynamic scheduling mechanisms in safety-critical systems by providing formal performance and stability guarantees. The main benefit that we can expect from dynamic scheduling mechanisms is that resource utilization can be made more efficient by allowing adjustments to resource allocation in response to time varying needs. Specifically, I will study the possibility of using automata-based dynamic schedules that, I will show, give a good balance between expressivity and analyzability, thereby allowing better interface between scheduling and control. The specific research objectives are: 1) Expansion of the scope of automata-based interfaces; 2) Proposal of practical mechanisms for dynamic resource allocation in control systems; 3) Development of experimental tools for demonstrating the advantages of the new approach; 4) Contribution to formal methods and hybrid system theories. In summary, because complete co-design of control and scheduling may become prohibitively complex for most systems, I propose to develop engineering methodologies that will take into account the interaction of scheduling and control without breaking the separation of concerns between control and software engineers. Innovations and progress beyond the state the art include: 1) new links between formal languages and hybrid systems theories, 2) mathematical tools for analysis of switched and hybrid systems, 3) new methodologies for the design of efficient and reliable embedded control systems.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

FIELDGRADIENTS
Research Title:	Large-area Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells
Contract type:	Support for Froniter Research- ERC Starting Grant
EC Ref. No.	259205
Subprogramm area:	IDEAS-ERC
BGU PI	Dr. Yoav Tsori, Department of Chemical Engineering, BGU
Contact:	tsori@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	We will study phase transitions and chemical and biological reactions in liquid mixtures in electric field gradients. These new phase transitions are essential in statistical physics and thermodynamics. We will examine theoretically the complex and yet unexplored phase ordering dynamics in which droplets nucleate and move under the external non-uniform force. We will look in detail at the interfacial instabilities which develop when the field is increased. We will investigate how time-varying potentials produce electromagnetic waves and how their spatial decay in the bi-stable liquid leads to phase changes. These transitions open a new and general way to control the spatiotemporal behaviour of chemical reactions by directly manipulating the solvents' concentrations. When two or more reagents are preferentially soluble in one of the mixture's components, field-induced phase separation leads to acceleration of the reaction. When the reagents are soluble in different solvents, field-induced de-mixing will lead to the reaction taking place at a slow rate and at a two-dimensional surface. Additionally, the electric field allows us to turn the reaction on or off. The numerical study and simulations will be complemented by experiments. We will study theoretically and experimentally biochemical reactions. We will find how actin-related structures are affected by field gradients. Using an electric field as a tool we will control the rate of actin polymerisation. We will investigate if an external field can damage cancer cells by disrupting their actin-related activity. The above phenomena will be studied in a micro-fluidics environment. We will elucidate the separation hydrodynamics occurring when thermodynamically miscible liquids flow in a channel and how electric fields can reversibly create and destroy optical interfaces, as is relevant in opto-fluidics. Chemical and biological reactions will be examined in the context of lab-on-a-chip.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

LARGECELLS
Research Title:	Large-area Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells
Contract type:	Collaborative Project
EC Ref. No.	261936
Subprogramm area:	ENERGY
BGU PI	Prof. Eugene Katz, Department of Solar Energy and Environmental, BGU
Contact:	keugene@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The task of developing large-area, thin film solar cells based on polymers as well as solid-state organic-inorganic (hybrid) systems will be undertaken. The required novel materials (charge transport polymers, semiconductor surfactants/compatibilizers and inorganic nanoparticles) will be synthesized and the compounds with the most potential will be scaled-up for the purpose of modern fabrication methods such as roll-to roll (R2R) processing. Additionally, the efficient devices will be tested and analyzed in out-door conditions in India and under accelerated ageing conditions in Israel to understand the degradation mechanism. Finally the basic information from stability studies will be used to design novel materials suitable for highly efficient devices of long-term stability. The programme is intensively intertwined with an Indian consortium, especially in the fields of novel materials, out-door testing, transfer and exchange of knowledge and methods.
Coordinator:	UBT, Germany

CCH Fever
Research Title:	Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever; Modern Approaches to Diagnostics, Surveillance, Prevention, Therapy and Preparedness.
Contract type:	Collaborative Project, Small of medium scale focused research project
EC Ref. No.	260427
Subprogramm area:	HEALTH
BGU PI	Prof. Robert Marks, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, BGU
Contact:	rsmarks@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Over the last years, large outbreaks of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in several European countries and neighbouring areas are on the rise. This disease poses a great threat to public health due to its high mortality rate, modes of transmission and geographical distribution. Climate changes and observation of the CCHFV vector in central Europe alarm the European community cannot exclude that future outbreaks will take place in non-endemic area of Europe. To date, there is no vaccine available and no selective antiviral drug for the management of the disease. The general knowledge of migration, epidemiology, re-assortment and recombination of the virus is very limited. To fill these gaps, the CCH Fever project proposes to create a multidisciplinary collaborative research environment by bringing together selected competitive advantages such as: operative capacity with appropriate high security research facilities, reference centers and clinical samples from endemic areas and an international network of experienced researchers. This multidisciplinary research consortium will facilitate the progress in several key research areas of the field. This program will mainly focus on (i) developing sensitive and biosafe state-of-art diagnostic tools for CCHFV, (ii) gathering the forces and resources in Europe to build a Biobank of clinical samples, (iii) building a comprehensive database consisting in clinical, laboratory and surveillance data, (iv) taking advantage of unique and state-of art tools to progress towards vaccine candidates and specific antivirals against this bio-threat and (v) disseminating the appropriate knowledge to the health care workers in endemic regions and contributing to capacity building.
Coordinator:	SMI, Sweden

IRN2010
Research Title:	Israel Researchers' Night 2010
Contract type:	Coordination and support action
EC Ref. No.	265473
Subprogramm area:	MCA-Researcher's Night
BGU PI	Prof. Yael Edan, The Center for Teaching Science and Technology, BGU
Contact:	yael@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Based on the success in previous years, IRN2010 was extended to additional institutes, and many additional sites at industries, and designed to attract Israelis of all ages, background and geographic location nationwide to meet researchers face-to-face. Number of sites was more than doubled and covers all of Israel (see map), with many places (science-café and round tables) outside the Campuses where researchers will meet the public. The event will focus this year on "How are researchers advancing Water technologies and Climate Change research?", with additional other scientific aspects. A broad range of compelling scientific activities, held nationwide and supported by the Ministry of Science & Technology and the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Employment, will contribute to altering public stereotypes of researchers, and to a greater understanding of the pivotal role of researchers in the economic development of Israel, and their contribution to the betterment of society and mankind as a whole. This event will comprise rich and imaginative programmes, featuring leading researchers from Israeli universities, research institutions, major science museums and industries, engaged in cutting edge scientific discovery and technological innovation. They will meet the public in their laboratories, in "Science-Café", at "Round-Table Events", in the museums next to exhibitions and in lectures, where they will tell their personal stories. Events will include interactions with scientists who have received EU ERC and Marie Curie grants and a variety of "hands-on" activities for youngsters and others. Forums will take the shape of informal settings, where scientists and the public can get acquainted with each other in an unthreatening environment. We will emphasis researchers' passion for teaching the young generation on Water Technologies and Climate Changing.
Coordinator:	MIGAL, Israel

EXPEER
Research Title:	Distributed Infrastructure for EXPErimentation in Ecosystem Research
Contract type:	Coordination and Support Actions for Integrating Activities
EC Ref. No.	262060
Subprogramm area:	CAPACITIES- Infrastractuers
BGU PI	Prof. Arnon Karnieli, Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, BGU
Contact:	karnieli@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	EXPEER will bring together, for the first time, the major observational, experimental, analytical and modelling facilities in ecosystem science in Europe. In uniting under the same umbrella and with a common vision these highly instrumented ecosystem research facilities, EXPEER will be a key instrument in both structuring and improving the European Research Area (ERA) in the field of terrestrial ecosystem research. EXPEER via its ambitious programme of networking and joint research activities will put in place a common framework and roadmap for improving the quality and performance of these infrastructures in a durable and sustainable manner. Transnational Access to the EXPEER infrastructures will enable the project partners to evaluate and validate its future offer (research services) to the EU scientific community at large. Extensive outreach to related networks, infrastructures as well as potential funding bodies will ensure that EXPEER has full support from all stakeholders in reaching its long-term objectives. Establishing the future EXPEER Integrated Infrastructure to enable integrated studies of the impacts of climate change, land use change and loss of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems will involve two major steps: - Building the EXPEER Integrated Infrastructure enabling collaboration and integration of observational, experimental and modelling approaches in ecosystem research (in line with the concept developed in ANAEE); Using the EXPEER integrated infrastructure to structure the existing network of ecosystem observational and monitoring sites across Europe will bring together, for the first time, the major observational, experimental, analytical and modelling facilities in ecosystem science in Europe - The EXPEER integrated infrastructure to structure the existing network of ecosystem observational and monitoring sites across Europe (LTER-Europe).
Coordinator:	INRA, France

Crops
Research Title:	Intelligent sensing and manipulation for sustainable production and harvesting of high-value crops - clever robots for crops
Contract type:	Large-scale Integrating Project
EC Ref. No.	246252
Subprogramm area:	NMP- Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies
BGU PI	Prof. Yael Edan, Department of industrial Engineering and Management, BGU
Contact:	yael@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The main objective of CROPS is to develop a highly configurable, modular and clever carrier platform (Fig. 1.1) comprising a carrier plus modular parallel manipulators and “intelligent tools” (sensors, algorithms, sprayers, grippers) that can easily be installed onto the carrier and that are capable of adapting to new tasks and conditions. Both the scientific know-how and a number of technological demonstrators will be developed for the agromanagment of highvalue crops like greenhouse vegetables, orchard fruits, and grapes for premium wines. The CROPS robotic platform will be capable of site-specific spraying (targeted spraying only on foliage and selected targets) and selective harvesting of fruit (i.e., it will detect the fruit, determine its ripeness, move towards the fruit and grasp it and softly detach it). Another objective of CROPS is to develop techniques for reliable detection and classification of obstacles and other objects to enable successful autonomous navigation and operation of the platform in plantations and forests. The rationale for this aspect of the project is that agricultural and forestry applications share many common research areas, primarily regarding sensing and learning capabilities. -
Coordinator:	WUR, Netherlands

FLAVIA
Research Title:	FLexible Architecture for Virtualizable wireless future Internet Access
Contract type:	Collaborative project
EC Ref. No.	257263
Subprogramm area:	COOPERATION- ICT
BGU PI	Dr. Omer Gurewitz, Department of Computer and Electricity Engineering , BGU
Contact:	gurewitz@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Wireless networks importance for the Future Internet is raising at a fast pace as mobile devices increasingly become its entry point. However, today's wireless networks are unable to rapidly adapt to evolving contexts and service needs due to their rigid architectural design. We believe that the wireless Internet’s inability to keep up with innovation directly stems from its reliance on the traditional layer-based Internet abstraction. Especially, the Link Layer interface appears way too abstracted from the actual wireless access and coordination needs. FLAVIA fosters a paradigm shift towards the Future Wireless Internet: from pre-designed link services to programmable link processors. The key concept is to expose flexible programmable interfaces enabling service customization and performance optimization through software-based exploitation of low-level operations and control primitives, e.g., transmission timing, frame customization and processing, spectrum and channel management, power control, etc. FLAVIA’s approach is based on three main pillars: i) lower the interface between hardware-dependent layers and upper layers, ii) apply a hierarchical decomposition of the MAC/PHY layer functionalities, and iii) open programmable interfaces at different abstraction levels. To prove the viability of this new architectural vision, FLAVIA will prototype its concept on two wireless technologies currently available, 802.11 and 802.16, representing today’s two main radio resource allocation philosophies: contention-based and scheduled.., network designers, emerging third-
Coordinator:	CNIT, Italy

HILHC
Research Title:	Heavy Ion Collisions: from RHIC to LHC
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256313
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Michael Lublinski, Department of Physics, BGU
Contact:	lublinm@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's most important project in high energy physics. With its dedicated experiment on heavy ion (HI) physics, the LHC will focus on the unique possibility of creating and studying a new state of matter, quark gluon plasma (QGP), at energy densities similar to those of the early Universe. The quest for QGP is also the driving force behind the currently operating (though at much smaller energies) Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The study of the fundamental theory of strong interactions, Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD), under extreme conditions is one of the most challenging topics in physics. In particular, a theoretical description of HI collisions and the formation of QGP from first principle calculations is still missing. This proposal is aimed at achieving a qualitatively new level of understanding of HI collisions, both theoretically and phenomenologically, through the development of a new QCD-based description of these processes. I plan to start by addressing a variety of phenomenological issues related to the presently available RHIC data, with the final goal of projecting our understanding of HI collisions to the much higher energies available at the LHC. More specifically, I propose to use perturbative resummation techniques to derive an effective field theory valid at high energies and high gluonic densities. I plan to study the total cross section, multiplicities, momenta distributions and various correlations of particles produced in the collision. I then intend to use these results as initial conditions for subsequent time evolution through the plasma phase. The plasma evolution will be modeled by means of a new hydrodynamic description, which I will develop using string/gravity-inspired methods. By applying the knowledge and experience accumulated in the RHIC era, I will significantly contribute to the success of Europe's LHC heavy ion program.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

AAA+Lon
Research Title:	Mechanistic insights into protein degradation by Lon, a AAA+ protease
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256401
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Eyal Gur, Department of Life Sciences, BGU
Contact:	gure@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Background: AAA+ proteases are ubiquitous molecular machines that execute regulated protein degradation in cells. Their activity is necessary for regulation of many cellular processes, as well as to clear the cell of misfolded, potentially harmful proteins. Failure to combat protein unfolding in unicellular organisms often leads to reduced viability, and in humans, accumulation of misfolded proteins may result in prion diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Conserved in bacteria and eukaryotic organelles, the major enzyme responsible for degrading damaged proteins is a hexameric AAA+ protease known as Lon. Despite its central role in most living organisms, the mechanism of substrate degradation by this protease is poorly understood. Objectives & Work Plan: To reveal the detailed molecular mechanism of protein degradation by Lon and related AAA+ proteases by studying the Lon protease of Escherichia coli as a model system. The research will exploit the fact that Lon is the only AAA+ protease for which a natural protein inhibitor PinA, a T4-bacteriophage protein is known. Genetic screens will be conducted for the isolation of Lon mutants with improved mechanistic properties that result in faster substrate processing, and for active mutants that are resistant to PinA inhibition (aim 1). To obtain insight into the mechanistic properties of the mutants, biochemical characterization will be carried out using native and unfolded protein substrates, a wide variety of peptide substrates, and sensitive assays for the detection of binding and degradation (aim 2). To solve the 3D structure of Lon, primary crystallization screens will be set-up to optimize the crystallization conditions so as to obtain crystals that diffract at high resolution (aim 3). Relevance to Work Programme: The reintegration grant will aid me to establish an independent laboratory conducting top-level protein research and thereby to obtain a permanent position in university in the ERA.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

QMADS
Research Title:	Quantum magnetism in anisotropic dipolar systems
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	81374201
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Moshe Schecter, Department of Physics, BGU
Contact:	smoshe@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	I propose to study the physical characteristics of anisotropic dipolar magnets as well as fundamental questions in the fields of quantum magnetism and disordered systems raised by recent experimental results obtained in these systems. Anisotropic dipolar magnets are central to the study of quantum magnetism and disordered systems. Better characterization of the interplay between quantum fluctuations, effective random fields, hyperfine interactions and dipolar interactions in the non-perturbative regime, where they are comparable in strength, is essential for a proper description of the experimental results by correct effective models. A proper description will then facilitate a deeper understanding of fundamental problems in the fields of quantum magnetism and disordered systems, which, in turn, will lead the way to novel experimental directions.  My expertise in the theory of disordered systems and quantum magnetism, in the analysis of experimental systems, specifically anisotropic dipolar magnets, and the connection between the two will serve me in pursuing this research. The proposed research is closely related to the research interests of Prof. Stamp of UBC and will thus enable me to maintain my scientific relations with the third country. The proposal relates closely to the interests of members of the condensed matter theory and experimental groups at Ben-Gurion University. Transfer of knowledge to the host institution and to the ERA will be facilitated by collaborations, seminars, supervising graduate students and teaching. Many theoretical and experimental groups in the EU have related research interests, and this proposal will serve to strengthen existing relations and to build new contacts within the EU. The EU reintegration grant will considerably enhance my productivity, which will improve my prospects for a contract extension and then a permanent position at Ben-Gurion University and will thus crucially affect my long term re-integration into the EU.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

DLEAEP
Research Title:	Effects of Different Learning Experiences on Automatic Evaluative Processes
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256469
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Yoav Bar Anan, Department of Psychology, BGU
Contact:	baranany@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	In evaluative learning, associative learning refers to the effect of repeated exposure to an object and an evaluation that appear together (e.g., Snakes-Unpleasantness), whereas propositional learning refers to learning the actual relationship between the object and the evaluation (e.g., Snakes cause unpleasantness). A common core assumption in contemporary attitude research is that associative learning affects mainly automatic evaluations (unintentional and sometimes unconscious), whereas propositional learning affects mainly controlled evaluations (deliberated and conscious). However, contemporary attitude theory acknowledges some relationships across the implicit/explicit boundary. The proposed research will extend the investigation of these assumed relationships by examining another possible interrelation across the implicit/explicit boundary: the effect of non-associative information on automatic evaluations.  The research will examine how learning specific object-evaluation relationships (e.g., X causes unpleasantness vs. X prevents unpleasantness ) affect implicit measures and automatic evaluation. The research includes unprecedented large-scale (overall N > 30,000) comparative studies that will examine current assumptions about implicit/explicit distinctions in formation and measurement, in addition to the effect of propositional learning on automatic evaluation. It will use a large number of associative and propositional attitude induction methods, four difference implicit measures, and attitude-relevant automatic behaviors. These large-scale tests are possible because of the researcher s involvement in an American research website that collects data from thousands of participants every week. At the same time, the research will test these questions in smaller-scale lab-studies with a subset of the same learning procedures and attitude measurements, but with attitude-relevant social interactions created in an immersive virtual reality environment.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

ECO-URB
Research Title:	Analyzing Urban Metabolism and Ecological Footprint - A Multi-Scale Approach to Urban Sustainability Accounting and its Policy Implicationes
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256317
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Meidad Kissinger, Department of Geography and Environmental Development, BGU
Contact:	meidadk@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of the world’s population are living in urban areas, generating significant pressure on the supporting ecosystems. As the available means (i.e., financial and political) to change urban activities, design and lifestyle are limited, it is imperative to identify those sectors and activities with the potential to contribute the most to minimising the urban environmental load and increasing sustainability. Two approaches that are being used to quantify and assess urban sustainability are “urban metabolism” and “ecological footprint analysis”. However, these approaches need to be further developed to better reflect the complexity and unique characteristics of specific urban areas and activities. In the proposed research, I will develop a multi-scale analysis of the urban metabolism and footprint. By combining the above two approaches, I will identify the specific urban activities that contribute the most to urban throughput and will illustrate the gap to sustainability. By uniquely combining top-down (i.e., using secondary data sources) and bottom-up (i.e., surveys and focus groups) data gathering methods, this project will breakdown the studied urban activities into their specific components at the household to the city scales. By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches this research will be able to examine existing and suggested measures (e.g., policies, technologies) and to inform decision makers as to the required directions. This interdisciplinary research will combine data from the social and natural sciences with engineering. It is expected to contribute to the emerging fields of environmental accounting and sustainability sciences as well as to urban and regional planning and public policy. It has the potential to serve as a basis for other urban sustainability studies in Europe and for future collaboration and mutual fertilization with other researchers in the ERA.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

Hybrid Nanomaterials
Research Title:	Development of Hybrid Nanostructures for Photocatalysis and Fuel Cell Applications
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256392
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Taleb Mukari, Department of Chemistry, BGU
Contact:	mokari@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The goal of this study is two-folds: first to develop a new class of catalytic nanostructures based on semiconductor-metal hybrid composites and then to optimize their performance as fuel cell electrocatalysts. Presently, the commercial use of fuel cells is not yet viable due to the inefficiency of the required four electron reduction of adsorbed oxygen species at the cell cathode. This deficiency poses a fundamental challenge to the commercialization of fuel cell technologies. Several electrocatalytic metals have been employed to facilitate this oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with platinum and platinum based alloys exhibiting the highest catalytic activity. Despite the use of platinum catalysts, the electron-transfer kinetics at the fuel cell cathode is still languid. In addition, platinum is an expensive precious metal, therefore, to achieve large-scale development and commercialization of fuel cells, it is essential that an alternative catalytic material is manufactured. To address this issue, we propose to design a novel catalytic structure which is comprised of a metal anchored onto a semiconductor body. This semiconductor-metal composite structure will take advantage of the intrinsic electron-transfer mechanisms within semiconductors and couple that with the catalytic activity of metals, yielding an electrocatalyst which provides excellent catalytic performance and cost-effectiveness. Fundamentally, this work will broaden our understanding of various essential parameters, such as material composition (the semiconductor and the metal), electron-transfer dynamics (i.e., electrochemical, photochemical), morphology of the nano-structures, as well as crystallinity, which impact the performance of an electrocatalyst. Such a fundamental framework is critical in the optimization of catalytic activity and thus will provide invaluable insights which will benefit the development of fuel cell technology.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

EYLCompDisSysBio
Research Title:	A Computational Systems Biology Approach to Reveal the Molecular Basis of Complex Diseases
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	256360
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Esti-Yager Lotem, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, BGU
Contact:	estiyl@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie incurable complex diseases is essential for opening new avenues for treatment. In an effort to elucidate their mechanisms, complex diseases are increasingly studied using state-of-the-art high-throughput assays, including genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and mRNA profiling. However, each assay enables only a limited understanding of disease processes. GWAS typically identify many genomic loci whose relation to the disease was previously unknown, but do not reveal the loci s mode of action. Likewise, mRNA profiling identify transcriptional changes that occur in disease, but do not reveal the cellular pathways leading to them. Integrative analysis of these valuable data has a great potential to reveal a much broader view of disease processes.  I propose a novel network-based framework that infers disease pathways by relating the results of GWAS and mRNA profiling assays through known molecular interactions. Application of this approach to data of Parkinson disease will provide a novel functional view into the disease processes and facilitate the generation of hypotheses, which will be tested in silico and in vitro in collaboration with disease experts.  The project aims are:  1. Create a probabilistic network model of the human interactome. 2. Develop network-optimization algorithms to distill and integrate disease data. 3. Identify new cellular pathways related to Parkinson disease.  4. Validate experimentally these new findings. This line of research became feasible owing to recent accumulation of large-scale disease data and relies on my extensive research experience in network biology. The computational framework may be applied to other complex diseases and can serve as a basis for fruitful collaborations with disease experts and pharmaceutical companies. The IRG award will help me obtain a permanent position at Ben Gurion University and will facilitate knowledge transfer to the EU.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

INTRO
Research Title:	INTeractive RObotics Research Network
Contract type:	Marie Curie Initial Training Networks
EC Ref. No.	228674
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie Initial Training Networks
BGU PI	Prof. Yael Edan, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, BGU
Contact:	yael@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The INTRO project elaborated in close cooperation between universities and industry will offer 10 young researchers (8 ESRs and 2 ERs) a unique training program to assist their career development in the interdisciplinary areas of Interactive Robotics: Cooperative Robot Learning; Cognitive Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and Intelligent Interface Design. INTRO's overall objective is to contribute to create a new generation of researchers with a broad understanding of the research and technologies needed to build intelligent robots that function in close interaction with humans in unstructured, changing real word conditions. The research will develop the necessary foundations to expand robots into new markets by creating novel systems with cognitive and multi-modal interaction abilities. A strong multidisciplinary approach will complement specialized domain knowledge to enhance career prospects for the ESRs/ERs The industrial participation will endow the trainees with good insight into product life-cycle and provide unique training and valuable hands-on experience in top-level robotics development. There are four major components to the training program: in the Research program, each researcher will engage in an individual research project in close cooperation with well established researchers from the partner institutes. In addition, the research will be transferred to an operational platform in industry. A Joint training program will facilitate strong theoretical training. This includes a series of seminars and network-wide workshops. Each ESR will also undergo a Secondment and have short visits to other partners.. Other Network training activities will further strengthen the training program together with courses and activities providing complementary skills such as participation in project management, organization of workshops, presentation of research results, and courses in communication techniques, proposal writing , IPR etc.
Coordinator:	UMEA, Sweden

WTAinCNS
Research Title:	Winner-Take-All readout mechanisms in the Central Nervous System
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	226502
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
BGU PI	Dr. Maoz Shamir, Department of Physiology, BGU
Contact:	shmaoz@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	How is information about external stimuli or planned motor commands coded and communicated between different brain regions? This question is one of the most fundamental open questions in neuroscience, and addressing it is likely to revolutionize the field of neural-prosthetic devices. In particular, it will significantly improve the quality of life of the many thousands in need of cochlear implants. Furthermore, the creation of effective motor brain-machine interfaces relies heavily on advances in this field. One hypothesis for the neural code is the Winner-Take-All (WTA) readout, in which activity of single cells, rather than large populations of neurons, shapes behavior. It has been suggested that WTA is used in several brain regions, in particular the middle-temporal (MT) cortex, in which the activity of single cells can account for the observed behavior. However, the computational capabilities of WTA have received little theoretical attention. Therefore, it remains unclear to what extent WTA can account for the observed activity in the brain, particularly in the MT region. I propose to conduct extensive theoretical study of WTA. I will quantify the accuracy of WTA and study the effects of the network architecture, empirically observed noise-correlations, inherent neuronal heterogeneity and different coding strategies, all of which have been shown to considerably affect the accuracy of other readout hypotheses. In addition to studying the conventional WTA, I will construct a novel temporal-code generalization of WTA that can take into account the fine temporal structure of neural responses. My preliminary results show that this readout is superior to the conventional WTA in both accuracy and speed of computation. The primary goal of this research is to obtain quantitative estimates of the accuracy of WTA that will enable us to test its feasibility as readout utilized by the central nervous system by comparing it to the psychophysical accuracy.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

INOS08
Research Title:	Israel night of scientists
Contract type:	Coordination and support action
EC Ref. No.	228674
Subprogramm area:	MCA- Researcher's Night
BGU PI	Prof. Miri Amit, The Center for Teaching Science and Technology, BGU
Contact:	amit@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The Israel Night of Scientists 2008 (INOS08) is designed to attract participants of all ages from Israel's diverse populations throughout the entire country. The Night will be part of Israel's national 60 years celebration; this will increase public awareness of the event due to the national campaign promoting celebratory activities. INOS08 will provide a forum where scientists will adopt a role that is both informative and receptive. They will not only introduce the public to their fascinating research but will also encourage participation in open discussion. The event will thereby provide scientists with an opportunity to understand and respond to the concerns and aspirations of the general community. And, hopefully, it will also change the negative public perception of scientists and their work. A detailed impact assessment will endeavor to assess both quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of the night on both the public and the participating scientists. The Night will be filled with rich and imaginative programs presenting the cutting edge of scientific discovery and technological innovation. The nationwide events will include informal settings, such as Science Cafes, where scientists and the public can meet and get to know each other better! In each location there will be a European stand devoted to heightening public awareness of the EU-Israel collaboration in R & D over the past twelve years and the EU's political and societal vision, as well as FP7. Israel's three major science museums will have displays of photographs from the nationally promoted competition of "Scientists in their Daily Life". An exhibition of the photographs will also travel nationwide after the Night of Scientists to provide an ongoing awareness of INOS08. The program for INOS08 will be run by the INOS08 consortium which consists of seven leading academic research universities and institutes, three major science museums, and the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport.
Coordinator:	Galilee Technology Center, Israel

IRN09
Research Title:	Israeli Researchers' Night
Contract type:	Coordination and support action
EC Ref. No.	244383
Subprogramm area:	MCA- Researcher's Night
BGU PI	Prof. Miri Amit, The Center for Teaching Science and Technology, BGU
Contact:	amit@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Israeli Researchers' Night 2009 (IRN09) is designed to attract Israelis of all ages, background and geografic location nationwide. The event is part of a worldwide celebration marking 200 years to the birthday of Charles Darwin, 150 years to the Theory of Evolution, 400 years to the Galileo Telescope and the Year of Astronomy. A broad range of compelling scientific activities, held nationwide and supported by the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport will contribute to altering public stereotypes of researchers, and to a greater understanding of the pivotal role of researchers (in both universities and industries) and their contribution to the betterment of society and mankind as a whole. This year's event will comprise rich and imaginative programmes, featuring leading researchers from Israeli universities, research institutions, major science museums and industry, engaged in cutting edge scientific discovery and technological innovation. Events will include interactions and exchanges with scientists whose research has received EU grants, and a variety of hands-on activities for youngsters and others. Forums will take the shape of informal settings, such as Science Cafes, where scientists and the public can get acquainted with each other in an unthreatening environment. Each event location will boast a European Corner, devoted to heightening public awareness of the EU-Israeli RD collaboration; the EU's outlook and social and global vision, as well as its FP7, CIP and EuropaAid activities. Israel's major science museums will post the top posters entering the nationally competition, Imagine Researchers Night 2010.  Following the Researchers' Night Event the poster exhibition will tour the country. Although the official date of the European event was set for Friday evening, September 25, Israel got a special permission to hold its event one night earlier due to religious restrictions.
Coordinator:	Galilee Technology Center, Israel

QUORUMPROBES
Research Title:	An integrated chemical platform to elucidate Eukaryotic sensing of bacterial crosstalk
Contract type:	ERC Starting Grant
EC Ref. No.	240356
Subprogramm area:	ERC- Starting Grant
BGU PI	Dr. Michael Meijler, Department of Chemistry, BGU
Contact:	meijler@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The term quorum sensing (QS) describes the ability of a population of unicellular bacteria to act as a single multicellular organism in a cell-density-dependent manner. Bacteria achieve this feat by the use of small diffusible molecules to exchange information among themselves. Examples of QS-controlled behaviors are bioluminescence, virulence factor expression and biofilm formation. These processes are advantageous to a bacterial population only when they are carried out simultaneously by its members. In recent years, a surprising new role has been found for several QS molecules diverse eukaryotes have been found to react strongly to the presence of these compounds. My aim is to examine the hypothesis that diverse eukaryotic species have developed mechanisms to react to the presence of specific bacterial QS molecules in a receptor-mediated fashion. Specifically, we aim to identify receptors that are highly specific for the Pseudomonas aeruginosa QSM 3-oxo-C12-AHL, as no receptor has been identified yet. This is a significant challenge, that we will address developing an innovative platform of chemical, biochemical and microbiological investigations. Identification of specific QSM receptors in eukaryotes will allow us to further understand the complex mechanisms of coexistence and evolution of coexistence between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The insight obtained from these experiments could lead to: a) an increased understanding of important principles that guide the evolution of symbiotic relationships between competing species; b) new approaches in the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections, as well as to potential new drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases; c) the development of an integrated platform that will enable the discovery of unknown receptors for small hydrophobic bioactive compounds.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

INCEL
Research Title:	Revealing the molecular architecture of integrin mediated cell adhesion
Contract type:	ERC Starting Grant
EC Ref. No.	243047
Subprogramm area:	ERC- Starting Grant
BGU PI	Dr. Ohad Medalia, Department of Life Sciences, BGU
Contact:	omedalia@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Cell adhesions play an important role in the organization, growth, maturation, and function of living cells. Interaction of cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an essential role in a variety of disease states, inflammation, and repair of damaged tissues. At the cellular level, many of the biological responses to external stimuli originate at adhesion loci, such as focal adhesions (FA), which link cells to the ECM . Cell adhesion is mediated by receptor proteins such as cadherins and integrins. The precise molecular composition, dynamics and signalling activity of these adhesion assemblies determine the specificity of adhesion-induced signals and their effects on the cell. However, characterization of the molecular architecture of FAs is highly challenging, and it thus remains unclear how these molecules function together, how they are recruited to the adhesion site, how they are turned over, and how they function in vivo. In this project, I aim to conduct an interdisciplinary study that will provide a quantum step forward in the understanding of the functional organization of FAs. We will analyze, for the first time, the three-dimensional structure of FAs in wild-type cells and in cells deficient in the specific proteins involved in the cell-adhesion machinery. We will study the effect of specific geometries on the functional architecture of focal adhesions in 3D. A combination of state-of-the-art technologies, such cryo-electron tomography of intact cells, gold cluster chemistry  for in situ labeling, and modulation of the underlying matrix using micro- and nano-patterned adhesive surfaces, together with correlative light, atomic force and electron microscopy, will provide a hybrid approach for dissecting out the complex process of cell adhesion .In summary, this project addresses the properties of FAs across a wide range of complexities and dimensions, from macroscopic cellular phenomena to the physical nature of these molecular assemblies.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

AquaFules
Research Title:	Feedback and tow-way communication systems
Contract type:	Coordination and support action
EC Ref. No.	239260
Subprogramm area:	ENERGY
BGU PI	Prof. Sammy Boussiba, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnologies of Drylands, BGU
Contact:	sammy@bgu.ac.il
Coordinator:	EEB, Belgium

FdbkComm
Research Title:	Feedback and tow-way communication systems
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	239260
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Haim Permuter, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, BGU
Contact:	haimp@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	This proposal investigates the role of feedback in communication networks, with the ultimate goal of providing architecture-level guidance in the design of robust and efficient communication systems. Many common communication situations are over inherently two-way channels, such as wireless networks, digital subscriber lines (DSL), and the Internet, even when the information transfer is only in one direction. Thus we can receive feedback from the other end of the channel, which we can use to improve the quality of communication. Even though feedback is present in many communication systems and is used in certain primitive forms, such as channel estimation and automatic repeat request (ARQ), the theory underlying its use has not been completely developed. We propose new approaches for several communication settings, such as single-user channels with memory, multiple-user channels with feedback, compound channels with feedback, and two-way channels, in which two or more users simultaneously exchange information through a shared channel. The proposed research is based on integrating new mathematical and engineering tools into the communication problems. In particular, we will integrate the idea of causality and directed information and use optimization tools from operational research to derive schemes that achieve that capacity. Overall, the proposed research aims to advance a theoretical understanding of feedback in communication and to give practical guidance for robust feedback communication systems. While positive results will provide a novel communication system design, negative results will prevent over-engineering and allow more confidence in simple and modular implementations. Since feedback and causality also constitute a pivotal concept in biology and economics, a deeper understanding of the role of feedback in communication will lead to a better understanding of the role of feedback in a broader interdisciplinary context.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

P2P Credit Markets
Research Title:	Insights from person-to-person credit markets
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	249232
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Oren Rigbi, Department of Economics, BGU
Contact:	origbi@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Person-to-person credit markets have gained popularity in recent years. Their existence as an alternative to traditional credit markets is attractive considering the recent credit crunch. Yet, our knowledge of these markets is limited. The purposes of the research program offered in this proposal are twofold: first, I will provide answer to three open questions in the regulation of financial markets and in behavioral finance. Second, by addressing these questions, an understanding of the forces shaping alternative credit markets will be gained. In order to carry out the research program, I will utilize a new rich data set from Prosper - an online person-to-person credit marketplace operated in the US. The first part of the program focuses on the effects of interest rate restrictions. I exploit a behind-the-scene change in loan origination that suddenly increased the cap faced by some borrowers, but not by others. Given the nature of the change, I use differences-in-differences analysis to explore the effects of the cap on the access to credit, the price paid by borrowers and loan repayments. The second part of the program investigates lenders local bias the preference for geographic proximity. I will quantify the extent of the bias, characterize the lenders that exhibit it, and evaluate whether it is driven by advantageous information. The third part of the program will inquire into lenders perception of non-verified information. Portion of the information lenders observe is unverified and potentially false. I will quantify whether the importance lenders assign to non-verified information change over the time they could communicate other potentially experienced lenders through a lenders online forum.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

GSV
Research Title:	The geometry of Severi varieties on toric surfaces
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	248826
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Ilya Tyomkin, Department of Mathematics, BGU
Contact:	tyomkin@cs.bgu.ac.il
Short description:	I propose to study the geometry of Severi varieties. Roughly speaking, Severi varieties parameterize (irreducible) curves of a given geometric genus in a linear system on an algebraic surface. Introduced by Severi in the 1920s, Severi varieties have been intensively studied (mostly in the plane case and in characteristic zero) by many algebraic geometers, such as Zariski, Fulton, Harris, Ran, Kontsevich, Caporaso, Vakil, and Mikhalkin. Despite this intensive study of Severi varieties, many questions have remained open, e.g., the case of positive characteristic, for which neither the dimension nor the irreducibility is known and for which enumerative formulas are also not known. In characteristic zero, the irreducibility property is not known for any surfaces other than the projective plane and Hirzebruch surfaces. (The irreducibility property is, however, known for rational curves in some cases.) In this study, I propose to investigate the geometry of Severi varieties on toric surfaces. In positive characteristic, I intend to: prove dimension formula; construct examples of toric surfaces admitting reducible Severi varieties and classify all such surfaces; describe the geometry of a general curve of a given geometric genus on a toric surface (note that as opposed to the case in characteristic zero, such a curve need not be nodal, and the description of its geometry will include the classification of its singularities); and generalize Mikhalkin's tropical enumerative formulas to this case (it should be emphasized that Severi varieties are not defined over the integers, and their degrees depend on the characteristic). In characteristic zero, I intend to prove the irreducibility property for Severi varieties on toric surfaces. The main tools that will be developed and applied in this research are drawn from deformation theory of schemes, morphisms, and stacks; and from toric and tropical geometries (see part B of the proposal for details).
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

RFC
Research Title:	Cooperation strategies in wireless networks: Relaying, feedback and conferencing
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants
EC Ref. No.	246657
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Ron Dabora, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, BGU
Contact:	ron@ee.bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The wireless channel has a broadcast nature. Therefore, transmissions intended for one destination are also overheard by other nodes. These undesired signals create interference which makes it harder for the nodes to decode their information. Current network design is focused on suppressing interference, turning the network into a virtual collection of point-to-point links. As a result, the performance of current wireless networks is largely determined by the point-to-point links' performance. The increasing demand for high-speed reliable communication has motivated the consideration of network strategies beyond the point-to-point approach, thereby focusing the attention on cooperative strategies. Here, instead of suppressing interference, the fact that interference contains information relevant to other nodes is exploited to enhance the performance of the network. Cooperative strategies are expected to improve the rates, reliability and energy-efficiency in networks. This proposal focuses on the fundamental aspects of cooperation. The three main cooperation types - relaying, conferencing and feedback, will be studied. Relaying strategies that aim at increasing the interference at interfered nodes will be considered. This is in complete contrast to the prevailing practices which are based on forwarding desired information to its intended destination. Feedback schemes in which the feedback originates from nodes in the vicinity of the destination receiver will be considered. Finally, conferencing - a cooperation scheme in which receivers interactively help each other to decode, shall be investigated. The focus will be on developing conferencing schemes for channels with memory. Cooperation strategies are currently being considered for new wireless standards. Hence, the proposed research is well-timed for affecting the design of future wireless networks.
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

Nanoantenna
Research Title:	Development of a high sensitive and specific nanobiosensor based on surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy dedicated to the in vitro proteins detection and disease diagnosis
Contract type:	Collaborative Project
EC Ref. No.	241818
Subprogramm area:	HEALTH
BGU PI	Prof. Robert Marks, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, BGU
Contact:	rsmarks@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The main goal of our proposal is to develop a novel optical nanobiosensor based on extraordinary vibrational signal enhancement of the proteins to be detected. To reach vibrational signal enhancement, we will exploit the optical properties of specially designed metallic nanoparticles which should act as nanoantenna and the associated field enhancement to obtain a direct detection of proteins bound to the nanoparticle. Thus, our sensor will reach high sensitivity provided by the recently established large enhancement of vibration signals due to the resonant excitation of the nanoantenna device used as substrates. The aim is to detect only a few proteins with concentration much lower than 1pM and finally to reach detection threshold such as femtomole or lower. High molecular selectivity will be reached with the functionalisation of the nanoantenna. Such functionalisation will selectively favour the immobilisation of the protein to be detected at the vicinity of the nanoparticle surface, providing the best enhancement and then the detection of the targeted protein. Our nanobiosensor will include two main components: the nanoantenna device which corresponds to our sensor transducer and the functionalisation which corresponds to its bioreceptor. And then, each functionalised  nanoantenna device used as vibrational signal enhanced system is an individual and specific nanosensor of proteins. As a consequence, our nanobiosensor integrated in a vibrational spectroscope will allow the detection and the analysis of the vibrational signal from the targeted proteins and thus corresponds to our diagnostic instrument..
Coordinator:	CNRS, France

T3SSBteA
Research Title:	Structural studies of type III secretion system virulence protein BteA
Contract type:	Marie Curie Actions—International Re-integration Grants (IRG)
EC Ref. No.	239182
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie International Re-integration Grants
BGU PI	Dr. Raz Zarivach, Department of Life Sciences, BGU
Contact:	zarivach@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Bordetella pertussis, B. parapertussis and B. bronchiseptica are Gram-negative bacteria that colonize the respiratory tracts of mammals. B. pertussis has adapted exclusively to the human host and is known to be the causative agent of whooping cough (pertussis). Bordetella bacteria use the type III secretion system (T3SS) to establish persistent colonization of the trachea and to modulate the host immune response. They encode a highly conserved type III secretion effector protein, BteA, which is responsible for the induction of rapid, non-apoptotic death in a wide range of mammalian cells. BteA, the only type III effector that has been identified in Bordetella, shows no homology with any other type III effectors. The overall goal is to determine BteA structure and to elucidate its involvement in mechanisms leading to cell death. Our specific aims are: - To express, purify and determine the 3D structure of BteA from B. bronchiseptica. - To analyze BteA structure and determine its functional sites and to determine the ability of BteA to bind ligands. - To locate BteA interacting proteins in the eukaryotic host cell by using BteA as bait and thus determine: i) protein function; ii) The structure of BteA-target molecule complexes. Cutting-edge technologies will be used for structure determination and functional analysis of clean protein samples (X-ray crystallography, structure prediction and functional point mutations) and for the investigation of ligand binding and host cell interactions (pull-down assays, mass spectrometry and surface plasmon resonance). The outcome will be new targets for antibiotic development and a better understanding of protein-protein interactions, cell targeting and cell death. The research will enhance EU competitiveness in structural biology and the life sciences and in the long term will contribute to public health (treatment and prevention of whooping cough).
Coordinator:	BGU, Israel

C7
Research Title:	Cerebellar-cortical control: Cells, circuits, computation, and clinic
Contract type:	MCA- ITN
EC Ref. No.	238214
Subprogramm area:	Marie Curie Initial Training Networks
BGU PI	Dr. Oper Donchin, Department of Biomedical Engineering, BGU
Contact:	donchin@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	A functional understanding of the cerebellum, the structure of the human brain with the most neurons, requires the combined effort of scientists working from the cellular level up to the behavioural level, and it requires scientists trained to cross these levels. The C7 network brings together 9 research groups to form a European institute for the interdisciplinary study of the cerebellum. The network will provide a unique multi-disciplinary training experience for young researchers in systems neuroscience. We are joined by 5 industrial partners who will help to realize important technological innovations and the commercial potential by developing cutting-edge technology for research and clinical applications. With a combination of electrophysiology, behavioural and clinical research, computational modelling and neuroimaging we will aim to answer three important questions: - What is the computation performed in cerebellar networks? We will provide a multi-level description of the basic cerebellar computational unit, the micro-column. - How do distributed synaptic changes lead to learning? We link structure to function through an intense program of experimentation and modelling on the fast adaptation of motor behaviour thought by many to be the main function of the cerebellum. - How do the closed loops between the cerebellum and neocortex generate motor control and cognition? Multi-site recordings, TMS and clinical studies will reveal the previously unexplored interaction between cerebellum and related structures. C7 includes two clinical research centres and two patient organizations, promoting the transfer of insights from basic science to clinical practice. In particular, we will explore brain compensation following cerebellar dysfunction using genetic mouse models and TMS. In sum, C7 will provide the interdisciplinary training environment necessary for a new understanding of the cerebellum.
Coordinator:	Bangor University, UK

AQUAREHAB
Research Title:	Development of rehabilitation technologies and approaches for multipressured degraded waters and the integration of their impact on river basin management
Contract type:	COLLABORATIVE, Large scale integrating project
EC Ref. No.	226565
Subprogramm area:	Environment
BGU PI	Prof. Eilon Adar, Department of Environmental Hydrology & Microbiology, BGU
Contact:	eilon@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Within the AQUAREHAB project, different innovative rehabilitation technologies for soil, groundwater and surface water will be developed to cope with a number of hazardous (nitrates, pesticides, chlorinated and aromatic compounds, mixed pollutions, ) within heavily degraded water systems. The technologies are activated riparian zones/wetlands; smart biomass containing carriers for treatment of water in open trenches; in-situ technologies to restore degraded surface water by inhibiting influx of pollutants from groundwater to surface water; multifunctional permeable barriers and injectable Fe-based particles for rehabilitation of groundwater. Methods will be developed to determine the (long-term) impact of the innovative rehabilitation technologies on the reduction of the influx of these priority pollutants towards the receptor. A connection between the innovative technologies and river basin management will be worked out. In a first stage of the project, the technologies and integration of their impact in river basin management will be developed in three different river basins (Denmark, Israel, Belgium). In a second stage, the generic approaches will be extrapolated to one or two more river basins. One of the major outcomes of the project will be a generic river basin management tool that integrates multiple measures with ecological and economic impact assessments of the whole water system. The research in the project is focused on innovative rehabilitation strategies to reduce priority pollutants in the water system whereas the generic management tool will include other measures related to flood protection, water scarcity and ecosystem health. The project will aid in underpinning river basin management plans being developed in EU Member States, and will demonstrate cost effective technologies that can provide technical options for national and local water managers, planners and other stakeholders (drinking water companies, industry, agriculture.
Coordinator:	VITO, Belgium

SENSBIOSYN
Research Title:	Biosensors and Sensors for the industrial biosynthesis process of widely used commercial antioxidants: Nutraceuticals as additives for food and aquaculture promoting public health and safety
Contract type:	Research for SME's
EC Ref. No.	232522
Subprogramm area:	CAPACITIES- SME
BGU PI	Prof. Sammy Boussiba, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnologies of Drylands, BGU
Contact:	sammy@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	The purpose of this 2-years project is to develop sensors and biosensors for on-line monitoring growth parameters of industrial bioprocesses for the production of algal biomass and antioxidant compounds such as Xanthophylls. As a model for the design and in-field testing, the following industrial process and culture system have been selected: the natural production of Astaxanthin from the green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis in a tubular photobioreactor. Key parameters such as biomass, pigment content and accumulation profile during the induction process are now experimentally determined offline everyday at commercial production sites by means of complex manual analyses. This routine monitoring further increases production costs, being critical time consuming and requiring manpower. This is a major challenge faced by microalgae companies today, especially in the production of natural carotenoids in comparison with the relatively cheap synthetic analogues. SENSBIOSYN intends to offer a solution to the lack of existing devices able to provide online rapid automatic and reliable information on active compounds accumulation profile and efficacy during their biosynthesis. The proposed project will bring the following competitive advantages to microalgae companies: Increased production - online monitoring will ease decision about time of harvest and culture performance; Reduction of production cost - the introduction of the proposed biosensors in the process control will allow to save work time and manpower and reduce the production cost by at least 30%, which is a big industrial breakthrough. Two optical sensors, for chlorophyll fluorescence measurement and culture medium density, and two electrochemical biosensors, based on the direct measurement of Phosphatidylcholine peroxidative damage by screen printed electrodes and the PSII activity by nanowire FETs, will be manufactured.
Coordinator:	Biosensor, Italy

EU-GRASP
Research Title:	Changing multilateralism: The EU as a global-regional actor in security and peace
Contract type:	COLLABORATIVE, Small or medium scale focused research project
EC Ref. No.	225722
Subprogramm area:	SSH- Socio-economic sciences and Humanities
BGU PI	Dr. Sharon Pardo, Department of Politics and Government, BGU
Contact:	pardos@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	GRASP aims to contribute to the analysis and articulation of the current and future role of the EU as a global and regional actor in multilateral security governance, in a context of challenged multilateralism, where the EU aims for effective multilateralism. This project will examine the notion and practice of multilateralism in order to provide the required theoretical background for assessing the linkages between the EU's current security activities with multi-polarism, international law, regional integration processes and the United Nations system. The project's work plan will consist of the following components: - conceptual integrated analyses of the evolving concepts of multilateralism and security and the EU's role as a security actor; - case-studies of the EU's approach to a number of specific security issues (regional conflict; terrorism; WMD proliferation; migration; energy and climate change; and severe violations to human rights); - a transversal comparative analysis applying and integrating the case study findings; and lastly, - a foresight study, building off the project's findings that will detail scenarios for future EU policy towards external security relations and multilateral approaches to threats and challenges.  The research will be policy-oriented and include a strong interactive dimension, in order to assure ongoing feedback from the target-public. The work will be undertaken by a consortium of European research centers that have already collaborated on these issues (FP6). This group is enlarged by the inclusion of a number of institutes from outside the EU (Israel, Canada, South Africa and China) that will bring in further expertise on specific security issues in addition to important regional perceptions, necessary to avoiding a narrow Euro-centric approach and enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the EU on the global stage.
Coordinator:	United Nations University Research and Training Program on Comparative Regional Integration Studies, Belgium

NEW ED
Research Title:	Advanced bipolar membrane processes for remediation of highly saline waste water streams
Contract type:	COLLABORATIVE, Small or medium scale focused research project
EC Ref. No.	227004
Subprogramm area:	Environment
BGU PI	Dr. Rami Messalem, Department of Desalination and Water Treatment, BGU
Contact:	rami@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	NEW ED aims at closing industrial water cycles and reducing the amount of waste water streams with highly concentrated salt loads stemming from a broad range of industrial production processes by exploiting the waste components (salts) and transforming them to valuable products. This will be achieved by developing new nanoporous bipolar membranes for electrodialysis (ED), a new membrane module concept and by integrating this new technology into relevant production processes. The bipolar membrane process produces acids and bases from their corresponding salts by dissociating water at the interface within the bipolar membranes. However, BPMED so far has been applied only in niche markets due to limitations of the current state of membrane and process development. Major drawbacks of the classic BPMED process are low product purity, limited current density and formation of metal hydroxides at or in the bipolar membrane. The objective of this project is to overcome these limitations by developing a new bipolar membrane and membrane module with active, i.e. convective instead of diffusive water transport to the transition layer of the bipolar membranes, where water dissociation takes place. The key feature of the innovative new bipolar membranes is a nano- to micro-porous and at the same time ion conducting intermediate transition layer, through which water is convectively transported from the side into the transition layer. The porous transition layer may have either the character of a cation or an anion exchanger. Several promising intermediate layer materials together with different monopolar ion-exchange layers will be tested and Characterized.
Coordinator:	RWTH Aachen, Germany

INFLA-CARE
Research Title:	Understanding inflammation-associated tumorigenesis for the rational design of novel anti-cancer therapeutic strategies.
Contract type:	COLLABORATIVE, Large scale integrating project
EC Ref. No.	223151
Subprogramm area:	Cooperation- Health
BGU PI	Prof. Ron Apte, Department of Microbiology and Immunology Engineering, BGU
Contact:	rapte@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	Epidemiological and experimental evidence supports a link between chronic inflammation and cancer and indicates a role for inflammatory Cells in the initiation, progression and metastasis of malignancy. The objective of the collaborative integrated project INFLA-CARE is to structure a European collective of scientific and technological excellence in the field of ‘Inflammation & Cancer’ which will capitalise on the available expertise and develop effective anti-inflammatory strategies and novel agents for cancer prevention and treatment. The project will specifically seek to identify molecular and cellular targets for cancer therapy through the development and systematic study of state-of the- art pre-clinical models of inflammation-driven cancer. By mobilizing the outstanding research experience and technological capacities of the network participants, the program will accelerate the translation of knowledge obtained by basic research into new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies which will be used for the detection, prevention and improved management of several types of human cancer. INFLA-CARE will also ensure spreading of scientific excellence and dissemination of knowledge beyond the network, by encouraging innovation and transfer of knowledge and by raising public understanding of scientific and health issues. The impact of the program is therefore expected to be multi-dimensional, namely scientific, educational and innovation-related, enhancing European competitiveness and addressing major scientific issues and societal needs.
Coordinator:	FORTH, Greece

Infract Therapy
Research Title:	Therapy after heart infarct: prevention of reperfusion injury and repair by stem cell transfer
Contract type:	COLLABORATIVE, Small or medium scale focused research project
EC Ref. No.	222995
Subprogramm area:	Cooperation- Health
BGU PI	Prof. Smadar Cohen, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, BGU
Contact:	scohen@bgu.ac.il
Short description:	A key problem in repair and functional regeneration following myocardial infarction is the inability of heart muscle tissue to regenerate itself and appropriate vascularization under conditions of increased strain caused by the reduced contractibility of the damaged heart. This frequently leads to continuous loss of functional cells, further increase of the infarct area and finally complete loss of heart function. We propose to explore possibilities for cell therapy using different procedures and sources of stem and progenitor cells. First, we will investigate factors stimulatory for stem/progenitor cell release from the bone marrow, their recruitment to the heart and the activation of resident heart stem cells. Second, we will evaluate adoptive transfer of stem/progenitor cells of different sources, from bone marrow, adult and cord blood, adipose tissue and heart tissue itself. The use of ex vivo cultured and differentiated cells including embryonic stem cells will be tested. Third, we will test genetic modification of these cells for improved differentiation, homing and tissue repair. Fourth, we will use a unique artificial scaffold material as a slow release device for factors and as a structural support material for providing the different cell preparations to the damaged areas. This scaffold will also be used for tissue engineering in vitro followed by insertion of artificial tissue onto the infarct area. This project of high clinical importance is designed to further support the research and development needs of two SMEs, one is determined problem in repair and functional regeneration following myocardial infarction is the inability of heart muscle tissue to regenerate itself and appropriate vascularization under conditions of increased strain caused by the reduced contractibility of the damaged heart. This frequently leads to continuous loss of functional cells, further increase of the infarct area and finally complete loss of heart function.
Coordinator:	Medical University of Vienna, Austria