Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet NINFA-AD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Depressed mood, agitation, false beliefs, lack of motivation and other alterations in behaviour, usually named with the umbrella term of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), are commonly observed in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). NPS are highly prevalent in people with AD (35-85%) and increase the risk of dementia by up to 10 times. The onset of NPS may even precede that of cognitive deficits and predict subsequent cognitive decline. Although not all patients experience NPS and some experience only very mild symptoms, clarifying AD aetiology is of primary importance to improve early diagnosis, provide better care and mitigate the economic burden of dementia. The neural changes associated with NPS in AD are still unclear and, consequently, wide consensus on the best treatment strategies is lacking. Since the earliest accumulation of AD pathology is observed in the nuclei involved in the production of neurotransmitters, the NINFA-AD project aims to investigate whether alterations in brain functioning influenced by abnormalities in different neurotransmitter pathways may be associated with NPS in people either with or at risk for AD. This aim will be pursued by applying an innovative interdisciplinary approach combining functional magnetic resonance with positron emission tomography imaging, fluid AD biomarkers and cognitive data. The NINFA-AD project will provide novel hypothesis-based insights on the cause of these symptoms that will lead to more efficient treatments and improvements in patients' prognosis. Moreover, the findings could be exploited to develop more informative biomarkers to be used in trials to test the mechanisms of action and effectiveness of novel interventions targeting behavioural problems in AD.


Participants :
- Université de Parme (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172750.08 €
- Ospedale di Parma (Italie) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet SalmoScales (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Species radiations can be driven by changes in body proportions (allometric changes), that is, natural selection acting on size and not in shape. Discovering the genetic and developmental basis of allometry has both fundamental importance for understanding the emergence of biological diversity, as well as in practical terms such as in understanding cancers. Only a few allometry mechanisms are known to explain adaptive differences in organ size within a vertebrate species. The SalmoScales project will fill this knowledge gap by discovering the molecular, developmental, and evolutionary mechanisms that give rise to allometry of reproductive organs in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Salmon show a fascinating adaptation of organ allometry associated with a trade-off in life history strategies; dwarf landlocked ecotypes prioritize egg size over egg number, and in consequence have ovaries that are 50% smaller compared to their sea-migrating congeners. The decreased ovary size in dwarf salmon provides a unique model to study how allometry emerges within a single species and interplays with life history strategy. Salmon reproductive development is governed by transcriptional regulators that include the genes vgll3 and six6. These genes are top candidates for mediating ovary allometry as my preliminary results suggest that vgll3 interacts with Hippo signaling pathway mediating organ size, as well as transcription factors controlling for germ cell development in salmon gonads. I will dissect the genotype-phenotype-fitness map of ovary allometry from the molecular to the species level with an integrative approach combining cellular genomics, gene editing, and a powerful quantitative genetics framework. The results will have applied significance in aquaculture to inform precision breeding for egg, brood and maturation characteristics, as well as in the medical field, where revealing the mechanisms that coordinate ovary growth and size are important to understand ovarian cancers.

Mots clés : evo devo, life history traits, allometry, scaling, spatial transcriptomics, crispr cas9, g matrix

Participants :
- Université Concordia (Canada) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université d'Helsinki (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 293675.04 €
Projet sc4DMap (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mammalian early embryonic development requires exquisite spatiotemporal gene regulation at the level of individual cells. However, it is still unclear and remains a fundamental challenge how cell behaviours govern gastrulation and organogenesis in early embryos. Two techniques have recently been developed to investigate cell fate decisions in early mammalian development (spatial transcriptomics at single-cell level) or to study the dynamic transition from single cells to fully formed organisms (in toto imaging), and if only these two techniques could be combined would we be able to link cell motion with cell state and more completely understand developmental processes. There is precedence for combining live cell imaging with gene expression data in ascidians and annelids, but this has yet to be done, at scale, in more complex mammalian systems. To this end, the proposal aims to investigate early mammalian development by linking spatial transcriptomics and in toto imaging data. This will be the first combination of real-time tracking of cellular dynamics and spatiotemporal gene expression profiles across the developing embryo, thus providing insight into how cells move, interact with each other and how they regulate their own gene expression, ultimately revealing the fate that cells adopt. Accordingly, I will develop a novel integration framework and generate the first cellular-resolution mammalian embryo developmental gene expression map in four dimensions that reflects both cellular dynamics and spatiotemporal gene expression profiles at the single-cell level. Moreover, this work will pave the way for multi-omics integration, which has been increasingly explored but to date is confined to the single-cell space.

Mots clés : computational biology single cell analysis spatial transcriptomics multi omics integration bio imaging developmental biology

Participants :
- Laboratoire européen de biologie moléculaire (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 217019.44 €
Projet EcoSENSES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

My project aims to re-think human-more-than-human interconnectedness by examining entangled relationships between arctic waters, the senses, and place. As a community of practice, outdoor swimming in Norway provides a unique lens through which to examine a sharing in the sensible grounded-in holistic planetary wellbeing. Following the global COVID-19 pandemic and wellbeing crisis, practitioners, tourism agencies, and popular media outlets have lauded outdoor swimming as a therapeutic cure for human health, wellbeing, and for a perceived lack of connection to nature. Examining relational notions of wellbeing in blue-spaces, and stewardship of nature in immersive experiences outdoors, generates novel insights into sensory knowledges and the cultural values of waters in rapidly changing arctic climates. In doing so, this project expands the methodological affordances of anthropology by conjoining participant sensation in qualitative sensory ethnography with discourse analysis and close readings, in the pursuit of three objectives: 1) identify historical and contemporary meanings of Norwegian outdoor recreation (friluftsliv) and wellbeing as presented in and related to outdoor swimming; 2) trace how interactions with water and more-than-human others shape the swimming sensorium; and 3) uncover the potential for sensory ecologies to inform planetary conviviality in water management and competency policies. Sensory approaches used in this project may reveal power relations, local forms of water management and wellbeing resilience, the negotiated use of space, and formation of place-attachment. This examination of how the perceived therapeutic healing practice of outdoor swimming can be mobilized to include material and ecological strategies for advancing water security and ensuring quality water sources for all Europeans.

Mots clés : swimming, the senses, blue space

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
- Université de Bodø (Norvège) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ChitinBioPlastic (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Commercial insect production for food and feed is a fast-growing industry. Among different insect species, Black Soldier Flies (BSF) show promising potential due to their efficient bioresource recycling capability and high nutritional values for animal feed applications. In addition, they are an important source of chitin, the second most abundant polymer after cellulose in the world, with diverse industrial applications. The current insect production sector has primarily overlooked the application of chitin, mainly focusing on products associated with nutritional values. However, in the future commercial insect sector will generate a lot of wastes, including dead fly and pupae exuviae. This project aims to provide industrial value to the dead fly and pupae exuviae of BSF industry into chitin and bioplastics, developing and exploiting novel, efficient, and environment-friendly approaches. This is because, from 1950-2015, the world has already generated 6.3 billion MT of plastic, and an estimated 12 billion MT of plastic is predicted to reach landfills by 2050. These plastics slowly disintegrate to generate Micro-Plastics harming life underwater and above land. Thus, we must develop bio-based plastics to replace the heavy use of harmful plastics. This project will extract the chitin from insect by-products and develop it into bioplastics. The current chitin extraction involves the usage of harsh chemicals leading to severe environmental pollution. Therefore, green techniques are needed to extract chitin from these insects. This study will refine and employ cutting edge techniques to extract chitin from BSF. The chitin produced will be suitable for developing bioplastics since the biomass used to make bioplastic will be biodegradable and is not food product. This would be the first study in the insect production sector to develop and apply a green pathway for chitin production and processing to a biodegradable bioplastic.

Mots clés : black soldier fly, chitin, bioplastics

Participants :
- Université de Bodø (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 210911.04 €
Projet OCEANHITCH (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Diatoms, unicellular algae, grow on a wide range of submerged surfaces. However, some diatom species and even entire genera (Chelonicola, Poulinea, Tursiocola) are highly specialised and thrive exclusively on the surface of glabrous aquatic animals (sea turtles, sea snakes, cetaceans, manatees). These taxa tolerate frequent environmental changes related to the biology and lifestyle of their hosts but, in nature, cannot survive without them. We will use sea turtle biofilm samples to investigate whether this unique association makes epizoic diatoms suitable indicators of their host’s health. This proposition is based on our preliminary observations that in sea turtles, the relative abundance of epizoic diatoms is high (>35 %) on generally healthy individuals, but rarely exceeds 10 % in visibly debilitated animals. First, skin and carapace biofilm samples will be collected from 350 presumably healthy and 175 visibly debilitated sea turtles from three distant geographic regions (WP1). Second, the collected material will be used to determine diatom species composition based on molecular (metabarcoding) and morphological approaches (WP2). We will develop an automated diatom identification and counting method using deep learning technology to further simplify the morphology-based assessment of diatom community composition. Third, the relative abundance of specialist sea turtle diatoms will be assessed and tested for correlation with standard sea turtle health indices collected for every sampled animal (WP3). Diatom indices of sea turtle health will be designed should such correlation be found. Finally, we will test the newly developed tools in a zoo setting, where they will be used to gain insights into the overall health and wellbeing of captive sea turtles and other aquatic vertebrates (WP4). The proposed studies will develop novel, non-invasive, cost-efficient and straightforward diatom-based tools for sea turtle monitoring and the assessment of marine ecosystem health.

Mots clés : automated taxonomic identification, bioindicator, diatom indices, epizoic diatoms, metabarcoding, nature conservation, sea turtles

Participants :
- Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (Belgique) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Duisbourg et Essen (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Bodø (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 283438.8 €
Projet WILDVALUE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Demand for endangered wildlife products is driving the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, which threatens global biodiversity and has significant impacts on public health through the transmission of zoonotic diseases across the world. The illegal wildlife trade is imperilling one quarter of the total terrestrial vertebrate species, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. The rising frequency of zoonotic epidemics and pandemics, with COVID-19 as the most recent example, has highlighted the devastating public health consequences that can result from wildlife consumption. In many Asian cultures, people use endangered wildlife products as traditional medicine to treat various diseases and health conditions, despite the availability of alternative treatments and modern medicines. Understanding people’s preferences, particularly their willingness to pay (WTP) for healthcare, is critical to inform public health policies and wildlife trade governance. Yet, few studies have been conducted on this important topic due to challenges in approaching consumers and limitations in existing non-market valuation methods, particularly preference-based methods. The two specific aims of WILDVALUE are: (1) to assess people’s preferences for healthcare and endangered wildlife products using the Compensating Income Variation (CIV) method and (2) to advance the field of non-market valuation by comparing the CIV method to stated preference methods for the first time. WILDVALUE will improve wildlife trade governance, inform public health policies, and advance the field of non-market valuation through a unique research on the consumption of endangered wildlife products for health-related purposes.

Mots clés : non market valuation, compensating income variation, stated preference methods, illegal wildlife trade, traditional asian medicine

Participants :
- Université d'Helsinki (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 242116.8 €
Projet SOILEX (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The impact of land use change on various organisms, including plants, birds, mammals, amphibians, and arthropods, leading to local extinction debt, has been widely recognized. With the rapid transformation of landscapes due to agriculture, it is essential to assess the delayed response of soil organisms to these changes, known as the extinction debt. The concept of extinction debt suggests that a species may initially survive habitat changes but could eventually become extinct without further modification to its habitat. While it is known that land use can have lasting effects on soil properties and microbial communities, specific research on extinction debts in soil communities has been lacking. To address this gap, a comprehensive study will be conducted using data from over 1000 agricultural field sites in Estonia, including detailed land management information and molecular IDs of various soil-dwelling organisms. Cutting-edge analytical methods will be employed to evaluate the extent of ecological memory in soils, providing valuable insights for land managers and policymakers. This research aims to offer unique evidence of the impact of land use legacies on soil communities and identify the soil biota most vulnerable to land use changes. By integrating knowledge from agronomy, molecular ecology, community ecology, and soil biology, this interdisciplinary research seeks to understand how past land use legacies influence the current and future composition of soil organisms and, consequently, soil function.

Mots clés : soil biota, metabarcoding, network analyses, multitrophic, monitoring, agroecology

Participants :
- Université d'Helsinki (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 242116.8 €
Projet STELLAR (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

STELLAR (innovative STructures for improvEd Light colLection in ARgon-based TPCs) goal is to boost the advancement of noble gas and liquid optical Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detectors for rare-event searches, with Dark Matter (DM) being one of the most compelling puzzles of todays fundamental physics. STELLAR plans to contribute to the development of novel amplification structures based on Micropattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) technology incorporating wavelength-shifting materials, capable of providing improved light collection and greater operating stability at higher gains. STELLAR programme can further contribute to the understanding of underlying mechanisms of signal formation in TPCs, opening the possibility of studying the electron extraction efficiency and electroluminescence in electronegative gas mixtures. This is a specially relevant topic considering the recent technological developments observed in DM searches with the use of Negative Ion TPCs, eventually optically readout. It is anticipated that the floating wavelength-shifting Field-Assisted Gas Electron Multipliers (FAT-GEM) mechanical characteristics and performance, can be a valuable alternative to current amplification structures used in noble-element TPCs for DM searches, for instance DarkSide-LowMass, or currently planned for long baseline neutrino experiment DUNE.

Mots clés : dark matter optical amplification structures wavelength shifting materials electroluminescence light collection efficiency micropattern gas detectors mpgd dual phase time projection chambers

Participants :
- Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (Pologne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 139953.6 €
Projet TimeSmart (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

TimeSmart project will investigate the applicability of the novel Age of Information metric in smart grid networks. While the metric has become a valuable tool for measuring the system's performance, its practical value and impact in the real-time system are left unanswered. This project seeks to remedy that by applying the metric to a system in which the timing of collected data, currently measured through jitter or latency, profoundly impacts management and control. The AoI offers a new perspective on how the system should collect and process information, as such decisions are also based on the context of processed information(their semantic nature). In turn, the new approach can offer an innovative way of improving the efficiency of renewable electrical energy supply and electrical loads by taking advantage of the available edge infrastructure. This project aims to adopt the AoI metric in smart grid networks to improve the energy transmission efficiency, achievable through more timely collected information, to save energy.  The proposed research will be conducted by dr. Jernej Hribar and supervised by prof. Mihael Mohorčič, and dr. Carolina Fortuna from Institut Jožef Stefan. The applicant will also undertake a non-academic placement at ComSensus under the supervision of dr. Andrej Čampa.


Participants :
- Institut Jožef Stefan (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 214249.2 €
- Comsensus, komunikacije in senzorika, doo (Slovénie) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MAREE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the silent pandemic uprising for the past decades that challenges practitioners to everyday life. In this context, more and more infections have become harder to treat, even in absence of genetic markers for AMR. This phenomenon, called recalcitrance, is related to the ability of susceptible bacteria to overcome antibiotic treatment and to reinitiate infection contributing to antibiotic failures and resistance emergence. Previous studies have described the involvement of a phenotypic switch leading to recalcitrance but underlying mechanism remain poorly understood. ESKAPE (standing for Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.) pathogens are the most prevalent causative agents in common recurrent healthcare-associated infections as well as well-known for their multidrug resistant phenotype and are the best candidates to understand recalcitrance. Hereby, we propose to investigate two of them, E. faecium (Efm) and E. cloacae complex (Ecc) by studying the proteome involved in recalcitrance. To identify any protein and/or pathway of interest, we will (i) identify which stress and bactericidal antibiotic induce recalcitrance both in Efm and Ecc; (ii) evaluate proteome and phosphoproteome of isolated antibiotic-recalcitrant bacteria; and (iii) confirm functionality of candidate proteins/pathways by mutagenesis and phenotypic approaches (in vitro and in cellulo) with the expertise of Prof. Helaine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston (secondment). Finding potential protein targets can highlight new candidates to further develop new therapies to overcome the rising of AMR.

Mots clés : mass spectrometry, recalcitrance, eskape pathogens, antibiotic resistance

Participants :
- Université Harvard (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Rennes (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195914.88 €