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

The development of specifically designed nanomaterials for advanced medical applications such as theranostics has become a major technical challenge with great potential societal and economic outcomes. Nanomedicine and related techniques hold great promises for improved diagnostic and treatment of widely spread diseases such as cancer. This project, entitled NanoIntra, aims at developing novel multitasking nanoparticles as advanced tools for highly localized and ultrasensitive intracellular imaging and biosensing. These nanoprobes should provide new insights in the spatial and temporal processes at play in live cells and therefore reveal part of their mystery. Such functional objects are achieved through the design of a complex architecture which involves quantum dots as bright and stable luminescent markers encapsulated in a protective silica matrix. These nanoparticles are combined with plasmonic nanocrystals, which offer new strategies for their photothermally induced intracellular delivery. The targeting and imaging of specific subcellular structures is then achieved thanks to proper surface functionalization of the nanoparticles. In addition, the plasmonic nanocrystals also allow these nanoparticles to be used as Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) biosensors. Finally, for a higher control on the use of such nano-biosensors, optical tweezers are used to purposefully manipulate and position the nanoparticles inside the cells at the region of interest. Besides their application in cell labeling and biosensing, these functional nanoparticles have tremendous potential applications in the fields of theranostics, nanomedicine and nanobiophotonics, and NanoIntra constitutes a first step toward the development of a full lab-on-a-particle. Thus, through the synthesis and characterization of novel materials and their application to biotechnology, NanoIntra is a multidisciplinary research and training project at the interface between physics, chemistry and biology.

Mots clés : silica, quantum dots, fluorescent, plasmonic, gold, surface functionalization, cell labeling, endosomal escape, sers, optical tweezers, theranostics, nanomedicine, nanobiophotonics

Participants :
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 258530.4 €
- Cornell University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet LIPSYNING (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The development of the nervous system is associated with the generation of excess neuronal synapses that is followed by their tightly controlled removal, a process known as synaptic pruning. In the primate cortex, for example, 70% of connections are selectively lost within the first six months of life. Why are so many synapses lost, what determines which synapses are eliminated, what are the molecular mechanisms involved, and what are the consequences of not getting it right? Recently, several studies have presented microglial phagocytosis as a mechanism for synapse elimination. Neural activity plays a role in synaptic pruning, but the neuronal “eat-me” signals that mediate phagocytic recognition and engulfment of synapses remain to be identified. We hypothesize that cell surface exposure of the lipid phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) is a key “eat-me” signal for synaptic pruning during development. Therefore we aim to define the role of PtdSer in synapse-microglia interaction and to assess the morphological, circuit maturation and behavioural effects of impaired PtdSer exposure in phospholipid scramblase-deficient brains. We propose to use novel custom-made tool to observe PtdSer exposure without interfering with PtdSer-dependent cellular interactions and two mouse models with disrupted PtdSer exposure to study how PtdSer contributes to circuit refinement. The identification of an “eat-me” signal will shed the light on what distinguishes synapses destined to be eliminated from those that survive and will be the first step in understanding why the majority of synapses are turned over during brain development before the final connectome emerges. As aberrant brain wiring during development is known to be defective in a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders, understanding how circuits are formed and refined during developmental period will be critical to understand their aetiology and initiate the development of the therapy targeting molecular mechanisms of disease.

Mots clés : microglia, synaptic pruning, eat me  signal, phosphatidylserine, phospholipid scramblase, click chemistry, dreadds, neurophysiology, animal behaviour

Participants :
- Vilnius University (Lituanie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 130779.6 €
Projet FLEXI-G (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The difficulty faced by central banks in dealing with counterfeit currency, cheques and credit cards is a new domain where electronics on paper or plastic can make a big difference. If GMR sensors can be realized on the paper of the currency note or cheques and the plastic of credit card, then we could boost the efforts related to combating counterfeits and simultaneously advance the research in the field of flexible electronics. The integration of GMR components onto a flexible device requires overcoming several practical challenges. Here, we aim in fabricating flexible GMR sensor on paper using FeCo and Cu nanoparticles for potential applications such as currency authenticity tags. This challenging multidisciplinary project will be supported by the outstanding research environment at the host group (Bendable Electronics and Sensing Technologies (BEST) group) led by Dr. Ravinder Dahiya (RD) at University of Glasgow (UoG). The various objectives of this project include; synthesize and characterize controlled composition of FeCo and Cu nanoparticles by polyol process, printing multiple GMR alternate layers of the FeCo and Cu nanoparticles on paper and integrate the paper-GMR sensor with other electronic components on flexible substrates. The developed GMR sensor on paper will be suitable for applications such as authenticity tags for preventing currency counterfeits.

Mots clés : magnetic materials, nanoparticles, sensors, counterfeit, flexible, bendable electronics

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

The discovery of first centimeter-sized chemical motors has brought great interest in the field of catalytic micro/nanomotors fabrication. By harnessing chemical energy from active fuels, nanomotors with long-range and sustainable movement have been achieved, promising their biomedical application. However, the potential side effect of active fuels and limited motion control still constrain the nanomotor field. Using biocompatible and abundant water as fuel to drive intelligent movement will enable an ideal nanomotor. The goal of this proposal is to exploit artificial photosynthetic water splitting to drive intelligent movement of stomatocyte nanomotor by taking inspiration from thylakoid, which has not been explored before. The highlight of this proposal is the compartmentalized immobilization of natural most efficient water oxidation catalyst, photosystem II and artificial metal-free water reduction catalyst, nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots on stomatocyte nanomotor to drive translational and rotational motion by catalysing artificial photosynthetic water splitting. Motion speed and direction can be individually controlled for intelligent movement by regulating the translational and rotational motion. Solar energy is simultaneously converted into chemical and kinetic energy by the artificial photosynthetic stomatocyte nanomotor. This design will be a paradigm shift for future nanomotor development with controlled attributes driven by biocompatible resources, and artificial photosynthetic system development with high efficiency. The project clearly links to Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships work programme, which will diversify my individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training and international mobility together with strong two way transfer of knowledge.

Mots clés : nanomotor, artificial photosynthesis, supramolecular, biomimetic system

Participants :
- Radboud University Nijmegen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175572.48 €
Projet GRACE-BH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The discovery of gravitational waves (GWs) marks the dawn of a new era for astronomy. On 2019 May 21, the gravitational-wave (GW) detectors LIGO and Virgo observed the coalescence of a massive binary black hole: the merger remnant of GW190521 is the first intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) observed through GWs. This opens new perspectives for the study of IMBHs, bridging the gap between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The interpretation of current and future observations requires a theoretical framework capable of modelling both the formation of IMBHs and their co-evolution with the host star clusters. Numerical simulations offer a unique tool to model IMBHs from the seeding phase to their full growth. However, the existing literature misses a thorough study that fully explores the parameter space and captures the complex physics behind IMBHs. Including these aspects represents a fundamental step to bridge stellar dynamics and GW astronomy. The GRACE-BH project aims at building such a bridge providing a solution to one of the challenging questions of modern astrophysics: What are the best conditions favouring the formation of IMBHs in star clusters? To address this open question, I will combine forefront numerical simulations and semi-analytic techniques to probe the parameter space, focusing on the role of stellar multiplicity and primordial mass segregation in star clusters. I will model the complex physics associated with IMBH formation, investigating the impact of dynamical interactions, runaway collisions, pair-instability and relativistic kicks on IMBH formation. The exploitation of these models will enable us to describe the survival and growth of IMBH seeds in different environments, shedding a light on the conditions that favour IMBH formation in star clusters. This will allow us to dissect the demography of GW sources powered by IMBHs and to make predictions for next-generation ground-based and spaceborne GW detectors like LISA.

Mots clés : stellar black holes, intermediate mass black holes, star clusters, galaxy dynamics

Participants :
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 53513.04 €
- University of Padua (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 129960.24 €
Projet PHOTOCATALYSIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The discovery of smart and highly efficient catalysts for solar energy conversion and green fuel production is a global scientific challenge due to increasing energy demand and related environmental consequences. Synthetic photocatalysis is highly promising, but employs to date expensive and/or toxic metals, such as Pt, Au, Ru, Cd, Ag, and Ir. This hampers the development of large-scale and introduces environmental issues. The aim of this proposal is to develop stable, recyclable and metal-free heterogeneous photocatalysts for the Diels-Alder (D–A) reaction. D–A reactions are one of the most powerful synthetic protocols for the synthesis of unsaturated six-membered rings, yet to be well established for the industry. Herein, we selected porous organic polymers, namely Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) and Covalent Triazine Frameworks (CTFs), because they allow synergistic utilization of their skeleton and pores. Due to their high porosity and uniform pores, they allow for confined space synergies and easy mass transport. The pi-species in these catalysts are highly photo-catalytically active. These metal-free insoluble-polymer-catalysts are expected to show high thermal and chemical stability. Therefore, these catalysts can be easily separated out from the reaction mixture and re-activated for cycle use. Furthermore, we will use these catalysts in a continuous-flow reactor, which could open up a new avenue for catalyst industry.

Mots clés : metal free catalyst, heterogeneous, recyclable, photocatalysis, diels alder reactions

Participants :
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 178320.0 €
Projet EpiCDomestic (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The domestication of plants and animals is increasingly being seen as a distinct evolutionary process. In cases such as that of the domestic dog, this process is shaped by practical requirements often intertwined with environmental stress. However, a convincing reconciliation of the rapid phenotypic alteration observed in early canine domesticates and the associated molecular evolution rates is yet to be modelled. The hypothesis of this project is that epigenetic activity, being increasingly seen as an evolutionary driver and known to be affected by environmental stress, is a central process to the evolution / domestication paradigm. Archaeological samples of wolves and contemporary early dog domesticates provide an ideal dataset with which to explore this hypothesis. A large collection of such remains from different environs (Siberia, Greenland and Denmark), spanning a large time-scale from the Upper Paleolithic around 30,000 years before present, to the second millennium CE, present the opportunity to explore this hypothesis and identify molecular variation where domestication has taken different regional tracts. A combination of ancient DNA, ancient RNA, and advanced bioinformatic approaches will allow us to see not only the paleogenomic state, but how it fluctuates and evolves according to its environment. Paleogenomic approaches to epigenetics are at the forefront of evolutionary biology and allow real-time snapshots of such evolutionary process to be observed. The combined expertise of the applicant and host institution in paleogenomic research, the state-of-the-art methodology proposed, and the global importance of dogs to humans will result in significant and high-impact output, beneficial to all concerned.

Mots clés : ancient dna, ancient rna, evolution, domestication, archaeology, holocene, pleistocene, paleolithic, epigenetics, bioinformatics, canines, dogs, wolves

Participants :
- University of Copenhagen (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 200194.8 €
Projet TRANSITION-FRICTION (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The dominant framing of humanity’s current predicament emphasizes ‘planetary limits’ and impending environmental collapse, with ‘green economy’ strategies as a necessary response. Initiatives for transitions to ‘green’ production and consumption patterns are emerging and multiplying, at different scales and all over the world. The visions of ‘sustainability’ underpinning these initiatives are diverse, and their heterogeneous socio-ecological effects raise urgent questions of justice. With a focus on the power dynamics and inequalities of green transition initiatives, TRANSITION-FRICTION will cross-fertilise three literatures – political ecology, transition studies and ethnographies of global connections. Using ethnographic methods and discourse analysis, the project will study a novel university in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, explicitly conceived as a catalyst for the country’s transition away from extraction and export of oil and other sub-soil resources, towards a ‘green and sustainable economy’. With its 93,000 hectare ‘living laboratory’, Ikiam University is a site of ‘friction’: between the forest and the urban, between indigenous and industrial science, between conservation and extractivism, between commons and the market. Such friction is not only conflictual, it is also ‘interconnection across difference’, productive of new relations and interactions. In analysing these new socio-ecological relations and interactions in one of the world’s poorest, most biodiverse regions, the project will develop an original conceptual framework and methodological approach for the analysis of green economy transition initiatives and their uneven effects in the Amazon and elsewhere.

Mots clés : sustainable development, green economy, social justice, transition, ecuador, amazon, extractivism, indigenous people, political ecology

Participants :
- University of Manchester (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet SN-STM_FM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The dynamics of exotic systems such as high-temperature superconductors and heavy fermion materials is gaining ever increasing interest as it contains important clues to the mechanism driving the often unanticipated and technologically very relevant properties. Shot noise spectroscopy is a very powerful technique to study the dynamics of electronic correlations in such quantum electron systems, but to date has been limited to mesoscopic systems. We propose to set up, test and use an experimental probe that can perform shot noise measurements on the atomic scale, thereby gaining access to crucial information on the scale where all the action occurs: the atoms, the electrons, and – in combination with spin resolved tunneling spectroscopy – the spins. We will achieve this by developing a low temperature, high frequency compatible scanning tunneling microscope. This project will combine expertise on shot noise spectroscopy at CNRS in Paris and low temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy expertise of the experienced researcher, and will bring important new insights into the time domain properties of correlated electron systems.

Mots clés : scanning probe microscopy, shot noise, low temperature, high frequency

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet ECONPARTY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The economy influences which parties citizens vote for. But how do parties respond to macroeconomic conditions? Despite the theoretical and normative implications on democratic representation, existing studies have yet to provide an answer. ECONPARTY addresses this lacuna by investigating how the economy influences party behavior. It begins with this idea: parties electorally disadvantaged by the economy alter their issue profiles during elections and in legislative activities, in order to reduce voters' attention on the economy. Economic growth motivates parties to differentiate their issue profiles, while decline motivates them to do the opposite (converge). ECONPARTY will first investigate how parties differentiate or converge on three types of issues – redistribution, public services, and non-economic issues such as immigration. It will then examine the impacts of sustained growth and decline on party polarization. ECONPARTY will provide a new research agenda on the political effects of the macroeconomy, and boost methodological innovation in the fields of political economy and party competition. ECONPARTY will construct two game-theoretic models of the macroeconomy's impacts on parties' electoral and legislative strategies (models 1 and 2). The models will yield testable hypotheses. It will then utilize automated content analysis to code election manifestos and legislative bills from 1960 to 2020 in 10 democracies. Large-N statistical analyses will follow. The fellowship is crucial for my becoming a professor at a European university. Under the guidance of Prof. Johannes Lindvall, I will gain 1) new research skills in political economy and public policy, 2) scientific skills in time-series models, and 3) transferrable skills in academic publishing, grant management, and public outreach. These skills will help establish my expertise in political economy and democratic representation, and help me inform the public on the economy's potential in shaping politics.

Mots clés : political economy of elections, issue competition

Participants :
- Lund University (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203852.16 €
Projet ECECWorkforce (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The education and training of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce is of prime importance as it equips practitioners with the knowledge, skills and attitudinal competences needed to work with children. Training supports them in creating quality environments for children to enhance the quality of provision and subsequent child outcomes. The research is timely with the increased interest in the benefits of quality ECEC for supporting the holistic development of children, but with a need to understand more about the role of the workforce in this. Whilst qualifications have been established as important for the quality of ECEC, little is known about the nature of the qualifications and the role that they play in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudinal competences needed to best enhance the quality of ECEC provision. The research will focus on ECEC qualification requirements, structure, content and characteristics across Europe. The project will analyse (via secondary data) the qualification requirements across Europe, the composition of the qualifications and their relationship to child outcomes. This macro level analysis will be supported by a detailed investigation (via empirical research) into the delivery of qualifications and the role they play in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudinal competences appropriate to the context. The detailed investigation of qualifications will consider the formulation, delivery, experiences and application of ECEC higher education training in the host’s institution, selected for its expertise in training kindergarten pedagogues in Hungary. ECEC in Hungary is under explored, whilst also offering an interesting case to study due to how its history, market composition and quantity of provision contrast with those experienced by the Fellow in the UK. Pertinent for this research is emerging evidence on the divergent views of the knowledge, skills and attitudinal competences needed to work in ECEC.

Mots clés : early childhood education and care, higher education, professionalism, competences

Participants :
- University of Debrecen (Hongrie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 109679.4 €