Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet HyCoRod (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multifunctional nanostructured hybrids comprising a magnetic component can respond to the growing demands of a large variety of applications, including but not limited to biotechnology (health issues) and catalysis (energy efficiency processes), identified as relevant for the H2020 EU Research and Innovation programe. HyCoRod is a basic research project, aiming at tailoring the physical and chemical properties of metallic ferromagnetic cobalt nanorods (NRs) by combining them with two different metals, each combination targeting a different application domain: (i) cobalt-gold core-shell for in vitro biosensing (by testing a new patented highly-sensitive biosensor) and fundamental magneto-optical studies and (ii) cobalt-iron/iron carbide dumbbells as well as core-shell NRs for the novel concept of magnetically induced catalysis (Fisher-Tropsch synthesis). The multifaceted planned research spans from nanoparticle chemical synthesis within the host group (K.Soulantika-LPCNO, France), to aqueous transfer and biofunctionalization of nanostructures (1st secondment, W.Parak-CICbiomaGUNE, Spain), and biosensing concepts and measurements (2nd secondment, J.Schotter-AIT, Austria) and on catalysis and magnetically induced heating properties assessment (B.Chaudret, LPCNO), issues in which so far the applicant has no experience. Moreover, the candidate contributes to the bidirectional host-applicant transfer knowledge by providing recognized researchers (P.Vavassori-CICnanoGUNE, Spain) in the field of magneto-optical properties, for which the host group is barely familiarized. Overall, the project offers the possibility to the applicant to become not only a more experienced researcher in the field of nanoscale materials but also to gain a prestigious network of collaborations, thus reinforcing her possibilities to achieve a professional scientific position.

Mots clés : multifunctional nanoparticles, magnetic, cobalt, nanorods

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet MS Fatigue_Therapy (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common debilitating disease in young adults worldwide. Diagnosed in over 2.3 million people, this neuro-immunological disease is most prevalent in Europe and North America, with over 120,000 diagnosed cases in Germany alone. Great strides have been made in developing medications that slow disease progression, however, the daily symptomatology of MS remains largely untreated. This research proposes investigations of (1) an instrument for objectively measuring MS fatigue and (2) a therapeutic methodology for MS fatigue and disability. Despite great individual variation in MS symptomatology, “MS fatigue” verges on characteristic, reported by 80% of patients. However, there is currently no standardized means of evaluating or treating MS fatigue. Movement Behavior Analysis and Scales Test (i.e., BAST) tests and pre- and post-test vital signs of 40 persons with MS will be compared to that of 40 neurotypical matched controls. If the BAST is shown to reliably measure MS fatigue, then a testing and rating system for large-scale clinical use will be developed. To test the ability of the BAST to measure changes in MS fatigue and categorize physical disability, a long-term controlled study of the impact of hippotherapy (i.e., therapeutic horseback riding) will be undertaken in 24 individuals with MS. The standardized BAST will afford a robust analysis of movement ability and disability, enabling measurement of symptoms including gait, balance, spasticity, and fatigue. To achieve project objectives while facilitating ample mentorship, this project brings together the movement research facilities and faculty of the German Sport University Cologne (including mentor Dr. Hedda Lausberg, creator of the BAST), researchers and hippotherapists at the Gold-Kraemer Foundation Center for Physical Activity and Sport, and an internship at the University of Cologne Department of Neurology and Center for Palliative Medicine.


Participants :
- German Sport University Cologne (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet FBT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multiple diseases, injuries, and aging, may lead to executive dysfunctions, reducing quality of life. Intendu transforms brain rehabilitation, by introducing a novel platform of video games designed to train executive functions (EF). The games involve natural body gestures, and are adaptive in real-time to performance. Preliminary results show that training with Intendu’s games is safe, leading to improved cognitive function. Robust evidence for the efficacy of Intendu’s training program and brain plasticity mechanisms driving functional benefits is required. During this fellowship, and under Dr. Son Preminger’s supervision, founder and CEO of Intendu; and of Drs. Debbie Rand and Doron Freidman, established researchers in virtual reality (VR), I will (1) receive a unique opportunity to combine my scientific passions – cognitive training and motor learning, video gaming and rehabilitation, basic and applied neuroscience – into one multidisciplinary, strongly founded field; (2) deepen my knowledge with executive functions; (3) broaden my experience with multiple clinical populations; (4) acquire regulatory and intellectual property legislation knowledge and experience; (5) grow my leadership skills; (6) gain working experience in a young startup. Building on these critical skills, and on my previous experience as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and senior scientist at Posit Science Corporation (PSC), I hope to: (1) lead Intendu’s research with local and international collaborators; manage a network of external research partners; build and manage Intendu’s research team; (2) define scientific foundation for games with Intendu’s product team; (3) assure research funding; (4) work closely with regulatory consultants to manage regulatory affairs, to clear the program as the first motion-controlled software-based medical treatment for cognitive impairments. Together, this fellowship will open my best career possibilities.

Mots clés : cognitive training, full body control, executive function, neuroplasticity

Participants :
- Montfort brain monitor ltd (Israël) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 87705.55 €
- Intendu ltd (Israël) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 94803.65 €
Projet LinkFM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a diffuse inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. Neuroinflammation destroys the myelin sheaths wrapped around the axons and may lead to axon degeneration. Repair processes trigger re-myelinisation. Myelin loss delays or blocks signal propagation along axons in white matter tracts, impairing neuronal integration within the affected brain network. The exact relationship between the amount of axonal de- and re-myelination and the resulting network dysfunction is still poorly understood. Using a rat MS model, I will bridge the scales from the cellular to the network level, to disentangle how myelin loss and axonal degeneration leads to network dysfunction. My approach integrates three lines of research: (i) I will prospectively perform diffusion MRI and quantitative MRI to assess the temporal dynamics of microstructural changes in axon diameter and myelin content in the lesioned white matter tract. Leveraging state-of-art expertise at DRCMR, I will optimize MR sequences and biophysical models to create an optimized axon diameter and myelin mapping framework. (ii) In parallel, I will perform resting-state and task-based functional MRI to trace the resulting changes in functional connectivity at the network level. (iii) Building on my expertise, I will combine functional MRI with optogenetics and simultaneous intracellular calcium (and trans-membrane voltage) recording to characterize in detail the functional impact of axonal damage in the lesioned white matter tract on well-defined cell circuits in the inter-connected cortical areas. This unique multimodal approach will yield novel MRI-based biomarkers that are sensitive and specific to primary demyelination and axonal degeneration on the one hand and reparatory processes such as remyelination on the other hand. These biomarkers will have great potential for monitoring disease activity, informing personalized treatment in patients with MS.

Mots clés : multimodal magnetic resonance imaging  mri, calcium recording, cell type specific optical readout, demyelination, remyelinisation, multiple sclerosis

Participants :
- Capital Region of Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 219312.0 €
Projet DC-SIGN-MFN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multivalent lectin-sugar interactions play a key role in facilitating viral infections, affecting hundreds of millions people worldwide. Understanding the structural mechanisms is key to be able to design glycoconjugates that can block such interactions, thereby preventing infection. However, research advances have been hampered by inability of current methods to reveal key structural information of some important cell surface lectins. For example, despite 17 years of extensive research, the structure of two vitally important tetrameric lectins, DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR, remain unknown. These lectins bind to virus surface multiple glycans and enhance many viral infections (e.g. HIV, HCV and Ebola). This fellowship will address this challenge by developing a novel multimodal readout strategy (e.g. FRET, TEM and particle size analysis) using compact polyvalent glycan-quantum dots (QD) to fully exploit multivalency and QD’s unique properties. By tuning QD surface glycan structure, valency, inter-glycan spacing and flexibility, we will create a perfect spatial & orientation match to those of glycan-binding-domains (CRDs) in DC-SIGN/R, leading to greatly enhanced binding affinity. By studying QD-glycan binding with DC-SIGN/R, we will reveal key structural data (e.g. CRD orientation, distance, binding mode) in DC-SIGN/R. We will verify the binding data with native receptors on cell surfaces, correlate receptor binding affinity with virus inhibition potency, and study their immune cell activation. This research is extremely timely and important because it will, 1) address the capability gap of current methods; 2) reveal key structural information of CRD spatial arrangement in DC-SIGN/R; 3) reveal how ligand multivalency & affinity control intracellular trafficking and modulate dendritic cell response. These are important not only to fundamental structural biology, lectin biochemistry, chemistry, and nanotechnology, but also to develop novel potent anti-viral reagents.

Mots clés : quantum dot, fret, glycoconjugate, multivalent interaction, lectin, multimodal readout, multi functional nanoparticle, viral infection and inhibition, binding affinity

Participants :
- University of Leeds (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet TBX18 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mural cells (pericytes and vascular smooth muscle) enclose blood vessels and are critical for vascular homeostasis. Absence or malfunction of pericytes or vascular smooth muscle results in aneurysm formation in small or large blood vessels, respectively. Our previous work showed Tbx18 is selectively expressed in mural cells of multiple adult organs. Preliminary data indicates that, in mice, ablation of Tbx18 in mural cells results in aortic tortuosity and lethality due to rupture. These observations led to the hypothesis that transcriptional regulation by TBX18 in mural cells is critical for the development of functional vascular networks. To fully understand the roles of TBX18 in mural cells and eventually place it as a gene involved in human vascular disease, we propose to: 1) fully characterize the vascular phenotypes of Pdgfrb- Cre;Tbx18 mutants; 2) identify genes directly regulated by Tbx18 in mural cells; and 3) test a putative involvement of TBX18 in human aneurysmal diseases.

Mots clés : vascular disease, aneurysm, vascular development, tbx18, transcriptional regulation, mural cells

Participants :
- Humanitas University (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 168277.2 €
Projet NORMAL-LOAD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Muscle contractions in children with cerebral palsy (CP) cause abnormal musculoskeletal loading, which can lead to bony deformities. Deformities of the femur are commonly corrected by de-rotation osteotomies. In children, early clinical interventions, which aim to normalize the loading of the musculoskeletal system, could influence bone growth and prevent the development of bony deformities. To investigate this assumption, I will use musculoskeletal (MSK) models to calculate the loading conditions of the femur before and after Botulinum Toxin-A injections (BTI) in lower limb muscles. The obtained loading conditions will then be used as input for a mechanobiological finite element analysis (FEA) model to assess the impact of altered loading conditions on femoral bone growth. With this simulation platform, I will use the patient’s gait pattern and BTI treatment history to relate the loading conditions to the femoral deformities and compare these to the measured deformities from medical images. If BTI or similar load-modifying clinical interventions can be used to reduce the number of surgical corrections, it will decrease the burden on the child as well as decrease the socio-economic costs related to the treatment of children with CP. During my PhD at Griffith University (Australia), I compared different methods and models for clinical gait analysis and showed that MSK models can be confidentially used in children with CP. With this project, I strive to go one-step further and show that MSK loadings in combination with a mechanobiological model can be used to enhance our understanding of the impact of clinical interventions and, therefore, improve the treatment planning in children with CP. I am highly motivated to take on the challenge and acquire the new scientific and transferable skills, which will strengthen my profile for future grant proposals and increase my opportunities for a permanent position after the fellowship.

Mots clés : biomechanics, musculoskeletal modelling, gait analysis, multi body simulations

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet PREMUROSA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Muscoloskeletal diseases are a major burden on individuals, healthcare and welfare systems. Treatment of muscolo-skeletal disorders is currently based either on prosthetic or regenerative surgical procedures, often involving medical device implantation. In both cases, individual tissue healing and regeneration, together with the appropriateness of the implanted device, markedly affect the outcome. A great improvement could be achieved by precision medicine, specifically designed on patient’s individual characteristics. This implies to combine the personalized clinical approach with individual ‘omic’ characterization and proper choice of medical device. The concept is “To take care with care”. This is the meaning of the Italian word “premurosa” and the ultimate goal of the ITN PREMUROSA project, aimed to train a new generation of scientists with an integrated vision of the whole value chain in muscolo-skeletal regeneration technologies and able to boost the necessary innovations to achieve precision principles in developing innovative devices and optimized clinical applications. This aim will be achieved by a “triple i” (interdisciplinary, intersectoral, international) approach of thirteen ESRs, who will benefit from an excellent scientific environment, up-date technologies and supervision by international leaders in the field. They will learn to integrate academic and industrial aspects and they will sharpen their experimental and complementary skills in a well-designed and diversified and unprecedented training program.

Mots clés : precision medicine, personalized medicine, muscoloskeletal, regeneration, in vitro 3d model, organoid, bioreactor, microvesicle, 3d printing, osteointegration, cartilage, bone, in silico, omic

Participants :
- AO Foundation (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 281276.64 €
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 274684.32 €
- Riga Technical University (Lettonie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 230068.44 €
- University of Porto (Portugal) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 475440.48 €
- Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Aalto University (Finlande) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 280805.76 €
- University of Eastern Piedmont Amadeo Avogadro (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 784499.04 €
- Polytechnic University of Turin (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 261499.68 €
- EnginSoft (Italy) (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 261499.68 €
- University of Belgrade (Serbie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 217825.56 €
- Tampere University (Finlande) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 280805.76 €
Projet MoStMusic (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Music is an art form with a very long history, and continues to engage millions of people today. Music Information Retrieval (MIR), the exciting interdisciplinary science that brings together music and computer science, is a growing field of research with the potential to enrich computer science knowledge while creating real-world applications that everyone can benefit from. While the marriage of art and science is often troublesome, MIR has the benefit that many aspects of music are highly structural and have been subject to formalisation for a long time. Formalisation and computers go hand in hand, and MIR researchers have therefore been developing models of musical structure for many years, and putting them to use in several applications. However, such models, so far, have had limited impact; they're commonly restricted to one specific aspect of music, can be hard to implement computationally, and are often too technical to be used directly by musicologists who are not familiar with programming details. However, models are valuable. Unlike machine learning approaches, model-based MIR provides a real insight about the underlying structure, and can benefit from the input of musicologist experts. Furthermore, a single model can be applied to multiple important MIR tasks. The research goal of this project is thus to give musical models the impact they deserve, advancing the practical embodiment of hierarchical musical structure-in its various forms-in computer science through the development of new, functional Models of Structure in Music (MoStMusic). Specifically, I intend to develop functional models of musical form, melody, and harmony that enable an easy, fast, and flexible way of creating model-enhanced MIR applications. As a showcase of such an application, I will create an online music analyser that automatically computes the structure present in a user-submitted piece, and displays it in an interactive interface that highlights the structural shape of music.

Mots clés : music, music modelling, programming languages, functional programming, haskell, edsl

Participants :
- Utrecht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet MITORett (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2) can lead to the progressive neurodevelopmental disorder known as Rett syndrome (RTT), characterized by regression in motor, social and cognitive skills, respiratory dysrhythmias and premature lethality. Although few symptomatic treatments exist, nowadays there is still no cure for this disease. Mecp2 acts as transcriptional regulator and its mutations directly affect the expression of targeted transcripts, including mitochondrial (MT) genes. Cerebellum is one of brain regions with larger energy requirements. 43% of its ATP consumption occurs in the molecular layer, where the high-energy demanding parvalbumin (PV)-neurons are positioned. Compelling evidence indicates aberrant MT morphology and functionality in cerebellar biopsies of RTT patients. However, the cellular substrate of these modifications remains largely unknown. In adult cerebellum Mecp2 is preferentially expressed in PV-positive cells. Hence, we hypothesize that RTT in PV-positive neurons might present a particular vulnerability to MT alterations. Thus, in this proposal I will implement a multidisciplinary approach to find candidate MT proteins differentially regulated in cerebellar PV-positive neurons associated with the MT impairments observed in RTT. To tackle this aim, I will perform proteomic, functional and metabolomic studies in MT immunoprecipitates from cerebellar PV-positive neurons of RTT mice. This project will thus give raise to: i) the first exhaustive list of MT proteins dysregulated in these cells in RTT ii) identification of functional and metabolomic impairments affecting MT functionality in PV-positive cells of RTT mice. MITORett project will be a breakthrough in our understanding of RTT and it will provide novel insights into the pathophysiology of this disease by unveiling potential therapeutical targets to focus the forthcoming experiments dedicated on the design of more selective drugs/treatments.

Mots clés : rett syndrome, cerebellum, parvalbumin neurons, mitochondria, mitotag, mass spectometry

Participants :
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172932.48 €