Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet NANO-Q (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The ability to control and exploit the virtues of quantum physics is expected to revolutionize many areas of science and technology, from quantum information processing to quantum enhanced metrology. However, it is still a great challenge to observe quantum effects, such as superposition, in truly macroscopic objects. Matter-wave interferometry with very massive particles is a promising route towards testing the notions of macroscopicity and the still speculative limits of linearity in quantum physics. An intriguing goal in the community is to control the motion of mesoscopic nanoparticles, from 10^7 to 10^10 a.m.u., to the point where quantum interference can be observed. In this mass range collapse models and the role of gravity in quantum theory can be explored. It is a great challenge to control the motion of objects larger and more complicated than atoms and simple molecules. Recent proposals and experiments have begun the task, using optical cavities to cool the motion of nanoparticles, aiming to reach the level at which quantum effects are evident. The feasibility of this goal has been demonstrated experimentally by the Host Group, the Experienced Researcher and others, driven and supported by theoretical work. The NANO-Q project aims to create a source of free cavity cooled nanoparticles suitable for mesoscopic matter wave interferometry. It would be a great scientific breakthrough to observe quantum effects with such massive objects. Cooled nanoparticles will also be of great technological importance, as quantum transducers and precision force sensors .

Mots clés : cavity cooling, optomechanics, nanotechnology, quantum physics, macroscopic quantum physics

Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166156.8 €
Projet ALCO2-FUNC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The ability to introduce functionality into molecules in a regio- and chemoselective selective manner is of primary importance in the construction of high value molecular compounds but still remains a major challenge for synthetic chemists. The utilization of functionalities present in readily available and inexpensive starting materials to direct the introduction of further complexity is an attractive strategy which has become increasingly popular. Despite recent advances, the remote-functionalization of aliphatic alcohols still remains largely underdeveloped. Considering their prevalence in natural products, compounds displaying important biological activities and chemical feedstocks, efforts to address this problem are deemed necessary. ALCO2-FUNC will make use of an easily installed α bromo-silyl tether to direct functionalization at neighbouring sites. The tether will partake in single electron transfer with a suitable nickel catalyst, initiating a directed radical rebound cascade. The merger of (reductive) nickel catalysis with photoredox catalysis will exploit advantages of both disciplines, enabling the development of a divergent strategy by careful control of key catalytic steps. Furthermore, carbon dioxide will be utilized as a C1 synthon to provide a valuable carboxylation strategy. To such end, simple alcohols will be converted to their β-carboxylated counterparts (via regioselective 1,5 hydrogen atom transfer) or remotely-carboxylated (following a nickel chain-walking sequence). Taken together, the synergy between photoredox and nickel catalysis will be employed in ALCO2-FUNC to develop novel synthetic strategies to access high value compounds from simple precursors. The proposed methodology is expected to operate under mild conditions (room temperature, low-energy irradiation) increasing functional group compatibility and setting the basis for the implementation in the late-stage functionalization of advanced pharmaceuticals.

Mots clés : photoredox, visible light, dual catalytic, nickel, electron transfer, carboxylation, regioselective, chain walking, divergent

Participants :
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet ESCAPE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The ability to switch between sexual and asexual reproduction may be critical for many taxa when securing survival in varying environmental conditions. For these organisms, sex is often associated with harsh conditions, typically found at the end of the growing season. Sexual recombination in facultative sexuals commonly results in the formation of a dormant form that is considered a strategy to overcome adverse environmental conditions. When engaging in sex, organisms have been shown to specialize by producing males or sexual females, but not necessarily both, potentially reducing the chance of inbreeding. Sexual reproduction among those ‘gender specialists’ may vary with contrasting environments. The association between different environments and the production of a distinct phenotype (i.e., males or sexual females) suggests that sex specialisation may be adaptive. However, little is known about whether sex specialization is associated more with inbreeding avoidance or local adaptation. In the work proposed here, we will use the ecological and genomic model organism Daphnia to experimentally test if genetic variation in the production of males and ephippia is strongly environment dependent or not. Specifically, we will use a high-throughput phenotyping approach to assess genotype x environment interaction among 100 Daphnia pulex genotypes originating from a UK meta-population. We will also assess the molecular mechanisms that drive the production of males and ephippia. Using a gene expression approach, we aim to resolve the network of gene expressions that underpins the shift from diploid egg production to male and ephippia production. Obtained data will help to resolve whether inbreeding avoidance or local adaptation/dormancy underpins sexual specialisation. Findings from this work will advance our understanding of why and how facultative sexual reproduction is maintained in populations. Our conclusions will be relevant to evolutionary ecology and beyond.

Mots clés : daphnia, sex specialisation, reaction norms, threshold model, environmental heterogeneity

Participants :
- University of Sheffield (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet COMPLIT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The aim of COMPLIT is to analyse the role of language in structures of complicity in humanitarian, political, ecological, moral and other wrongdoings that raise the question of what democratic participation means. The research project aims at interdisciplinary innovation, relating recent research in law and social sciences to testimonies of totalitarianism in contemporary German-language literatures by Herta Müller, Aglaja Veteranyi, and Elfriede Jelinek. The project expounds the comprehensive role of language in structures of participation and involvement, and highlights that the concern of testimonies of past totalitarianism is for the present: They outline modes of partaking in institutional violence that draws on heritage, culture, social, and gender distinctions still active in the globalized world of the present. The outlook onto the broader academic discussion and current societal problems strengthens the stance of humanities research by demonstrating its relevance to citizens at large. The scientific rationale of the project is a two-way knowledge transfer in the training-through-research of the applicant, who is an experienced researcher in the field of comparative literature with special regard to law and literature, and currently a research fellow at Yale University in the US. While transferring knowledge about an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to literature with a strong outlook onto societal challenges on highest international academic standards to the host institution, Universität Wien, the applicant will be reintegrated into the European research network. The COMPLIT project is of clear relevance to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions programme because it contributes to a better understanding of the current crisis in European integration and the backlashes onto democratic freedom by resentments and beliefs from Europe’s violent past in addressing structures of public discourses and institutions that foster antidemocratic, totalitarian notions.


Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 186167.04 €
Projet DarkSphere (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The aim of DarkSphere is to shine a light on the nature of Dark Matter (DM), with the NEWS-G direct detection experiment that focuses in the low mass region. Through the novel detector concept of Spherical Proportional Counters, the experiment will provide for the first time access to the 0.1 - 10 GeV mass region, which is highly motivated by the Higgs boson discovery and the non-observation of supersymmetry at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The innovative detector concept offers a number of advantages, including: very low energy detection threshold, background rejection capabilities, and construction of large volume using solely radiopure materials. Furthermore, in contrast to other direct detection experiments, using a choice of light target gases, including hydrogen, helium, and neon, allows the NEWS-G experiment to kinematically match the target to the DM candidate mass, and thus maximise its sensitivity for each mass in the region of interest. Within the project a number of advances will be achieved in terms of detector optimisation and simulation through original measurements, background measurement methods, physics analysis with novel classification and statistical inference methods, and advances in DM phenomenology. Beyond use in fundamental physics research, the detector concepts relevant for DarkSphere have potential for industrial and medical applications, which are also explored.

Mots clés : dark matter direct detection, gaseous detectors, spherical proportional counter, fast neutron spectroscopy

Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet SOLOCLIM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The aim of SOLOCLIM is to develop a doctoral training programme that enables young researchers to generate solutions for urban outdoor. The aim of SOLOCLIM is to develop a doctoral training programme that enables young researchers to generate solutions for urban outdoor environments. Projections show that urbanisation could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050 and the cumulative effect of all the negative urban climate impacts of urbanisation such as the occurrence of urban heat islands as well as distinctive wind patterns in cities create discomfort and health risks. As climate change will exacerbate these urban and microclimatic problems citizens need to be protected. As cities create their own climates, the solutions to these problems are to be found in the (re-)design of cities. Some solutions are known such as the use of vegetation, but there are still many remaining questions about the impact of vertical green as well as the proper distribution of green in cities to have an optimal effect. Moreover, upcoming systems using water vapour as a coolant as well as flexible systems that respond to microclimate have not been studied yet. SOLOCLIM will develop such solutions on different scale levels from small scale around buildings to a larger neighbourhood/city scale and test their effects. The industry in architecture, urban and landscape design is in need of these innovative solutions as climate adaptation in cities is one of the largest challenges for the future. All plans and designs that the industry develops have to respond to the urban (micro)climate challenges. Apart from the availability of solutions the industry also needs the expertise. This expertise involves design and research skills related to urban (micro)climate. SOLOCLIM trains experts in this field and offers a training for advanced climate responsive design that will be offered to the PhD students as well as some parts to a broader community and beyond the duration of SOLOCLIM.

Mots clés : urban climate, microclimate, urban design, landscape architecture, facade design, building materials, vegetation

Participants :
- University of Kent (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 202115.04 €
- Wageningen University & Research (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177079.92 €
- Arcadis (Netherlands) (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 354159.84 €
- Politecnico di Milano (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174333.12 €
- Carlorattiassociati s.r.l. (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 348666.24 €
- Zinco gmbh (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 168525.6 €
- Foster and Partners (United Kingdom) (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 202115.04 €
Projet FIMBUG (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The aim of my research is to identify generic and physical mechanisms that regulate bacterial colonization and subsequent biofilm formation on biomaterial surfaces. This is an emerging problem in modern health care since biofilm implant-related infections are very difficult to eradicate and thus a main contributor to the development and spreading of antibiotic resistance. A key player is fimbriae; these hair-like surface organelles found on many bacteria are known to strongly promote biofilm formation, which is commonly attributed to fimbriae forming strong surface bonds. By recording in 3D the binding of single bacteria to nanopatterned surfaces we observed that this is not necessarily true; We found that fimbriae due to their heterogeneous distribution in length, rather then forming strong bonds provide bacteria a mean to adjust their surface adhesion, shifting between monovalent, loose and mobile binding to firm multivalent immobile binding modes in response to different flow conditions. This suggests a so far unexplored, regulatory role of fimbriae in the surface colonization process. My overarching aim is therefore to understand the influence of this mechanism on bacterial surface colonization. Specifically, I will test the hypothesis that physical and chemical/colloidal interactions are reflected in these structures and their biological function, providing bacteria evolved roles; In this case, that bacteria with certain fimbrial expression are fitter to be colonizers of certain environmental niches. To investigate this I will introduce new methods, allowing simultaneous read-out of a single-bacterium fimbrial expression and tracking of its movement in 3D. I foresee that this project and the training actions described herein will be the basis for a future scientific career focused on unraveling the intricate interplay between bacteria and their host surfaces.

Mots clés : e  coli, fimbriae, bacterial biofilm formation, surface colonization, physical regulation of biological systems

Participants :
- University of Gothenburg (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 185857.2 €
Projet EnergUP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The aim of the EnergUP project is to substantially improve the efficiency of the alga-based photovoltaic devices and thereby to contribute to the development of a climate-neutral technology. We will apply various strategies to enhance the current production by photosynthetic organisms using bio-photo electrochemical cells (BPEC). We seek for sustainable solutions without the usage of toxic chemicals or invasive cell treatments. In our experimental photovoltaic device, the electric current is transferred form the cells towards the electrode by a soluble electron mediator molecule. The electric current production of the cells is strongly limited 1) by the donation of electrons from algal cells towards the meditator molecule, 2) by the diffusion capacity of the mediator molecule through the multi-layer cell wall and 3) by the distance between the cells and the electrode surface. In this project, we will use two evolutionarily different alga species, the prokaryotic cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the eukaryotic green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that are both excellent model organisms to study photosynthetic energy conversion. We will study 1) the contribution of the linear and the alternative photosynthetic electron transport pathways to the reduction of the mediator molecule by employing a range of photosynthetic mutants, and 2) the limiting effect of the cell wall on the diffusion of the mediator molecule by biochemical removal of specific cell wall layers and by employing cell-wall mutants. For the experiments, we will develop a specific measuring cuvette allowing photosynthetic activity measurements in the BPEC. We will also establish immobilization for alga-based photovoltaic devices, ensuring a close distance between the cells and the electrode surface, thereby enabling a more efficient electron transfer. Another advantage of this approach is that changing the culture media and removal of the cells from the BPEC becomes more economical.

Mots clés : photovoltaics, bioenergy, current production, bio photo electrochemical cell, photosynthetic electron transport

Participants :
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hongrie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 139850.88 €
Projet MONET (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The aim of the MONET project (Merkel cell polyomavirus Oncogenic Network) is to provide a state-of-the-art understanding of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) tumorigenesis. Viral pathogens are estimated to be responsible of ~12% of cancers worldwide and represent useful models for the study of oncogenesis mechanisms. Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer detected in ~2500 patients per year in Europe and has recently been linked with a clonal integration of the Merkel Cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in more than 80% of cases. MCPyV is a 6-protein encoding system, expressing only two proteins with reported oncogenic functions. This limited proteome size thus allows system-wide study of its associated oncogenic mechanisms. This multi-pronged project consists of: (i) identifying the critical interactions of viral and host proteins in MCC oncogenesis; and (ii), using NOD scid mice cell line derived xenografts (CDXs), validate MCPyV host-proteins drug targeting strategies to combat MCC tumorigenesis. Using cutting-edge mass spectrometry-based techniques combined with CRISPR interference approaches in relevant human cancer cell systems, these studies will uncover new protein-protein interactions essential for tumorigenesis. MCPyV+ MCC CDXs will be used to establish the functional relevance of novel virus-host protein interactions and to assess the therapeutic potential of targeting these host interactors as anti-cancer strategies. The application of these proteomic and functional approaches will allow for a better understanding of MCPyV-associated carcinogenesis. In a broader view, it will define a new framework for identifying druggable targets in pathogen-driven cancers. This project will underpin future translational researches, and hence appears as a fundamental step for therapeutic development.

Mots clés : merkel cell polyomavirus, molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis, crispr interference, drug target discovery

Participants :
- Université de Lille (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 139061.79 €
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 57646.05 €
Projet DiaEthic (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The aim of the project is to retrace, through an ethnographic research in the Canadian diamond mine Diavik and in the jewelry Belloni in Milan, the cultural interpretations that various parties (miners, consumers and owners of jewelry) give, within a global interconnection to ethical diamond and the idea of ethics of mining work. The Diavik Mine, who joined a certification program signed by the Government of the Northwest Territories of Canada, produces ethical certified diamonds that are sold in Italy in the jewelry store Belloni. The project provides a detailed description of the concept of culture of limit, coined by the candidate, that Armano has already detected among miners of alpine mining communities; the concept explains the special relationship between miners and mine, which is interpreted by the workers as a symbolic threshold that the miner must challenge to be accepted in the group of companions; but it is also a threshold that the miner must not exceed to avoid accidents at the work of place. The anthropological concept of limit, regulates the relationship between workers in the mine and gives shape to a cultural representation of mining work ethic. In ethnographic research in jewelry, the project aims to study, from the anthropological point of view, consumer practices and understanding the cultural interpretations that consumers attribute to their actions when they buy ethical diamonds. It also wants to analyze which interpretations, the owners of the jewelry, give to the idea of mining work ethic and how it is used, advertising strategies, to promote the sale of ethical diamonds. The project aims to build an analysis methodology of anthropology, to the study of consumption that can provide a new key to anthropological interpretation of consumers and consumption practices. The main target is to contextualize, from the socio-cultural point of view, consumption practices and from the classic consumer research, bring out the consumers point of view.

Mots clés : anthropology of mining, anthropology of work, anthropological consumer research, global cultural interconnection

Participants :
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 255768.0 €
- University of British Columbia (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €