Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet MovingHealingPlants (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Epidemics involve the circulation not only of pathogens, animals and people, but also of healing plants. In a highly innovative approach, MovingHealingPlants explores human-plant-pathogen networks of care emerging in the exchange of healing plants used for epidemic diseases. The project engages a longue durée timeframe from colonial encounters to current urbanisation processes in Amazonia, and extends along the Amazon river axis connecting contemporary Amazonian cities of Manaus (Brazil), Leticia (Colombia) and Iquitos (Peru). With its headwaters in the Andes and flowing into the Atlantic coast, the highly navigated and populated Amazon river has been decisive in the history of medicine and public health in Amazonia and South America. Yet so far, historical accounts are fragmented into colonial or contemporary nation-states borders, or focus on specific diseases or institutions. This groundbreaking project proposes an interconnected fluvial account of the history of medicine and intercultural relationships of care, from the vantage point of the circulation and transformations of healing plants. Drawing from ethnobotany, global health, history, STS and anthropology, this project aims to assemble a history of epidemics and intercultural care in Amazonia, to explore cosmologies and technologies of plant transformations through ethnographic collaborative participatory approaches, and to produce a critical account of emergent networks and boundary dynamics in a field of Amazonian health simultaneously global and locally situated. MovingHealingPlants highlights the relationships Amazonian Indigenous people form with healing plants as persons, in a more-than-human cosmopolitics from where to rethink some of our most pressing anthropocenic predicaments: environmental destruction and urbanization, the emergence of infectious diseases, and the threats to Indigenous forest knowledge and modes of existing.


Participants :
- Université de Bologne (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 359120.22 €
- Survival international (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Federal University of Amazonas (Brésil) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet SENSINGTech (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The main goal of oral processing is preparing food for swallowing and digestion, where mastication determines the effective surface area of food particles and food bolus properties. Ageing induces changes in oral physiology leading to substantial alterations in bolus properties, bioaccessibility, and bioavailability of nutrients. The impact of age-related alterations on swallowing and digestion can be intensified by health conditions that may cause dysphagia. SENSINGTech is an interdisciplinary research project that, integrating a full sensor-based technological platform, aims to investigate the evolution of food properties in mouth, and the dynamics of food oral processing and saliva addition on bolus formation, to quantify its impact on both swallowing and the delivery of nutrients. This work aims to provide clear-cut boundaries of food characteristics that ensure a safe swallow. The key limitation of working with vulnerable people to accurately measure mastication, swallowing and digestion will be overcome by developing a quantitative in vitro approach that mimics the human feeding process, monitoring the “Stage II of transport” for solid food intake – not captured by any in vitro system yet. This project will enable the fellow to acquire a strong competence in food oral processing, swallowing, and digestion, learning new methodologies and applications to meet the challenges linked to population ageing and the management of dysphagia. This research will address the Horizon Europe (HE) efforts devoted to “Health”, where the unique combination of expertise will lead the candidate towards an independent scientist career of high quality and strong international visibility. SENSINGTech will therefore be a milestone for the future research career of the applicant, positioning both the fellow and the host in leading positions in food oral processing and the dysphagia research field.

Mots clés : mastication food oral processing dysphagia swallowing digestion

Participants :
- Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet MiCLuP (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The exigent challenges posed by climate change and increasing plastic waste pollution necessitates the development of innovative scientific solutions, processes, and technologies. Conventional thermal treatments for plastic waste (e.g., pyrolysis) require high power consumption and cannot meet the requirements for sustainability and net zero. This project aims to promote sustainability and circularity by utilizing plastic waste-derived carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) to prepare carbon-reinforced plastic composites. These CNMs will serve directly as microwave (MW)-active catalysts or be modified using transition metal oxide (TMO)-based catalysts, for converting the plastic composites back into virgin monomers at the end of their lifecycle, hence, to form a net-zero MW-initiated upcycling process. Leveraging the unique features of MW catalysis, this project will explore cost-effective solutions for the entire lifecycle of plastic-based products, from waste to value-added materials.  Key objectives include: (i) producing microwave active CNMs from waste plastic; (ii) designing novel plastic composites incorporating these CNMs; and (iii) developing a sustainable upcycling process for depolymerizing the resulting plastic composite back into its original monomers using plastic-derived CNMs or modifying/ functionalizing CNMs using TMO-based catalysts. To gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of CNMs and TMO catalysts for MW-initiated catalytic reaction, a hypothesis-driven approach will be employed to investigate the interactions between CNMs and TMO catalysts and MW irradiation. This newly acquired knowledge will be crucial for enhancing catalytic performance and expanding the application of MW catalysis.  Addressing the urgent need of utilizing recycled plastic in new products to reduce the demand for virgin plastics, as reported by European Environment Agency (EEA) 2024, this research aligns with the EU’s circular economy for plastic waste and UN's SDGs.

Mots clés : microwave assisted catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, transition metal oxides

Participants :
- Queen Mary University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 276187.92 €
Projet LGModGal (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The Langlands correspondence is a series of mathematical predictions describing a deep relationship between two fundamental branches of mathematics: discrete mathematics, which is the basis of counting and number theory, and continuous mathematics, which underlies analysis. These connections are incredibly powerful and have helped solve some of the most challenging problems in mathematics, such as Fermat's Last Theorem, which remained unsolved for nearly 400 years. Despite significant advances over the past 30 years, much of this area remains unexplored. Recently, a new approach has emerged with the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the Langlands correspondence. The expectation is that this correspondence can be achieved via an interpretation of the analytic side as functions on geometric spaces which are built from basic objects on the discrete side—specifically symmetries of solutions to polynomial equations like Y²=X³+X+1. While it is speculated that this viewpoint will substantially simplify the problem, it is presently unclear how exactly these ideas should be implemented. A major issue is that the underlying geometry of these spaces are hard to control, rendering a precise interpretation as functions difficult.  My research has hinted that, through innovative combinations of techniques from algebraic geometry and representation theory, taming this geometry is within reach. In this project I will develop these ideas to produce a general framework which controls these spaces. Consequently, foundational results in the Langlands correspondence, currently limited to dimension 2, will be developed in higher dimensions, making inroads into one of the most important and enduring problems of modern number theory.

Mots clés : p adic langlands correspondence, p adic hodge theory, representation theory

Participants :
- Queen Mary University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260347.92 €
Projet MOUNTAINWATERS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Water security is the key to protecting lives and livelihoods from the ravages of climate change. Very shortly, water management needs to undergo transformational, people-centred change with a focus on sustainability. Mountains are marginalized on many fronts — environmentally, politically and financially because of this communities have little or no access to reliable water supply and display low levels of water consumption. Springs are the primary source of water for many mountain communities. Due to urbanization, springs and their quality as well as access to them are changing. The biophysical and jurisdictional boundaries create a mismatch in terms of its management affecting the rights over it. The plethora of water suppliers and the roles they play in water provisioning suggests the need to ascertain the intertwining of the formal and informal. The study investigates the access to water in the face of climate change in the rural-urban continuum in the Himalayan Region in India. Through this study, I intend to create a framework that can be used to study water scenarios and work towards water security for urban mountain settlements. The objectives of this project are: 1. To understand the urban-rural continuum and the right to water 2. To assess women’s participation and roles in achieving water security 3. To appraise current and expected impacts of climate change on water security This work aims to close the methodological gap in carrying out and analyzing interdisciplinary studies on water. The work will add to the literature on water security under a changing climate. It will provide a unique case of the mountains which are marginalized geographies and most vulnerable to climate change. It will also provide methodological insights and help derive policy recommendations for mountainous regions of the world.

Mots clés : water security himalaya mountainous landscapes rural urban continuum resource access springs institutions governance

Participants :
- Queen Mary University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260347.92 €
Projet ECMAP (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Fibrosis, characterized by tissue stiffening and altered FAK signaling patterns, is highly prevalent in Europe and places a significant financial burden on our healthcare system. However effective treatments are hampered by the lack of accurate disease models. While most of our disease understanding comes from studying cells under static conditions, in vivo cell interactions are far from static, leading to inconsistencies between lab models, suggesting that tissue stiffness alone drives fibrosis, and clinical observations, indicating otherwise.  The ECMAP project aims to bridge this gap in our knowledge by introducing a novel approach that replicates the dynamic processes driving fibrosis. Professor Fernandez's lab has recently discovered a molecular link between mechanical forces and FAK signaling at individual focal adhesions (IFAs), crucial in functional tissue-scale processes. This project will elucidate the role of increased FAK activity at IFAs during force transmission and mechanosensing in fibrosis progression. This will be achieved by combining molecular devices, light-activated ligands, and cutting-edge microscopy tools to monitor (fibrotic and healthy) FAK signaling in real-time while applying controlled forces at IFAs. This innovative platform for studying fibrosis progression at an unprecedented molecular resolution aims to facilitate drug discovery, enhance early diagnosis, and develop new tools for monitoring fibrosis and other tissue mechanics diseases. Our work represents a paradigm shift in treating mechano-diseases, aligning with urgent healthcare needs and offering hope for more targeted and effective solutions.

Mots clés : mechanotransdunction, mechano actuating hydrogels, fibrosis, fak, focal adhesions, pnipam

Participants :
- Queen Mary University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260347.92 €
Projet RAPID (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The use of ultra-high dose rates (FLASH) in radiation therapy has emerged as a promising modality to treat cancer due to its unprecedented ability to reduce healthy tissue toxicity while ensuring tumor control. “Towards ultra-high dose RAtes in Proton therapy: an Ionoacoustic approach for in vivo Dose monitoring” (RAPID) project aims at providing new insights into the clinical benefits of proton FLASH radiotherapy by resolving the challenge of real-time dose monitoring. The action represents a powerful instrument to push the boundaries of cancer care with proton radiotherapy at three different levels: i) the optimization of an ionoacoustic imaging system for real-time pulse-based 3D dose monitoring, ii) the experimental evaluation of the physical requirements to achieve the FLASH effect by in vivo and in vitro studies under different beam conditions, and iii) the interpretation and optimization of the ionoacoustic signal response for different treatment plans. The ionoacoustic imaging technique, combined with an ultrasound system, will enable to image simultaneously tissue morphology and dose deposition of the beam. These technological advances will disentangle the complex and multiple variables influencing the yet unknown FLASH effect, as well as enabling the first systematic study combining FLASH dosimetry and tissue damage/toxicity response. The researcher will spend 24 months at the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) and 12 months at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics at University of Seville (USE, Spain) and Centro Nacional de Aceleradores – National Center of Accelerators, an USE joint research center.

Mots clés : proton therapy, flash, dose monitoring, ionoacoustic

Participants :
- The general hospital corporation (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Séville (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 285140.64 €
- Moffitt Cancer Center (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet Hyperion (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Developing a comprehensive microscopic understanding of electrolytes is relevant for a wide range of physical, chemical and biological problems, including battery technology, adsorption of pollutants in soils and the topical area of iontronics, where ions are used for signalling. Characteristic electrolytic behaviour arises from the response of both ions and solvent molecules to the presence of external electrical fields. Fundamental physical description can be based on analysing the equilibrium and dynamical fluctuations that occur in a given system. Relevant fluctuating observables include the particle concentration, the charge, and the electrical current, all of which directly relate to experimentally accessible observables. The concept of forces, despite being fundamental for physical model building, has received far less attention in statistical mechanics. Here we intend to introduce a systematic correlation framework based on the forces and hyperforces, which correlate forces with further physical observables, in ionic systems. Hyperion combines analytical theory with simulation work and it comprises three main tasks: (i) We will first develop and validate the static and dynamic force and hyperforce correlations in bulk, thereby investigating how these relate to number and charge fluctuations. (ii) We will study the influence of external confinement on the electrical fluctuations measured in finite observation volumes as is relevant for transport through channels and nanopores. (iii) We will consider the nonequilibrium correlations that occur during transport induced either by shear flow or by an external electric field with the aim to rationalize the emerging electrophoretic phenomena and the nonequilibrium ion kinetics. As understanding the electrolyte sheds light on the kinetics of individual ions, Hyperion aims to provide a new point of view for ionic structure and the associated nonequilibrium transport in complex environments.

Mots clés : force force correlations hyperforce correlations ionic solutions classical density functional theory

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet SMALLGIANT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In this project, we aim to investigate the role of small RNAs (sRNAs) in defending against giant virus infections. Giant viruses are eukaryotic viruses with exceptionally large genomes, some of which surpass the size of bacterial genomes. Remarkably, giant virus integrations have been found across various eukaryotes, leading to the formation of giant endogenous viral elements (GEVEs). Among the reported GEVEs, the host group (Dr. de Mendoza’s laboratory) has identified a unicellular relative of animals that harbours hundreds of GEVEs—more than any other known eukaryote. This observation suggests that these viral integrations may confer a beneficial role to the host. Although GEVEs are typically transcriptionally silent, the removal of DNA methylation triggers the reactivation of many viral genes, mimicking an infection. Notably, proteins related to sRNA biogenesis are upregulated during this reactivation, indicating that sRNAs may play a role in post-transcriptional silencing of the endogenized viruses, as no viral particles are formed. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that GEVE-derived transcripts generate sRNAs that help defend against future infections.To explore this hypothesis, I will bring my expertise in small RNAs to the host lab, aiming to deepen our understanding of how sRNAs co-evolved with GEVEs and how they may function in immunity against giant viruses. My focus will be on key unicellular eukaryotes that possess the genetic machinery necessary for sRNA processing and show evidence of containing GEVEs. The outcomes of this project have the potential to open a new field of research. If sRNAs are indeed involved in immunity, they could be leveraged to protect these species against new infections. Additionally, we propose various outreach activities to engage the public and highlight the importance of studying the evolution of unicellular eukaryotes and giant viruses.

Mots clés : transposable elements, noncoding rna, repetitive dna, protists

Participants :
- Queen Mary University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 276187.92 €
Projet NEURO-SEED (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Obesity prevalence is dramatically increasing worldwide. The hypothalamus seem to be a pivotal brain structure in reversing obesity, as hypothalamic activation by incretin-based therapies (IBT) reduces body weight by 25%. However, the detailed functioning of the human hypothalamus in obesity remains unknown. Therefore, my overarching objective is to characterize hypothalamic structure and function in obesity. I will collaborate with clinical obesity experts at the University of Copenhagen and a pioneering MRI research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  The project includes three Work Packages (WPs), each addressing a gap in current state-of-the-art knowledge:  WP1: Impact of IBT on hypothalamic signaling Hypothesis: IBT partially or fully normalizes meal-induced hypothalamic signaling to reverse obesity. Sub-objective: Map how long-term IBT affects hypothalamic signaling to the rest of the brain in a large randomized controlled trial of youth with obesity.  WP2: Exploring the Impact of Oxytocin on Hypothalamic Structure and Function Hypothesis: Oxytocin reduces radiological indicators of hypothalamic inflammation associated with obesity and improves hypothalamic function. Sub-objective: Characterize hypothalamic structure and function in obesity and map the effects of four weeks of intranasal oxytocin treatment.  WP3: Hypothalamic Responsiveness to Incretin Hormones Hypothesis: Hypothalamic responsiveness to incretin hormones is impaired in obesity. Sub-objective: Map the responsiveness of the hypothalamus to incretin hormones in people with obesity compared to people without obesity.  The output of this project will elucidate key neurobiological mechanisms underlying obesity and inform the development of sustainable strategies to treat and prevent obesity. It will also facilitate critical knowledge exchange between European and U.S. research institutions and significantly advance neuroendocrine research capacity in Europe.

Mots clés : hypothalamic function, obesity, functional magnetic resonance imaging, neuroendocrinology

Participants :
- Université de Copenhague (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 289701.36 €
- Mass General Brigham (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €