Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet RISH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Early cancer diagnosis greatly increases the chances for successful treatment and personalised therapy. RNA molecules have emerged as new candidate biomarkers for detecting a wide variety of cancers, due to their critical role in cell growth and development. In situ hybridization techniques for mRNA detection provide detailed spatial and temporal information on RNA expression with single-molecule sensitivity, however the traditional techniques that utilise fluorescence probes and quantum dots lack of high multiplexing capabilities. RISH seeks to develop a methodology that allows sensitive multiplex detection, quantification and distribution of cellular mRNA biomarkers utilising surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) nanoparticle (NP) labels. SERS NP-labels consist of metal nanoparticles modified with a self-assembled monolayer of Raman reporters and are sensitive and robust labels that offer great multiplexing capacity. Molecular beacon hybridization probes specific to mRNA targets will be conjugated to SERS NP-labels to allow optical detection utilising Raman microscopy in human cancer tissue sections. The mRNA expression levels will be correlated with those from fluorescence in situ hybridization and the respective protein expression levels after immunohistochemistry. The research proposal is highly multidisciplinary and includes aspects of spectroscopy, optics, biochemistry, nanotechnology and pathology. The research fellow plans to work closely with experts from both the hospital and the industry to apply this methodology in the diagnosis of initially breast cancer and of different types of cancer at a later stage.

Mots clés : surface enhanced raman spectroscopy, raman, tissue, mrna, nanoparticles, cancer, imaging, in situ hybridization, fluorescence, biomarkes, microscopy, biosensor

Participants :
- University of Duisburg-Essen (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet PEARLE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are increasingly seen as holding the promise of promoting more equal life chances for children by supporting their development and encouraging parental employment. Research shows that ECEC can fulfil such potential, as long as provision is of high quality and reaches the most disadvantaged children. Yet there is ample evidence that disadvantaged children are less likely to attend ECEC institutions. When they do, they are enrolled into settings with lower quality and/or settings catering mostly to other children from disadvantaged families. This latter aspect, relating to settings’ composition, is rarely investigated, but the few existing studies suggest that disadvantaged children “do better in settings with a mixture of children from different social backgrounds”. This research project seeks to offer new evidence on the composition of ECEC settings, to explore the drivers of different levels of concentration of disadvantaged children, and to measure the impact of such levels of concentration on child development. The composition of ECEC settings will be measured in relation to migration status, a salient dimension of educational disadvantage in several European countries. The project focuses on the specific case of Germany, where ECEC attendance varies markedly in relation to both socio-economic status and place of residence. The analysis will draw on different data sources, combining survey data on children and the ECEC they attend with information at a highly disaggregate regional level in order to account for the neighbourhood context in which families live. By combining three levels of analysis – families, ECEC settings, and neighbourhoods – the study develops an multilayered approach which will enrich the child development literature on ECEC services as well as our understanding of educational disadvantage. The findings will strengthen evidence-based knowledge in policy making and service provision in Europe.

Mots clés : early childhood education and care, peer effects, migration, longitudinal data

Participants :
- Leibniz Association (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet Visual Proteomics (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Early detection of severe malignancies such as cancer is the most effective way to increase patient survival, but early diagnosis and prediction of treatment outcome critically depend on disease-specific biomarkers. However, molecular and cellular disease heterogeneity provide a ubiquitous and unresolved challenge to this important task, and therefore impede any attempt to develop personalized therapies. Past and current approaches provide “averaged” descriptions of the tumor composition and have shown very limited success to identify biomarkers. This is likely due to the failure of these methods to identify the critical disease promoting cell populations within the tumor. Therefore, I will develop a new workflow that exploits automated microscopic image acquisition and artificial-intelligence-guided image analysis to identify specific cell populations in patient samples. These cells are then individually isolated by laser microdissection, followed by high-sensitivity proteome profiling, to identify proteins that define the identity of individual cells in a given tumor and thus represent the most promising biomarker candidates. To apply my approach to wide array of diseases, I will optimize it for archival biobank tissues (FFPE), the most common form of solid tissues in pathology. Applied to FFPE samples, my approach will allow me to perform both prospective and retrospective studies, correlate disease state and tissue morphology to protein expression and clinical outcome, and map tumor heterogeneity with unprecedented resolution. To achieve this, I will receive world-class training in cutting-edge microscopy and machine learning techniques in my host laboratory, which I complement with my expertise in high-sensitivity proteomics. My new pipeline will offer a highly fertile ground for new biomarker discoveries, inspire and stimulate collaborative research within and outside the host institute and allow me to establish a highly competitive niche for my future career.

Mots clés : automated laser microdissection, image based single cell isolation, cancer tissue proteomics, high content microscopy

Participants :
- University of Copenhagen (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet STressD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Early-life stress can reduce the lifespan of individuals and recent work shows that this lifespan reduction can be transmitted to reproductive partners. However, the mechanisms that allow early-life stress to damage the health of individuals that did not experience early-life stress themselves have been little studied. The overall aim of this proposal is to examine how the negative effects of early-life stress on longevity are transmitted to social partners, with focus on the neuroendocrine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The research objectives are: 1) To determine whether partners become hormonally and behaviourally similar to early-life stressed individuals; 2) To determine whether early-life stressed individuals adversely affect the health of their reproductive partners by ineffectively buffering their partners against stress; 3) To examine whether being paired to a partner that has experienced early life stress influences immune function, oxidative stress, and telomere loss. The experienced researcher will be trained by the host in adopting a life history approach to early-life stress and parental care and learn new skills in several areas of physiology and molecular biology to carry out these objectives. She will be trained to combine studies at different biological levels ranging from the molecular to the individual. This training will enhance the experienced researcher’s knowledge in different biological domains and greatly enhance her chances of starting her own independent research group in the EU.

Mots clés : early life stress, glucocorticoids, hpa axis, oxidative stress, telomeres, life history strategy, social affiliative behaviour, parental care

Participants :
- University of Glasgow (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet ViBRheo (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Early-stage diagnosis and continuous non-invasive monitoring of coagulopathies is a challenging problem that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, viscoelastic characterisation of the whole blood and plasma represents an excellent diagnosis approach, incorporating implicitly several molecular factors. However, a careful interpretation of coagulation abnormalities and adaptation of the techniques to the new disease is needed. ViBRheo aims to construct a novel computational multiscale framework able to detect alterations in blood rheology during clot formations. The framework will account for variations of viscometric properties at clinically-relevant conditions, whereas incorporating large memory effects related to coagulation kinetics from the microscales. Our goal is to translate research models into clinical applications. Thus, facilitating the virtual calibration and the design of microfluidic devices to extract microstructural features of blood undergoing clotting. Additionally, ViBRheo will potentially lead to the definition of mechanistic biomarkers for early detection and easier monitoring of acute coagulopathy on COVID-19 patients. ViBRheo will count on the support of an interdisciplinary team, with broad expertise on medicine, modelling, engineering, physics, and applied mathematics. Furthermore, it will promote theoretical/experimental exchange on hemorheological results. The development of a computational tool is in line with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It facilitates early response to unprecedented diseases with broad applicability in coagulation disorders, beyond the current COVID19-related coagulopathies.

Mots clés : multiscale modeling, thrombus formation, rheology, covid19, heterogeneous multiscale, blood, sdpd

Participants :
- Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet iEcoH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Earth system models (ESM) are widely used to predict future climate and inform policy (e.g. IPCC). Recent research suggests that ESM do a poor job predicting future climate because they exclude microbial biogeochemical cycling and soil heterogeneity (e.g. texture), which affect the climate system. As an ecosystem ecologist with a strong background in microbial drivers of biogeochemistry, my primary goal is to use data from a robust global study measuring the effect of climate change on ecosystem processes to enhance the next generation of ESM making them more accurate and relevant to global policy. To achieve this goal I have developed key collaborations. Dr. H. Lee is an expert ecological modeler with an interest in enhancing ESM. NorESM is a leading ESM developed in Norway and used in many international modelling programs e.g. IPCC. Dr. A. Classen manages a 10 site global network measuring the ecosystem level impacts of warming. Dr. W. Wieder has initiated the development of the Microbial Mineral Carbon Stabilization (MiMiCS) model, which considers microbial drivers and soil heterogeneity; however this module requires verification and integration into ESM. My objectives are to (1) Train at the with Dr. Lee and develop ESM simulations for our 10 sites, (2) Generate a field based dataset with the help of Dr. Classen and (3) Compare simulations and field data to verify and enhance MiMiCS and (4) Integrate the newly enhanced MiMiCS into NorESM. During this action I will enhance my career by becoming a key user of cutting-edge ESM, furthering international collaborations, and enhancing European based ESM. Moreover, I will transfer my knowledge of biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology to model developers and scientists internationally with the goal of creating synergies. The end goal of this action is to ultimately improve our ability to model future climates bringing our predicted climate scenarios closer to reality in order to better inform key policy.


Participants :
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 196400.4 €
Projet EcoEvoDevoNetwork (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ecological interactions are the backbone of ecosystems and play an essential role in the availability of the services they provide. These interactions are to a large extent dictated by the body size of the interacting organisms. Efforts to understand the origin and maintenance of networks of interacting organisms have considered ecological and evolutionary processes in communities based on species-averaged body size. However, this species-centric approach neglects the often dramatic body size changes of organisms during their development. EcoEvoDevoNetwork will for the first time explore how evolutionary, ecological and developmental processes shape the emergence and maintenance of complex networks of interacting organisms, and will investigate how these processes mediate responses to environmental change. The result will open new vistas in complex eco-evolutionary networks and provide tools to assess and monitor the impacts of human activities on ecosystems. The research proposed here will build on recently developed ecological framework that synthesize size-structured models and trophic network models, and will extend it by incorporating evolutionary processes. This extended framework will for the first time explicitly account for processes at three different levels of biological organization: individual, population and community, in an ecological and evolutionary context. The applicant has a strong background in eco-evolutionary dynamics of size-structured populations, and will benefit from the expertise of the supervisor (Dr. C. Melián) in eco-evolutionary networks and statistical modeling during this project. The excellent supervision, infrastructure and facilities at the host institute will ensure the successful execution of this project and will provide a unique opportunity for the applicant to build a strong career in science.

Mots clés : evolutionary community ecology, ontogenetic development, network theory, emergence and maintenance of biodiversity, theoretical biology, model calibration

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet SPEM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Econometric modelling of healthcare costs serves many purposes: to obtain key parameters in cost-effectiveness analyses; to implement risk adjustment in insurance systems; and to examine the impact of risk factors such as smoking and obesity. Modelling healthcare costs is challenging because the cost data are typically non-negative, heavy tailed and highly skewed. Filling the gap in the literature: SPEM will develop an ambitious research programme that simultaneously meet these conditions: (1) no need for retransformation of costs; (2) be able to estimate both the conditional mean and the whole distribution; (3) no need to differentiate zero costs from positive costs; (4) be less parametric and more flexible; and (5) be able to accommodate panel data. Such a method does not exist in the literature. Another highlight of SPEM is that the new method will be used for out-of-sample prediction and full distributional analysis which are typically not considered in the semiparametric framework. Promoting more informed decision making: SPEM will produce accurate and robust estimates of the relationship between childhood obesity and healthcare costs, which are crucial in the design and evaluation of government programmes aimed at treating and preventing childhood obesity. This will be achieved through an empirical application. The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (6 waves: 2004-2014) and linked records from Medicare will be used to investigate the relationship between childhood obesity and healthcare costs.

Mots clés : health care costs, childhood obesity, semiparametric methods

Participants :
- University of York (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet FISHSCALE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ecosystem-based management is the dominant paradigm for species-rich, but data-poor coral reef fisheries. But its operationalisation is hindered by a lack of information on the natural organisation of coral reefs as determined by distinct biophysical processes operating across scales in space and time, and therefore how that organisation is affected by local human impacts. Understanding how natural and human drivers interact to determine ecological organisation is critical to the local, context specific and spatially explicit application of ecosystem assessments for management, such as prioritizing management areas based on recovery potential and degree of depletion from an unimpacted baseline state. FISHSCALES not only addresses that knowledge gap, but for the first time proposes a unique natural experiment of unprecedented scale with a novel combination of trait-based approaches and high-resolution oceanographic modelling to reveal the relative influence of interacting biophysical environmental drivers and local human impacts on the functional structure of reef-fish communities across scales (from reefs to regional). Using existing multidisciplinary data spanning 45° of latitude and 65° of longitude across 39 central western Pacific islands, this project will use predictive models to identify the natural biophysical mechanisms that best explain the spatial variation of reef-fish functional diversity across scales. It will then model how local human impacts disrupt those biophysical relationships, and explicitly quantify the relative impact of different human disturbances (from fishing to coastal development). Collectively, the results of FISHSCALES will advance our capacity to predict spatial patterns of functional diversity and structure of reef-fish communities, providing insight into relative ecosystem health and stability, and therefore advance the science underpinning ecosystem-based management of data poor coral reef systems.

Mots clés : ecosystem based management, ecosystem indicator, coral reefs, spatial scale, reef fishes, traits, ecological organisation, local human impacts

Participants :
- Bangor University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet microPhage (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Effective diagnostic technologies are essential for mitigating the devastating impact that infectious disease has on society. The identification of ligands that can target infectious disease biomarkers within patient samples is key to the function of modern diagnostics. Unfortunately, current methods for ligand selection are slow and labour intensive, and frequently hinder the development of diagnostic technologies. Novel methods for automating this process will increase efficiency and improve the capacity of communities to respond to outbreaks and epidemics. During this fellowship I will develop a novel microfluidic device capable of automated high-throughput selection of highly robust infectious disease targeting ligands. The main objectives are as follows: 1) Explore novel microfluidic materials that are compatible with common ligand selection work flows; 2) Develop a fully automated microfluidic platform capable of performing multiple rounds of ligand selection; 3) Apply this system to generate novel ligands against an emerging HIV biomarker. The device will be underpinned by multiple core microfluidic technologies developed within the host lab, including: rapid droplet generation, droplet disruption, non-fouling materials, and highly responsive microvalves. These technologies will be combined with my expertise in protein chemistry, protein engineering, and chemical biology to achieve a significant leap forwards in automated ligand selection. The resultant device will vastly increase accessibility to high-throughput ligand selection, enabling smaller labs to more effectively select high-affinity ligands against emerging disease targets. This will have a significant impact on the fields of diagnostics, targeted therapeutics, protein engineering, and microfluidics.

Mots clés : protein engineering, synthetic biology, antibody mimics

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €