Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet HYMNS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The neocortex is densely innervated by neuromodulatory systems that act through the release of hormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters such as histamine (HA), acetylcholine (ACh), noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA), and serotonin (5-HT), which modulate cortical function by diffusely targeting neurons and synapses in neural microcircuits. These neuromodulators regulate shifts between behavioral states such as sleep and wakefulness, or distraction and attention by controlling rhythmic network activity. It is thought that neuromodulators regulate rhythmic activity by controlling the intrinsic characteristics of neuronal networks across different organizational levels – dendritic properties, cellular physiology, synaptic plasticity, and microcircuit dynamics. Recent work has demonstrated that high-frequency “gamma” oscillations (30-80 Hz), which crucially subserve cognitive processes such as attention, learning and memory, are associated with an increase in HA levels in subcortical regions. Altered levels of HA in the neocortex and dysfunction of its receptors have been implicated in the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease – pathologies whose economic cost to Europe has been estimated at about € 200 billion per year. Despite the importance of HA in brain function and dysfunction, the mechanisms through which it controls neuronal, synaptic, dendritic, and microcircuit activity in the neocortex are unknown. Therefore, the objective of the HYMNS project is to employ an innovative combination of experiments and computational modelling to provide a unifying view of the mechanisms by which HA enables rhythmic microcircuit activity by controlling different organizational levels in the neocortex. The novel methods established in HYMNS will be useful not only for studies of HA but also for future investigations of other neuromodulators.

Mots clés : hypothalamus, cortex, microcircuits, neurons, synaptic transmission, electrophysiology, dendrites, network activity, neuromodulators, histamine

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Newcastle University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 278840.55 €
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet CoDEC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The neuronal networks that comprise the mammalian brain are immature at the time of birth, and are shaped by genetic and environmental influences over the course of postnatal development. Human brain maturation occurs over a particularly extended period of time, especially in cortical areas involved in integrated information processing and cognition. The proper maturation of intra- and inter-cortical networks is necessary for efficient and appropriate brain function. Thus, when brain development goes awry, neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, intellectual disability, and autism can result. Direct investigation of immature neural networks would allow us to better understand the physiological and pathological processes that occur during development. In vivo neurophysiology in animal models is a powerful method to explore both the population synaptic activity and neural spiking of intact neural networks. However, this approach is challenging in developing organisms due to the small size and fragile nature of the brain. Here, we bring together advancements in neural interface design and neurophysiological recording to overcome this challenge and realize the principal goal of this project: to determine the neurophysiologic patterns that characterize normal maturation of inter-cortical communication and identify how these patterns are deranged in the presence of genetic predisposition to neuropsychiatric disease. Data generated using this approach has the potential to improve diagnosis of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, identify the earliest window for therapeutic intervention, and suggest novel therapeutic strategies.

Mots clés : oscillatory activity, synchronized neural activity, primary sensory cortices, association cortices, inter cortical communication, spindle bursts, neurogrid

Participants :
- Columbia University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 239860.8 €
Projet Intentions in Action (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The neuroscientific study of intentional action has produced puzzling and contradictory results: intentions show up at a variety of brain locations, and up to ten seconds before a decision has been made. Recently, it has been argued that intentions do not underlie voluntary action at all. At the same time neural states have been found that could be correlated with future actions, suggesting a role for intentions after all. The proposed project suggests that the cause of these seemingly contrasting results lies in the heterogeneous composition of everyday actions, consisting of both immediate and future-directed components. The proposed research promises to go to the bottom of this controversy by investigation what types of actions can be accomplished without discrete states like intentions, and for what types of actions intentions are needed. It will do so by looking for common factors in brain states underlying actions using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Particularly, it will be investigated whether similarity in motor acts, actions, or contexts are crucial for finding commonalities in brain states. Next, it will be investigated whether immediate actions and future actions differ with respect to the neural control processes, thereby directly testing the applicability of a philosophical distinction to neuroscientific research. Finally, it will be assessed whether these processes are unique for self-chosen actions, or also apply to cued actions as well. This will relate the study of intentional action directly to adjacent scientific fields studying prospective memory and task sets. By solving these issues the proposed research sets out to create a novel and detailed account of intentional action which will function as a framework for future research in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.

Mots clés : cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind

Participants :
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet NEUSEQBOT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The new generation of compliant robots, designed to safely interact with humans in unstructured environments, require control systems able to naturally deal with their “biological features”. These robots can be efficiently controlled using biologically inspired control systems based on brain regions such as the cerebellum. This nucleus plays a key role in fluent body movements, being essential for adaptive motor control and coordination of body movements. The cerebellum was traditionally modelled as a feedforward network with two inputs and one output. Nevertheless, recent experimental studies have demonstrated the existence of multiple recurrent connections in the cerebellum: 1) nucleo-cortical connections (NCCs), and 2) nucleo-olivary connections (NOCs). These recurrent connections back-propagate the cerebellar output activity to the cerebellar inputs, thus shifting the feedforward toward a recurrent approach. NEUSEQBOT project will focus on the NCCs, studying how they contribute to the motor sequence learning capabilities in the cerebellum. This multidisciplinary study will combine neuroscientific experiments in animals, cerebellar modelling and neurorobotic applications. Firstly, we will experimentally study the NCC effect in the cerebellar dynamics during reflexive eyelid movements in optogenetically modified mice. The experimental results will be used to model a recurrent cerebellum. Finally, this cerebellar model will be tested in a neurorobotic object manipulation task using a compliant robotic arm. Within the objectives of H2020, NEUSEQBOT project aims to advance our understanding of how the cerebellum (as a recurrent network) processes the sensorimotor information to generate the required motor command sequences, applying this knowledge to develop biologically inspired control systems for neurorobotic applications with compliant robots. This work will enable the experienced researcher to enhance his position at the forefront of advances in these fields.

Mots clés : cerebellar modelling, recurrent neural networks, spiking neural networks, cerebellar motor sequence learning and production, neurorobotic applications, compliant robots, experimental neuroscience

Participants :
- Harris Health System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Granada (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 245732.16 €
Projet GlycoNanoPep (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The next generation therapeutic agents such as proteins, nucleotides, cytotoxic agents and molecular probes hold promising properties to solve many crucial health issues. However, efficient and selective transport of this therapeutic cargos and imaging probes into the right cells at the right moment stands as a fundamental limitation of these new technologies. In this action we will develop a new generation of highly efficient, selective and biocompatible supramolecular vehicles for specific cell delivery. This strategy will consist in the implementation of dynamic bonds as linkers for glycoconjugated cell penetrating peptides. These peptide hybrids will be recognized very specifically carbohydrate receptors and internalized. These stimuli responsive dynamic bonds will assist in critical steps of the delivery process such as the cargo release and endosomal escape. We will expand this strategy to incorporate glycopeptides conjugated into multifunctional nanoparticles through host-guest interactions. We will implement state of the art synthetic, biophysics and cell biology techniques to identify new supramolecular selective membrane transporters. This action will combine the glycochemistry background of the applicant with the expertise in membrane transport of the host group. The potential discoveries will trigger new opportunities in the delivery of the next-generation probes and proteins (i.e. CRISPR).

Mots clés : cell penetrating peptides, molecular recognition, cell specific delivery, host guest nanoparticles

Participants :
- University of Santiago de Compostela (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet LADIE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The nonlinear stimulated emission of ultraviolet light in a piece of optically excited – and thus metalized – glass that usually absorbs light is counterintuitive to what has been known for many decades about light-material interaction. However, this is exactly what was recently experimentally observed for the first time. Although a preliminary explanation and model describing the effect of laser amplification in excited dielectrics (LADIE) exists, a manifold of questions about fundamental processes like the universality, the potential of nonlinear light amplification and how giant-band-gap-renormalization in dielectrics works remain unanswered. In this project, a thorough investigation of the novel phenomenon and the associated rare nonlinear stimulated emission will be initiated. On the one hand, this study is based on femtosecond spectroscopy, deploying pump-probe experiments, utilizing light-conversion and pulse-shaping techniques that will be applied to a large variety of custom-made samples. On the other hand, the experimental studies will be complemented by advanced theoretical modelling of the material excitation that will be extended towards incorporating a proper description of the new mechanisms. The investigation of the LADIE effect will most likely open up an entirely new scientific field with many new surprises in store and the potential for novel derived applications. Its perspective is a revolution in laser technology, building high power nonlinear laser amplifiers in a huge variety of band-gap materials, which has a clear interdisciplinary aspect to semiconductor and optoelectronic research (i.e. telecommunication hardware), biophysics (cell surgery, nonlinear microscopy) and nonlinear optics in general.

Mots clés : ultrafast dynamics, femtosecond spectroscopy, strong field excitation, transient optical phenomena, pump probe experiments, femtosecond lasers, laser material processing, laser ablation

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet JetT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The nuclear matter produced in heavy-ion collisions starts as a far-from-equilibrium system with an energy density so high, that the quarks and gluons normally confined inside protons and neutrons, form a continuous medium. Soon after, this medium thermalizes into a nearly ideal liquid known as the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) which exhibits pronounced collectivity, indicating that its constituents are not confined. Studying the multi-phase evolution of this hot and dense medium is particularly interesting, since it allows to access such fundamental properties of nature as the colour confinement and the origin of complex matter in the universe. However, experimental studies of this system are highly non-trivial since the information about the QGP evolution is entangled in correlations of energy and momenta of billions of particles. An opportunity to overcome this issue is provided by hadronic jets -- sprays of particles produced by energetic quarks or gluons leaving the QGP fireball. These energetic particles penetrate the matter, lose their energy, and have the structure of the final jet modified. Thus, jets essentially X-ray the QGP fireball providing a picture of its real-time evolution. The idea of using energetic particles for tomography of the medium has attracted significant attention in recent years. However, all current theoretical approaches are either lacking sensitivity to the medium motion and in-medium fluctuations or are based on empirical models. In the JetT project I will utilize recent advancements in first principle QCD and jet theory to develop a description of the jet-medium interaction sensitive to medium motion effects. This will provide much needed tool to study the evolution of the matter produced in HIC bringing the idea of jet tomography on completely new level.

Mots clés : heavy ion collisions, hadronic jets, quark gluon plasma, jet tomography

Participants :
- University of Santiago de Compostela (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet TOPWOOD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Staff Exchanges
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The objective of TOPWOOD is to build a four-year scientific exchange program about the test and development of medium and high-throughput phenotyping measurement and analysis tools for selected basic wood properties in the laboratory and in the field (TOols for Phenotyping WOOD-TOPWOOD). The participants wish to exchange knowledge and experience for sharing and expanding skills, improving existing tools and developing new original measuring devices for wood properties involved in studies of wood quality and of wood biological functions. The phenotyping tools and methods of analysis developed and improved in TOPWOOD are intended to be used by the participants to investigate the genetic and environmental determinism of key wood properties involved in forest tree adaptation, as well as in wood production and wood quality for the forest and wood industries. The participants of TOPWOOD are three academic institutions and one private company from three European Union countries, Austria, France and Spain, and one third country, Argentina. TOPWOOD WP1 is dedicated to the measurement of basic wood properties involved in wood quality (using near infrared spectroscopy, microdensity and ultrasonic approach). WP2 aims at studying and developing measuring devices for wood functional traits (wood hydraulic conductivity, vulnerability to cavitation and the dynamics of wood formation). WP3 aims at developing, discussing and disseminating data analysis methods dedicated to the large and complex data sets generated by these measuring devices. Finally WP4 is dedicated to coordination, management and dissemination.

Mots clés : wood, wood sciences, wood properties, near infrared spectrocopy, microdensity, ultrasound, vunerability to cavitation, forest, forest sciences, forest industry, wood industry

Participants :
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Autriche) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 18000.0 €
- Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 499500.0 €
- National Agricultural Technology Institute (Argentine) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Madera plus calidad forestal sl (Espagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 157500.0 €
Projet E-GOS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The objective of the fellowship is to turn the experienced researcher into an outstanding candidate for an assistant professor position in the field of open data, with particular focus on the governance and performance of open spatial data policies. The acquisition and transfer of knowledge and skills will take place through the execution of a research project, the participation in specific training activities and the involvement of the researcher into the research, teaching and management activities of the Knowledge Center Open Data of Delft University of Technology. The Knowledge Center Open Data, established in 2012, brings together research and practice to tackle different organizational and legal issues regarding the availability of public spatial data. The proposed research project of the fellowship will examine the impact of different models for governing open spatial data on the performance of open spatial data policies in Europe. A case study approach will be implemented, analyzing two countries that are among the leading open data countries in the world: the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The project will be executed in close collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the public authority responsible for the implementation of the open government agenda in the Netherlands, and the Open Data Institute in the United Kingdom, one of the pioneering bodies in Europe in the field of open data. The expected new insights in the performance of the governance models will allow public administrations to optimize their governance model of open spatial data to further the societal impact of open data policies. The project will pay particular attention to the communication of the research results towards non-experts and the wider public, explaining the value and relevance of open spatial data to government, businesses, citizens and society in general.

Mots clés : governance, assessment framework, open data, spatial data

Participants :
- Delft University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet Turb. Bound. Layers (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The objective of the proposed research initiative is to experimentally investigate the effects of irregular multi-scale wall roughness on turbulent boundary layers. It is widely understood that wall roughness has a significant effect on turbulent boundary layers, however the majority of the existing research on this complex mechanism has been limited to homogeneous distributions of roughness covering the entire surface. Current models fall short for the majority of real-world flows that develop over surfaces with natural irregularities such as flows over ship hulls containing barnacles or atmospheric flows over cities or forests. In this proposed research, a range of experiments will be carried out to investigate the flow around custom-manufactured patches of wall roughness placed within a turbulent boundary layer. Wall roughness elements will be designed using fractal patterns in order to isolate the multi-scale effects of the roughness geometry. Measurements will be performed in a wind tunnel and in a water channel at the University of Southampton (UoS), using a force balance to directly measure the wall friction, particle image velocimetry to measure the local flow structure, and planar-laser-induced fluorescence to measure the local dispersion for a variety of different patch topologies. This work will further the fundamental understanding of turbulent boundary layer flows and will have practical relevance to environmental, transportation, and energy engineering by setting the groundwork for the understanding and parameterization of multi-scale roughness effects. This ambitious research initiative will be achievable by leveraging the combined expertise of the proposed Fellow in experimental fluid dynamics and turbulent shear flows and the expertise of the UoS in aerodynamics and turbulent boundary layer research.

Mots clés : experimental fluid dynamics, turbulence, boundary layers, drag reduction, wall roughness, turbulent dispersion, wind tunnels, particle image velocimetry

Participants :
- University of Southampton (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €