Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet OCCU-GUARD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ambient temperatures and air pollution are considered as the most important environmental health risk factors causing more than half a million premature deaths every year in Europe alone. However, there is still an insufficient understanding of other short-term health impacts such as occupational health. Moreover, current early warning systems are generally based on temperature or air pollution thresholds only and they do not account for the inequalities in vulnerability of the exposed workforce. OCCU-GUARD will go beyond these limitations by analysing occupational accident risks associated with the joint exposure to ambient temperatures and air pollution in Europe, describing its modification by key socioeconomic factors, and developing a new generation of Pan-European multi-hazard occupational health early warning system accounting for real risks and impacts on the vulnerable workforce. Towards this aim, OCCU-GUARD will generate an enormous database with daily counts of occupational accidents disaggregated by sociodemographic vulnerable groups, together with the best climate, air pollution and macroeconomic datasets. Afterwords, the project will characterize epidemiological models between air pollution and temperature observations and occupational health records; the project will analyse the effect of macroeconomic cycles on these relationships; and the project will use these models to transform temperature and air quality forecasts into occupation health predictions representing the first Pan-European multi-hazard occupational health early warning system. OCCU-GUARD will largely contribute to the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work because it will allow the activation of fit-for-purpose alerts and emergency plans directly targeting vulnerable groups, which is relevant information to key end-users such as industries concerned with workforce well-being, outdoor workers, trade unions, healthcare institutions, insurance companies and others.

Mots clés : early warning system, temperature, air pollution, occupational health, public health, epidemiology, heat, cold, macroeconomic cycles, recession, expansion, europe, climate change, adaptation

Participants :
- CERCA Institution (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 209914.56 €
Projet RACIN (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Despite decades of compelling evidence for the existence of Dark Matter (DM) from independent astrophysical and cosmological observations, the fundamental nature of 85% of the matter of the Universe is still unknown and remains one of the biggest open questions in modern physics. Progress requires advancing in two key areas: enhancing our understanding of DM properties by expanding the set of indirect gravitational probes, and seeking evidence for additional interactions between the dark and visible sectors, as predicted by well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model (SM). My proposal contributes to both objectives by developing and implementing new tools to reveal DM signals and test theories Beyond the SM with existing and upcoming telescopes. The first part of the proposal aims at detecting small-scale galactic DM substructure. It foresees the use of the upcoming ESA Gaia satellite time series observations to construct the largest catalogue of stellar accelerations ever built, conduct the most sensitive search of DM galactic subhalos with astrometric lensing effects, and measure average stellar masses from stacked start-star lensing signals. The second part focuses on designing novel searches for axion-like-particles and new radiation components interacting with photons, by relying on the spatially correlated spectral distortion features that they induce on the CMB and high-redshift quasars due to interaction with photons in the intervening late Universe structure. The expected result is to provide the most sensitive search strategies to look for these well-motivated New Physics scenarios in ongoing and upcoming survey data. My expertise in DM models, data analysis, and astro/cosmo observations, combined with the CERN Theory members' deep knowledge of DM theory and cosmological probes, and further supported by astrometry and CMB/LSS experts at local institutions, provides a strong foundation for achieving the proposed research objectives.

Mots clés : astrometry, gravitational lensing, axions

Participants :
- Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 307958.88 €
Projet M-Y-cro (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metabolism and gene regulations act in concert to shape cellular identity and plasticity. One major line of crosstalk occurs through metabolites such as acyl-CoAs, which are inscribed on histones as posttranslational modifications (PTMs) to be subsequently recognised by reader proteins, resulting in initiation of specific transcriptional programs. The increasing identification of novel PTMs necessitates thorough characterisation, however still remain largely underexplored. For instance, the presence of non-acetyl acyl-Lys PTMs such as crotonylation with YEATS-reader proteins identified to bind these PTMs suggests complex gene regulation programs. However, despite the clinical relevance of YEATS-proteins in various cancers, little is known about their acyl-reading activity and transcriptional consequences. Therefore, this proposal aims to close multiple knowledge gaps regarding overall function and mechanism of the metabolism/acyl-PTM/YEATS communication axis. Considering the metabolic context, I furthermore propose epigenetic YEATS action to be determined by direct interactions with metabolic proteins. Thus, I will first establish an inducible YEATS-degradation platform to characterise the genomic context under various acylate conditions. Next, I will implement a fluorescence-based cell reporter system, which shall reveal putative interactors upon transfection with a CRISPR-KO library targeting metabolic enzymes. Lastly, hits will be biophysically characterized, their metabolic impact within the epigenetic context determined and co-dependencies on relevant cancer cell lines tested. The interdisciplinary approach entailing state-of-the-art chemical and molecular biology tools will be combined with high-throughput screening methods and bioinformatic analyses. Besides elucidating general principles of the metabolism-YEATS epigenetics crosstalk, the results will provide valuable information for novel therapeutic avenues by exploiting identified co-dependencies.

Mots clés : nuclear metabolism, cell line engineering, histone readers

Participants :
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 183600.96 €
Projet EFT-NLO (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

The matching of the SMEFT onto the WET, i.e. expressing the WET parameters in terms of the SMEFT Wilson coefficients, is known since recently up to the one-loop level. These matching conditions depend however on unphysical entities and can therefore not be used in a consistent phenomenological analysis. In order to remove this scheme dependence the two-loop renormalization of the WET parameters needs to be taken into account, since it cancels this scheme dependence and therefore makes the results physical again. One objective of the current research project is to compute the full two-loop renormalization of the WET Wilson coefficients and implement the results in the public code wilson. A second objective of the research project is to conduct the full two-loop renormalization for the SMEFT parameters. Performing the two-loop renormalization is motivated by the fact that at this order many more SMEFT Wilson coefficients become phenomenologically accessible through running effects, which therefore allows for a broader and more precise NP search. Another goal of this computation is again to remove unphysical dependencies that are present in the matching conditions. Although the full one-loop matching from general BSM theories onto the SMEFT is currently unknown, it is, however, expected to be available in the very near future. Together with the proposed calculation these matching conditions can then be used to perform a consistent and completely general NLO analysis of SMEFT parameters.

Mots clés : higher order, nlo, two loop, smeft, wet, evanescent operators

Participants :
- Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 210789.12 €
Projet IsoPrec (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) allows for first-principle theory predictions of hadronic observables in the non-perturbative regime of the strong interaction. In this approach QCD is solved by means of Monte Carlo simulations in finite volumes on a Euclidean space-time lattice. For high precision observables such as the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon the prediction of hadronic contributions computed by Lattice QCD has reached a level of precision at which isospin breaking effects (IBE), i.e. effects caused by the electric charge of quarks due to quantum electrodynamics (QED) and the mass non-degeneracy of up and down quarks, cannot be neglected and therefore have to be included into the theory computation. Due to an existing tension between the experimental determination and the theory prediction the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is a candidate for BSM physics. The hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution to this observable dominates the overall uncertainty of the theory prediction. As the uncertainties of the experimental results will significantly decrease in the upcoming years a precise prediction is of high importance. With a few exceptions IBE are commonly only included at the level of valence quark effects in quark-connected contributions. This project aims to compute IBE in the valence quark sector in the hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution and in related observables by means of Lattice QCD+QED, also focussing on operator renormalisation and quark-disconnected contributions, where noise reduction techniques have to be applied. In particular, the renormalisation constant of the local vector current is determined based on the vector Ward identity and valence-quark IBE in quark-connected and quark-disconnected contributions are computed. The fellowship allows the fellow to pursue research goals in this field and to further sharpen his profile. It marks the next crucial step in his academic career aiming for a long-term position.

Mots clés : hadronic precision observables, anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, hadronic vacuum polarisation, lattice qcd, isospin breaking effects, operator renormalisation, quark disconnected contributions

Participants :
- Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 292118.88 €
Projet AmpGravity (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

AmpGravity will employ amplitudes techniques to progress the fronts of classical (Objective 1) and quantum (Objective 2) gravity, while exploring the rich interplay of the two. Objective 1: Calculations based on scattering amplitudes in Quantum Field Theory (QFT) have significantly increased the accuracy of models for the evolution of astrophysical binaries in General Relativity. Kosmopoulos' results in particular have been imported into recent versions of the Effective-One-Body formalism, the main model used for gravitational-wave-template production by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaboration. Kosmopoulos will push the state-of-the-art to meet the precision goals of the next-generation observatories by performing the necessary calculations for binaries of spinning objects and developing non-perturbative methods pertinent in the strong-coupling regime. Objective 2: Low-energy gravitational theories must obey consistency conditions, such as unitarity and causality, to be embedded in a complete theory of quantum gravity valid at all energy scales. Amplitudes in conjunction with dispersion relations are a natural language to derive such consistency conditions. Kosmopoulos will use these quantum-gravity considerations to obtain bounds on quantities of interest for the classical problem of gravitational-wave physics, such as the stress tensor and tidal-response coefficients for black holes and neutron stars. In turn, he will improve these methods by including known universal behavior of gravitational amplitudes, namely the eikonal limit established in a regime controlled by classical physics, and use them to derive properties of quantum gravity.

Mots clés : scattering amplitudes, quantum field theory, gravity, gravitational waves, black holes, spin, curved space, self force, dispersion relations, effective field theory, bounds on wilson coefficients

Participants :
- Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 292118.88 €
Projet TRANSLATOME (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The gene expression pathway includes transcription, mRNA translation, and protein degradation. Altered translation can rapidly modulate protein levels, without requiring changes in transcription, and can therefore efficiently control cellular responses. Despite evidence of key roles for transcript-selective modulation of translation, the extent and organization of translational control at a transcriptome-wide level is largely uncharted. Moreover, major cancer types appear to be under strong post-transcriptional regulation affecting metastasis and prognosis. TRANSLATOME aims to identify the organization and mechanisms underlying transcriptome-wide modulation of translation. First, I will explore and identify modules whose translation is consistently co-regulated across many cellular conditions, and therefore share common mechanisms, using network module identification. Dependencies between activities of translation modules, which are suggested from the preliminary data, will be studied in detail. This part will exploit polysome or ribosome profiling data from public repositories. Second, I will determine the mechanisms underlying translation modules and how their activities are orchestrated. This will be achieved by identifying RNA features driving the coordinated translation of mRNAs within modules, and how these – via encoded proteins – determine activities in key biological pathways. Finally, I will assess whether modules underlie translation patterns or subtypes of breast and glioblastoma tumours. This interdisciplinary approach requires molecular biology, bioinformatics, systems biology, algorithm development and applied statistics. TRANSLATOME will bring new insights into the transcriptome-wide organization of mRNA translation, which is pertinent to complex diseases. Particularly, I expect to elucidate how mRNA translation is altered in breast cancer and glioblastoma, paving the way for treatments aimed at reversing dysregulated translation programs in cancer.

Mots clés : mrna translation, untranslated region

Participants :
- Institut Karolinska (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 252180.0 €
Projet AMPLIFI (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Nuclear fission, the splitting of an atomic nucleus into two or more fragments, plays an essential role in both applied and fundamental science. However, even 85 years after its discovery, it remains a challenging puzzle for nuclear theorists. A crucial piece of this puzzle is the angular momentum of fission fragments, a measure of fragments' rotation that has a substantial impact on the emission of neutrons and photons during the deexcitation process. Recent research on the subject has reignited a long-standing debate on several fundamental questions. One key problem involves establishing a comprehensive microscopic theory of angular momentum distributions for the full range of fragments' masses and charges. These distributions are a major input in the data evaluation process employed to generate the large nuclear data libraries used in fundamental science and nuclear technology. However, due to the lack of a comprehensive theory, those evaluations still rely on simplified and occasionally inaccurate phenomenological inputs. The principal aim of this project is to predict angular momentum distributions using state-of-the-art nuclear density functional theory. Combining symmetry-restoration techniques and the time-dependent generator coordinate method, we will compute angular momentum distributions in fragments for the neutron-induced fission of two crucial actinides, 239Pu and 235U. Subsequently, we will explore the impact of nuclear excitation on these distributions by extending the finite-temperature formalism to fission fragments. The resulting database, first of its kind, will encompass microscopic angular momentum distributions as functions of the incident neutron energy and the nuclear excitation energy. Finally, we will evaluate the influence of these distributions on predicted fission spectra, employing the Hauser-Feschbach simulator YAHFC, thus paving the way for fission modeling based on microscopic theory.

Mots clés : nuclear theory, energy density functionals, density functional theory, nuclear fission, fission fragments, symmetry restoration, time dependent generator coordinate method, nuclear data evaluation

Participants :
- Université de Zagreb (Croatie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 146049.6 €
Projet TRIPOLES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Targeted Research Initiative for Pole Organization Leveraging Experiment and Simulation (TRIPOLES). The mitotic spindle is responsible for segregating chromosomes into two identical sets prior to cell division. Errors in the process can result in daughter cells having an incorrect number of chromosomes, a disorder referred to as aneuploidy. Cells with multipolar spindles, an aberrant spindle architecture marked by three or more spindle pole bodies rather than the typical two, are particularly susceptible to making the mistakes that lead to aneuploidy. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms involved in multipolar mitotic spindles or how cells regulate them. In this proposal, we will develop a new theoretical framework that models multipolar mitotic spindles with an unprecedented level of detail. The model will incorporate multiple centrosomes with microtubules emanating from them, explicit chromosome pairs with a severable link, and different species of motor and crosslinking proteins to generate forces. We will first use the model to recreate healthy bipolar spindles, then expand it to investigate tripolar spindle dynamics and how cells regulate excess centrosomes. Our model will use first-principle mechanisms, which will allow us to make predictions that can be tested in experiment by our collaborators. By using theory to motivate specific follow-up experiments in this way, we can uncover novel mechanisms involved in the regulation of mitotic spindles that would otherwise go unnoticed. Beyond three main research objectives, this proposal also includes measures for a two-way transfer of knowledge, effective communication and dissemination of results, and overall management of the project. The work done in this proposal has the potential to not only illuminate how cancer cells regulate their aberrant spindle geometries, but also provide fundamental insight into how healthy bipolar spindles transition into unhealthy architectures.

Mots clés : cytoskeleton, microtubules, mitotic spindle, motor proteins, self organization

Participants :
- Université de Zagreb (Croatie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 146049.6 €
Projet PDT-NEO-immunother (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a regulated cell death that stimulates the immune responses resulting in the establishment of long- term immunological memory. ICD alert the immune system by tumor-associated antigens and tumor neoantigens (i.e., antigenicity) and releasing immunostimulant mediators such as the damage- associated molecular patterns (DAMPs, adjuvanticity). ICD can be efficiently induced by photodynamic therapy (PDT). Our key hypothesis is that PDT based on clinically approved and in-house developed photosensitizers, which are efficient in several murine cancer models, will induce ICD in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) which are the fourth most frequent types of cancer in men. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate for the first time that PDT will modulate the immunogenicity of dying HNSCC cells not only by releasing DAMPs but also by increasing antigenicity of dying HNSCC cells by affecting their landscape of antigens. This will lead to the activation of the innate and adaptive immune system and to the improvement of anti-cancer therapy of HNSCC patients. For the study, we will exploit HNSCC cells derived from patients’ biopsies, representing an ideal preclinical model that incorporates heterogeneity of tumors observed in patients. In this way, we will obtain the data required to support future clinical trials based on PDT. Indeed, the ultimate goal of the neoantigen identification is to pave the way for developing patient-specific targeted vaccine therapies.

Mots clés : photodynamic therapy neoantigens head and neck cancer immunogenic cell death anticancer therapy ex vivo

Participants :
- Université de Gand (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €