Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet UCLnProt (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Herein, we propose to design de novo (“from scratch”) the first upconverting metalloprotein. This will be achieved by exploiting a new class of lanthanide coiled coils (LCC), to generate bimetallic derivatives. These will, for the first time, combine the attractive photophysical properties of Ln complexes, with de novo designed coiled coil scaffolds capable of selectively binding different Ln ions at well-defined and tuneable distances. This programme of work will provide a new strategy for unlocking the full potential of science at the interface of biology and inorganic chemistry, by combining previously unexplored ligands with traditional inorganic complexes, for applications beyond those offered by biology, such as upconversion. The complementary expertise of Dr Sinha (bioinorganic synthesis and computational modeling) and the supervisor Dr Peacock (metallopeptide design) offer the unique combination to realise the full potential of multimetallic LCCs, and will, in conjunction with two planned short secondments, provide Dr Sinha with new and cutting-edge research training.

Mots clés : bioinorganic chemistry, peptide design, lanthanides, upconversion

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

Heritage speakers (HSs) are heterogeneous in terms of the outcomes of heritage (minority) language (HL) acquisition and they typically diverge from age-matched monolinguals when tested in comprehension and production, although HSs receive HL exposure from birth. At present, comparatively little is known about how HSs process the HL in real-time and if this is computationally more costly than for first language (L1) monolinguals. The ProHeritageSpeakers project focuses on Romanian HSs with L2 German and investigates, for the first time, whether HSs use morphosyntactic cues when comprehending HL input in real-time and how the presence of similar grammatical information in the dominant L2 modulates access to such cues in the HL. This will be done in two studies, one with children, one with adults, assessing online/offline comprehension and production of "which"-questions in Romanian. On a theoretical level, this work will significantly contribute to the field of Heritage Language Bilingualism by showing whether HL processing time-course mirrors L1 time-course and to what extent L2 properties shape HL processing, thus leading to differences in acquisitional trajectories between HSs and L1 speakers. On a societal and educational level, the findings will be of interest to teachers, speech pathologists and immigrant parents. Gaining a clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying language processing in HL learners, and how these compare to the HSs’ ability to produce HLs, may help elucidate ways in which HLs can be more effectively taught and maintained, which is of great importance for both the well-being of immigrants and for language preservation at the level of the community. If we can precisely delineate the type of information both child/adult HSs rely on during L1 comprehension, then we can collaborate with educators to practice and consolidate the HL, which, in turn, can have beneficial effects on the acquisition and consolidation of the language of schooling.

Mots clés : bilingualism, heritage speakers, real time processing, production

Participants :
- University of Konstanz (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet EastAsiaAerosol (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

High loading of carbonaceous aerosols from residential combustion of coal and wood fuels, traffic, industry, and biomass burning pollute the air of East Asia. The resulting Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) are in wintertime warming the atmosphere yet dimming the surface in this vast region with severe impact on the climate, food and water security as well as air quality. Although these short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) aerosols attract large interests across the science-policy interface, efficient mitigation actions are hampered by the limited understanding of the relative contributions of different sources of combustion-derived carbonaceous aerosols and of their subsequent atmospheric processing. Here the relative contribution from fossil fuel and biomass combustion will be quantified by molecular combustion markers and powerful isotopic fingerprinting, including microscale-14C dating of BC and OC aerosols. Aerosol samples will be probed from recently established Sino-Swedish observational program in the four populated and industrialization hotspots in China (North China Plain – Beijing; Yangtze River Delta – Shanghai; Pearl River Delta – Guangzhou; Szechuan Basin– Chengdu) and from the SE Yellow Sea recipient site on a Jeju Island (Korea Climate Observatory – Gosan), providing an ideal context for these investigations. The molecular/isotopic fingerprints of such synoptic aerosol samples provide integrated source signature and possibility to assess atmospheric processing during over-ocean long-range transport. This field quantification of BC and OC sources and processing in E Asia will contribute to (a) top-down observation-based test and improvement of bottom-up technology-based emission inventories (uncertain for small-scale and open combustion); (b) improved aerosol parameterization in climate and air quality models, and (c) scientific underpinning for policy makers to make efficient mitigation actions toward decreasing anthropogenic aerosol emissions.

Mots clés : atmosphere, aerosol, black carbon, organic carbon, climate, east and south asia

Participants :
- Stockholm University (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 185857.2 €
Projet FasTER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

High luminosities at future particles colliders, such as the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), will come at the price of a dramatic increase in the number of concurrent interactions of beam particles (referred to as pileup) per crossing in the experiments, implying serious challenges to the reconstruction of events. Due to the spread of the proton bunches along the beamline, collisions vertices at the HL-LHC are spread out over about 5 cm along the beam direction and about 160 ps in time. At the vertex densities foreseen at the HL-LHC, some vertices and the associated particles are so close to be merged by the track reconstruction forming fake jets of high transverse momentum. Moreover, the random overlap of energy deposits from neutral particles (mainly photons), that cannot be tied via a track to any vertex, will deteriorate the calorimeter performance in terms of energy measurement and particle identification, as particles appear to be less isolated. A promising tool advocated to mitigate the effects of pileup consists in complementing the high transverse (spatial) granularity of the detectors with extreme time resolution (of the order of 10 ps), that would allow energy deposits coming from different interaction vertices to be resolved in time. The goal of this project is the definition of a viable way to exploit precision timing in event reconstruction at HL-LHC and integrate and/or complement the calorimeter system of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) with ultimate timing capabilities. The project will address both software aspects, with the development of innovative and dedicated algorithms for event reconstruction in 5 dimensions (space-time and energy), and hardware aspects, with the study of microchannel plates as candidate sensitive detector for a dedicated fast timing layer, eventually embedded in a preshower, to assist the calorimeters in single particle and photon timing.

Mots clés : fast timing detector, micro channel plates, hl lhc

Participants :
- University of Milano-Bicocca (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet BOHNS-TV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

High nitrogen stainless steels are becoming an increasingly important new class of engineering materials due to its favorable combination of mechanical, chemical and physical properties: high strength and toughness, nickel-saving and excellent corrosion, which enable its application in extensive fields such as military, marine equipment, petrochemical, etc. Hot working of high nitrogen stainless steel is always the challenge to engineers and researchers due to the diversity of the hot working window, which is strongly affected by nitrogen content. Moreover, there are still open questions on nitrogen content effect on thermodynamic theories (e.g. dynamic recrystallization and stacking fault energy). The primary objective of this project is to develop a novel approach for batch optimization of hot working processes of high nitrogen stainless steels, validate the thermodynamic theories and transfer scientific results into application. A gradient model will be synthesized using chemical heat treatment to support the modelling and experiments in a mechanical processing area. Both modelling and experimental studies will be carried out in close collaboration with Sandvik (a world-leading manufacturer of stainless steel) and KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden (one of the world-leading universities on first-principles study of the stacking fault energies in advanced alloys). These international collaborations help to ensure that the project will be successfully completed and the findings of the project will be transferred to and implemented in industry. In broader terms, the project will contribute to the enhancement of traditional nitrogen alloying theory and improvement of manufacturing capacities of high nitrogen stainless steel, reducing the energy consumption and emission pollution, and thus helping to attain socioeconomic and environmental targets in the context of the EU 2020 vision.

Mots clés : advanced engineering materials, high nitrogen stainless steels, surface engineering, manufacturing industry, hot forging, emission pollution, energy consumption

Participants :
- Technical University of Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 219312.0 €
Projet Champagne (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

High-altitude hypoxia is a known physiological stressor. Genetic signals associated with high-altitude adaptation have been identified in populations native to this environment, yet the links to molecular/physiological processes affording protection against hypoxic stress, specifically those related to metabolic function, remain largely unknown. Conversely, a significant proportion of Andean highlanders develop chronic mountain sickness (CMS), characterised by excessive erythrocytosis and cardiometabolic dysregulation. I will combine genotype analysis, RNA sequencing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, metabolic/lipidomic profiling and mitochondrial function analyses to study high-altitude Andeans with and without excessive erythrocytosis, in order to identify underlying differences in (mal)adaptive (patho)physiology. Applying methods developed by the partner host laboratory, I will examine pre-selected candidate gene variants along with skeletal muscle metabolic phenotype, probed through assessment of mitochondrial capacity for substrate metabolism. Metabolomic/lipidomic analysis of muscle and plasma alongside measures of whole-body exercise performance will demonstrate the impact of these functional changes in vivo. This multidisciplinary approach will explore the links between adaptive genetic polymorphisms and molecular/physiological processes affording protection against hypoxic stress. It has the potential to further our understanding of the individual metabolic responses to hypoxia by distinguishing healthy adaptive signals from disease-related signatures, and link genetic, metabolic and whole-body physiological function data in the context of CMS. It will provide a foundation for addressing fundamental questions concerning human evolution whilst improving our understanding of highly prevalent hypoxia-related conditions and the metabolic aetiology of these.

Mots clés : high altitude hypoxia, human evolution, chronic mountain sickness, genotype phenotype, metabolic  patho physiology, mitochondrial respiration, metabolomics, lipidomics, exercise performance

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 271732.8 €
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet SUSNASOL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

High-efficiency and low-cost solar cells are demanding to address the issue of the increasing global energy consumption and greenhouse gases emission. This stimulates the evolution of photovoltaic (PV) technologies from crystalline silicon (first generation) to thin film PV (second generation) with promises in further lowered cost and new building integrated applications (BIPV). However, facing problems of toxic and scarce materials (e.g. CdTe, CIGS, etc.) as well as the detrimental issue of defects (kesterite or CZTS) in the available solar cell technologies, SUSNASOL propose to build the new platform of low-temperature, high-throughput manufacturing for antisite-disorder suppressed, high-efficiency Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4 or (Cu,Ag)2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CAZTS) nanocrystal (NC) solar cells. By referring to many scientific breakthroughs in the field of thin film and colloidal NCs photovoltaics in recent years, and combining the extensive expertise in colloidal NC PVs of the hosting group with the developed material processing skills spanning chemistry, physics, and engineering of the experienced research (ER), this project aims at specific research objectives including designing environment-friendly, CRM-free nanomaterials with excellent optoelectronic properties; exploiting nanoscale tenability via colloidal chemistry to passivate this new class of NC materials; applying only mild sintering, and optimizing new device architecture (e.g. superstrate p-i-n, bulk nano-heterojunctions,etc.) to unlock the full potential of CAZTS NCs. This fellowship will be carried out at ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain, supervised by Prof. Gerasimos Konstantatos.

Mots clés : ag incorporated kesterite

Participants :
- Institute of Photonic Sciences (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet HiPerMeGaFlowS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

High-fidelity flow simulation is one of the main goals to pursue in the research towards exascale computing. This capability will allow a cheaper exploration of aeronautical and automotive designs that fulfill energy consumption and noise emissions policies of the European agencies. In this project, the integration of three high-performance tools will be studied as a promising alternative to perform high-fidelity flow simulations. Specifically, a parallel curved unstructured mesh generator will be integrated with two different parallel high-order stabilized Galerkin solvers. We expect that the novel research on the development and combination of these high-performance tools will provide the physical, numerical, and geometrical accuracy required to perform high-fidelity flow simulations on complex domains defined by industrial computer-aided design models. Furthermore, the project is of major interest in high-performance computing since we expect to improve the scalability of implicit flow solvers by increasing the accuracy for a given computational cost, favoring computation to data transfer, and increasing the ratio of operations that scale linearly with the number of mesh elements. The combined tools will be deployed in a large cluster to obtain flow simulations of practical interest for the aeronautical and automotive industries.

Mots clés : high performance computing, computational fluid dynamics, curved mesh generation, unstructured high order galerkin methods

Participants :
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet ESMORGA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

High-fidelity simulations using supercomputers play a key role in aerospace and automotive design for reducing the number of ground and in-flight tests. The mesh lies at the heart of the simulation: it reproduces the geometry using elements that, for engineering applications, are required to be curved (high-order). This project exploits geometric superconvergence: extra accuracy using lower order elements. The main goal is to transform observed geometric superconvergence into theory. The originality of this work is to derive the mathematics behind geometric superconvergence including theoretical limits and to develop a parallel code for High Performance Computing (HPC). The action features a two-way transfer of theoretical and practical knowledge between the fellow and the host institution in the topics of superconvergence, high-fidelity geometry simulations and HPC. The fellow will be integrated in the internationally recognized Geometry and Meshing for Simulation group at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). This action is devised to have significant impact on the fellow’s career, becoming an expert in superconvergence both for numerical approximations and geometry within the unstructured high-order simulations community focused on aircraft design. The proposal has the potential to establish the fellow as core scientist in the emerging research area of superconvergence and high-fidelity flow simulations, allowing the candidate to start and lead a new research group. The work packages and methodology have been devised to reach the goals on high-fidelity geometry for simulation including parallel implementation for large data clustering. A risk assessment plan has been designed ensuring that at least suboptimal superconvergence theory can be derived. The BSC infrastructure will be essential for the implementation of this high-fidelity geometry tool; it houses MareNostrum4, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe.

Mots clés : unstructured high order meshes, curved mesh generation, superconvergence

Participants :
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet HAAIV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses are endemic in wild birds and poultry across several Asian countries, and continue to cause human infections with high mortality. Global concern persists that these avian influenza viruses will evolve into viruses that can efficiently transmit between humans and may then cause a severe influenza pandemic. However, estimating the real risk of such a pandemic scenario is difficult due to limited understanding of the evolutionary requirements of H5N1 viruses to cross the species barrier and adapt to humans. There is therefore an urgent need to increase our insight into H5N1 influenza evolution within the human host and identify and characterize previously unrecognized adaptive evolutionary pathways. To gain this understanding we propose to apply whole genome, next generation viral quasispecies sequencing directly from serial clinical specimens obtained from H5N1-infected patients. We will perform an in-depth characterization of mutations that are selected during human H5N1 infections and include all influenza virus genes in our analyses. These analyses will provide insight into the diversity of H5N1 quasispecies and the molecular mechanisms of human adaptive mutations. This unbiased whole genome sequencing approach of the dynamics of within-host evolution of quasispecies during the course of infection in serial clinical specimens is highly innovative. The detection of minority variants that expand during the course of infection represents a unique approach to identify adaptive viral evolutionary pathways.

Mots clés : influenza virus, h5n1, human adaptation, evolution, transmission, deep sequencing, quasispecies, hemagglutinin

Participants :
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet SARPBAXZ (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Homologous recombination (HR) is a major mechanism for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). A DSB converts one normal chromosome into two pathological chromosomes, making it the severest form of DNA damage. Accordingly, defects in HR lead to genome instability, a potent driver of tumorigenesis. Although Rad51 is the central enzyme involved in HR, several auxiliary factors promote HR by stimulating Rad51. Rad51 paralogs comprise one family of evolutionarily conserved auxiliary factor. Unlike other auxiliary factors, Rad51 paralogs are notorious for their biochemical intractability, a trait that has greatly hindered progress in understanding their function, which in turn has precluded a more complete understanding of HR as a whole. This proposal aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying Rad51 potentiation by Rad51 paralogs. To achieve this, we will employ an interdisciplinary approach combining structural biology, biophysics, biochemistry, and genetics. This proposal is particularly well-placed to deliver novel insights because the historical obstacle in the analysis of Rad51 paralogs—the native purification of functional protein of sufficient yield and quantity—has already been overcome by the Researcher. Furthermore, the Supervisor has extensive expertise in cryo-electron microscopy, which is now a viable approach to visualise the finer structural features of proteins that have been recalcitrant to classical techniques such as X-ray crystallography. Thus, by uniting the experiences of the Researcher and Supervisor, this fellowship has the potential to answer long-standing and significant questions in the field of HR. In addition to maintaining genome stability, HR plays critical roles in gametogenesis, chromosomal biology, and evolution. If awarded, this proposal therefore has the potential to impact several disciplines within the life sciences, and this is especially true given the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed research.

Mots clés : rad51, reca, homologous recombination, genetic recombination, genome stability

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €