The 10 laureates of the 2021 PSL Valorisation / Qlife call for Proof-of-Concept projects
Proof of concept, start-up creation and transfer of knowledge and technologies to the socio-economic sector: find out about the ten laureates of the call for Proof-of-Concept projects, launched by PSL Valorisation and the Institut Convergences Qlife.
PSL Valorisation and the Institut Convergences Qlife released a call for projects in the first quarter of 2021, with the support of the Institut Carnot IPGG Microfluidique; it aimed at selecting innovative projects with high potential for transfer, in all disciplines and all fields of application. This call for proposals drew on funding from Fonds National de Valorisation allocated to PSL, and its purpose was to fund studies, prototypes or technical and market approvals that will promote the transfer and socio-economic impact of these projects.
25 high-potential projects applied to the call; from 5 PSL Schools, in all disciplines and all fields of application. After an assessment by independent experts, 10 projects were selected by the selection committee:
- Innovative method for high-throughput extraction, sorting and analysis of organelles, for research and biomedical applications, led by Abdou Rachid Thiam & Vincent Faugeras, LPENS (ENS - PSL)
- Visual recognition of human activity based on embedded systems - evaluation under realistic conditions, led by Akin Osman Kazakci, IHEIE (Mines Paris - PSL)
- Quantum chemistry simulations for the modeling of new ecological dyes, intended for the textile industry, led by Anna Perfetto, Institute of Chemistry for Health and Life Science (I-CLeHS) (Chimie ParisTech - PSL)
- Digitization of a language re-education method based on psycholinguistic models for the treatment of patients, notably following strokes, led by Charlotte Jacquemot, Mondor Institute for Biomedical Research (IMRB, Henri Mondor Hospital, Créteil) and Department of Cognitive Studies (DEC - FrontCog), ENS - PSL.
- Design of a high-resolution infrared camera (SWIR; 0.9 to 1.7µm wavelength) with high dynamic range and low noise, led by David Darson, LPENS (ENS - PSL)
- Development of an ophthalmic holographic imaging tool for the non-invasive measurement of choroid, retina, conjunctiva and iris parameters, led by Michael Atlan, Institut Langevin (ESPCI Paris - PSL)
- Creation of two-phase gas/liquid plasma microreactors allowing the generation and manipulation of free radicals in a controlled manner for the functionalization of molecules in the liquid phase, with the aim of meeting the functionalization needs of heavy molecules in the field of medicinal chemistry and pharmaceuticals, led by Michael Tatoulian, IRCP (Chimie ParisTech - PSL)
- Optimization of the efficacy of genetically modified myeloid cells for therapeutic purposes against solid tumors, led by Philippe Benaroch, intracellular transport and immunity team at Institut Curie
- Development of a functional screening system, in order to identify the best rhabdomyosarcoma-specific antigens (RMS) and then to target a wide variety of specific antigens of various tumors, led by Sandrine Moutel, Cell Biology and Cancer (Institut Curie)
- Validation of a very high throughput screening approach for the discovery of new enzymes for the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a difficult and economically relevant plastic, led by Yannick Rondelez, Gulliver Laboratory (ESPCI Paris - PSL)
The e-Calap project
The e-Calap project, led by Charlotte Jacquemot, a researcher in the Interventional Neuropsychology laboratory in the Cognitive Studies Department of the ENS, received funding for the developpment of eCALAP, a digital version of CALAP (Core Assessment of Language Processing) an innovative and personalized language rehabilitation method, more effective than traditional rehabilitation programmes. ECalap is meant for patients with language problems, following a stroke or neurodegenerative disease. The method is based on a psycholinguistic model of language processing, including a first step to identify the specific deficiency of the patient, and a second step for personalized rehabilitation adapted to each patient. The digitization of CALAP will facilitate access to this method, in order to benefit a greater number of patients, and will facilitate the evolution of clinical practice for language disorders.
The IRIS project
The "IRIS" project is led by Anna Perfetto, a PhD student in the i-cLeHs laboratory (Chemical Theory and Modelling Group. This laboratory is part of the Carnot institute IPGG Microfludique, which will provide additional funding to the project. IRIS will contribute to an ecological transition in the dye manufacturing industries, by helping to replace polluting pigments with more ecological dyes, a goal to be reached by 2030. Indeed, due to the non-biodegradable organic compounds used in dyes, the textile industry is the second most polluting industry after the oil industry. Instead of using the classic "trial-and-error" approach, the industrialists will be able to rely on a new computational protocol based on quantum chemistry simulations for the design of ecological pigment structure. This project was supported by the PSL-Pépite team and received fund of the Proof of Concept project call, co-financed by the DDRT Ile de France and PSL. A presentation of this project is accessible in an interview of Anna Perfetto, recorded in 2021
The ExOrg project
The "ExOrg" project, conducted by Abdou Rachid Thiam, (CNRS Research Director), and Vincent Faugeras and Alexandre Santinho, both PhD students at the Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS - PSL, develop a method for isolating cellular compartments and preparing them rapidly into samples. ExOrg aims to identify the optimal conditions for the extraction and sorting of these cellular compartments at high throughput. The team wish to create a start-up based on this technology to offer innovative solutions to the pharmaceutical sector. Supported by PSL, the project leaders are also laureates of the i-PhD innovation competition, organized by BPI France. They thus also received the Bourse French Tech iPhD.
The Bioplastic project
The Bioplastic project combine the expertise in polymer chemistry, enzymes and microfluidics of Yannick Rondelez, (CNRS Research Director) and Ludwik Leibler, Professor, both affiliated to the Gulliver laboratory at ESPCI Paris - PSL, and Andrew Griffiths, Professor and Director of the Biochemistry Laboratory (LBC), also at ESPCI Paris - PSL. Plastic accumulation is a major environmental and societal problem, and the team aims to offer an industrially viable solution by improving the enzymatic plastic recycling process. To achieve this goal, it developed an innovative method to improve the properties of plastic degradation enzymes. PSL's PoC funding will allow this project to optimize this approach and validate the proposed solution, opening the way to the industrialisation of this technology in the recycling sector.
PSL's partners in this call for proposal are:
The Fonds National de Valorisation (PIA), which supports PSL since 2017, in relation to the originality of its technology transfer model, focused on disruptive innovation and start-up creation;
The Institut Convergences Qlife, dedicated to quantitative biology, and the interdisciplinary study of the behavior and dynamics of living systems. Qlife contributes to this call for proposals, and supports 3 start-up projects in this field.
The Institut Carnot IPGG Microfluidique, which aims to foster relations with companies that wish to draw on the know-how of researchers and state-of-the-art equipment in the Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (IPGG), one of the world leaders in transdisciplinary research in microfluidics.
