Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SYMOBLIGA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organisms across the tree of life form partnerships with microbes for protection, metabolic and nutritional benefits. Symbiont acquisitions have allowed hosts to colonise ecological niches that they would otherwise be excluded from, use previously inaccessible resources and capture novel forms of energy. In some cases, host and symbiont become so tightly associated that dependency evolves and the two organisms integrate both physically and genomically. Understanding how organisms combine to perform new metabolic functions and capabilities is key to understanding the evolution of biological complexity. However, most permanent symbioses are ancient and independent evolutionary events, making it difficult to gain information about how dependency evolves. The symbiont Serratia symbiotica has relatively recently transitioned to an essential nutritional role in at least one subfamily of aphids. We provide evidence that dependency on Serratia’s has evolved not once, but several times independently in different aphid lineages. This provides a unique opportunity to explore how symbionts integrate with hosts both genomically and physiologically during the early stages of evolving dependency. We will use a state-of-the-art cross-species comparative genomic analysis in combinations with molecular cytogenetic experiments to determine whether dependency on Serratia has evolved through the same or different genetic mechanisms in the different aphid lineages. First, we will establish a timeline of when each aphid lineage evolved dependency on Serratia. Second, we will identify symbiont genomic rearrangements, the timing of losses and integration of host and symbiont metabolic pathways. Third, we will determine how physical integration evolves. Our findings will provide important information on how microbes and hosts evolve shared metabolic pathways and whether dependency evolves through parallel or convergent processes.

Mots clés : endosymbiosis, mutualism, dependency, genome evolution, comparative phylogenomics, insects, microbes, aphids, serratia symbiotica, buchnera aphidicola

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet HowToBE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Organogenesis arises from the collective arrangement of cells into a progressively 3D shaped tissue. The acquisition of a correct shaped organ is a result of a complex interplay between molecular cues, responsible for differentiation and patterning, and the mechanical properties of the system, which generate the necessary forces that drive correct shape emergence. Therefore, it is important to understand how the cross talk between these two players leads to changes in cell behaviours and how these changes are translated into epithelial sheet movement and, consequently, to morphogenesis. This project aims to contribute to a global understanding of shape formation during organogenesis, by using the vertebrate retina as a model system. I will use the zebrafish optic cup, with its unmatched possibilities for in vivo 3D imaging and manipulation, to dissect the biomechanical events at single cell level, that collectively lead to shape emergence. I will then test if the identified crosstalk of morphogenetic events is kept in other time scales of optic cup formation, by studying a slower developing organism. Alongside with experimental approaches, a physical model of the mechanics and shape dynamics of OCF, based on the experimental data of morphological changes, will be generated and experimentally tested. The multidisciplinary approach of this project and the revealed mechanisms of OCF in 3D will have the potential to be applied in other morphogenetic studies of 3D curved tissues.

Mots clés : morphogenesis, eye development, quantitative biology, organogenesis, imaging, biomechanics, evolution of morphogenesis

Participants :
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 147815.04 €
Projet CitIndus (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Originally introduced by the Caribbean microstate St. Kitts and Nevis in 1984, the possibility of buying citizenship via citizenship-by-investment (CBI) schemes has more recently spread across the Caribbean and to Europe. This proliferation of CBI, the associated commodification of citizenship and migration, the increase in corporate political power and reworking of social inequality are of fundamental importance to Europe and global society. Yet, CBI has received scant scholarly attention and particularly the ‘Citizenship Industry’ – the corporations and industry bodies driving and profiting from CBI – remains largely unexamined. ‘CitIndus’ addresses these gaps. It will explore how corporations effectively created, skilfully perform and arguably control the global citizenship market; illuminate their role in the proliferation of CBI, in shaping global migration regimes and as increasingly influential intermediaries between governments and citizens. Examining the Citizenship Industry will also further our understandings of how citizenship mediates global and local social inequalities and how its commodification reworks these structures of inequality. CitIndus thus advances interdisciplinary social science on citizenship, migration and social inequality. It also meets growing calls to embed migration research more effectively within social theory and advances the conversation between cutting-edge postcolonial and political economy approaches. Methodologically, CitIndus takes the innovative approach of 'following’ the Citizenship Industry, synthesising complementary qualitative methods, including document analysis, interviews, participant observation and qualitative GIS. CitIndus will be supervised by two world-leading experts: Prof Torpey, an authority on citizenship and the state at CUNY, and Prof Jazeel, an authority on postcolonial geography and migration at UCL and its Migration Research Unit, a European hub for migration research.

Mots clés : citizenship, migration industries, postcolonialism, political economy, transnationalism

Participants :
- City University of New York (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 230416.32 €
Projet BABHY-CART (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Osteoarthritis (OA) is an incurable and painful disease. Over 70 million Europeans are currently affected by OA – a number that is set to increase with aging population and prevalence of obesity. To date, no clinically-efficient therapy exists to treat this socioeconomically debilitating disease. In this context, innovative regenerative therapies for joints are a pressing medical challenge. Intraarticular mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) injections hold the great promise of stopping and reversing age-associated inflammation and degeneration of joints by providing the necessary trophic factors to mitigate immune responses. However, translational progress using conventional cell delivery (saline) has been seriously hampered by the limited control over cell survival, location and fate in damaged joints. It is now common knowledge that cell microenvironment plays a crucial role in the success of cell transplantation; and appropriate synthetic matrix design is key to success. To address challenges in intraarticular MSC-based immunomodulation strategies, we have envisioned an original hydrogel-assisted cell therapy. In this strategy, an injectable hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel with long-lasting viscoelastic properties will allow MSC encapsulation and cytoprotection, ensuring the production of anti-OA soluble factors in vivo. To best mimic synovial environment and support MSCs in vivo, we will synthesize a novel boronic acid-based, self-healing HA hydrogel with unique properties of injectability, stability and fast relaxation under mechanical load. After carefully characterizing the physicochemical properties of this new class of biomaterials, we will investigate the effects of cell encapsulation on adipose stromal cell (ASC) survival, morphology and factor secretion. Then, the preclinical efficacy of intraarticular injections of cell-loaded, self-healing hydrogels will be confirmed in two complementary OA mice models.

Mots clés : cartilage, hydrogels, self healing, osteoarthritis

Participants :
- Nantes Université (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 74030.18 €
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 122677.66 €
Projet INFLA-AID (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our immune system provides a protective mechanism to control and eliminate elements from pathogenic microbes and toxic substances. Upon bacterial infection, our innate immune system initiates a pro-inflammatory response by activating the "inflammasomes". These multiprotein platforms activate caspase-1 to produce proinflammatory cytokines. An array of highly regulated inflammasome-mediated signalling pathways are identified. When the signalling pathway is hyperactivated, overproduction of the downstream cytokines provokes autoinflammatory diseases (AID). Recently, gain-of-function mutations in the NLRC4 inflammasome have been attributed for the manifestation of NLRC4-associated AID (NLRC4-AID). The clinical symptoms vary in these patients, except that the onset of life-threatening systematic inflammation begins at infancy. What is common amongst the NLRC4-AID patients is their limited response to IL-1b inhibitors typically administered for AID. I have joined the Lamkanfi lab to unravel the aetiology and pathogenesis of the NLRC4-AID. While the NLRC4 inflammasome has been vigorously studied at the molecular level, in vivo data are restricted to knock-out mouse models. Using the NLRC4-Flag knock-in mice, I will analyse in vivo NLRC4 protein levels and expression patterns to locate organs and cell types important for NLRC4-mediated inflammation. Next, NLRC4 mutant mice generated in the host lab will be used to identify how the hyperactivation of NLRC4 alters its signalling pathway and promotes AID. The role of downstream cytokine signalling will be assessed by breeding NLRC4 mutant mice to animals deficient in various immune components, which are available from the host institute. This study will provide first acumen into how an NLRC4 mutation causes an autoinflammatory disease, and will contribute to a better understanding of inflammasomopathies. By working closely with clinicians, we aim to mitigate the symptoms in patients with aberrant NLRC4 inflammasome activities.

Mots clés : nlrc4, inflammasomes, autoinflammatory diseases, disorders

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172800.0 €
Projet MultimodalCellTrack (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our inability to accurately monitor the biodistribution of transplanted cells is a major barrier to assessing the safety and efficacy of cell-based regenerative medicine therapies. To assess safety, it is important to know if cells have engrafted into non-target organs so that possible adverse effects can be monitored over time; and to assess efficacy, it is crucial to know what proportion of cells reach the target organ, for how long they persist, and whether they ameliorate injury. Various imaging technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bioluminescence imaging and photoacoustic imaging can be used for monitoring cellular biodistribution and assessing the effect of the cells on host organs and tissues, but no single technique provides high sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution, and functional and anatomical imaging. It is therefore necessary to combine several imaging approaches. The University of Liverpool is leading the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform Safety and Efficacy Hub. The hub includes all members of the supervisory team. The University has just inaugurated its new centre for preclinical imaging which brings together in a single place a unique suite of state of the art imaging modalities (including high field MRI and photoacoustic imaging). Building on her wide experience in the synthesis, functionalization and assembly of nano/micro-particles gained during her PhD with Irshad Hussain (Pakistan) and a Humboldt Fellowship with Wolfgang Parak (Germany), Sumaira Ashraf (the applicant) will prepare probes tailored for cell labelling and multimodal imaging. She will evaluate and optimize the properties of the probes following cell uptake (live cell imaging, magnetophoresis, etc) and finally test the most promising multimodal probes in mouse models of injury that are established within the UKRMP hub.

Mots clés : cell tracking, gold nanorods, super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, photoacoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, cell uptake, preclinical imaging

Participants :
- University of Liverpool (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet POP SCIENCE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our objective is to reach out to a large majority of the public who have not shown interest in science so far. We want to make them aware of the major breakthroughs in physics, astronomy and related applications of which they have heard from media worldwide, without understanding the profound implications on general knowledge and their spin offs on technology, as well celebrating the protagonists of these breakthroughs: researchers. We have chosen icons from modern culture – an innovative combination of poetry, art, theatre and consumers' gadgets (i.e. pop culture) – as communication vehicles, and a downtown trade center (including Geneva's FNAC) as a the venue. We will partner with a global consumer brand to support a pervasive awareness campaign. Poems inspired by recent discoveries in physics and astronomy, produced by famous poets and university students (selected through an international contest) from at least 6 European countries will be presented on Researchers Night. QR codes of the winning poems will be distributed on the night and subsequently in the subways of European capitals. The poets will have previously attended special seminars at CERN and other scientific laboratories about the new findings and thus be able to translate the scientific message in a concise and accessible language. Augmented reality, robots, QR-bar codes and explanatory video games,will be the highlight of a special tech section and a kids' corner, featuring CERN’s Marie Curie fellows, demonstrating these technologies and whom the public will "speed-date".Data used every day by the researchers to study the deepest secrets of nature will be transformed in visual art for interior decoration and become melodies played live by musicians and downloadable as smart phone tunes. At the POP- science café, the menu features liquid nitrogen ice-cream and a theatre show on quantum vacuum , where researchers and artists will be on stage, and talk to the public moderated by journalists.

Mots clés : popular science, particle physics, astrophysics, technological applications, music, poetry theatre, societal impact

Participants :
- Subway edizioni srl (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 95000.0 €
- European Organization for Nuclear Research (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 90000.0 €
- Origins (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 25000.0 €
Projet EXPLORATHON 2020 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our proposal builds on the success of EXPLORATHON in Scotland from 2014 to date and will deliver a blockbuster edition of the NIGHT across all of Scotland. We will engage with audiences in the main urban centres in Scotland as well as in hard to reach audiences in rural areas and geographically isolated communities in the Highlands and Islands. We will use our full expertise of marketing, social media and styles of engagement to mobilise our researchers and train them to engage with the public. We will use a variety of different styles of engagement from comedy to drama, to online and fun hands-on science experiments to enthuse the public about research and researchers. Working with key partners across Scotland we will showcase to secondary and upper primary aged school children the array of research careers that are on offer and bust myths about researchers.

Mots clés : public engagement with research, inspiring young minds, reaching new audiences, innovative engagement, promoting research careers

Participants :
- Heriot-Watt University (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 29923.0 €
- University of Glasgow (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 15375.0 €
- University of St Andrews (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 74222.0 €
- University of Strathclyde (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 8031.0 €
- University of Aberdeen (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 88341.0 €
Projet OutNorth (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

OutNorth will develop a novel periphery-centred approach to the growth of north-west Europe's capitalist urban centres (AD1400-1900) by examining their dependence on outland producers of cattle and dairy. Most studies of capitalism's rise have focused on urban-industrial 'cores' and their agricultural hinterlands, neglecting distant places like western Ireland and inner Scandinavia. Yet recent archaeological and palaeo-environmental fieldwork suggests outlands were once valuable and could sustain complex livestock-rearing systems. Focusing on south-west Ireland, OutNorth will build a multi-level approach which determines the active role of outland pastoralists in supplying NW Europe’s core areas with food - from their use of mountain pastures and (re)negotiation of community structures, to their trade and interaction with specific urban-industrial centres. It will accomplish this by integrating the results of recent archaeological surveys and environmental sampling with neglected historical evidence, GIS-based remote sensing and digital field survey. By basing its analysis in the landscape, OutNorth will challenge the assumption that peripheral farmers’ actions were dictated by 'the outside world'. It will show instead how socio-ecological factors shaped their engagement with markets, and in turn influenced growth in core areas. Comparative analysis in western Sweden will provide a means of testing this approach in a different socio-political and environmental context, ensuring replicability. OutNorth’s long-term view of farming will make a timely contribution to the EU’s strategy on sustainable food production. Having arranged a collaboration with a major new European Innovation Partnership on upland farming, the researcher will organise a series of community events to highlight the valuable biocultural heritage of pastoralism. Together, they will discuss how historical lessons on overgrazing and social change might be integrated into future land-use management.

Mots clés : historic landscape analysis, post medieval archaeology, upland archaeology, early modern ireland, north west europe, transhumance, rural economy, capitalism, historical ecology, biocultural heritage

Participants :
- Uppsala University (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191852.16 €
Projet EAR-DNA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Over 5% of the world population suffers from at least a moderate hearing loss (thresholds between 40-70 dB), which has pervasive effects on children’s academic performance or working adults’ professional life. Despite recent progress in hearing aid devices restoring speech intelligibility in quiet, understanding speech in noise remains a challenge for hearing-impaired (HI) individuals. Therefore, the present project aims to improve speech perception in noise in HI listeners by paving the way towards the development of neuro-steered hearing aids. To do so, we will use electroencephalography to investigate the neural correlates of three key factors underlying speech perception in noise: stream segregation, auditory attention and listening effort. They will be approached by means of neural entrainment, neural gain, and alpha oscillations, respectively. Although it is technically possible to simultaneously record the three measures, which would provide a comprehensive view on the neural processes underlying HI listeners’ difficulties in noise, it has not been done so far. Here, we will (i) first evaluate the effect of mild to moderate hearing impairment on stream segregation, auditory attention and listening effort in HI and normally-hearing (NH) young adults. Because hearing loss affects the development of auditory processing throughout childhood, this project will also aim to (ii) determine how neural processing of speech in noise develop in HI children. Last, based on the findings from (i) adults’ processing of speech in noise, we will explore the possibility to use neurofeedback (iii) to improve NH and HI listeners’ perception of speech in noise. The proposed project uses an innovative multidisciplinary perspective to tackle a remaining challenge in the field of auditory cognitive neuroscience. It will have significant impacts on general health (i.e. auditory rehabilitation) and language education (i.e. speech perception in noise in children).

Mots clés : neurophysiology, hearing loss, developmental science

Participants :
- École normale supérieure PSL (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173076.0 €