Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet TempMoralDecisions (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Moral-conflicts arise when individuals need to decide whether to perform actions that benefit themselves, yet at the price of possibly hurting others. The effects of temporal-delays in the outcomes of these decisions are critical, as real-life consequences often unfold over varying timeframes in everyday life, as well as in public-policy, healthcare and economic decisions. While temporal lags are known to affect subjective reward valuation, their effects on moral decisions with conflicting self-benefit and harm-to-others outcomes, remain unexplored. This project will investigate how individuals assign subjective value to delayed outcomes in such conflicts, focusing on the behavioural and cognitive biases that arise due to temporal-discounting, and aim to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying them. Participants will perform moral-decisions, choosing between small self-monetary rewards associated with an unpainful small shock to another individual, to a larger self-reward coupled with a more intense shock to the other, with varied time-delays in the different outcomes. By combining behavioural, fMRI and physiological methods, and integrating them with computational modelling approaches, we will obtain a comprehensive picture of the neurocomputational effects of temporal-discounting in this context, aiming to explain and predict individuals’’ decisions in single-trials. By revealing the effects of temporal-discounting on moral decisions, this project will offer insights for social neuroscience, psychology and neuro-economics, and real-life implications for everyday decision-making, as well as for long-term, high-impact decisions by policymakers. The project will be performed at the Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, supervised by Prof C. Keysers and V. Gazzola, world-leading experts in social neuroscience, ensuring I will develop novel theoretical and methodological skills, having a valuable impact on my training and career advancement.

Mots clés : social neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, moral conflict, empathy, decision making, temporal discounting, fmri, computational modelling

Participants :
- Académie royale néerlandaise des arts et des sciences (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 232916.16 €
Projet MIMOA (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Coastal aquifers are sensitive land-ocean transitional zones receiving nutrient-rich water due mainly to fertilizing practices that may increase microbial activity and reduce oxygen (O2) availability. The diverse microbial communities inhabiting these systems may have a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles including metal transformations such as mercury (Hg). Yet, the factors determining the microbial Hg transformations in coastal aquifers is poorly understood. The increasing depletion of O2 in coastal waters from submarine groundwater discharges (SGDs) may modify the biogeochemical processes and hence modulates the Hg speciation and its export to the sea. To shed light on this, the MIMOA project aims at defining the role of nutrient-enriched SGDs in microbial Hg cycling of coastal areas by combining microbial, chemical, and educative dimensions. This project will rely on the synergy of my background in biogeochemical cycles and anoxic environments with extensive expertise in Hg biogeochemistry and metagenomics of the host (Dr. Bravo). This will be complemented by the essential expertise in biochemistry of low O2 zones and analytic/environmental chemistry of the two secondment supervisors (Dr. Garcia-Robledo and Dr. Amouroux). By getting trained in bioinformatic analyses, gene detection and chemistry, I will explore the effects of O2 depletion from SGDs on microbial Hg transformations in an eutrophication context and transfer this knowledge to the general audience through science outreach and education assisted by Plàncton company as a placement. MIMOA outcomes will significantly contribute to global Hg budget by revealing the importance of Hg export through depleted O2 SGDs, having long-term consequences on marine food web contamination and improve awareness of general audience on their anthropic footprint in coastal zone; boosting my career opportunities as a prominent researcher in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry, after my research period in Latin America.

Mots clés : mercury, methylmercury, submarine groundwater discharge, oxygen depletion, microbial ecology, eutrophication, coastal conservation, environmental education, nitrogen, methane, sulfur, iron

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 206641.2 €
- Université de Cadix (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (France) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Plancton, divulgacio i serveis marins, sociedad civil privada (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet FaceINQ (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in Europe and addressing the challenges of climate change require innovative approaches to building design and operation that reduce energy consumption. Furthermore, people spend most of their lives in buildings; thus, the quality of indoor environments, and indeed indoor air, is vital. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown some of the health risks associated with poor ventilation and demonstrated that improving indoor air quality requires urgent attention and next-generation thinking. However, with energy efficiency being a priority when designing new and retrofitting old buildings, there is a challenge to balance this with ensuring indoor environment does not impair the health, comfort, wellbeing and productivity of building occupants. FaceINQ is an exciting project that addresses the need for innovation in the design and operation of naturally ventilated buildings with complex glass façade systems, which are now a common feature in large-scale non-residential buildings. FaceINQ’s innovative approach utilises advanced computational models validated with measured data and qualitative feedback from building occupants to consider not only the building energy consumption, but also the impact of indoor environment on building occupants, and the impact of occupants’ behaviour on the operation of façade systems. Through an interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach (i) combining architecture, engineering, building physics, health and social science, (ii) utilising a ‘living laboratory’ to collect extensive data, and (iii) enabling non-academic short visits and a placement to enhance the transfer of knowledge between industry and academia; this novel research will provide a paradigm shift in the design, assessment and operation of naturally ventilated buildings. The results will enable society meet urgent challenge of providing climate-friendly buildings that are healthy, comfortable and productive places for people.

Mots clés : computational fluid dynamics on site measurements qualitative user feedback indoor environmental quality health, comfort, wellbeing and productivity energy efficiency building fa ade system

Participants :
- Université de technologie d'Eindhoven (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 127165.2 €
- Gunn lennon fabrications (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet DUNE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The delivery of nucleic acids as therapeutic methods holds great potential to provide new treatments against emergent pathogens and important diseases. However, the development of functional therapies is often hindered by the poor efficiency and stability of the current transport technologies. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are non-aqueous sustainable liquids obtained through the combination of simple organic molecules. The physicochemical properties of the DES can be tailored through the selection of their constituents, to optimally perform in specific applications. DES have been recently shown to increase the stability and activity of nucleic acids (NA), as compared to those in aqueous systems. Despite the excellent and encouraging physicochemical properties of DES, these solvents have not been investigated, to date, for the transport of NA across cell membranes. This project will finally fill the knowledge gap that exists between the promising properties of DES and their potential ability to selectively deliver NA into the cell cytosol. Here, a combinatorial approach will be used to synthesise a library of DES with different properties relevant for transport (e.g., amphiphilicity and charge density). The ability of these to enable membrane transport of NA will be investigated as a function of the system properties. The exclusive properties of the DES solvent will go beyond the state-of-the-art, as they will allow: i) fine-tuning of DES/cargo interactions and binding strength by DES counterion adjustment; ii) precise hydrophobic DES control for membrane partition regulation; iii) enhanced physicochemical stability of the resulting particles and simpler synthetic and scaling up methodology, as well as reduced production costs. Overall, this project is aimed to discover a completely new range of potential applications of DES in membrane transport and biomolecular cargo preservation, which will open a new research field of potential applications in NA delivery.

Mots clés : deep eutectic solvents, nucleic acid transport, membrane transport, soft nanoparticles

Participants :
- Université de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet COFFRREW (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Recovery of precious and critical metals (Au, Nd) from e-waste not only has substantial economic and environmental advantages but also addresses the problem of resource scarcity. In this area, the adsorption approach is recognized as an efficient, facile, and green methodology. Recently, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as potential adsorbents for metal recycling from waste materials. However, there are still key challenges that need to be addressed: (1) poor selectivity against interferents; (2) low uptake capacity; and (3) poor reusability in real leaching solutions. To address these issues, COFFRREW aims to develop sustainable and economically viable adsorbents for precious metal recovery from e-waste. To achieve these aims, a series of β-ketoenamine 2DCOFs (Tp-linked) will be synthesized using facile "solvothermal" chemical reactions. Then, pore-wall engineering with appropriate functional groups will follow to tune the selectivity and efficiency for targeted metal ions. This project will construct novel and tailor-made 2DCOF structures, which will produce exciting outcomes to resolve the problems of selectivity, uptake capacity, and reusability in the field of Au and Nd recovery using COFs. This project will study the role of selective sites (such as thiol for Au3+, long carboxyl arms for Nd3+) in the confined spaces of Tp-linked 2DCOFs for selective metal recovery from e-waste, and will fill the research gap by resolving the challenges in this field. This project is both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in nature. It will have significant social, economic, and scientific impacts, aligning with SDG Goals 8 and 13, the Green Deal Charter, and contributing to the enhancement of EU scientific excellence.

Mots clés : cofs, adsorption, metal recovery, precious metals, e waste

Participants :
- Université de Padoue (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 209483.28 €
- Université de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MemoryRecAll (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Working memory refers to the brain capacity for encoding sensory stimuli and maintaining information suspended for imminent processing, over a short timespan (few seconds). This ability is crucial for numerous simple and intricate tasks in humans and animals (keeping in mind a sequence, learning, speech…). Despite its importance, the mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unknown. Different theoretical models have been proposed to recapitulate working memory. Among them, attractor dynamics within recurrent networks facilitate self-sustained activity that holds information as a form of memory. Working memory, since its first descriptions, has been pinpointed to higher-order associative frontal and prefrontal regions of the brain. However, growing evidences suggest widespread representations, spanning also sensory cortices. A recent research causally demonstrated the necessity of the primary auditory cortex to perform an auditory-based working memory task. The main objective of the proposed project is to reveal the existence of working memory representations in auditory cortex and to analyze the circuit supporting them, employing the concept of attractor dynamics. This goal will be achieved by combining ultrafast acousto-optic two-photon (2P) calcium and voltage imaging, precise optogenetics and animal behavior. This approach will provide information regarding the spatial organization and identity of neurons responding during the retention phase of the task and enables the subsequent manipulation of such neurons with unprecedented spatiotemporal accuracy. Perturbation experiments will test the predictions of attractor dynamics theory in relation to working memory representation and probe synaptic connectivity within functionally identified neurons. In conclusion, I will combine cutting-edge optical approaches with analytical methods to causally dissect the network underlying working memory representations in auditory cortex.

Mots clés : working memory, auditory cortex, two photon microscopy, two photon optogenetics, voltage imaging, connectivity, attractor dynamics

Participants :
- Institut Pasteur (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet MePhoCat (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Methane is one of the most abundant, underutilized carbon-based chemical feedstocks on the planet. Moreover, the simplest alkane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to which United Nations has lunched the global methane initiative for achieving a 30% reduction in its emission by 2030. The current methodologies for the utilization and disposal of methane gas suffer due to being cost intensive and non-sustainable. As a result, there is an urgent need to develop protocols, which allow the transformation of this greenhouse gas into valuable products in a profitable manner. On the other hand, the selective substitution of C-H bonds in drug candidates to C-Me bonds have often led to an average 100-fold increase in their biological activity (Magic Methyl Effect). As a result, protocols which allow the selective incorporation of methyl groups into organic substrates have gained wide attention. The proposed project aims at developing efficient catalytic processes that allow direct methane functionalization by using it as a methylating reagent in a variety of C-Me bond forming reactions through dual transition metal photoredox catalysis. New pathways for the direct use of methane in reactions such as cross-couplings, C-H methylations and cascade cyclizations will be developed based on this novel bimetallic photocatalytic strategy. It is envisioned that the proposed research will open new avenues for the utilization of methane as feedstock for the synthesis of drugs and biorelevant molecules, thus contributing to the reduction in the emissions of this gas and helping to reach UN’s global methane initiative and to EU’s European Green Deal objective of achieving zero net greenhouse gas emission by 2050.

Mots clés : cross coupling, c h activation, cascade cyclisation, methane valorisation, methylation

Participants :
- Université de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet EXPLEIN (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The main goal of EXPLEIN is to unravel the limiting factors in the charge carrier transport in perovskite thin films, stacks, and solar cells, aiming to pre-select suitable material compositions for and optimisation of light-converting devices. First, I will gain deep understanding of the role of grain boundaries – typically limiting charge carrier diffusion due to an increased number of recombination centres – in thin films and lamellae, which I will then apply to interfaces in stacks and devices, ultimately allowing me to monitor and improve the performance of perovskite-based solar cells. The centre piece of this work is a scanning electron microscope equipped with cathodoluminescence (CL) and pulsed electron beam capabilities. I will expand those with electrical sample biasing for operando conditions and develop a novel light in-coupling module. This unique, versatile method will facilitate local injection of electrons and photons into the same sample area, thereby allowing for the in-depth study of the differences in morphology (via in-situ secondary electron imaging), optical (via CL and CL lifetimes) and electrical properties upon selective sub-bandgap-energy illumination, applied electrical bias, and local e-beam placement. The diffusion length, a key parameter for solar cell absorbers, will be measured directly and via CL-lifetimes which I will subsequently link to the sample’s average grain size of various perovskite compositions. The perovskite database will serve as platform for comparison and exchange of knowledge, ultimately allowing to advance and expand the research field. The multitude of the proposed experiments will allow me to gain new and detailed insights into the micro- and nanoscopic charge carrier transport in several types of perovskites, giving me the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of solar cells necessary for the challenging transition to cost-effective and sustainable energy.

Mots clés : perovskites nanoscale charge carrier transport electron microscopy

Participants :
- Nederlandse organisatie voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 187624.32 €
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet DynaMitE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In spite of intense investigations, it remains unclear whether and how the interaction between promoters and distant enhancers has an instructive role in transcription. I will tackle this question by tracking the spatial and temporal dynamics of gene regulatory sequences alongside nascent transcription during the critical biological event that is the mitosis-to-interphase transition in live cells. During mitosis, chromatin undergoes a massive reorganization, resulting in the loss of long-range interactions, the displacement of transcription factors, and a global reduction in transcription. The re-establishment of interphase gene expression programs is essential for the maintenance (or a chance for the change) of cell identity; however, the molecular mechanism of such re-establishment is an unsolved biological problem. Previous studies, largely relying on fixed cells and next-generation sequencing technologies, have not captured the dynamic nature of these events. I will use state-of-the-art genome engineering and live imaging technologies in proliferating mouse embryonic stem cells to simultaneously monitor the movement of regulatory sequences and the re-initiation of transcription at key pluripotency genes at the exit from mitosis, as well as test the role of mitotically-retained transcription factors. This project, termed DynaMitE, will address the burning question of how genome folding influences transcription within a physiological context of transcription re-activation, and will uncover mechanistic insights into the restoration of interphase gene expression with unparalleled temporal resolution in single cells. Importantly, by achieving the objectives of DynaMitE within the host laboratory, I will complement my expertise in genomics and developmental biology with advanced skills in cutting edge microscopy, image analysis and a biophysical lens on gene regulation, shaping the profile of the future group leader I aspire to be.

Mots clés : transcription, enhancer promoter interaction, mitosis, chromatin structure and dynamics, live cell imaging, mitotic bookmarking, pluripotency, mouse embryonic stem cells

Participants :
- Institut Pasteur (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €