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

Sexual cannibalism, which occurs when a female eats her mate before, during or after mating, is a classic example of sexual conflict since females gain a meal but males lose their life. The risk of premature death is expected to select for cautious mating tactics that help males to secure matings and avoid being eaten. Although such tactics are common in cannibalistic species, males of the Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, take a far more aggressive approach, wrestling females to coerce them to mate. Males that win wrestling bouts are more likely to secure matings and avoid cannibalism, but wrestling severely wounds females whose abdomens are punctured by males' weaponised forelegs. While this harmful male behaviour appears to be a classic manifestation of sexual conflict, the exact causes and consequences of male coercion and female injury in this species are yet to be elucidated. My project aims to use field, laboratory, and modelling approaches to investigate the role of sexual conflict in the evolution of cannibalistic and anti-cannibalistic behaviour. First, to determine rates of female injury in the wild, I plan to use mark-recapture techniques to track sex-ratio and injury incidence through time in wild populations of M. caffra in Auckland, New Zealand, where the species is widespread. Second, I plan to run a series of laboratory experiments to explore whether males increase their fitness by injuring females, or whether injury is an incidental side-effect of males' drive to mate. Third, I plan to run a mesocosm experiment to examine whether an increase in the intensity of sexual conflict reduces female survival and population productivity--a key theoretical prediction that has rarely been tested. Finally, I intend to use modelling techniques to investigate, more generally, the role that sexual conflict over mating decisions plays in shaping male and female behaviour in sexually cannibalistic taxa--a relationship that is currently poorly understood.

Mots clés : behavioural ecology, evolutionary ecology, population biology, sexual conflict, sexual cannibalism, male coercion, female resistance, sexual injury, praying mantis, individual based modelling

Participants :
- Université de Jyväskylä (Finlande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université d'Hambourg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet MethylMiR (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Evidence is emerging that persistent changes in gene expression regulation and post-transcriptional regulation underlies the epileptogenic process. The current proposal builds on preliminary data which suggests that microRNAs (miRNA), which have recently emerged as critical regulators of epileptogenesis, may be subjected to adenosine methylation (m6A), and that this process may also be disrupted in epilepsy, representing an unexplored layer of gene expression regulation likely to influence neuronal activity and seizures. The current proposal will evaluate the effect of m6A on miRNA function, to understand how this influences normal brain behaviour and epileptogenesis. To achieve this, a combined strategy will be used, including interdisciplinary approaches, international and national secondments (University of Aarhus and RSCI), and intersectoral collaborations, which encompasses clinicians (Beaumont Hospital) and industry (STORM Therapeutics). First, hippocampal m6A-tagged miRNAs both during epileptogenesis and in chronic epilepsy will be profiled using an adapted m6A-seq approach using an epilepsy mouse model and resected human epilepsy brain tissue. Then, the effect of m6A on miRNA function and neuronal integrity will be evaluated by targeting miRNA methylation in both mouse and human cell lines. Next, clinical outcomes of pharmacological targeting of miRNA methylation on epilepsy development will be evaluated using an epilepsy mouse model. Together this proposal represents the first miRNA methylation study in the brain, which is hoped will illuminate novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of epilepsy. This project is ideal to further my interest in translational neuroscience while also developing a network of collaborators across Europe and develop my scientific skills. This fellowship represents the best option to achieve my career goal of establishing myself as an independent researcher and consolidating my career in the European research environment.

Mots clés : microrna m6a epileptogenesis epitranscriptome temporal lobe epilepsy

Participants :
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University College Dublin (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 246180.47 €
- Omiics aps (Danemark) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet neutrinoSPHERE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

neutrinoSPHERE, following a multidisciplinary synergic approach, will comprehensively investigate the wider aspects of astroparticle physics. It will exploit the potential of Spherical Proportional Counters (SPC) developed by NEWS-G Collaboration and will develop novel tools based on Machine-Learning (ML) techniques to conclusively respond to long-standing puzzles in particle physics such as the nature of neutrinos and the existence of dark matter (DM). The ultra low-threshold capabilities of SPCs are ideal to explore neutrino magnetic moments through coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS), and sub-GeV boosted-DM signatures induced by: cosmic rays, Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background and solar reflection. Furthermore, neutrinoSPHERE will open new directions expanding the scientific programme and physics reach of NEWS-G to additional components of the dark sector via the dark boson portal: dark photons, dark scalars, and axion-like particles. To address these challenges, neutrinoSPHERE will develop NEWS-ML, a novel simulation framework based on ML, offering rapid and fully validated state-of-the-art simulations of CEvNS, DM and hidden sector signals in SPCs. The performance of NEWS-ML will be accelerated with GPU technology and MPI-parallelisation, facilitating statistical inference and accurate constraints extraction. neutrinoSPHERE offers the ideal template to achieve the required breakthroughs in astroparticle physics by investigating previously-unexplored regions of BSM scenarios, in which existing rare-event searches have limited sensitivity, thus complementing them. The research team has diverse expertise, ranging from instrumentation and detector R&D to beyond the Standard Model phenomenology. The scientific results will be disseminated in different target groups through journal publications, conference announcements, public talks, outreach activities and social media.

Mots clés : coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering, spherical proportional counters, dark matter direct detection, reactor and astrophysical neutrinos, neutrino interactions beyond the sm, hidden sector searches

Participants :
- Université d'Hambourg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 217965.12 €
Projet NANO-PEFIS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become increasingly attractive for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery, cancer therapy, and bioimaging due to their excellent properties. The investigation of NP-cell interactions (cellular uptake and cytotoxicity) is crucial to the development of safe and effective use of NP in living organisms. However, current methods for studying NP-cell interactions rely on fluorescence microscopy, and complementary methods need to be done separately. Therefore, we propose to develop a novel imaging system that can conduct label-free photoelectrochemical imaging and fluorescence imaging simultaneously so that electrical signals from the basal side of cells and fluorescence signals can be obtained in tandem. A laser with a suitable wavelength will be used as the excitation source for both fluorescence and photocurrent. This imaging system will be validated by monitoring cell viability with fluorescence assay and photocurrent imaging, and by monitoring the cellular uptake of model NPs to correlate the physicochemical properties of NPs to their uptake efficiency and toxicity. These validation experiments will be compared with established techniques. This system will be used to study neuron-NP interactions to reveal the mechanism of NPs’ functional effects in neuronal activities. The combined imaging system will help us gain a deeper understanding of NP-cell interactions and will offer a label-free method for assessing the toxicity of NPs in the biomedicine field. Therefore, this project will facilitate the rapid development of safe and effective nanomedicines and nano-delivery systems that allow site-specific, target-oriented delivery of precise medicines to treat and prevent various diseases. This will significantly increase the impact of nanomedicines in the clinic, increase the quality of life for an ageing population and help us respond to public health emergencies effectively.

Mots clés : photoelectrochemical imaging, fluorescence imaging, nanoparticles, cell nano interactions, cellular uptake of nanoparticles, neurotoxicity

Participants :
- Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université d'Hambourg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet MariTamil (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

MARITAMIL seeks to unravel the economic and historical significance of Old Tamil literary sources composed in the ancient South Indian royal courts, which actively engaged in the Indo-Roman trade between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. This epoch marked a pivotal juncture in the region’s history, as evidenced by the rich literary heritage of the Old Tamil Caṅkam corpus, since the economic opportunities inherent in trade relations led to the emergence of ‘early kingdoms’ and triggered their economic rise. The project aims at preparing a new critical edition of the text called Paṭṭiṉappālai from the surviving manuscripts (palm-leaf and paper) accompanied by an exhaustive philological and historical analysis. This unique source provides a window into the life of Pukār, a port on the southern shores of India, where, according to the Tamil texts, Greek ships arrive laden with precious gold and depart carrying the coveted cargo of pepper. The goal is to rethink our conception of early Tamil history and maritime trade with the countries participating in Indian Ocean trade by bringing together sources kept apart and utilised by separate disciplines such as history of literature, history, and archaeology. A new annotated translation will introduce this text to the international research community engaged in Indo-Roman trade and highlight it as a crucial source text for analysing the Monsoon Asia region in antiquity.

Mots clés : indo roman trade, monsoon asia, ca kam literature, tamil history, pa i app lai, south indian history, manuscript studies

Participants :
- Université d'Hambourg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet HSV1ENTRYPROTEINMAP (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Herpesviruses are a family of large, complex, DNA viruses that are highly prevalent across the global human population, causing life-long infections and cycle between latent and active disease. The severity of diseases caused by this viral family ranges from cold sores, genital ulcers and blisters to blindness, meningitis, cancer, and congenital defects. Herpesviruses present a significant public health concern due to high prevalence, ease of transmission, severity of associated diseases, lack of vaccines for most species, and toxicity of available medical interventions. There remains a pressing requirement to develop novel antiviral drugs to prevent diseases associated with Herpesvirus infections. Entry of HSV-1, the focus of the proposed research, is dependent on membrane fusion mediated by virally encoded glycoproteins gB, gD, gH, and gL found on the viral envelope. Although all four glycoproteins are known to be necessary for membrane fusion, the molecular details and stoichiometry of the interactions as well as how the interactions regulate or influence the fusion process remains unknown. The proposed project aims to uncover the spatial arrangement and interactions of the HSV-1 cell entry proteins. I will employ a multidisciplinary approach combining methods and data from structural biology, biochemistry as well as biophysics to solve the mechanistic details of a virology question. The proposed research is highly innovative as it is designed to push current technological barriers by taking advantage of recent methodological advances to answer specific key biological questions in herpesvirus entry. I will determine at molecular resolution, the spatial arrangement and temporal interactions between essential entry proteins required at the onset of the HSV-1 infection. This project has the potential to unveil the detailed mechanism of action of viral glycoproteins in their native environment that ultimately lead to HSV-1 fusion.

Mots clés : herpes simplex virus 1, viral entry, host pathogen interactions, electron cryotomography, sub volume averaging, correlative light and electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy

Participants :
- Université d'Hambourg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet PNIRED (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The continuous progress of persistent room-temperature phosphorescence (p-RTP) emitting in near infrared (NIR) with high potential for long-lifetime and flexible optoelectronic applications is spearheaded by the development of novel materials. Much of this interest is also due to the concomitant advantages of the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. Future OLED displays are envisioned to comprise an additional NIR pixel for imaging and security protocols. Equally such NIR OLEDs can be used as a monolithically manufactured light sources in bioimaging applications. However, limited by the energy gap law, the majority of p-RTP materials emit in the visible region, NIR phosphors are rarely reported. To solve this challenge, this project aims to progress along two clear research directions: i) engineering efficient NIR p-RTP emissive material systems and ii) developing well-performing (persistent) NIR OLEDs. To construct NIR p-RTP material systems, we will put in action work packages (WPs) 1-2 by employing available organic materials to engineer host/guest emissive systems with high efficiency and stability. The correlation of their photophysical properties to the molecular microenvironment will also be investigated using the state-of-the-art spectroscopy methodologies to elucidate the mechanisms. WPs 3-4 will use established OLED fabrication routines to develop efficient NIR down-conversion OLED pixels with persistent emission and transfer the knowledge to an industrial R&D environment. The multi-disciplinary project will bridge the gap between the fundamental material research of NIR p-RTP emission and the monolithic integration of these systems in actual OLEDs as down-conversion layers for advanced sensing applications through joint research in physics, engineering and material science. I can perfectly bring in my existing skills, further broaden my expertise substantially and foster academic and industrial connections to build my future career network.

Mots clés : near infrared, room temperature phosphorescence, organic light emitting diodes, down conversion

Participants :
- Université technologique de Dresde (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
- Beeoled gmbh (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PROTEST-AIRT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

PROTEST-AIRT is a multi-actor and inter-scalar research project aiming at understanding the growing global and European dissent against the air transport industry. Before the pandemic, air transport was expected to growth at a rate of about 4% per year, including both more frequent flyers in developed nations and new markets in the 'developing' world. This future demand was paired with new infrastructural projects, namely new airports and airport expansions. Recently, several social movements have been campaigning in Europe to create awareness about the series of 'side effects' associated to this global industry, from aircraft noise to CO2 and non-CO2 emissions. Airports have become both the site and objects of diverse forms of dissent. As sites of dissent, airports have been the place where activists congregate and exert their democratic rights through claim-making, oftentimes engaging in 'radical' and performative protest acts. As object of dissent, the narratives about airports and airlines as spaces/companies of interconnection and development have been challenged by these dissenting citizens, proposing alternative readings of airports and airlines as spaces of destruction and overconsumption. The PROTEST-AIRT project focuses on selected cases of European activism that target the global air transport industry, including collectives such as SchipholWatch in the Netherlands, Am Boden Bleiben in Germany, Extinction Rebellion in United Kingdom, Zeroport in Spain and the umbrella organization Stay Grounded, which connects action groups from all over the world. PROTEST-AIRT will be based on media texts, in-depth interviews, visual documentation of acts of dissent through participant observation, analysis of social media data (in specific of Twitter as political platform) and secondary literature produced by airports, airlines and social movements alike. The project will study the ongoing debate apropos potential solutions for the aviation industry and their limits.

Mots clés : social movements, civil disobedience, democratic disobedience, online activism, media studies, public sphere, aviation, airports, environmental crisis, mass transport, technology, climate change

Participants :
- Université de Potsdam (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
- Université d'Amsterdam (Pays-Bas) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet BETTERCHOICES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Everyday decisions, such as deciding what to eat or whether to exercise, have a profound effect on our long-term health. Both stress and a diagnosis of certain psychiatric disorders are two factors which can impact these decisions often resulting in detrimental health outcomes. BETTERCHOICES will investigate the biological mechanisms of this altered decision making and test the effectiveness of a behavioural strategy which aims to improve decision making. In STUDY 1, I will investigate how pharmacological increases in two key stress related neuromodulators - cortisol and noradrenaline - affect participant's willingness to exert effort to obtain rewards (RO1). Additionally, I will test whether precommitment can buffer the detrimental effects of increases in cortisol and noradrenaline action on effort-based decisions (RO2). Precommitment involves pre-emptively restricting one’s future choice set to improve decision making, yet we do not know how or if people use this strategy under stress or in psychiatric disorders. In STUDY 2, I will develop a novel task, the precommit-to-eat paradigm, to precisely quantify the individual effectiveness of precommitment when participants make food choices (RO3). This paradigm will then be used to test the effectiveness of precommitment in patients with a diagnosis of depression or schizophrenia during a non-academic placement in a psychiatric clinic. During the non-academic placement, I will also implement a psychoeducation program to help patients make better health decisions using behavioural strategies, such as precommitment. By using an interdisciplinary approach and combining methodologies from psychopharmacology and behavioural economics, BETTERCHOICES will provide novel insights into how we make decisions under stress. The project will also help to improve everyday decision making both in healthy participants and in psychiatric disorders thereby promoting better health outcomes.

Mots clés : decision making precommitment noradrenaline hydrocortisone acute stress psychopharmacology effort discounting food choices depression schizophrenia

Participants :
- Kaiserswerther diakonie florence-nightingale-krankenhaus (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Heinrich Heine de Düsseldorf (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 217309.2 €