News
Two Technion Researchers Awarded European Research Council (ERC) "Proof of Concept" Grants
The grants will assist Prof. Lior Gepstein in developing and implementing new technologies for preventing heart rhythm disorders, and Prof. Yoav Schechner in enabling better precision in imaging
Two Technion researchers have been awarded advanced grants from the European Research Council (ERC). The Proof of Concept (PoC) grants, amounting to €150,000 per researcher, are designed to demonstrate feasibility and promote the translation of academic research into applications and commercialization, including the establishment of startups. These grants are available only to researchers who have previously received ERC grants.
Prof. Lior Gepstein, from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and head of the cardiology division and research department at Rambam Health Care Campus, will receive the grant to develop innovative treatments for atrial fibrillation (AF).
AF is the most common sustained arrhythmia and is responsible for significant morbidity, mortality, and burden on the health care systems. Traditional therapies for AF have relatively limited efficacy, and are either destructive (ablation), painful (defibrillation), or associated with side effects because of their global cardiac and systemic actions (drugs). Consequentially, novel treatment modalities for AF are direly needed.
Prof. Gepstein and his team propose the development of a targeted, functional, non-destructive, and easily administered treatment for AF termination that does not cause pain or other side effects, which can also potentially prevent the associated atrial remodeling. Their proposed treatment is based on chemogenetics. This approach, which transformed neuroscience, utilizes inert drugs or designer molecules that have no effect on native host cells but can modulate the electrical properties of cells that are genetically modified to express specific chemogenetic receptors.
Prof. Yoav Schechner, from the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering and newly appointed head of the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion, was awarded an ERC Synergy Grant in 2018 for the CloudCT project, which aimed to map clouds using tomography inspired by medical CT imaging. In this project, he and his colleagues developed a technology to map clouds based on intelligent use of cameras sensitive to light polarization. Prof. Schechner’s group later discovered that technical challenges in calibrating these cameras hindered their performance and the application of their data in mapping. Under the newly awarded grant, he will develop a modular calibration system for such cameras, suited to practical environmental conditions. “We’re leveraging expertise we’ve gained in software development, optomechanics, and environmental control.”