Three ESPCI researchers awarded ERC grants

ESPCI Paris is proud to announce that three members of the ESPCI community have been awarded the prestigious 2025 European Research Council (ERC)* Starting Grant. These grants, typically amounting to approximately 1.5 MEUR over five years, support early-career researchers in launching ambitious and innovative projects.

Ludovic Keiser

An ESPCI alumnus (129th graduating class) and former doctoral student, he is currently a CNRS research fellow at the Nice Institute of Physics (INPHYNI). A specialist in two-phase flow in confined spaces, his research lies at the intersection of fluid mechanics, microfluidics, and plant physics.

His ERC project, “EMBIOMO,” uses microfabricated artificial leaves inspired by the vascular system of plants to characterize the dynamics of gas embolisms, the air bubbles that block sap flow under water stress. He is studying how these embolisms propagate, branch out, or stop, depending on the network’s topology, its elasticity, and the flow rates, by combining imaging, biomimicry, and theoretical modeling.

Lauren Reynolds

Lauren Reynolds, who joined the CNRS in 2025, is a research fellow at the Brain Plasticity Laboratory (CNRS / ESPCI-PSL). She studies how experiences during adolescence shape neural circuits and influence behavior in adulthood, with a particular focus on the dopaminergic system involved in motivation, cognitive functions, and decision-making.

Her ERC project, “DeMARRe,” explores the impact of behaviors typical of adolescence, such as risk-taking, on brain maturation and subsequent resilience. Using an animal model, she is investigating whether the decision-making strategies of young mice determine their ability to adapt to stress or cognitive challenges in adulthood.

Pedro Mecê

As a CNRS research fellow at the Langevin Institute, Ondes et Images (CNRS / ESPCI-PSL), Pedro Mecê leads the “in vivo retinal imaging” research area using full-field optical methods.

His CIFRE thesis, conducted in collaboration with ONERA and Quantel Medical, focused on the development of an adaptive-optics-assisted retinal laser system. During his postdoctoral research, he pioneered retinal imaging using full-field temporal OCT. Since 2022, he has been developing innovative imaging techniques that combine wavefront shaping and image processing to identify new biomarkers.

His ERC project “MIRACLE-AD ” (Multi-modal Imaging for Retinal Analysis at Cellular Levels in Early Alzheimer’s Disease) aims to map, at the cellular level in humans, neurovascular coupling, the link between neuronal activity and blood supply, using two complementary approaches: full-field OCT imaging (neurons) and phase-contrast imaging (microvessels, red blood cells). The goal is to identify new early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, paving the way for noninvasive and highly accurate diagnoses.