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

Intellectual disability (ID) is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in mental abilities, social and motor skills. ID affects about 2-3% of the general population and it is mostly caused by a genetic lesion. Accordingly, mutations in the X-linked MECP2 cause Rett syndrome (RTT), a devastating neurological disorder that, because of its incidence (1:10000), represents the most common form of severe ID in girls worldwide with no approved cure. RTT profoundly affect the lives of affected individuals and their families and represent a considerable burden for health care providers across Europe. While the molecular pathways causing RTT remain mainly unknown, it is recognized that they ultimately lead to prominent alterations of synaptic transmission and neuronal activity. Autophagy is a catabolic process that sequesters aberrant organelles and macromolecules into autophagosomes and delivers it to lysosomes for degradation. Autophagy participates in a variety of events in neuronal cells including synaptic growth and neuronal activity, however, its possible involvement in neurodevelopmental disorders is still mainly neglected. In accordance with a recent study applied to human samples, my preliminary data suggest that autophagy is altered in RTT. By using cellular models of the disease, this project aim at characterize the therapeutic potential of restoring the autophagy pathway in RTT. (i) I will dissect the defective autophagy signaling cascade; (ii) identify target molecules that restore the neuronal dysfunction and synapses transmission; (iii) provide therapeutic targets to treat RTT and other nerudevepmental disorders with impaired autophagy function. My results have the potential to be translated into therapeutics. This research will contribute to provide new clinical targets against RTT. The Experienced Researcher will emerge from the project with new skills, and the capability to lead her own research group.

Mots clés : autophagy, neurodevelopmental disorders, signaling pathway

Participants :
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet SEAFICS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Interactions between seals and the fishing industry occur globally, with depredation – the full or part removal of fish from nets by seals, leading to significant conflict. Fishers suffer economic losses due to loss of catch, gear damage and time spent disentangling damaged fish/by-caught seals, while ecological impacts can include seal mortality (by-catch and/or authorised/illegal killing), alongside changes in animal behaviour (e.g. seals may become reliant on artificial food sources). In recent years, conflicts have escalated substantially, and an effective and pragmatic solution to the issue is urgently required. Using an area of high seal-fishery conflict across south-west Ireland as a case study, SEAFICS combines stakeholder engagement, method development, the application of emerging technologies, and advanced statistical analyses, to assess interactions between seals and fisheries, and minimise conflicts through the development of effective mitigation. This will be achieved by addressing 4 research objectives: (1) the assessment of the perceived extent and impact of seal depredation via interviews and survey questionnaires with fishers, (2) the quantification of depredation at fishing nets through the development and application of a novel method that uses accelerometers to detect sub-surface hidden depredation events (which in past assessments have been unaccounted for), (3) the mitigation of seal depredation by applying newly developed targeted acoustic deterrent technology and assessing its effectiveness, and (4) the assessment of fisher views on the mitigation system and its practical use. During the implementation of SEAFICS, a tailored training program will develop & strengthen the applying researcher’s expertise & skills, such that future independence and career prospects in applied research are enhanced. The innovative and timely research of SEAFICS will address pressing socio-economic & conservation issues both across Europe and globally.

Mots clés : marine mammals, human wildlife conflicts, fisheries management, marine conservation

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196590.72 €
Projet contactVIRT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Intergroup contact is widely recognised among social scientists as a means to overcome prejudice between social groups. However, contact is less likely to occur in highly segregated contexts such as the post-conflict society of Northern Ireland, where Catholics and Protestants grow with relatively scarce contact with members outside their own group. Faced with this scenario, scholars have examined computer-mediated contact with relatively successful outcomes. Although virtual reality (VR) technologies have been less fully explored in this respect, it offers great potential for contact by way of avatar communication in a safe environment. The scarce literature in this area has associated VR interactions with empathy and trust towards outgroups. These effects derive mainly from two strategies: perspective taking (e.g., making users to adopt an outgroup avatar), and recategorisation (e.g., inducing an inclusive-superordinate identity among ingroup/outgroup members). Conversely, the mechanisms by which VR-contact may be effective are less clear as other similar studies have obtained mixed results. A potential confusion in the effects produced by avatar customization (similarity identification, embodiment), and the relevance of the primed superordinate identity (transient or lasting) for group members, seem to affect contact outcomes. This proposal has a primary objective of testing the effectiveness of VR-contact in reducing prejudice and promoting trust between members of the Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland. Specifically, this research will compare the relative strengths of perspective taking versus recategorisation, evaluate the mechanisms of avatar customization, and advance a research framework of contact in VR environments for successful contact effects. Hence, this research will extend the field by producing theoretical advances in an innovative area which combines communication technologies and intergroup contact.

Mots clés : prejudice reduction, contact hypothesis, virtual reality, avatar communication, northern ireland, trust, prosocial behaviour, social identity, perspective taking, embodied presence

Participants :
- Queen's University Belfast (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet GLEC-LAW (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

International environmental law (IEL), with multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as its main component, has not been able to address the underlying causes that are responsible for the socio-ecological crisis of the Anthropocene and it seems unable to respond to this crisis. By providing the fellow with a sustained opportunity to interrogate IEL’s principal MEAs in the context of the Anthropocene, this project seeks to investigate a) the normative implications of the Anthropocene for law and IEL specifically; b) explain why and to what extent MEAs have contributed, and have been unable to respond to, the Anthropocene’s socio-ecological crisis; and c) to propose a global ecological custodial framework of care (GLEC-Law) to reform these MEAs. Lawyers have been unable to present a comprehensive solution to MEAs' deficiencies and failures, while Anthropocene scientists have been unable to meaningfully translate their insights into the juridical domain. Responding to this knowledge gap, this multi-disciplinary project brings together an experienced researcher and an internationally recognized research group with global expertise to problematize the failures, deficiencies and potential of MEAs in the Anthropocene and to propose reforms of these MEAs. The fellow brings expertise on environmental law, governance and constitutionalism to the host and secondment institutions, including access to global and global South networks, while contributing to establishing the host as a leading multi-disciplinary European center of excellence in law, governance and Anthropocene studies. The fellow will gain methodological and doctrinal training in IEL and Anthropocene related sciences. The project’s scientific importance, operationalised through its 3 work packages and associated scholarly impact and dissemination activities, lies in its original contribution as the first multi-disciplinary study to view MEAs through the lens of the Anthropocene and its associated constructs.

Mots clés : anthropocene, sustainability, international environmental law, global ecological custodianship, earth system

Participants :
- University of Lincoln (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet INIA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Intersex people are a highly marginalised population whose specific healthcare, social and human rights issues are often overlooked. The United Nations estimates that between 0.05% and 1.7% of infants are born with intersex traits, but intersex is largely invisible at legal and cultural levels. Intersex infants and children are often subjected to medically unnecessary genital surgeries in order to make them conform to physical norms. The dearth of policy frameworks and mechanisms to support intersex people’s social acceptance and inclusion is one reason for this. Non-essential intersex medical treatments are increasingly addressed as damaging to intersex people’s wellbeing, and as breaches of their human rights. Intersex people are diverse and continue to face exposure to multiple forms of discrimination, requiring cross-sectoral policy responses in fields including healthcare, education, and the law. Accordingly, the INIA ETN proposes to train a cohort of 10 early stage researchers working collaboratively to develop knowledge that will inform policy making and practice across a range of key sectors. The training addresses central issues for intersex wellbeing and rights, drawing on intellectual resources provided by legal studies, gender studies, medicine and healthcare, sociology, social work, political science, social policy, cultural studies, and psychology. The practical focus of the programme will be on developing topical and original applied outputs of relevance to stakeholders concerned to support the wellbeing and rights of intersex people. The project will, thanks to the unique competencies of the consortium partners, train a cohort of highly skilled researchers who will enable fast-track developments of intersex studies, policies and practices, working in a multidisciplinary and transectoral network bringing together 21 organisations from 10 countries.

Mots clés : intersex, gender, identity, equality, diversity, human rights, discrimination, citizenship, child, childhood, infant, healthcare, activism

Participants :
- Dublin City University (Irlande) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 549368.64 €
- Andalusian School of Public Health (Espagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 501809.76 €
- University of Zurich (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 562553.28 €
- University of Huddersfield (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 606345.12 €
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (Espagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 250904.88 €
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 256320.0 €
Projet IPV INTERVENTION (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem with comparably more adverse effects on women. Therefore, the current action will aim to prepare an implement an intervention against IPV with an emphasis on women victims. Proximal antecedents to violent episodes have been shown to be the most significant predictor of IPV occurrence. Therefore, three intervention manuals will be prepared for victims, perpetrators, and couples focusing on proximal antecedents to violent episodes (Objective 1). These manuals will be tailored to the differential needs of victims concerning the findings of the inquiry of victim typologies (Objective 2), perpetrators concerning the existing perpetrator typologies and couples. Findings related to objectives 1 and 2 will be theoretically reviewed for suitability to adolescence during the secondment. Implementation of the manual for victims will be held during the (re)integration (Objective 3). Implementations for perpetrators and couples will take place following the end of the action due to time constraints. Research experience of the researcher with IPV victims will be transferred to the host organisation in return for research and practice experience of the host organisation with perpetrators and couples. This two-way transfer will support the independent future career of the researcher. The outputs of the action will be communicated with society starting with the implementation of the intervention for women victims. The host organisation, the secondment, and the beneficiary have a longstanding history of inclination towards participatory research supporting the communicability of the action. This successful history of experience will support the security and the applicability of the action against potential risks of feasibility.

Mots clés : psychological intervention

Participants :
- Istanbul University (Turquie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 155310.72 €
- University of Houston System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MSMART (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Intravascular delivery of microcapsules is emerging as a novel and effective approach in targeted therapeutic and diagnostic procedures in cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It encapsulates drugs or imaging-contrast agents and functionalizes the surface of the capsule to target specific diseased sites. However, a major challenge in its applications is to improve the adhesion efficiency of capsules to the endothelium (a monolayer of cells that lines the luminal surface of blood vessels) under complex blood flow conditions. While extensive research has focused on identifying disease-associated biomolecules on the endothelium, or suitable antibody/peptides targeting these molecules, much less attention has been given to the margination of the drug carriers from the blood stream to the vascular wall, especially in arteries where many diseases develop. Margination represents the crucial first step before adhesion. The aim of this project is therefore to investigate the cross-sectional migration of microcapsules in arterial blood flows and to develop scientific understanding of how the size, shape and deformability of capsules, as well as system parameters such as the blood haematocrit, blood flow inertia and pulsatility, and vessel geometry affect the margination of the microcapsules. The project will unit the state-of-the-art in-vitro, ex-vivo experimentation and numerical modeling resolving blood flow at a cellular level. A second aim of the project is to develop practical principles for designing microcapsules with optimum margination property in arteries. The project will pave the way for novel designs of injectable medicines or imaging-contrast agents with enhanced vascular targeting efficiency.

Mots clés : margination, microcapsules, arterial blood flows, drug delivery

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet T6SS-PSEUDO-LIP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Introduction Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa), a nosocomial pathogen, secretes a wide range of virulence factors. A recently described secretion pathway is the type VI secretion system (T6SS). Pa encodes three T6SSs, H1-, H2- and H3-T6SS. The best-characterized H1-T6SS is involved in delivering toxins into bacterial competitors. State-of-the art Two phospholipases (Pld), PldA and PldB secreted via H2- and H3-T6SS, respectively, were recently identified as trans-kingdom virulence effectors, triggering both killing of bacterial competitors and internalization into non-phagocytic cells. They are encoded within two distinct pld clusters that are not present in all Pa isolates. Objectives Our study should (i) decipher the prevalence of the two pld clusters among Pa isolates, (ii) elucidate the role of those Pld during in vivo infection, (iii) confirm the Pld contribution in the T6SS mediated entry, (iv) dissect the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway activation mediated by Pld during Pa entry. Overview of the action The aim is to link the fundamental study of new virulence factors with their relevance into clinical isolates. Methods Pa strains isolated from infection or environment will be screened for the expression of pld clusters. The role of PldA and PldB as virulence factor will be assessed using a murine model of respiratory tract infection. In vitro invasion assays will be performed to validate the role of PldA in the H2-T6SS-dependent entry in non-phagocytic cells. Upstream and downstream signalling events of Akt phosphorylation induced by PldA and PldB upon infection will be dissected by performing cell infections with mutants and specific inhibitors. Originality and innovative aspects of the project Bacteria-host interaction mechanisms are instrumental in the development of infectious diseases. Basic (host laboratory) and clinical (the applicant) research will join to characterize a newly discovered virulence strategy of Pa.

Mots clés : virulence, pseudomonas aeruginosa, type 6 secretion system, clinical relevance

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet PESTNET (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Invasive alien herbivore species are a major threat to agriculture because they directly damage crops and induce severe yield losses, but also because they indirectly impact the structure, stability and functioning of native arthropod communities. Indirect facilitation mechanisms can cause unpredictable outbreaks of native pest species but, surprisingly, they have been rarely studied within arthropod communities. Within the framework of invasive species management (Regulation EU 1143/2014), understanding pest facilitation mechanisms is a research priority. This is also because invasive species negatively impact the reliability of agricultural Decision Support Systems, used in sustainable agriculture (Directive 2009/128/EC). PESTNET aims, as general objective, at developing a novel inter- multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach (field monitoring, DNA metabarcoding, multilayer ecological network analyses, citizen science) to depict the basic and applied ecological consequences of a human-introduced alien crop pest on the invaded trophic network. The model system used for implementation is represented by the highly invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys, native stink bug species and shared egg parasitoids. An original two-fold cutting-edge approach is proposed aiming at assessing the following specific objectives: Obj. 1) Evaluation of indirect pest facilitation mediated by host-parasitoid prevalence in non-invaded vs. invaded networks; Obj. 2) Evaluation of stink bug community changes using a mobile monitoring system (app) to estimate spatial trends in stink bugs abundance. Through the involvement of academic and non academic (industry) partners, the project will provide novel insights on how an invasive herbivore pest of worldwide economic importance is impacting sustainable agriculture by interference with the local arthropod community.

Mots clés : halyomorpha halys, egg parasitoids, trophic interactions, dna based detection of trophic interactions, invasive alien species, citizen science

Participants :
- Université de Montréal (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Perugia (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 255768.0 €
Projet INPUT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Investigating Proxies for Understanding Trajectories: Heritage Language Maintenance and Child Second Language Acquisition in Refugee Contexts (INPUT) will examine heritage language and child second language development in the European refugee context. INPUT will significantly add to a sub-field of bilingualism studies, Heritage Language Bilingualism (HLB), by studying refugee heritage speakers in Europe, an understudied subset of HLB. This empirical study will investigate linguistic and extra-linguistic variables affecting the development of both the societal majority language and the heritage language with the goal of impacting education policy development. Heritage language Syrian Arabic in Germany and second language German will be investigated with a focus on 6- to 12-year-old children to examine developmental trajectories. The overall research objective is to understand the extent to which increased or reduced heritage language exposure affects heritage language and child second language trajectories and outcomes. For Europe, supporting refugee youth can have significant impact towards the publicly stated goal of integrating this population into their newly adopted countries. One major impediment to this integration is their successful acquisition of the societal majority language while maintaining and developing the first language. Our hypothesis is that support for continued development in the heritage language will improve second language development with knock-on effects for the academic achievement of refugees. At present, heritage language support and training varies tremendously all over Europe. Project findings will be relevant especially for policy makers, teachers, school principals and HLB communities in European countries that have seen a notable increase of Syrian Arabic heritage speakers. To date, most heritage language studies have focused exclusively on the minority language, INPUT helps to fill an important gap by focusing on both languages.

Mots clés : bilingualism, heritage language speakers, child second language development, input, literacy

Participants :
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 214158.72 €