Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet FUNBIOSIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Interspecies interactions between fungi and bacteria are highly prevalent in nature and are critically important in a variety of fields including agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, medicine, and dentistry. The study of such bacterial-fungal interactions (BFIs) can provide invaluable information regarding host-pathogen interactions that can be leveraged in understanding and treating important animal and plant diseases. The unique experimental tractability of the Rhizopus-Burkholderia endosymbiosis provides a model system for the investigation of the secreted factors central to BFIs. One remarkable feature in BFIs is the delivery of bacterial effector molecules that can take control of their eukaryotic host cell. FUNBIOSIS aims to speed up the discovery of natural compounds utilised by endosymbiotic Burkholderia sp. to control its fungal host by integrating the emerging technology of microfluidics. We will focus on novel effector molecules that: (i) can modulate host gene transcription (transcription activator-like effectors, TALEs); (ii) are associated with the recently discovered type 6 secretion system (T6SS); and (iii) are involved in chromatin-dependent changes in the host genome. This will not only elucidate the nature of host control in this commercially important BFI but also has the potential to serve as a roadmap to understanding how prokaryotic pathogens and symbionts interact with more complex eukaryotic hosts. Understanding the biology, ecology, and biotrophic interactions of the zygomycetes (of which Rhizopus microsporus is a member) with their associated endobacteria can help to identify novel secondary metabolites which are central to ecological functions and are useful for effective and innovative biotechnological utilisations.

Mots clés : bacterial fungal interactions, endosymbiosis, host control, tal effectors, type 6 secretion system, epigenetics, host gene regulation, microfluidics, proteomics, genetic engineering, analytical chem

Participants :
- Leibniz Association (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet TIGER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Intertidal landscapes are complex environments located between land and sea, and that are regularly flooded by tides. They provide highly valuable ecosystem services that are threatened by sea level rise and changing sediment supply. Previous studies showed that the small-scale (order of square meters) interactions between vegetation dynamics, water flow and sediment transport (so-called bio-geomorphic feedbacks) have a great impact on channel network formation and evolution at the landscape-scale (order of square kilometers). This process is called bio-geomorphic self-organization. My objective is to investigate, for the first time, the impact of plant species traits on bio-geomorphic self-organization of intertidal landscapes. More specifically, I hypothesize that (1) different plant species traits lead to the self-organization of different channel network patterns, and (2) the resulting self-organized landscape structures determine the efficiency to distribute and trap sediments on the intertidal floodplain, and hence the resilience (adaptability) of the landscape to sea level rise and decreasing sediment supply. By using a combination of remote sensing, field measurements and numerical simulations, I aim at producing new fundamental knowledge on landscape self-organization by bio-geomorphic feedbacks, and its implications for the resilience of intertidal landscapes against environmental changes.

Mots clés : geomorphology, tidal marshes, self organization, resilience, sea level rise, environmental changes

Participants :
- University of Antwerp (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 258530.4 €
- Boston University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet BRAVEST (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Intrinsically rewarding stimuli strongly favour attentional capture (AC) in humans, this effect being dramatic in a number of addiction disorders. The physiology of this phenomenon is poorly understood, but recent neuroimaging studies point to a role of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (aCC) in this kind of attentional engagement. A way to act on this circuitry would provide compelling evidence and be a major advance for the cognitive and clinical neuroscience of motivation. Most brain stimulation techniques (i.e. TMS, tDCS) typically do not allow for stimulation of deep brain structures, their effect being limited to superficial areas. In contrast, Vestibular Stimulation (VS), via galvanic or thermal activation of the peripheral organs devoted to balance, have been consistently shown to produce reliable activation of deep structures involved in mood and affective processing, including the aCC. VS are routinely employed in medicine and physiology, but a deeper understanding of their cognitive effects is needed. Here I propose having healthy participants and patients with brain damage and attentional disorders (i.e. Spatial Neglect) to complete simple behavioural tasks assessing the interaction between attention and motivation, while receiving VS. The main objective is to assess whether the modulation of brain activity through VS may modulate the degree of AC, i.e. facilitate the orienting of attention towards rewarding stimuli. Such project could not only greatly advance our knowledge on the neural circuitry underlying the interplay between reward processing and visuospatial attention, but also shed light on the neural underpinnings of the aberrant AC observed in several clinical pathologies, allowing devising novel therapeutic approaches. Beside this main goal, I will receive advanced training for fMRI analysis, boosting my attractiveness as independent scholar and allowing me to further explore the role of brain areas extending beyond the aCC.

Mots clés : priority maps, attentional capture, reward, brain stimulation, vestibular stimulation, anterior cingulate cortex, unilateral spatial neglect, addictive disorders, fmri

Participants :
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet FARMEC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Introduction: The core question of the project Far-Right Mobilization and the European Crises (FARMEC) is whether and how far-right political mobilization has changed throughout three critical moments of recent European politics: the sovereign-debt crisis, the refugee crisis, and the security crisis linked to Jihadist terrorism. The overarching expectation is that these junctures facilitated the realignment of far-right actors in the electoral and protest arenas, increasing the pervasiveness of far-right messages in national public spheres. This, in turn, contributed to crucially transforming political conflict in Europe. FARMEC relies on an innovative research design focusing on: (1) different national contexts (in North-West, South and Central-East Europe), (2) different arenas of conflict (protest and elections) and overtime change (from the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 to 2018). The project’s interdisciplinary perspective, at the crossroads between comparative political science and political sociology is supported by a pluralist methodological approach. A quantitative Large-N study compares far-right mobilization in 12 European democracies, using existing datasets on party positions and protest events. A quali-quantitative Small-N study focuses on four country-case studies (France, Germany, Italy and Hungary), using original data gathered through web scraping. FARMEC will contribute to the long-lasting debate on the relationship between the far-right and crisis. Its results will shed new light on the drivers of far-right mobilization, crucially contributing to the scholarship on political conflict in Europe, party politics and social movements, and providing insight for NGOs and public organization confronting the far right. In doing so, the project engages with the timely public debate on how can liberal democracy deal with right-wing extremism, radicalism and populism.

Mots clés : far right, social movements, political parties, political conflict, protest, elections, comparative politics, europe, migration, refugee crisis, economic crisis, security

Participants :
- Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet RabTarget4Metastasis (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Invasion and metastases remain to date the major causes of cancer mortality around the world. Rab27A is a small GTPase that regulates vesicles trafficking and is involved in many physiological processes, e.g. melanosome transport. Being a small GTPase, Rab27A acts as a molecular switch that cycles between an inactive state (GDP bound) and an active state (GTP bound), in which this protein is able to bind to specific effectors to trigger signalling cascades in cells. Current studies suggest a role for Rab27A in exosome-mediated pre-metastatic niche promotion. Hence, interfering with Rab27A PPIs could be effective in reducing and preventing the occurrence of metastasis in cancer. Small GTPases are renowned as challenging targets and have been long considered undruggable, but the unique presence of two non-conserved cysteines in Rab27A offers a perfect starting point for the development of selective covalent inhibitors. These residues are located in the proximity of a major interaction site with a known effector of Rab27A, Slp2, therefore encouraging for targeting PPIs. A screen of covalent fragments based on the recently developed quantitative Irreversible Tethering (qIT) assay has led to the discovery of novel hits with enhanced reactivity for Rab27A against glutathione. The current project aims to (i) obtain potent Rab27A covalent inhibitors by growing hit fragments, and (ii) demonstrate selective Rab27A target engagement in cells, and efficient disruption of the PPIs of Rab27A with its main effectors. Collaboration with the CRUK Beatson Institute will provide direct access to in vivo models to validate the contribution of Rab27A to metastatic development in cancer by use of such chemical probes, whilst state-of-the-art covalent fragment know-how will be accessed for compound optimisation at the Francis Crick Institute/GSK LinkLab, enabling prompt evaluation of the therapeutic potential of optimised lead compounds that will derive from my work.

Mots clés : small gtpases, covalent inhibitors, high throughput synthesis, protein protein interaction targeting, cancer, metastasis

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet PhenAnOx (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Inventing new green and inexpensive synthetic methods for relevant chemical compounds is one of the ways how organic chemist can contribute to the well-being of humans and Earth. One of the most promising chemical method for this is synthetic organic electrochemistry. It can replace chemical reducing agents and oxidizers with sole cheap electrons or electron-holes and, at the same time, reduce both the amount of waste and the expense of chemical synthesis. Syntheses are easily controllable as they can be ‘switched-off’ and they are implementable on a large industrial scale with ease. Interestingly, organic electrosynthesis can be used to stabilize electrical grids as fluctuating electric currents are tolerated in certain reactions. The aim of this project is to develop new sustainable, selective and economic electro-organic synthetic methods for the functionalization of phenols. Particularly, we will concentrate on our efforts for finding new ways to form C-heteroatom bonds between phenols and different substrates. At first, we will study the conversion of phenols to diarylethers and dibenzofurans that are important building blocks and core structures of natural products and biologically active substances. Later, we will try to extend the reactivity for phenol-analogues as wll. On the next step, we will study the cross-coupling between phenols and benzoxazoles and its analogues. In this way, we also obtain important synthetic intermediates for organic chemistry in a sustainable and ecologic manner. The proposed action is divided in two research and three additional work packages. The project will be implemented at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of Johannes-Gutenberg-University in Mainz in the research group of Professor Siegfried Waldvogel. He has been one of the driving forces of electro-organic synthesis already for 18 years and made seminal contributions during that time. It is therefore the top laboratory worldwide for performing the proposed action.

Mots clés : electro organic synthesis, synthetic organic electrochemistry

Participants :
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet RETAIN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Investigation of artificial light-harvesting systems is an important part of the European research effort towards the development of sustainable and carbon-free energy sources. This research proposal aims to develop a new type of semiconductor heterostructures – solution-processed nanoplatelet assemblies capable of harvesting and transferring energy of light similar to antenna complexes of photosynthetic organisms. Towards this goal, the research project will use quantum-confined 2D semiconductor nanoplatelets arranged into superplatelet structures by means of colloidal self-assembly. The 2D nanoplatelets, which can be thought of as giant artificial chlorophyll molecules, have superior optical properties and enable the design of hybrid materials with absorption spectrum covering energy range from ultraviolet to near-infrared by mixing and matching lead halide-based perovskites with II-VI and IV-VI binary semiconductors. The proposal consists of three key parts. First, 2D nanoplatelets with optimized properties are obtained and tuned via chemical synthesis. Second, anisotropic interactions between 2D nanoplatelets of dissimilar materials are exploited for nanoplatelet assembly into heterostructured ribbons and layers. Third, the figures of merit for energy transfer and charge separation in the assemblies are obtained by spectroscopic, photochemical and photoelectric characterisations. The resulting assemblies would constitute a new class of artificial excitonic materials, expanding the family of optoelectronic heterostructures beyond epitaxially grown semiconductors and mechanically stacked exfoliated 2D materials. The proposed research project combines the strengths of the experienced researcher and capabilities of the host institution in a complementary fashion, assuring mutual benefit from the Fellowship and providing the experienced researcher with opportunities to achieve a high level of professional maturity and significantly expand his career opportunities.

Mots clés : nanoplatelets, self assembly, heterostructure, energy transfer, perovskites, semiconductors, light harvesting

Participants :
- Italian Institute of Technology (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 168277.2 €
Projet CRYO-EM TRPV5 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ion channels are proteins composed of a hydrophillic pore that facilitate ion flow across a plasma membrane. This ionic permeability is controlled by a set of essential properties affecting the channel activation and inactivation in response to voltage, ligands, or intracellular second messengers. The focus of the present project proposal, the transient receptor potential vanilloid channel (TRPV5), forms a specific category within the large TRP familiy of ion channels as it comprises a unique high selectivity for calcium ions together with a calcium-dependent inactivation mechanism that is incompletely understood. Detailed analysis of the TRPV5 channel will provide new structural insights into channel gating that can be extrapolated to other TRP channels, as the current knowledge on the TRP protein structure and its impact on the regulation of the channel function is still limited. The key objective of my project is to deliver the first detailed mechanistic view of TRPV5 by connecting Prof. Cheng’s expertise in structural biology with my biophysical background on TRP channel functioning. The following work packages will be addressed: 1) Channel activation mechanism of TRPV5 Elucidation of the 3D structure of integral TRPV5 by single-particle cryo-EM will provide critical structural and mechanistic insight into calcium-dependent regulation of channel function. 2) Intramolecular regulation of TRPV5 Reconstitution of TRPV5 into lipid nanodiscs and liposomes allows detailed study on lipid regulation and the mechanism of channel inactivation Taken together, this project focuses on the structure-function analysis of TRPV5, a distinctive calcium-selective TRP channel. The goal is to elucidate the structure of the TRPV5 channel, and to unravel functional domains that are involved in channel function at the mechanistic level. This will ultimately advance our understanding of the molecular differences of activation, ion permeation and gating of TRP channels.

Mots clés : trp channels, cryo em, electrophysiology, calcium

Participants :
- Radboud University Nijmegen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162864.6 €
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet DiscoverResearch (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ireland’s leading university, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), is seeking funding to plan, promote and host Discover Research Night as part of European Researchers’ Night in 2014 and 2015. On Discover Research Night 26 September 2014 and 25 September 2015, TCD and RCSI will offer the general public a wide range of interactive and hands-on activities, providing direct contact with researchers and allowing for discovery, questions and participation. The objectives of the project are to challenge perceptions held by the general public about researchers, to promote research as an exciting career option, to demonstrate creativity and innovation in research across all disciplines and to show that researchers are dynamic contributors to society. Interaction with researchers during EU Researchers’ Night will challenge stereotypes which have created barriers between the general public and researchers. Specific career-focused events will identify and promote arrays of opportunities for research careers. Diverse activities which will help to show the public how research benefits the community. Events will showcase exciting innovative research from several academic strands at TCD and RCSI, will invite the public to interact with the vibrant research communities from both participating institutes, aiming to delight and stimulate the imagination of all participants from school children and their families, to visitors to Dublin and the local community. Activities hosted on the night will be grouped under four broad themes – Body Parts including ‘Discover the Brain!’, ‘Mending Broken Hearts, ‘Attack of the Heart’; Language, Thought & Knowledge Transfer including ‘Identities in Transformation’, ‘Living Thought/Thinking Life’, ‘Tower of Babel’, Creativity in Research featuring ‘Biodiversity in our Lives’ and Meet the Researchers including ‘Thesis-in-3’, ‘Innovation Café’, ‘Women in Science’ and ‘Career Clinic’.

Mots clés : communication, science communication, public recognition of researchers, promotion of science careers

Participants :
- Trinity College Dublin (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175162.5 €
Projet ODEON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Iron (Fe) deposition from dust and combustion aerosols is essential for the marine primary productivity in large portions of the world ocean, where phytoplankton growth mitigates part of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Under polluted conditions, the atmospheric acidity and organic ligands dramatically enhance aerosol Fe-mobilization, perturbing also the marine CO2 uptake capacity upon aerosol Fe deposition. Air-quality regulations, designed to decrease future atmospheric pollution, will consequently moderate the dissolved Fe deposition flux over oceans and change its pattern. However, the effect of air pollution on the bioavailable Fe supply into the oceans and their primary productivity remains largely ambiguous, with a likely but poorly known climatic impact. The ODEON project will address this long-standing research question by performing for the first time coupled atmosphere-ocean-climate simulations with the European Earth System Model (ESM) EC-Earth, focused on the impacts of Fe deposition on the oceanic carbon-cycle. Recently, important advances were made by the applicant in understanding aerosol Fe dissolution and emission processes. However, ESMs still use simplified parameterizations and asynchronous coupling of Fe supply to the marine biogeochemistry, inserting severe uncertainties in the response of the carbon-cycle to anthropogenic emissions. ODEON aims to improve this situation by developing modelling tools beyond-state-of-the-art, to simulate the atmospheric Fe-cycle in EC-Earth coupled to the embedded ocean biogeochemistry model. The future fellow’s strong atmospheric chemistry modelling background, together with the advanced training-through-research plan on cutting-edge and multi-disciplinary EMS techniques, ensures the feasibility of this project. ODEON’s training scheme in climate modelling, ocean biogeochemistry and interaction with science-users will contribute to the applicant’s development as an independent and interdisciplinary researcher.

Mots clés : iron chemistry, air pollution, ocean fertilization, earth system model, ec earth

Participants :
- Utrecht University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €