Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet AMMagScaff (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Porous scaffolds (i.e., lattice implants) play an important role in bone regeneration since they can mimic the structure of bone, bond to bone and in some cases stimulate bone growth. To date, most clinically approved porous scaffolds are limited to those fabricated from non-degradable metals. As such, a second surgery is often required to remove them once their purpose is fulfilled. This is often a burden for the patient and results in significantly increased health care costs. Biodegradable Mg alloys can overcome these issues thanks to their ability to dissolve within the human body while being replaced by new bone tissue. The aim of this project is to advance the potential use of Mg alloy porous scaffolds for bone grafting applications. To achieve this aim, the proposed research seeks to fulfil three primary objectives: (1) to design a next generation biomedical Mg-Zn-Ca alloy suitable for laser-powder bed fusion processing (L-PBF) of porous scaffolds; (2) to improve the mechanical and degradation properties beyond those of ‘benchmark’ commercially available biomedical Mg alloys; (3) to incorporate biodegradable polymers into porous Mg-Zn-Ca-based lattices as a means of improving the functionality of the lattice implant. The project seeks to combine the in-depth material knowledge and industrial experience of the Experienced Researcher (ER), with the biomedical expertise, wide subject background and extensive collaboration networks of the supervisor, Cecilia Persson, along with the broad range of infrastructure available at the host organisation, Uppsala University. The interdisciplinary aspect of the proposed research will enable the ER to expand his knowledge in several areas and will substantially improve his career prospects, especially given the supervisor’s excellent track record of training postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers. The host will benefit from the ER’s contributions to its research activities and industrial relevance.

Mots clés : magnesium alloys, degradable implants, laser powder bed fusion, additive manufacturing, scaffolds

Participants :
- Université d'Uppsala (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224561.27 €
Projet ROMEO (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

When are peacekeeping operations (POs) successful? A leading answer from quantitative peacekeeping research is that mission size and personnel composition matter. The larger the deployment, the higher the number of uniformed troops, and the more culturally different the peacekeepers, the better peacekeeping performance. Practitioners, on the other hand, oftentimes highlight that adequate military equipment is crucial in this regard. Due to the lack of structured cross-sectional, time-varying data on how POs are equipped, peacekeeping scholars have, thus far, not been able to directly evaluate these appeals in a systematic manner. Consequently, it is unclear whether POs are indeed under-equipped, whether and to which extent this varies across cases and what role equipment deficiencies play for peacekeeping performance. ROMEO addresses this significant research gap in three ways. First, it systematically synthesizes and structures information on how POs are equipped (RO1), recording which country contributes material to which PO, supporting which operational function, with how many items of equipment, using which specific system for 87 UN and non-UN POs in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1991 and 2023 (WP1). Second, ROMEO establishes basic empirical knowledge on military peacekeeping equipment (RO2) by descriptively exploring the new equipment data from WP1 and other sources along four dimensions – availability, suitability, state-of-the-art, and technical interoperability – to compare equipment deficiency over time (a), across UN and non-UN POs (b), and within different actors over time (c). Third, it advances our understanding on the conditions under which peacekeeping works (RO3) as it uses the multidimensional information from WP2 to statistically model the relation between military equipment deficiencies and the ability of POs to limit conflict-related violence, especially against civilians (WP3).

Mots clés : peacekeeping, military equipment, civil conflicts, effectiveness, protection of civilians

Participants :
- Université d'Uppsala (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 206887.68 €
Projet EarlyLife (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The prevention of stillbirths, together with ending newborn and child deaths, are first-order human development priorities. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aim to end all preventable deaths before age 5 years by 2030. The research project aims to contribute to this goal by radically enhancing our understanding of human mortality at the beginning of life using novel data and methods suited to study mortality by detailed age before and after birth. The innovation of this project lies in its ambitious goal to (1) identify the ages at which fetuses and children are the most vulnerable, and (2) identify the underlying factors of such vulnerability. The research project is focused on India, the home of the highest number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths (ie, deaths before 28 days of age) in the world (respectively 340,000 and 490,000 in 2020). India is also the only large country where under-5 mortality is higher for girls than for boys. Using public and non-public data, I aim to identify for the first time and with focus on gender discrimination (1) the causes of excess neonatal mortality, (2) potential excess fetal mortality, and (3) the age-specific impact of climate change on under-5 mortality. The central hypothesis that I propose to test is the large impact of fetal growth restriction through maternal malnutrition on excess fetal and neonatal mortality. The research project also calls attention to the vulnerability of older children (above age 1 year) to infectious and parasitic diseases that are increased by climate change. By providing new scientific evidence and policy recommendations about the age-specific vulnerability of fetuses and children, the project will be of significant value to researchers, policymakers, but also actors involved in field trials of health interventions in India. The results of this project will also have policy relevance in a broader context, including south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Mots clés : stillbirths, neonatal mortality, under 5 mortality, gestational age pattern of mortality, maternal and fetal malnutrition, missing girls, low and middle income countries, climate change

Participants :
- CERCA Institution (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet Poles and People (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This project investigates the foundation of statehood, science popularisation, and (trans)national cooperation with specific regard to the Polar Regions and “inner Africa”. In the nineteenth century, geographical societies formed the institutional base for the rising field of geographical research. Their foundation, mainly in European capitals, coincided with the growth of a civil society and the rise of imperial claims to power. By simultaneously practicing and popularizing science, they developed a lasting impact on the exploration and public perception of formerly inaccessible environments such as the Arctic, Antarctica, and “inner Africa”. However, the study of these “blank spots” followed not only political and economic interests, but also served sociocultural identity-building purposes and promised to provide scientific answers to questions of global interest such as climatology and ecology. The project will compare the geographical societies of four capitals: Brussels, Edinburgh, Oslo, and Vienna. Societies in these cities considered the Polar Regions and/or “inner Africa” as major poles of geographical inquiry. Sources including the understudied archival holdings of geographical societies will be brought together for qualitative and quantitative study. Particular attention will be paid to (1) historical geographies in which research on the Polar Regions and Africa was practiced, networks of exchange established, and scholarship popularised; (2) the relationship between state governance and geographical societies in the context of national and imperial statehood; (3) interaction processes between science, geographical exploration, and the public sphere with regard to practitioners, field sites, and exchange formats involved. Targeted dissemination and communication activities such the development and implementation of teaching materials will contribute to a higher degree of evidence-based self-reflection on global responsibility and colonial heritage.

Mots clés : scientific societies, historical geographies, popular science, empire, exploration, history of science

Participants :
- Université d'Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 226751.04 €
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PEZ (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In a global climate change scenario with pieces of evidence of abiotic factor changes and the increase of pollutants due to anthropogenic activities, we are starting to accumulate evidence of its effects on animal welfare and physiology. One of these effects is changes in fish sex determination and differentiation processes due to alterations of abiotic and anthropogenic factors. Among these factors, temperature is known to affect sex determination well before the gonads are differentiated, pointing towards an evident interplay between the genetic and environmental factors, even prior to gonad formation at the primordial germ cell (PGCs) stage. However, how temperature controls PGCs and final sex ratios fate is still unknown. In this project, I aim to dissect when and how temperature is controlling the fate of PGCs. Hence, driving the future sex ratio of the population since changes in sex ratios could put at risk future food production and species conservation. To that extent, I propose combining state-of-the-art imaging, genomic, and epigenetic technologies to analyse PGCs transcriptomic and epigenetic landscapes of zebrafish under thermal stress. This project capitalises on combining my background in epigenetics and bioinformatic fields with extensive expertise in developmental biology, fish sex determination and differentiation and spatial transcriptomics of the host labs. This multidisciplinary proposal will explain how temperature increases as predicted on a climate change scenario modulates PGCs fate and identity. These results will significantly advance the field of epigenetics and developmental biology and will impact future food production and species conservation. Finally, the knowledge and skills gained from this project will allow me to become an independent researcher and hopefully enable me to establish my own line of research in Regulatory Genomics applied to aquaculture and marine conservation.

Mots clés : primordial germ cells pgcs , climate change, gonad formation, gonad differentiation, sex ratio

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
Projet DPP9-TACDrug (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Dipeptidyl-peptidase 9 (DPP9) is a proline-selective serine protease that belongs to the peptidase S9 family. During recent years, DPP9 inhibition has shown to cause pyroptosis, selectively in acute myeloid leukemia cells. Pyroptosis is a lytic form of programmed cell death, that has mainly been observed in immune cells. The process typically recruits and activates other immune cells and inflammatory mediators, causing a localized activation of the innate immune system. This is particularly appealing for leukemia treatment, because the immune-response to leukemic cells is typically severely subdued. Recent mechanistic insight suggests that native DPP9 suppresses pyroptosis through a stabilizing protein-protein interaction (PPI) with the NLRP1 inflammasome sensor. Furthermore, DPP9 inhibition with small molecules only has a mildly destabilizing effect on the [DPP9-NLRP1] PPI. This proposal suggests the targeted clearance of DPP9 from the cytoplasm in acute myeloid leukemia cells to cause pyroptosis through enhanced NLRP1 activation. PROTACs and AUTACs are heterobifunctional molecules that mediate the degradation of a protein of interest (POI) by hijacking cell’s own proteasome and autophagic system, respectively. The implementation of PROTAC and AUTAC technologies for targeted clearance of DPP9 and consequent pyroptosis induction in acute myeloid leukemia cell lines is proposed in this project. PROTAC and AUTAC molecules will be designed and synthesized, followed by in vitro evaluation of their cell permeability, DPP9-engagement, DPP9 clearance potency and selectivity, and dose/time dependence of DPP9 clearance. Furthermore, a comparison of the pyroptosis signatures of PROTACs, AUTACs and DPP9 inhibitors will be performed. Overall, this proposal can provide a superior therapeutic strategy to AML and other cancer types.

Mots clés : autac, dpp9, protac, pyroptosis

Participants :
- Université d'Anvers (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
Projet SpecDroHuman (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Spectrins are an integral part of the submembranous cytoskeleton providing both mechanical scaffolding and organization hub for other proteins in metazoan cells. The importance of spectrins to neuronal health is demonstrated by their association with a wide range of human neurological disorders (spectrinopathies). Currently, more than forty mutations in the gene encoding non-erythroid α-spectrin (SPTAN1) are associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN), spastic paraplegia (HSP), and ataxia. The underlying pathomechanisms remain largely unknown. In Drosophila, the highly conserved α-spec homolog similarly plays an important role in the nervous system development, as well as in synapse formation, its function and maintenance. Interestingly, synaptic defects associated with loss of α-spec can be suppressed via neuronal mitochondria repositioning. Conversely, increased levels of α-spec rescue a range of neuronal phenotypes linked to actin-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction in an α-synuclein neurodegeneration Drosophila model. These findings suggest that modulating the levels of α-spec in neurons might have an important and understudied impact on tuning mitochondrial dynamics and preserving neuronal health. Thus, the goal of my MSCA proposal is to deepen our knowledge on how neuronal actin and spectrin cytoskeleton regulate mitochondria and assess mitochondrial dysfunction at the basis of α-spectrinopathies, with a combined use of Drosophila as a model organism, and human iPSC-derived neurons as a platform to translate the findings to human neuronal health and disease. My project will provide insights on whether spectrin-associated mitochondrial dysfunction is a shared or specific feature for HMN, HSP and ataxia-associated spectrin mutants. I will deploy these findings to tailor a pharmacological treatment in the α-spectrinopathy neuronal cellular models and develop a therapeutic strategy.

Mots clés : spectrin, actin, mitochondria, drosophila, ipsc derived neuronal cell lines

Participants :
- Université d'Anvers (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
Projet UroAPROD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ellagitannin-rich herbal remedies are used traditionally because of their anti-inflammatory activity. This is connected not to ellagitannins themselves but to their metabolites produced by the gut microbiota. Urolithin A (UroA) is recognized as the most significant of all ellagitannins’ metabolites. However, not everyone is able to have it produced in their gut. The UroA production is exclusive to the hosts of urolithin metabotype A (UM-A) and B (UM-B) and is most probably dependent on the gut microbiota composition and activity. Preliminary trials showed that UM-A hosts have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the transition from UM-A to other metabotypes is also connected to aging, which might suggest losing certain beneficial abilities. The identity of microorganisms that differentiate UroA producers were not yet revealed. If recognized, new probiotics might be designed. Providing non-UM-A hosts with the possibility to produce UroA efficiently would grant them an advantage due to reports of a wide range of proven and indicated UroAs biological activities.  The project aims to isolate, characterize and preserve bacterial strains able to produce UroA from the fecal samples of UM-A and UM-B donors. This will be possible due to innovative substrate conversion screening strategies and novel metabolomic and sequencing techniques utilization. Results will provide missing insights about urolithin metabotypes for further explanatory studies focused on the elucidation of UM-dependant features. Moreover, bioinformatic tools will be developed to obtain multi-omic descriptions of the studied processes, combining metabolomic and targeted metagenomic data. The project will deliver protocols and data analysis methods that will enable us to run advanced projects in the field of natural products biotransformation research. The established pipelines will be suitable also for dysbiosis, xenobiotic-microbiome interaction and pre- and probiotic design studies.

Mots clés : gut microbiota biotransformation urolithin metabotypes urolithin a microbial isolation multi omics metabolomics targeted metagenomics comparative transcriptomics proteomics bioinformatics

Participants :
- Université d'Anvers (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
Projet BioROAD2 (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Roads are indispensable to our daily lives, promoting mobility and supporting socio-economic interactions. However, the impact caused during their construction (i.e. extraction and transport of raw materials, and production) cannot be disregarded. Moreover, asphalt will be used for the next decades in road infrastructures because of its pragmatic applicability; therefore, it is crucial to identify ways to mitigate their environmental influence and make them more sustainable. The BioROAD2 project seeks to participate in the ongoing research by applying circular economy principles encouraging the reuse/ recycling of asphalt and bio-waste and bio-by-products – often limited due to regulations, performance blockers, and technological challenges – into new paving materials to decrease the use of virgin and fossil resources. It also aims to emphasise the benefits of low-energy-consuming processes fostering the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and related issues. BioROAD2 will highlight the overall benefits of all phases of pavement development, including its circularity, often neglected during the R&D phase. Therefore, BioROAD2 will adopt an integrated approach ensured by a three-pillar R&I strategy including (1) Requirements definition, (2) Experimental studies through Design and Characterisation combined with (3) Sustainability assessments addressing the technical, environmental and socio-economic compatibility. The objectives are to (i) specify and document the criteria for the materials and suitable use area validation and propose a unique, flexible, and verifiable self-devised method supported by literature; (ii) produce samples, verify their recyclability and identify the best mixtures; and (iii) conduct rigorous sustainability assessments for the selected mixtures and translate the results into knowledge that can be exploited as a generalised approach for biobased and recycled paving materials with optimised and advanced durability for road infrastructures.

Mots clés : road infrastructures, sustainable pavements, reclaimed asphalt pavement, cleaner processes, emulsion, bio based resources, waste valorisation, recycling, life cycle assessment

Participants :
- Université de Maastricht (Pays-Bas) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université d'Anvers (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €
Projet FUNVINE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Vineyards are integral to supporting the ecology and economy for a sustainable society, as they cover a large portion of land worldwide, and represent an important source of income for local economies. The intensification of viticulture including the excessive use of plowing and agrochemicals has resulted in eroded and biologically impoverished vineyards with associated negative consequences for growers and the environment. Given these challenges, we must now work to restore sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem function while increasing the margin of benefits for growers. An important step in this process is to investigate the functional microbiome associated with grapevine roots and leaves because it controls key processes such as pathogenesis, symbiosis and nutrient cycling. To do so, a global collaborative research network has begun to identify the members of the grapevine microbiome (bacteria, fungi and micro-fauna); the proposed research project (FUNVINE) would complement microbial community analyses by simultaneously characterizing the microbial functional attributes of grapevines worldwide using advanced shotgun metagenomic approaches. FUNVINE will include two major research components to improve our knowledge to help achieve sustainability in vineyard management; 1) global-scale functional profiling of the grapevine microbiome, and 2) manipulative experimentation to identify the impacts of environmental change on grapevine-microbiome interactions. These research objectives will expand global knowledge of the microbial mechanisms that benefit or inhibit grapevines across environmental gradients, including under a major climate change-driven stressor -- drought. Overall, the FUNVINE project will reveal for the first time, the mechanisms of the grapevine microbiome across regions, environmental gradients, and grape varieties, thus providing answers to many of the greatest challenges to healthy, productive, and sustainable viticulture systems worldwide.

Mots clés : metagenomics, sustainable agriculture, microbial mediation, viticulture

Participants :
- Université de Cadix (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €