Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet OBEDIA-MARK (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation (DNAm) can store cell memories of past life experiences. Thanks to this property, these marks hold great potential as biomarkers for personalized management of diseases arising from gene-environment interactions such as obesity and associated disorders. However, realizing this potential requires large-scale longitudinal studies that evaluate epigenetic markers under consideration of pertinent lifestyle and genetic factors. The goal of the proposed project is to fill this research gap by identifying, for the first time in a large-scale longitudinal study, epigenetic biomarkers of disease status and reversal for personalized management of obesity and diabetes. To attain this goal I will i) Identify overweight -associated DNAm markers by comparing DNAm patterns of 400 obese subjects before and after a randomized controlled weight-loss intervention, ii) Assess the relationship of the identified markers with gene-diet interactions, and their reversibility in response to weight-loss, iii) Test the validity of these markers, alone and in combination with genetic analysis, as biomarkers for prediction of weight-loss performance and diabetes status/reversal. Expected outcomes: I) Drive innovation in personalized medicine by identifying epigenetic markers of disease status and reversal in obesity and diabetes, ii) Expand our understanding of how epigenetic, genetic and dietary factors interact with each other in the development and reversal of obesity, iii) Equip me with the knowledge and skills needed to become an independent scientist. The quality of the research, hosting arrangements and collaborations will provide me with the best opportunities to expand my expertise in epigenetics, apply it to research on human disease, and reinforce my professional maturity for securing a faculty position in Europe.

Mots clés : dna methylation, epigenetic biomarkers, obesity, type 2 diabetes, personalized medicine

Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 243208.8 €
- Stanford University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet TaPPiNG-EPI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures affecting 65 million people worldwide of which 6 million live in Europe alone with around 30% of patients not responding to currently available treatment. The ATP-gated P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) has recently emerged as a promising target for epilepsy, showing anticonvulsant and disease-modifying properties in animal models. However, to develop P2X7R-based therapeutics the cell types involved in pathological P2X7R activation must be determined, and whether results from rodent models can be replicated in human tissue must be tested. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons and glia and resected brain tissue from epileptic patients, TaPPiNG-EPI proposes to investigate the cell-specific alterations and pathological contribution in the P2X7R pathway and pharmacological targeting of hyperexcitability using P2X7R antagonists. These studies will be complemented by the investigation on the alterations in P2X7R pathway in GFP-P2X7 reporter mice available in the host institution (RCSI). Through international secondments and intersectoral collaborations TaPPiNG-EPI brings together experts in purinergic signalling, industrial partners, epilepsy clinicians as well as leading European academic labs with diverse expertise. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral components of TaPPiNG-EPI combined with international collaborations and secondments in academia, the excellent training record of the supervisor and RCSI and the outstanding resources for learning and development available at RCSI will give me the tools necessary to achieve research independence and my transition to a highly employable future neuroscientist with a focus on epilepsy.

Mots clés : p2x7 receptors, epilepsy, ipsc derived neurons and glia, electrophysiology, pharmacology

Participants :
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196590.72 €
Projet SKin SCiENCE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Epithelia provide a protective barrier that exposes them to environmental carcinogens. Cancers of epithelial tissues, called carcinoma, account for 85% of all cancers and 78% of all cancer associated mortality. Epithelia undergo continual proliferation and renewal with hierarchical differentiation dependent upon long lived adult tissue stem cell. Many carcinomas arise from pre-malignant transformation, intraepithelial neoplasia referred to as field cancerisation (FC), which is an area that can give rise to multiple primary cancers. FC is a feature of malignancies involving the head and neck,oesophagus, stomach, lungs, cervix, vulva, bladder, colon, breast, ovary, pancreas, prostate and skin. By studying skin FC in a rare genetic disease, Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, and utilising a mouse model of HPV8 infection, I uncovered a novel keratinocyte stem cell (KSC) basis, driven by ΔNp63 expression, common to all causes of skin FC. I now propose to build on this original finding and utilising an innovative approach to determine the cell signalling pathway involved in expansion of this novel KSC population. I hypothesise that the common mechanism in skin FC, potentially relevant to FC in other tissues, arises from dysregulation of a signalling pathway that results in a switch from p63 TA to ΔN isoforms resulting in expansion of a KSC population that is susceptible to transformation. I propose to use multiple strategies to: 1)Identify the HPV8 gene that is responsible for ΔNp63 overexpression, 2)Determine which signalling pathway(s) is/are activated in HPV8tg mice, resulting in ΔNp63 overexpression 3)Determine the pathway(s) is/are responsible for ΔNp63 overexpression in human skin FC; and 4)Determine whether immunosuppression promotes SCC formation in HPV8tg mice. I have assembled expert international collaborations and relevant partner organisation to help me in this project, so that I can identify novel therapeutic targets for future drug discovery and development.

Mots clés : field cancerization, keratinocyte stem cell, organ transplant recipient

Participants :
- Cardiff University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet OESOPHAGEAL FATE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Epithelial tissues have evolutionarily adapted to rapidly react to tissue disruption in order to restore the epithelial barrier and ensure survival. The dynamic behaviour of epithelial cells in response to injury represents a decisive mechanism to recover tissue integrity. Following injury, not only cycling but also differentiating epithelial cells are able to revert back, reacquiring stem cell-like behaviour and contributing to tissue regeneration. Although this cellular plasticity is normally a strictly controlled and limited process, if inadequately activated in cells with pre-existing tumour-initiating mutations it will have implications for cancer development. In this proposal, I will investigate the little-known mechanisms governing the dynamic changes in epithelial cell behaviour in the events after tissue injury using the uncomplicated architecture of the oesophagus as a model. The aim is to identify molecular regulators governing cell fate switching following the early wound response, and ultimately, reveal their potential relevance for early epithelial tumour formation. Given the increasing relevance of the mesenchymal compartment both in tissue maintenance and disease, I will particularly focus on the contribution of epithelial-mesenchymal cross-talk in the regulation of epithelial fate changes. To this end, I present an innovative approach that combines precise lineage tracing cell fate data with spatiotemporal single-cell whole transcriptomics. This approach relies on cutting-edge techniques and transgenic animal models widely established in the host laboratory that, when combined, will enable the identification of rules regulating behaviour of epithelial cells with temporal and spatial resolution.

Mots clés : epithelial plasticity, epithelial mesenchymal cross talk, wound healing, oesophageal, tumorigenesis, lineage tracing

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet BigERRORS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Errors in hospitals pose serious threats to human lives and affect total costs. Big data research is fast becoming a tool that not only analyzes patterns but can also provide the predictive likelihood of an event. Big data may be a great opportunity to make data an engine to dramatically decrease error rates in hospital. However, there is very little published research literature that tackles the challenges of using big data in organizations and explores the promise and opportunities for new theories and practices that big data might bring about. The overriding objective of this proposal is to explore the promise of big data for eliminating and managing errors in hospitals. The beneficiary, Prof Eitan Naveh from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, is a world leading researcher in the area of errors. The partner organization is Harvard University. The partnership member from Harvard is Prof Sara Singer, a world-class leading Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Prof Naveh will spend the first year of the research project in Harvard and will be hosted by Prof Singer. During the fellowship, Prof Naveh will obtain training and new knowledge in Harvard’s exciting environment, and specifically in Prof Singer’s new health care High Reliability Learning Lab. Prof Naveh will gain training and new knowledge that refers to new interdisciplinary scientific techniques and transferable skills in big data, and will set a new research agenda for the science of errors in hospitals. The competences Prof Naveh will gain will allow new state-of-the-art research with opportunities to practice and improve health care. Prof Naveh will develop a network to communicate and disseminate the study’s results and to realize its exploration and developments.

Mots clés : error management, hospitals, randd organizations, efficiency, quality, big data

Participants :
- Harvard University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Israël) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177319.8 €
Projet ESPSI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Eruption source parameters (ESPs)—such as erupted volume/mass, plume height, magma discharge, tephra dispersal, and total grain size distribution (TDGS)—are key information for characterizing explosive eruptions and essential input parameters in tephra dispersal models used for real-time forecasting by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAACs) and for long-term hazard assessments. Iceland is one of the volcanically most active regions of the world, with over 20 events per century. About ~700 events are preserved in the post-glacial soil and lake sediments in Iceland. ESPs, however, have yet to be determined for most of the eruptions. ESPs are traditionally derived using empirical approaches, requiring detailed field measurements of the deposits. The objective of this action is to estimate, to the first order, the ESPs for explosive eruptions in Iceland using inversion modelling. The advantage of this approach is that it bypasses the compilation of detailed isopach maps through the use of optimization algorithms. It requires only a limited number of thickness measurements and grain size analyses. Consequently, ESPs can be established for a larger number of eruptions in a shorter time, than when using traditional empirical methods. This will result in a statistically robust data set on ESPs used for determining the magnitude and intensities of explosive eruptions in Iceland as well as for assessing risk and mitigating hazards associated with such events.

Mots clés : explosive eruptions, eruption source parameters, inversion modelling, tephrochronology

Participants :
- University of Iceland (Islande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 179325.6 €
Projet IC_IL_EC_2017 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is among the top 10 deadliest cancers worldwide. The current standard therapy for ES is neoadjuvant (pre-operative) chemoradiation (NACR) followed by surgery. However, only 30% of patients achieve a complete pathological response (CPR) and long-term survival. Understanding the mechanisms of response to NACR is hence pivotal to better stratify patients and inform the design of more efficacious therapies. Evidence from some tumors suggests that NACR is “immunogenic” and stimulates anti-cancer immune responses, which may contribute to the longterm effects of successful treatments. Tumor neo-antigens, generated by somatically mutated cancer genes, have been recently implicated in the activation of the most efficient anti-tumor T cell response capable of controlling tumor progression, induced by immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. This raises the question as to whether clinical responses induced by NACR in a fraction of ECs may be linked to the stimulation of clinically relevant T cell responses against tumor neoantigens, implying that activating tumor immunity in the non-responding ones may improve clinical responses. Objective of this proof-of-concept study is hence to address this question through the implementation of a high-throughput platform to assess neoantigen-specific T cell responses in ECs in the course of NACR.

Mots clés : tumor neo antigens, esophageal carcinoma, high throughput epitope screening, tumor specific t cells, cancer immunotherapy

Participants :
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 168277.2 €
Projet EU EB-PARENTING (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ethnic vulnerability to risk factors, such as stigmatisation, is inhibitory to parental self-efficacy, either inflating or deflating their confidence in how much they are aware of their child’s online safety/risks. Confident parents tend to underestimate how frequently their child has experienced online risks, such as a perpetrator or victim of cyberbullying. In contrast, unconfident parents tend to overestimate it. However, to date, mainstream databases (e.g., Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, or ProQuest) show no empirical evidence as a multivariate statistical analysis of the negative association between the self-efficacy and risk awareness among ethnic minority parents in Europe. Although there is a large dataset of EU Kids Online survey (2018) that provides multi-national and multi-ethnic data (e.g., self-reported use of common language at home) about children and adolescents’ online safety/risks in 19 European countries, it has yet to be used for the statistical analysis of parenting for child’s online-safety among ethnic minorities. One reason is the lacked focus on cross-national and -ethnic validation of scales that can measure national and ethnic variations in the parental self-efficacy and awareness; another reason is the lack of theoretical and conceptual models6 applicable to the cross-national and -ethnic comparison. Relying on the EU Kids online data, the proposed project (entitled as EU EB-PARENTING - Ethnicity-Based Parenting for Child’s Online Safety/Risks) will bridge this research gap in an innovative way by proposing a novel (a) theoretical framework, (b) conceptual model, and (c) measurement scale of ethnicity-based parenting for child’s online safety/risks, especially among ethnic minorities in Europe. Given that an outstanding ethnic difference is observable in gender roles, the novelty further ensues from taking into account interaction effects of parent-child gender differences on the risk awareness, mediation, and self-efficacy.

Mots clés : ethnic minority, online safety, risks, parental self efficacy, parental mediation, parental awareness

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 202158.72 €
Projet UCoCoS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Joint Doctorates
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Europe faces major challenges in science, society and industry, induced by the complexity of our hyper-connected world. Examples are the climate change, infectious diseases, artificial interconnected systems whose dynamics are beyond our understanding such as the internet, the global banking system and the power grid. A demand of performance emerges at an unprecedented scale: collaborative sensors and robots so to ensure competitiveness of our European production industry, better management of our traffic flows, designing (de)synchronization mechanisms applicable in neuroscience, are examples illustrating the necessity to understand and control the dynamics of complex networks. However, this requires a fundamentally new kind of complexity science. The traditional way of reducing a system to its components fails when the global dynamics are determined mainly by the interactions. Moreover, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary as revealing common principles is key in getting grip on the complexity. The objectives of UCoCoS are to create a control-oriented framework for complex systems, and to define a common language, common methods, tools and software for the complexity scientist. Moreover, as the first training network on the theme, UCoCoS aims at i) creating a closely connected new generation of leading European scientists, capable of designing network structures and policies to affect the networks, and ii) initiating long-term partnerships and collaboration mechanisms leading to sustainable doctoral training. The UCoCoS approach builds on recent developments in three domains (control, computer science, mechanical engineering) and stems from the identification of a unique combination of expertise within the consortium. Every ESR performs a cutting-edge project, strongly relying on the complementary expertise of the three academic beneficiaries and benefiting from training by non-academic partners from three different sectors.

Mots clés : complex systems, synchronization, delay, large scale algorithms, nonlinear dynamics

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 501120.0 €
- Centrale Lille Institut (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 525751.2 €
- Eindhoven University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 510748.56 €
Projet ENLIGHTEN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Europe has set the energy transition to renewable sources as one of its priority policies to minimise the effects of climate change. Photovoltaic energy is called to play a major role in the world’s electricity production in the mid-term. The present market-dominant technology, crystalline silicon, has reached its practical efficiency record of 26% and the energy cost of this technology seems to be stagnating now. For these reasons, research on new ways of increasing the conversion efficiency of solar cells is still extensive. Among the proposed novel concepts for high-efficiency solar cells, the intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) has received great attention by the scientific community. In conventional single-gap solar cells, photons with energy lower than the bandgap of the absorber material are wasted. The IBSC concept allows harvesting below-bandgap photons without voltage loss, which increases the limiting efficiency from 33% to 50%. So far, IBSCs have been realized with epitaxially-grown quantum dot (QD) superlattices of III-V semiconductors. However, no pronounced efficiency enhancement has been yet reported, since this technological approach is unable to produce nanostructured materials with the properties required theoretically. In particular, epitaxial QDs exhibit low absorbance, leading to low photocurrent, and weak quantum confinement, which degrades the voltage of the cell. Recently, a new type of solution-processed semiconductor materials, quantum dots in a perovskite host (CQDs@Perovskite), has been demonstrated. The intrinsic opto-electronic properties of CQDs@Perovskite (high absorbance & strong quantum confinement) make them perfect candidates as absorber material in IBSCs. ENLIGHTEN will exploit CQDs@Perovskite materials combined with microstructure-based light trapping techniques to pave the way for low-cost high-efficiency solar cells. In addition, the cells have an innovative device structure compatible with flexible-substrate technology.

Mots clés : photovoltaics, quantum dots, nanotechnology

Participants :
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 147815.04 €