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

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating and prevalent psychiatric illness that develops after exposure to a traumatic event, and involves symptoms of severe intrusive recollections and flashbacks related to the trauma, hyperarousal and reactivity, avoidance, and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. Indeed, patients with PTSD are characterized by decreased prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulation on hyperactive emotion generation regions, such as the amygdala and brainstem. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback allows for brain regions to be self-regulated through neuroimaging signal feedback. Recently, the experienced researcher has shown that learning to decrease amygdala activation via real-time fMRI neurofeedback leads to a normalization of pathological neural circuitry maintaining PTSD, which was negatively correlated to symptoms. Critically, however, an intervention has not yet been developed to directly target suboptimal connectivity between emotion regulation regions (PFC) and emotion generation regions (amygdala and brainstem), where an urgent need for novel treatment interventions exists particularly among individuals suffering from PTSD. The objective of the current proposal is to determine the treatment efficacy of increasing the strength of connectivity from the PFC to the amygdala and brainstem via a real-time fMRI neurofeedback randomized clinical trial (RCT). Here, connectivity signals will be relayed back to the participant in the scanner as a simple thermometer that changes as directed connectivity between brain regions-of-interest fluctuate. Participants will be asked to self-regulate the neural signal displayed by the thermometer in real-time during PTSD emotion induction paradigms. The proposed study has the potential to develop into a novel treatment for PTSD, and is in line with current European research trends and societal needs to decrease the economic resources required to support mental health treatment.

Mots clés : posttraumatic stress disorder, neurofeedback, real time fmri, dynamic causal modelling, psychiatry, amygdala

Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174167.04 €
Projet ImmunoFarm (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Postweaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs is responsible for important economic losses in the global pig rearing industry. This illness is predominantly caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli strains carrying the F4 (ETEC-F4) and F18 (ETEC-F18) fimbriae. There is no treatment available to fight PWD except using antibiotics. However, the prophylactic use of antibiotics is forbidden in Europe and is expected to become forbidden in the rest of the world because of increasing abundance of resistance genes. Delivery of sIgA to mucosal surfaces as passive immunotherapy agent is a very promising strategy to prolong maternal lactogenic immunity against post-weaning infections. The aim of this project is to produce sIgA-like anti-ETEC antibodies in a cost-effective platform. Twenty different anti ETEC-F18 antibodies in a sIgA-like format will be engineered from phage display-selected variable domains (VHHs) currently available in the host institute. The synergistic or additive neutralisation effect of oligoclonal antibody cocktails will be evaluated using ETEC-F18 in vitro villus adhesion assays. The different antibodies will be produced first by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and second in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana transformants. An in vivo ETEC-F18 challenge will then be performed using two groups of piglets, one receiving the most effective seed-derived feed formulations and the other one receiving regular feed (negative control group). The sIgA antibodies of the elite oligoclonal formulation will then be transferred to biosafe soya seeds as production platform. These steps will lead towards the development of scalable procedures to obtain a cost effective bulk production of a feed based prophylaxis against ETEC.

Mots clés : immunoglobulin a, enterotoxigenic e  cili, postweaning diarrhea

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet PotatoMASH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Potato breeding is a 10-year process that involves combining over 40 characteristics to produce varieties that have improved sustainability, utilisation and consumer characteristics. Genomic and marker assisted selection (GS and MAS) can make breeding faster/more efficient, increasing the rate of genetic gain and the ability to combine multiple traits. Strategies for GS to date have tended to employ many thousands of markers; however, the economic burden of deploying such approaches on thousands of plants annually in a breeding programme may restrict the adoption of GS. The objective of this action is to develop a novel, low cost, genome-scanning marker platform for use in simultaneous GS and MAS for multiple traits in potato breeding, by combining existing knowledge on the patterns of linkage disequilibrium in potato with recent advances in genotyping-by-sequencing approaches based on massively multiplex PCR. The marker system will target clusters of SNPs whose aggregate profile over distances covered by paired-end next generation sequencing (NGS) reads will allow them to be used as haplotags. Unlike bi-allelic SNPs, haplotags can discriminate multiple allelic variants in tetraploid potato. Approximately 400 loci at placed at 1Mb spacing throughout the euchromatic portion of the genome, and a further 100 SNPs linked to specific traits, will be targeted and assayed using an approach called GT-Seq, which uses combinatorial barcoding to allow multiplexing of thousands of samples in a single NGS run. The sequencing platform will be utilised in conjunction with 2 training populations to develop genomic prediction equations for yield and fry colour of potato. Subsequently, it will be deployed for combined GS and MAS on 1000 plants from the second field generation of a commercial potato breeding programme. The research and training activities in the fellowship proposal will equip a young postdoctoral researcher with the skills of a "next generation plant breeder".

Mots clés : plant breeding, genetic markers, genomic selection, marker assisted selection

Participants :
- Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175866.0 €
Projet AQUATIC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Precipitation (P) and runoff (R) variability around the tropical and subtropical Atlantic is of fundamental importance to the biosphere and carbon system, and to human livelihood. Over recent decades, decadal variations in P and R — including droughts in the Sahel region of West Africa, northeast Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Amazon basin — have caused large social and economic disruptions. However, understanding the causes of these events, as well as projecting regional 21st century climate change hydroclimate impacts, are complicated by the relative shortness in the instrumental record, which reduces confidence in the attribution of external forcings. AQUATIC will extend the record of Atlantic-sector hydroclimate variability during the 1880–1950 period. We will: (1) compile an integrated hydroclimate dataset including newly-recovered P station gauge data, long-term river R measurements, and a unique long-term record of Atlantic sea surface salinity which we will use as an “ocean rain gauge” to infer the surface evaporation (E)–P–R balance. We will then (2) examine these integrated hydroclimate data along with atmospheric and ocean reanalysis output to characterize mechanisms of decadal-to-multidecadal hydroclimate variability, including shifts of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and expansion and contraction of the Hadley circulation. This will allow us to (3) evaluate the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) simulations to attribute long-term hydrological change to different external forcings, and constrain future climate projections. AQUATIC will combine analysis of early instrumental historical climate data with state-of-the-art reanalysis and model output to understand mechanisms of hydroclimate variability in and around the Atlantic and to narrow uncertainties for the future in this climatologically important region.

Mots clés : historical climate data, tropical climatology, atlantic climate, detection and attribution

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet scGATA2track (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Precision medicine has improved overall survival of cancer patients; unfortunately, not all diseases can benefit from this practice due to a scarce understanding of their molecular mechanisms. This is the case of GATA2 deficiency, a complex multi-system disorder characterized by bone marrow failure, immunodeficiency and high risk to develop myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Chemotherapy and allogenic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation are the only available treatments, underlining the lack of predictive tools as a clear medical need. Penetrance and expressivity within GATA2 families is often variable, suggesting that cooperating somatic mutations and epigenetic events are required to trigger the disease. Here I propose to unravel the molecular mechanisms of malignant progression of GATA2 deficiency by combining single cell multi-OMICs approaches with groundbreaking functional assays in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). First, to identify pathogenic single nucleotide variations and small insertion-deletions, I will perform an integrative analysis combining whole exome sequencing with whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to analyze the methylation status genome wide on 15 well-annotated GATA2 carriers. Then, I will model the stepwise progression of normal cells to MDS through the sequential introduction of recurrent GATA2 mutations and known second driver mutations in hiPSCs by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. The hiPSC-derived hematopoietic progenitors will be used for simultaneous profiling of transcriptome and chromatin accessibility at single cell resolution to decipher the underlying gene regulatory networks among the different genetic backgrounds. A thorough understanding of the genetic and epigenetic features of GATA2 carriers and the transcriptional dynamics during cancer initiation/progression will provide valuable insight into early detection and the design of novel personalized therapeutic strategies.

Mots clés : gata2, single cell, multiomics, chromatin accessibility, hipscs

Participants :
- Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet DEEPDREAM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Prediction is crucial to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications caused by CRDs, a significant public health issue. Intermittent hypoxia caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to contribute to impaired autonomic cardiac function, but the impact of apneas severity on autonomic cardiac function remains unclear. Prediction is performed by using biomarkers, which can be proposed only if the pathophysiological mechanisms which link the severity of sleep apneas with heart rate variability alterations become clearer. A crucial condition to clarify these mechanisms is a close and continuous interaction between experimental observations and data analysis/modeling. This project, which combined advanced computational modeling and signal processing and interpretation techniques to assess the activation of the neural mechanisms related to intermittent hypoxia, offers a concrete possibility to go one step further in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in OSA.

Mots clés : obstructive sleep apneas, biomedical signal interpretation, data driven modeling

Participants :
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet PEATmod (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Prediction of future climate change can only be achieved through models of the global climate system and its interactions with earth system processes. The reliability of the predictions depends on building the best understanding of these processes. Changes in the global carbon cycle are a source of major uncertainty in models and terrestrial carbon stored in peatlands is a critical element of this. The action proposed here will bring state-of-the-art process modelling into global vegetation models that are used in projections of future climate change. An improved understanding of peatland dynamics and functions will also have implications for management and climate mitigation strategies for wetlands, agriculture, land-use, and energy. I have worked extensively in North America on one of the most sophisticated peatland process models. I will work with Dan Charman and Angela Gallego-Sala at Exeter to build this model in to one of the most widely used dynamic global vegetation models so that peatlands and their carbon balance are better represented within global climate models. The work will thus allow quantification of the impact of peatlands on the global carbon cycle in the past and in the future. The action will bring top level expertise in peatland modelling back to Europe and build a bridge between the North American peatland modelling community and those in Europe. It will expose me to training and development in the necessary skills, people and laboratories to take this work forward independently in a European institution in the future. The supervisors at Exeter will develop their already strong record in carbon cycle and climate modelling and further develop links with other European workers and key groups in North America. Overall the action will provide a secure launch pad for my career, bring cutting edge skills to Europe and build stronger and long lasting linkages between European and North American science.

Mots clés : carbon cycle, peatlands, climate change, vegetation dynamics, global models

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

Pregnancy entails remarkable whole-body biological adaptations. Extensive evidence in humans shows significant alterations in taste perception and nutrient preference throughout pregnancy, resulting in frequent food cravings with a recurrent search for high-caloric, high-palatable foods. However, the underlying neurocircuits implicated in specific pregnancy-related eating disturbances are still unknown. In line with that, the project hypothesizes that pregnancy modifies the neuroconnectome of critical brain regions implicated in taste and ingestive behavior, altering maternal dietary preferences and habits favoring the consumption of high-palatable food. The persistence of abnormal dietary patterns, in the prevailing western life-style, may underlie serious detrimental metabolic and neuropsychological outcomes in both mothers and offspring that often lead to eating disorders and obesity vulnerability. The project aims to use a combination of cutting-edge methodologies in the mouse, including behavioral, whole-brain imaging, chemogenetics, and fiber photometry to establish the genetic and neurocircuits underlying pregnancy-related eating behaviors and its effects on offspring's metabolic health. The present proposal will provide novel insights on the link between specific physiological conditions (gestation), feeding neurocircuits and behavior as well as transgenerational metabolic and neuropsychological impact, unraveling new preventive strategies (nutritional and healthier lifestyle) to control the rising incidences of “food addiction”, disturbed eating patterns, and obesity predisposition. Ultimately, the knowledge generated by NEUROPREG can reduce overall costs in obesity and related disorders, that consumes more than $1.2 trillion of the global health system every year. My outstanding scientific experience in neuroscience and maternal influences on offspring metabolic outcomes make me the ideal candidate to develop this MSCA.

Mots clés : eating patterns, pregnancy, neuroscience, metabolism, programming, offspring, obesity

Participants :
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet SEAMET (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Pressures linked to global climate change (GCC) (i.e. ocean acidification (OA), warming and hypoxia) represent a major threat for marine ecosystems. The single and combined effects of GCC drivers is expected to alter the energetic costs of main metabolic routes, forcing trade-offs in organismal metabolism, with further impacts in the functioning of the whole ecosystem to which they belong. While we have an improving understanding of the impacts of single and paired stressors on individual organisms in the laboratory, to determine real-world impacts of GCC we need to comprehend the impacts of multiple stressors on individuals, understand the acclimation and adaptation processes and assess the repercussion on the ecosystems functioning. SEAMET addresses this major challenge in marine science by assessing if marine communities can survive under the multiple stressor future driven by GCC. SEAMET will use a key benthic habitat-forming species (seagrasses) as model system employing net metabolic balance (NMB) as a functional trait to scale up implications of individual readjustments to GCC on the functioning of the whole ecosystem. It will determine i) the mechanistic basis that regulates C incorporation and photosynthetic physiology, ii) the physiological plasticity and tolerance thresholds of organisms to different combinations of GCC drivers (OA, temperature (T) and hypoxia), and iii) the in situ acclimation and adaptation potential of organisms and associated communities to GCC. SEAMET uses a novel multidisciplinary approach to ensure candidate training and the transfer of knowledge to the host institution. Internationally competitive outputs will be a direct contribution to European MSFD2008/56/EC directive and Horizon2020 strategy for climate action providing novel insights into the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and their functioning.

Mots clés : acclimation and adaptation potential, climate change drivers, metabolic balance, physiological plasticity, tolerance thresholds, marine photoautotrophs, seagrasses

Participants :
- University of Glasgow (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet LexPex (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Previous research suggests there may be underlying regularities in how languages encode perceptual experiences and in how perceptual language evolves over time. This points to the possibility that our cognitive architecture plays a role in constraining the variability in this domain of language. Substantiating this is highly relevant for the cognitive sciences, in light of recent proposals that many aspects of cognition may be more culture-specific than previously thought and that there are few, if any, universals of language. The present project takes up this goal by investigating how basic perceptual experiences (e.g. seeing, hearing, smelling) are encoded by verbs across languages and examining whether cognitive biases shape aspects of this lexical field. First, I will undertake a large-scale typological survey of perception verb lexicons to assess the extent to which they exhibit systematic patterns. Second, I will extend the search for regularities to the phylogenetic dimension, by examining whether perception verb vocabulary evolves along the same constrained pathways across three language families. Third, I will provide the first behavioural evidence to bear on the question of whether recurrent typological patterns in perception verb lexicons have their origins in cognitive biases, by conducting a novel artificial language learning experiment. This interdisciplinary project represents an ideal synergy between my research profile (linguistic typology, language change, psycholinguistics), the supervisor’s (Prof. Asifa Majid, cross-cultural psychology, word meaning) and that of the partner institution supervisor (Prof. Fiona Jordan, evolutionary and linguistic anthropology). Through its novel contribution to lexical typology, cognitive psychology, and language evolution, and by its advanced training in state-of-the-art technical skills, the project offers the ideal opportunity to relaunch my scientific career following a three-year hiatus raising two children.

Mots clés : lexical typology, semantic universals, polysemy, perceptual language, computational phylogenetics, artificial language learning

Participants :
- University of York (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 136048.38 €
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 201352.26 €