Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SmArtC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The transition to a green and sustainable energy-based economy is one of the most critical challenges of our society. In this line, the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable energy, CO2 and water as primary feedstocks is an attractive alternative to solve the increasing worldwide demand for resources. Taking inspiration from Natural Photosynthesis, where sunlight energy is stored into chemical bonds producing only O2 as a by-product, an appealing approach is the use of sunlight as a driving force to produce renewable fuels from CO2 and water using artificial photosynthesis (AP). Unfortunately, efficient CO2 reduction and water oxidation (WO) remain bottlenecks in the development of efficient AP. Particularly challenging is the selective CO2-reduction due to the number of accessible reaction pathways with a similar thermodynamic reduction potential. The current proposal aims to develop a semiartificial photosynthetic system to revolutionise solar fuel production taking the advantages of both biologic (selectivity and low energy barriers due to structural complexity) and synthetic molecular systems (efficiency and straightforward modification and study) and overcome the limitations of both worlds themselves. This is a unique approach where the combination of natural enzymes with artificial systems (metal catalysts, light absorbers and synthetic membranes) will lead to new solar-fuel production schemes not achievable by natural or molecular catalysts alone. As such, SmArtC aims to embed Photosystem II (PSII), in a membrane of a liposome and couple its WO activity with the photocatalytic CO2-reduction-to-methane reactivity of a highly efficient and selective dual photocatalytic system based on an iron porphyrin catalyst and an organic dye, also embedded into the liposome. This proposal would achieve the long-standing goal of the use of water as an electron donor, CO2 as primary carbon feedstock and sunlight as a driving force to produce carbon-based fuels.

Mots clés : solar fuel production, co2 to ch4 reduction, hybrid molecular biologic systems, artificial photosynthesis compartmentalisation, semiartificial photosynthesis

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet TRIGEM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The triterpenoids are one of the largest and most structurally complex plant natural products. They are widespread in the Plant Kingdom and have a huge array of structures and numerous associated biological activities. They have important roles in plant defence and signalling. They are also exploited by humans as food supplements, drugs and cosmetics across various sectors. In the past the discovery and production of triterpenoids has relied mainly on isolation from extracts of natural sources and subsequent structural elucidation and chemical modification. These methods suffer from low efficiency and high cost, and are not environmentally sustainable. We herein propose a greener and more sustainable but as yet largely unexplored synthetic biology-based approach that involves genome mining and metabolic engineering to synthesise structural variants of triterpenoids, with a view to discovering novel structures with biological activities for various application prospects in a rapid manner. This project will also shed new light on the biosynthetic pathways of triterpenoids by uncovering new genes and enzymes and will open up opportunities for production of important triterpenoids via further metabolic manipulations in plant or microbial ‘green factories’.


Participants :
- UK Research and Innovation (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet FLAMENCO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The ultimate goal of this Fellowship, entitled “FLAgellated MicroswimmErs’ locomotioN in Confined flOws” (FLAMENCO) is to train a talented researcher in computational modelling of micro-swimming. A variety of interdisciplinary training activities are planned with the purpose of transferring the cutting-edge knowledge in theoretical, computational and experimental microswimmer dynamics. The specialist training will be provided by Queen Mary University (Engineering Department), which, through this action, will establish a long-term collaboration network with the University of Warwick (Physics Department), the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, and the University of Padova (Department of Medicine). The interdisciplinarity of the institutes involved will allow the experienced researcher (ER) to appreciate the potential of the acquired knowledge for tackling problems relevant to field as diverse as engineering, biology, reproductive medicine and medical diagnostic. The innovation of this program consists in aiming at the quantitative understanding and mathematical modelling of phenomena that can mainly be described qualitatively at present. The outcomes will potentially provide the tools and body of knowledge for controlling and manipulating microswimmers near the solid surfaces. The intermediate objectives (deliverables) of this research project are (1) the derivation of a validated micro-swimmer/ surface interaction model, (2) a validated swimming swarm model at high-fidelity and ‘low-order’ level, (3) recommendations for separating swimming spermatozoa based on their motility.

Mots clés : micro swimmers, immersed boundary method, flagellated transport, fluid structure interaction

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet BERNADETTE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The ultimate goal of this Fellowship, titled “Bayesian infEReNce And moDel sElecTion for sTochastic Epidemics” (BERNADETTE), is to train a talented researcher through a research project focused on the development of novel statistical methodology for the modeling of infectious diseases like COVID-19. The success of the interdisciplinary project will lead to a number of multidisciplinary innovations in epidemiology, Public Health policy and statistics, which will contribute to the timely identification of optimal disease control strategies. The Fellow – Dr. Lampros Bouranis – will be trained in the fields of statistics and epidemiology, receiving access to a unique training experience at the host – Department of Statistics, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) – and co-hosts. The BERNADETTE outputs will be relevant to healthcare and the EU Epidemic intelligence, by: i) offering novel statistical methodology for the analysis of COVID-19 outbreak data and the description of a number of aspects of the underlying infection pathway of the disease, ii) quantifying the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions based on an epidemic model, iii) allowing for the forecasting of future case number scenarios, iv) contributing in the assessment of the socio-economic impact of different response strategies for human epidemics in Europe in order to improve European preparedness planning and support decision-making in the framework of national epidemic preparedness plans. The BERNADETTE outputs will contribute to the enhancement of EU scientific excellence. Additionally, the project will enable the establishment of a long-term collaboration between the host and co-hosts, bringing the centers of European research excellence together.

Mots clés : stochastic epidemics, bayesian evidence synthesis, covid 19

Participants :
- Athens University of Economics and Business (Grèce) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165085.44 €
Projet AMAM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The ultimate objective of this fellowship, entitled “Ageing Multiphysics of Asphalt Materials (AMAM)”, is to intensively train a talented researcher, Dr Fan Gu, through an interdisciplinary project focused on the modelling of the ageing multiphysics and performance evaluation of asphalt materials. Deliverables including fundamental understanding of asphalt ageing multiphysics, novel anti-ageing materials and a systematic performance prediction framework for engineering applications in sustainable design, construction, and maintenance of road infrastructures. The Fellow will receive intensive technical training in multidisciplinary field of chemistry (Aston), material science (Aston), computational modelling (Aston, TUD), experimental characterisation (NTEC) and industry applications (Nynas and AI). The Fellow will also receive inter-sector professional skills training in project management, organization and networking. The project outputs will enhance the EU scientific excellence by exploring the ageing mechanisms of complex bitumen-based materials, strength the EU industry leadership in anti-ageing material innovation, and protect EU environment and natural resources through extended service life of the aged road infrastructures using innovated recycled/bio-based anti-ageing construction materials. Uniquely, the project will enable the Fellow to an independent leading researcher in infrastructure engineering for his academic career and to become a rare asset to European research through leading the research and building effective collaboration network among academia and industry.

Mots clés : construction materials, road infrastructures, asphalt ageing

Participants :
- Aston University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet MSFF-DYN-FRAC-PR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The unconventional recovery processes of oil and gas reservoirs raise significant costs and risks to the surrounding environment (including contamination of ground water, risks to air quality etc.) around the world and threatens to pose greater challenges in the future to meet the rising energy demand. The oil-gas industry is meeting this threat with developing diverse technologies that work by different mechanisms but share a common goal: to reduce risks for the surrounding environment and to increase the recovery factor of reservoirs. The aim of this project would be to develop a new fully coupled framework as an extension of research INTERSECT simulator in which we can model dynamic crack propagation with the injection of high velocity fluid flow as observed in the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) of unconventional reservoirs.

Mots clés : fracking, meshless, enhanced and unconventional oil recovery, reservoir simulation

Participants :
- Schlumberger oilfield uk plc (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Delft University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 255374.28 €
Projet SOLBIOCHEM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The urgency of addressing climate change and the plummeting costs of renewable solar and wind-generated electricity put these technologies at the forefront of the energy transition to move away from fossil fuels.Moreover, as our reliance on fossil resources is decreasing, it is important to think not only about replacing them as an energy source, but also about using renewable technologies to take over the carbon-based chemicals produced by the petrochemical industry. To achieve this, the most abundant and potentially sustainable source of carbon is the biomass, which stores contemporary carbon, and can be readily harvested, transported and stored. Indeed, derivatives of cellulose or the glycerol generated by the growing biofuel industry are prime candidates for the production of value-added compounds in a “bio-refinery”. So far, upgrading of these biomass-derived compounds has traditionally been studied using thermocatalytic processes on noble metals, which presents challenges such as catalyst cost, the need for high temperature and pressurized gases and the generation of coke that can poison and deactivate catalysts. Alternatively, with the access to increasingly cheaper renewable electricity, electrocatalytic processes have a strong appeal, as they are conducted at room temperature, typically rely on abundant H2O as a proton and/or oxygen source, and can provide fine control over the rate and product selectivity through monitoring of the applied potential. This research proposal aims at developing and studying new electrocatalytic materials made of Earth-abundant transition metal oxides and sulfides, for the valorisation of biomass-derived molecules. The associated performance and mechanisms will be investigated by means of electrochemistry and operando techniques, and integration of the best electrocatalysts with solar energy conversion systems will be explored to demonstrate direct use of sunlight to power biomass conversion in a sustainable fashion.

Mots clés : biomass valorization, solar energy conversion, electrocatalysis, metal oxides, metal sulfides

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 137423.16 €
Projet MOPIGRASFIT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The use of infant-directed media has increased substantially, from 17% in the 1990s to now over 50% in the first year of life although this use is highly controversial. Current motion picture rating systems in Europe only target viewers above 3 years, and only in terms of content. Infant-directed videos include a wide range of cinematic techniques which require film literacy to understand. It is therefore crucial to investigate comprehensively the role of such techniques on infant attention so as to ascertain the impact videos may have on the developing brain. The overall objective of the proposed research is to assess systematically the role of: (a) cinematic techniques, (b) viewing experience and (c) cognitive development on the comprehension of moving images and, on the basis of the findings, (d) to suggest an "age-appropriateness" rating scheme for infants and toddlers (e.g. 12m+, 24m+) for audiovisual material. Six-, 12-, 18-, 24- and 36-month-old young children will be categorized into two groups according to the extent of their viewing experience and tested in a cross-sectional study, the findings of which will have important implications for children’s mental development by identifying the age-appropriate cinematic techniques for comprehension of moving images, which may be suitable educational media for infants. This proposal falls squarely within the topics emphasized in the EU 7th Framework socio-economic sciences and humanities themes; it is multidisciplinary, combining film studies, vision sciences, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and developmental neuroscience, and will yield significant contributions to the film, TV and educational technology fields within the European Research Area.

Mots clés : motion picture, film, television, film grammar, young viewers, motion picture age rating system

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187310.85 €
Projet PhoRAu (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The use of light to activate anticancer prodrugs is nowadays a reality in clinics around the world. Photodynamic therapy is an effective treatment for the localised destruction of cancer cells in a range of tissues and organs. Triggering the antiproliferative activity of chemotherapy agents with spatial and temporal control offers the advantage of reducing side effects and resistance. On the bases of the great success of metal-based drugs (e.g. cisplatin and its derivatives), photoactivatable metal complexes have been investigated for their potential in light-activated therapy. This promising class of molecules is characterised by outstanding photophysical and photochemical features, which can result in novel cytotoxicity mechanisms. Among transition metals, gold has shown promising anticancer features, however no attempt to exploit Au photochemistry for medicinal use has been reported yet. This project aims at exploring such potential by investigating the development of innovative photoactivatable gold complexes that can be used as effective prodrugs for photochemotherapy and simultaneously act as imaging agents. In particular, the research plan involves the synthesis of novel gold(III) carbene complexes which display dark stability in physiological conditions and high reactivity under light irradiation. These systems can undergo controlled Au(III)/Au(I) reduction in cell compartments giving new cell killing modes and therapeutic advantages. Strikingly, their remarkable synthetic and chemical versatility are ideal for combining therapy and imaging capabilities through labelling with 124-I radionuclide for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Integration of such features has the potential to deliver innovative image-guided agents for cancer phototherapy.


Participants :
- Donostia International Physics Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet SIFINS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The use of stable isotopes as powerful "natural tags" for reconstructing fishes’ environmental and life history, has been largely restricted to ear bones or otoliths. The extraction of otoliths requires sacrificing the fish, which is not allowed for endangered species, and greatly affects the appearance of a fish, which is non-practical for commercially valuable species as it can diminish their market value. The aim of the SIFINS project is to investigate tuna dorsal fin spines as a non-invasive and non-lethal alternative to otoliths for reconstructing environmental and life histories of individual fishes. Using SI signatures in fin spines of key highly migratory temperate and tropical tunas, SIFINS proposes a novel multispecies and interdisciplinary approach integrating the fields of chronology, chemistry and population dynamics research. SIFINS will provide (i) a more refined understanding of the movement and population-stock structure of tunas across their distribution range and (ii) a new and original perspective of stable isotope chemistry research in fishes, particularly relevant to support the management of endangered and commercially valuable species under the EU Biodiversity and Fisheries policies priorities. The results of the project will promote EU excellence in marine fish population dynamics, likely to be of increasing interest in the future due to climate and human-induced change to marine environments. The applicant’s research and professional skills complement the host infrastructure and research team expertise, and their capacity to manage fellowships/grants and train researchers for the successful outcome of all aspects of the project including training, dissemination of results, and outreach activities. SIFINS will contribute to the researcher’s professional career development putting the fellow in an optimal position to become a leading European scientist in this interdisciplinary research field after a maternity leave career break.

Mots clés : dorsal fin spine, stable isotope, tuna, population structure, migrations, habitat use, life history

Participants :
- Tecnalia (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet OROARAB (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The very important topic of the transmission of the Greco-Roman knowledge to the medieval Islamic world has a very interesting appendix concerning historiography. Indeed, scholars have questioned several times about the reasons for the apparent Islamic lack of interest towards the western historical works, and formulated on this problem several assumptions. For example, according to Franz Rosenthal, the Greek and Roman literature, impregnated as it was of polytheism, would have been suspect in the eyes of Muslim theologians (the scientific texts, indeed, didn’t arouse objections), which would have limited its diffusion and translation. According to Bernard Lewis, everything should instead be attributed to the absolute lack of intellectual curiosity of the “Muslim man”, resulting from its profound conviction of “finality, completeness, and essential self-sufficiency of his civilisation”. In my book Storie Arabe di Greci e di Romani, released in 2009 (http://www.edizioniplus.it/italiano/AspFiles/libro.asp? codlibro=559), I tried to fill a gap in the field of studies on the forms of preservation of the Greek and Roman historiographical tradition in the Islamic culture. Now, I would like to concentrate my attention on a very important Arabic historical text, the Arabic translation of the Historiae adversus paganos by the Latin historiographer Paulus Orosius (5th century AD), known as Kitāb Hurušiyuš and survived through a unique manuscript preserved in the "Rare Book and Manuscript Library" of Columbia University (X, 893-712 H). This translation, made at the caliphal court of Cordoba in the 10th century AD, left a deep mark on Western Islamic historiography, coming to constitute for many Arab intellectuals a unique and fundamental access door to the Graeco-Roman world and to the ancient history of Europa. Therefore, my project is to prepare a complete English translation of the Kitāb Hurūšiyūš, accompanied by a broad introduction, a philological and historical commentar

Mots clés : roman history, greek history, arabic philology, arabic historiography, graeco roman tradition, history of religions, islamic studies, transcultural history, latin historiography, mediaeval studies

Participants :
- Sapienza University of Rome (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 247761.0 €
- American University of Beirut (Liban) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €