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

According to the European Commission’s report „Patient Safety and Quality of Care“ (2014), each year, 8 to 12% of hospitalized patients suffer from adverse events, mostly diagnostic errors. Environments such as the emergency room are particularly vulnerable with up to 35% diagnostic errors. Research into how to reduce diagnostic errors has so far focused on how to train, educate, or technically support the individual physician—thus largely neglecting an integral aspect of clinical diagnosis: its collaborative character. In fact, the National Academy of Medicine has only recently suggested that teamwork is key to reduce the unacceptably high incidence of diagnostic error worldwide (2015). The goal of the project “TeamUp” is to advance the understanding of decision processes in teams in uncertain environments such as the emergency room, and ultimately, to inform theory-based interventions to achieve diagnostic excellence. In detail, to scrutinize the determinants of high diagnostic accuracy, the project aims to (1) identify mechanisms and locate performance benefits of teams in the diagnostic decision process, (2) find effective ways to combine individual with teamwork, (3) identify interaction patterns that render teams successful, and (4) to transfer findings to teaching material for dissemination among end-users. To deliver these aims, the project draws on three research streams, namely judgment and decision making, small group research and diagnostic error research, which are so far largely unconnected. “TeamUp” contains two computer-based experiments involving medical students, a simulation study involving real emergency teams, and a dedicated dissemination phase. The project will lead to a reduction of diagnostic errors, avoid unnecessary treatments, save healthcare costs, and ultimately enhance patient safety.

Mots clés : team performance, diagnostic decision making, uncertainty, emergency medicine, ad hoc teams, diagnostic error, patient safety

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet nanoEx (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Accurate detection of low-abundance proteins in biological samples obtained from patients or invasive species relies on appropriate handling and fixation techniques. Due to their inherent instability and propensity to denature upon freeze-thaw treatments, important protein markers tend to escape detection. Analogous challenges in RNA sequencing have been mitigated by the use of nanopore technology. European academic research and industry actions led to the creation of the widely used MinION devices that employ nanopore technology to enable DNA and RNA sequencing to be executed on site. Through this application I seek to improve nanopores as biosensors for the detection of proteins that will facilitate immediate protein analysis from clinical or ecological samples. I will use my expertise in genetic code expansion (GCE) techniques to engineer two well-characterized cytolysins with distinct architectures: an α-helical actinoporin and β-barrel containing lysenin. To improve these pores for protein identification and sequencing, the proposed research will advance through four stages: Incorporation of noncanonical amino acid (ncAA) to covalently stabilize smaller pores (1) and modulate the pore’s sensing region (2), directed evolution of residues lining the channel walls (3) and structural characterization of the identified variants (4). This is a multidisciplinary project that combines GCE techniques with advanced biophysical and structural characterization of the evolved nanopores. The host’s expertise in nanopore analysis together with my experience with GCE and directed evolution methods provide an important two-way transfer of knowledge. Action includes a training-through-research essential to advance my future academic career and enhance my employability in the biomedical industry. I anticipate the results of nanoEx project will have a major impact on the progress of nanopore biosensing, increasing the competitiveness of the European industry in protein sequencing.

Mots clés : protein nanopores, nanopore sequencing, genetic code expansion, noncanonical amino acids

Participants :
- National Institute of Chemistry (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 162040.32 €
Projet CoNTESTA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Accurate prediction of future climate impacts hinges upon the robust reconstruction of past climate change. Palaeoclimate records serve as benchmark data for modern climate models and are a key element of model validation. Glaciers in particular are sensitive indicators of climate, providing geologic records of past climate fluctuations in the form of moraines. Recent advances in cosmogenic nuclide (CN) surface-exposure dating now allow these landforms to be dated directly, opening glacial geology as a potentially rich global archive of past climate change. However, fundamental limitations in our ability to exploit glacial records as a climate proxy are uncertainty in the 1) variance of CN production rates over time and 2) validity of numerical frameworks used to account for potential production rate variation. I propose to address these challenges directly by developing CN production rates for multiple periods from a single region in the tropics, where the theoretical impact of production rate variability is greatest. I will work with geochronologist Dr. Gordon Bromley of the host institution, National University of Ireland, Galway, to implement my field-based campaign in the Peruvian Andes, where I will map and sample volcanic deposits for CN calibration. I will be trained in noble gas mass spectrometry by Dr. Pierre-Henri Blard at partner institution Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochemiques, France. My ultimate fellowship goal is to refine and strengthen the surface-exposure dating technique in order to open the glacial geologic record as a global proxy for past change. Crucially, the results of my proposed research will provide both myself and the wider scientific community with the cutting-edge toolset required to apply cosmogenic nuclides to deposits of varying age and location and to quantify the impact of past – and future – climate change.

Mots clés : cosmogenic nuclides, production rate, helium 3, climate change, glacial geology, tropical climate, surface exposure dating

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184590.72 €
Projet IMPACT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Across Europe, up to 5.8 million children and youths are affected by language problems. Language difficulties result in poorer academic outcomes, worse job opportunities, and poorer economic and health well-being. A major societal challenge and Europe 2020 priority is reducing social inequalities, which could be addressed by investing in the early years and addressing the inequities in early language development. Impoverished home language environments are shown to contribute to existing and increasing inequalities across Europe. One approach to improving child oral language skills and reducing inequalities is to identify parent-child interaction interventions for promoting the home language environment, with the potential to be incorporated into universal services across Europe. Thus, the objectives of this fellowship are to: 1) Understand expectations and experiences of parents in disadvantaged areas who take part in parent-child interaction programmes aimed at promoting child oral language skills; 2) Determine the feasibility and reliability of an observational rating scale of parent-child interaction for use by health visitors/community health nurses to identify children most likely to benefit from parent-focused interventions for improving child oral language; 3) Review practices across Europe for promoting parent-child interaction, and provide recommendations to the EU for identifying children most likely to benefit from parent-focused intervention set within a framework of progressive universalism (where all parents and children are provided with a universal service, with additional services targeted to those with additional needs). At a time when action is needed, the research fellow under the expert supervision and advanced training provided at Newcastle University, will make a significant contribution to advancing the science of the field and also to addressing the major societal challenge in the UK and across Europe of reducing inequalities.

Mots clés : child language, inequalities, parent child interaction, population health

Participants :
- Newcastle University (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet PHOTO-WALK (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Activation of traditionally inert bonds has attracted great attention in the last decades and impressive advancements have been achieved in the catalytic functionalization of CH bonds. Although the great number of catalytic methodologies for the transformation at sp2 CH sites, manipulation of the corresponding sp3 CH bonds remains largely confined to activated allylic and benzylic positions or to sites within reach of an existing directing group. Transition metal-catalyzed olefin isomerization has provided an outstanding tool for remote functionalization of sp3 CH bonds but it requires the use of prefunctionalized molecules, bearing a component or an alkyl bromide. On the other hand, photocatalysis has emerged as a novel strategy for sp3 CH activation but it is limited to the functionalization at the or positions with respect to a heteroatom. PHOTO-WALK will merge the photocatalytic activation of sp3 CH bonds with a Ni-catalyzed chain-walking process, disclosing a completely novel triggering event for the remote functionalization of unactivated aliphatic amines and amides. The approach will overcome the limitations of current strategies for remote functionalization, allowing transformations at sp3 CH sites unreachable by current photocatalytic methods and employing hydrocarbon feedstocks (aliphatic amines and amides) lacking of C=C or C-halide handles. Three functionalizations have been envisioned to increase molecular complexity by forging new C(sp2)–C(sp3) and C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds: i) remote carboxylation, ii) remote arylation and iii) remote alkylation. PHOTO-WALK has the potential to be applied to the late-stage derivatization of pharmaceuticals, enabling the exploration of uncharted chemical spaces and offering the opportunity for structural diversification in drug discovery.

Mots clés : remote functionalization, metallaphotoredox, photocatalysis, c h activation, cross coupling, carbon dioxide, feedstock, isomerization, chain walking, radicals, light, nickel, iridium

Participants :
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet KeyDynamics (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Active adaptation to current climate change related threats and the utilization of possible opportunities is hindered by three key limits in our understanding of the reaction of species and associated ecosystem services to climate dynamics. There is limited knowledge i) to which extend current species’ distributions are in equilibrium with their climatic niches, ii) how necessary range shifts are modulated by complex biotic interactions, which may depend on arrival order in a community i.e. “priority effects”, and iii) if ‘species’ is the adequate unit for impact assessments and predictive modelling given large within-species variability in adaptive capacity. This project will address all three key limits at once by applying novel methodology tracking species range shift dynamics through time since the Last Glacial Maximum. The project improves established migration models and utilizes newly available high-resolution vegetation community information to quantify biotic interactions comparing functional similarity between arriving species and the established community. Pollen and macrofossil records will be used for independent model evaluation and to identify responsible drivers for time lags between climate suitability and actual arrival of species at sites across Europe. Extending the approach accounting for differently adapted ecotypes within species will identify effects of intra-species variation on range dynamics. The proposed research has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of climate-biosphere interactions, and results will have immediate practical applicability. Strong contributions to fundamental ecological theory are to be expected. The candidate’s experience in geospatial modelling and theoretical ecology, together with the host’s expertise in empirical and geospatial ecology and ecosystem services, will provide new insights into the mechanisms shaping range dynamics particularly in the context of anthropogenic climate change.

Mots clés : assisted migration, biotic interactions, climate change, dispersal, ecosystem services, priority effects, range dynamics, species community dynamics, time lag effects, within species variability

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212194.8 €
Projet DUSTDEVILS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are the most powerful objects in the Universe. Their power source is accretion of surrounding matter onto the supermassive black holes in the galaxy centers. During the accretion process huge radiation pressure builds up preventing a large amount of matter to actually fall into the black hole. Instead, it is blown away in polar directions up to kiloparsec scales. Recently, it was discovered that these polar winds are very dusty and form hollow cones and therefore roughly resemble dust devils. This research action aims at investigating this newly discovered dust structures because they have the potential to significantly advance our understanding not only of the AGN phenomenon but contribute to the question of how the feedback on AGN onto their host galaxies works. Specifically, the polar dusty winds could dominate the power output of the AGN in the mid-infrared (MIR) which so far has been firmly attributed to the canonical torus structure. Here, I propose to study the polar dust structures in AGN with unprecedented new observations. First, I want to asses the ubiquity of these structures, and second determine their physical properties including dust composition. The results will be used test whether they are caused by dusty polar wind being launched from the accretion disk and driven by the radiation pressure to large distances. If true, our picture of the nuclear dust structure of the AGN could be transformed from a static phenomenological torus into a highly dynamic structure where the obscuration is caused by the combination of the accretion disk and the base of this dusty wind. This would be a result of high impact in the field and together with the training objectives of this fellowship allow me to reach and demonstrate professional maturity.

Mots clés : dust, agn winds, mid infrared, agn torus and unification, agn feedback, high angular resolution, radiate transfer modeling, nearby univserse

Participants :
- University of Southampton (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet TOPACT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Active liquid crystals are out-of-equilibrium systems that display intriguing dynamic phenomena, arising from the interplay between topological defects and collective motion. Here, we propose to experimentally study for the first time (i) the dynamics of topological defects in the active colloidal nematic phase and (ii) the interplay between these topological defects and collective dynamics, in three dimensions, at the single particle level, and with full control over the defects. To reach these objectives, we first use a combination of advanced colloidal synthesis and surface modification techniques in order to develop a model system of active colloidal rods of controlled size, aspect ratio and surface properties. We then confine this newly developed model system in microfluidic channels, where the colloidal rods form a nematic liquid crystal. Topological defects will be induced in the nematic phase using specific geometric constraints, which can be varied to control the locations and strengths of the defects, or by optical trapping techniques. Finally, we use state-of-the-art confocal microscopy and sophisticated image analysis techniques to follow, in real time and 3D real space, both the individual particle motion and the collective dynamics in the system. Our work will thus provide experimental verification of the intriguing link between topological defects and collective dynamics in active liquid crystals and inspire novel theories and simulation codes capable of capturing the intrinsic complexity of coupling structure, orientation and activity.

Mots clés : active matter, soft matter, topological defects, liquid crystals, anisotropic colloids, confocal, microscopy, optical trapping, microfluidics

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet ACTIVEMOTION3D (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Active particles are microscopic objects capable of self-propulsion. Examples include natural microorganisms, e.g. motile bacteria, chemotactic cells, and artificial colloidal microswimmers. From the fundamental side, their study can shed light on the far-from-equilibrium physics underlying the adaptive and collective behavior of microscopic biological entities. From the more applied side, they provide tantalizing options to perform tasks not easily achievable with other available techniques, such as the targeted localization, pick-up and delivery of microscopic cargoes, e.g., in drug delivery, bioremediation and chemical sensing. Despite the ever-growing interest that active particles have arisen in the scientific community, almost all experimental studies have focused on quasi-two-dimensional investigations, mainly because of limitations in the employed microscopic techniques. Nevertheless, the three-dimensional (3D) dynamics and behavior of active particles can be qualitatively different, as has already been shown by numerical and theoretical studies; this is particularly true when considering active particles moving in 3D complex and crowded environments. With this project, I will fill this gap by developing an experimental technique capable of investigating the motion of active particles in 3D. First, I will implement a state-of-the-art 3D super-resolution microscope (high-frame rate, large field of view). Then, I will use it to characterize the 3D motion of single active particles in homogenous environments. Finally, I will study their motion in complex and crowded environments similar to the ones that can be found in nature or in applications; this will permit me to explore and develop effective strategies to control the motion of active particles in these environments. This will pave the way towards a deeper understanding of the behavior of active particles and also towards realistic applications.

Mots clés : active brownian motion, janus particles, light sheet microscopy, 3d microscopy

Participants :
- University of Gothenburg (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173857.2 €
Projet ALGORITM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major cause of mortality in the critically ill patients with no effective pharmacological treatment. Recently, two distinct endotypes of ARDS were identified and validated in four large randomized controlled trials: a hyper-inflammatory and a hypo-inflammatory endotype. These endotypes have strikingly different clinical characteristics, biomarker profiles, clinical outcomes, and treatment responses. While these data are highly promising, the biology of these endotypes is not understood. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) hold significant therapeutic promise for ARDS and are rapidly progressing to clinical trials across the world. However, concern for the use of stem cells, specifically the risk of tumor formation, remains unresolved. Accumulating evidence suggests that MSCs exert their therapeutic benefit through the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs). MSC EVs are being actively developed as a cell free therapy for ARDS, but for the effective clinical translation it is important to establish EV therapeutic potential for both biological endotypes of patients. In this project, I am going to use cutting edge technology and employ the most physiological human lung tissue models to date to study the biology of ARDS endotypes and to test therapeutic potential of MSC EVs. The main objectives are: i) To reveal how endotype–specific environments alter human lung tissue and how these changes are affected by EV treatment at a single cell level, using single cell RNA-Seq transcriptomic profiling of precision-cut human lung tissue slices, ii) to study how endotype-specific environments (with or without EV treatment) alter functional properties of the alveolar epithelial-endothelial barrier using lung-on-a-chip microfluidic model, iii) to study how endotype-specific environments (with or without EVs) alter metabolism of the primary human pulmonary cells involved in ARDS pathophysiology using Seahorse Metabolic Analyser.

Mots clés : acute respiratory distress syndrome, mesenchymal stem cells, extracellular vesicles, human lung tissue models, regenerative medicine

Participants :
- Queen's University Belfast (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €