A fundamental philosophical question is whether the mind can be mechanised. Attempts to answer it so far have been inconclusive; I argue that with the tools of mathematical logic this question can be sharpened and addressed in a framework where genuine progress can be achieved. I will consider a disjunctive thesis proposed by Gödel (known as Gödel's Disjunction) as a precise version of this question. Once sharpened, the question becomes whether a Turing machine (an idealised computer) can output exactly the statements that are 'absolutely provable'—i.e. the mathematical statements that can be proved in principle by an idealised mathematician not bound by limitations of time and cognitive resources. Gödel's Disjunction states that either the powers of the human mind exceed those of a Turing machine, or there are true but unprovable mathematical statements—i.e. mathematical statements that are beyond the reach of human reason.
My proposed research will provide a novel account of 'absolute provability' or 'provability in principle' by developing a formal framework that overcomes the philosophical and technical shortcomings of the previous approaches. Having formulated the correct framework for absolute provability and uncovered its underlying mechanisms, I will be able to determine the status of Gödel’s disjunction. This will shed considerable light on the question of whether mind can be mechanised, a question central to philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence, and on the scope and limits of mathematical knowledge.

Neurodegeneration is a major health concern affecting millions of individuals in Europe, with this number constantly increasing as population ages. A cure for this spectrum of conditions is still missing, in part due to differences between available experimental models and human pathophysiology. My aim is to develop an in vitro 3D brain tissue model that combine the major brain cell types (obtained from human induced pluripotent stem cells - iPSCs) also including vascular cells, for better resembling the human brain. Currently, the available in vitro 3D brain tissue models lack a functional vasculature with brain-specific features, thus limiting the possibility to study (vascular-related) pathophysiology. Transplantation is still the only strategy leading to an extensive and functional vascularization of 3D brain models. I will combine -omics technologies for optimizing the vascularization of 3D brain tissue models. First, I will investigate whether factors released by iPSC-derived neurons and their precursor cells can promote vessel formation by the endothelium. Second, I will determine which changes occur in 3D brain tissue models upon transplantation compared with in vitro culture. I will then reproduce the identified drivers of this process for obtaining a fully in vitro vascularized 3D brain tissue model, without the need for transplantation. Finally, I will show that the manipulation of this vascularized 3D models allows for studying the vascular contribution to mechanisms of neurodegeneration and for evaluating possible intervention strategies. The optimization of in vitro vascularized 3D brain tissue models will facilitate reducing costs and number of experimental animals. Also, their ease of manipulation and high-throughput will facilitate mechanism investigation and drug screening. Altogether, the MSCA fellowship will allow me to work on a relevant project while building critical skills for continuing my career as an independent researcher.

Homeostatic platelet counts are crucial for vascular integrity and vital to life. Megakaryocytes (MEKs) are giant hematopoietic cells forming large protrusions that fragment to constantly replenish the circulating platelet pool. Nevertheless, severe blood loss, sepsis and aggressive cancer therapies, often cause critically low platelet levels - a major public health problem in Europe's aging population. Despite the unmet clinical need to control platelet production, there is a major lack of knowledge about the mechanistic cell biology of MEKs, hampering the development of innovative therapies. MEKanics will go beyond the state of the art and proposes a combined cell biological and biophysical approach to study MEKs in physiological tissue environments to uncover the mechanical principles that drive platelet formation. I will use quantitative microscopy to characterize cytoskeletal dynamics of MEKs confined in 3D environments of controlled adhesiveness, geometry and stiffness to reveal the mechanisms of force generation and transmission critical for MEK protrusion formation. Further, I will explore how protrusion mechanics affect cytoplasmic transport and partitioning of organelles required for functional platelets. Using super-resolution intravital imaging, I will investigate these processes in their physiological bone marrow niche. By integrating scRNAseq and live-cell microscopy, I will map morpho-dynamics with transcriptomics to identify the gene signature initiating protrusion formation of MEKs in response to mechanical stimuli. A novel MEK cell-system with optimized access to genetic manipulations will allow high-throughput screening of candidate genes. Together, the unique combination of genetics, engineering, quantitative microscopy and intravital tools will provide a holistic cell mechanical model of MEKs in 3D tissues paving the way for new therapeutic approaches to control platelet formation and to advance devices for large-scale platelet production.

The problem: 119 billion EUR worth of counterfeit and pirated goods were sold in the EU in 2022 (Europol/EUIPO). Counterfeiting of goods remains a challenge for our society, increasingly so in a globalised world with long supply chains. Concurrently, the market for sensitive goods, such as medicine has also increased, further exemplifying the need for anti-counterfeit measures. The WHO estimates ~ 100,000 children under five die annually from taking counterfeit pneumonia medication. Current anti-counterfeit measures include tamper-proof seals, security numbers, RFID tags, colour-shifting inks as well as holograms etc.. However, current strategies to prevent counterfeiting of authentic goods are proving inadequate. The lack of a simple and robust way of verifying the authenticity of a product is causing economic and human harm. Simply put, the features in current physical authentication tags are clonable. The solution: We propose first steps towards the commercialization of nanotechnology-based unclonable physical tags which can be attached to product packaging and authenticated via a 3D-printed portable microscope. This will result in cheap, reliable and fool-proof encryption AND cheap, reliable and fool-proof decryption. Our work, having advanced in the past years from a visionary idea to a prototype, offers an anti-counterfeit packaging solution and can become a part of the supply chain logistics in industries from pharmaceuticals to luxury goods and even for currency.