Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SD4SP (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Seasonal forecasting is a field with enormous potential influence in different socio-economic sectors, such as water resources, agriculture, health, and energy. Yet, surface climate conditions in Europe still represent a hurdle to formulate skillful seasonal predictions. SD4SP aims to improve simulation and prediction of the remote influence of two dominant tropical variability modes in the North Atlantic-European (NAE) region: El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO); which are the leading modes of interannual variability in the tropical troposphere and stratosphere respectively. ENSO is highly predictable and constitutes the cornerstone of seasonal forecasting. The QBO is well constrained by initialization and has a long persistence, being considered as the most promising source of seasonal forecast quality with ENSO. However, many scientific questions remain unresolved concerning their tropical-extratropical teleconnections, and model systematic errors only worsen the problem. SD4SP will focus on the stratospheric pathway of the ENSO/QBO teleconnections to NAE and pursue gaining insight into the dynamical mechanisms at play. This goal will be undertaken by carrying out an unprecedented set of idealized seasonal forecast experiments to address the contribution of the tropical stratosphere and the polar stratosphere to the prediction skill by suppressing variability in the two stratospheric regions, separately. SD4SP is very timely in helping to reduce model biases and to increase current seasonal forecasting capabilities for the NAE surface climate. The goal of SD4SP is twofold: to identify key sources of predictability and to improve understanding and simulation of the mechanisms responsible for that predictability. SD4SP will bring together theory and applicability disentangling atmospheric teleconnections to satisfactorily exploit them in a seasonal prediction context.

Mots clés : seasonal prediction

Participants :
- Enviro Neptune (Canada) (Canada) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
- CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 280202.88 €
Projet ECOPV (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

In response to recent climate tragedies, European Union (EU) is taking rapid action with its ambitious European Green Deal (EGD) to transform our economies and societies greener. As a result, the EU is encouraging the transformation of our buildings and vehicles from energy consumers to energy producers by installing lightweight, flexible, transparent, low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels. These are precisely the features of thin-film perovskite photovoltaics (PeroPVs). Drawing insights from tremendous silicon PV waste awaiting treatment, the recycling technologies within a circular economy become a prerequisite prior to the widespread commercial adoption of any PV technology. It is particularly important for perovskite photovoltaics to mitigate lead (Pb) consumption and prevent lead-containing waste release. In recent years, lead recycling was raised to extract lead ions from the end-of-life modules through lead absorbents and subsequently recover lead ions to lead iodide for new module fabrication. However, the low atomic efficiency and involvement of hazardous solvents in current recycling technology diminish the economic benefits and industry compatibility. Hence, Dr. Xun Xiao intends to solve the issue by employing ligand-modulated coordination management (LiMCOM) to develop a novel eco-friendly recycling system for a sustainable and circular perovskite PV system that goes beyond the state-of-the-art. ER intends to bring a low-cost, high-efficiency, and pollution-free solution for PeroPV waste by utilizing inter/multidisciplinary research involving physics, chemistry, materials science, and device engineering with the host institution's excellent infrastructural resources. The proposed project (ECOPV) complements the ER's expertise in lead-recycling for perovskite PV and the host scientist's knowledge of green solvent engineering. Overall, new expertise obtained via this fellowship will help ER mature in managing his future research group, ideally in Europe.

Mots clés : perovskite photovoltaics, waste treatment, recycling, renewable energy, optoelectronics, emerging solar technology, circular economy

Participants :
- Université de Linköping (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 222727.68 €
Projet PHOLED (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This project (PHOLED) will concentrate on lead-free halide perovskite nanomaterials for their light-emitting diodes (LEDs) application to address the current low-performance issue. The focus of this project will be the synthesis of novel lead-free layered halide double perovskite nanocrystals with surface engineering, and the corresponding mechanism studies, which account for the fabrication of high-performance perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs). PHOLED will combine multidisciplinary research crossing synthetic chemistry, surface chemistry, electrochemistry, photophysics, and optoelectronics. The completion of PHOLED will result in the generation of new knowledge to synthesize novel lead-free perovskite nanocrystals with outstanding optoelectronic properties which can provide crucial hints for chemists to enable further optimization of high-quality lead-free perovskite nanomaterials. An achievement of low-cost and high-performance lead-free-based PeLEDs from PHOLED will significantly highlight the possibility of the replacement of conventional LEDs that are made of exotic semiconductors such as gallium arsenide and gallium phosphide. The replacement of toxic lead by less- or non-toxic lead-free metals achieved by PHOLED will also have benefits for both environment and human beings. This fellowship will allow the researcher to incorporate the study of emerging lead-free perovskite nanomaterials-based LEDs into his research profile, broaden his knowledge and offer the researcher further expertise in the fields of eco-friendly, low-cost, and high-performance PeLEDs, opening new horizons for expanding his career prospects. New technical skills and expertise obtained during the fellowship in the beneficiary institute will strengthen the researcher's experimental capabilities and exploit new opportunities in multidisciplinary research domains. This fellowship will also broaden the researcher's networks with world-leading groups in the research of metal halide perovskite-based LEDs.

Mots clés : lead free halide perovskite nanocrystals layered double perovskites surface engineering doping engineering low cost eco friendly light emitting diodes external quantum efficiency photophysics

Participants :
- Université de Linköping (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 222727.68 €
Projet ISHOD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The study of the interactions between ancient societies and their environment is a key element to decision-making in the global context of climate change. Stable isotope analysis of biological (bone and dental) remains provides insights into climatic conditions, dietary habits and geographical mobility of modern and past populations. The ISHOD project sets up to refine the analysis and interpretation of two proxies: the hydrogen (d2H) and oxygen (d18O) stable isotope compositions of animal and human remains from modern and archaeological contexts.  Traditionally, d2H and d18O values are respectively measured on distinct matrices (bioapatite for d18O and collagen for d2H). Both proxies face analytical (atom exchange during pretreatment procedures) and interpretative (what information are recorded) challenges. ISHOD aims to develop (1) d2H measurements of bioapatite and “whole bone” and (2) d18O measurements of collagen. Once operational, protocols and setups will be used to explore how d2H and d18O values compare with other isotopic systems (C, N, S, Sr) and record climate, diet and geographic origin. They will be applied to investigate the medieval city of Ieper (Western Flanders, Belgium).  I will be hosted at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and supervised by Prof. Christophe Snoeck, a renowned expert in bioarchaeology specialized in isotope analysis of animal and human remains. During the fellowship, I will be trained to improve my scientific (stable isotope facility operating, pretreatment expertise) and interpersonal (leadership, networking) skills. ISHOD will lead to new chemical procedures and analytical setups to perform d2H and d18O measurements, which will advance our understanding of how ancient European societies experienced and adapted to climate changes. The project’s outcomes will be presented at scientific conferences (EAA, UKAS, Goldschmidt) and publicly communicated during outreach events (“Urban archaeology day”, “Dag van de Wetenschap”).

Mots clés : stable isotopes bioarchaeology oxygen hydrogen bone remains dental remains paleoclimate diet mobility

Participants :
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
Projet NEDIPAL (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Most Europeans wish to spend their final hours at home, surrounded by loved ones. Specialist palliative home care services have been established to fulfill this wish, even for patients facing severe terminal illnesses. The sociological research project NEDIPAL: Negotiating Digital Technologies in Palliative Home Care aims to better understand the intricacies and challenges of using digital technologies – such as teleconsultations, apps, wearables, and artificial intelligence – to make palliative home care more accessible to a broader range of patient groups, while also enhancing its economic and environmental sustainability.  Current research typically views digital technology usage in palliative home care either from the viewpoint of patients and family caregivers or of professionals, with both seeming decoupled from one another. In contrast, NEDIPAL examines the co-production of palliative home care by professionals in collaboration with patients and family caregivers, through the lens of systems and organizational theory. The sociological project transcends disciplinary boundaries by integrating insights from health services research, palliative medicine, communication, and digital inclusion.  The research will involve qualitative on-site field studies in the Belgian region of Wallonia at five interdisciplinary “Équipes de soutien à domicile”. NEDIPAL is hosted by BRISPO, an interdisciplinary research center specializing in digitalization, health, life course, and aging.  With my supervisor’s international experience and unique competence, along with my prior research in palliative home care and experience in France, I am confident that I will achieve NEDIPAL’s research and training objectives and position myself as a leader in research on the digitalization of palliative care. This project will prepare me for achieving my mid-term career goal of working in Belgium or France and help me advance my non-academic career as an expert in digital health services.

Mots clés : systems theory, organizational sociology, qualitative research, care work, digitalization, sociology of health and medicine, palliative care

Participants :
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 200400.0 €
Projet ReTenTion (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for cancer therapy have revolutionized the treatment of several cancers. These ICIs are made from monoclonal antibodies that antagonize inhibitory signals via cytotoxic T-lymphocyte- associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) that block the tumoricidal activity of T cells. Although these ICIs have improved the overall survival of cancer patients such as cutaneous melanoma patients, only one third of patients has remained progression-free 5 years after initiating ICI therapy. This low efficacy is largely due to (1) the presence of immune suppressive regulatory T cells (Treg) within tumor microenvironment (TME) (2) the lack of efficacy of tumor penetration and retention. To improve the current ICI, this project RenTenTion aims to develop a next generation ICIs with smaller molecule so called single domain antibody (sdAb), give rise to enhanced tumor penetration. Targeting against a new immune checkpoint molecule 41-BB that highly expressed by intratumoral Treg, this next generation sdAb based ICI will inhibit tumor promoting immune cells Treg, while stimulate tumor rejecting immune cells such as effector T cells in tumors. Additionally, this project will couple the sdAb with collagen binding domain receptor so called leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor 1 (LAIR1) that bind to collagen in the tumor, therefore sustain tumor retention. This project “ReTenTion” will fill a gap for a strong need for new ICI molecules capable of addressing immunosuppressive in TME, yet smaller than conventional ICIs, boosting passive delivery.

Mots clés : immune checkpoint inhibitors, single domain antibody

Participants :
- Etherna immunotherapies (Belgique) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 216240.0 €
Projet IRACS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), attaining food security is crucial for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of 'Zero Hunger'. Despite this, malnutrition rates of SSA in 2022 have deteriorated compared to 2010. Climate change further compounds this challenge, as it affects the SSA cropping system—the bedrock for the local food system but highly vulnerable to environmental shifts. The condition seems more severe here in the future: not only a higher frequency of extreme weather events occurring but also more outbreaks of pests and diseases. Surprisingly, most agricultural risk analyses on SSA have overlooked the impact of pests because few regional crop models can address its simulation. Moreover, most studies about SSA focused on quantifying yield loss risk but the overarching goal of agriculture risk assessment should be to elucidate the associated economic ramifications as a basis for policy responses. This project, IRACS, seeks to answer: "What is the integrated risk of crop failures in SSA under climate change, and what are its subsequent economic implications?" To tackle this, the IRACS will first develop a new pest model. This will be integrated with an enhanced crop model to better predict crop failure risks. Subsequently, applying future scenario datasets, this coupled model will assess potential yield loss in SSA. An integrated assessment model, GLOBIOM, will then be employed to assess the associated economic impacts. Ultimately, the IRACS initiative aims to not only deepen understanding of the interplay between climate change, cropping systems, and farmer livelihoods in SSA but also show how to combine biophysical models with economic models to investigate climate change impact effectively.

Mots clés : agricultural risk, crop pests, crop model, climate change, integrated assessment modeling

Participants :
- Institut international pour l'analyse des systèmes appliqués (Autriche) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet IMAGEN3D (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

How have eukaryotes evolved into the vast diversity we see nowadays? At present this simple question remains a mystery, mostly due to the vast uncharted microbial environmental diversity recurrently unveiled by molecular surveys. This gap in knowledge hinders a deep understanding of basic eukaryotic diversity, evolution and biology, and creates a biased perception towards well-characterized organisms of human interest. Yet, since the beginning of microbial research, from Leeuwenhoek and Haeckel, unicellular eukaryotes have been largely studied by optical methods, describing an extensive variety of shapes and morphologies. We therefore need new and different approaches to explore unknown eukaryote diversity. The goal of this project is to better understand early and enigmatic eukaryotic evolution by studying the morphology and genomes of the most informative undescribed eukaryotic lineages. Studies of novel eukaryotic diversity have historically relied on arbitrary factors regardless of their environmental abundance due to the lack of data. Yet, abundant groups are the most practical to explore. I will first identify the most environmentally abundant species that are distantly related to morphologically described groups. Next, I will develop a novel approach that allows the acquisition of 3D morphological data by imaging group-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization probes in combination with a set of fluorescent dyes labeling relevant subcellular features. Finally, I will sequence and assemble their genomes to better resolve the eukaryotic tree of life, by filling out poorly represented lineages that are distantly related to well-characterized species. This project will bring for the first time the link between already available environmental short sequences and their organismal morphology and genomic data.

Mots clés : protists, molecular diversity, evolution, single cell genomics, characterization, in situ hybridization, 3d fluorescence microscopy

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
Projet OXYPOW (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The recent discovery of anionic redox chemistry has unveiled a new transformational paradigm for designing sustainable rechargeable batteries with superior energy density. Li-rich layered oxide (LLO) cathodes exhibiting oxygen redox activity can deliver exceptional capacities (> 40% higher than state-of-the-art NMC811), due to the cumulative cationic and anionic redox processes. However, the LLOs suffer from poor energy efficiency, reduced power density and voltage decay, caused by progressive irreversible migration and trapping of transition metals in intermediate sites in the structure during operation. In this context, the aim of the project is to target new LLO polymorphs with improved stability and performance through crystal engineering of the oxygen stacking sequence and tuning of local cation-cation interactions. First, I will leverage my expertise in in situ X-ray/neutron diffraction and total scattering methods to study the evolution of the atomic structure (average and local) during synthesis of selected LLO compositions. This will (1) dramatically reduce the time needed to cover parameter space, (2) facilitate identification of the optimal reaction conditions for specific LLO polymorphs, and (3) provide fundamental mechanistic insight. Secondly, this information will be used to target LLOs with different structural configurations and systematically examine the relationship between their electrochemical performance and structural evolution during operation. Thirdly, I will investigate the charge compensation mechanisms (cationic and anionic) of the materials, which will be related to the structural changes as well as electrochemical data to yield a complete mechanistic picture of the synthesis-structure-property relationship in the system. This fundamental groundwork will allow development of a fabrication strategy for the next generation of sustainable high-performance cathode materials exploiting the untapped electrochemical potential of oxygen.

Mots clés : li ion batteries, layered oxides, anionic oxygen redox, crystal local structure, neutron powder diffraction, total scattering, pair distribution function pdf analysis, in situ characterization, xas

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
- ALBA Synchrotron (Spain) (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet COSMOS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

COSMOS is a highly multi-disciplinary project that will deliver the first technology for the continuous recording of cell resting membrane potentials. Biological electric fields arise by ion transport across cell membranes and tissues, and represent a crucial cue in guiding cellular differentiation (e.g., stem cells), mutation (e.g., cancer cells), and migration (e.g., wound healing). However, the underlying mechanisms behind these phenomena are yet to be fully discovered. This is because this data is currently hard to access with existing technologies: microelectrode arrays rely on electroporation (i.e. probing the cell membrane with consequent disruption, which makes it challenging to perform prolonged measurements), the patch-clamp method has a low throughput, and novel optical technologies mainly addressed the measurement of action potentials. However, most cells in the human body do not fire action potentials, and they communicate in a narrower electrical range. COSMOS will implement a platform to perform contact-free recordings of membrane potentials by optically mirroring the cell membrane charge. This technology will be first applied in testing corneal regenerative technologies (topical drugs, limbal stem cells, post-corneal transplant monitoring), as corneal wounds are an excellent model to study electric field-regulated cell behavior. COSMOS will provide the technological tool to enable addressing a fundamental scientific question, as well as pave the way towards new diagnostic methods, therapeutic strategies, and in vitro drug testing platforms.

Mots clés : bioelectricity, electrophysiological recording, membrane potential, nanofabrication, corneal wound healing, corneal tissue engineering, drug testing, regenerative medicine

Participants :
- Université de Modène et de Reggio Emilie (Italie) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Italian Institute of Technology (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172750.08 €