Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet GenSPI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ireland produces potatoes locally to satisfy its indigenous crisping industry. However, over 50,000 tonnes of potatoes still need to be imported each year due to problems with the long term storage of locally produced product. Potatoes destined for crisping are normally stored at 8 degrees, below this glucose accumulates leading to very dark fry colours and potential acrylamide build up. Unfortunately, sprouting occurs above 8 degrees and impacts product quality. This necessitates the use of sprout suppressant chemicals such as chlorpropham. The EU is moving to phase out the use of such chemicals due to health concerns, and it is therefore necessary to develop potatoes that can be stored below 8 degrees without suffering from low temperature sweetening (LTS). LTS is under polygenic control and therefore challenging for traditional breeding programmes, particularly when it needs to be combined with other traits such as yield and disease resistance. This is where new breeding methodologies such as genomic selection (GS) can assist traditional programmes. GS is a form of marker assisted selection that simultaneously estimates all loci, haplotype, or marker effects across the entire genome to calculate Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBVs). GEBVs are then used to select individuals for advancement in the breeding cycle without direct phenotyping. GEBVs for characteristics such as resistance to LTS would radically enhance potato breeding and lead to the development of more suitable processing varieties. This proposal involves directly aligning a pilot GS programme to a traditional breeding programme to evaluate the potential for GS in potato breeding. We envisage that GS will enable the screening of an extremely large number of individuals at a seedling stage, ensuring that only the most valuable material is advanced for extensive and expensive phenotyping. This will enable a dramatic increase in the genetic progress for the development of improved potato varieties.

Mots clés : plant breeding, genomic selection

Participants :
- Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 187866.0 €
Projet FeSensor (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Iron (Fe) is needed for all living organisms but in high concentrations within the cell it is toxic, therefore balancing the physiological level of iron is essential. Although the Fe sensing mechanism has been described for a wide variety of living forms, from bacteria to mammals, no clear information about how plants sense Fe is available. Whether or not Fe is sensed in roots or in shoots or in both, the chemical form of the Fe or the identity of the sensing protein, remains unknown. In yeast and mammals, Fe is sensed via Fe-S proteins, but in plants the Fe sensing mechanism has been shown to be independent from Fe-S cluster assembly in the mitochondria or cytosol. Using comparative transcriptomics in two model plant species I have identified a small family of genes (IRS1, IRS2 and BTS) that are good candidates for the plant Fe sensors. I would like to investigate if their putative Fe binding motifs, haemerythrin and rubredoxin, are functional in an Fe-sensing capacity. Moreover, I will investigate if the proteins have ubiquitination activity as predicted, and tissue-specific expression compatible with a double sensing mechanism in roots and leaves. Other possibilities for the Fe-sensing mechanism will be explored by using mutants defective in Fe-S assembly in the plastids, and unknown candidates will be uncovered with an unbiased mutant screening. Perturbing the Fe sensing mechanism in a tissue-specific manner would be a smart way of increasing the Fe content without causing toxicity symptoms in the rest of the plant.

Mots clés : iron, heme, arabidopsis, transcription factor, sensor, homeostasis

Participants :
- University of East Anglia (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet SynchroSelf (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Irreversible tissue loss is a common feature in a large spectrum of health conditions (e.g. aging, trauma, cancer, degenerative diseases, ischemia, etc), placing huge burdens in patient relatives and health care systems. Therapies aiming to restore tissue function will have a great impact in the health and quality of life of millions of people worldwide. Regenerative medicine is an interdisciplinary endeavour to create functional tissues and organs, where cell biology, biochemistry, chemistry and material sciences are central components to address human tissues complexity. The approach comprises the use of biomaterials that temporarily substitute the extracellular matrix (ECM). However, current engineered biomaterials have not fully matched the diverse functionality of native tissues. Thus, fundamental research in biomaterials for regenerative medicine has great potential to provide smart solutions to current bottlenecks in this scientific area. In this project, biomaterials based on peptide self-assembly will be designed to take advantage of reversible supramolecular interactions, in order to create self-healing ECM substitutes. The dynamic nature of these materials will be addressed systematically in an attempt to copycat ECM turnover. So far, efforts from the materials scientific community have been mainly focused on controlling spatial and geometrical features. Perhaps it is time to start addressing consistently time variable controls in biomaterials design, and to pave the way to fully synchronise the biology and man-made materials’ “watches”. We expect that SynchroSelf will generate a new class of dynamic biomaterials that will enable scientists to study wound healing processes in vitro with unprecedented level of complexity and experimental control.

Mots clés : regenerative medicine, wound healing, stem cells

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet RES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Is currentIs current legal protection adequate to prevent local communities in the EU from abandoning their traditional and environmentally sustainable practices? Environmental protection is increasingly gaining recognition as essential for the fulfilment of human rights. However it remains unclear whether human rights offer sufficient protection for local communities that contribute to environmental protection. The project will break new ground compared to current scholarship, which focuses on indigenous peoples in developing countries. It will focus on non-indigenous local communities in the EU, investigating the intersection of international, EU and national law. The experienced researcher (ER) will build on her research on biocultural rights (monograph published by Oxford University Press) to develop an innovative theoretical and legal framework – Rights for Ecosystem Services (RES) – according to which local communities could be recognized the rights needed to maintain their sustainable practices, in so far as they are bound to remain sustainable. If the hypothesis is correct, RES would be ‘rights with duties’, leading to the identification of needed legal and policy changes to protect the environment and the interests of sustainable local communities. Methodologically, the ER will originally integrate: legal theory; analysis of international, EU and national law; conservation science; religious studies; empirical legal research (fieldwork). The ER will be supervised by Prof. Elisa Morgera (world-leading expert in international and EU environmental law and human rights) and hosted at Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) - centre of excellence on human rights and the environment. SCELG will benefit from the ER’s expertise in legal theory, religious studies and conservation biology, and the ER will be engaged in embedded peer-learning and peer-review approaches to develop research, teaching, knowledge exchange, and policy advice skills.

Mots clés : human rights, environmental protection, local communities, environmental law and policy, sacred natural sites, sustainable practices, traditional knowledge, farmers, cattle keepers

Participants :
- University of Strathclyde (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet LivingTogether (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Is the solidarity economy an impractical idealistic dream or can cooperatives really make a significant contribution to realising sustainable agri-food systems? With the global food system in crisis, there is an urgent need to study alternatives to the modern industrial food system and to share practical and policy lessons for sustainability transformations. There is an accumulation of evidence across Europe that certain kinds of cooperatives which bring farmers and consumers together – multi-stakeholder cooperatives (MSC) – can function successfully to promote sustainable agri-food systems at a small scale. Yet there is little research on the extent to which they represent a pathway to wider transformation. Through this fellowship, my goal is to enlarge the global conversation about the role of the solidarity economy in food system transformations by supporting shared learning between East and West and academia and cooperative movements. To achieve this, I have planned an extensive period of participatory fieldwork to conduct an in-depth case study of a little-known Korean cooperative, Hansalim, which has grown to become the largest organic food MSC in the world. It embodies a possible model of a large-scale alternative to the modern industrial food system with wider implications for broader societal transformation. This project will culminate in the publication of a series of academic papers and a book about Hansalim for popular readership to reach the widest possible English-speaking audience.

Mots clés : multi stakeholder cooperatives, solidarity economy, food systems, sustainability transformation, republic of korea

Participants :
- Mosim and salim research institute (Corée du Sud) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Sussex (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 287976.0 €
Projet CBC-ETHOS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Is there an ethical dimension in cross-border cooperation (CBC)? How and to what extent are peoples’ lives affected by CBC and what is the role people play in shaping the CBC social order? What are the ethical values promoted by the European Union (EU) through CBC? Although European Union border scholars and practitioners highlight how important is to consider the ethical dimension of CBC for its successful management, this dimension has been so far neglected and understudied because of the lack of an appropriate methodological and theoretical background. Thus, I aim first, to fill this academic and policy making gap by addressing these questions and by proposing a pioneering ethical-humanist approach to CBC; second, to empirically test the cross-border governance ethical code that I have recently started elaborating. I argue that the ethical dimension of CBC needs to be scrutinized since border spaces are part and parcel of human activities and precisely because they are ‘human’, they must be structured and governed in an ethical manner. And the CBG ethical-code elaborated here is the necessary lynchpin to boost/strengthen integration. It is normatively important to institutionally determine whether ethical values such as trust, obligations, responsibility, solidarity and gift on which social exchange is grounded are considered by policy makers and stakeholders operating on CBC policies. The outcome of this analysis is an original, alternative modern CBC roadmap that promotes social conditions through which human beings as well as their natural environment can harmoniously develop through the fulfillment of specific needs. Finally, through CBC-ETHOS I will show ‘how’ and ‘to what extent’ multi-scalar (private and public) (non)government levels change themselves in their ‘normative’ institutional make-up and outlooks due to CBC.

Mots clés : eu cross border cooperation, cross border governance ethical code of values, cross border regions, cross border regionalism, new regionalism approach, european grouping of territorial cooperation

Participants :
- Université Grenoble Alpes (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet microCardio (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality transversal to different clinical settings and pathologies, including myocardial infarction. Ischemia is characterised by insufficient supply of blood to tissues causing tissue oxygen deprivation. Importantly, damage by prolonged ischemia is further aggravated by reperfusion, leading to irreversible tissue damage. Identifying and understanding the factors contributing to ischemia-reperfusion injury is essential to counteract the irreversible damage and to potentially develop novel therapeutic approaches to intervene in myocardial infarction. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs control various aspects of heart disease, including ischemia-reperfusion injury. Although a few microRNAs have already been implicated in this process, a comprehensive analysis of the functional role of microRNAs in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury is still missing. The main goal of this project is to identify microRNAs controlling the resistance/susceptibility of cardiomyocytes to ischemia-reperfusion injury and characterise the molecular mechanisms underlying their function. This will be achieved through the combination of gain- and loss-of-function high-throughput screenings using genome-wide microRNA libraries, and deep-sequencing analysis of microRNA expression in conditions mimicking ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion in vitro and in vivo. The identification and characterisation of the molecular targets of the selected microRNAs will entail a combination of computational and experimental approaches This project uses innovative experimental approaches and will unravel a previously unappreciated network of microRNAs and microRNA targets critical to ischemia-reperfusion injury, which may reveal novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention, with important clinical implications.

Mots clés : microrna, high throughput screening

Participants :
- University of Coimbra (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 148635.6 €
Projet ISLAPAP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Islamic paper, i.e. paper produced in the Islamic cultural realm, is a particularly underexplored aspect of Islamic material culture. Although paper was first produced outside China already in 750 AD, our knowledge of historic paper and ink is dominated by research into Western papermaking. However, Islamic paper and inks are particular in their use of polishing practices, use of starch as a filler, use of dyes and use of specific inks. ISLAPAP aims to fill the knowledge gap through material science research of both reference material collections and actual manuscripts, and through archival research into paper- and ink-making recipes in medieval and early modern art-technological sources and treatises. ISLAPAP will further illuminate historic papermaking practices through experimental evidence, which will benefit manuscript scholars. Material science will be used to explore the durability of Islamic paper in order to develop preventive conservation advice. It is namely not known how the typical Islamic papermaking practices of polishing and starch sizing affect the stability of the cellulosic support, and it is currently not known how corrosive Islamic inks are. This knowledge will be of use to libraries and archives hosting Islamic paper collections globally. The research will be carried out at University of Ljubljana as the Host institution with world-leading expertise in heritage science, which will be complemented with the Fellow's skills in archival research and conservation research. The Fellow will study medieval and early modern archival art technological sources and treatises with references to papermaking and ink manufacture. An intensive training programme is planned that will allow the Fellow to develop into a world-leading researcher in the field of Islamic paper collections, supported by a communication and dissemination plan ensuring excellent global impact.

Mots clés : islamic paper, history of technology, heritage science

Participants :
- University of Ljubljana (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162040.32 €
Projet ISOPARAMETRIC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Isoparametric hypersurfaces are intriguing geometric objects whose study has revealed connections with several areas of mathematics and mathematical physics, and which have typically been investigated with differential geometric, algebraic or topological techniques. The aim of this proposal is to develop an innovative approach to isoparametric hypersurfaces by combining already established tools with methods from geometric analysis and partial differential equations. Specifically, we intend to investigate the existence of isoparametric hypersurfaces in general Riemannian manifolds, the role of these objects in overdetermined problems of elliptic partial differential equations, and the isoparametricity of compact hypersurfaces with constant mean curvature in noncompact symmetric spaces. In order to develop this proposal, the Experienced Researcher will join the Geometric Analysis team at ICMAT, in Madrid, under the supervision of one of its main researchers, Alberto Enciso. The host group has extensive experience in the study of the geometric properties of solutions to differential equations, and their main researchers have recently developed powerful methods to address outstanding problems in fluid mechanics and geometric analysis. The scientific training strategy of this proposal consists in the assimilation of these techniques. On the other hand, the Researcher is experienced in the classical theory of isoparametric hypersurfaces, as evidenced by his contributions to the field. It is the combination of both backgrounds what is needed to develop this proposal. Finally, this MSC fellowship would boost the convergence of distinct research fields and collaborative networks, produce a synergy with the ERC Starting Grant hold by the Supervisor, diversify the fellow’s mathematical knowledge, and consolidate him as an independent researcher.

Mots clés : isoparametric hypersurfaces, constant mean curvature, overdetermined boundary value problems, riemannian submanifolds, symmetric spaces

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet POLARSENSE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

It has long been known that chiral objects interact asymmetrically with chiral electromagnetic fields, but chiroptical effects are typically very small because the wavelength of light is so much larger than the size of biological molecules. The POLARSENSE project proposes a new ground-breaking approach for the detection and quantification of chirality that will permit ultrasensitive chiral discrimination through optical means. Its objective will be to set up a coherent detection method that will exploit the spatial coherence of light, similarly as in double beam interferometers exploit the temporal coherence of light. Switching from temporal coherence to spatial coherence supposes a paradigm shift for the optical coherent detection technique and it will allow using a single light beam instead of having to deal with two different beams. With this new technique, two different parts of the beam will acquire different polarizations and will then recombine coherently. The formed interference pattern will depend on the optical properties of the sample, and they will be recovered after an holographic analysis. This spatially coherent detection method can be implemented in a Mueller matrix polarimeter capable of detecting minute differences of polarization states associated to chiral signals, for example during protein folding. It is envisaged that such technique will maintain the advantages of general applicability, wide spectroscopic range and low cost of the optical method of polarimetry but with a tremendous increase of its sensitivity.

Mots clés : polarimetry, polarized light, light coherency, optical activity, chirality

Participants :
- École polytechnique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173076.0 €