Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet IceMelt3D (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

IceMelt3D will track the production and fate of surface meltwater in glacial bare-ice areas to improve the skill of Surface Mass Balance (SMB) models in predicting melt and runoff from these locations of major ice loss. In these areas a porous, low-density ‘weathering crust’ (WC) often develops, which causes sub-surface melting and dramatically changes the surface albedo and hence melt rates, invoking a feedback loop. However, SMB models lack fundamental constraints on the production and fate of meltwater in bare-ice areas. IceMelt3D will focus on numerically quantifying ablation area processes, using the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI), Canada as a case study. The Action will develop the Regional Climate Model (RCM) ‘MAR’ for SMB reconstruction of the QEI ice caps. The Action objectives are: (O1) Resolve WC dynamics by simultaneous field measurements of surface energy balance, albedo, melt rates and WC properties in a hydrologically-gauged supraglacial catchment on Sverdrup Glacier, Devon Ice Cap, QEI. (O2) Develop and validate a numerical, vertically-resolved model of WC dynamics linked with a new surface albedo model. (O3) Up-scale the hydrology of supraglacial drainage catchments using remotely-sensed measurements calibrated with in-situ measurements. (O4) Implement the WC-albedo model within the surface scheme of MAR. (O5) Use MAR to reconstruct the SMB of the QEI ice fields, and validate the outputs. These objectives are linked under a unified framework of ablation processes that comprises WC structural properties, albedo, surface energy balance, light-absorbing impurities and hydrology. Only with simultaneous, numerical engagement across the framework will the full impact of ablation zone processes on runoff be captured. The Action will train the researcher in High Arctic glaciological fieldwork, numerical modelling and regional climate modelling, and will enable two-way transfer of knowledge between Canada and Europe on QEI SMB observations and modelling.

Mots clés : glacier ice, supraglacial hydrology, polar regional climate modelling

Participants :
- University of Liège (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 235191.36 €
- University of Alberta (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet TRI-DENTUM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Identifying past human diets is a key to understanding biological changes and cultural adaptations of Homo sapiens. A variety of proxies are generally considered to reconstruct ancient and historic nutrition, mostly recovered from osteological samples. Teeth are often subject to research, as they directly relate to mastication. Dental microwear is a direct evidence of differential masticatory regimes, while dental calculus may retain micro-residues of the food ingested. Yet, only a few studies have proposed the combination of dental microwear and analysis of dental calculus. Even more rarely, such data have been contextualized in the masticatory apparatus. The TRI-DENTUM project aims to investigate past human diet from an evolutionary perspective. It is multidisciplinary in scope, as it involves archaeology, biology, dentistry and evolutionary medicine. It explores the possibility of developing innovative methodological approaches to infer past human diets from the examination of osteological specimens. The diet of selected individuals recovered from a medieval German cemetery and the Canton of Zurich’s archaeological collection will be reconstructed through an original, three-fold approach. Three independent analyses are considered: dental microwear, extraction of micro-residues from dental calculus and evaluation of radiological osteoarthritis signs in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). While working on the project, the researcher will acquire new skills in bioarchaeology and evolutionary medicine at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine (IEM) (Zurich, Switzerland). TRI-DENTUM will foster advancements within archaeology, being therefore transformational to the field, as it will allow approaching past human diet with an innovative and holistic approach. Hence, the methodology designed herein will be applicable in the future to varied geographical areas and chronological periods to respond to specific questions related to the evolution of the human diet.

Mots clés : dental microwear, dental calculus, temporomandibular joint, human diet

Participants :
- University of Zurich (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet Ultra3DPrint (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

If successful, this project will be a milestone in the development of 3D printing of metals by laser-directed energy deposition. The purpose of this project is to establish a scientific understanding of laser 3D printing of metals under the influence of ultrasound. A full description of this process will ensure the consistent performance of printed products for critical applications. The applicant will combine cutting-edge in situ synchrotron x-ray imaging and modelling approaches to characterise the development of the melt pool. Expected outcomes are likely to provide production guidance on laser 3D printing of metals with defect-free, highly refined grain structures that can be used to produce high value-added products. This research fellowship will enable the applicant to become an independent research group leader in the field of laser 3D printing.

Mots clés : additive manufacturing, 3d printing, x ray imaging

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet OPTIMAL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Illegal excavation of archaeological sites aimed at collecting historical material culture ("looting") is a pressing problem on a global scale. The global upsurge of in the illegal excavation of cultural heritage sites (e.g. in connection to turmoils in Middle East or due to the impossibility of monitoring inaccessible areas, like in South America) and the subsequent trafficking of antiquities, exacerbated by the Covid lockdown, calls for the timely development of automatic means for identifying looting activities. The OPTIMAL (OPtimal Transport for Identifying Marauder Activities on LiDAR) project aims to tackle this challenge by developing an efficient and principled Machine Learning (ML) approach based on Optimal Transport to automatically detect looting (past and present) directly on airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) point cloud time-series. OPTIMAL proposes, for the first time, the use of LiDAR for monitoring and assessing the damages of looting based on LiDAR’s unique ability to penetrate forest canopies and enabling to see a range of looting-related features under the canopy (e.g. shape and depth of the lootings pits) that otherwise would remain hidden due to vegetation covers. OPTIMAL will create and make publicly available the first multi-temporal LiDAR dataset for illegal activities’ identification to foster the interest of MLs researchers in developing new methods to tackle challenges in landscape archaeology and to evaluate the developed ML approach. Results of this interdisciplinary research will be widely disseminated within Cultural Heritage, Remote Sensing and Machine Learning communities and to others that can exploit OPTIMAL’s results. A communication strategy will be designed to ignite enthusiasm for technological advancements for the protection of our Heritage.


Participants :
- Kyoto University (Japon) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Italian Institute of Technology (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 184117.44 €
Projet POWER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Imagine an electronic device that could harvest energy from the first ray of the sun, every single beat of your heart, and even exhaust from your automobile. The boost in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have forced a fast deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices are expected to operate 24x7 at the pane of a blink. Powering such devices accounts for 6% of the global fossil fuel energy production. The best way to meet this power demand is to develop self-sustainable, monolithic, long-lasting, electronic devices that are designed to receive mechanical, thermal, and photovoltaic input from the surroundings individually or simultaneously to provide an electrical output whenever needed. This will be achieved by engineering high performing unrivalled materials’ architectures, with high piezoresponse for mechanical energy conversion and efficient transport properties for thermal and photovoltaic performance. POWER aims at chemically modifying lead-free hybrid halide organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) and improving their stability by encapsulating them in a polymer matrix. Following this, the structural, optical, and electrical response of these materials and their integrated devices will be measured and correlated with the crystal structure. Lessons from these fundamental multi-dimensional studies will not only offer a solution to our dream self-sustainable device but will also motivate scientists and researchers working in the regime of hardware support for AI, chemistry, materials science, and device physics. The project will integrate the applicant’s expertise on HOIP synthesis and device characterization with the extensive experience of the host-lab in thin-film growth and mechatronics. Importantly, the originality and boldness of the project will warranty that its success will catapult the applicant’s international recognition as an independent scientist, greatly increasing her career prospects to be a future group leader.

Mots clés : self sustainable devices, hybrid organic inorganic halide perovskites, nanostructures, polymer composites, mechatronics

Participants :
- University of Groningen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187572.48 €
Projet CODIR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Imagine that you choose a large house with a long commute over a small flat with a short train ride. Will the appearance of an inferior, thus irrelevant, alternative–a small flat with a longer train ride–make you revise your initial choice? Contrary to what theories in economics prescribe people typically reverse their original choice in the presence of an inferior option. Contextual preference reversals (CPRs) of this form are hallmarks of human irrationality. Such deviations from rationality have been described in numerous behavioural studies over the past decades. But what are the mechanisms that produce CPRs? And why do CPRs differ across individuals? I aim to answer these big open questions. Specifically, I plan to elucidate the brain mechanisms that mediate CPRs, from the level of neurotransmitters, to large-scale brain networks, to behaviour. To this end, I will combine, for the first time, three novel approaches: a model-based approach I developed for quantifying irrational decision-making in a physiologically tractable fashion; delineating the neural interactions underlying decisions with magnetoenecephalography (MEG); and pharmacological manipulation of these interactions. I will then use the MEG data to guide the development of a biophysically constrained mechanistic model of irrational decision-making. This model will be used to generate novel predictions about CPRs in the healthy brain as well as in several neurophysiological disorders. In sum, my research will tackle long-standing problems from the behavioural sciences with techniques from the life sciences, thus providing a deeper understanding of the limits of human behaviour. I will be thoroughly trained in advanced neurophysiological techniques in preparation for a career in the nascent field of “computational psychiatry”. Finally, this project will bring together leading scientists from the behavioural, neural, and physical sciences, establishing a new multi-disciplinary EU research network.

Mots clés : decision making, decision neuroscience, neuroeconomics

Participants :
- Universität Hamburg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171460.8 €
- University of Amsterdam (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet NoBiasFluors (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Staff Exchanges
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Imaging of distribution of drugs in mice delivers accurate information for confirmation that the mechanism of action elaborated in cell-based assays is also operative in vivo. These data are critical for the transfer of drug discovery process from pre-clinical to clinical phase. To enable the imaging, drugs should be labeled with easily detectable moieties, e.g. radioactive markers and fluorescent dyes. Ideally, the markers should not affect in vivo properties of the drugs that can be better achieved with radioactive markers, since they can be selected to be small: e.g. a single atom marker 18F applied in positron emission tomography. Despite this intrinsic advantage, PET suffers from safety issues, since radioactivity is harmful to humans and environment. In terms of safety optical imaging is much better and, therefore, in future can replace PET. However, fluorescent dyes compatible with the optical imaging are usually extended pi-systems carrying overall positive or negative charge. Their conjugation strongly affects properties of the majority of medium sized and low molecular weight drugs that limits the applicability of this method in drug discovery. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral consortium NoBiasFluors consisting of 4 academic and 2 industrial teams aims at achieving a breakthrough solution of this problem. We will develop non-biased red and near infrared fluorescent dyes, which are compatible with in vivo optical imaging and do not affect properties of drugs upon their conjugation. This goal will be achieved by the careful optimization of dye structure, polarity and charge. We will confirm the functionality of the developed dyes for labeling of representative drugs (anticancer N-alkylaminoferrocene-based prodrugs, D-peptides targeting Alzheimer’s disease) and binders of biomolecules (nucleopeptides and lectins) and monitoring their distribution both in cellulo and in vivo (for a selected labeled drug).

Mots clés : red fluorescent dyes, anticancer drugs, peptides, nucleopeptides, lectins, conjugation, in cellulo imaging, in vivo imaging

Participants :
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Limited liability scientific service company otava (Ukraine) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 64400.0 €
- University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 133400.0 €
- Innovation development center abn llc (Ukraine) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 165600.0 €
- Naukovo vyrobnichyj kooperatyv lectinotest (Ukraine) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 73600.0 €
- Romanian Academy (Roumanie) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 142600.0 €
- National Research Council (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 92000.0 €
Projet Neuronetmir (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory neural networks are a hallmark of several brain disorders including epilepsy. Current drug therapies for epilepsy are ineffective in a third of patients and none have disease-modifying effects. It is of high priority, therefore, to understand molecular/ genetic mechanisms responsible for epilepsy development and identify novel targets. The control of mRNA stability and translation is critical for proper neural network function. Here, RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and small noncoding RNAs called microRNAs (miRNA) act together to fine-tune levels of proteins critical for synaptic structure and function. These may represent important therapeutic targets since they regulate gene networks and exert broader actions that can generate more potent effects against seizures. Until now there has been no systematic analysis of miRNA, RBP crosstalk in the context of neural network stability in epilepsy. Building on my recent breakthrough studies showing miR-129-5p/Rbfox1 crosstalk in neural network homeostasis my project will explore the following objectives: First, identify targets regulated by miR-129-5p/Rbfox1 crosstalk in vivo; Second, functionally interrogate miR-129-5p/Rbfox1 crosstalk in neural network stability in vitro and in vivo; Third, investigate miR-129-5p and Rbfox1 function in human neural networks. To achieve these objectives I will apply my existing expertise as well as acquire new skills in a range of state-of-the-art interdisciplinary and cutting-edge techniques including single molecule imaging, proteomic analyses, multiple electrode arrays, human brain organotypic cultures and pre-clinical animal models. The results will establish RBPs, alongside miRNAs, as new mediators of epileptogenic network pathogenesis. Findings will also generate new targets for pre-clinical development and evidence of efficacy in human cells for disease-modifying therapies for epilepsy and disorders of neural network homeostasis.

Mots clés : post transcriptional regulation, epilepsy, human neural networks

Participants :
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187866.0 €
Projet RESONATE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Immigrant and refugee rights movements (IRRM) have lately shown success in providing temporary assistance and integration programs in numerous countries. However, they have mostly failed to respond to the societal backlash against immigrants and refugees. How can IRRMs communicate with societies better, alter hostile public opinion and promote rights for noncitizens? Through the case of Turkey, the largest refugee-hosting country, RESONATE aims to offer novel analytical and methodological approaches to empower IRRMs with resilient tools. It has three specific objectives. First, it will map the capacities and communicative strategies of the IRRM in Turkey through systematic network analysis. Second, by conducting a representative survey, it will identify ‘resonant frames’ with the public ensconced in core values and human rights. Finally, it will test the effects of these resonant frames in transforming public attitudes through field experiments with subjects recruited through social media. RESONATE has an innovative and solution-oriented approach and combines cutting-edge research methods with insights from sociology, cultural and communication studies and political science. Public opinion data collected on noncitizens in many countries mostly report negative attitudes. Such data are often exploited to entrench stigmatizing views as ‘facts’. RESONATE seeks original data collection and findings that could empower vulnerable groups. By revealing potent and resonant frames, it also aims to entrench democratic and rights-based movements engaged in boundary and identity re-making on highly polarizing issues. Findings will boost IRRM’s mobilizational capacity in Turkey and provide hints for other movements in Europe by identifying vital ways to challenge sedimented racializing and marginalizing frames. RESONATE will be hosted by the University of Venice and Northwestern University and offer collaborative outcomes beneficial to all parties.

Mots clés : social movements, turkey, refugees, immigration, survey, public opinion, online field experiments, case study, social integration, exclusion, inequalities, competitive authoritarianism

Participants :
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 269002.56 €
- Northeastern University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet CINPinCB (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Immunotherapies are revolutionizing cancer care, but are only effective in a minority of patients. Because current treatments typically target T lymphocytes, manipulating other cell types will create additional therapeutic opportunities. This research project aims to study neutrophils, because they can be abundant in the tumor environment, can modulate tumor outgrowth and response to treatments, and are candidate new therapeutic targets. However, tumor-associated neutrophils can be phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous, with only some of them promoting tumor growth. At present, we have a limited understanding of the complexity of neutrophils in tumors, and the mechanisms that control the functions of these cells. This is largely due to the inherent experimental limitations of neutrophil studies. Here, we will use a new approach to test the hypotheses that so-called Conditionally-Immortalized Neutrophil Progenitors (CINP) can be: 1) used to produce unrestricted numbers of tumor-associated neutrophils in vivo, and 2) gene-edited to study neutrophils mechanistically during cancer progression. Addressing these questions bears scientific and therapeutic importance, as it will not only deepen our fundamental understanding of the mechanisms regulating neutrophil activities in cancer, but also indicate new molecular targets for therapy. With this study, I will also create and share a publicly available database of all newly identified targets that will be investigated by us, other academic research groups, and industry. Besides, the project’s outputs will be communicated to the broader general public. Altogether, the training and input I will receive during the Marie Curie Individual Fellowship will prepare my transition from post-doc to independent researcher in an excellent scientific environment in Europe.

Mots clés : cancer, neutrophils, immunotherapy, cancer immunity, conditionally immortalized progenitors, crispr, cas9 gene editing, genetic screen, protumoral mechanisms, predictive biomarkers, therapeutic targets

Participants :
- University of Geneva (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €