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

Polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs, are a group of chemicals now considered among the most hazardous pollutants in the world. The presence of these extremely stable compounds in trace concentrations in water have been linked to an increased risk in frequency of cancer. PCBs were used for production of various industrial capacitors, pesticides and herbicides over a number of years; and still appear in ground and water. Existing multistep water purification processes for PCBs and other chlorinated contaminants are expensive mostly due to usage of different chemicals. Bioremediation processes utilising bacteria represents an alternative to existing chemical methods. Immobilisation of bacteria on a substrate reveals many benefit over free bacteria systems, such as higher biomass content, high metabolic activity, resistance to toxic chemicals, allowing continuous process operating and avoiding the biomass- liquid separation requirements. The immobilised bacteria can be reused several times opening opportunities for developing cost-effective processes for wastewater treatment. In this project Dr. Berillo will apply a cutting-edge technology, he developed the direct cross-linking of the bacteria cells into a 3D-structured macroporous, highly permeable system that will be used for selective and efficient purification of contaminated water from aromatic chloro derivatives (chlorophenols etc.). Advantages of the novel system are: one step immobilisation, high density of immobilised cells; no diffusion restriction of contaminant to the cells and possibility to exploit the system as a flow through bioreactor. This is an inter- and intra-disciplinary proposal involving the combination of knowledge and expertise in microbiology, cryotechnology, organic, polymer, physical, analytical, environmental and surface chemistry. The project intends to solve sophisticated problems of Environmental remediation through combination of microbiology and polymer chemistry.

Mots clés : cryogel, chlorophenols, biodegradation, water treatment, cross linking of bacteria

Participants :
- University of Brighton (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet PrOBiEM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely distributed contaminants that produce hazardous effects on human health. They are persistent in the environment and recalcitrant to degradation, rendering the development of efficient PAH-removal methods a worldwide concern. In PAH-contaminated aquifers or sediments, oxygen is depleted very rapidly, thus microorganisms able to use these compounds as a carbon source in the absence of molecular oxygen are crucial for their consumption. The aim of this project is to elucidate the enzymes and mechanisms for the anaerobic degradation of phenanthrene by a novel sulfate-reducing enrichment culture. The first objective is to identify the organisms responsible for phenanthrene degradation. A phylogenetic characterization will be performed by pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes amplified from the enrichment culture. The second objective is to discover the enzymes involved in the degradation process. To this end, a combined transcriptomic and proteomic evaluation of the enrichment culture will be performed. The functionality of the identified enzymes will be then evaluated in vitro. The chemical stability and complicated structure of phenanthrene promises the discovery of novel types of enzymatic reactions. Finally, the microorganisms responsible for phenanthrene degradation will be purified to homogeneity and characterized to evaluate the optimal environmental conditions for growth and phenanthrene degradation. Options to improve biodegradation at contaminated sites and to promote phenanthrene removal will be studied. The project proposes insights into the anaerobic biodegradation of three-ring PAHs as one of the most prominent classes of environmental contaminants.

Mots clés : anaerobic pahs degradation pathways, enzyme discovery, transcriptomics and proteomics, bioremediation optimization, development of biotechnological tools for pahs removal

Participants :
- University of Duisburg-Essen (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet PATTERNS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polygenic adaptation, in which small changes in allele frequencies co-occur at multiple variants, has been proposed to be a major adaptive mechanism for complex phenotypes. Most approaches to detect polygenic adaptation consist in combining signatures of positive selection across functionally homogenous sets of genes or variants. However, few studies have looked at regulatory variants and none have accounted for the tissue-specificity of gene expression. Here, we propose to combine network biology and population genetics methods in order to detect polygenic adaptation acting on complex phenotypes through gene expression regulation. First, we will identify communities of regulatory variants that coregulate groups of genes, by representing both cis- and trans-expression quantitative trait loci as bipartite graphs. We will then search for communities enriched for signatures of weak positive selection to identify regulatory variants under polygenic adaptation. After evaluating the power of our approach using simulations, we will apply it to data from several tissues from the GTEx project. This will allow us to identify and characterise biological functions evolving under polygenic adaptation, taking into account the tissue-specificity of their expression. We thus hope to better understand the extent to which polygenic adaptation shaped the human genetic diversity and susceptibility to complex diseases. The PATTERNS project will be led by the experienced researcher (ER), who has worked on network biology during her postdoc in the USA. She will collaborate with the supervisor who is an expert in theoretical population genetics, and receive training in teaching, grant writing and management and communication. This will help the ER in her path to independence by strengthening her unique profile at the intersection of system biology and population genetics. The host institution will in turn benefit from her experience and network in the USA.

Mots clés : evolution   polygenic adaptation   gene networks   expression quantitative trait loci

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet AL4BIOCH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polyketide Synthases (PKS) are biological factories for the production of potent natural products, including antibiotics, anti‐cancer drugs, statins and further drugs. The exceptional chemical diversity generated by PKS is encoded in their modular architecture. The domains required for one step of precursor elongation and modification are combined into a functional polypeptide module. PKS modules can either act iteratively (iPKS) or in a linearly organized assembly line of multiple modules (modPKS). The collinearity between synthesis and protein sequence in modPKS promised the opportunity for rational re‐engineering of PKS at the genetic level in order to produce novel compounds. However, information on functional protein-protein interactions and substrate transfer in PKS beyond the level of isolated domains is sparse and divergent architectural models of module organization have been proposed. In the AL2BIOCH project, we aim to reveal the fundamental intermodular assembly line organization underlying the unique biosynthetic generation of chemical diversity by modPKS. For this purpose, we employ cryo-electron microscopy to comprehensively study the organization of modPKS bimodules as minimal representations of assembly lines organization. In combination with functional analysis, biophysical studies and chemoenzymatic trapping we address the architectures underlying directed substrate transfer. The research builds on modern and rapidly evolving techniques, including cryo electron microscopy, advanced optical imaging and biophysics, as well as chemical probes, which are most relevant for front-line molecular biology research. Success in this project will allow the host lab and organization to establish new collaborations for translating insights on modPKS architecture for the design of novel or re-engineered assembly lines for the generation of advanced chemical compounds and drug candidates.


Participants :
- University of Basel (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet PGEPP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Polyploidy events (i.e. the process of genome doubling that gives rise to organisms with multiple sets of chromosomes) have had a strong impact on land plants diversification, adaptation and speciation. Genomic investigations have found that polyploidy is ubiquitous among angiosperms and have identified independent lineage-specific ancient polyploidizations. Traces of these polyploidy events are still present, although duplication events are followed by massive gene loss and chromosome structural rearrangements. However, the mechanisms/principles that govern these genomic changes following polyploidization are still poorly understood. Our project aims to overcome this limitation by analyzing genomic changes following polyploidization in three plant families among which two are of particular agricultural and economical importance. Specifically I will test if common mechanisms (e.g. presence of repetitive elements) are involved in chromosomal rearrangements. I will combine physical mapping approaches (molecular cytogenetic and optical mapping) and sequence analysis to characterize and compare genomic collinearity (synteny) between genomes of Brassicaceae, Cleomaceae and Solanaceae species. This work will improve our understanding of genome evolution by looking mechanisms of chromosomal changes and will improve synteny analysis between model plants such as Arabidopsis and more distant crops for homolog identification.


Participants :
- Wageningen University & Research (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet AGenDA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Population ageing and gender inequality are cross-cutting political and societal challenges facing Europe. AGenDA meets this challenges by implementing novel and interdisciplinary state-of the-art research on the interaction between multiple intersecting inequalities in Long-Term Care (LTC) reforms. It focuses on the impact of civil society organizations (CSOs) mobilizing around gender, age and disability in reform coalitions in Italy and Spain. Through research and public engagement, AGenDA’s strives to promote inclusive equality in LTC systems, thereby contributing to meet Horizon 2020 challenges “Health, demographic change and wellbeing” and “Inclusive, Innovative and Reflective societies”. By engaging civil society, it promotes participation and effectiveness of social actors in decision-making processes as highlighted in Europe 2020 strategy. By focusing on countries which are laggards in the development of LTC and gender equality policies, AGenDA produces and disseminates knowledge on the social and political obstacles that impede the development of fair and inclusive LTC systems, thereby strengthening integration and cohesion within the European Union. In line with MSCA objectives, AGenDA includes a comprehensive training plan to enhance the future career opportunities and inter-sectoral employability of the researcher. These objectives will be achieved through excellent training-through-research, an academic secondment developing new interdisciplinary and methodological competencies and a non-academic secondment providing access to policy networks and on-the-job-training in outreach and public engagement. The ambitious dissemination and communication plan aims at enhancing the international visibility of the project, promoting knowledge-transfer between all actors involved, and producing wider impact on EU institutions, policy-makers, CSOs, academics and the general public.

Mots clés : long term care, welfare state reform, coalitions, civil society, intersectionality, gender, disability, inclusive equality

Participants :
- Scuola Normale Superiore (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet Ethics and Ageing (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Population aging will raise formidable ethical challenges for the European Union in the coming decades. Declining fertility rates and increased longevity are gradually increasing the ‘dependency ratio’ – the ratio of persons aged over 65, to persons of working age. In 2010, the EU-wide dependency ratio stood at 26%; by 2050, it will rise to 50% (Eurostat projections). As the balance in numbers shifts from citizens who work to those who are retired, the question of how to sustain the key programmes of the welfare state becomes ever more pressing. How can EU public policymakers best maintain their commitment to social solidarity under conditions of population ageing? This research project proposes a comprehensive analysis of the ethical challenge posed by population aging. It is based on the following guiding observation: while European Union policy-makers (especially in the European Commission) are conscious of the fact that the EU needs an overall strategic approach to this challenge, they do not have at their disposal scholarship that provides an ethical analysis of this challenge at the appropriate level of generality. The project will be based in the Department of Philosophy of Law at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). It will be supervised by Professor Andrew Williams, one of the world’s leading political philosophers, under the auspices of the UPF research group, the “Philosophy of Law”. Additionally, the project will be developed in dialogue with one of the world’s leading social scientists on the welfare state and population aging, Professor Gøsta Esping-Andersen, who runs the “DEMOSOC” research group at UPF. The project will thus have an interdisciplinary character, moving back and forth between ethics and social science, and more specifically, between these two research groups at UPF, with the aim of producing comprehensive and grounded guidance on a key challenge facing the European Union.

Mots clés : ageing, social justice, liberal equality

Participants :
- Pompeu Fabra University (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet CRYO-FISH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Populations of fish species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula have been declining since the mid-20th century due to several factors such as habitat loss, water quality deterioration or presence of alien fish species. Furthermore, with the tendency for global warming, the typical summer droughts in Iberia are expected to become more intense and extended in time, so this fact could pose an additional extinction risk factor for the native fish. In this regard, from the 26 native species of the Portuguese freshwater fish, around 70% are already under threat according to the IUCN. Cryo-Fish will progress on basic knowledge of the reproductive biology of endemic freshwater ichthyofauna, assessing for the first-time gamete quality throughout the breeding season. New techniques for gamete assay and protocols for cryopreservation will the purpose of creating a genetic resource bank for biodiversity preservation. From the point of view of basic research, Cryo-Gamete is going to reveal unknown aspects of breeding cycle of the most endangered cyprinids, providing data that will help ex situ conservation captivity programs. The data that will be systematically collected and analysed will create knowledge on the right timing to collect gametes and how to manage them to assure artificial propagation of species in captivity. On the other hand, this proposal wishes to lay the groundwork for making a genetic resource bank of the most endangered fish species at national level. In this regard, new gamete cryopreservation protocols will be designed for the project goal species, being possible to have a wild-phenotypic backup of each population. Finally, Cryo-Fish is going to approach a novel technique located on the frontier of scientific knowledge: fish embryo cryopreservation. This technique will be addressed based on a laser gold nanotechnology, and it will be applied for the first time in freshwater endangered species within the topic of preserving biodiversity.

Mots clés : gamete quality, cryobanking, cryopresevation, ex situ conservation

Participants :
- University of Algarve (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 147815.04 €
Projet MotionESt (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Portable and wearable devices including smartwatches, health monitoring, and multimedia devices are becoming increasingly popular in our daily lives. These devices are generally powered by batteries that have a limited lifetime. Recently, the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) has shown to be an effective approach to transforming biomechanical energy to power up these devices. However, TENGs generate low energy and AC signals which limit their use in continuously powering up electronics. The AC signals of TENGs must be converted and stored in energy storage. Among energy storage devices, supercapacitors (SCs) are found to be a promising device due to their high power density, moderate energy density, long cycle life, and safe use. Hence, this project aims to develop an integrated device (TENGSC), connecting a high-performance TENG with an SC, which can store the transformed biomechanical energy. However, the TENG and SC are susceptible to undergoing damage during biomechanical actions. This mechanical damage can be overcome by developing self-healable TENG and SC. The self-healing nature will help to restore their properties if any damage happens during the cyclic movements. Moreover, to harvest high power from the TENG, a 3D printing technique will be followed, which can easily introduce micropatterns on the film surface. The micro-patterns provide higher frictional effect which is the key factor in increasing the conversion efficiency of TENG. Besides, the energy density of the SC can be increased through using porous MXenes –Ti3C2 as electrode materials. This can be developed through the 3D printing of a Ti3C2/graphite–based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) filament followed by pyrolysis. The waste drinking water bottles can be used as PET source. Thus, through this work, biomechanically driven smart power source will be developed along with concept of waste to wealth transformation, which can be used in portable and wearable electronics.

Mots clés : nanogenerators, supercapacitors, 3d printing, 2d nanomaterials

Participants :
- Brno University of Technology (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 144980.64 €
Projet IMAGINE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Positive cancerous margins after surgery lead to an increased risk of progression and reduced disease free survival. Obtaining clear margins of cancerous lesions can be very challenging during surgery. Raman spectroscopy is a unique label-free optical technique based on inelastic light scattering that offers tissue "optical biopsy" at the molecular level. IMAGINE is a multidisciplinary approach that aims to develop the first widefield near-infrared (NIR) Raman imaging probe for intraoperative margin assessment. A new ultra-high sensitive InGaAs focal plane array (FPA) camera integrated with a novel combination of band-pass filters will be integrated to selectively probe the biomolecular constituents of tissues in the high-wavenumber range (i.e., 2800-3600 cm-1) providing a new endogenous biomolecular contrast mechanism for visualisation of resection margins during cancer surgery. A prototype will be developed and applied ex vivo on excised tissues from colorectal cancer patients. Histopathology will serve as gold standard and the sensitivity, specificy, receiver operating characteristics (ROCs), tumour contrast, and potential clinical/surgical impact will be evaluated. The new optical bioimaging modality proposed here constitutes a simple non-invasive cost-effective and broadly applicable technique for margin assessment of cancers compatible with in vivo laparoscopic settings. This translationally driven project fosters multidisciplinary research involving bioengineering, optical engineering and clinical research and has the support of a strong international industrial secondment. IMAGINE will enhance the mobility and innovative potential of the applicant and open new avenues in cancer surgery, which will strengthen the scientific excellence in Europe and ultimately benefit the patients.

Mots clés : raman spectroscopy, widefield raman imaging, noninvasive, label free diagnosis, cancer

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €