Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet METACYL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Carbonylative C-H activations can lead to an unprecedented degree of molecular sophistication by combining the atom-economical insertion of CO with the green activation of unreactive C-H bonds. In striking contrast to ortho C-H acylation of arenes and heteroarenes (directing-group strategy) and para C-H ones (Friedel-Crafts chemistry), meta C-H acylations are almost completely unexplored. This proposal aims at the development of the first example of meta C-H acylation via mild carbonylation of arenes. Pivoting on this breakthrough, it will be possible to accomplish synthetic methods 1) for the efficient synthesis of hardly accessible organic compounds, 2) for the activation and carbonylation of meta C(sp2)-H bonds, 3) by employing transient directing group and 4) demonstrating the application of these protocols under continuous flow conditions.

Mots clés : c h activation, acylation, carbon monoxide, palladium, sequential reactions

Participants :
- University of Parma (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183473.28 €
Projet eBAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cardiometabolic disease comprises a group of disorders including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, hypercholesterolaemia and glucose intolerance. These are the underlying cause of the majority of cardiovascular diseases, which represent the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western World. The discovery of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans in 2009 has increased the interest on the role of this tissue in the development of these disorders, and in the potential of its metabolic activation for their treatment. It has been demonstrated that BAT activation can be achieved by means of supplementation with NAD+ precursors, such as nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and nicotinamide riboside (NR). However, very little is known about how these compounds exert their effect on BAT and what the metabolic effects of their administration to this tissue are. This project proposes the use of an undescribed NAD+ precursor to induce BAT activation. I have already proved that this new compound is a more powerful NAD+-booster than NMN and NR. Thus, I hypothesize that it will be able to enhance BAT function more pronouncedly. By testing the effects of the supplementation of different cell lines and mouse models with this new compound, I aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying its NAD+-enhancing potential and the physiological changes that BAT undertakes upon its administration. Moreover, its encapsulation in nanoparticles for its oral administration through the diet will also be tested. This will be of outstanding relevance for its possible pharmacological use. The development of the research aims proposed in this project will shed light on the use of NAD+ precursors to activate BAT function, with the long-term ambition of establishing whether the use of these compounds is a suitable approach for the protection from cardiometabolic disease through the preservation of BAT phenotype.

Mots clés : nad precursors, brown adipose tissue, sirtuins, cardiometabolic disease, metabolic flux, nad precursor transport

Participants :
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175572.48 €
Projet NEVADA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cardiomyocytes (CMs) are the contractile cells of the heart. Their regenerative capacity is lost after birth. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are able to differentiate into functional CMs, however this process is not yet efficient. The elucidation of ESCs’ differentiation into CMs could provide an additional avenue for therapeutic interventions and disease modeling. This interdisciplinary project will result in a unique platform that targets precise quantification of the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying mouse ESC cardiac differentiation at the single cell level. The platform takes the advantages of 3D tailored conductive microscaffolds (3DTCMSs) to deliver precise mechanical and electrical stimulation patterns to individual cells in vitro. Co-integrated 3DTCMSs have the necessary infrastructure for long-term cell culturing. The platform is accessible for in situ high-resolution, real-time microscopic observation of essential molecular information due to transparent materials. Advanced two-photon polymerization photolithography will be utilized for the exact reconstruction of 3DTCMSs based on a novel optically transparent, conductive ionic liquid-polymer composite. ESC pluripotent factors and CM markers will be monitored comparatively by live microscopy and molecular analysis. This project aims to integrate expertise in materials science, engineering, cellular and molecular biology. As a result, a novel in vitro CM differentiation model will be developed, which has a potential to open a completely new window of research in systems biology.

Mots clés : biosensor, biomimetic, mechanical and electrical stimulation, stem cells

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175419.6 €
Projet 4D STENT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects nearly 18 million people globally (World Health Organization) as a result of heart attacks and strokes. The current treatment for CVD includes opening the restricted vessel through the use of stenting with a cylindrical tube made of a biocompatible metal or polymer, compressed and delivered by a catheter to the implant site. However, contemporary stents are severely limited as a result of poor biocompatibility, degradability, and manufacturing techniques. The 4D Stent project will utilize microstereolithography to produce biomaterials with controlled surface chemistries, bulk material properties, and possessing shape memory to give rise to 4D biomaterials, a potentially disruptive technological shift in medical device engineering. The produced stents will possess shape memory, controlled degradation and mechanical properties, and can be produced rapidly through photopolymerization. Thiol-ene click reactions, along with epoxide ring opening reactions, will be used to tailor biomaterial chemistries and engineer spatially-controllable printed prototypes, ultimately yielding stent surfaces that can be bio-orthogonally tailored to simulatenously recruit endothelial cells while preventing biofouling, all as post-polymerization processing. Here, Andrew Weems will combine his background in biomaterials engineering of shape memory materials with the synthetic expertise of Prof. Andrew Dove in the field of degradable polymers, and the practical cardiovascular surgical knowledge of Dr. Homer-Vanniasinkam to produce 4D stents of clinical relevance. Ultimately, 4D STENT has the potential to disrupt the medical device market, providing superior clinical support to European citizens and commercial entities by improving quality of life around the globe.

Mots clés : photopolymerization, surface chemistry, shape memory polymer, stent, medical devices, additive manufacturing, stereolithography

Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet CLIP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence continues to rise at an alarming rate largely as a consequence of behavioural risk factors. The only way to tackle this epidemic is to implement preventive strategies before the disease appears. Current evidence suggests that conventional approaches are inadequate for promoting healthier lifestyles, and therefore implementation of novel methods is desperately needed. The research proposed under the acronym of CLIP (Comprehensive Lifestyle Intervention Project) will tackle novel approaches to CVD prevention based on the Personalized Medicine concept, considering the interactions between genetic and environmental factors of disease development. During the outgoing phase (24 months), the young Experienced Researcher (ER) will perform extensive and multidisciplinary training on innovative strategies for effective lifestyle modification in adults and children, and will undertake a specific study to identify genomic factors able to predict adult subjects who will benefit most from novel lifestyle interventions, thus permitting future tailored approaches. During the incoming phase (12 months) the ER will transfer the new methodology to Europe by carrying out a pilot lifestyle modification and genomic study program in adults in Spain. This experience will be enriched by the secondment in a private multinational company. Thus, the new abilities the ER will acquire from various areas will enable him to implement new programmes to attain primary CVD prevention, including the use of genomic-driven personalized approaches; and to become an independent group leader upon my return to Europe at the host institution. The long term impact of the CLIP will help to reduce the huge economic burden to society and healthcare systems associated with CVD treatment as it will directly contribute to Europe’s aim of fighting the CVD epidemic.

Mots clés : cardiovascular disease, prevention, lifestyle intervention

Participants :
- Mount Sinai Health System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Ministry of Health (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 257191.2 €
Projet BIOMIMIC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Aquatic microbes - both marine and freshwater - drive global biogeochemical cycles. However, owing to the influx of microplastics (MPs) in their natural ecosystems, microbes now face a daunting task of holding such cycles in balance. From passive encounters with suspended particles to active interactions among species, microbes tackle a myriad of environmental signals along the water depths. Crucially, a steady inflow of MPs into aquatic ecosystems has led to reduced species fitness, altered feeding dynamics, and ultimately, ecosystem restructuring. Due to their abundance, durability, and an easy mobility across trophic levels, MPs have been implicated in perturbing diverse aquatic settings. Despite the growing evidence of potentially deleterious ramifications, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of the microbe-MP interactions. BIOMIMIC will zoom into the microscale biophysics mediating the microbe-MP interactions, and develop a mechano-genetic framework to assess the emergent physiological consequences. By combining microfluidics, quantitative imaging, and molecular techniques, I will experimentally simulate, analyse and quantify the impact of MPs on aquatic microbes. To capture ecologically relevant settings, a representative group of bacteria and algal populations will be exposed to MPs with characteristic physico-chemical makeup, over a range of concentrations, and under different hydrodynamic regimes. Specifically, I will uncover MP-induced microbial response: behaviour, physiology, and bio-molecular, and concomitantly, the modification of MP-attributes due to microbial interactions. By cataloging the species-MP encounters in realistic settings, BIOMIMIC will unravel fundamental biophysical principles of microbial response to MPs. Through it's innovative approach, BIOMIMIC, for the first time, will offer a unique framework linking behaviour, physiology and bio-molecular response to MPs, paving the way for potential remediation of this global challenge.

Mots clés : microplastics, encounter rates, surface attachment, sedimentation, quantitative imaging, particle tracking, bacteria, phytoplankton, marine and aquatic microbial ecology, transcriptomics

Participants :
- University of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 178320.0 €
Projet CUSP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Archaeological sites are by and large palimpsests of coarse-grained chronological resolution, with many episodes of (re-)occupation where often undifferentiated blocks of time are used as units for temporal reckoning. The methodological advances provided by cementochronological approaches can provide powerful means of temporalising and refining our understanding of annual scheduling of site occupation. Cementochronology examines alternating incremental translucent and opaque bands that are laid down throughout life in tooth cementum as physiological responses to seasonal rhythms. Counting pairs of bands on thin sections under polarized transmitted light provides accurate age estimates. The outermost band represents the season-at-death, which is used to infer seasonality of site occupation. This method is particularly relevant for prehistoric periods when seasonal scheduling of lifeways was of paramount importance. The CUSP project uses the most recent methodological breakthroughs in the study of Tooth Cementum Annulation (TCA) to establish (1) a robust protocol for the study of TCA in red deer, which is often found at prehistoric sites as hunted game; and (2) infer seasonality of occupation of archaeological sites in the chosen case study by determining season-at-death in both red deer and humans. Age-at-death estimates will be made for the analyzed samples too, enabling the applicant to build mortality profiles important for estimates of past human population demography and red deer hunting strategies. The case study are Mesolithic sites in the Danube Gorges region of the Balkans where CUSP will test the hypothesis about possible sedentary occupation of this region in the Mesolithic. The applicant has worked extensively on the archaeological sequences in this region and is best placed to examine this question by receiving training-through-research during the outgoing phase at New York U. He will transfer the acquired knowledge to Sapienza U. of Rome.

Mots clés : seasonality, cementochronology, red deer, humans, danube gorges, mesolithic, neolithic, dental anthropology, zooarchaeology

Participants :
- New York University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Sapienza University of Rome (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 269002.56 €
Projet AsLife (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Arsenic is a notorious toxin, and as such may have exerted a strong selective pressure on the distribution and evolution of life on Earth. Despite evidence supporting the high levels and prominent role of As on the primitive Earth, the essentiality and toxicity of As, and its impact on evolutionary processes remains unexplored. AsLife aims at taking a novel approach to assessing microbial As cycling by exploiting two linked «environments». The first are the microbial mats from High-Altitude Andean Lakes, where it is known that As concentrations are far above background levels. Specifically, living and diagenetically-modified microbial mats will be investigated using scanning hard X-ray nanoprobes emerging at synchrotron facilities. This non-invasive and non-destructive technique provides data on a sub-micrometer scale by which to tie physiological inference from trace metal(loid)s distribution and speciation patterns directly to the microfossil biomass. Thus, providing a means to understand the interplay between microbial metabolisms and bio-availability of trace metal(loid)s in living and fossil ecosystems. The second environment comprises laboratory cultures, using the sampling power of «adaptive laboratory evolution» to explore how microbes adapt and enhance As detoxification facing the extreme As levels present in Andean Lakes. These results will be discussed in light of genomic studies of As-rich microbiota performed by Argentinian colleagues. During this project I will contact colleagues of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in charge of the 2020 Mars Science Rover Mission and linked objective of returning samples for future analysis on Earth. I believe that my expertise in imaging and analyzing bio-geochemical proxies at multiple scales on a encapsulated geological sample can be relevant for contributing to the «Seek Signs of Life» Exploration Strategy of the 2020 Mission, thus establishing a strong and effective collaboration between EU and USA.

Mots clés : arsenic, primordial life, early earth, stromatolites, biogeochemical cycles, calcium carbonate, biosignature and synchrotron based x ray imaging

Participants :
- Institut de physique du globe (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet devSAFARI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) form the main approach in Artificial Intelligence (AI). They have two major drawbacks, however: (1) ANNs require significant computational resources; (2) they lack transparency. These challenges restrict the widespread application of AI in daily life. The required resources prevent the use of ANNs on resource-constrained devices and the lack of transparency limits their adoption in many areas where transparency is critical. This action will address these challenges via development of Vector Symbolic Architectures (VSAs): a transparent, bio-inspired framework for AI. With respect to the 1st challenge, VSAs have the potential to become a computational paradigm for emerging low-power computing hardware with huge potential for implementing AI algorithms. With respect to the 2nd challenge, VSAs are a promising framework for opening the black box of ANNs due to their predictable statistical properties. It is expected that VSAs will allow analytical characterization of a class of Recurrent ANNs. The overall research aim of this action is to improve the understanding of computing principles in high-dimensional spaces with VSAs, and to advance the theory and design principles of simple AI algorithms implementable on emerging low-power computing hardware. The research aim comprises five research objectives. These are relevant to H2020 Work Programme since this action has much potential with respect to the “market creating innovation” and “digitising and transforming industry” aspects of the Programme. The mechanisms for achieving the objectives include both theoretical development and applied investigations. The methodological approach combines the current skills of the applicant with those acquired during this action. The applicant will develop VSAs skills to qualitatively higher level while working under the supervision of eminent researchers. This will enhance applicant’s professional maturity and prepare him for an independent career.

Mots clés : vector symbolic architectures, hyperdimensional computing, distributed representations, neuromorphic engineering

Participants :
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 279192.0 €
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet CORALAN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been rapidly increasing over the past century, causing widespread environmental change. This ALAN can interfere with biological and ecological systems by masking natural light rhythms that regulate daily behaviours and physiology for many organisms. While research in this field is growing, the focus has primarily been on terrestrial systems whilst the impacts of ALAN on marine environments, and in particular on coral reef systems, are still relatively unexplored. To date, the only research on the impacts of ALAN on coral reefs examines the effects of light exposure at the organism level. How these changes in individual fitness and behaviour scale up to influence population and community level dynamics is still entirely unknown. This project, therefore, aims to explore how ALAN can influence the structure and function of near-shore coral reef communities. Using a combination of manipulative field experiments, and innovative acoustic methods, this project will investigate how ALAN modifies coral reef communities through 1) influencing settlement and post-settlement survival of recruiting larval fish, and 2) changing biological rhythms of the reef community. Furthermore, this project will 3) assess the recovery potential of coral reef communities following removal of ALAN. As we currently know very little about how ALAN affects marine organisms, understanding the extent and impacts of light pollution on marine ecosystems have been identified as key ecological research gaps that urgently need attention. The findings of this research will contribute to our understanding of coral reef community dynamics, and advance the larger field of global change ecology. Furthermore, the novel use of underwater soundscapes to quantify community change on coral reefs exposed to ALAN will provide support for the use of this tool as a rapid, efficient and cost-effective method of monitoring responses of marine communities to environmental change.

Mots clés : light pollution, artificial light at night, coral reefs, soundscapes, community shifts

Participants :
- University of Exeter (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet RANPOFIL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

As a new type of light source, random lasers have attracted many attentions. The non-directional and high threshold characters of the traditional RL systems have largely limited their application. The effect of one-dimensional confinement on the lasing properties of a classical random laser system has obtained, bringing about the birth of random fiber lasers with low threshold and directionality based on the stimulated emission in the disorder system. Laterly, the new random fiber laser, based on a Rayleigh scattering amplified via the Raman effect in the silica optical fiber without a cavity formed only by a random distributed feedback, have been reported. However, the backscattering coefficient of silica optical fiber is very low, which induces high pump threshold and long fiber length. Interestingly, optical fibers with two merits come into my research points in the random fiber lasers: (1) high Rayleigh backscattering coefficient; (2) high negative thermo-optical coefficient fiber. Therefore, the new polymer fiber random laser will be greatly to enhance the efficiency and tunable of random lasing. These studies will provide scientific and technical evidences and pave the way for better random fiber laser.

Mots clés : polymer optical fibers, random lasers, random fiber lasers, raman scattering

Participants :
- Aston University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €