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

Cachexia is a life-threatening wasting syndrome, defined by an involuntary loss of body weight, that affects a large proportion of patients with advanced chronic diseases. Kidney diseases affect > 850 million people worldwide and represent the 10th leading cause of death. In this context, cachexia associated with chronic kidney diseases (KCx) is a huge burden in end-stage patients with kidney replacement therapies. Patients with KCx experience frailty, which worsens their quality of life (impacting their social- and professional life), hospitalization and mortality rates. So far, most research efforts have tried to identify primary pro-cachectic factors contributing to muscle wasting, but this was unfruitful in terms of therapeutics. Here, we are proposing a translational and interdisciplinary project that will focus on novel tissues (i.e adipose tissue and liver) with great relevance in the control of systemic energy metabolism. Preliminary data obtained in collaboration with the host laboratory have shown that these two tissues undergo a strong remodeling of their glucose and lipid metabolism, which could contribute to energy loss and body wasting. The main objectives of the project will be: 1) to understand the mechanisms by which altered metabolic pathways contribute to wasting in fat, liver and muscle cells; 2) to assess the biomarker potential of products of these metabolic pathways for early diagnosis of patients with KCx; and 3) to assess the therapeutic potential of targeting these metabolic pathways in mouse models of KCx. With this project, we will develop a novel research axis combining my expertise in the field of cachexia and metabolism to the expertise of the host in the field of kidney diseases. The project will be supported by highly relevant in vitro and in vivo models, access to patients’ samples, and innovative techniques. This fellowship will allow to develop my independency and to get a competitive research profile to pursue an academic career.

Mots clés : chronic kidney diseases cachexia adipose tissue liver glucose and lipid metabolism

Participants :
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 242260.56 €
Projet NITROHOP (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The bioavailability of nitrogen (N) is critical for phytoplankton growth, affecting global primary production and CO2 sequestration. Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation, catalysed by the enzyme nitrogenase, converts N2 into bioavailable forms like ammonia. This process is strictly anaerobic, as nitrogenase is inactivated by oxygen (O2). Cyanobacteria, the primary oceanic N2 fixers, face the challenge of conducting both oxygenic photosynthesis and N2 fixation in an oxic environment. To overcome this, marine cyanobacterial diazotrophs employ various strategies, such as forming specialised cells or segregating nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis temporally and spatially. However, these methods do not address how non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria prevent O2 diffusion through cell membranes. Recent studies suggest that hopanoids, lipids that may act as O2 barriers, are present in non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria, potentially aiding N2 fixation in oxygen-rich waters. Hopanoids help maintain membrane stability and reduce permeability to O2. Despite the documentation of hopanoid production in nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, its role in facilitating N2 fixation remains unclear. To shed light on this, the NITROHOP project aims to investigate whether hopanoid production supports N2 fixation in marine cyanobacterial diazotrophs. By using quantitative PCR and atomic force microscopy NITROHOP will explore the temporal relationship between hopanoid synthesis and nitrogen fixation, examining gene expression and lipid membrane characteristics. This will be tested in three different cyanobacteria diazotrophs: UCYN-A, Crocosphaera, and Trichodesmium, differentiating their ecological strategies to perform both processes over day-night cycles. This research will will answer a long-standing question about the mechanisms enabling the process of oxygen diffusion and their role on marine nitrogen fixation in oxygenated environments.

Mots clés : nitrogen fixation, diazotrophs, ocean, nitrogenase, nifh, lipids, hopanoids, oxygen diffusion, 

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 194074.56 €
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet neUTIbladder (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

UTI is one of the most common bacterial infections, affecting >150 million individuals annually, worldwide. Unexpectedly, UTI is also the most common complication after stroke, occurring in up to 40% of patients. This suggests a dysregulation between the bladder and the brain, however this has never been studied. In other mucosal organs, neurons are in direct contact with tissue-resident macrophages and modulate their function during infection. Indeed, stroke causes striking changes to the immune compartment, including macrophages, in peripheral organs. As a result, stroke patients experience increased susceptibility to infection, alongside systemic inflammation, which is associated with neurological decline. In this project, I will investigate bladder macrophages in homeostasis and during acute stroke recovery. I will assess the impact of stroke on bladder immune cell-nerve crosstalk, including bladder macrophages and susceptibility to UTI. Specifically, I hypothesize that changes in macrophage-nerve crosstalk after stroke alters macrophage response to infection, leading to systemic inflammation and subsequent neurological decline. In collaboration with The University of Edinburgh, I will use a model of ischemic stroke in the lab of Dr Laura McCulloch to test this hypothesis. During this project, I will use state-of-the-art technologies such as spatial transcriptomics, 3D-imaging and spectral flow cytometry. Training at the University of Edinburgh, alongside in the host lab, will provide me with a unique set of skills combining the disciplines of immunology, microbiology and neurobiology. The expertise I will acquire in this project are in line with my career goals to become an independent researcher, and provide me with the tools to address a novel question in a largely unstudied area with clinical importance.

Mots clés : macrophage, nerve, neuroinflammation, stroke, urinary tract infection, sex difference

Participants :
- Université d'Édimbourg (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet PhonologiQ (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The primary goal of the PhonologiQ research program herein described is to produce a simple and clear set of analytical expressions that detail the dependence of the efficiency of a surface phonon polariton-based integrated quantum photonic circuit on the material and geometric parameters of its nanoscopic components. This research will focus on three primary areas of novelty: 1) incorporating radiation into models of interactions between phononic waveguides and quantum emitters and antennae, 2) describing the effects of material nonlocality and anisotropy on the fundamental performance limits of the circuit, and 3) investigating novel hybridization-mediated pathways through which the efficiency of nonlinear circuit elements like switches or light sources can be enhanced without losing energy to radiation. Upon successful completion of the program, the results will be a useful roadmap by which experimental researchers working to realize the next generation of quantum photonic information processing systems can formulate concrete design criteria. The planned speedup to Europe's development of cutting edge computing technologies falls within the stated goals of the Horizon 2021-2022 Work Program to strengthen the R&I capacity, output, and transfer within and between European research institutions.

Mots clés : infrared optical resonances, surface phonon polaritons

Participants :
- Université autonome de Madrid (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet Bio3XBRIT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Breast cancer remains a major public health issue, being the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in France, with around 58,459 new cases and 12,146 deaths reported in 2018. There are three main types: hormone receptor (HR)-positive (75-80% of cases), HER2-positive (15% of cases), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (15-20% of cases). Standard treatment involves surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy for HR-positive cases, and targeted anti-HER2 therapy for HER2-positive cases. Recently, immunotherapies like pembrolizumab (an anti-PD1 antibody) have been approved for TNBC patients, in combination with chemotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors are associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) due to generalized lymphocyte activation, which can affect any tissue and even lead to death in severe cases. There is an urgent need to better understand the anti-tumor immune response to reduce toxicity, improve immuno-oncology strategies for TNBC, and broaden their application to other breast cancer types. Additionally, treatment resistance is a significant challenge, with unknown reasons limiting the number of patients achieving complete response. The proposed project aims to advance breast cancer immunotherapy by developing a comprehensive molecular approach to discover TNBC immunotherapy biomarkers of treatment resistance and irAE development, thank to the access to TNBC patient cohorts. Molecular characteristics and clonotype dynamics of T cells (CD8+, CD4+ Tconvs, and Tregs) at the single-cell level during anti-PD1 treatment, will be correlated with tumor transcriptomic data and clinical data. Analysis of an existing cohort of 83 TNBC patients treated with pembrolizumab and neoadjuvant chemotherapy will uncover aspects of the anti-tumor T-cell response, T-cell specificity, and identify novel biomarkers of resistance and toxicity, as well as targets for therapeutic options.

Mots clés : immunotherapy, therapy resistance, biomarkers

Participants :
- Institut Curie (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet ReGutBM (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The intestinal epithelium forms a tight barrier against pathogens and toxins while simultaneously absorbing ions and nutrients. It is the fastest self-renewing tissue in the body, as over 3-5 days, a complete turnover of epithelial cells is achieved. Homeostasis is maintained by tight coordination between epithelial cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and extrusion. Epithelial cells adhere and migrate on the basement membrane, a unique, sheet-like extracellular matrix that separates epithelial cells from the underlying mesenchyme. Composed primarily of laminins and type-IV collagen, the basement membrane provides structural support, promotes cell adhesion and polarity, and serves as a mechanical and biochemical signaling hub. Although great advances have been made in identifying morphogenetic regulators of epithelial-cell renewal, spatial regulators that limit proliferating cells to the crypt or guide cell migration towards the villus tip are still missing. Interestingly, basement membrane protein composition varies across the crypt-villus axis, which could also affect its stiffness. However, whether these variations play a role in regulating epithelial cell renewal has not been addressed. The overarching hypothesis of ReGutBM is that basement membrane protein composition and / or stiffness define specific zones that promote cell proliferation or cell death, and provide cues for directional migration of epithelial cells in gut homeostasis. Using ex-vivo tissue cultures and in-vivo mouse models, I will characterize the basement membrane protein composition and stiffness. Using 2D intestinal organoid cultures, I will decouple the regulatory impact of tissue stiffness and protein identity on epithelial cell renewal, and identify the molecular mechanism which facilitates BM-epithelia crosstalk during gut homeostasis.

Mots clés : gut homeostasis basement membrane cell matrix interactions cell migration organoid

Participants :
- Institut Curie (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 211754.88 €
Projet VERNE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The transition to clean energy has increased interest in geothermal resources from various geological environments like fractured rock, magmatic systems, and sedimentary basins. Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) is a widely used geophysical exploration method that provides shear wave velocity models to reveal fractures in the subsurface. Recent advancements have enabled ANT to extract seismic attenuation data, which is particularly sensitive to fluid flow and is highly valuable in geothermal exploration. The VERNE project aims to advance geothermal exploration by developing innovative Ambient Noise Attenuation Tomography (ANAT) software. The project focuses on developing the ANAT software using Python and leveraging open-access libraries for signal processing and inversion. It will be designed to generate 3D attenuation models from ambient noise signal, providing detailed insights into subsurface structures. Following software development, the project will apply this methodology to existing seismic datasets to key geothermal areas in Aargau and Jura in Switzerland and Tuscany in Italy. These regions have been selected due to their high geothermal potential and the availability of extensive seismic data. The goal is to produce high-resolution 3D attenuation models that can identify critical features such as fractures and fluid presence, which are vital for assessing geothermal resources. Additionally, VERNE will explore ANAT's application to Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology. DAS transforms fiber-optic cables into dense seismic sensor arrays, offering the potential for unparalleled spatial resolution and coverage. By integrating ANAT with DAS data, the project aims to enhance the accuracy and depth of subsurface imaging, potentially revolutionizing geothermal exploration. VERNE contributes to clean energy and advanced geothermal exploration technologies by addressing critical challenges such as the need for cost-effective, high-resolution subsurface imaging.

Mots clés : geothermal exploration, geophysical imaging, passive seismology, ambient noise attenuation tomography, distributed acoustic sensing

Participants :
- Université de Genève (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Instituto volcanologico de canarias sa (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 412916.16 €
Projet PGDRS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

This project explores how the German Democratic Republic used film festivals in the West as a form of cultural diplomacy between 1949 and 1989. For the first time in scholarship, this project considers the different ways in which governments, artistic bodies and individuals viewed the opportunities of the Berlin Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival as ways for the GDR to achieve cultural prestige and political capital in the West. Instead of presenting cultural diplomacy as a ‘top-down’ process instigated and tightly controlled by state officials, this research foregrounds the roles of artistic institutions, filmmakers and festival organisers in establishing lines of communication in-between and outside of formal channels. The significance of this extends beyond the Cold War: by focusing on the role of state and non-state actors, the research allows for better understandings of how cultural events can be used to transcend political impasses today and in so doing also speaks directly to the European Commission’s 'New European Agenda for Culture'.  Led by an outstanding researcher with a proven publication record, this project will allow Dr Ward to develop further the core research, training and professional skills needed as leading international academic in the humanities and emerge as an independent researcher. By working with sector-leading cultural historians at Leipzig University, Dr Ward will hone her specialist research skills and undertake a targeted training programme to equip her with key research and professional skills needed to excel in academia. These skills will be complemented by a carefully designed communication and dissemination strategy to ensure that, upon completion of the fellowship, she has the key markers of academic success (publications), interdisciplinary collaboration (the organisation of an international workshop) and public engagement (public film screenings, publishing for non-specialist audiences).

Mots clés : cold war, germany, german democratic republic, film festivals

Participants :
- Université de Leipzig (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet NeuroHost-IntAct (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Parasites can be found everywhere, playing crucial roles in ecological, economical, and evolutionary contexts. Despite this, host-parasite interactions, particularly those involving parasites that manipulate their hosts’ behavior to enhance transmission, are severely understudied. We therefore lack the knowledge to fully understand parasite evolution, ecology, and ecosystem impact. To begin uncovering the molecular basis of host manipulation, I aim to study the parasitic horsehair worm Gordionus violaceus, known for its ability to force its arthropod host into drowning itself. I will analyze the neuropeptide (NP) complement, binding affinities, and behavioral consequences of host manipulation. To do so, I will identify NPs and receptors in G. violaceus and its host, the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, via a bioinformatics survey and validate my results via Mass Spectrometry. Next, I will assess the binding affinity between candidate parasite NPs and host receptors by transfecting cells and measuring their luminescence response. Lastly, I will validate the functionality of the candidate NPs and receptors in a behavioral assay, exploring water-seeking, suicidal and predator avoidance behavior in crickets exposed to the candidate NPs as well as crickets infected with G. violaceus. Introducing single and multiple injections will allow me to discern dose-response relationships. This proposal integrates cutting-edge techniques in bioinformatics, molecular biology, and behavioral analysis, offering a holistic approach to untangle the intricate NP dynamics within a host-parasite system. As we start to understand host-parasite interactions and manipulation we can gain crucial insights into the delicate balance of co-existence between organisms, shedding light on the ecological dynamics and the remarkable strategies that parasites have evolved to ensure their survival and transmission within complex ecosystems.

Mots clés : nematomorph, neuropeptides, g protein coupled receptors, host parasite interaction, behavior, 

Participants :
- Université Friedrich-Schiller d'Iéna (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet PURE-CO2 and NOx (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The PURE-CO2 and NOX project at Imperial College, London, aims to tackle the rising anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and NOx by pioneering a recycling solution that converts these gases into “urea” using photo and electrocatalytic processes. This multidisciplinary initiative merges the development of catalysts, reactor design, and unexplored in situ and operando spectroscopic studies to examine transient intermediates, reaction kinetics and pathways. The initial phase targets the identification of optimal cathode catalysts for the co-reduction of CO2 and NOx, focusing on the use of non-precious transition metals to synthesize a range of single atom catalysts. These are evaluated for their reduction efficacy alongside photoanode electrodes fabricated from n-Si and n-GaAs. Custom designed industrially relevant flow reactors then assess the reduction performance of these setups. Under Professor James Durrant’s supervision, rigorous in situ spectroscopic and time-resolved operando photoinduced absorption studies are conducted to elucidate the reaction intermediates, byproducts, reaction kinetics and feasible pathways. This innovative application of operando techniques to study the photo and electrocatalytic urea production reactions is novel and fills a significant gap in understanding both photo and electrocatalytic systems. The project holds potential to revolutionize the design of cost-effective, efficient catalysts, projecting an enhancement in reaction efficiency by 30-40%, potentially reducing urea production costs in industrial settings by 10-12%. This aligns closely with EU priorities, setting the stage for significant advancements in emission reduction technologies.

Mots clés : photocatalysis electrocatalysis co2 reduction nox reduction urea production

Participants :
- Université d'Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 276187.92 €
- Université de technologie d'Eindhoven (Pays-Bas) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €