Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet WeForYou (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Meet and learn What Excellent science does FOR YOU and the society is the major focus of the coordinated WeForYou action in performing the European Researchers’ Night 2014 and 2015 in Slovenia. Energy research & innovation, Environment & Climate Action, Health and ICT Research & Innovation are the priorities which will be tackled by a series of actions and opportunities for interchange of knowledge in the European Researchers’ Night 2014 and 2015 in Slovenia. The events in 2014 and 2015 in Slovenia will take place in: - Ljubljana, the main city square organized by Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI); - Novo mesto, organized by Faculty of Information Studies; - Piran and Piran bay, organized by National Institute of Biology; - Planica, Planetary Habitat Simulation Centre organised by JSI; - Krško, organized by Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) The European Researchers' Night aims to bring researchers to the general public and to increase awareness of research and innovation activities, with a view to support the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers' work on citizen's daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on scientific careers. Among the goals of WeForYou is one of special importance - presenting the researchers that have shown excellency in their results and achievement as ordinary people. Activities that are planned will enable the wide public audience to identify itself with the researchers’ life and to promote science in a firm expectation that the passed message to the young people will embark them on scientific careers. Children and adults addressed within the WeForYou activities will have the opportunity to understand science by experiencing its day-to-day practices, by frequenting the spaces and places where research is carried out and by coming into contact with its machinery and equipment, but above all by talking to those directly involved in scientific research that brings benefit to the society.

Mots clés : communication, science communication, public recognition of researches, promotion of science careers, energy, environment, health, technology, ljubljana, novo mesto, piran, planica, kr ko

Participants :
- Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 71765.0 €
Projet BatCon (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Meeting the European industrial and political ambition of making the transport sector free of fossil fuel in the near future depends heavily on continued advancement of battery technology. Safe and optimal use of battery systems is crucial but difficult due to the lack of accurate internal state information and optimal battery control algorithms. This project aims to make step changes in research and innovation of battery management by developing health-aware fast charging strategies as well as realise an advanced career development for the experienced researcher using a clearly defined training-through-research approach. The proposed battery charging management will benefit from and integrate advanced mathematical modelling, robust state estimation and a holistic control framework within this project, along with several on-going battery energy management projects at Chalmers University of Technology. The research outcomes will include faster charging capability and prolonged lifetime for batteries on the premise of a safety guarantee, which will significantly improve the cost and resource efficiency and the convenience of battery powered devices. The hosting research group at Chalmers has a reputation for working closely with industry (e.g., Volvo Cars, Volvo Group and ABB) and applying their research to real world problems, therefore maximising the opportunity for the results to be commercially implemented in the shortest possible time. Ultimately, this project will contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals in terms of “Affordable and clean energy” and “Sustainable cities and communities.” Furthermore, this fellowship will provide an excellent opportunity for the experienced researcher to advance the career training and secure a leading independent position at the end of the fellowship.

Mots clés : battery management systems, electric vehicles, fast charging, battery modelling, optimal control

Participants :
- Chalmers University of Technology (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191852.16 €
Projet PRDM9Recomb (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Meiotic recombination is an essential process for sexually reproducing organisms. The appropriate genomic distribution of recombination events is necessary for the accurate transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next. Extensive research has demonstrated that a major determinant of recombination sites in mice and humans is the DNA-binding protein PRDM9. An intriguing feature of PRDM9 is the exceptionally rapid evolution of its DNA-binding domain, which causes enormous variability in the locations of recombination events, even within a single species. To date, our understanding of PRDM9’s genome-wide distribution is based largely on its predicted DNA-binding specificity, however, the presence of a predicted consensus motif alone is not a strong predictor of recombination locations. Here, I will test the hypothesis that additional factors act in concert with the rapidly evolving PRDM9 protein to specify sites of meiotic recombination events. I will directly map and compare the genome-wide distribution of PRDM9 in different mouse strains to understand the evolution and principles of its binding. I will also pioneer a single-cell based approach that can distinguish between different classes of recombination events to build a high-resolution genome-wide recombination map to further dissect the role of PRDM9, and to identify additional factors, that shape the recombination landscape.

Mots clés : prdm9, meiotic recombination, meiosis, comparative genomics, evolution, mouse

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet KILNEV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, and its spread to distal tissues is often a death sentence. Immunotherapies have led to increased survival rates but they are extremely expensive and efficient for approximately only 25% of patients. Therefore research into new methods to prevent or arrest the progression of melanoma is urgently needed. Nevi are pigmented lesions on skin which consist of a clonal mass of melanocytes in a state of proliferative arrest termed ‘senescent’. This state prevents further hyperplasia, but if mutations occur in proteins required to maintain senescence, cells can re-proliferate and progress into melanoma. Selectively clearing senescent melanocytes may therefore be an effective strategy to improve current preventative measures against melanoma. This project will use a combination of interdisciplinary techniques to identify and target molecular components that confer survival to senescent melanocytes. First, I will use whole-transcriptome analysis to identify novel genes associated to cell survival. Second, genes of interest will be validated via siRNA mediated gene silencing in vitro using techniques in molecular biology to assess viability and apoptosis. Third, selected targets will be validated in vivo using a unique novel mouse model established in the host laboratory where nevi can be induced and senescent cells can be quantified by luminescence. Successful identification of these targets may lead to future development of new therapies which help reduce the health and economic impacts of malignant melanoma.


Participants :
- University Medical Center Groningen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet MicroBioMem (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Membrane biofouling is an inevitable factor severely effecting the permeate flux of ultrafiltration systems. This impacts the scalability of cheap, decentralised, low hydrostatic pressure methods such as Gravity driven membrane filtration (GDM). The hydraulic resistance of the biofouling layer is primarily controlled by biofilm, microbial communities embedded within a self-secreted extracellular polymeric matrix (EPS), a structure akin to a colloidal gel. Mesoscale experiments have shown biofilm hydraulic resistance to vary with hydrostatic pressure, however the microscale biophysical interactions inducing this behaviour are unclear. Understanding how hydrostatic pressure shapes EPS composition, spatial distribution and physical development of biofilm structures is crucial to establishing hydrodynamic strategies to reduce biofilm hydraulic resistance. With this proposal I will evaluate how EPS spatiotemporal distribution and local mechanical properties influence microscale fluid transport and the emergence of internal biofilm structures, to impact bulk biofilm hydraulic resistance, under a range of GDM hydrostatic pressures. To achieve this, I will develop a microfluidic platform embedded with a cryogel membrane barrier, enabling detailed monitoring of membrane bound biofilm development and hydraulic resistance under different hydrostatic pressures. Deploying a correlative imaging approach, I will quantify EPS regulation, composition and local mechanics using state of the art optical visualisation techniques paired with microrheological methods from soft matter physics. Evolution of fluid transport will be mapped using particle imaging velocimetry. Relationships between composition and hydraulic resistance established on the microscale will then be tested for scalability on the mesoscale. By directly quantifying biofilm biophysical evolution, this project will offer invaluable insights untangling the microscale interactions governing biofilm hydraulic resistance.

Mots clés : membrane biofouling, biofilm formation, microfluidics

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet Fas_Life-Death (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Membrane receptors control fundamental physiological processes in cells, and are major targets of medical drugs. The goal of this project is to investigate the nanoscale motion of the membrane receptor Fas and its functional role in maintaining immune surveillance. Fas is ubiquitously expressed in human body and has significant roles in disease progressions. A type I single pass transmembrane protein, Fas is known for its ‘dual character’ in triggering signaling pathways leading to both cell survival and cell death. In the presence of its ligand, the receptor undergoes higher-order clustering to form a death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) in the intracellular region. Immune cells use Fas-mediated DISC formation as a mechanism to ‘kill’ virus infected or malignant cells. The Fas ligand, which is a type II transmembrane protein, can be cleaved which results in its soluble variant. Unlike the membrane anchored Fas ligand, the cleaved variant is known to induce an alternative motility inducing signaling complex (MISC) in Fas receptor that results in cell migration. Although the functions of the Fas receptor (and the notion of duality) are well established, how it selects for non-apoptotic or apoptotic pathways is an open question. It has been postulated that the membrane bound and cleaved variants of the Fas ligand induce different structural orientation and conformations in the intracellular domains of the receptors to control DISC/MISC formation. However, due to the immediate higher order aggregations upon ligand-binding and the presence of other modulating proteins during in-vivo experiments, it has been a great challenge to test this hypothesis. This project will investigate the biophysical mechanism behind the duality in full-length Fas receptors by exploiting single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and membrane nanodisc platform. Mechanistic understanding of Fas transmembrane signaling has both scientific and pharmaceutical significance.

Mots clés : smfret, membrane receptors, nanodiscs

Participants :
- Institut Curie (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet BactoDrug (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Membrane-integral pyrophosphatases (M-PPases) couple cleavage of pyrophosphatase to pumping of ions across a membrane to generate membrane potential and play an important role in resistance to stressors. The solved structures of an H+-pumping M-PPase from Vigna radiata and an Na+-pumping M-PPase from Thermotoga maritima show M-PPases form a channel through the membrane, and this channel is plugged by an ion gate formed by three charged residues. Despite these structures, there are still many outstanding questions regarding M-PPases, especially in relation to H+ and Na+ dual-pumping M-PPases. Bacteroides species are a major cause of anaerobic infections, and though they are part of a healthy human gut flora, when these bacteria escape the gut, they can cause bacteremia and abscess formation. Bacteroides species are associated with high antibiotic resistance rates and have a 19% or greater mortality rate. However, they do possess a possible drug target: an H+/Na+-pumping M-PPase. A major goal of this project is to solve the structure of the Bacteroides vulgatus H+/Na+-pumping M-PPase to guide mutational studies to determine how M-PPases select for ions and to explore how the ion gate is opened and closed during ion pumping. Since the ion gate is closed in all M-PPase structures to date, I will also use single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to determine the kinetics and conformational changes during ion gate movement. Finally, I will use molecular mechanics modeling to simulate ion gate function and design small-molecule drug candidates. Molecules that trap the ion gate in the open conformation will convert M-PPase into a pore in the membrane of Bacteroides species, leading to collapse of the membrane potential. This project will further my career goal of pursuing research in bacterial pathogenesis from various perspectives, utilizing X-ray crystallography and single molecule technologies.

Mots clés : integral membrane protein, x ray crystallography, membrane integral pyrophosphatase

Participants :
- University of Leeds (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet METHA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Memory consolidation is the process by which memories are converted into a long-lasting form allowing its recall later in time. It has been shown that memory consolidation is supported by the coordinated activation of a network of brain regions. In this regard, the hippocampus-cortical communication has been largely studied. Recent evidences point to the thalamus as a key region mediating this dialogue. In particular, the Laterodorsal Nucleus of the Thalamus (LD) activity has been shown to be essential for remote memory recall. Moreover, the LD shows high anatomical and functional connectivity with the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) which is a key structure for consolidation and remote memory recall. These data suggest that this LD-ACC pathway may be crucial during memory consolidation. The LD is known to harbor Head Direction (HD) cells which are neurons that fire to specific orientations of the animal head. Therefore, we hypothesized that the activity of the LD-ACC circuit represents spatial information that is required for recall of contextual fear memory. The present project was designed to test this hypothesis using a multi-level approach, that is unique in the field. First, we will address the causal role of the LD-ACC pathway in the recall of fear memory, by modulating its activity using optogenetics. Then we will investigate how LD cells, and LD-ACC projecting cells, are processing acquired information during the training to consolidate and recall them at a remote time point by directly visualizing the activity of the LD during acquisition and recall of contextual conditioned fear. The expected results will have a significant impact in the memory and in the spatial navigation field, and are of key importance to better understand memory and related pathologies such as post-traumatic stress disorder and dementia.

Mots clés : memory consolidation, memory recall, thalamus, laterodorsal thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex, optogenetics, in vivo calcium imaging

Participants :
- École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet PEACEFUL MIND (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mental-Health problems in youth such as disruptive behavioural disorders, substances abuse, aggressive behaviors, depression, anxiety, etc. is an expanding and global concern. Numerous Mental-Health problems in youth are significantly related with poor capacity of Emotion Regulation (ER). Adaptive ER strategies influence the intensity, duration, and expression of emotions, modifying emotional reactions in a socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible way. Thus, learning adaptive ER strategies has strong potential in promoting physical and psychological well-being in youth. However, the promise of an easy access and implementation of ER programs remains disappointedly unrealised for the following reasons. (1) Learning of ER competencies is almost invisible in European school curricula. (2) There is a lack of studies in youth that compare ER strategies to provide sufficient evidence-based criteria and guidelines. (3) The needs of the digital natives’ generation have not been taken into consideration in ER programs, often lacking the engaging and motivational aspects and a high quality assessment. (4) There is an issue of adaptability of ER interventions to the school context. Thus, the main objective of PEACEFUL MIND is to develop an attractive program, using Information and Communication Technologies, as well as ecological and objective measures, to teach youths adaptive ER strategies. By doing so, we will directly influence social, emotional, and cognitive development of youths that will have an impact during their entire lives. Finally, the multidisciplinary training objective will provide an extensive clinical training in third wave therapies, training in research methodology, gaining experience in teaching, tutoring, and additional research competencies, which will open up the opportunity to become an expert in both the academic and private sectors, and will greatly contribute to my objective of becoming a scientific leader in third wave therapies and e-health.

Mots clés : mental health problems in youth, emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal, third wave therapies, mindfulness, virtual environments, biofeedback

Participants :
- University of Amsterdam (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet MEROXRE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant of global concern for human and ecosystem health. This is particularly true in the Arctic where indigenous populations are excessively exposed to dietary Hg from fish and marine mammal consumption. The deposition of Hg from the atmosphere to Earth surfaces and its re-emission via biogeochemical reduction processes determine Hg concentrations in Earth surface reservoirs, such as soils, snow, and runoff into Arctic lakes and surface Ocean. In order to predict the impact of anthropogenic Hg emissions on net atmospheric Hg deposition and ultimately Hg concentrations in biota, it is important to understand these deposition and re-emission processes. The reduction of deposited Hg2+ to volatile gaseous Hg0 and the oxidation of gaseous Hg0 to reactive Hg2+, which is rapidly deposited from the atmosphere, control the global fate of Hg. Major knowledge gaps concerning the mechanisms of these redox processes exist. Different photochemical and non-photochemical Hg2+ reduction mechanisms were found to fractionate Hg stable isotopes in distinct, identifiable ways. Also, different atmospheric Hg0 and Hg2+ pools have been shown to have distinguishable Hg isotope signatures. Hg isotopes can thus provide new insights in the sources of Hg and redox transformation processes at the Earth-atmosphere interface, which are inaccessible by means of concentration and flux measurements alone. In the MEROXRE project proposed here we will combine the latest innovations in gaseous Hg measurements in porous media (soils, snow) with state-of-the-art Hg isotope techniques to investigate: (i) Hg isotope fractionation of Hg2+ reduction and gaseous Hg0 oxidation in interstitial snow air and soil pores. (ii) Hg isotope fractionation factors associated with net gaseous Hg0 re-emission fluxes from soil and snow (iii) the importance of gaseous Hg0 oxidation and Hg2+ reduction and re-emission for the global Hg cycle by incorporating the results in a global Hg isotope model.

Mots clés : mercury, stable isotopes, arctic, deposition, emission

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €