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

Sparse, highly connected, random-like graphs are currently a focal point in discrete mathematics, theoretical computer science and network science, motivated by the insight that networks of this type are ubiquitous in computing, biology, economics, physics, social science, etc., and by the theoretical challenges of this setting. Random graph models used in statistical modelling of real-world networks include the Molloy-Reed model for scale-free graphs and the Watts-Strogatz model (designed to simultaneously exhibit the small-world phenomenon and formation of hubs, cited 43000 times). Barabási devotes a chapter of his classic network science book to robustness of random graphs, specifically addressing robustness against adversarial attack. Extremal combinatorics includes the fundamental study of sparse networks. Our line of enquiry is sparse Ramsey theory, concerning sparse graphs that are robust in a strong sense, with respect to adversarial edge-partitioning. This notion is also of interest in theoretical computer science. An archetypal robust graph in Ramsey theory is the Erdős-Rényi random graph. Our project addresses some limitations of this paradigm. This projects aims to (1) solve important open problems in Ramsey theory, shedding light on a surprising synergy between structural and Ramsey-type properties of graphs, (2) open up new frontiers in sparse Ramsey theory by using a random Cayley graph (RCG) as a much-needed alternative sparse robust graphs to the Erdős-Rényi model, (3) advance the essential tools in random graph theory (sparse regularity framework, concentration bounds, embedding and colouring techniques) by taking them into an entirely new algebraic setting, (4) illuminate potentially useful classes of expander graphs with both structure and randomness.

Mots clés : ramsey theory, random graphs, cayley graphs, sparse regularity, hypergraph containers, expander, discrete fourier analysis, robustness

Participants :
- University of Zagreb (Croatie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 147463.68 €
Projet FLUID (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Spectral downconversion of visible or UV-light, that is the transformation of high-energy light into lower energy radiation, is used for a broad range of commercial products or applications and is therefore part of everyday life of most people. For example, highlighter pen inks contain organic dyes able to transform ambient UV-light into visible radiation making surfaces such as paper or fabric look bright. In contrast, optical effects based on light upconversion, that is the transformation of low-energy light into higher energy radiation, have barely been investigated since solid-state materials efficiently upconverting light at low intensities (< 100mW·cm-2) are only slowly emerging. The aim of this project is to conceive and prepare functional ink formulations capable of upconverting light by triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) therefore enabling unique new optical effects such as fluorescent patterns under near-infrared irradiation and a better applicability of upconverting solid-state materials. At the same time, the aim is to learn more about the intriguing phenomenon of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion, which, as highlighter pen inks, is based on organic dyes. In order to obtain multicolour, designable and high throughput upconverting functional inks, the goals of this action include finding a suitable printing technique and substrates, such as inkjet printing on paper, developing coatable, printable and patternable solid-state light upconverting materials for ink formulations, such as modified rubbers or molecular glasses, analysing the morphology as well as the optical properties from the resulting prints and develop new custom-made solid-state upconverter concepts for printing.

Mots clés : inks, printing, upconversion, dyes, pigments, photophysics, energy conversion

Participants :
- BASF (Germany) (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet Spectro-Metrics (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Spectro-Metrics focuses on the development and validation of advanced chemometric procedures for investigating drug intake and metabolism in cells using confocal Raman micro Spectroscopy (RS). The project will develop and optimize data mining procedures such as Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternate Least Squares (MCR-ALS), Supported Vector Machines (SVM) and Science Based Calibration (SBC) for the extraction of biologically relevant information from RS of cells. The applicability of the procedures will be thoroughly validated in vitro including studies on the effect of drug concentration, incubation time and drug distribution within cells. Research activities will include the use of simulated and real spectroscopic data obtained from in vitro studies for investigating the effect of inoculation with the commercial drugs, doxorubicin (DOX) and actinomycin (ACT) in lung cancer cells, as a function of time and dose, as model systems. Upon completion, the project will produce validated methodologies and procedures for resolving Raman spectra which will lead to the elucidation of the modes of drug action and validation of Raman as a preclinical screening technique for drug design and discovery. The knowledge, grant writing skills and publication record acquired during the fellowship will place the Experienced Researcher (ER) in an invaluable position for achieving research independence, becoming a leading expert of chemometric treatment of RS data and eventually becoming a professor in one of the leading European universities in the field of clinical spectroscopy.

Mots clés : raman spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, clinical spectroscopy, chemometrics, data mining, pharmacology

Participants :
- Technological University Dublin (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187866.0 €
Projet NanoZfish (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Spinal cord injury (SCI) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are nervous system maladies that impair the function of spinal central pattern generators for locomotion. These disorders carry a significant social and economic burden, owing to a lack of effective therapeutic treatments. In the field of nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes (CNT) have shown outstanding promise for the improvement of neuronal function in vitro and are thus ideal candidates for repairing or ameliorating spinal defects associated with these disorders. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop CNT as a tool for restoring motor dysfunctions associated with SCI and ALS. Specifically, I will use zebrafish larvae as an in vivo model for testing the therapeutic efficacy of this innovative class of implantable devices. I will implant CNT and graphene based devices in healthy, spinal cord lesioned and ALS zebrafish models and test their effects on spinal cord function with a range of powerful in vivo techniques. My project will address three specific aims. First, biocompatibility of implanted devices will be assessed using in vivo patch clamping of spinal motoneurons in healthy fish implanted with nanodevices. Second, I will implant CNT into fish that have been subjected to SCI. Nanomaterial-facilitated functional recovery will then be tested with in vivo patch clamping of spinal motor neurons, analysis of locomotor behaviour and confocal microscopy. Finally, I will use similar approaches to determine if implanted CNT can slow or reverse spinal cord defects in a SOD1 mutant zebrafish model of ALS. The project will advance our knowledge in an innovative field of bioscience research and help to inform the development of alternative approaches to the treatment of SCI and ALS. Embedded in an international environment, such as that of the University of Leicester, I will support my research activity through a greater level of independence, with the aim of publishing papers as senior author.

Mots clés : spinal cord injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, motor recovery, motoneuron, zebrafish, carbon nanotubes, nanomaterials, nanotechnology, in vivo patch clamping

Participants :
- University of Leicester (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet DeepSym (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are sessile filter-feeding organisms that dominate the benthos in many regions of the marine environment. They represent the pillars of the ecosystem for the functions and services they provide. Sponges are known for hosting dense, diverse, and highly specific microbial communities that contribute appreciably to the host’s metabolism and biochemical repertoire. Shallow water sponges and their associated microorganisms have received most attention but much less is known about deep-sea sponges, and whether these sponges exhibit contrasting functions and symbiotic relationships as a result of being in an extreme environment. This project aims to determine the next frontier of sponge symbiosis: the functionality of the microbial consortia of deep-sea sponges. Sponge associated microbial communities vary within and among species, and this variation can be attributed to biotic and abiotic factors. The genetic variability and population structure of the host sponge has been suggested as a factor controlling the intraspecific bacterial composition in different locations. This hypothesis has yet to be rigorously tested, particularly examining coexisting species in the same habitat and species widely distributed across latitudinal gradients. I will explore the role of the host genotype in shaping the associated microbial community by examining several individuals of three species of sponges among five geographically segregated regions, including three localities within each region. Genotyping of sponges and analyses of microbial communities will use next generation sequencing technologies of DNA and RNA, providing high-resolution information of host relationships, microbial compositional and functional profiles. This project will constitute a major breakthrough in bridging the gap between evolution and function in multispecies relationships, attracting the interest of a wide variety of fields.


Participants :
- Natural History Museum (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet CAOS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Spreading processes, such as cascading failure of technological networks, epidemic outbreak and contagion in social networks are ubiquitous and have a significant impact on the modern society. In many cases, transitions to large-scale blackouts or global pandemics occur abruptly due to tiny changes in system parameters; epidemics and social movements can spread out explosively, forming avalanche-like outbreaks in a very short period. The drastic transitions are beneficial for making global impact of boosting charity campaigns and commercial advertising but can also have catastrophic consequences when epidemics or failures spread to large part of a critical systems abruptly, without any early warning signals. Moreover, multiple cooperative of competitive spreading processes make the picture even more complex. Previous work in this area focused on the asymptotic manifestation of the process and typically ignored the interplay between specific system topology and the dynamics. Methods to monitor, identify and control drastic transitions and outbreaks in heterogeneous realistic networks are lacking. In this project, we will investigate the signs for abrupt transitions and avalanche outbreaks both macroscopically and in specific instances, to gain insight into the conditions for their onset. We will develop methods to contain (or facilitate) the outbreaks by optimal deployment of resources, such as applying vaccines or distributing promotion material by employing the recently developed dynamic message passing techniques from statistical physics. We will collaborate with British Telecom to promote product marketing and service provision by using the new optimisation algorithms. This project will have significant impact on the scientific understanding of non-equilibrium spreading processes, provide algorithmic solutions for practical problems in specific instances, will support policy making decisions and offer optimal resource allocation for commercial marketing tasks.

Mots clés : epidemic spreading, social contagion, percolation transition, cavity method, dynamic message passing, computational epidemiology, commercial applications, viral marketing

Participants :
- Aston University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet miRs4Staph (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes acute and chronic infections responsible for a broad spectrum of human diseases. The high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains in clinical context and the spreading of these strains in the community, make S. aureus infections a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. A better understanding of the factors contributing to bacteria resistance and host-pathogen interaction is essential to counteract S. aureus infection and, ultimately, to develop more effective therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are genome-encoded small non-coding RNAs, which play a pervasive role in the post-transcriptional control of eukaryotic gene expression. Emerging evidence supports a determinant role for miRNAs in the interplay between bacterial pathogens and host cells, as part of the immune response, or as a molecular strategy exploited by pathogens to subvert host cellular functions. However, a comprehensive analysis of host miRNAs function during infection by S. aureus is still missing. The main goal of this project is to identify and characterize host miRNAs, which are critical for S. aureus-host interaction at the cellular level. This will be achieved through interdisciplinary and innovative strategies, such as large-scale genome-wide miRNAs screenings and high-content analysis. To increase the biological relevance of the study, the effect of selected miRNAs will be validated in S. aureus clinical isolates obtained from osteomyelitis patients. The identification and characterization of miRNA molecular targets will be based on computational and experimental approaches. Through the application of cutting-edge techniques, this project will reveal previously unappreciated factors/pathways essential for S. aureus infection, providing insights into the complex host-pathogen interplay. Additionally, the identified novel factors/pathways may be explored for therapeutic intervention.

Mots clés : staphylococcus aureus, high throughput, high content screening, micrornas, host bacterial pathogen interactions

Participants :
- University of Coimbra (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 147815.04 €
Projet MorpheuS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

State-of-the-art music generation systems (Continuator, OMax, Mimi) produce music that sounds good on a note-to-note level but lacks critical structure/direction necessary for long term coherence. To tackle this problem, we propose to generate compositions based on structural templates at varying hierarchical levels. Our novel approach deploys machine-learning methods in an optimization context to morph existing pieces into new ones and to fuse different styles. We aim to develop a framework that combines machine learning techniques that learn style, with a powerful optimization method, the variable neighbourhood search (VNS) algorithm, for generating music. This approach allows the learned model to incorporate a wide variety of constraints, including those for preserving long term coherence and structure. It promises to effect a step-change in automatic music generation by moving the field in the new direction of generating structured music using hybrid machine learning-optimization techniques. The applicant is an operations researcher-musician, ideal for this work. A first step combines her VNS music generation algorithm with machine learning methods to ensure proper style evaluation. In previous work, the applicant has shown that VNS outperforms genetic algorithms when generating counterpoint with a rule-based objective function. In a preliminary study, the applicant has demonstrated the effectiveness of using machine learning techniques as evaluation metrics for optimisation methods. The applicant has extensive web development experience; to reach the widest possible audience, the resulting system will be made available in an interactive website where users can morph and fuse musical pieces. This work is situated in the area of digital media, with a European consumer expenditure of over €33 billion in 2011, projected to increase. Music generation in digital music has direct applications in game music, interactive arts, and stock-music for advertising/videos.

Mots clés : music, computer aided composition, metaheuristics, data mining, machine learning

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

Steel is the world’s most recycled metal, yet only 21% of the global demand is met through scrap, which highlights the gap between the present reality and the ideals embedded in the concept of the circular economy. The latter is designed to increase material recoverability and product optimisation throughout the entire life cycle, resulting in less carbon emissions, waste and resource dependency. Within the steel industry, leading companies and professional bodies have sought to promote and embody the circular economy to advance sector sustainability. This project will use the Stock-Flow-Service (SFS) Nexus to quantify the circularity of an international steel company’s products from extraction to service. The SFS nexus is a conceptual framework that explicitly highlights the interactions, including trade-offs, between energy and material flows (e.g. coal, iron ore), material stocks (e.g. buildings, vehicles) and service provision (e.g. shelter, mobility). By applying this nexus, one can assess the overall environmental performance of a light weighting strategy by juxtaposing reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions with the increased incorporation of complex material composites. The latter make energy savings possible but are difficult to re-use and recycle, thus reducing the circularity of the process. The project will use Material Flow Analysis and Dynamic Stock Modelling to quantify resource consumption and accumulation linked to the service provided by steel. A set of resource efficiency and circularity indicators will be developed to evaluate the environmental performance of steel products (and prototypes) under various business strategies, including stock optimisation, green leasing, and product-service systems. The project’s results and recommendations will support the steel company in their corporate sustainability targets and facilitate the accurate prediction and tracking of steel’s residual value and resource efficiency across their product range.

Mots clés : circular economy, corporate sustainability, resource efficiency, social ecology, sustainable resource use

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

Steroid hormones, produced by the fetal adrenal, are metabolised by the fetal liver and placenta thereby regulating fetal development. Consequently, these steroids are also implicated in endocrine-related disorders and diseases that present in the fetal and neonatal stage. The major fetal liver cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP3A7, catalyses the production of 16α-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone (16α-hydroxy DHEA) leading to the biosynthesis of the 16α-hydroxy estrogen of pregnancy, estriol, in the placenta. This 16α-hydroxylation is also mediated by CYP3A4 in neonates, as a switch from the predominant CYP3A7 to CYP3A4 expression occurs after birth. Both enzymes, together with CYP3A5 (expressed in adult livers) are capable of hydroxylating steroid substrates on C16 producing metabolites in the fetal and neonatal stages. Importantly, the major adrenal steroid, 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (11OHA4), a C11-oxy androgen, is produced in the fetal adrenals and circulatory levels have been quantified at birth. The chemical structure of 11OHA4, possessing no moiety on C16, allows it to be hydroxylated by CYP3A enzymes —producing novel downstream 16α-hydroxylated metabolites. While the contribution of 16α-hydroxy DHEA to fetal biology has been widely reported, the contribution of 16α-hydroxy C11-oxy androgens has not, to date, been characterised. Moreover, these metabolites have not been structurally identified. I hypothesise that C11-oxy androgens are catalysed by CYP3As, producing novel 16α-hydroxy C11-oxy androgens in the liver and the placenta. State-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometry platforms will be utilised to identify these novel metabolites and confirm the hypothesis. Significance of the proposed study: This project will advance our current knowledge on the downstream metabolism of the C11-oxy androgens and will characterise a novel steroid pathway in fetal biology, potentially important in human development in health and disease.

Mots clés : steroid hormones, cytochrome p450  cyp  enzymes, fetal liver cyp3a7, bacterial expression systems, enzymatic assays, liver steroid metabolism, high resolution mass spectrometry

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €