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

Polymersomes, hollow polymer vesicles made from assembled amphiphilic block copolymers, are interesting systems for drug delivery as they can be synthesised to be biocompatible, biodegradable, and/or stimuli-responsive. A main limitation of all drug delivery vehicles is that they require multiple steps of synthesis and a posterior self-assembly process that generates low yields and high quantities of non-encapsulated waste, limiting industrial scalability. Being hosted in the Stevens Group (www.stevensgroup.org, recognised with over 30 major awards), AutoPolymer aims at generating a versatile platform for the generation of polymersome-based drug delivery vehicles which can self-replicate by synthesising amphiphilic block copolymers in the lumen, with the future perspective of co synthesising encapsulated therapeutic agents. The strategy builds on finding bioinspiration in nature, mimicking the autosynthesis of structural components of cells through the mitosis process. This will be achieved by generating enzyme-containing polymersomes which have the capacity to biocatalyse polymerisation reactions. The polymers will be synthesised in the lumen of the polymersomes and will then migrate and assemble to the existing membrane. This will allow for membrane surface area growth and posterior binary fission splitting the encapsulated contents. The incorporation of light responsive chemical motifs to the polymersomes throughout their autosynthesis will be studied to render light-responsive drug delivery vehicles. The polymersomes will be tested for their therapeutic effects on cell lines. The approach is highly versatile and could, in principle, be used for a great variety of chemical compositions and encapsulated therapeutic agents. The potential of the project will be evaluated through the outstanding infrastructure of the Stevens Group.


Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet COOLEFIN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polyolefins are the most produced class of polymers every year (>130 million tons in 2015). Despite intensive research and development in this field over the past 50 years, both in academia and in industry, the synthesis of polar polyolefin copolymers remains challenging. These copolymers are highly desirable, most notably as compatibilizing agent in polymer blends. The COOLEFIN proposal is aiming to develop a sustainable alternative method to synthesise polar polyolefin from CO2/olefin and olefin/CO2/epoxide copolymerization - two challenging reactions still under explored. These new materials will reduce the use of petrochemically derived starting monomers and open a new field of sophisticated materials with unique properties. The COOLEFIN objectives are i) the synthesis and characterization of a new family of dinuclear late transition metal catalysts; ii) testing the series of catalysts for CO2/olefin and olefin/CO2/epoxide copolymerization; iii) physical characterization of the produced polymers; iv) kinetic and mechanistic studies of the polymerization reactions; v) optimization of the reactions conditions and scale up. The COOLEFIN action proposes a multidisciplinary research project on the frontier between inorganic, catalysis and materials chemistry, providing an optimum training experience and transfer of knowledge between all parties during both phases. In addition, the high impact of the study will be both of academic and industrial interest. It will put light to i) mechanism/rate of simple organometallic reactions (CO2/ethylene insertion); ii) the requirements for a good catalyst to perform these two polymerization reactions; iii) the link between the polymer micro/macrostructure and its physical properties to target specific applications. This project is a value added effort to bring two excellent polymerization concepts to the frontier of polymer catalysis research, which has never been given proper attention, despite being extremely promising.

Mots clés : dinuclear complexes, olefin polymerization, carbon dioxide, epoxide copolymerization, block copolymers

Participants :
- University of Konstanz (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 219844.5 €
- California Institute of Technology (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet INSPIRING-SNI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Population needs for Internet connectivity rely on carrier networks currently challenged by the ever-increasing network complexity, traffic volume, and dynamicity. Software Defined Networking (SDN) has entered the networking scene as an enabling technology that brings programmability to the network by decoupling the forwarding data-plane actions from the logic control-plane decisions through application programming interfaces. However, the variety of controllers governing different network segments and interfaces for control and management endangers actual carrier-grade SDN deployments. INvestigating SDN Programmability ImpRovING optical South- and North- bound Interfaces (INSPIRING-SNI) aims to enhance programmability in SDN ecosystems addressing two critical aspects. First, INSPIRING-SNI will control, manage and operate technology diverse environments through the SouthBound Interface (SBI) relying on innovative industry-driven standardization initiatives such as OpenROADM and the expertise of Dr. Garrich in experimental SDN applications for optical networks. Second, INSPIRING-SNI will develop an optimization-as-a-service (OaaS) framework for dynamic optimisation of multilayer backbone/metro networks (IP over optical) jointly with metro/access segments via the NorthBound Interface (NBI), greatly widening Dr. Garrich's background and empowering his career perspectives. The OaaS framework will be based on the open-source network planning tool Net2Plan, developed within the host group, that is receiving a growing international attention and funding from industry and academia. INSPIRING-SNI will include a strategic inter-sectorial secondment at TID to experimentally validate the SBI and NBI proposals and to provide to the host and Dr. Garrich a realistic perspective on telecom operator needs and challenges. INSPIRING-SNI is in-line with an expression of interest of the host institution and EU Research and Innovation effort on ICT.

Mots clés : software defined networking, multilayer optical networks, optimization in network operation and planning

Participants :
- Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet CODE_FLUX (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Populism, ethno-nationalism, and isolationism have rippled through recent elections in Western democracies, unsettling the multicultural, globalist, and neoliberal trajectories many had assumed were durable and determined. Brexit in the UK, Donald Trump’s victory in the USA, and the strong showing of the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in Germany’s 2017 federal election upended the conventional wisdom and drew deep cultural and social cleavages to the fore. This study approaches these developments as manifestations of severe challenges to foundational cultural elements that control, anchor, and organize liberal, Western democratic social orders. By investigating these dueling political campaigns and press coverage that narrated these three democratic votes, this project examines the scope and intensity of these challenges. The study focuses on meaning structures, or cultural codes and justification narratives, that these events’ principal actors performed in effort to move citizens to vote, and specifies the interpretive resources citizens drew upon to justify their voting actions. In effort to innovate methodologically, the study uses two frameworks to investigate each of these sites, one qualitative, called structural hermeneutics, and one a quantitative, digital technique called computational hermeneutics. Through its investigation of Brexit, the rise of Trumpism and the 2016 US presidential election, and the rise and institutionalization of the AfD in Germany, this study addresses issue of the foundational elements of culture, and explains how these structures came to be agitated into a state of flux.

Mots clés : civil society, populism, cultural sociology, political communication, elections, democracy, mixed methods

Participants :
- University of Trento (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 251002.56 €
- Yale University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet Imagine (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Post embryonic growth and regeneration require new cells to integrate into the network of existing cells. In the case of the brain it is extremely important to maintain and restore circuit function, such that behaviors can be executed correctly. To study such processes a system that fulfills both post-embryonic growth as well as regeneration is needed. Furthermore, since neural circuit functions are highly dynamic the need for in vivo approaches is evident. In mammalian systems where neurogenesis occurs throughout life in restricted brain regions such approaches are technically challenging. Here, I propose to use the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) brain to understand the dynamic remodeling of neural circuits through the addition of newborn neurons during post-embryonic growth and regeneration. I will establish a high resolution intra-vital in vivo imaging approach to address the dynamics of neurogenesis and remodeling of neural circuits in the telencephalon and the optic tectum. Using this setup in combination with genetically encoded calcium indicators I will generate activity maps of these regions in the presence or absence of defined stimuli and address their functional remodeling during growth and their restoration after injury. Furthermore, I will develop and adapt methods to visualize the functional connections of neurons in axolotl. Together, this work will provide fundamental insights into the functional maintenance and regeneration of neural circuits and the dynamics of how new neurons integrate in vivo which has not yet been achieved in any vertebrate system.

Mots clés : regeneration, neurogenesis

Participants :
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 174167.04 €
Projet PADWIC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Power amplifier (PA) design for wideband communications is a hot topic in electronics, since microwave PAs with high linearity, efficiency and bandwidth represent an enabling technology for wireless/mobile communications enhancement. The proposal aims to develop the clipping contours method in continuous modes PAs. The continuous modes provide sets of harmonic loads that can be exploited to achieve high efficiency operation of the active device. The clipping contours permit to broaden these sets of harmonic loads, relaxing the requirements on matching networks but still controlling the target PA performance. The host laboratory recently published cutting-edge results on both methods. The candidate will work to achieve important objectives: -Extension the theory of clipping contours to third and higher harmonics -Creation of a novel design tool for clipping contours in continuous modes -Development of matching network synthesis techniques to achieve the loads provided by the tool -Design of PAs prototypes for high power base stations in the 1.8-2.7 GHz band -Embedding of clipping contours in a Doherty PA prototype They will be achieved thanks to the host laboratory excellence, to the young and promising researcher’s ability, and to an effective planning. Each step will follow a solid procedure: -Literature survey and theoretical formulation of the method -Implementation of novel method by design examples -Experimental characterization for validation -Exploitation: dissemination and public engagement The project is of great relevance. It will impact on the industrial leadership of EU: microwave PA is an enabling technology in many competitive markets. Power efficient base stations will contribute to the EU target of increasing overall energy efficiency. The project will provide to the researcher the skills and the scientific impact to boost his career trajectory. The host will benefit of the project, increasing its reputation and acquiring skills from the candidate.

Mots clés : power amplifier, microwave, communications, wideband, base station, solid state circuit design, energy efficiency, linearity, waveform engineering, matching network, algorithm

Participants :
- Cardiff University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet PROM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

PreTerm Birth (PTB) occurs before 37 weeks of gestation. Of 60,000 babies born prematurely every year in UK, ~1,400 die. Premature babies show increased risks of long term neurodevelopmental deficits and chronic diseases. Preterm Rupture of the foetal Membranes (PROM) is a syndrome attributable to multiple factor. Evidences linked environmental toxicant exposure and infection with a decreased fertility and an increase PTB rate. Studies of these topics suffered for limits of in vitro cell culture (e.g. absence of extracellular environment, dilution) and anatomical, physiological, endocrine differences between human and animal models. Long term goal of this project is to create Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) models of the human endometrium and the human foetal membranes to assess the effects of environmental insults, such as infection or inflammation, to exacerbate preterm birth. An overarching goal is to utilize these OoC models to identify personalized therapy to improve and preserve fertility. This project aims to 1.Implement an OoC model to replicate the physiology of the human endometrium and the development of the foetal membranes during pregnancy. This will be achieved by adding human amniotic epithelial, chorionic trophoblasts and maternal macrophages in the existing OoC. 2.Define the individual contributions of each cell type in the endometrium to paracrine signalling events that lead to PTB. A sub-micrometric polymeric, porous membrane will be integrated in the chip, will allow chemical communication between the cellular compartments of the OoC, will support formation of cell layers and will favour close proximity between the different cell types. 3.Monitor metabolic activity and identify PTB biomarkers. Changes in metabolic activity of each cell types, biomarkers of infection and inflammation in response to unknown stressors (e.g. bacteria/ toxins/chemotherapy) will be identified by downstream collection of effluents and direct single cell sensing.

Mots clés : organs on a chip, microfluidic, endometrium, pregnancy, reproductive toxicology, preterm birth

Participants :
- University of Leeds (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet DNAmics (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Precise control of macroscopic properties at molecular level is one of the biggest challenges of modern science. Nature accomplishes this by adding information to matter, and organizes chemical system of nonliving components into living, biological systems. Inspired by the most fascinating nature’s information system, the DNA, and using its basic structural elements, modular and highly flexible synthesis of novel chemical information carrying system will be performed. This will enable the preparation of the desired sequence of H-bonding recognition sites. The prepared short oligomeric sequences will be used to explore robustness of synthetic sequences for the formation of duplexes. By quantitative assessment of multivalent recognition of complementary sequences and imperfections in the duplex formation of non-complementary and defective sequences, valuable information on the structural features and fidelity of supramolecular assembly formation of various sequences will be obtained. This will give insight into reliability and predictability, in other words programmability, of the proposed synthetic recognition sequences to form molecular duplexes. Reliable formation of synthetic duplexes would allow precise control over supramolecular interactions and will lay the foundation for formation of smart advanced materials with unprecedented mechanical, electronic and photochemical properties.

Mots clés : molecular recognition, supramolecular chemistry, organic synthesis, hydrogen bonding, multivalency, molecular duplexes

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet PSF-2-PREDICT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Predicting which alien plant species will become invasive is key to mitigating their impact. Plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) between plant species and soil microbes are crucial for controlling plant abundance. It has been suggested that positive PSF could promote alien plant invasion but that negative PSF could help their control. However, a framework to predict which alien species will experience positive feedback, and under what conditions, is lacking. My project will combine fundamental ecological theory, state-of-the-art knowledge of PSF, carefully designed experiments, and cutting-edge techniques in data analysis and high-throughput sequencing to gain a predictive understanding of the role of PSF in plant invasion. I will test the novel hypothesis that close relatedness between alien and native plant species will promote invasion when nutrients are limiting by allowing alien plants to integrate into native soil mutualistic networks, but prevent invasion under high nutrient conditions by increasing the susceptibility of alien plants to native soil pathogens. For alien and native plant species that vary in relatedness I will: 1) quantify the strength of PSF under differing nutrient conditions; 2) characterise mutualistic associations in the roots; and 3) characterise the soil microbial communities they cultivate. Moreover, I will develop an open access database of collated PSF data to facilitate further global collaborations. Results will reveal how native plant communities and their local environment influence alien plant invasions. They will lay the foundation for important applied research on the impact of plant invasions on native PSF, and how PSF knowledge might be used in ecosystem restoration worldwide. By targeting EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species and Goal 15 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this research will contribute to applied outcomes for the EU and substantially raise my research profile within Europe and internationally.


Participants :
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 175572.48 €
Projet THERMOS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Predicting, preventing and/ or ameliorating the consequences of climate change is a major strategic objective of the European Union, particularly regarding ecology and biodiversity. Many species compromised by warming have shifted their distributions to areas of higher latitude to track their ‘climate niche’. However, the ability of compromised species to track their climate niche is constrained if their habitats are closed environments, such as river catchments whose physical boundaries inhibit species’ movements between catchments. Many freshwater species can thus only respond to warming in-situ. In fishes, fine-tuning of body temperatures can be through ‘behavioural thermoregulation’, where individuals use microhabitats that provide their preferred thermal conditions, assisted by rivers providing highly heterogeneous thermal environments. There is, however, a substantial knowledge gap on how freshwater fish are altering their behaviour and habitat utilisation in rivers that are warming due to climate change, and how this confers resilience to populations from the damaging effects of temperature increases. Through strong reciprocal knowledge transfer, and high complementarity between all participants and the proposed research, the research quantifies the extent to which the behavioural thermoregulation of river fishes is governed by specific phenotypes within a pace-of-life-syndrome that provides vulnerable populations with inherent resilience to climate change. The Action delivers innovative and novel research by bringing together a highly talented researcher with substantial knowledge in freshwater fish ecology with a European research group with exceptional expertise in fish telemetry and behaviour, and microclimate ecology. The high complementarity of all participants enables use of state-of-the-art and innovative approaches to develop novel predictive models for quantifying the resilience of climatically vulnerable species to global temperature changes.

Mots clés : climate change, resilience

Participants :
- Bournemouth University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €