Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ciTTub (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cilia are essential hair-like structures presented at the surface of eukaryotic cells that allow motility, fluid flow and complex inter- and intracellular signalling events. Nine pairs of microtubules organized in a cylindrical shape called axoneme form the backbone of cilia. The formation and maintenance of cilia is dependent on a multi-subunit protein complex termed the intraflagellar transport (IFT) complex that actively delivers axonemal building blocks such as tubulin from the base to the tip of growing cilia. Lack of cilia or its miss-construction leads to severe developmental diseases called ciliopathies. Despite its fundamental role in cilium biogenesis, the process of tubulin recruitment, loading and unloading by the IFT machinery remains poorly understood. In this proposal, I aim to elucidate the mechanism of tubulin loading onto IFT complexes by determining high-resolution structures of intraflagellar transport (IFT) complexes bound to tubulin. Details about the IFT-tubulin interaction interface will be obtained by a combination of biochemical techniques like site directed photo- and chemical crosslinking followed by mass-spectrometry analysis and the structural biology techniques X-ray crystallography and single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Ultimately, this study will enrich our understanding of cilium biogenesis and homeostasis by providing the first insight at atomic resolution into cargo selection and loading onto IFT machinery.

Mots clés : intraflagellar transport  ift, cilium formation, tubulin interaction, microtubules, ift structure

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 219312.0 €
Projet TRAIN SPOTTING (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cilia are highly conserved eukaryotic organelles that, with the exception of fungi and higher plants are present in nearly all types of organisms from protists to mammals. Through their motility, sensory, and signaling functions cilia play crucial roles in human physiology and development. Defects in cilia have profound impact on human health. Cilia assembly requires a dedicated protein shuttle, intraflagellar transport (IFT), a bidirectional motility of multi-megadalton protein arrays along ciliary microtubules. Although the overall mechanism of transport is generally described, complete high resolution structural description is necessary for the detailed understanding of this complex system. I propose the in-depth structural analysis of IFT features, train types, cargoes, interactions with the molecular motors in the cilia model organism Chlamydomonas. This approach will bring us both a molecular resolution of incorporated protein complexes and dynamic overview of their relations. The project objectives will be achieved by an elabrated chain of methods based on correlative microscopy, combining the specificity of nanobody labelling with the structure preservation and molecular resolution of cryo-electron tomography. We plan to develop two independent workflows for tracing the IFT features based on the most progressive cryo methods in the cooperation with the project partners. It is anticipated that an detailed ultrastructural 3D analysis of intraflagellar transport will provide new fundamental mechanistic insights into this very important biological process. We also expect an overlap to the whole structural biology field due to the methodical development, which will be universally applicable for another structural studies.

Mots clés : intraflagellar transport, ift trains, tubuline, cryo electron tomography, corellative microscopy

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet CHRONOTRADE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Circadian clocks are conserved time-tracking mechanisms that allow organisms to align endogenous physiological processes with the changing environment. Growing evidence supports a role for these biological clocks, not only as mere timekeepers, but as pivotal regulators of extensive cellular networks. In plants, the influence of the clock on development and physiology is pervasive and many traits of agronomical value are subjected to circadian regulation. Noteworthy, clock gene alleles have been traditionally selected because of their desirable influences on key agricultural traits. An outstanding clock protein that functions at the interface between the clock and its output is GIGANTEA (GI). We propose to investigate this regulatory hub protein, and characterize the molecular mechanism by which it modulates the balance between growth and defense. Knowledge gained from the model plant Arabidopsis will be transferred to a crop species (tomato) in order to establish a framework for targeted biotechnological manipulation. Consequently, an innovative strategy based on edgetic alleles will be deployed to generate new GI alleles that uncouple growth from defense, a key feature for cultivated species. From a training point of view, this fellowship will build on the Experienced Researcher’s (ER) solid expertise on molecular biology and complement it with the skills required to translate basic research to tackle specific agronomical issues. This will undoubtedly boost her opportunities to reach an independent research position with biotechnological orientation. In summary, this proposal aims to (i) advance our understanding on the connections between the clock and its output in model and crop species, (ii) generate novel variants of circadian-clock components as a biotechnological strategy for sustainable agriculture, and (iii) render a well-trained academic researcher with the capacities needed to develop a professional career within biotechnological research.

Mots clés : circadian clock, plant signaling networks, edgetic alleles, plant biotechnology

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet CEED (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Circular economy entrepreneurship is an emerging field that emphasise joint economic and ecological value creation. Unlike the other forms of entrepreneurship, it combines business practices and sustainable development, which consequently transform business sectors and societies. Circular economy entrepreneurship involves various stakeholders with entrepreneurs playing a central role in providing solutions to natural resources depletion and environmental degradation. To achieve this feat, entrepreneurs need new attitudes and behaviours, new business models and processes, and new partnerships. Although interest in circular economy entrepreneurship is increasing, extant academic research is scarce and boundaries set by existing entrepreneurship literature need extension to take into consideration resource depletion, environmental aspects and socio-technical issues. At present, very little is known about how entrepreneurs build new ventures that create and support a circular economy whilst being economically viable and competitive. The overall purpose of the CEED project is to contribute to the transition to a circular economy by identifying the enablers and barriers for CE entrepreneurship. CEED is an explorative research project that uses a combination of methods to develop innovative solutions to overcome these barriers in Denmark and beyond. CEED will contribute to research excellence in this emerging area through the analysis of best practices to reveal the patterns of the interaction between the circular economy and entrepreneurship. The benefits of the project include strengthening the research, teaching and management skills of the researcher. These skills are necessary for a tenure track position. Identified opportunities for the integration of CE entrepreneurship into the curriculum at SDU and other universities .The findings will be of practical and policy relevance in accelerating the transition to a circular economy at the national and European levels.

Mots clés : circular economy entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, innovative business models, new ventures, case studies, typologies, entrepreneurship education and research, denmark

Participants :
- University of Southern Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 219312.0 €
Projet SAFS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Classical anchoring solutions are inappropriate for the development of new marine renewable energy devices (wind/waves/tides). They are too expensive and not efficient. Organising devices in arrays is a solution where adjacent devices share an anchor. It reduces the total number of anchors necessary and the overall cost. In turn the loading applied to an anchor is a complex combination of horizontal and uplift cyclic loads. Screw anchors are piles which are fitted with one or several helices at their end. They are installed into the soil by applying a torque and are assumed to have an excellent resistance against uplifting. The objective of this work is to study the fundamental behaviour of screw anchors upon complex loading in sand. A unique database of physical modelling tests (using cutting edge centrifuge apparatus) representative of small arrays of devices will be developed. In particular the tests will assess their uplift capacity after low level cyclic loading (fatigue behaviour). Numerical simulations, validated against experimental results, will provide additional information. Finally a new design methodology taking into account multi-directional and fatigue loading will be derived. This comprehensive topic has never been investigated before in sand. The University of Dundee offers cutting edge centrifuge facilities and has an outstanding experience in physical modelling. A designed experimental set-up is able to install screw piles in flight and apply a multi-directional loading. I will build on my strong background in numerical modelling to carry out the numerical part of the project. EU targets the ambitious objective to derive 20% of its electricity production from renewable sources by 2020. The energy revolution has just started and should generate many jobs and investments in Europe. This project will clear technical and economical hurdles associated with anchoring. It will improve competitiveness and leadership of EU on the renewable energy market.

Mots clés : centrifuge modelling, screw anchors, offshore engineering

Participants :
- University of Dundee (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet PRESTiGE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Classical pulsating stars such as Cepheid and RR Lyrae are sensitive probes for both the stellar astrophysics and the cosmic distance scale. Cepheid variables play a vital role in calibrating extragalactic distance ladder to estimate the local value of the Hubble constant – present expansion rate of the Universe. The current Hubble constant measurement in the late evolutionary Universe based on the Cepheid-Supernovae distance ladder is significantly larger than the Planck mission results from the early Universe. This tension hints at possible new physics beyond the standard cosmological model and warrants a rigorous investigation of potential systematic uncertainties in Cepheid-based distance ladder. The proposed project will use state-of-the-art stellar pulsation models to compute and exploit an unprecedently fine grid of Cepheid and RR Lyrae models. These models together with future Gaia data-releases will be used to calibrate theoretical and empirical Period-Luminosity relations for Cepheid and RR Lyrae, and quantify residual systematic effects in the first-rung of the distance ladder and evaluate the significance of the Hubble tension problem. The project will employ modern computational methods for multiwavelength comparison between predicted and observed pulsation properties and full-amplitude light and velocity variations to constrain the mass-luminosity relations and helium to metal enrichment ratio followed by Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars with sub-percent precision for the first-time. These investigations will also discriminate and quantify the effects of poorly understood non-standard phenomena such as mass-loss, rotation or convective overshooting on input stellar physics to the pulsation codes, and thus imply strong constraints for the stellar evolutionary models. This project is of multidisciplinary nature with a strong transfer of knowledge between the applicant and the host researcher, and in line with the EU strategic plan for research and innovation.

Mots clés : cepheid and rr lyrae variable stars, stellar pulsation and evolution, and cosmic distance scale

Participants :
- National Institute for Astrophysics (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet FouCo (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Composition is a key technique in automata theory, used in particular in the model-checking, realisability analysis and automatic synthesis of reactive systems. Typically, when it comes to composition, deterministic automata are used as they behave well when composed with other automata or games. However, determinisation is notoriously complex, both conceptually and computationally. One approach to avoiding determinisation is the notion of Good for Games (GFG) nondeterministic automata, which, despite their nondeterminism, compose well with games. Recent work suggests that the notion of GFG automata, so far only used for composing non-deterministic automata with games, is in fact much more powerful: it generalises to alternating automata, a more general and flexible type of automata that is particularly close to formal logics, and such automata can be used not just in composition with games, but with other automata as well. This means that alternating automata of this type could potentially be used in solutions to parity games, Church's synthesis problem, and, more generally, for turning automata into equivalent automata with simpler acceptance conditions. This project aims to study how to make automata compositional, how to recognise compositional automata, and how to exploit compositionality to improve algorithms in verification and synthesis. In particular, we will study how partial notions of composition, that is, automata that are not GFG in general, but can still be composed with a restricted class of games, can be exploited to avoid determinisation and thereby simplify existing algorithms for reactive synthesis, model-checking and Markov decision procedures.

Mots clés : automata, reactive systems, model checking, synthesis, verification

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

Computation using nanomagnets could serve as a low-power alternative to existing CMOS technologies. Here, binary information is encoded into two stable magnetic configurations of single-domain nanomagnets. In the last ten years, significant progress has been made towards the implementation of nanomagnetic networks for computation, either in the form of Boolean logic gates, or for more complex optimisation tasks. However, operational reliability and on-the-fly tuneability have remained problematic. Here, we propose to use surface-plasmon-induced local heating schemes to enable local, selective, and fast optical control of the relaxation pathways of nanomagnetic arrays. This novel approach towards the active manipulation of thermal magnetic relaxation potentially allows for the implementation of low-power, ultra-fast advanced computation schemes, such as reservoir computing.

Mots clés : artificial spin systems, nanomagnetic logic, magnetoplasmonics

Participants :
- CIC nanoGUNE (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet NEW4NEW (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Computational modelling of molecules and materials has had a great impact on understanding experimental observations and suggesting new routes for development. A prominent example are chemical reactions where modelling allows one to follow the motion of atoms and to obtain a detailed insight into the process. To model chemical reactions, quantum mechanics for electrons is needed and currently the most widely used method for this task is Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT). DFT is exact in principle, but in practice, different approximations are made. These approximations affect the accuracy of description of both strong intramolecular forces (chemical bonds) and weaker intermolecular interactions (e.g., van der Waals forces). If the errors are significant, one can obtain misleading results. Systems where an accurate description of both strong and weak forces is crucial are molecules in porous materials, such as zeolites. Zeolites are important industrial catalysts and also perspective materials for gas separation. During the catalytic process, molecules interact first weakly with the zeolite before chemical reaction takes place. Therefore, if we want to further improve the function of porous materials or develop new ones with desired chemical activity, we need to be able to model reliably both strong and weak forces. It is the goal of this project to develop new reliable methods that will enable the development of new materials. This goal will be accomplished by combining state-of-the-art DFT approximations for modelling strong and weak interactions and implementing promising schemes recently proposed. Using the expertise of the host group, we will use data available for zeolites and molecules in zeolites to validate the methods and understand their accuracy. The ability to model reliably processes in porous materials will have a large impact on the development of materials in a range of fields, including materials for solving future energy needs.

Mots clés : zeolites, density functional theory, van der waals forces, quantum chemical methods, exchange correlation functionals

Participants :
- Czech Academy of Sciences (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 154720.8 €
Projet GEOBACTICON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Concrete is the most used construction material worldwide for infrastructure projects. Due to deterioration, regular maintenance works are necessary to seal the concrete cracks and restore durability. In Europe, infrastructures such as tunnels and earth retaining walls alone cost approximately 5 billion EUR per year. Self-healing strategies (particularly bacterial-based self-healing) are regarded as a promising solution to reduce the high maintenance and repair cost of concrete infrastructures. It is believed if self-healing concrete had been used for all these structures, up to 120 million EUR could be saved annually on their maintenance. The research to date has tended to focus on the self-healing process in air or water environment. However, infrastructures (i.e. bridges, buildings, tunnels) are built on or in the ground, where part of their concrete structures are inevitably embedded in soil environment with all sorts of ground conditions such as different types of soil, saturation regimes, and chemical exposures. It is not clear if the process of self-healing is efficient within concrete elements exposed to such complicated ground conditions. The project aims to explore the efficiency of the bacterial-based self-healing (bio-hydrogels) in underground concrete structures. By using a novel interdisciplinary approach, the research combines state-of-the-art technologies applied in materials/concrete, geotechnical engineering, and microbiology to conduct a series of lab-scale experiments on mortar specimens incubated within various soil environments. Purpose-built experimental tools are used to investigate the effect of several factors including the type of soil, saturation regime and class of (chemical) exposures, on the bio-self-healing process. The outcomes of this research are highly relevant to the construction industry and the knowledge produced by the project will have an economic, financial and societal impact in EU and other regions.

Mots clés : bio self healing concrete, soil mechanics, infrastructure engineering, mechanical testing, optical measurements

Participants :
- University of Derby (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet CONGO_WHALEBOATS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Congo’s wooden baleinières (Fr. whaleboats) are locally developed and crafted socio-technical assemblages that account for up to 50% of all transportation of goods and people on the waterways of the Congo Basin. Despite the vital role of these subaltern technologies of transportation for the livelihoods of millions, the socio-technical complexities responsible for their success have never been studied. Rooted in older boat building traditions from Ijwi (lake Kivu) and Nioki (on the Mfimi River), and powered by fossil-fuelled Chinese two-stroke Diesel engines, baleinières combine local traditions of craftsmanship with transnational South-South technology translation “from below”. The research aims 1. to trace the baleinières’ chaîne opératoire of materials and skills in time and space, from the cutting of trees and the recycling of materials (tar, corrugated aluminium sheets, etc.), to the repairing and maintenance of the Chang Fa Diesel propulsion system; 2. to investigate the material and spiritual lives and ontologies of fossil-fuelled internal combustion engines (ICEs) in the realm of African river transportation, which have been crucially overlooked by anthropologists so far. The research combines the qualitative method of ethnographic field work (participant observation, interviews) with the theoretical insights of the social study of technology/STS, ethno-archaeology and recent thinking about the Anthropocene. It speaks directly to the Horizon 2020 Work Programme’s international cooperation initiative for Africa (“food, nutrition security and agriculture, renewable energies”) and the Programme’s interest in “circular economies”. Its results will be disseminated in scientific articles, radio features, and an exhibition to be hosted by museums and cultural centres in Kisangani, Kinshasa and different places in Europe, and by an accompanying publication of a monograph.

Mots clés : mobility, transportation, africa

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 178320.0 €