Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SYMBIO-INC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding the mechanisms that control symbiotic incompatibility is fundamental to evaluate biological factors that delimit symbiosis on Earth and could help us to improve symbioses for practical applications. In terrestrial ecosystems, about 29% of vascular plants, including the plant model Arabidopsis, apparently lost or suppress their ability to host symbiosis with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, one of the most ancient and functionally important symbiosis on Earth. Yet, the molecular mechanisms that control this symbiotic incompatibility are largely obscure, which is limiting our ability to consistently predict the conditions that constrain AM symbiosis and to engineer new symbiotic partnerships. SYMBIO-INC addresses the challenging question of what are the key molecular constraints that prevent AM fungi from developing functional associations with land plants. Unlike traditional approaches, SYMBIO-INC will employ an interdisciplinary strategy focused on direct evidence with unprecedented emphasis on fungal traits during interactions with Arabidopsis plants differing in hosting phenotypes. Genotypic and molecular aspects will be evaluated for their potential to control Arabidopsis susceptibility to fungal colonization. The hypothesis that fungal nutrition is critical during incompatible interactions will be tested here for the first time. Finally, powerful transcriptomic tools will be employed to deliver a holistic overview of fungal molecular responses under different degrees of compromised symbiotic development. This horizon-broadening approach, combined with the maturity of our knowledge in the topic, supported by a robust set of new preliminary data, makes the proposed research a timely opportunity for paradigm shifting and high impact. Finally, SYMBIO-INC will allow the researcher to reinforce and further expand skills and expertise, create new collaborations, and forge a successful career aiming at a future tenure-track position.

Mots clés : arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi, common mycorrhizal network, symbiosis, non host, arabidopsis, incompatibility, molecular constraints, genotype, fungal nutrition, fatty acids, fungal transcriptome

Participants :
- Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166320.0 €
Projet KNOWN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Understanding the social networks of plants is essential for predicting their coexistence. For decades, intraspecific interactions were assumed to be purely competitive in nature. However, recent experimental evidence has demonstrated the existence of positive interactions for various wild plant species, wherein a genotype can recognize a conspecific, and cooperate to reduce competitive growth when growing with either their kin, or even an unrelated intra/con specific. My PhD research took this a step further by giving the first-ever evidence for the existence of both these types of positive interactions within the same plant species, varying between natural populations. To alter their competitive response, plants must have mechanisms to reliably distinguish the identity of their neighbors. The root systems are known to be critical for sensing and integrating signals that allow plants to perform elaborate behaviors similar to those of intelligent animals. Yet, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. This project aims to understand the direct or indirect role of root-secreted compounds in mediating neighbor perception and recognition in conspecific interactions. To do this, we will combine interdisciplinary approach at the interface of evolutionary ecology, chemistry, quantitative genetics, and microbiology Understanding how plants recognize each other is a crucial step in determining how competitive traits evolve in intraspecific plant-plant interacting systems, which has implications in both natural and agroecological contexts. Comprehending intraspecific recognition mechanisms can ultimately help illuminate the dynamics of natural plant populations and aid in predicting their resilience in the face of current and future global changes. More importantly, understanding this link between recognition and belowground plastic responses can be exploited to design efficient crop variety mixtures with high yield potential owing to cooperative interactions.

Mots clés : intraspecific interactions, recognition, cues, root exudates, trait plasticity, eco evolutionary genomics, gwa mapping, chemistry, microbiology, local adaptation, rhizobiome, interdisciplinary

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet USFAOD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding the soot formation processes, the wide variety of soot structures and their optical properties plays a highly important role in reducing the amount of soot emissions from combustion, monitoring soot aerosols in the atmosphere and estimating their climate impacts. Their nucleation mechanisms and the soot nuclei properties, at the transition between molecules and nanoparticles, remain poorly understood and these are extremely hot topics in current researches. This ambitious project is aimed to shed the light on the soot nucleation processes and the soot nuclei characteristics via to the development and the combination of several state-of-the-art techniques, which are suitable to both molecules and particles. The outcomes will permit to fill the gaps in the understanding of the still mysterious nanoparticles formation in incomplete combustion. These techniques will be in-situ Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight mass spectrometry, soot particle aerosol mass spectrometry, laser-induced fluorescence and laser-induced incandescence. The soot formation processes, from the soot molecular precursors to the mature soot nanoparticles, will be studied in the condensed phase (ex situ) after sampling and, in the frame of this project, an intense effort will be performed for their extensive study in situ, in the gas phase. The first and main target is to unveil soot nuclei properties and the phase transition in the inception zone, which are crucial for improving current models of soot nucleation. The second target is to progress decisively on the knowledge of the variety of optical and structural properties of soot, which are of high importance for combustion diagnostic in combustion reactors and for atmospheric science particularly because they are good proxies for primary black carbon aerosols. This proposal involves both training and transfer of knowledge and new techniques between the candidate and the host organization.

Mots clés : soot, soot formation, nucleation, combustion, raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, laser induced incandescence, laser induced fluorescence, laser diagnostics

Participants :
- Lund University (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 185857.2 €
Projet CAPPUCCINO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding the sources, chemistry, and optical properties of atmospheric aerosol is key for policy decisions to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change and improve air quality for human health. The anthropogenic sources and role of brown carbon, a type of secondary organic aerosol that exhibits increasing absorption at short UV wavelengths and therefore impacts secondary pollutants like ozone, remains an open question. In particular, residential home heating emissions, which contribute to poor wintertime air quality in northern European urban centres, are an understudied source of brown carbon. This study fills an important gap in our understanding of brown carbon by characterising UV (300 – 400 nm) absorption using the extinction-minus-scattering method based on two new instruments: a UV incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectrometer (IBBCEAS) measures optical extinction, and an innovative broadband nephelometer (BBNeph) measures scattering. Both instruments utilise state-of-the-art UV light sources. Measurements of the UV absorption of organic aerosol produced under controlled conditions in the Irish Atmospheric Simulation Chamber (IASC) identify oxidation pathways that produce brown carbon. Subsequent field studies in an urban centre improve our understanding of the local chemistry and fuel types responsible for brown carbon formation in the real atmosphere. This project combines the Fellow’s expertise in the field of aerosol scattering technology and the capabilities of the host institution, including the new IASC and cutting-edge IBBCEAS technology. The Fellow will significantly enhance her scientific skills and gain training across a wide range of complementary and transferrable skills. The implementation of the research is highly structured, with a clear timeline for successful completion of the project goals. The programme both fully prepares the Fellow for an academic career, and strengthens the research at the host institution.

Mots clés : aerosol optical properties, secondary organic aerosol, ultraviolet absorption, spectroscopy, cavity based techniques, atmospheric oxidation processes

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175866.0 €
Projet DENTALkeys (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Understanding the ways in which we relate to our fossil ancestors is fundamental to elucidating how modern humans evolved. Yet, after a century of investigations, there is still no consensus about relationships among some members of the genus Homo. Studies of enamel thickness have been at the centre of these debates. Teeth preserve well in the fossil record and enamel thickness is a trait that can contribute to taxonomic classification. Yet, we know very little about the cell mechanisms that generate variation in enamel thickness. Several of our fossil ancestors have enamel that is of similar thickness, though it formed with very different underlying developmental processes. The goal in this interdisciplinary project is to combine 3D and 2D microtomography, histology, and theoretical biology to identify links between enamel growth and thickness to reveal novel traits in our fossil ancestors that will contribute new classification knowledge to our understanding of human evolution. I will examine modern day samples and fossil samples spanning the past 2 million years from the genus Homo. I will use the knowledge I gain to re-examine existing debates about which fossils are, or are not, ‘human-like’ to provide novel insights into their classification. Results will be of interest to anthropologists, human biologists, archaeologists, as well as the general public. My project will provide novel information about human growth and development that will also be of interest to clinicians.

Mots clés : enamel thickness, enamel growth and development, hominin, modern human

Participants :
- University of Kent (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet darkBHgrowth (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Understanding what drives the interplay between active supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and galaxies is one of the most debated issues in modern Astrophysics. The feeding, feedback and cosmic growth of active galactic nuclei (AGN) must have been much more effective in the early Universe than today. Nevertheless, little is known on the high-redshift (z>3) SMBH growth, as this early epoch may coincide with intense star formation and obscured SMBH accretion, both unaccessible with current X-ray data. Moreover, no constraints on the role of mechanical AGN feedback in shaping galaxy growth exist at z>1. These issues point to a lack of understanding of the big picture of AGN-galaxy evolution. The proposed project hosted at CEA will clarify the link between SMBH growth, star formation, and AGN feedback since z~5. For this, I will exploit a stellar mass complete sample of 150,000 galaxies with exquisite multi-wavelength data obtained in the COSMOS field. The novel combination of the most sensitive IR-radio data, and state-of-the-art tools for spectral modeling, will allow me to derive dust-unbiased AGN and galaxy properties with unprecedented accuracy. I will push this analysis for the first time to z>3 galaxies and to highly obscured systems at any redshift. The main objectives of this comprehensive work are twofold: (1) to trace the hidden growth of SMBHs since z~5 in star-forming and quiescent galaxies; (2) to constrain the role of the host galaxy in triggering mechanical AGN feedback over cosmic time. These are crucial steps in determining how AGN feedback has shaped today's galaxies and SMBHs. One of the specific strengths of this proposal is that all the core data are already available, ensuring the achievement of the proposed goals. This innovative project will complement the existing expertise of CEA in physics of star formation, distant galaxies and numerical simulations, providing a unique opportunity for knowledge growth.

Mots clés : black holes, galaxy growth, high redshift, infrared, radio

Participants :
- Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet ADAPT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Unemployment represents a major societal problem in Europe, strongly related to increasing depression and anxiety rates and high economic costs. In line with European policies on mental health, enhancing resilience against the adverse effects of job loss is a timely priority. In ADAPT, I propose a novel framework and advanced methods to identify the psychological mechanisms (adaptation-based attention and emotion regulation processes) promoting adaptive coping after job loss and facilitating higher possibilities for re-employment. ADAPT is highly original and timely for current societal needs, providing: a) a novel framework beyond traditional approaches in the study of resilience, largely failing to provide successful mental health promotion deliverables; b) fine-grained analyses of adaptation-based mechanisms that can be easily targeted in future assistance protocols; c) integrative analyses of both positive and negative resilience outcomes typically studied in isolation; and d) analyses of dynamics at both short- (immediate daily functioning following layoff) and long-time scales (multi-wave follow-ups across the months following job loss), providing a whole view on the stress-resilience trajectories following unemployment that is lacking in former research. The proposal includes a well-defined program of two-way transfer of knowledge including high-quality training in new advanced techniques for the candidate. ADAPT represents an actual attempt to reach relevant stakeholders in the social assistance and mental health sectors to develop innovative programs of mental health’s promotion. The action will generate knowledge that can be ultimately used to develop interdisciplinary deliverables, including advanced e-tools for early detection of sources of conflict following job loss and guidelines for outplacement services on effective strategies and training protocols to promote adaptive functioning in unemployed seeking assistance.

Mots clés : unemployment, resilience, stress, depression, anxiety, well being, attention regulation, emotion regulation, reappraisal, rumination, coping

Participants :
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet urbanbird (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Urbanisation currently forms one of the most important threats to biodiversity. Urbanization involves a drastic change of the environment, which will require species to adapt. Studies have shown that animals in urban environments differ in their behaviour, morphology and physiology from those in rural environments. However, how these differences come about remains unclear. Individuals might be able to show plasticity in their behavioural response to the new environment. Alternatively, certain types of individuals might be more likely to move to cities, or certain individuals might be more successful there. Despite the attention on how urbanization has affected behavioural changes to the environment, the effect on intra-specific social behaviours has been neglected, despite its importance for fitness. Furthermore, the long-term consequences of urbanization for populations remain unknown. The proposed project aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of changes in social behaviours and the long-term population consequences. I will use the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as a model system, which although widespread in both urban and rural environments, has undergone extreme declines, particularly in European cities. Using a citizen science approach, combined with new experiments, the knowledge generated by this project will help predict the effects ongoing urbanization will have on species and biodiversity. During this interdisciplinary project I will exchange knowledge with experts in the field of conservation and applied ecology. The proposed fellowship will allow me to re-enter the European academic system and develop skills required to initiate my own effective research group following the project.

Mots clés : birds, survival, social behaviour

Participants :
- Radboud University Nijmegen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet NEWSENs (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Urbanisation is a significant worldwide trend that Smart City technologies aim to address through prolific smart sensing and intelligent actuation and control. However, the high battery replacement costs of wireless sensors impede innovation and long-term deployments. This project aims to alleviate this problem through a novel system architecture that is powered by cheap, renewable solar energy and that uses state-of-the-art radio frequency (RF) wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies. More specifically, this project will study the technical, practical, and economic aspects of eNergy nEutral Wireless SEnsor Networks (NEWSENs) that comprise of solar-powered central access points acting as RF-energy and information hubs serving a collection of RF-powered wireless sensor devices. The electromagnetic waves used to wirelessly communicate data information with the small electronic devices and sensors will therefore also be used to power them up through a rectification circuitry. When inter-connected, these wireless devices form networks capable of supporting various Smart City applications. To demonstrate this new system architecture, a proof-of-concept test-bed will be assembled and used to validate the project’s technical results and support further prototyping and commercial exploitation. This interdisciplinary effort will utilise advanced mathematical models, multi-objective optimisation algorithms, and renewable energy economics. The project will coordinate inter-sectoral (telecommunications and renewable energy) R&D at the KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence and the FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy, both of which operate under the University of Cyprus. These efforts will be further accentuated by an industrial secondment at RIO SYSTEMS, a fabless semiconductor company in Israel, thus enhancing EU competitiveness in green Smart City solutions and WPT technologies while expanding research collaboration with SMEs in neighbouring countries.

Mots clés : wireless power transfer, rf energy harvesting, stochastic geometry, photovoltaics, renewable energy, energy collection storage and distribution, smart cities, wireless sensor networks

Participants :
- University of Cyprus (Chypre) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 151648.8 €
Projet HELICITY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Urbanization is one of the most dramatic land-use changes caused by humans, combining habitat fragmentation and loss, pollutions and increased temperature. While it causes numerous population declines in many species, others persist or even thrive in cities, possibly through evolutionary changes. In this project, I will study how urbanization shapes multivariate phenotypic evolution in such an organism, including not only life-history traits, movement strategies/space use… but their association into integrated phenotypes. As a central point, I will explicitly consider the oft-neglected temporal heterogeneity/ history of the urbanization process, comparing new and older urban neighbourhoods to see under which conditions organisms can adapt to city life fast enough. Using snails as models, this Action will combine advances in small animal tracking, statistical analysis and data science with state-of-the-art evolutionary ecology, to not only explore the mechanisms behind observed changes, but also potential consequences for relevant aspects of ecosystem functioning. This project will increase our understanding of the ecological consequences of evolution in response to human-caused environmental changes, helping fill major knowledge gaps noted by the IPBES. Through outreach, it will increase community engagement with (urban) biodiversity. Finally, by merging two of my long-standing research lines in a common, integrated project, through the acquisition of new scientific skills and training in project management, it will favour my establishment as an independent leader in the field.

Mots clés : climate change, dispersal, functional ecology, quantitative genetics

Participants :
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166320.0 €