Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet EXPHON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Optical properties of materials are most relevant for a large variety of technological applications, ranging from photovoltaics over various spectroscopy techniques to LEDs and displays. In optical spectra, microscopic quantum many-body effects like excitons, i.e. coupled electron-hole-pair excitations, are measurable at a macroscopic scale and crucially determine the materials properties. Hence, a deep understanding of excitons constitutes an indispensable driving force for innovation in optics and optoelectronics. The state-of-the-art parameter-free theoretical description of excitons is based on the ab-initio methods of many-body perturbation theory. The present theoretical standard approach for exciton spectra, which relies on the Bethe-Salpeter equation, takes only the static electronic screening of the electron-hole-pair interaction into account. The coupling of excitons to phonons and, hence, polaronic screening contributions are completely omitted. However, the exciton-phonon coupling is crucial for the qualitative and quantitative understanding of exciton spectra in materials with strong polaronic effects, such as many technologically highly relevant oxides. EXPHON will close this gap of knowledge. It focuses on the ab-initio description of excitons in systems with strong polaronic lattice screening. The key objectives are (i) the development of a theoretical method that takes polaronic screening of the electron-hole interaction into account, (ii) the implementation of this theoretical scheme in an ab-initio software package, and (iii) the calculation of reliable exciton spectra for materials with strong polaronic effects. This will be a major step forward towards a full description of the interplay between electronic and lattice degrees of freedom in semiconductors.

Mots clés : ab initio calculations, excitons, phonons, many body perturbation theory, density functional theory, optical absorption, electronic structure

Participants :
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet INPAROL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Oral diseases constitute an increased major public health burden. Alternative dental prevention and therapeutic approaches such as probiotics are gaining popularity, but partly due to these products being live bacteria their use has not gained significant popularity in dentistry. Parabiotics in appropriate doses have been shown to induce health benefits in other medical fields but have only as yet been tested sparingly for dental use. INPAROL aims at producing innovative parabiotics through ultrasound technology from mixed strains of probiotics used in commercial products. INPARAOL probiotics’ effects will be assessed by antimicrobial testing against oral pathogens (single and mixed culture) and also following exposure to varied environmental conditions. Best performing parabiotics will be subjected to biofilm assays replicating oral conditions and toxicity assays, in vitro cell monolayers and in vivo zebrafish embryo models, will be performed. Finally, the molecular changes of changes to inflammatory mediators will be monitored with complex in vitro infection models. Overall, this is the first time parabiotics for oral health application will be produced with the proposed methods which makes this research so niche. My strong clinical and microbiology research background makes INPAROL an ideal fit. I will be joined by a strong supervisory team at the University of Malta consisting of a renowned microbiologist and co-supervised by a world-leader on innovative antimicrobial approaches from the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam. INPAROL affords an unprecedented opportunity to build on my expertise to kick-start an independent research path in oral health research.

Mots clés : dentistry, probiotics, parabiotics, applied microbiology, antimicrobial testing, zebrafish embryo models, infection models, oral health, periodontal disease, caries

Participants :
- University of Malta (Malte) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 148049.28 €
Projet NovoFold (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Order is a prerequisite for activity, which is the essence of the sequence-structure-function paradigm of bio-macromolecules. Proteins are a case in point, displaying intricate architectures and impressive functions. Understanding how the primary sequence of these complex macromolecules relates to their 3D structure and vice versa is of fundamental interest and the basis for broad technological exploitation of proteins. The proposed research aims to investigate the folding space of proteins, gaining new insights that will help in solving the folding conundrum. Specifically, the frequency and sequence patterns of ordered polypeptides and their physical and structural properties will be experimentally analysed. Based on these data sets, exploratory data analysis can be performed, providing unprecedented insights into protein folding. Generation of quantifiable high quality data is thus of utmost importance for this project. One of the main objectives of this proposal is therefore the development of an ultrahigh-throughput experimental platform for discovery of de novo proteins with unparalleled precision, using state-of-the-art molecular biology methods. Based on cutting-edge mRNA display technology, I will isolate folded polypeptides from naïve libraries with up to 1E13 members in the size range of 50-100 amino acids. Modern bioinformatic analysis, modelling and biophysical characterisation will be performed to analyse the folding space of proteins and derive new empirical folding rules. Given the increasing importance of protein engineering in fundamental research and industry, the results of this study will be of interest to a wide range of scientists. The fellowship will provide training in state-of-the-art techniques such as statistical data analysis and structural biology. The results of this research project will form the basis for future efforts to exploit the biotechnological potential of newly discovered proteins.

Mots clés : protein folding, in vitro selection, naive libraries, de novo proteins

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet SmOoC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organ on chip (OoC) is a remarkable example of the convergence of biology and microengineering. OoC has a great potential in revolutionizing the current existing in-vitro approach in drug discovery and development, resulting in a reduction in the needs of animal experiment and accelerate the research and development process for future precision and personalised medicine. However, the complexity of the system is a hurdle in the transfer of OoC system from laboratory to large scale manufacturing and commercial application. The miniaturisation and integration of sensing and actuation components is an important aspect to be addressed to ensure manufacturability of the system. Moreover, a closed loop control system is required to create a smart OoC system that can operate dynamically to process the information and make decisions in a predictive or adaptive manner. The objective of this proposed research project is to develop a smart OoC system by utilising multimode Lamb waves for sensing, actuation, and control, integrated within a microfluidic system. The action will combine the researcher expertise and experience in higher order multimode Lamb wave, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and smart system integration, with the supervisors and the host institute experiences in acoustic wave sensor and the integration with microfluidics for biological application. Furthermore, the action will be complemented by a secondment in a non-academic partner that is intended for translational research to bring the technological solution into medical practice. The successful result of this action will contribute to the development of cost effective, automated smart OoC system that is suitable for large scale manufacturing to bridge the gap between laboratory and commercial application for drug discovery and future personalised medicine

Mots clés : organonchip, integrated sensors and actuators, smart microsystem, microfluidics, acoustic lamb waves

Participants :
- Université Marie et Louis Pasteur (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet REPAMPS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) cells are one of the most promising energy conversion materials of our modern world due to their high-mechanical flexibility, robustness, and low-cost production. However, a crucial drawback remains: their low energy conversion efficiency. A reason for this can be ascribed to electronic-vibrational dynamics affecting the ultrafast charge separation occurring in the material upon light absorption. Substantial efforts have been made to defeat this problem, however the incomplete understanding of the elementary mechanism governing the conversion process has restrained further advancements in this direction. In REPAMPS (Recursive Engineering electronic Properties of Artificial energy Materials with multi-Pulse Spectroscopy). I will deliver a first-principles theoretical description of the charge transfer mechanism governing the energy conversion for a prototypical OPV, the P3HT-PCBM blend, and introduce the novel Spectrally Engineered Control (SEC) methodology to direct the charge transfer process towards higher power conversion. A TDDFT methodology will be used to parametrize the P3HT-PCBM heterojunction in its environment, and a molecular dynamics protocol will be adopted for a realistic modelling of the dissipation and spectral bath. Quantum dynamics with explicit description of the external fields and calculation of various time-resolved optical spectroscopies will be simulated. The signals will be validated in collaboration with an experimental group. Nonadiabatic dynamical processes (e.g. conical intersections) affecting the charge transfer and the environment role will be carefully investigated. Last, I introduce the SEC approach combining optimal control theory with the analysis of the spectra, representing a solid strategy for the photocontrol of the molecular mechanism (charge-transfer) governing the power conversion in OPV materials. I will then propose new design strategies for OPV materials using the insights gained from REPAMPS.

Mots clés : artificial energy materials  opvs, time resolved multidimensional spectroscopy, ultrafast, nonadiabatic dynamics, tddft, molecular dynamics simulations, optimal control theory

Participants :
- University of Groningen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175572.48 €
Projet LEAPh (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Organic bioelectronics has emerged as a disruptive technology, introducing devices with unprecedented features of biocompatibility and functionality. The potential of organic materials resides not only in their favorable mechanical properties, which comply to those of biological tissues, but also on their ability to enable mixed electronic and ionic transport and on the possibility to finely tune their optoelectronic properties, such as optical absorption, charge photogeneration and transport. In addition, the synthesis of organic compounds can be tuned to further improve biocompatibility and to allow for chemical or biochemical functionalization, as well as to enable cost-effective and scalable processability of materials. For these reasons, a plethora of biocompatible, mechanically compliant, large area, multipoint biosensing and stimulating devices are now available, generating novel interaction routes between biological systems, bioelectronics devices, and consumer electronics, such as smartphones and portable devices. Because of the general involvement of ionic transport in biological environments, organic bioelectronic devices are inherently slow, i.e. characterized by slow switching capabilities, limited to few kHz. This fundamental aspect brings along some limitations, such as low-frequency operation and fluctuations of the operating parameters. The goal of the LEAPh project is to develop a novel bioelectronic device specifically devised to address in an unprecedented way the low-operating frequency of current bioelectronics, as well as providing a noise-free measurement of biochemical and biological interactions. Moreover, the same technology could pave the way towards a new class of low-voltage organic electro-optical systems.

Mots clés : organic electronics, organic bioelectronics, printed electronics, electrolyte gated transistors

Participants :
- Italian Institute of Technology (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 269002.56 €
- Stanford University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet TRIBOSC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organic compounds could provide a sustainable revolution in the generation of electricity from sunlight. Organic photonic material nanostructures, capable of efficient light harvesting when employed as active layer in solution processable organic solar cells and photovoltaic devices are essential. The present proposal demonstrate an innovative strategy for the direct application of conceptually new, chiral donor-acceptor (D-A) materials in organic solar cells (OSCs). Taking a leaf from nature’s book, we envision that introduction of chiral functionalities in the active layer could administer anisotropic charge transport with excellent charge carrier mobilities, precise molecular ordering with nanoscopic D-A domains and re-enforced intra/inter molecular communication. The proposal brings together an experienced researcher with expertise in the area of design and synthesis of D-A supramolecular conjugates and ultrafast time resolved spectroscopy with an internationally recognized host laboratory in the University of Nottingham, UK with an expertise in the synthesis of chiral superstructures for organic materials and developing photovoltaic device fabrication. It is our strong conviction that the novel approach depicted here, will instigate new breakthroughs for the construction of novel photofunctional materials with enhanced solar cell efficiencies. As the proposal integrates skill sets from extended network of collaborators such as chemists, engineers and physicist with diverse backgrounds, and we believe that it will eventually enhance and contribute towards European excellence in sustainable solar light harvesting.

Mots clés : bulk heterojunction solar cells, light harvesting, sustainable chemistry, supramolecular material chemistry, organic photovoltaics, charge separated states, chiral donor acceptor molecules, optoelectr

Participants :
- University of Nottingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet TEXTHIOL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organic conductive polymers are gaining increased interest each day due to their broad applications, low cost and ease of manipulation. Their potential to develop new products that will transform the daily lives of people in Europe and around the world is significant. Among the application areas with the highest potential, smart textiles provide one of the most futuristic and innovative potential products. At present, a conducting polymeric material that can be use directly as textile does not exist primarily a consequence of the poor (brittle) materials properties of conducting polymers. Any such products are created by coating of the conductive material onto the textile or tissue. However the ability to use polymers to create wearable electronics has transformative potential to become a disruptive technology. This proposal aims to create a conductive polymer with elastomeric properties such that it has enhanced materials properties and can therefore be applied directly as scaffold for smart textile creation. To make the polymeric scaffold, the nucleophilic thiol-yne “click” reaction between an activated alkyne and thiol will be used. This pathway will enable retention of the electrical conductivity while presenting the possibility to tune the mechanical properties by choosing the stereochemistry (E/Z) of the unsaturated bond that is formed. Moreover, the elastomeric nature of the resultant materials, presents a unique opportunity to create conductive elastomers that can be easily applied to wearable electronics: able to record electrical signals such as heartbeats or muscular contractions. The project is going to combining the organic synthesis and click chemistry expertise of Mantione with that of conducting polymer synthesis and characterization of Prof. Hadziioannou. The planned secondment is aiming to allied to the expertise of Prof. Malliaras (Cambridge, UK) in wearable electronics: biotest the materials and practically create the textile.

Mots clés : organic conductive polymers, thiol yne click reaction, wearable electronics, smart textile

Participants :
- Université de Bordeaux (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet AIE-RTP-PLED (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as displays and luminaires have generated enormous attention because of their unique advantages compared to other lighting and display technologies. These include the capacity to fabricate ultra-thin, flexible and transparent devices that additionally have a much lower power consumption. Limited by the electron spin statistics, the maximum internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of conventional fluorescent OLEDs is only 25%. In contrast, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) can theoretically realize 100% IQE by recruiting triplet excitons and converting them into singlet excitons via reverse intersystem crossing. Most TADF materials must be doped into a rigid host matrix in order to suppress aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and other nonradiative processes. An alternative mechanism where 100% IQE can be realized is room temperature phosphorescence (RTP). This proposal targets the development of polymers that are both RTP and show aggregation induced emission (AIE). This permits these materials to be used as high-efficiency emitters in low-cost solution-processed OLEDs. Due to the synergistic effect of AIE, RTP, and polymer, high-efficiency RTP materials can be developed in the amorphous state, a previously undocumented advance in materials development. Through this research proposal, a general road map for simple and high-efficiency PLEDs will be constructed based on AIE-RTP polymers.

Mots clés : aggregation induced emission, room temperature phosphorescence, luminescent polymers, light emitting diodes, organic semiconductors

Participants :
- University of St Andrews (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet BEES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : European Researchers' Night
Statut du projet : CLOSED

"Be a citizen scientist"will be the slogan of European Researchers' Night organized by Frascati Scienza in 36 Italian cities. 59 partners - research centres, educational institutes, universities, cultural and scientific centres and associations of science communication - will work together with citizens to increase the spread and relevance of the message that science and the researchers' work have to be actively participated by the society. Besides the hundreds science communication activities organized and promoted by Frascati Scienza in the previous 12 European Researchers' Night, some events will be designed to specifically involve the public, and in particular young people, to be co-protagonist of the manifestation. This will be the power of the Frascati Scienza' European Researchers' Night, that want to involve citizens not only in the debate about science but thrilling them in directly experience the discovery of science. Citizens will participate in mini citizen science projects, aiming to valorize the Italian cultural and scientific heritage, working together with researchers and in strong connection with the cities involved, enhancing the role of the researchers for the society and the relationship with policy makers and stakeholders.

Mots clés : european researchers  night, value of research, young people, citizen science, impact assessment

Participants :
- Frascati Scienza (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 360000.0 €
Projet JUNIOR LEADER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Cofund Postdoctoral programme
Statut du projet : SIGNED

"la Caixa" Foundation (LCF) is a Spanish private foundation with a solid tradition as an innovative institution. LCF ranks among the top 10 world foundations considering either endowment or annual budget. LCF fellowship framework programme has awarded 4,771 fellowships since 1982. Junior Leader is an existing LCF fellowship programme addressed to excellent experienced researchers of all nationalities willing to join one of the outstanding research centres in Spain or Portugal in the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Junior Leader aims to train a new generation of researchers to become independent leaders, oriented towards both academia and industry, that will help to develop the European knowledge economy. LCF now is seeking support from the COFUND action with the aim to strength Junior Leader programme and the professional career development of the fellows. Thanks to the COFUND support, LCF will be able to enlarge the existing programme of 44 fellowships by adding 16 more fellowships, offering fellows an outstanding, more complete training as well as more networking possibilities thanks to a new secondment scheme. Junior Leader will award 60 fellowships divided into two calls. The programme will have a duration of 60 months. Fellows will freely propose a research project to be carried out at one of the 110 Spanish and Portuguese research centres certified as excellent that collaborate with the programme. Researchers will be selected by means of an open, transparent and merit-based three-stages selection process with independent evaluators. Junior Leader fellows will be offered 3-year employment contracts with the host organisation of their choice following a bottom-up approach.

Mots clés : postdoctoral programme, stem, experienced researcher, training, open science, secondment, industry, academia, technology transfer, career development plan, international mobility

Participants :
- Fundación Bancaria Caixa d’Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 5737680.0 €