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

An adaptive feature of the brain is to select which information to retain in long-term memory, and which information should be forgotten. To be retained long-term, memories need to undergo a period of consolidation. Sleep has been shown to play an important role in these consolidation processes. This proposal will advance our understanding of long-term memory, by demonstrating how the three core processes of memory formation: encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, interact to selectively promote certain memories. This aim shall be achieved through a series of experiments utilising advanced electroencephalography techniques and state-of-the-art ‘targeted memory reactivation’. Experiment one will investigate when memories are initially formed (encoding), how does the brain select a subset to undergo subsequent consolidation. Experiment two will then determine how sleep facilitates the consolidation of those selected memories, selectively strengthening them to enhance post-sleep memory retrieval. Finally, Experiment three will attempt to manipulate selection processes, to ask whether external methods can alter the fate of specific memories after initial selection to be remembered or forgotten. The proposed project is a perfect fit to the work program of the fellowship. I will develop critical new skills, which will enhance my potential as an independent scientist. This fellowship will place me at a world leading European institute, and as such will facilitate my return to the European research community. This will in turn enable my long-term career goal of leading my own research group at a European research institute.

Mots clés : consolidation, sleep and memory, sleep spindles, targeted memory reactivation

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

An emerging view of cortical area function posits that instead of primarily accounting for sensory processing and motor control, cortical areas might mediate flexible handling of sensory information and motor planning through learning and memory. In this project I propose to investigate this notion focusing on the function of retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a large, poorly understood and highly interconnected cortical area that interfaces with the hippocampal system. RSC has a key role in memory, and is thought to control flexible use of contextual information; it accounts for earliest memory deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. In primates, the RSC is positioned immediately behind the splenium and is centrally located between cortical sensory and limbic memory regions. It exhibits reciprocal connections with the hippocampal for-mation, anterior thalamic nucleus, and a network of dorso-medial cortical areas. RSC has a critical role in spatial and relational memory, and its interactions with the hippocampal system are essential for normal memory processing. The focus of this project is the hypothesis that the connectivity patterns of RSC account for what has been called its “translational” properties. I will first study the role of RSC in a generic form of flexible learning, then I will focus on spatial learning and analyse the capability of RSC to integrate information across multiple cue types and use these inputs to deal with the environment e.g. in allocentric-egocentric and egocen-tric-allocentric transformations.

Mots clés : retrosplenial cortex, learning, flexibility, neuronal tagging

Participants :
- Friedrich Miescher Institute (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 175419.6 €
Projet RED-OPEN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

An important issue encountered in the historical artworks is the fading of the original colors because of their strong light sensitivity, infamously leading to the discoloration of masterworks even within an artist’s lifetime. This phenomenon is clearly evidenced in many paintings of 19th century European impressionist artists, such as van Gogh, in particular when Organic Red Pigments (ORP) have been used. The identification of these ORP in historical paintings remains a main challenge because of (1) the generally low concentration of the original pigment remaining after an aging period of ca. 100 years, (2) the scarcity of the paint micro samples available for analysis and the difficulty of obtaining additional ones and (3) the complexity of degradation behavior in the presence of oxygen, inorganic semiconductor pigments, binding media or varnish. The objective of the RED-OPEN project is to develop a multi-analytical approach based on mass spectrometry and spectroscopic techniques (A) to understand their discoloration mechanism and (B) to identify their breakdown products, even if the original molecules are no longer present in the artworks. The successful completion of RED-OPEN will have a major impact in the understanding of the original artwork’s appearance and will provide comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the progressive changes throughout the painting’s history. RED-OPEN will generate knowledge that will help conservators and conservation scientists to understand the causes of discoloration and formulate mitigating actions, preserving invaluable art for future generations and further proposing a digital reconstruction of its originally intended appearance.

Mots clés : organic pigments, conservation science, cultural heritage, high resolution mass spectrometry, electron paramagnetic resonance, ambient mass spectrometry

Participants :
- University of Antwerp (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166320.0 €
Projet CORVISDEC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

An important part of successfully navigating the world is the ability to make and act upon choices. In the brains of humans and other mammals, the cerebral cortex is considered an important structure for accumulating sensory evidence and executing actions, but the neural relationship between evidence and action is still unclear. A serial information processing hypothesis posits that cortical areas work in sequence to transform sensory evidence into behavioral choices, while an alternative parallel processing hypothesis argues that multiple, competing sensorimotor signals are combined at the earliest instance. Though there have been many studies of single-cell recordings offering support for one or the other hypothesis, the key to truly understand these complex behaviors will require recording from many hundreds of neurons over many different regions of the brain. In this proposal, I present a plan for a high-throughput assay of decision-making activity in the mouse brain. To compare these hypotheses, I will use two-photon calcium imaging to record simultaneously from thousands of neurons across many areas of cerebral cortex while mice perform a visually guided task that parses the perceptual, cognitive, and motor aspects of decision-making behavior. In analyzing the activity of these very large neural populations, I will be able to identify and distinguish how each cortical region contributes to aspects of the task and overall animal performance. I will further probe the structure of decision-making activity in cortex by introducing an adaptation paradigm to the same task, comparing how perceptual correlates for adaptation are linked to neural correlates, and observing how these effects manifest across different cortical areas. I will perform these experiments in the Cortical Processing Laboratory at University College London, led by Drs. Kenneth Harris and Matteo Carandini.

Mots clés : vision, decision making, adaptation, cerebral cortex, cortical dynamics, two photon microscopy

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

An innovative strategy for sustainable ‘green’ agriculture to substitute to the use of fertilizer and pesticides is urgently needed. In plants, the micro-organisms of the rhizosphere associated with the plant root, are known to affect the physiology and the development of the plant. Therefore, modulating the microbiome of the rhizosphere may be a promising strategy to achieve sustainable green agriculture. Recent research has shown that miRNAs secreted by eukaryotic host can act as an interkingdom signal to impact the viability of specific micro-organisms, including pathogens. Therefore, this EU proposal aims to explore the impact of miRNAs secreted by the plant root on the composition and gene expression of the rhizosphere microbiome. The objectives are (1) to identify specific secreted miRNAs that may influence the rhizosphere microbiome composition, (2) to analyse the biological features of the secreted miRNA-containing vesicles, (3) to understand how specific secreted miRNAs influence microbiome gene expression, (4) to determine in natura the repertoire of miRNA and associated microbiome for selected plants of agricultural interest. A combination of metagenomic and transcriptomic analysis of the soil rhizosphere from plant models (Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon) under laboratory condition, as well as with selected plants of agricultural interest in natura conditions will be undertaken. The spectrum of activity of specific, or combinations of, secreted miRNAs will be also explored using A. thaliana knock-out mutants, or by perturbation of the secreted miRNAs in the WT plant using a strategy based on innovative miPEP technology. Ultimately this research can have application for miRNA-based modulation of the microbiomes of halobionts, including plants of agricultural interest. The unique complementarity of expertise between the fellow and his supervisor, completed by a well designed training program, will allow him to take up this challenge.

Mots clés : rhizosphere, metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, holobiont, micrornas

Participants :
- Université de Rennes (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet INTEGRATE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

An integrated hypothesis for cognitive and positive symptoms in schizophrenia: Schizophrenia is a complex developmental brain disorder with three main clusters of symptoms: (i) positive (psychosis, delusions and hallucinations), (ii) negative (reduced motivation and social withdrawal), and (iii) cognitive (memory and executive function deficits). For the last 50 years, the only effective treatment has consisted of antipsychotics targeting dopamine receptors. Yet, antipsychotics control mostly the positive symptoms and are largely ineffective at treating other deficits. It is frequently assumed that distinct pathophysiological mechanisms underlie different symptoms. Psychosis is associated with striatal hyperdopaminergia, probably due to abnormal activity of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Yet cognitive deficits seem to arise from cortical excitation/inhibition unbalance. I propose to test, in a mice model, the hypothesis that striatal hyperdopaminergia results from dysfunctional cortical inhibition. If verified, this would suggest that normalizing cortical activity in schizophrenia might both restore cognitive function and prevent psychosis.

Mots clés : erbb4 schizophrenia interneuron frontal cortex striatum dopamine e, i balance pet optogenetics animal model transgenic midbrain substantia nigra electrophysiology in vivo neurodevelopment

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 208400.4 €
Projet SC-SD4ASA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

An unprecedented number of refugees arriving in Europe over the last years has made many parts of the continent face one of its most serious challenges of the century. From 2015 to 2016, about 1.3 million refugees arrived in Europe; about half of them were children under 18. The combination of forced migration and adolescence, as a strong risk factor, has a negative effect on the health of refugee adolescents. Although the search for effective ways to improve their mental health has recently gained momentum, there are still a lot of shortcomings, specifically in educational health. Using self-oriented activities to improve psychological health has rarely been considered in studies related to refugee/asylum-seeking adolescents. Therefore, with the long-term goal of improving asylum-seeking adolescents’ well-being using their potential abilities, the main objective of SC-SD4ASA is to develop a Self-care/Self-development intervention guideline, effective on asylum-seeking adolescents’ psychological and behavioral health. In this respect, special attention will be given to their specific situation, their background, the host community’s culture and resource accessibility. This project will focus on 3 main stages: needs and knowledge assessment, developing the guideline, and assessing its fidelity. The interdisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of well-developed psychology and public/educational health promotion. The proposal includes both the transfer of knowledge to the host and the training of the candidate in new advanced approaches. Further, this study is strongly influenced by gender dimension. The guideline will be developed aiming to help individuals involved in planning, managing and promoting health among adolescents and can be used as a solid foundation for future studies in various disciplines. This project is also in line with EU strategy on promoting health as a major concern for sustainable and comprehensive development.

Mots clés : european refugee crisis, asylum seeking adolescents, mental well being, self care intervention, self development intervention, guideline development, adjustment skills, coping skills, stress, anxiety

Participants :
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet DIET (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been widely applied to produce biogas through complex communities of syntrophic bacteria and methanogenic archaea. However, AD can suffer from the inefficiency of biogas production, which fundamentally arises from the low efficiency of mediated interspecies electron transfer (MIET) via hydrogen between bacteria and archaea. Dr Richen Lin proposes an advanced AD-based circular economy system by introducing conductive materials (such as biocompatible graphene nanomaterial and digestate derived pyrochar) for third generation gaseous transport biofuel production from algae feedstock. The proposal will particularly explore the mechanism of efficient direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between bacteria and methanogens in the presence of conductive materials. The biomethane production rate and total energy recovery in the proposed system are expected to be enhanced by 20-40% as compared to existing AD technology. The goal will be achieved by the following research objectives: 1) Theoretically compare the efficiencies of MIET and DIET in AD; 2) Develop optimal strategies to stimulate DIET and improve biogas production from algae; 3) Outline a future circular economy system by introducing pyrochar into AD. Dr Lin has a strong record of publications (26 peer review journal articles) in bioenergy through his PhD studies in Zhejiang University, China. He proposes a two year stay in the €35M Science Foundation Ireland funded research centre Marine and Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI). He will be hosted in the Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork and supervised by Prof Jerry Murphy. The fellowship will incorporate a three month secondment in Gas Networks Ireland (an industrial partner in MaREI) to facilitate the integration of new technology in green gas industry. The objective of this proposal is to establish Dr Lin as a leading researcher in bioenergy and assist him in acquiring a position of professional maturity.

Mots clés : anaerobic digestion, biogas, algae, interspecies electron transfer

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187866.0 €
Projet AnTraQuGa (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Anderson localization (AL) – an effect arising from interference of multiple-scattering events and leading to a complete halt of transport in disordered media – is a fundamental phenomenon, ubiquitous in all wave physics. Ultra-cold quantum gases in disordered optical potentials offer a clean environment to study AL. First evidences of the transition between localized and diffusive states have been recently reported with this systems. However, direct signatures of AL and a precise investigation of this transition are still lacking and would require new approaches, which is at the heart of this proposal. The objectives are: - Exploring the recently predicted “Coherent Forward Scattering” peak: a new distinct feature of AL, yet so far not observed in any systems. - Studying the critical regime by measuring the position of the transition and the associated critical exponents. The anticipated results will serve as test bed for the most advanced theories of AL and provide better understanding of its underlying mechanism. To achieve these goals, we will rely on the expertise of the host in the field of AL of ultra-cold atoms, in particular regarding the analysis of the momentum distributions of atoms. Most importantly, we will develop original approaches, based on techniques using state-selective disorder potentials, and enabling a fine control of the atomic energy distribution around the transition. The fellowship will enable the applicant to contribute his expertise of state-dependent potentials to the development and the implementation of the selective disorder. This new technique is likely to become a standard tool for the study of transport phenomena of ultra-cold atoms in disorder. A secondment to the partner organization with strong expertise in AL and in control of atomic interactions is also part of the proposal. Thus, this project will create a synergy of the applicants knowledge and the expertise of the host organization and the partner organization.

Mots clés : ultracold quantum gases, disorder, quantum simulator, anderson localization

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet EC GNG metabolism (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Angiogenesis promotes tumor progression and metastasis; unfortunately current anti-angiogenic strategies targeting endothelial growth factors suffer from limited efficacy and toxicity. The host laboratory pioneered the novel concept that blood vessel forming endothelial cells (ECs) reprogram their metabolism to become glucose-addicted and rely on glycolysis to generate ATP required for angiogenesis. Furthermore, to increase biomass production and maintain redox homeostasis, ECs shunt glycolytic intermediates into glycolysis side-pathways. Further ECs diverge from pre-existing blood vessel into avascular tissue, the scarcer external glucose levels will become. Currently, how ECs maintain the generation of glycolytic intermediates under such conditions remains unknown. One possibility is the de-novo synthesis of these intermediates through gluconeogenesis (GNG). To date, nothing is known about GNG metabolism in ECs, which underscores the novelty of my proposal. GNG is particularly interesting since preliminary findings indicate that ECs express all enzymes involved in GNG, and impairing this pathway decreases EC proliferation and sprouting. Therefore, through a multi-angled approach, I will unravel the role of GNG in ECs and uncover its contribution to blood vessel sprouting both in normal and pathological angiogenesis. Ultimately this project will explore whether blocking GNG may inhibit pathological angiogenesis (e.g. cancer) and translate my findings into therapeutic strategies.

Mots clés : angiogenesis, endothelial cells, anti angiogenic therapy, vascular biology, gluconeogenesis

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172800.0 €
Projet RipGEESE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Animals display a bewildering diversity of morphological structures and adaptations that represent dramatic body plan transformations. Forming these diverse body shapes requires the coordinated expression of hundreds of genes in a cell-specific manner; a monumentally complex task that is controlled by gene regulatory networks (GRNs): genes linked to each other by regulatory interactions, which modulate the gene expression in every cell of an organism. Despite their central role in determining animal form and function, it is as of yet unclear how GRNs evolve and how they are linked to the origin of morphological innovation. This project builds on the combined knowledge and expertise of the applicant and three European research institutions in order to tackle this knowledge gap using cutting-edge techniques, and an innovative, multidisciplinary approach that merges molecular, bioinformatic, and phylogenomic methods.

Mots clés : evolutionary biology, evo devo, nervous system evolution, ctenophora

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 337400.64 €