Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet MicroERA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Aquatic ecosystems are regularly threatened by chemical mixtures. Among risk assessment methods, the Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSD) approach is frequently applied. SSDs are built on the sensitivity of species, obtained from monospecies bioassays, and aim to derive concentrations expected to protect the structure of field communities to chemicals. However, this method overlook species interactions and the protection of ecosystem functions. Microbial communities constitute a key compartment of aquatic ecosystems since they support bio-geochemical processes that are crucial for their proper functioning. Thus, their protection to chemical-induced hazards is a crucial challenge for a sustainable management of ecosystems. Until now, these communities were weakly focused by the regulatory risk assessment guidances. The main aim of this study is to further develop the SSD approach to a new risk assessment tool, the Ecological Sensitivity Distribution (ESD), (1) adapted to microbial communities, (2) protective for structure and functions and (3) integrating species interactions. Integrating community functions in risk assessment approaches is a real need for scientific, regulator and industrial sectors since the protection of ecosystem services (whose proxies are functions) is at the very heart of the environmental policies of European member states (REACH regulation, Water Framework Directive). This tool will be based on the sensitivity of many endpoints related to structure and function including molecular endpoints measured at the microbial community level in “cosms”. Hence, another innovative aspect of this project is the inclusion of OMICs-technologies to environmental risk assessment, through both targeted approaches (focus on genes coding for specific functions) and untargeted ones (metabolomics). The reliability of the ESD-approach will finally be assessed at a large scale in key European aquatic ecosystems with the support of the European Biofilm Network.

Mots clés : risk assessment, ecotoxicology, aquatic ecosystems, microbial communities, functions, omics, modelling

Participants :
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet NanoToX (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Aquatic ecosystems are threatened by multiple environmental stressors including pollutants and climate change. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the environmental impact of many stressors in recent years, yet new, potentially powerful, toxicants such as engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) continue to emerge in aquatic systems and their effects on these ecosystems remain poorly understood. The release of ENPs into the environment is accelerating , and as the global climate warms, the combined effects of both stressors (ENP + temperature increase) could have significant consequences for aquatic life. As a major step into understanding the climate change-enhanced environmental impacts of ENPs in aquatic ecosystems, we focus on the responses of fluvial biofilms -microbial consortia that drive aquatic primary production and respiration and thus, control nutrient conditions - as key points of ENP entry in to aquatic food webs. The central goal of NanoTOX is to elucidate how much river warming will affect fluvial biofilms at genetic, metabolic/functional and structural levels, and how the presence of environmental concentrations of ENPs may further stress the communities. The combination of multiple stressors (increased temperature and ENP) is expected to have a profound influence on the fluvial biofilms performance. This objective will be achieved through an innovative, interdisciplinary approach using an array of methods from the fields of ecotoxicology (ecology and toxics), molecular, functional ecology and nanotechnology will be applied. The proposed interdisciplinary study is a major first step in opening a new research field focussing specifically on biofilms as entry points to the food web and assessing ENP impacts under future climate scenarios. NanoTOX project results therefore will provide valuable information to underpin current updates to European legislation, ENP industry and will address social challenges.

Mots clés : climate change impact, engineered nanoparticles  enps, engineered nanoparticle toxicity, contamination, biofilms, microbial metabolic activity

Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet ArcTec (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

ArcTec proposes to study (1) the westward extent, kinematics and timing of formation, and (2) reactivation–overprint of Timanian (i.e., ca. 600 million years old) faults during subsequent tectonic events in the Arctic, and to (3) insert these faults into a detailed tectonic evolution model for Svalbard, the northwestern Barents Sea and the Fram Strait. The project involves a collaboration between four researchers at UiO (Dr. Koehl and Dr. Anell), McGill University (Canada; Prof. Halverson), and BGR (Germany; Dr. Klitzke). Thus far, remnants of Timanian metamorphism and basement were identified in southwestern (Majka et al., 2008) and northwestern Spitsbergen (Dallmeyer et al., 1990), and a regional (Torrelian) unconformity between Proterozoic and (latest Neoproterozoic–) lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks in southwestern and northeastern Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya and Nordaustlandet coeval with Timanian metamorphism suggests major tectonic reorganization occurred in the late Neoproterozoic (Horn and Orvin, 1928; Harland et al., 1992). ArcTec will focus on newly identified WNW–ESE faults and basement heterogeneities in Svalbard and the northern Barents Sea, and combine geophysical (magnetic, gravimetric, bathymetric, seismic) datasets, structural and sedimentological fieldwork, and petrological and geochronological analyses to address the targeted objectives. ArcTec will investigate the impact of WNW–ESE faults on the exhumation–burial history of Svalbard and the northwestern Barents Sea margin, and their relationship with amphibolite facies metamorphism of Timanian age, with the Torrelian unconformity in southwestern and northeastern Spitsbergen and western Nordaustlandet, and with older (e.g., Grenvillian) and younger (e.g., Caledonian and Eurekan) structures and fabrics, such as crosscutting and controlling–controlled relationships (inheritance).

Mots clés : faults, shear zones, timanian orogeny, tectonics, plate tectonics, seismic data, fieldwork, petrology fault rocks, microstructural analysis, geochronology

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 271110.72 €
- McGill University (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ULP.PILAEMA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Architecture as a symbol of power has long been intentionally used to define relationships between individuals, groups, cities and governments. Substantial traces of power and authority in architecture and landscapes during Late Antiquity also demonstrate the economic and political wellbeing of newly emerging elites in Western Europe. I aim to enhance archaeological knowledge of late antique society by exploring how new topographies of power were configured. The research involves six case studies in the Iberian Peninsula. To properly integrate them in a wider archaeological context, I will look at other representative sites in England and France. Each town to be studied has substantial archaeological evidence for the study of spatial configuration of power and to generate urban patterns. Cathedrals, palaces and the construction of large ecclesiastical complexes essentially materialized the spread of early Christianity and the secular elites form the basis of what I will explore in my project. Developed new archaeologies are starting to offer alternative pictures to the traditional images of townscape revealing diverse modes of material expression, symbolic significances of places, the social usage of space, and of structural change. The focus of this research is to draw together still scattered data to chart and interpret the changing nature of life in towns through the Late Antiquity period until Early Middle Age (AD 450-800). A multi-facetted archaeological approach using Geomatic proceedings and its methods and tools (Geography Information Systems, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) makes it possible to reconstruct ancient landscapes generated by social actions within territories across time. A further goal is to promote this archaeological record at a European scale, emphasizing its cultural and scientific dimensions. This project will benefit substantially from new intellectual challenges and training, which will be gained at the UCL Institute of Archaeology.

Mots clés : landscape archaeology, late antiquity, iberia peninsula, christianity, topography, trans world, urban and territorial development, sacred places, architecture, social identities, remote sensing

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet MulArEffect (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Aromaticity and bond resonance are the key concepts in chemistry that rationalize the structure and reactivity of countless number of chemical species. Qualitative assessment of aromaticity and the resonance stabilization effects is crucial for understanding different phenomena in photochemistry, catalysis, organic electronics, supramolecular chemistry, molecular biology etc. However, the real predictive power of these concepts is still dramatically understated, since many of the currently used methods of aromaticity quantification suffer from serious methodological flaws, interpretative mistiness, and computational complexity, which cuts back their applicability to relatively simple molecules. Assessment of aromatic stabilization within the large-scale perspective regarding macrocycles, (bio)catalysts, functional materials, etc., is still a challenge for both experimental and computational chemists. The long-term goal of this project is to understand how aromaticity and different resonance effects determine the physicochemical properties in such systems. In the first goal of this proposal, we aim to develop a novel computational method called EDDB that provides both a detailed description of local aromaticity of selected molecular fragments as well as the bird's-eye view on the global aromaticity of nanoscopic-size molecules and assemblies at a reasonable computational cost. The second research goal of the proposal is to use the EDDB method to gain insights into the mechanisms of the resonance-driven phenomena in the multifaceted aromatics that are instrumental in the design of new catalysts, spin-bearing materials, organic field-effect transistors, etc. Applications in the field of enzyme design and drug discovery are also expected in the long-term. After the execution of this project, the applicant will acquire a wider perspective on the field, strongly enhance his collaborative network agility, and reach a position of full independence and professional maturity.

Mots clés : chemical resonance, aromaticity, electron delocalization, excited state, spin density partitioning, energy decomposition, metallacycles, porphyrins, m bius topology, resonance assisted hydrogen bonds

Participants :
- University of Girona (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet OttMed (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Arslan’s project proposes a new paradigm for studying late Ottoman literatures that were written in the nineteenth and early twentieth century and in different languages such as Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and French by situating these literatures in a multilingual and multicultural Mediterranean framework instead of their respective national communities. His project will build upon three dimensions that constitute the objectives of his study. (i) The history dimension will map out literary and cultural exchanges within the nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Mediterranean through archival research and digital humanities techniques. (ii) The criticism dimension will demonstrate that thematic preoccupations of Mediterranean literatures—including but not limited to diaspora, travel, imperialism, cultural hybridity, and fluidity of borders and identities—were also defining characteristics of late Ottoman literatures via a close reading of canonical late Ottoman works. (iii) The theory dimension will draw upon the latest debates in postcolonial studies, migration and diaspora studies, and world literature to examine how the Mediterranean can be used as a category of analysis in cultural and literary studies. Building upon these three objectives, Arslan’s project will put two fields—Mediterranean studies and Ottoman studies—in dialogue with each other to generate a disciplinary transformation of both, while undermining the ways in which late Ottoman literatures have been categorised and studied. Having just finished his Ph.D., Arslan hopes to have an advantageous start at his career by the end of this fellowship through completing a substantial portion of a sole-authored monograph, publishing peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs, organising conference panels and communication activities, and joining networks of scholars in North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East who work on Mediterranean and Ottoman studies.

Mots clés : ottoman literatures, mediterranean studies, digital humanities, nineteenth century, modernity, middle eastern literatures, french literature, greek literature, arabic literature, turkish literature

Participants :
- Koç University (Turquie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 145845.6 €
Projet PROGRAMED PROTOCELLS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Artificial cellular counterparts (protocells) can be fabricated to produce explicit biomimetic outcomes such as RNA-mediated replication, gene expression, metabolism, etc. These synthetic mimics with cell-like traits, aim to answer fundamental questions regarding origin of cellularity from non-living components. However, minimal levels of structural/organisational complexity exhibited in current protocell designs, limits their application potential. The aim of this proposal is to use bottom-up approaches to precisely design and construct complex protocells through membrane coupled appendages and produce interactive protocellular communities which will recognize, sort and processes chemical signals through collective behaviour. The self-assembled protocellular colonies will be sequestered with complex enzymatic reaction networks which operate spontaneously and synergistically reminiscent to living cells. Several important functions such as selective formation of protocellular consortia, mimicking important biological functions such as IDH-kinase/phosphatase (AceK) circuitry from the Krebs cycle, redox-homeostasis, self-protection from chemical degradation will increase the complexity of the protocellular constructs producing the first example of functional proto-colonies. The expertise of the applicant in the field of organic synthesis, supramolecular chemistry and out-of-equilibrium self-assembly will be employed by the multidisciplinary and evolving field of protocells pioneered by the hosting group of Professor Stephen Mann FRS at the University of Bristol. The combined research efforts of the applicant and the Mann group will result in the successful realization of programmable protocells resulting in active self-assembling protocellular constructs and build their advanced forms capable of spatio-temporal self-sorting, self-regulation and higher-order organization and function.


Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet NanoINCAGE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Artificial photosynthesis, which can produce hydrogen and oxygen from solar irradiation, is one of the possible means to provide clean and renewable energy. Despite the recent progress, this emerging field is challenged by huge technical and scientific questions. In natural photosynthesis light absorption and catalysis occur in different sites of the leaf. In a simplified scenario, the energy harvested by the light absorbing pigments is funnelled towards the oxygen evolving complex. Here, we propose to realize the same biologically-inspired scheme using a novel hybrid system consisting of colloidal quantum dots embedded in a metal organic framework cage (CQD@MOF). In particular, a CQD Förster-transfer based light harvesting antenna will directionally transfer energy to a catalyst located in separate sites of the device. In addition to the rich basic science opportunities behind the introduction of this new concept in artificial photosynthesis, full-solar spectrum harvesting deriving from the characteristic size-dependent band gap tunability of CQDs, the potential for high voltages by combining CQDs of different size and composition, and the lack of contact between the light absorber and the electrolyte, intrinsic to the proposed device architectures, are all advantages that make this CQD@MOF hybrid Förster-based scheme highly appealing. One of the key component of the research will be to develop synthetic schemes to access these multifunctional systems with an unprecedented level of control through multiple length-scales. The experience and the skills gained by the applicant during her earlier carrier in the device fabrication together with the long-standing experience of the supervisor in this field will be extremely beneficial for a successful outcome of the proposal.NanoINCAGE is highly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program and its successful outcome will tremendously impact several other research fields in chemistry, materials science and engineering.

Mots clés : colloidal quantum dots, metal organic frameworks, hydrogen production, fret

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175419.6 €
Projet qBioNano (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow in “qBioNano: Quantifying bio-nano interactions of nanoparticles through microfluidic live cell Raman spectroscopy”, I will combine three emerging fields—layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of nanoparticles (NPs), microfluidics, and live cell Raman spectroscopy (RS)—to enable 3D imaging and quantification of how NPs and cells interact under physiological conditions. This will allow, for the first time, non-invasive, non-destructive, label-free, spatiotemporally resolved study of a range of biomolecules (e.g., lipids and proteins) and biostructures (e.g., nuclei and mitochondria) at the same time as LbL assembled NPs to answer long-standing questions on particle-induced changes in cellular states and processes. The NPs will be produced through LbL assembly of alkyne-containing polymers (having Raman spectra clearly visible in biological environments), and—using microfluidic devices (where cells can be introduced and maintained in physiologically relevant environments)—I will study how these NPs affect both healthy and diseased cells and tissues (e.g., at cell-cell interfaces and using spheroids). This project will provide: (i) the first detailed view into the biology underlying cellular responses to LbL assembled NPs under physiological conditions, and (ii) a new platform offering insight into key cellular processes and responses governing how cells and tissues interact with, and respond to, engineered NPs. By combining my expertise in developing NPs, microfluidic systems and investigating bio-nano interactions, with the supervision of Prof. Molly Stevens at Imperial College London (ICL), who runs a world-class interdisciplinary biomaterials group with extensive experience in RS, materials science, and cell and tissue biology, this project is uniquely situated to address these urgent—but challenging—topics and deliver the highest quality results.

Mots clés : bio nano interactions, cell particle interactions, nanoparticles, materials science, live cell raman spectroscopy, microfluidics, layer by layer assembly

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet DYNOS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

As a major sink of both heat and carbon dioxide, the Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in the trajectory of global climate change. However, Southern Ocean climate is highly complex and perturbed by both rising greenhouse gas concentrations and ozone depletion. Contemporary climate models vary greatly in their representations of the current and future climate of the Southern Ocean, limiting our ability to produce reliable climate predictions. To address this issue, this proposal takes a novel interdisciplinary approach, integrating stratosphere-troposphere-ocean-sea ice interactions. It aims to answer the following questions: (1) What mechanisms control the time-dependent coupled response of the Southern Ocean to anthropogenic forcing? (2) How do uncertainties in the response depend on models’ representation of key physical processes? (3) How far can observational estimates reduce model uncertainties in SO climate projections? The project will make use of a range of newly-available observations of the Southern Ocean, as well as perform a suite of simulations with the state-of-the-art UK Earth System Model (UKESM). Close links will be maintained with modelling groups to ensure that the results of this project feed into the development of the next generation of climate models. This action will also include knowledge transfer between the atmospheric science and oceanography communities, as well as the generation of a publicly available ensemble of “Climate Response Function” simulations, which will be a vital resource for the community. This fellowship will allow the Researcher to gain important new knowledge in both oceanic and atmospheric dynamics by working with world-leading experts in these fields. It will provide skills in the use of state-of-the-art UK and European climate models and spur multiple new research opportunities, enabling the Researcher to stay at the forefront of climate research and acting as a stepping stone towards a leadership position.


Participants :
- University of Reading (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €