Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the major degenerative diseases for which there is no cure. There is therefore a pressing need to identify mechanisms implicated in PD pathogenesis that can be targeted for therapy. In this context, LRRK2, one of the major genetic determinants of sporadic and familial forms of MP, has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. Specifically, the importance of LRRK2 phosphorylation for its physiological and pathological functioning has recently become clear. Here, we will study the targeting of LRRK2 phosphorylation in PD models in drosophila, rodent neurons, rodent brains and in human cells. The validation of LRRK2 phosphorylation as a potential therapeutic target will open perspectives to develop modulators of phosphoregulators as candidate therapeutics for PD.

The aim of this project is to settle a disruptive CIGS solar cell technology based on ultrathin CIGS layers with thicknesses down to 0.1 µm while maintaining, or even increasing, the cells and module efficiencies, keeping the benefit of the exceptional photovoltaic quality achieved by the CIGS technology. This approach anticipates the strategic roadmap of CIGS technology, aiming to overcome the bottleneck of the limited primary resources in indium (600 tons per year) which will not allow the present technology based on 2 micron thick CIGS films to go to multiGW yearly production levels, expected from 2015 and beyond. A breakthrough in using ultrathin CIGS layers is thus absolutely needed as a key option for the economy of indium, allowing the durability of the CIGS technology. This project, following the first ULTRACIS ANR Project, will aim to bring and consolidate key results and strategies of ULTRACIS to the stage of proof of industrial manufacturability. This will allow the consortium to firmly stay at a leading international research position to anticipate a key industrial innovation in CIGS technology and to prepare/increase the competitiveness of the associated industrial players for the coming years. This ambitious challenge will combine two main lines : (i)direct deposition of ultrathin CIGS solar cells with two already established industrial methods : (co)evaporation and electrodeposition, one in vacuum and the other one atmospheric, and a disruptive one which is atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) and, (ii)integration and optimization of new device architectures specific for ultrathin CIGS layers, to insure optical and electrical managements, including front and back side engineering, with innovative structures, chemistries and materials which have been pioneered and patented in the first ULTRACIS project. The final goal being : a) a fabrication process of efficient very thin cells (10% c) evaluation and specifications for a manufacturable process

An LED-pumped luminescent concentrator (LC) is a parallelepiped-shaped luminescent material with LEDs on its large sides. After absorbing light from the LEDs, the material re-emits light into the LC which is guided to its edges. Concentration is achieved through total internal reflections. This leads to a luminance 10 to 20 times higher than that of the LEDs. This is an emerging field of research with a very high disruptive potential. The aim of the NewLight project is to develop concentrators over a large part of the optical spectrum (visible SWIR-short-wavelength infrared- and MWIR-medium-wavelength infrared) with a systematic, multidisciplinary approach, combining materials and systems. Inspired by solar concentrators, we will explore the concept of a "cascade concentrator": a first LED-pumped concentrator, called "primary", is used to pump a second concentrator, called "secondary". The materials are chosen so that the absorption and emission bands are matched, creating a cascade of wavelengths from the pumping LEDs to the emission of the secondary concentrator. Cascaded concentrators have the potential to emit an order of magnitude more light than current concentrators. The strategy of the NewLight project is to use well-known materials for the primary concentrators and to explore new materials for the secondary concentrators. New crystals will be developed for the visible and SWIR bands. New glasses will be developed for the SWIR and MWIR bands. In parallel, the NewLight project faces technological challenges related to the applications: concentrator efficiency, cooling and coupling to an output optical fibre. By using the symmetries of the concentrator structure and the recycling of light in the material, the NewLight project has the keys to solve these problems. The NewLight project is very ambitious, starting with new materials and ending with concentrator devices that are as close as possible to applications. This ambition is compatible with the duration of the project (48 months) thanks to the unique properties of LED-pumped concentrators: very low cost thanks to commercial LEDs and rapid development possible thanks to the simplicity of the architectures. The project is organised in 4 tasks coordinated by a "management" task, in a spirit of strong iteration. Two "materials" tasks and two "systems" tasks are combined, with a multidisciplinary approach. The proposed structures should allow to break luminance and power records for incoherent broad spectrum sources, setting up LCs as new reference sources. The NewLight project will open up new fields of application, with simple, reliable and robust solutions with a high potential impact on the photonics industry. Potential applications include: metrology, micro-spectroscopy, active SWIR imaging, red-green-blue projection, inspection and control of objects on production lines or light treatments in dermatology. Our strategy to maximize the impact of the NewLight project is built on the large experience of the consortium in the dissemination of scientific culture and in research valorization. The strategy includes patenting, scientific communication in large international conferences, publications in specialized and general open-access journals, and wide range dissemination to the general public. The goal is to raise the awareness of a large scientific community to the exceptional opportunities offered by luminescent concentrators, that the NewLight projet will contribute to reveal.

Metallic stents are widely used in endovascular treatment of coronary stenosis (balloon-expandable stents) and cerebral aneurysms (self-expandable flow diverters). In spite of the different design, both types of device are hampered by potentially life-threatening complications linked to the reaction of the blood elements and of the arterial wall in contact with the foreign body. Neointima formation (restenosis) and endoluminal thrombosis are associated with coronary stenting, while unstable sac occlusion and progressive dilation/fissuring of the aneurysmal wall are associated with flow diverters, but all are caused by the lack of a complete endothelial coverage of the metallic device/arterial wall which allows further activation and accumulation of blood leukocytes and platelets in the stented arterial segment. The use of “Active” stents has partially solved these issues because the associated anti-inflammatory/cytostatic drugs limit the processes leading to the proliferation of vascular stromal cells and neointima formation (restenosis). Unfortunately, their use requires a strengthening and an indefinite continuation of the antithrombotic treatment because these drugs also prevent the growth of endothelial cells and thus prevent the homeostatic endothelial covering of the stent meshes which can therefore persist in activating the platelets of the blood, even long-time (>1 year) after their implantation. Thus, the scientific and industrial community of arterial stents extensively pursues the research to identify innovative biomimetic coverings, which can prevent the local development of inflammation and thrombosis and promote endothelial cells covering allowing the integration of the medical device at the blood/vessel interface. In this context, CD31 is a very interesting biological target, because this homophilic cell-cell regulatory receptor, highly expressed by resting endothelial cells, is necessary in order to prevent the activation of circulating leukocytes and platelets. The aim of our project is to evaluate the improvement carried by directly coating stent surfaces with a CD31 biomimetic peptide, named P8RI. Preliminary data show that the covalent grafting of P8RI on superalloy sample surfaces is capable of conferring them the regulatory functions of CD31 such as survival and growth of endothelial cells and inhibition of leukocytes and platelet activation. The specific objectives of this project are: 1) to optimize the procedure of modification of the metallic surfaces and grafting of P8RI in order to be compatible with the development of an arterial stent (preservation of the physico-chemical and biological properties of the covering upon different storage and manipulation conditions); 2) to analyze the biological properties of superalloys samples (flat CoCr and 316L discs and NiTi filaments) covered with the P8RI, as compared to control samples made of the same material, in terms of growth and continuity of endothelial cells, anti-inflammatory properties and anti-thrombotic properties, in vitro; 3) to transfer the method of the modification of surface and grafting of the peptide to commercially available stents, made by the same material, and compare their biocompatibility in vivo (implantation in farm sheep coronary and rabbit carotid arteries), as assessed by histological analysis of the stented arteries, in terms of endothelial cell covering of the stent struts, degree of vascular stromal cells’ hyperplasia, signs of inflammation (leukocyte infiltration / expression of pro-inflammatory molecules) and signs of thrombosis (presence of platelets / fibrin/ plasmin).

Dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) is a powerful method that enhances NMR sensitivity by transferring the large spin polarisation of electrons to nuclei. But DNP is also limited because it requires cryogenic temperatures and paramagnetic doping that lower resolution and sensitivity. A much better method would thus be direct polarisation of a given material from an external and highly polarisable substrate. Synthetic diamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy centres would be an ideal platform to perform this operation due to the large nuclear polarisations achievable upon laser illumination at room temperature. Such spin polarisations could possibly be transferred from the diamond to another material, thus leading to a disrupting general method for enhancing NMR sensitivity. This proposal aims to overcome this challenge by combining new instrumentation with tailored diamonds to maximise the nuclear spin polarisation and to study the efficiency of its transfer across the diamond interface.