Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet GrIS-Melt (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Due to recent anthropogenic climate warming, the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is melting at accelerating rates, increasing the freshwater content of the Arctic Ocean. Freshwater run-off from the GrIS influences circulation patterns and stratification of the water column and also introduces large fluxes of allochthonous organic and inorganic matter into the Greenland coastal environment, both of which have the potential to influence microbial carbon cycling. Changing patterns of circulation and stratification have the potential to effect water column mixing and thus nutrient supply to primary producers, while introduction of particles and suspended sediments can limit light availability to primary producers and provide increased surface area for bacterial activity. Recent studies also documented that GrIS melt water contains significant amounts of bioavailable organic carbon and nutrients, which could provide subsidies to the microbial community, but the impact is unknown. At present, studies have only quantified the effects of GrIS melt water on the physical and chemical environment of Greenland fjords, no studies have addressed the physicochemical effects of melt water and its allochthonous constituents on ecosystem carbon cycling, making it difficult to estimate how increased melting is altering the productivity regimes in coastal marine ecosystem around Greenland. Primary production is the base of the marine food web and supports commercial and sustenance fisheries along the Greenland coast. Melting of the GrIS is expected to intensify in the future. Thus, this project proposes a timely effort to determine the impact of GrIS melt water on productivity and carbon cycling in the Greenland coastal ecosystem, the results of which can be used by climate scientist and fisheries managers to predict the future productivity of an locally and globally important ecosystem.

Mots clés : marine primary production, marine carbon cycling, climate change ecology, greenland ice sheet, arctic, freshening, microbial loop

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 200194.8 €
Projet ToPol (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Due to their great versatility, photonic systems have been proven to be very powerful platforms for exploring topological physics and for engineering optical devices that are robust against fabrication defects and local perturbations. Right now, the most important challenges that faces this emerging field of topological photonics are (i) to break time-reversal symmetry (TRS) at optical frequencies, and (ii) to implement nonlinearities in topological modes. On the one hand, breaking TRS would allow implementing compact optical isolators and unidirectional waveguides in the edge states of topological lattices; on the other hand, nonlinearities would give rise to exotic effects emerging from the interplay of interactions and topology (e.g. fractional quantum Hall effect, topological solitons, multistability) and allow engineering active optical devices with topological robustness (e.g. topological lasers, diodes, switches...). Based on a multi-disciplinary approach, the objective of this proposal is to tackle both challenges using lattices of cavity polaritons, a half-light/half-exciton quasiparticle well-known for its nonlinear properties. In the first part of this project, we will take profit of the strong expertise of the host group in terms of microcavity etching to investigate nonlinear effects (polariton lasing, soliton formation and instabilities) emerging in the topological edge states of honeycomb polariton lattices. To do this, we will use a lattice with relevant edge terminations and appropriate exciton-photon detuning, and optically pump high polariton densities in the topologicale edge modes. Then, we will demonstrate TRS-breaking, either by using the magnetic moment of polaritons in an external magnetic field or by optically polarizing the exciton reservoir. Finally, using the approach yielding the strongest Zeeman splitting / polariton linewidth ratio, we will realize the first topological insulator with broken TRS at optical frequencies.

Mots clés : topology, polaritons, time reversal symmetry breaking, polariton lasing, nonlinear physics

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet GNPs4PVs (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Due to their high efficiencies (>25%), low-cost and compatibility with scalable, low energy demanding fabrication techniques, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are the most promising PV technology to replace silicon. However, there are challenges towards their commercialisation, including the low operational stability, the use of expensive components (gold) and the need for expensive, high temperature/vacuum deposition equipment. These complexities increase the manufacturing cost/carbon footprint and reduce the manufacturing throughput. A promising way to overcome these challenges is by adopting the Carbon-based PSCs (CPSCs) configuration, in which the gold electrode is replaced by a low-cost printable carbon (graphite-based) conductive film. However, due to the electronic losses at the Carbon/Perovskite interface and the high sheet resistance of graphite-based Carbon electrodes (>10 Ohm/sq), the highest reported certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) for CPSC is just 12.8%. The research carried out under this proposal aims to: 1) generate the first CPSC with certified PCE > 20% and operational lifetime comparable to commercial technologies and 2) demonstrate stable CPSC modules (100cm2) with >15% PCE. This will be enabled by exploiting novel printable Graphene Nanoplate based electrodes (replacing graphite), perovskite passivation and interfacial engineering approaches. Such an outcome would be tremendously important for the EU market and will attract the attention of industry towards commercialization. The expected outcome will enable a significant reduction in the levelized cost of electricity to 0.03 €/kWh, even below the cost of traditional energy sources. Also, a significant reduction of CO2 emissions is expected, thanks to the excellent device lifetime potential and the low energy demanding fabrication processes. Therefore, the demonstration of CPSCs with the aforementioned capabilities would represent a significant scientific and technological breakthrough.

Mots clés : photovoltaics, perovskite solar cells, graphene nanoplatelets, current colletors, fully printable solar cells, passivation, interfacial engineering, upscaling, solar panels, lcoe

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet PALEO-AGRI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Due to their unique biological and geological resources, mountains have attracted humans since prehistoric times, despite their sensitivity to environmental and climatic changes. Few studies, however, have investigated the detailed history and dynamic of alpine agro-pastoral activities or their impacts on plant cover and erosion. This is largely due to the lack of suitable proxies for human activities in these environments. The PALEO-AGRI project proposes to address this challenge: 1) through the optimization of a powerful and innovative tool, DNA metabarcoding, and 2) its application to archaeological layers and lake sediment archives distributed across elevation and latitudinal gradients in the French Alps in order to investigate how human-climate-environment relations evolved in diversified environments.

Mots clés : mountain agriculture history, erosion history, human climate environment interactions, plant cover changes, ancient dna, dna metabarcoding, geographical information system  gis

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

During ageing muscle fibers are constantly subjected to high forces resulting in mechanical stress on cells and proteins. As a consequence they can degenerate, leading to suboptimal force generation, lack of coordinated movements and ultimately to muscle failure in the elderly population. This ageing process that leads to a progressive loss of muscle function has a major health impact on the ageing Western society. Physical activity is known to delay this decline. The REBUILD project aims to determine the temporal dynamics of protein replacement during life of a muscle fiber by SILAC-based mass spectrometry and genetics. It will integrate biomechanics with muscle homeostasis and accurately quantify the impact of physical activity on protein turnover and investigate the physiological consequences for the ageing animal. By combining the power of genetics and SILAC-based proteomics with behaviour of free flight under defined exercise conditions, we create a unique position for a discovery orientated large-scale in vivo genetic screen. The interdisciplinary nature of the project will allow establishing novel hypothesis, combining muscle biomechanics as a driving force behind dynamic maintenance of the muscle tissue during ageing. The experienced researcher will expand on previous training acquired in San Francisco, USA, and establish a new line of research in the crossroads of two developing fields (quantitative proteomics and biomechanical regulation of tissue homeostasis). This will be a stepping stone for his scientific independence. The host will expand on its expertise on developmental regulation of muscle formation and benefit from the expertise of the candidate in the biology of ageing and homeostasis. A precise understanding of mechanisms that control homeostatic replacement of damaged proteins in muscle fibers should foster interventions aimed at maintenance of muscle capacity in older individuals and thus, an important step towards healthy ageing.

Mots clés : muscle, drosophila

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 141203.25 €
Projet AROMABIOTA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During eating, aroma compounds and its precursors are released from the food and dissolved in saliva where they are susceptible to be metabolised by salivary microbiota. This will affect the type and rate of aroma compounds reaching the olfactory receptors (retronasal aroma), thus aroma perception and food liking. Scientific evidences suggest that obesity provokes an alteration in salivary microbiota, which could provoke an unbalanced aroma perception altering food preferences and compromising food consumption behaviour. Since obesity has become a truly global epidemic (affecting all countries and populations of all income levels) for which no effective solution has been found, AROMABIOTA proposes an innovative interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the implication of differences in salivary microbiota associated to obesity on retronasal aroma, aroma perception and the hedonic response against food in an attempt to decipher the mechanisms influencing food consumption behaviour. A panel formed by normoweight and obese individuals (n=100) balanced by gender will be set up. Salivary microbiota profiles will be determined by using metagenomics and enzyme activities by using state-of-the-art biochemistry methods. Ground-breaking physioanalytical techniques and sensory techniques will be employed to monitor retronasal aroma, aroma perception and food liking during consumption. Finally, physioanalytical and sensory data will be correlated with microbiological data to propose sensory phylotypes associated to obesity, unravelling for the first time the connections between the microbiota-mouth-brain axis. AROMABIOTA is in line with the Objective “Good Health and Well-Being” of the Sustainable Development Goals from United Nations and will provide the applicant with the necessary knowledge, skills, networking and experience to lead future research projects related to the design of Personalized Nutrition in agreement with the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Programmes.

Mots clés : retronasal aroma, food oral processing, aroma perception, food liking, food preferences, sensory and consumer sciences, interindividual differences, salivary microbiota, metagenomics, obesity, gender

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet INNEQUAL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During his construction of a solid mathematical theory behind - the at that time completely new - quantum mechanics, von Neumann introduced his eponymous algebras to describe observable quantities. These “von Neumann algebras” became a basic tool in various other branches of mathematics, including Lie theory (the theory of continuous symmetries), non-commutative geometry (a “quantum” version of classical differential geometry), and, surprisingly, the theory of knots, for which V. Jones received a Fields Medal. Strangely enough, although the theory of von Neumann algebras is quite pervasive in mathematics and mathematical physics, their actual construction and classification remains largely shrouded in mystery (despite deep work on classification by A. Connes, also getting him a Fields Medal). Particularly unsatisfactory is that the types of von Neumann algebras that are most relevant to quantum mechanics, so-called “type III”-algebras, are very rare. With this Marie-Curie fellowship, I pick up the two challenges of construction and classification, especially focussing on Connes' famous rigidity conjecture for lattices in Lie groups as well as type III von Neumann algebras, using two entirely new approaches. The first is the use of finite-dimensional approximations, that I used previously in a different context (studying the Haagerup property and Lp-Fourier multipliers). The second new approach is based on the theory of quantum groups. Utrecht University (host institution) is the unique place in Europe housing both experts in non-commutative analysis and Lie theory, and thereby provides exactly the necessary (complementary) expertise that is necessary to attack these deep and profound problems. The results will have a lasting impact on and connect further the theories of non-commutative geometry, operator algebras, Lie theory, quantum group theory and partly quantum physics.

Mots clés : quantum groups, von neumann algebras, operator spaces, approximation properties

Participants :
- Utrecht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet PlaEndo (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During pregnancy many physiological changes occur in the mother that are designed to support fetal growth. These include changes in the cardiovascular, pulmonary, immune and metabolic systems. In particular, the mother becomes less reactive to insulin, leading to increased glucose availability to the fetus in late pregnancy. These adaptations are thought to be signaled, in part by changes in placental hormone production. Whilst studies have shown that the placenta has the capacity to produce different hormones, their specific role in adapting maternal metabolism during pregnancy relies principally on association studies. Moreover, there are likely to be more protein mediators secreted by the placenta with systemic actions in the mother. Failure to adjust the mother's body to the pregnant state may result in pregnancy complications, including abnormal birth weight and maternal diabetes, which can further lead to a range of medical complications for the mother and baby. The overall goal of this study will be to identify the nature and wider biological significance of placental endocrine function in adapting the mother's body during pregnancy to support fetal growth, with a focus on maternal metabolism. This work will primarily use the mouse as an experimental model as the placental signaling/secreting cells are conveniently organized into a distinct region and are under unique genetic control. Therefore placental signaling cells can be isolated, cultured and genetically-modified independent of other cells in the mouse placenta. The secreted placental candidates will be identified using the latest sequencing technologies, and their metabolic effects will be tested on cell lines and in the whole organism using unique genetic tools available at the University of Cambridge. Knowledge gained from this study will be the first step in the development of targeted interventions for optimizing fetal growth and preventing pregnancy complications.

Mots clés : endocrine secretion, placenta, maternal metabolism, fetal growth support

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet DeepZyme (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During the course of evolution nature has created and optimized extraordinary protein catalysts, named enzymes, that are fundamental in all reigns of life. Enzymes facilitate complex chemical reactions at physiological conditions, accelerating their rates by several orders of magnitude and being highly selective over alternative –undesired– chemical transformations. Understanding how enzymes work and how to engineer their functions is essential for many disciplines, with applications ranging from medical therapies to biotechnological devices. The main challenge towards the rational control of enzymes is that given their complexity, it is not trivial to predict modifications –known as mutations– that are beneficial for their activity. The DeepZyme project aims to develop a model for the prediction of such modifications, taking advantage of revolutionary techniques in the field of deep learning. We propose to obtain condensed “representations” of enzymes by leveraging their sequence, structure and catalytic information. These representations can be suitably designed to describe enzymatic information that is available in nature, and learn how enzymes have been tuned by selection pressures along evolution. Navigating in the space of enzyme representations will allow us to finely tune their properties, and thereby guide a rational design process. Our model will be used together with other state-of-the-art techniques (including molecular dynamics, Markov state models and quantum mechanics / molecular mechanics) to generate from scratch an enzyme able to catalyze chemical reactions along the synthesis of drug-like molecules.

Mots clés : engineering of enzymes, deep learning, all atom molecular dynamics, markov state models, quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics

Participants :
- Freie Universität Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet INADEC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During the last century, the North Atlantic sea surface temperature exhibited superimposed long-term warming trend and multidecadal fluctuations. This multidecadal variability is referred to as the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV). The AMV has been pointed as the source of marked climate anomalies and associated human impacts over many areas of the globe. This includes droughts in Africa and North America, decline in sea-ice, changes of tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic, as well as temperature and precipitation impacts over Europe. Decadal climate forecast systems are able to capture the historical evolution of the AMV. This is encouraging for the prospect of getting skillful decadal predictions over continents through the impacts of the AMV. However, to date decadal prediction systems show only limited prediction skill over Europe in terms of temperature and precipitation. A possible explanation for this paradoxical missing skill is that current decadal forecast systems are missing key mechanisms to correctly simulate the AMV-Europe teleconnections and their associated predictability. The main goal of INADEC is to better estimate and understand the teleconnections between the AMV and European climate in order to precisely determine their predictability.

Mots clés : climate decadal variability, north atlantic ocean dynamics, atmospheric teleconnection dynamics, climate predictions

Participants :
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet ADMEP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

During the last decades the use of pulsed lasers has been increasingly exploited for many applications in research, industry and healthcare via cutting, removing or depositing material. What many of these processes have in common is that so much energy is deposited in the target that its optical properties change during an individual laser pulse. Moreover, in applications like EUV generation and pulsed laser deposition, the optical properties of the ejected particles become spatially inhomogeneous. Thus, to predict/optimize the energy deposition, one needs to understand the complex interplay between the laser and the dynamically and spatially changing material properties. The ADMEP project aims to theoretically and experimentally study the dynamics of the material properties in nano- to micro-scale particles upon irradiation with fs-laser pulses. In order to theoretically model the absorption of light, the spatial inhomogeneity must be taken into account by performing finite-difference time-domain simulations in which the optical properties are dynamically updated each time step. To isolate the effects of the dynamics of the carrier density and temperature from the ones of their spatial inhomogeneity, experiments on trapped small spherical nanoparticles will be carried out. For small enough spheres, the transient material properties can be assumed to be homogeneous over their size. Afterwards, the laser interaction with larger and non-spherical particles will be studied. Finally, the aftermath (expansion of e- plasma, melting and ablation) will be investigated via fs-resolved microscopy both at the host and secondment facilities. These findings will find their way through a network consisting of researchers at the secondment (ARCNL, ASML) and at the University of Twente. The theoretical and experimental experience, combined with working with a private/public partnership will prepare the candidate for a career as a group leader in basic and applied research.

Mots clés : femtosecond laser ablation

Participants :
- Utrecht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €