EURECOM is proud to announce that Prof. Maria A. Zuluaga, from the school’s Data Science department, has been awarded the prestigious Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This €2 million grant, distributed over five years, will support her groundbreaking project CARAVEL, which aims to revolutionize the analysis of neurovascular images at multiple scales using fundamental AI methodologies developed at EURECOM. Collaborating with neurologists and researchers from King's College London and Nice University Hospital, the ambitious project is set up for success, enhancing EURECOM’s leading role in artificial intelligence, including for medical applications.
Advancing neuroscience with CARAVEL
The CARAVEL project seeks to develop the first population-level multi-resolution spatiotemporal atlas of the ageing vascular architecture of the brain. By addressing the critical methodological challenges in extracting, modelling, and analyzing the brain vessel tree, CARAVEL promises to unlock new insights into the mechanisms of ageing and neurological diseases onset. This initiative leverages cutting-edge advancements in AI, computer vision, statistics, and medicine to map cerebral blood vessels with unprecedented precision, robustness and reproducibility.
CARAVEL’s openly accessible atlas and tools will empower the scientific community to explore new hypotheses, gain deeper insights into the neurovascular system, and better understand its interaction with the brain. The project’s broader impacts include accelerating health research, uncovering vascular contributions to diseases, and shaping new clinical applications for society’s benefit.
AI for brain health
CARAVEL will enable physicians and researchers to test hypotheses about the brain’s vascular network, contributing to innovations in diagnostics, treatment, and preventative medicine. Its focus on creating reproducible and robust methodologies ensures that the tools developed will have lasting and scalable benefits for both research and clinical practice.
Professor Maria A. Zuluaga explains the significance of CARAVEL: “Despite huge progress in brain research, much about the brain’s vascular system remains a mystery. With CARAVEL, we aim to shed light on this hidden architecture and its role in health and disease. This ERC grant gives us the resources to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
Recognition for EURECOM and Sophia Antipolis
David Gesbert, Director of EURECOM, highlights CARAVEL’s alignment with the institution’s mission: “We are thrilled to see Maria’s vision materialize into a project of this scale. CARAVEL reflects EURECOM’s dedication to combining cutting-edge research with impactful societal contributions. It also strengthens our role in training future engineers through exposure to school projects in the rapidly growing field of AI for health.”
About Maria A. Zuluaga
Maria A. Zuluaga joined EURECOM in 2019 and, since 2021, she is also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at King’s College London. Her academic journey spans electronic engineering, computer science, and signal and image processing, with BSc and MSc degrees from Universidad del Valle and Universidad de los Andes, respectively, in Colombia, and a PhD degree from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France). Before EURECOM, she had a brief experience as a researcher in industry and was a Senior Research Associate at University College London.
Maria’s work is an inspiration for young women in STEM, showcasing that scientific innovation is accessible and essential for addressing global challenges. As a research chair holder at the Institut 3IA Côte d'Azur, she actively fosters AI research in France while inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists.
Contact Information
For further details on CARAVEL and EURECOM’s research initiatives, please reach out to:
Prof. Maria A. Zuluaga
Professor, Data Science Department, EURECOM
