Project description
Harnessing bio-inspired efficiency for sustainable AI
Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NeuroPORE project proposes a new approach to sustainable artificial intelligence by utilising biological nanopores as building blocks for neuromorphic computing. While modern AI faces significant energy challenges, these microscopic protein structures offer an efficient alternative due to their self-assembling nature and natural ability to mimic neural behaviours. The project aims to overcome current integration challenges by using advanced imaging to better understand how these pores function at a molecular level. Ultimately, NeuroPORE seeks to develop the first physical ionic neural network capable of learning directly within its own hardware. This interdisciplinary project aims to bridge the gap between biophysics and computer science to create biocompatible, high-performance computing systems.
Objective
Artificial intelligence is reshaping our world, but its progress carries an escalating energy crisis. Inspired by the brain’s unmatched efficiency, ionic neuromorphic computing offers a path to sustainable hardware, uniting biocompatibility, energy efficiency, multi-charge carriers, and scalability. Recent demonstrations of ionic memristors and reservoir computing show promise, yet devices remain difficult to reproduce and poorly integrated.
Biological nanopores offer a compelling solution: they are nanometer-scale, self-assembling, atomically uniform, and tunable by mutation. Their ability to display memristive or volatile rectifying behaviour positions them as natural candidates for neuromorphic hardware. However, the unresolved physical basis of their stochastic conductance gating remains a barrier for computation integration. To date, neither nanopores nor other ionic platforms have achieved true in-hardware learning or network-level computation.
NeuroPORE will address these gaps by two objectives: (1) combining advanced optical imaging with electrical and label-free-optical readouts to map nanopore assembly and gating with unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution. These insights will guide the design of nanopore-based neuromorphic nanofluidic devices, culminating in (2) the first proof-of-concept demonstrations of: a memristive crossbar, a minimal ionic ‘neuron’, and in-hardware learning of an ionic neural-network.
My expertise in single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, biophysics, and machine-learning analyses, provides the foundation to realise this vision. This fellowship will expand my skills into protein engineering, nanofluidics, and neuromorphic hardware design, while strengthening leadership, project management, and international collaborations. NeuroPORE will advance sustainable AI and open pathways to diagnostic and bioelectronic applications, positioning me to lead future interdisciplinary research at the physics–biology–computing interface.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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1015 Lausanne
Switzerland
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