Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet LYNXONTHEMOVE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Conservation translocations (CT) assist to restore populations of relevant animal species for ecosystem and biodiversity enhancement, such as the two emblematic species of lynx in Europe: the Eurasian and the Iberian lynx. Often, CT show partial success due to multiple environmental and local human factors. Moreover, the selection of release sites is mostly based on expert knowledge and habitat selection analyses of animals in their source environment. Critical to improving release site selection methods is the use of empirical information from the observed post-release behaviour of already translocated lynxes. Using cutting-edge animal movement analyses and computational simulations in the context of conducted reintroduction programs of the Eurasian and the Iberian lynx in Slovenia and Spain, respectively, this project will assist to improve decision-making on release site and CT success. It will 1) model the post-release behavioural states of both reintroduced Eurasian lynxes and Iberian lynxes (prior to settling) and how they are related to environmental and human factors; and 2) produce ‘LynxOnTheMove’, a software to simulate and predict optimal release site scenarios. This multidisciplinary research will combine geospatial methods, reintroduction science, conservation biology, and animal ecology and behaviour. The fellow has outstanding experience and expertise in these fields obtained in New Zealand and Europe, which in conjunction with the expertise of Miha Krofel (action supervisor) in carnivore ecology and conservation will ensure a valuable transfer of knowledge and enable me to carry out research that will have an impact for Europe. Findings will be openly disseminated in scientific publications, conferences, seminars, workshops, and general publications and the media. Thus, scientists, stakeholders, the general public will all greatly benefit. This action will provide the fellow with greatly valuable training to become an independent researcher.

Mots clés : reintroduction biology, environmental restoration, animal movement ecology, spatial ecology, large carnivores, gps telemetry

Participants :
- Université de Ljubljana (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 155559.36 €
Projet MATHORMAL (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

For centuries, malaria has been a major global health concern, and despite intensive research efforts, malaria infection remains a key issue for many countries. Malaria parasites are also responsible for wildlife population declines and even extinction of many bird species. Despite being exposed to the same risk, there is a clear inter-individual variation in the susceptibility to malaria infection. Through MATHORMAL, I propose that such inter-individual variability in malaria susceptibility might be linked to both the prenatal programming of physiology by maternal hormonal effects and by initial differences in cellular ageing (i.e. assessed through telomere length). Higher exposure to certain maternal hormones can depress immunity, accelerate cellular ageing, and deregulate the protective microbiome of the uropygial gland linked to antimalarial defensive mechanisms. Thus, I hypothesize that increased prenatal exposure to certain maternal hormones could make the offspring more susceptible to malarial infections, potentially through its effects on telomeres and uropygial microbiome. To test this, I will first use artificially increased yolk hormone experiments (glucocorticoid, testosterone, and thyroid hormones) in a wild bird population and assess malaria infection intensity, immunity, telomere dynamics, and uropygial microbiome. Then, I will experimentally induce early-life telomere lengthening with TA-65 to assess the potential role that short telomeres play in malaria susceptibility. This project will advance our understanding of the inter-individual variation in malaria susceptibility, which will help to improve malaria prevention strategies. MATHORMAL will use an integrative approach at the crossroad of evolutionary ecology, ecophysiology, and parasitology and largely benefit from the dual knowledge transfer between myself (expertise in maternal hormonal effects and avian malaria) and my host group (expertise in maternal hormonal effects and telomere biology).

Mots clés : hormone mediated maternal effects, malaria parasites, telomeres, immunology, microbiome, yolk hormones, birds

Participants :
- Université de Turku (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 215534.4 €
Projet HoleySTeM (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The European Green Deal targets zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, emphasizing clean energy and improved energy efficiency. In line with this objective, the HoleySTeM project focuses on waste heat recovery and cooling solutions, which are crucial given that two-thirds of global energy production is wasted via heat losses, and cooling accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. The HoleySTeM focuses on developing nanostructured silicon-germanium-based thermoelectric modules (TEMs) for near-room-temperature applications on nanoporous alumina substrates. This approach draws on so-called "Holey Silicon", which uses nanometric holes to enhance thermoelectric efficiency by inhibiting phonon transport through nanopores. Intended as solid-state devices for recovering waste heat and cooling electronics, these modules will be created with advanced designs for thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and coolers (TECs), optimized through multiphysics simulations, and fabricated using magnetron sputtering—a scalable and economical method.  If successful, HoleySTeM could replace Bi, Te, Pb, Sb, and Se-based TEMs with SiGe-based eco-friendly and abundant alternatives, reducing material and production costs, expanding potential applications, and simplifying integration with modern electronics. HoleySTeM also addresses Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) under Horizon Europe (2021-2027), including micro/nano-electronics, advanced materials, and advanced manufacturing.  This MSCA offers a career development opportunity for Dr. Ketan Lohani (KL), mentored by Prof. Alfonso Cebollada at the Institute of Micro and Nanotechnology, Spanish National Research Council (IMN-CSIC) in Madrid. KL will apply his prior knowledge in thermoelectric materials to fabricate functional TEMs using experimental and computational methods. This MSCA will equip him with advanced skills in vacuum deposition, nanofabrication, and device design simulations, significantly advancing his career.

Mots clés : thermoelectricity, semiconductors, thermoelectric generators and coolers, energy harvesting, waste heat recovery, energy materials, nanotechnology, multiphysics simulations, magnetron sputtering

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 194074.56 €
Projet RELIEF (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

RELIEF (REsearching Legal Implementation of an Intersectional Framework: a feminist sociolegal analysis of opportunities and obstacles) explores the implementation of intersectionality as an anti-discrimination framework in legislation, legal praxis and public policies with an interdisciplinary feminist approach. Intersectionality originates as a legal critique to understand how gender intersects with other axes of discrimination (sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, and socioeconomic status) and RELIEF aims to investigate how legal implementation of intersectionality can address a more diverse and complex understanding of discrimination from a law-in-action perspective. This project will enhance my sociolegal research skills on gender equality and anti-discrimination within the EU multilevel legal framework under the supervision of Dr. La Barbera at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and in affiliation with the Gender and Politics (GEYPO) research group. At the same time RELIEF will contribute to feminist theory building by investigating how public institutions can effectively implement an intersectional framework. To achieve this goal, RELIEF conducts a sociolegal analysis of Spain’s anti-discrimination law, focusing on institutional actors, academic experts and civil society, combining legal analysis, qualitative and participatory methodologies. With a feminist participatory approach RELIEF directly engages stakeholders, connecting the scientific goals with the wider expected social impact and bridging the gap between sociolegal research, legal implementation and activism. RELIEF’s empirical evidence enriches the theoretical debate on the institutionalisation of intersectionality, co-produces transformative knowledge and provides recommendations for public institutions and civil society to address multifaceted discrimination, reduce inequalities, strengthen human rights and empower marginalised communities and individuals.

Mots clés : intersectionality, non discrimination, anti discrimination law, gender mainstreaming, gender, race, disability, lgbtq , gender equality, equality, diversity and inclusion, equality policies

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 209914.56 €
Projet Chiral-Beta (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The chiral β-amino carbonyl is an important structural motif prevalent in natural products and therapeutic agents. Despite that many methodologies have been developed for their diastero- and enantioselective synthesis, most of these methods require multistep manipulations with pre-functionalized substrates that fail to introduce the β-amino carbonyl moiety at the late-stage of complex molecule synthesis. Chiral-Beta aims to develop an innovative technology to rapidly construct chiral β-amino carbonyl derivatives with feedstock and fine alkenes as well as with complex drug molecules/natural products based on a Rh-catalyzed asymmetric carbyne transfer platform. A key strength of this conceptually new and multidisciplinary proposal is the introduction of a secondment phase in Novartis (Basel) to explore real-life applications. The ambitious action merges perfectly the expertise of the host in novel C-H and C–C bond functionalization strategies based on the catalytic generation of carbyne equivalents with the strong background of the applicant in metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions, thus enhancing two-way transfer of knowledge between the ER and the host group. This project will expose the fellow to a wide range of cutting-edge chemistry and biomedical sciences in an interdisciplinary and international environment (ICIQ, Novartis) and enable the fellow to become a leader for the next generation in the field of chemical synthesis and late-stage functionalization techniques.

Mots clés : rh carbenes, hypervalent iodine reagents, c c bond cleavage, amination, beta amino carbonyls

Participants :
- Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
- Novartis (Switzerland) (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet NeuroCure (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

PD is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by four pathognomonic hallmarks: 1) motor and non-motor deficits; 2) progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons; 3) pathological aggregates of the α-synuclein (α-syn) protein; 4) neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. There is no single treatment currently available (or being tested) that can affect mechanisms of the disease, promote regeneration or at least protection of dopamine (and other affected neurons), and alleviate both motor and non-motor symptoms. Importantly, non-motor symptoms severely alter the quality of life of the patients since they are even more debilitating than the motor ones and do not respond to dopaminergic-based therapies. One of the therapeutically potent approaches to combat PD is neurotrophic factors (NTFs)-based therapies, particularly the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). GDNF demonstrated encouraging survival-promoting effects on dopamine neurons in diverse PD animal models and held a great hope as a neuroprotective treatment. Also, GDNF has positive impact in a number of other neurons such as sensory, enteric, olfactory, etc., which degeneration or dysfunction is associated with the appearance of non-motor symptoms. Despite of the promising results, GDNF due to poor tissue distribution and inability to pass through the blood brain barrier should be delivered to the brain through a risky surgery. To overcome the delivery problems and finally utilize the potential of GDNF in PD management proposed project combines neurobiology, translational biology, and experimental pharmacology to develop nanosized GDNF mimetic-based drug candidate that will 1) positively impact the disease progression through mitigation of the pathogenesis associated with α-syn aggregations and neuroinflammation, 2) support the survival of human dopamine neurons in vitro and 3) alleviate motor and non-motor symptoms of PD in vivo.

Mots clés : parkinson s disease, alpha synuclein, neuroinflammation, glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor gdnf , small molecules

Participants :
- Université d'Helsinki (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 199694.4 €
Projet HIGHCODE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Stomata are epidermal valves responsible for gas exchange in plant aerial tissues. Their number varies according to different environmental conditions, such as CO2 concentration. High CO2 levels negatively regulate stomatal development, but how such a repression works is poorly understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, stomatal precursor cells develop asynchronously throughout leaf epidermis, undergoing a first asymmetric entry division that generates a small meristemoid and a larger stomatal lineage ground cell (SLGC). Meristemoids can go through up to three asymmetric amplifying divisions before forming mature stomata, while SLGCs can either undergo asymmetric spacing division or differentiate into pavement cells. How each of the three meristemoid division types are affected by CO2 is still unknown. Moreover, stomata form with the underlying mesophyll layer in a coordinated way. Both tissues are involved in CO2 sensing and high CO2 levels can affect their development. What are the factors regulating stomatal development modulation, and whether or not an interlayer coordination is required upon high CO2 conditions, has remained unexplored. The proposed project aims to unravel CO2-induced developmental response in leaf, understanding 1) how stomatal asymmetric divisions are affected by CO2, 2) what are the layer-specific regulators, 3) the mechanisms of developmental response. Spatiotemporal lineage tracing, tissue-specific transcriptomics and creation of selected mutant lines will be employed to elucidate how CO2 modulates leaf developmental program. To reach the proposed goals, I will be supervised in advanced confocal microscopy, bioinformatic analysis, oral and written communication of the research and developing of transferable skills. My previous experience as developmental biologist and with transcriptomic analysis, together with teaching and tutoring skills acquired, will help accomplishing the project goals.

Mots clés : asymmetric cell division developmental plasticity co2 developmental response environmental regulation

Participants :
- Université d'Helsinki (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 199694.4 €
Projet EffECT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Eddy Current Testing (ECT) is an industrial procedure used to assess the reliability of the most critical facilities of nuclear power plants. Prior to practical usage, ECT requires a delicate phase of calibration and validation via numerical simulations. However, in the current state-of-the-art, they are limited by two critical issues: the poor precision of the results, and the limited geometrical modeling flexibility. This project will use the recently introduced Discrete de Rham (DDR) simulation method to overcome at once both these issues, focusing on three specific aims: laying the mathematical foundations of DDR methods for ECT simulation, building the practical computational tools to implement this method in a simulator, and using the simulator on real-life ECT scenarios. The project has a strong multidisciplinary nature, involving a combination of numerical analysis and engineering, and its originality and innovation lie on this interdisciplinary approach. The mathematical analysis of DDR methods for ECT is a complete novelty and represents a mine of mathematical problems in numerical analysis. The development of the EffECT simulation (open-source) will require both the transfer of the candidate’s engineering knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidate on the very specific DDR mathematical methods. The project will thus make the candidate able to speak to different communities, improving his career prospects as an independent researcher. The planned communication activities of the project will target people both inside and outside academia, helping the latter to appreciate the effectiveness of the interaction between fundamental mathematical research and engineering in solving real-life problems. The arising results have the potential to increase the safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants and open new horizons in fundamental and applied level of numerical analysis of DDR methods, as well as other cutting-edge simulation methods.

Mots clés : discrete de rham methods, finite element methods, polytopal methods, eddy currents, electromagnetism

Participants :
- Université de Montpellier (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet QDnEuroMemory (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The current exponential growth of energy consumption by electronic devices is not sustainable in the long term and has detrimental effects on global climate change, it requires solutions to reduce energy waste. One novel approach is the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which is more efficient in performing several tasks as learning, pattern recognition and vision than the usual electronics and sequential algorithms. However, ANN lacks specific hardware to reach its potential. Recently, a lot of effort has been done to find memory devices to implement truly efficient neuromorphic hardware. High endurance and retention time, and low write energy, low write time and voltage are required. This research program proposes to create these memory devices with III-Sb compound semiconductor nanostructures since they are expected to have all these properties. In addition, their optoelectronic properties will allow the manipulation of memory states using light, which will provide unrivaled functionalities to the ANN that use these novels III-Sb memories.

Mots clés : molecular beam epitaxy, iii sb semiconductors, memory

Participants :
- Université de Montpellier (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 211754.88 €
Projet PADMME (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an aggressive type of cancer of plasma cells where fast diagnosis and treatment monitoring is vital, especially given the overall low survival rate. Proteasome, a multi-catalytic complex essential in damaged protein degradation, has been recently established as a biomarker for MM, in which elevated levels have been observed in blood plasma of unhealthy individuals, as well as its impaired activity has been target for treatment alongside regular chemotherapy. PADMME addresses increasing contributions on proteasome electrochemical recognition and aims to develop novel interdisciplinary technologies translatable into POCT systems for MM care. For this, we propose the development of sensitive and selective dual-channel platforms comprising conductive polymeric fiber biosensors integrated on paper-based microfluidic supports to simultaneously detect quantity and specific activity of proteasome in blood plasma. Paper supports ensure disposability and ease of commercialization, whilst incorporation of microfluidic paths allows low sample volume requirements and in situ pre-treatment steps. Conductive polymeric fiber scaffolds provide increased signal resolution for the construction of biosensors, necessary for the recognition of low concentrations of the biomarker. Then, investigating proteasome at the dual-channel platform in drug-treated and untreated MM cell lines will demonstrate how changes in quantity and specific activity are specifically linked to the disease dynamics. The last step will comprise validation of the technology for analysis in blood plasma, technology able to improve overall monitoring of MM disease progression and therapeutic efficiency, crucial to overcome delays in treatment due to drug resistance complications. Training through research will allow me to refine my expertise, creativity and innovative potential on smart biosensor technologies translated into point-of-care testing devices for cancer care and drug assessment.

Mots clés : proteasome, biosensor, electrochemistry, bioelectrochemistry, biomarker, multiple myeloma, paper, microfluidic

Participants :
- Institutul national de cercetare dezvoltare pentru fizica materialelor (Roumanie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 133735.68 €