Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet DUALITY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Traditional drug design strategy based on a single target has serious difficulties in developing new therapies for diseases such as cancer. Cancer is a very complex multi-genetic disease that involves multiple crosstalks between signaling networks. The use of cocktails of various anticancer agents interfering with different mechanisms has been the standard treatment to prevent the problems of resistance. An alternative approach is to design multi-target modulators, directed to different disease mechanisms. That is the approach we have chosen for this project, where we seek to design, synthesize and evaluate new dual agents based on the inhibition of three enzymes involved in the development and progression of tumor processes: HDAC1, CK2 and MMP2. CK2 is a serine / threonine kinase that is constitutively active and essential for cell viability. Its proliferative and anti-apoptotic properties create a favorable cellular environment for tumor progression and maintenance and, therefore, constitutes an interesting target for the treatment of cancer. Acetylation/deacetylation of histones is one of the epigenetic mechanisms that regulates gene expression. HDACs (histone deacetylases) remove acetyl groups from histones, inducing condensation of chromatin and, therefore, the repression of gene transcription. For this reason, they are considered key targets to reverse aberrant epigenetic changes associated with cancer. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), also called matrixins are another family of Zn-dependent enzymes. Our research group has extensive experience in the design and synthesis of inhibitors of MMP2 provided with high activity and, more importantly, high selectivity over other metalloproteinases. The design of multi-target modulators will be carried out making use of computational techniques and based on the previous experience of the group in the design and synthesis of inhibitors of these three targets through a fragment based process.

Mots clés : hdac, enzyme inhibitors, drug design, synthesis

Participants :
- Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet CEGUM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Traffic hotspots in Europe are expected to generate over 203 billion Euro of economic cost by 2025. Traffic congestion in cities raises serious concerns on the level of CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and discomfort to drivers due to prolonged travel time and large idle time behind the red lights. Unnecessary acceleration and deceleration towards traffic junctions can also highly contribute to extensive use of fuel, increase in emissions and engine and brake wear. Current traffic signal control approaches are not adequate for tackling the problem because they focus on traffic flow efficiency and disregard the individual drivers’ interests. The aim of this project is to develop a method that does not only coordinate all the traffic signals in an urban network, but also takes the vehicle speeds in to account and effectuates a coordination between the traffic lights and vehicle speeds alike. Such a coordination will make the most of the infrastructure and technological developments for reaching an efficient, eco-friendly, and safe urban mobility. Due to the complexity and stochastic nature of the traffic system, the coordination problem will be addressed by integrating model-based distributed control techniques with reinforcement learning-based algorithms. Comprehensive analysis and benchmarking will be performed to obtain a complete evaluation of the idea and prove its effectiveness in improving urban mobility with respect to different indices like fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and number of stops. Adaptive cruise control systems already installed in a large number of cars in European countries. Automakers are announcing the marketing of autonomous cars in the coming years. Soon European cities should be ready to make the most of these technological developments to provide more efficient, cleaner and safer urban mobility and this project is a strong step towards this direction.

Mots clés : traffic signal control, vehicle speed control, distributed model predictive control, reinforcement learning

Participants :
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 214158.72 €
Projet STAR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Trailing-edge flows arise in many technological applications, such as aircraft wings in aeronautics and mixing devices in chemical engineering. Two important and fundamental processes take place near the trailing edge, namely the acoustic radiation and receptivity, which refer to generation of sound by fluctuations within the flows and excitations of instability waves by ambient disturbances, respectively. This project will investigate (a) generation of instability waves in the wake as free-stream acoustic and vortical disturbances impinge on the trailing edge; (b) radiation of sound when Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves in the upstream boundary layer propagate through and interact with the trailing-edge flow. Both processes will be analysed mathematically by developing a Local Scattering Theory, which we recently proposed as an appropriate framework for describing the coupling of distinct characteristic motions in a region of strong inhomogenuity. Furthermore, with radiation and receptivity being described properly, we will move on to investigate the so-called acoustic feedback loops, in which instability waves and acoustic waves are generated from each other, leading to self-sustained oscillations. First-principle theories will be developed to predict the intensities as well as the tones (frequencies) of the oscillations. As receptivity, acoustic radiation and acoustic feedback loops are fundamental processes closely related to drag on the wing, jet and airframe noise and mixing of reactants, the present project is of high practical relevance. From the methodology point of view, this project will combine sophisticated asymptotic methods with highly accurate numerical computations, enabling us to tackle a greater range of complex problems, for which numerical or analytical method alone would be inadequate.

Mots clés : fluid dynamics, aeroacoustics, receptivity, trailing edge

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet smTI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Translation initiation is a key step in the regulation of protein synthesis and is regulated by at least 12 different initiation factors in eukaryotes (eIFs). However, the underlying dynamics of this process remain unclear. I propose to develop a single-molecule live-cell imaging method that can be broadly applied to study the dynamics of translation initiation on individual mRNAs in human cells. The aim of the project is to visualise the binding and release of eIFs and ribosomal subunits on single mRNA molecules in real-time during translation initiation. This method, combined with imaging the synthesis of a nascent polypeptide on a single mRNA, will address the role of dynamic eIFs assembly in heterogeneous mRNA translation events, such as translational bursting and start site selection. The project will uncover the real-time dynamics of translation initiation, reveal the key mechanism of translation regulation, and provide a powerful and generally applicable method to study translation initiation and other RNA-binding protein interactions with mRNAs. The project will be developed with a leading research group for translation imaging. I introduce single-molecule imaging techniques that would facilitate new research in the group and enable transfer of ideas. The project will expand my research experience, skills, and professional networks, thereby enhancing my career development as an independent researcher.

Mots clés : mrna translation, single molecule

Participants :
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 187572.48 €
Projet OptoNanoFlow (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Transport of fluids and ions confined at the nanoscale strongly deviates from the continuum description of hydrodynamics. These exotic nanofluidic properties take their roots in the combination, at the nanoscale, of physical phenomena such as charge effects, fluctuations or fluid slippage. Such effects can be harvested for applications such as desalination, blue-energy production, or ultrafiltration for healthcare. Recently, it has been discovered that beyond the chemical reactivity of interfaces, the electronic properties of the confining materials also strongly modify nanofluidic transport. The aim of this project is to understand the molecular nature of these couplings happening at the mesoscale, where the atomic scale of electronic properties meets the bulk scale of the continuum and classical physics of electrolytes. This requires to develop new experimental tools to go beyond the state-of-the-art techniques mainly based on current measurements. Indeed, despite their precision, they only quantify charge transport regardless of the species involved and cannot distinguish water/surface (slippage) from ion/surface interactions (surface charge). To disentangle these effects, we will use new fast nonlinear optical techniques to reveal the molecular nature of the couplings inside channels (nanotubes and 2D channels) made of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and graphite. These twin materials will allow us to probe the electronic nature of the couplings: indeed, they share the same crystallographic structure but differ by their electronic properties (insulator versus conductor). We will focus in particular on two objectives: (i) developing a label-free (pump-probe) method able to measure nanoflows in situ and using it to study the effects of ion density, walls’ electronic properties and channel geometry (1D, 2D) on water slippage, and (ii) using Sum Frequency Generation spectroscopy to identify the nature of the surface charge of graphene and hBN interfaces.

Mots clés : nanofluidics, water transport, nanotubes, ionic transport

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 265115.52 €
- The University of Tokyo (Japon) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet VTAX (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Transport remains a challenge, it is responsible of around 30% of global energy consumption and one of the major source of global pollution. Vehicles remain the dominant source of transport emissions and are responsible for 15% of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions. A clear paradigm shift is needed to initiate the transition from fossil fuel-based driving towards mobility based on renewable resources, in particular towards electrification of transport through mass market take-up of BEVs. There are a number of technological burdens that need to be solved first, it will take another 5-7 years before these limitations are really solved to become competitive with ICEs. Hence, the reason for this project: re-thinking of road taxation systems starting from alternative inputs, including micro-mobility and SDGs as the main driver, to identify short(er) term solutions towards the initiation of a real transition and to prepare a smart, suitable and solid taxation system. The role of taxes is important to support the transition towards a fair green mobility. Transport taxation is a broad topic and this research is focused on vehicle taxation including all taxes connected to vehicles registration, purchase, ownership and use. This choice reflects also the new needs created by the pandemic: transport models and car industry are in crisis. Due to the crisis, a momentum is created to accelerate the shift from fossil fuel to BEV driving, including a re-thinking of the vehicle taxation system. The overall objective of VTAX is to develop the fundaments for a new Mobility Taxation System, based on SDGs and alternative modes of electrified transport. The fellowship will last 24 months and will be carried out in Universidad San Pablo CEU (Madrid, Spain) with a secondment of 4 months at the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

Mots clés : vehicle taxation, sdgs, road transport, fiscal policy, shared mobility, micro mobility

Participants :
- Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet ION-QNET (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Trapped ions are promising candidates as qubits. However, their scalability for quantum information processing (QIP) remains challenging. A route to address this issue relies on quantum networks (QN), in which material qubits held at separate locations (nodes) exchange quantum information via photons. The QN architecture can also be used to transfer quantum information over long distances, and as the basis for a quantum simulator. We propose to realize a two-node QN based on ions and cavity quantum electrodynamics. At each node, photons and ions interact via a high finesse cavity, allowing coherent transfer of information. Our QN will consist of two nodes separated by 8 meters and connected by a 15 meter long optical fiber. A first node is already built and working, based on a cavity operating in the intermediate coupling regime. The second node is under development and should reach the strong coupling regime, which has not yet been observed with a single ion. Our approach relies on a high-finesse cavity with a small mode volume, defined by the shaped and coated facets of two optical fibers. This fiber cavity is integrated with a miniaturized linear ion trap. The fellow will first develop and optimize the fiber-cavity setup to demonstrate the strong coupling regime. Then he will implement at this node a toolbox of quantum communication protocols. Finally he will interconnect both nodes and test the resulting QN with fundamental protocols: entanglement of two distant ions heralded by the detection of photons, and transfer of a quantum state from one ion to the other. Such a proof-of-principle ion-based QN represents a building block for more complex architectures, reinforcing and securing the European Union’s leadership in strategic research areas like QIP, quantum communication, quantum simulation and metrology.

Mots clés : cavity qed, quantum network, trapped ions

Participants :
- Universität Innsbruck (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166156.8 €
Projet Newron-TBI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people representing a major public health concern, however, treatment options are limited. Even after mild TBI many individuals suffer from long term neuropsychological impairments such as memory loss and learning deficits. We hypothesize that some of the observed impairments are related to the alterations in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN), the life-long capability of the hippocampus to generate new neurons from neural stem cells (NSCs). Alterations in AHN lead in turn to modifications of neuronal circuits and behavior. The hippocampus is essential for learning, memory consolidation and mood control and is highly vulnerable to TBI. We propose that the population of NSCs and the process of AHN is significantly altered, which might account for some of the symptoms associated with TBI. We hypothesize that TBI induces long term changes in, both NSCs and in differentiating neurons (inducing “aberrant” neurogenesis). As a result the electrophysiological properties of newborn and preexistent neurons in the hippocampal circuitry are changed, altering brain functioning. Proposed research is aimed at examining on how altered NSCs and “aberrant” neurogenesis impacts hippocampal neuronal activity after TBI. In proposed study we will combine neuron activity modification, quantitative neuroimaging anlysis and intracellular patch-clamp recordings in order to evaluate the effects of TBI on NSC proliferation, immature neuron number, and electrophysiological properties of post – TBI born neurons once they fully mature. We believe that the proposed research will contribute to better understanding the pathophysiology of TBI and that has the potential to help develop novel therapeutic strategies, targeting NSCs and newborn neurons, to improve the outcome of the millions of people impacted by TBI each year. The applicant will emerge from the project with new skills, and the experience to launch her own research group in the future.

Mots clés : adult neurogenesis, traumatic brain injury, electrophysiology, neural stem cells, dentate gyrus, functional neuronal integration, hippocampal circuitry, transgenic mice, dreadds, neuroimaging

Participants :
- Basque Government (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet TraumiR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Traumatic stressors are important and prevalent risk factors for psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People differ strikingly in their susceptibility to develop PTSD after traumatic stress, however the exact underlying biological mechanisms of differential susceptibility are unknown. The identification of biomarkers that distinguish between persons at high and low risk of developing PTSD following trauma exposure would enable more effective preventive strategies and early interventions. Epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed to underlie the relationship between exposure to traumatic stress and the susceptibility to develop PTSD. Recent work carried out by the host laboratory demonstrated that DNA methylation might regulate the impact of traumatic stress on gene expression and ultimately brain function. Based on this and the emerging role of miRNA as key epigenetic players in psychiatric disorders, I hypothesize that (i) susceptibility to traumatic stress exposure is associated with distinct miRNAs expression profiles with blood-brain correlation, (ii) experimental manipulation of miRNA expression levels in animals alters their susceptibility to traumatic stress. These hypotheses will be tested by a unique set of epigenetic epidemiological studies using prospective cohorts with longitudinal sampling schemes of military soldiers deployed to war, next to experimental animal studies. The proposed multidisciplinary and translational project will open the possibility of tapping into the mechanisms underlying differential susceptibility to traumatic stress through blood profiling. It has excellent prospects for yielding clinically relevant and usable biomarkers for the prediction of susceptibility to traumatic stressors. Moreover, the project will reinforce my foundation as a highly promising early career researcher by broadening my knowledge, skills, professional experience and network necessary to launch my own research group.

Mots clés : epigenetics, mirna, post traumatic stress disorder, neurobiology, translational

Participants :
- Maastricht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet MultiSpecAMYLOID (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s syndrome, is one of the biggest challenges of nowadays medicine. The success of the curing strongly depends on our understanding of chemical processes involved in developing these diseases. From a chemical point of view, these diseases are determined by uncontrolled neuropathological alterations such as aggregation of proteins and formation of insoluble fibrils, called amyloids. It is of paramount importance to fully understand the fibril formation on a molecular level in order to find ways how to inhibit the protein aggregation. In the proposed research we focus on the aggregation of Aβ peptide, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Although substantial knowledge on the aggregation process of Aβ peptide in the bulk solution exists, the influence of the cell membrane on this process is poorly understood due to the lack of surface specific techniques. Here we propose to study the aggregation of Aβ peptide at the surface of model lipid membranes with advanced surface specific spectroscopic methods: vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) and shell-isolated nanoparticles-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). Such combined spectroscopic approach will enable to determine the molecular structure of the aggregates at every step of the fibril formation and to reveal the role of the membrane. Altogether the proposed research will give relevant insights by which membrane and various co-solutes promote the aggregation process. The candidate, Dr. S. Strazdaitė has returned to her home country after PhD studies in the Netherlands. She is currently employed as a senior research fellow in the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) at Prof. Gediminas Niaura group. The researcher will bring a valuable experience of surface specific spectroscopy to FTMC and during the proposed project she will acquire new knowledge and will reach an independent scientific maturity.

Mots clés : amyloid, fibrils, sum frequency generation spectroscopy, surface enhanced raman spectroscopy

Participants :
- Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (Lituanie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 130779.6 €