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

Global warming can be greatly mitigated by replacing fossil fuels with renewable solar energy. In one approach, researchers have combined solar water splitting with bacteria capable of consuming atmospheric CO2 and solar derived hydrogen to produce solar fuels. All CO2 fixed by these bacteria must go through the enzyme Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (RuBisCO). RuBisCO is the arbiter of photosynthesis and is the primary conduit linking carbon into the biosphere. However, the enzyme suffers from slow reactivity and poor selectivity for its primary substrate (CO2), making it the rate-limiting step for solar fuel synthesis and cell growth. To create an efficient and effective solar fuels process, any participatory enzymes need to have sufficiently high turnover rates to match the input of solar energy. A substantial breakthrough in this regard would be to develop an improved RuBisCO with enhanced turnover rate and selectivity. To date, directed evolution of RuBisCO has been hindered by traditional laboratory evolution techniques with prokaryotic hosts and yielded only marginal improvements in enzyme activity. To overcome evolutionary slowness and host inefficacies, I propose the in vivo directed evolution of RuBisCO in eukaryotic S. cerevisiae. This work will be divided into three parts: 1.) Designing a host organism that is dependent on RuBisCO activity through specific gene additions and deletions 2.) Develop a continuous directed evolution experiment to increase CO2 fixation, fidelity, and catalytic rate by applying selective pressures; and 3.) Isolate, propagate, and assay the resultant mutants, and test practical applications. The results of this work will serve to dramatically increase bioethanol yields through CO2 re-uptake and help achieve the European Commission's goal of using 25% biofuels in the transportation sector by 2030. This fellowship will enable the necessary research to usher in a clean and renewable future.

Mots clés : in vivo, continuous directed evolution of rubisco via error prone orthogonal dna replication

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 178320.0 €
Projet OpeSpeKin (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Global warming from CO2 emissions is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind. Catalysis offers the potential to utilize CO2 as a carbon source, however improved catalysts are required. To unlock the potential of catalytic CO2 conversion, it is neccessary to observe catalysts in-action ‘in-operando’ to design improved active sites and more active/selective and energy efficient processes. Operando spectroscopy is an effective technique in investigating the reactions that take place on catalyst surface. Combining operando spectroscopy with kinetics (spectrokinetics) offers a powerful approach for studying the underlying mechanism of the reaction. This approach can enhance our understanding of the surface reactions and further elucidate the role of surface intermediates in real time of reaction. In this work, the evolution of the concentration of reactants, surface species and products will be used jointly in kinetic modelling to understand the mechanism of the reaction. In most kinetic studies, the procedure leading to a possible reaction mechanism is experiment- and time-intensive. Therefore, in this research, model-based design of experiment (MBDoE) techniques will be employed in designing a set of experiments to obtain the most informative data for development of kinetic model. Overall, this research project intends to integrate operando spectroscopy with microkinetic modelling to rational design and optimization of new efcient catalytic systems for conversion of CO2. The project aims at: 1. Optimizing operando spectroscopy set-up 2. Developing alternative kinetic models from microkinetic analysis 3. Employing MBDoE techniques to operando spectroscopy system 4. Identification of reaction mechanism and precise estimation of kinetic parameters 5. Investigating the correlation of surface species with observed reactivity

Mots clés : operando spectrsocopy, catalytic surface reactions, model based design of experiment, carbon dioxide utilization, methanol

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet SupraFixCO2 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Global warming has become one of the global concerns which is threatening all life on our planet. As the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) has been extensively released by human activities. To reduce CO2 emission, one promising strategy is to reuse CO2 for producing value-added chemicals or fuels. For this purpose, many efforts have been devoted in constructing effective catalysts for CO2 utilization. However, many problems still limit their application, such as weak CO2 binding to the catalytic centre, low efficiency and selectivity, harsh catalytic conditions, etc. To address these challenges, we decide to think out of box. By marrying supramolecular chemistry with CO2 utilization, we aim to develop new systems of supramolecular catalysis for chemofixation and electroreduction of CO2. To this end, we plan to innovatively employ cucurbit[n]uril, a kind of water-soluble macrocyclic host, to encapsulate a catalyst or a reactant within its hydrophobic nanocavity. After first guest incorporation, CO2 as a non-polar gas molecule may strongly tend to enter the residual hydrophobic space within CB[n]'s cavity. Through such enhanced CO2 binding, supramolecular catalysis for chemofixating CO2 into cyclic carbonates and electroreducing CO2 to CO fuel could be significantly promoted. High efficiency and selectivity, and mild catalytic conditions in aqueous media could be also achieved. Furthermore, the catalytic process and mechanism will be in situ studied by a nanoparticle-on-mirror technique in a subnanometer level. In this way, supramolecular catalysis for CO2 utilization could be firstly developed. This proposed project is inherently an interdisciplinary research, therefore we will work closely with colleagues from our department and Department of Physics. We do believe that this research will attract lots of interests and attentions from scientists in the frontiers of supramolecular chemistry, CO2 utilization, catalytic science, electrochemistry and nanophotonics.

Mots clés : supramolecular catalysis, nanophotonics

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

Global warming is clearly evidenced by receding glaciers and is largely threatening water supplies. Future glacier retreat in the European Alps, known as the »water towers« of Europe, will drastically affect the regional hydrology, since it is estimated that about 55-85% of summer glacier runoff will be lost by the end of the 21st century. Future water security is dependent on sustainable management of water resources, which is one of key policy challenges in the Alpine region. For developing policies that will ensure an optimal level of adaptation to climate change, it is essential to understand climate change impacts by delivering reliable, accurate and up-to-date data from a scientific community. In the light of this view, the main research objective is to make more accurate predictions of anticipated changes in glacier behaviour and runoff in the Alps that will not be relevant only to a scientific community, but also to policy-makers. This project will deliver new data about glacier response to a changing climate and its impact on meltwater runoff in the main glacierized Alpine catchments by applying state-of-the-art glaciological field techniques and glacio-hydrological modelling. The developments of the glacio-hydrological model will further provide the information on glacier runoff and complex pathways of meltwater over different lihologies including a variety of permeable and non-permeable substrates that represent the range of Alpine bedrock lithologies. Scientists from different, but complementary research fields will collaborate on the project by exchanging new knowledge and bringing their expertise on the state-of-the-art techniques. Apart from the scientific purpose, the project holds a clear strategy on dissemination, public engagement and exploitation with special focus on developing links and providing scientific advice for policy-makers.

Mots clés : glaciers, european alps, climate change, runoff, modelling

Participants :
- Aberystwyth University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet GlueCore (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Gluons, together with quarks, are the fundamental constituents of the proton. They generate almost all its mass, carry about half of its momentum and contribute to its spin in a still unconstrained amount. Mapping their three-dimensional (3D) structure in the proton is crucial in our understanding of Quantum Chromodynamics and matter in general. The quark and gluon 3D content in momentum space is encoded in the so-called Transverse-Momentum-Dependent distribution/fragmentation functions (TMDs). While a huge progress has been made recently in the quark sector, the gluon sector is much less developed, due to the difficulty to cleanly probe gluons in high-energy processes. A very promising and also challenging way to access them is through quarkonium production. However, we still lack a solid framework which connects gluon TMDs to these processes. GlueCore will provide this new theoretical framework to properly access (un)polarized gluon TMDs through quarkonium production, also in view of the construction of new experimental facilities in Europe and the United States, with the goal of collecting a wealth of data useful for gluon mapping. GlueCore will also test the newly derived framework by performing the first phenomenological extraction of gluon TMDs, through the application of cutting-edge fitting techniques. This project will contribute to the EU H2020 priority “Excellent Science”, bringing new insights into our quest of understanding the fundamental structure of matter. It will result in several high-impact peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations and opportunities to more broadly disseminate the findings. Moreover, undertaking this research at the INFN- Pavia Division, one of the world leaders in the study of hadron structure and QCD, along with formal training and mentoring by an exceptional supervisor, will enhance my academic profile, scientific experience and content expertise, enabling me to develop into an independent, leading researcher.

Mots clés : hadron structure, spin physics, quantum chromodynamics, effective field theories, perturbative calculations, factorization and resummation, phenomenological analyses

Participants :
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet TWINGOLD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Gold catalysis has become a powerful tool for organic chemists to streamline synthesis of valuable and complex molecules. Compared to other transition metals, gold complexes are remarkably stable towards air and water, and are essentially non-toxic, which make them ideal candidates to execute catalytic cross-coupling reactions in industry or in vivo. TWINGOLD aims at broadening the current applications of gold catalysis, exploring and identifying reliable dinuclear gold(I) catalysts in C-C forming reactions. The use of dinuclear gold catalysts could lower activation barriers of chemical transformations and thus allow access to reaction pathways that are difficult to accomplish with mononuclear gold systems. TWINGOLD will promote gold catalysis significantly by exploring novel cross-coupling reactions and the related mechanistic elements behind them, enabling use of more diverse raw materials and, thus, ensuring a more sustainable and inclusive economy in EU. In addition, the project will enable the Experienced Researcher to develop a full range of scientific and transferable skills following a personalized Career Development Plan to become an established researcher (R3).

Mots clés : dinuclear gold, cross coupling, catalysis, alkylation, reaction mechanism

Participants :
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet GenBiLex (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Grammatical gender represents an important area of research given the difficulty gender assignment and agreement poses to bilinguals at all levels of proficiency. As such, the objective of GenBiLex is to develop a comprehensive proposal of grammatical gender in the bilingual lexicon that includes psycholinguistic, language acquisition and theoretical linguistic approaches. Little previous research has examined the consequences of differences between the L1 and L2 gender systems, either in terms of the number of gender values (e.g. 2 vs 3 values) or the values themselves (e.g. common/neuter vs masculine/feminine). GenBiLex addresses this crucial gap by examining bilinguals with different types of gender systems in order to offer insight into the representation of and interactions between the L1 and L2 gender features in the lexicon and how this is borne out in the use of gender in the L2. In this research 140 adult native speakers (L1) of Norwegian, German, Dutch and French learning Spanish (L2) perform an L2 gender decision task (indicate the gender value of L2 nouns) and an eye-tracking reading acceptability judgment task (rate sentences with code-switched Determiner Phrases, e.g. die mesa, ‘theGER tableSPA’). The stimuli are manipulated in terms of the gender congruency between the L1 and L2 nouns, allowing for the representation and use of gender in the L2 to be examined and bilinguals’ use of gender agreement in code-switching to be investigated with respect to theoretical syntactic proposals. GenBiLex complements previous work on grammatical gender by the Language Acquisition, Variation and Attrition group at the University of Tromsø, extending their research to include L2 acquisition and more language pairings. The outcome of this research will be a significantly deeper understanding of the representation and processing of grammatical gender in the bilingual lexicon that contributes to psycholinguistics, language acquisition and theoretical linguistics.

Mots clés : grammatical gender, bilingual mental lexicon, code switching, l2 representation, l2 processing, l1 transfer, masculine as default, determiner phrase

Participants :
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 208400.4 €
Projet WavyRibbons (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) combine the advantages of pristine graphene with the semiconducting properties required for applications in organic electronics. The properties of GNRs are significantly dependent on their structural variables such as molecular length, width and edging structures. However, it remains quite challenging to achieve atomically precise control over the structures of GNRs simultaneously, therefore new synthetic approaches are highly desirable. In this proposal (WavyRibbons; Wavy N-doped Graphene Nanoribbons for Single Molecule Electronics), a novel synthetic approach is proposed to afford GNRs with controllable length, wavy (hybrid armchair and zigzag) shape and N-doping. The properties of these GNRs will be fully characterized. These structure defined GNRs bearing suitable ending groups also provide a unique platform to study the charge transport properties in single molecule junctions, which will shield new insights into this important but unexplored field. The appropriate working plan taking into account 1) background of the fellow; 2) experience of the host groups; 3) resources available will ensure the achievement of this proposal. And, the success of WavyRibbons will not also signify a real breakthrough in fundamental research but also benefit all the parties involved.

Mots clés : graphene nanoribbon, charge transport, single molecule electronics, novel synthetic approaches, structure property relationship

Participants :
- University of the Basque Country (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet GRINP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Grasping and Reaching In Number Processing (GRINP) is focused on the study of the neural underpinnings of number processing and its impairment. Number-related deficits can dramatically affect everyday life. Nonetheless, this impairment is often marginally considered in clinical practice, possibly because the complex nature of numerical disorders makes their diagnosis and rehabilitation quite hard. GRINP builds upon action-based theories of cognition - considering many aspects of human cognition as built on motor action - and on the idea that the neural bases for abstract concepts representation are networks of functionally-related recycled mechanisms. Through a comprehensive approach which couples clinical (neuropsychological) with neuroimaging methods (magnetoencephalography), GRINP tests whether number magnitude recruits the same sensorimotor network involved in planning and executing hand movements. GRINP is timely because it relates the cognitive aspects of number and action with the study of their neural dynamics; GRINP is innovative because it promotes at different levels (scientific, clinical, societal) an action-based approach for the understanding of cognitive impairment. GRINP is based on the convergence between the solid expertise of the Fellow in numerical cognition and behavioural research methods, and the long lasting tradition of the Host in neuropsychological and neuroimaging training and research. GRINP will allow the Fellow to restart research in her native country after more than five years of international research/teaching experience and a maternity break. Thanks to the planned training on advanced neuropsychological (voxel-based lesion symptom mapping, brain tractography) and neuroimaging methods (functional connectivity) the Fellow will broaden her expertise from experimental psychology to cognitive neuroscience, putting the bases for a successful long-term career plan.

Mots clés : numerical cognition, embodied cognition, mathematical cognition, acalculia, number action interaction, number impairment

Participants :
- University of Padua (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 275209.92 €
Projet BINSKY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences are now routinely detected, but other types of gravitational waves await to be discovered. Rotating neutron stars with an asymmetry around their rotating axis give rise to continuous waves, which differ from the already detected gravitational waves in their long duration (present during the whole observing runs) and expected weaker amplitude. Although many searches for continuous waves have been carried out, no detection has been achieved yet. The first detection of a continuous wave could be the next major discovery in gravitational-wave astronomy, probing the behaviour of matter at extreme conditions and the equation of state at densities above nuclear density that cannot be reached in any laboratory, the geometrical shape of neutron stars, and fundamental physics with tests of general relativity. This action aims to make the first detection of a continuous wave signal, searching for signals from unknown neutron stars in binary systems. More than half of the known neutron stars in the sensitive frequency region of the gravitational-wave detectors are part of binary systems. Neutron stars in binary systems may be more likely to have the asymmetries needed to emit detectable continuous waves, since they might be accreting matter from their companions which provides a natural asymmetry. This increases the chances of detecting a continuous wave signal, making all-sky searches of continuous waves from binary systems one of the most promising scenarios. All-sky surveys for continuous wave signals from neutron stars in binary systems are probably the most challenging search in gravitational-wave science. For this reason, they have been carried out seldom and at lower sensitivity compared to surveys from signals from isolated neutron stars, and with this project we want to address this deficiency. This project will be carried out at the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover, within the research group lead by M.A. Papa.


Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 162806.4 €