Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet PolySO2 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The burn of sulphur-rich fossil fuels continues to produce sulphur dioxide as a polluting gas, with high risks to humans and the environment. In PolySO2, we aim to uncover new controlled routes to attain the direct metal-catalysed copolymerisation of sulphur dioxide and sulfone-derived sources in combination with carbon dioxide and other oxygenated monomers. Our goal is to open new sustainable platforms for making unconventional materials from renewable resources that are designed for high performance and recyclability. Moreover, our study of the reaction mechanism will improve our fundamental understanding of the polymerisation steps, which will lead to the design of better metal catalysts and reaction conditions. First, we will investigate the ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) and ring-opening alternating copolymerisation (ROCOP) of these previously unexplored monomer sources. These methods will provide with unprecedented strategies to introduce custom linkages (aliphatic and aromatic) in the main-chain of newly developed polymers: poly(sulfite)s, poly(sulfonate)s, poly(sulfonic ester)s and block copolymers. Secondly, we will seek the best depolymerising strategies of such linear chains in an effort to demonstrate full chemical recyclability. Finally, we will apply the newly developed polymeric materials in the construction of robust elastomers (via phase segregation) and resins (via crosslinking) as well as their thermo-mechanical analysis. This action will promote the return of Dr. Fernando Vidal to the European scientific arena after 8 years in the USA and his retention as an independent researcher in polymer chemistry. His planned work in the group of Prof. Charlotte Williams at the University of Oxford and collaboration with her network of industrial partners will serve as the ideal launching mechanism for his future scientific endeavors.

Mots clés : ring opening polymerisation, so2 conversion, recyclable materials, environmental remediation

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet CellularNanoMachines (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The cancer burden represents an overarching health problem and it is essential that EU institutions develop the next generation of diagnostics that overcome the inadequacy of current imaging strategies. Nanomedicine, defined as the use of nanotechnologies in medicine, offers extraordinary opportunities to address these unmet medical needs. The proposed research project endeavours to find effective anticancer diagnostics through the development of smart cellular nano-machines. The design will integrate white blood cells (concretely, tumour-targeted T lymphocytes) as living carriers of stimuli-responsive drug-loaded NPs. The tumour-homing T cells will facilitate NP accumulation in tumours until an internal/external stimulus triggers NP-release. The NPs will also possess imaging capabilities to visualize and monitor the injected formulations and confirm that the designed NPs target cancer cells in vivo. This approach aims to achieve highly versatile, selective and effective nanomedicine products that combine imaging and therapy for different types of cancer (theranostics). The strategy will provide anticancer materials compatible with industrial processes and personalized medicine. Thus, I believe the results arising from this work will place EU institutions in an unbeatable position to capitalize on the next generation of diagnostics, not only to boost the competitiveness of our industries but also to make positive changes in the lives of our citizens.

Mots clés : imaging nanoparticles, molecular imaging, nanomedicine, theranostics, cancer diagnosis, cancer immunology

Participants :
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 240530.4 €
Projet DOGMATiCC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Rapidly rising CO2 levels threaten aquatic organisms and global food security. It is vital to determine how high CO2 impacts fish in freshwater and marine environments and to elucidate mechanisms limiting performance in the wild and aquaculture. Here, I propose an integrative approach that simultaneously investigates multiple physiological processes to comprehensively evaluate the impacts of combined endogenous (i.e. feeding) and exogenous (i.e. salinity and CO2) factors on fish, and their essential capacity to maintain a constant internal environment (i.e. homeostasis). This will be achieved by investigating cardiovascular, metabolic and homeostatic responses of the economically important rainbow trout to feeding and exercise, in freshwater and seawater, following long-term acclimation to varying levels of CO2 (reflecting climate change and aquaculture scenarios). The project will have far-reaching impact, as it will not only improve predictions of the impacts of climate change on fish, but will also provide aquaculture industry with specific recommendations for achieving maximum growth efficiency and health of farmed fish. The expertise and unique skills I bring concerning in vivo cardiovascular physiology, will be combined with the entirely new and complementary repertoire of advanced skills I will learn from Prof. Wilson (i.e. 33 years experience investigating acid-base, ion and osmotic regulation in fish at levels from the gene to the whole animal) and our collaborators (i.e. mitochondrial bioenergetics analyses and aquaculture industry expertise). This will ensure the successful completion of this ambitious project, and outcomes that are much more than just the sum of their parts. This fellowship will benefit all involved, by ensuring collaboration and knowledge transfer between three European universities, bridging the gap between fundamental science and aquaculture, and providing me with a scientific ‘toolbox’ few researchers currently possess.

Mots clés : ocean acidification, ecophysiology, metabolism, cardiovascular function, digestion, osmoregulation, homeostasis, gastrointestinal function, teleosts, fish, euryhaline, whole animal performance

Participants :
- University of Exeter (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 319400.64 €
Projet RareFunctions (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Rare species have long been the focus of conservation attention, but the commonness or rarity of particular characteristics or phenotypes is generally ignored. However, traits can also be rare, and evidence suggests that while rare traits tend to occur in rare species (and so are at greater risk of extinction), not all rare species have rare traits. Further, the diversity of traits present in a community (‘functional diversity’) is closely tied to its function, and so rare traits may make essential contributions to ecosystem function and health. For example, predators may be rare in a system, but act as keystone species with effects across the food web. Given the possibility that rare traits make important contributions to ecosystem products and services and given their greater risk of extinction, it is imperative to explore this question of “functional rarity”. This project will help overcome the lack of a clear definition for functional rarity, the absence of geographical information on its distribution through space and time, and the need for experimental evidence tying the loss of rare traits to effects on ecosystems. This project aims to apply a system of classification to distinguish between different forms of functional rarity to a comprehensive database of plant diversity and trait values in French permanent grasslands. This will produce one of the most comprehensive inventories showing how functional rarity varies through space and time. In addition, RAREFUNCTIONS will use microbial microcosms to test how the loss of rare traits from a community alters ecosystem function. This proposal will establish baseline knowledge on the distribution of functional rarity in French permanent grasslands, a local hotspot of biodiversity and in decline, while also answering general questions about the causes and consequences of rare traits.

Mots clés : functional ecology, rarity

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet ReConNeCt (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

ReConNeCt project has the ultimate goal to unveil the true personalities of researchers and show their multifaceted, subtle and “only humans” side. This is a true challenge knowing that the researchers are usually perceived as hardcore, hard to approach loners who love to deconstruct scientific mysteries, unselfishly work for the benefit of mankind and, in a word, improve our daily lives. Being completely in line with the main common objectives of the European Researchers’ Night, ReConNeCt project, besides these highlighted objectives, puts special emphasis on the most important – the beginnings of one’s future scientific odyssey i.e. inspiring and motivating the young generations of future scientists and life-changers. The outlined concept and the content planned will help to achieve the following specific objectives: • To break and demystify the persistent and repeated stereotypes about researchers; • To bring out the actual researchers in Serbia, engage them publically and increase their recognition both in Serbia and globally; • To promote research carried out in Serbia and researchers as role models; • To unveil the motives behind becoming a researcher and entice the young to embark on scientific careers; • To show the importance of scientific research and raise public awareness of the researchers' contribution to progress and development; • To raise public awareness about the impact of researchers in ever important fields like climate changes and global warming, but also in the subtle realm such as cultural heritage (in line with celebrating 2018 as the European Year of Cultural Heritage); • To highlight the importance of the EU’s manifold support to researchers and scientific research work in Serbia; • To improve networking with other national/international projects involved in science popularization, through mutual support of events and exchange of ideas, experiences and people.

Mots clés : science, hands on, connection, local, global, human side

Participants :
- University of Novi Sad (Serbie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 19000.0 €
- Kreativno Edukativni Centar (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 50000.0 €
- Centar za Promociju Nauke (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 20000.0 €
- Visoka tehnicka skola strukovnih studija u zrenjaninu (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 13000.0 €
- Visoka tehnicka skola strukovnih studija subotica (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 11000.0 €
- Udruzenje naucnih komunikatora (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 12000.0 €
- University of Novi Sad (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 7000.0 €
Projet assymcurv (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Staff Exchanges
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Real cell membranes are essentially asymmetric and non-planar. Outer leaflets of the plasma membranes contain neutral lipids and glycolipids, while the inner leaflets host practically all anionic lipids and phosphoinositides. In addition to asymmetric composition the membranes are usually curved due to spontaneous curvature of the membrane lipids and an influence of membrane proteins and cytoskeleton. There are many cellular phenomena, which are influenced by the asymmetry and the membrane curvature such as formation of synaptic vesicles, blebs and apoptotic bodies, membrane fusion and splitting, budding of enveloped viruses, endo and exocytosis, etc. In this work we propose comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the influence of membrane asymmetry and curvature on the functioning of integral membrane proteins and the transmembrane transport of therapeutic compounds (such as cisplatin and its derivatives). The goal is to reveal major physical factors, which distinguish asymmetric and curved membrane environment and govern interactions, orientation and diffusion of the small molecules (drugs) and large integral proteins. The combination of experimental methods (“wet” biochemistry and molecular biology, enhanced infrared and Raman spectroscopy) and computer simulations (coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics, quantum chemistry) would be used in the project in complimentary manner.

Mots clés : lipid membranes, membrane proteins, transmembrane translocation, metal containing drugs, molecular dynamics, quantum chemistry, spectroscopy, surface enhanced spectroscopy

Participants :
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (Brésil) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Ferentis (Lituanie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Latvia (Lettonie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 45000.0 €
- The University of Texas System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Materials research center (Ukraine) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 9000.0 €
- National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 54000.0 €
- University of Tartu (Estonie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 27000.0 €
- Graphene light project (Pologne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 4500.0 €
- Université Marie et Louis Pasteur (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 63000.0 €
Projet SCALE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Realistic projections of the biological impacts of climate change require a unified framework capable of integrating advances from distinct research areas such as ecophysiology, behavioural ecology, and biogeography. Mechanistic modelling in macroecology arises as a promising framework to address this challenge, because it aims at describing biodiversity patterns from biophysical, physiological, and behavioural processes determining the way organisms interact with their environment. In this project, I will investigate how heat- and water-transfer mechanisms determine global patterns of species richness and thermal adaptations of terrestrial ectotherms, a group that is especially vulnerable to global change. The specific objectives of this proposal are (1) to investigate how temperature regulation and water availability constraint global patterns of species richness of reptiles and amphibians; (2) investigate how temperature regulation influences patterns of variation of thermal tolerance across macroclimatic gradients; and finally, (3) forecast the response of these patterns to future climatic conditions. To achieve these objectives, I will combine cutting-edge biophysical models of heat- and water-transfer pathways between ectotherms and their environment, with empirical data on species’ geographical ranges and thermal tolerance traits obtained from the literature. Ultimately, this proposal will contribute to the emerging field of mechanistic modelling in macroecology, providing methods to integrate multiple sources of biological information, and techniques to forecast the organismal responses to climate change. The training in geographical analysis of mechanistic models will boost my development as an independent and innovative frontline researcher in macroecology in the EU.


Participants :
- King Juan Carlos University (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 232497.6 €
- McGill University (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet GEMZ (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recent advances in clinical genetic studies of epilepsies have identified a steadily growing number of mutations in new candidate genes, creating a need for an effective approach to rapidly provide functional data as to their in vivo function. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to create new, cost- and time-effective animal models which successfully mimic genetic epilepsies in humans, as well as efficient drug discovery approaches to identify compounds useful in the management of these diseases. Here, using established genetic methods, loss- and gain-of-function zebrafish epilepsy models for gene variants recently identified to cause severe, drug-resistant epileptic encephalopathies (EE) will be created. Using a multidisciplinary "deep-phenotyping" strategy of pharmacological profiling (i.e. assessment of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) with known mechanisms of action), high-throughput analysis of locomotor activity and seizure-like behavior, electroencephalographic recordings, histopathological analysis of zebrafish mutant brains, single-cell RNA expression profiling and high-resolution (SPIM) Ca2+ imaging analysis of brain activity, these models will be fully characterized and validated. Finally, a large-scale screen using a library of synthetic small molecules, drug-like natural products and FDA-approved drugs to identify compounds with antiepileptic activity will be performed in one of these models. The main objective of this project is to create and validate new zebrafish models of epilepsy, which will provide both new insights into the mechanisms of epileptogenesis in vivo and indicate potentially novel entry routes for therapeutic intervention.

Mots clés : zebrafish, model of epilepsy, gene, loss of function, kcna2, scn8a, antiepileptic drugs

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196400.4 €
Projet THAT IS HUNT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recent encouraging clinical results obtained with engineered T lymphocytes and increasing advances in the genome editing field, have opened new opportunities for T-cell receptor (TCR) gene therapy as an immunotherapeutic approach for cancer. Unfortunately, the broad applicability of this treatment is still hampered by the possible mispairing of exogenous/endogenous TCR chains and by the limited number of high avidity tumor-specific TCRs. While the first issue has been successfully addressed by the hosting lab with the development a TCR gene editing protocol, the identification of novel tumor-specific TCRs is urgently required and this is the aim of my research proposal. We have the unique opportunity to combine the highly complementary expertise of the hosting lab in T-cell biology/genetic transfer and of the applicant on immune repertoire sequencing. We will target acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and hypothesize that by exploiting intrinsic features of AML (i.e. ability of AML blasts to differentiate into potent antigen presenting cells expressing tumor antigens), the functional fingerprint induced by AML on tumor-reactive T-cells, and cutting-edge technologies (i.e. next generation sequencing; ligandome landscape analysis), we will provide a comprehensive immunoprofiling of tumor-specific T-cells and isolate tumor TCR specificities. Results obtained in this study will streamline TCR hunting studies in solid tumors, leading to the generation of a TCR library for different antigens and HLA restrictions, thus rendering TCR gene editing an innovative off-the-shelf treatment available for a high number of cancer patients. Awarding this fellowship will greatly enhance researcher’s career not only by providing the opportunity to widen scientific knowhow and acquire new skills, but also by enabling the researcher to address a major bottleneck currently limiting the full exploitation of the rapidly growing field of cancer immunotherapy.

Mots clés : t cells, immunotherapy, tumor antigen

Participants :
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 168277.2 €
Projet aWARE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recent evidence indicates that the roots of our species, Homo sapiens, do not trace back to a single population, but to morphologically diverse group living over an extensive geographic area from Morocco to South Africa. The range of environments and regions in Africa that played a role in shaping our species is therefore rapidly emerging as central to unravelling human origins. However, thanks to the lack of fieldwork in many regions of Africa, these important parameters are not well understood. The aWARE project will therefore undertake a timely investigation into the role of Africa’s western forests, and their neighbouring ecozones, in modern human origins. Genetic and fossil studies have associated poorly known West Africa with complex evolutionary processes thought to have played a key role in shaping our species. Such processes include admixture between our species and late-surviving archaic humans, and long-term isolation of H. sapiens populations in forested zones. Significantly, research in West Africa by the applicant has also identified a unique late persistence of stone tool technology typical of much older periods, while at the same time demonstrating that human populations were present in currently forested regions close to the time of H. sapiens speciation. aWARE builds on this pilot work and sets forth a series of explicit, testable hypotheses to explore the time depth and environmental context of human populations in West Africa as a window into our pan-African origins. To adequately address these hypotheses, an interdisciplinary approach is taken, combining information from archaeology and palaeoecology. By exploring major theories in recent human origins through Africa’s poorly known western region, the project offers an opportunity to radically change our understanding of recent human evolution. The results will be broadly communicated through open access resources, including an online database and targeted public outreach activities.

Mots clés : middle stone age, african middle pleistocene, african late pleistocene, west africa, lithic analysis, human evolution, habitat diversity

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €