Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet Cert-T (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The complexity to design IoT networks increases with the number of devices, sometimes even exponentially when each node is connected through the network to all other nodes. As a consequence, a local change in one of the nodes can have global implications on the emerging properties of the network. For instance, in the case of an automatic industrial process, machines operate in series on a product and the time and physical effect of each operation needs to be properly calibrated to get the expected result. There comes two main challenges: give a design framework with sufficient expressiveness to specify real time effects of programs (interaction with physical object); and provide formal tools to analyze the individual properties of each node, and the resulting property of the network. Ideally, the design of an application should be close enough to the programmer’s way of thinking, so that few errors are made at specification. Then, a compiler automatically transforms a program to a binary that a machine can executes. The correctness of a compiler lays in the semantic preservation theorem: the generated binary has the same behavior as the specification that the programmer wrote. The focus, however, has mostly been done on the preservation of memory properties, but not on time properties. My idea is therefore to extend the theoretical and practical tools used in compiler correctness to provide timing guarantees in the semantic preservation theorem. This challenge is ambitious as it would provide a new spectrum of certifications for hard real time applications; and is seen as the next big step for current compiler design. I will use some advance techniques from reactive programming and current knowledge in compiler correctness to provide real time certificates.


Participants :
- Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet PIERCAT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Photo-electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2 ER) is a promising technology to mitigate the ever-increasing CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere as well as to produce chemical feedstocks simultaneously. Though tremendous research has been undertaken in the recent past to enhance the efficiency of CO2ER, still little known about CO2ER reaction pathways, selectivity, and the role of active sites, which impede the largescale implementation at the industrial level. It is well known that the surface structure strongly influences the electrocatalytic activity of electrode materials. Thus, the presence of defects, for instance, oxygen vacancies (VOs) drastically alter the surface physicochemical properties of metal oxide (MO) based electrodes and play a crucial role in defining the overall performance of CO2 ER. Therefore, it is indeed necessary to better understand the VOs formation, healing, and associated reaction kinetics. Here, I introduce photo-induced enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PIERS) coupled with gap-plasmon-assisted electrochemistry as a powerful tool to probe the VOs and associated charge transfer dynamics of MO electro-catalysts. Plasmonic nanogaps are ideal for the extreme localization of light and they generate intense electric fields in confined volumes. Such a small gap volume dramatically enhances the light-matter interaction and enables the creation of single molecule-level spectroscopic probes. Therefore, using the combination of gap-plasmon probe electrochemistry and in-situ PIERS, the current proposal aims to elucidate the underlying reaction mechanism of CO2ER at active sites (VOs). As a result, new strategies may be unveiled to design and tune the active sites on MO electrode surfaces for efficient CO2ER. Therefore, the study is not only limited to CO2ER but also provides significant insights for other important photo-electrocatalytic applications as well, for instance, fuel cells.

Mots clés : plasmonics, electrochemistry, oxygen vacancies, surface enhanced raman spectroscopy, co2 photo electrochemical reduction, hot holes and electrons

Participants :
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet Not-So-Ordinary (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

This project explores home movies and related oral histories of Polish Chicago before the digital era (1960s–2000s) to challenge and broaden our understanding of evolving migrant and diaspora identities. Following critical archive studies’ call to empower communities underrepresented in historiography by developing and interrogating archival collections, the project juxtaposes home movies – “ordinary” motion pictures created for family and close friends – with interviews with their creators to uncover the “not-so-ordinary” capabilities of this underused data source for studying minority groups. The project investigates a specific case: the interplay of vernacular moving image practices and the transformations of Polish diaspora identity in Chicago; however, it leads to conclusions of wider significance. By creating a research collection of home movies and related oral histories, it demonstrates how to contextualize historical home movies. By showing how evolving analog home movie technology (shift from film to video) altered vernacular moving image practices of the Polish diaspora, it contributes to media archeology. By reconstructing transnational micro-histories of home movies circulating between countries, it expands the field of transnational history. By identifying the role of vernacular moving image practices in shaping identities, it contributes to cultural anthropology and migrant/diaspora studies. By providing guidance on home movies as a research source and by showing the use of the movie-interview analytical unit, it enhances the empirical toolbox for social sciences and the humanities. To go beyond the state of the art while ensuring mutually beneficial knowledge exchange, the project combines the complementary expertise of a postdoc (visual culture, identity, archives, qualitative methods) and supervisors from the University of Chicago (transnational history), Chicago Film Archives (archiving and digitalization), and KU Leuven (media and film studies).

Mots clés : migrant identities diaspora identities polish chicago home movies vernacular visual culture critical archival studies oral history cultural history transnational history

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 290444.16 €
- Université de Chicago (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Chicago film archives (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PomXYZ (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In my research project I will theoretically model a fundamental process in the cell division of the model bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, namely the process for guiding the machinery for cell division to midcell. In M. xanthus, a cluster comprised of the proteins PomX, PomY, PomZ self-assembles on the nucleoid surface and in an ATP-consuming reaction cycle translocates to midcell, to guide the cell division machinery there. During cell division the Pom cluster undergoes fission, and the resulting two Pom clusters on the daughter cells again translocate to the respective midcell to induce further cell divisions. I will consider a mesoscopic model which combines spatial dynamics with locally stimulated reactions, to study the formation, translocation, and fission of the Pom cluster. My model is informed, and will be further refined, using experimental results of the group of Lotte Søgaard-Andersen at the MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology, an established collaborator of my supervisor Erwin Frey. I will quantify the constraints imposed on the protein-protein and protein-nucleoid interactions by the tasks the Pom cluster needs to fulfill (self-assembly, translocation, fission), and relate my mesoscopic model both to previously proposed heuristic models on Pom cluster translocation and to (stochastic) reaction-diffusion models. My project will lead to a deeper understanding of how biological systems actively create and maintain order. My mesoscopic model combines spatial dynamics with locally stimulated reactions, which are the two conceptual building blocks needed for spatial organization driven by energy consumption. My model will therefore be applicable also in other instances of biological self-organization, as well as in self-assembly of artificial nanostructures, both of which are active and growing research directions. My project will therefore make my research profile more impactful, which will help me to reach my goal of becoming an independent group leader.


Participants :
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet LYMON (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Catalysis holds immense significance in chemical manufacturing, being a key player in developing sustainable industrial processes with limited energy & resource consumption. In pharmaceutical industry, catalysis is crucial for enabling mass production of affordable life-saving drugs. However, developing efficient catalysts for this sector poses a formidable challenge due to the inherent asymmetry of many biological processes. This is particularly critical in producing anticancer drugs because their synthesis relies on intermediates or reactions whose asymmetric nature, known as chirality, withholds their massive production, limiting equal global access to best health treatments. An up-and-coming solution to address this dilemma is resorting to chiral plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs), as their outstanding optical rotation activity makes them well-suited for applications like polarization-sensitive photocatalysis, especially in the context of anticancer drug development. However, unleashing its full potential hinges on imbuing these chiral NPs with unusual properties like magnetism, allowing safe removal from products & recyclability without generating chemical waste. To date, creating a plasmonic structure that seamlessly integrates chirality with magnetic motility remains largely underexplored. The LYMON project addresses this conundrum by expanding the repertoire of chiral nanocatalyst construction methods through a groundbreaking laser-based pathway. This innovative approach, supported both experimentally & theoretically, promises to bring a new generation of highly specific magnetic chiroplasmonic nanocatalysts characterized by their ability to be reused multiple times. All of this permiting reducing wasteful side reactions & improving control over pharmaceutical production, especially for anticancer drugs. Moreover, it promises to expand the horizons of synthetic chemistry, paving the way for cutting-edge routes to produce highly efficient & selective molecules.

Mots clés : laser synthesis, nanomaterials, eco friendly synthesis, catalysts development, enantioselectivity

Participants :
- Université de Padoue (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 188590.08 €
- Université d'Estrémadure (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet VSG-SWITCH (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Pathogens use antigenic variation to evade host antibodies and cause diseases in humans. Interestingly, in many species antigen switching occurs non-randomly in a hierarchical manner, with specific antigen genes selected in succession. Trypanosoma brucei is a key model organism for the study of antigenic variation in which antigen switching hierarchies of its Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes operate. However, how exactly this hierarchy is determined is unknown. Studies in T. brucei have indicated that the spatial positioning of VSG genes within the nucleus is important for controlling their activation. However, to date no systematic investigation of VSG gene nuclear positioning and antigen switching hierarchies has been performed. In this project, I would test the hypothesis that antigen switching hierarchies in trypanosomes are mediated by the spatial positioning of VSG genes in the nucleus. Using T. brucei cell lines in which different antigen switching pathways can be induced, I will determine whether silent VSGs in close spatial proximity to the active VSG before switch induction are selected next in the antigen switching pathway. This will be investigated by integrating a combination of Micro-C to monitor VSG nuclear positioning before and after switching followed by scRNA-seq. I will also develop a dCas9 artificial tethering system to tether silent VSGs either towards or away from the active VSG before switch induction to create a synthetic VSG switching hierarchy. These experiments will generate important insights into the mechanisms which control antigen switching and provide valuable tools for studying nuclear organisation in kinetoplastid parasites.

Mots clés : antigen switching, ngs technologies, crispr cas9, 

Participants :
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet MetaboTract (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) cellular immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment for patients with hematological cancers, but largely failed to provide benefits for patients with solid tumors. Ineffective CAR T migration into solid tumors caused by the lack of recruitment signals, including chemokines, is a key gap for current cellular immunotherapies. The very common accumulation of metabolites in tumors provides a yet unrecognized opportunity to guide immune cells into tumors. Therefore, my overall research objective for this project is to generate and use novel chemotactic metabolite receptors (MetaboTract) to enhance the efficacy of CAR T and natural killer (NK) in solid tumors. This innovative approach is expected to impact the therapeutic options for cancer patients with poorly infiltrated tumors and enhance the EU’s competitiveness in the rapidly expanding market of cellular immunotherapies. Applying the gained knowledge on CAR NK cells could additionally reduce treatment costs and accelerate deployment of cellular therapies to patients. During the MSCA fellowship, I will learn vital new skills including cell migration assays, in vivo models for immunotherapies, project management, exploitation, and leadership in the renowned laboratory of Prof. Sebastian Kobold at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) in Munich. The expertise of Prof. Kobold’s lab with chemokine receptor CAR T cells and in vivo models together with my complementary skills in cellular immunology, NK cells, imaging, and bioinformatics gives the project a high likelihood of success. The publication of the results, the gained knowledge and skills, and the demonstrated mobility will strengthen my scientific independence and help me achieve my career goal of becoming a research group leader in cellular cancer immunotherapy.


Participants :
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet EvoLogic (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our ability to reason by logic is exceptional in nature. We are the reasoning animal. Like all animals, we evolved during a long natural process. Unlike other animals, we developed sophisticated minds and a complex language that contains logical structure. Yet it is remarkably unclear how logic became part of nature. Where does logic come from? The goal of this project is to understand the origins of the human capacity for logical reasoning. Merging philosophical logic and evolutionary linguistics, the general hypothesis is that logic evolved to support social interactions and efficient communication. The particular focus will be on the evolution of quantificational reasoning, which is key to the ability to generalize and to count. There are three parts to this project. First, to explain what we have: the grammar of natural language includes simple words to express quantification ('every', 'always'). What were the conditions for the emergence of the cognitive abilities thereby manifested in speech? Second, to explain what we don't have: no language of the world includes simple words for concepts such as 'not every' and 'not always'. These quantifiers have to be expressed compositionally, by combining simpler building blocks ('not' with 'every' and 'often'). This is not a coincidence: the difference between what can be expressed as a lexical item and what must be expressed by composition is the difference between what can be memorized by the child acquiring a language, and what must be generated by the grammatical engine. Third, to explain how it all comes together: is logic the result of natural selection, cultural inheritance, or something else? The study of logic from an evolutionary perspective will provide a window into the origins of the human mind, with a wide-ranging impact on philosophy and neighboring disciplines.

Mots clés : evolutionary linguistics, philosophy of logic

Participants :
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet MemCage (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The cell plasma membrane (PM) of eukaryotic cells is a highly dynamic structure, which plays important role in diverse biological processes such as cellular uptake, neural communication, muscle contraction, and cell trafficking and signaling. The PMs are also responsible for communication between cells, especially between neurons. In particular, the exocytosis process leads to liberation of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. On the other hand, it is a platform for receptors that convert the recognition of neuroactive molecules into ion flux and/or action potential. Therefore, to modulate and monitor the activity of neurons, an attractive approach is to design molecular tools that target cell PMs. In this project, we will combine PM-targeting anchors with photoactive fluorescent cages capable to photo-release signaling molecules. The obtained chemical tools (MemCages) will be applied for 1) imaging the neuronal organization and 2) photo-controlled activation of neurons and brain of mice by photo-uncaging of signaling molecules close to PM. The work is composed of 3 steps. First is synthesis of MemCages for dopamine and glutamate and their validation in solvents and model lipid membranes. Second is application of MemCages in cellular systems, which includes imaging and photo-stimulation of model cancer cell lines and neurons. The first step will be in vivo validation of MemCages, which will be done during the secondment. The applicant and the host laboratory plan extensive two-way knowledge transfer: the applicant will gain knowledge and expertise in membrane probe design, bioimaging in model membranes, cells and animals, whereas he will provide his expertise on design and characterization of molecular photocages for signaling molecules. The successful utility of the developed chemical tools could open new avenues for the biologists and neuroscientists working in the field of cell signaling, neuroscience and diagnosis and prevention of neurological disorders.

Mots clés : fluorescent cages, membrane probes, signaling molecules, microscopy, photorelease, neuronal signaling

Participants :
- Université de Strasbourg (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 211754.88 €
- Université Louis-et-Maximilien de Munich (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet RIVERSEA (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Global environmental changes often transcend traditional boundaries between terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, with many species and nutrients moving across these borders. Despite this, biodiversity and ecosystem functions are typically studied in isolation, and policy goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) often address these ecosystems separately. To address this issue, the RIVERSEA project proposes a novel approach by integrating meta-ecosystem science, which accounts for the interconnectedness of ecosystems and aims to enhance our understanding of how spatial fluxes of nutrients and organisms impact meta-ecosystem structure and dynamics.  RIVERSEA seeks to elucidate the effects of nutrient and species fluxes along the river-sea continuum, focusing on how these fluxes influence food-web structure, ecosystem functioning, and stability. Nutrient enrichment from sources like agricultural runoff and sewage disrupts these meta-ecosystems over large spatial distances, leading to simplified food webs, nutrient accumulation, and detrimental outcomes such as harmful algal blooms. This project aims to bridge the gap between community and ecosystem ecology by developing a spatially extended food web model to explore these dynamics. It will also use innovative methods to validate theoretical predictions with empirical data, assessing the impacts of human activities on aquatic ecosystems. Finally, RIVERSEA will formulate restoration strategies to mitigate these impacts and stabilize meta-ecosystems.  The project’s outcomes will provide crucial insights and tools for effective mitigation, adaptation, and restoration efforts, contributing to the EU’s goals of restoring significant land and sea areas by 2030 and 2050. By combining theoretical and empirical approaches across freshwater and marine environments, RIVERSEA will advance our understanding of meta-ecosystem dynamics and support the development of comprehensive restoration strategies.

Mots clés : meta ecosystems food web structure river sea continuum biodiversity ecosystem functioning and stability eutrophication damming bioenergetic food web model food web inference

Participants :
- Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €