Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet TRAMPAS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Microplastic pollution has received considerable attention for the marine environment, but hidden out of sight are microplastics in soil. In Europe alone, there are likely more microplastics in soil than in all the world’s oceans. Microplastics can adversely affect soils, but the underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. A significant impact could be increased hydrophobicity of the soil pore surface, which can increase the movement of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. I found that the concentration of microplastics and soil temperature increase the soil-water contact angle, a measure of hydrophobicity. This project will explore how microplastics influence soil through the development of hydrophobicity and the impacts to bacteria and virus transport and retention. It builds on my recent research that was the first to link the development of soil hydrophobicity with increased leaching of bacteria. Two challenges of societal importance are addressed: (1) microplastic pollution and (2) pathogen fate in the environment. I will bring together a range of approaches, starting first with quantifying how climatic stresses and soil properties interact with microplastics to induce hydrophobicity. This will be followed by leaching experiments, where microbial retention and leaching will be tracked with a novel approach using synthesised DNA. Soil pore scale processes will be measured using microfluidics, where the spread and retention of microbes and water can be visualised directly under highly controlled conditions. Finally, I will study microplastic contaminated soil, exploring the formation of microbial colonised microplastics – the ‘plastisphere’. Working with a strong multidisciplinary team I will gain excellent training in state-of-the-art analysis approaches. By using highly visual approaches in my research, such as microfluidics, I will be able to demonstrate its impact to a range of audiences, from the public, through policy, to scientists.

Mots clés : microplastic pollution, bacterial contamination, synthesized dnas, microfluidics, pathogen fate, environmental pollution

Participants :
- University of Aberdeen (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet MigraLing (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Migration and its societal impact have never been higher on the agenda than in our globalized world, which is why it features prominently in the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 13. It is a challenge that not only poses problems, but also offers opportunities in various ways. The possibility of a positive impact of migration often tends to be neglected in present-day debates. History, however, demonstrates that optimistic expectations should not necessarily remain unattainable. The crumbling apart of the Byzantine Greek empire in the late Middle Ages, for instance, engendered a steady influx of Greek migrants into Western Europe during the Renaissance. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 further stimulated this population movement, triggering a first major brain drain from the Greek world. This confronted Western Europeans not only with another culture, but also with another language boasting a rich cultural and grammatical tradition, the full impact of which remains to be investigated. The proposed action aims to counter this state of affairs by studying an important linguistic dimension of this vast research lacuna: the way in which the Greek migrants contributed to transforming grammar from a monolingual, Latinocentric knowledge domain to a multilingual and flexible discipline. Indeed, their intensive teaching of the Greek language and its grammar was a key turning point in the history of linguistic thought, since it gave rise to a contrastive approach to language studies and education. It is this revolutionary development which the action intends to analyse by investigating Renaissance linguistic handbooks. In particular, it aims to study (A) how and why contrastive grammar emerged in the wake of Greek migration movements during the Renaissance, (B) how this related to the Greek migrants' teaching of Western European students, both male and female, and (C) what the impact of this new genre of language study was on later linguistic thought and praxis.

Mots clés : history of linguistics, comparative turn, history of language learning and teaching, classical reception, studies, book history, renaissance studies, early modern history

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 214158.72 €
Projet TesSEH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Migration is a key life-history stage for many avian species and underpins the distribution of biodiversity on Earth. The species-energy hypothesis states that energetics underlies spatial- and temporally-specific patterns; yet the energetic balance for free-flying migratory species is poorly understood due to the inherent difficulties in studying individuals across vast geographic scales. To date, it has not been possible to obtain a field-derived metric of energetics in passerines let alone relate it to the environmental energetic conditions experienced. Major advances at the MPI-AB in the miniaturisation of heart-rate loggers, and the launch of ICARUS tracking technology with high spatio-temporal resolution, will now enable unique insights into energetically costly flight behaviour over the full annual cycle. By filling a technological and a conceptual gap, the ER will be the first to develop a novel, integrated approach to quantify the true energetic costs in the natural environment across a continuum of flight strategies, and calibrate metabolic costs under controlled settings to transform the research field of energetics. Empirically-derived data, resulting from this action, will be used to test if the species-energy relationship is applicable to the vast majority of small songbirds which change their distribution in response to seasonal variation in conditions and resources. Furthermore, this will enable the development of a tool to refine flight performance models and determine the response of this biological system to climate change. It will permit explicit testing of the species-energy relationship under seasonally specific environmental conditions, with a unique approach of incorporating energetic demands into the system. Cumulatively, fulfilling the objectives of TesSSEH, will significantly contribute to biogeographic theory, develop our understanding of energetically efficient physiological traits and revolutionise avian energetic models.

Mots clés : avian migration, telemetry, flight performance, energetics

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet MIGMED (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Migration is a key socio-political issue in present-day Europe, however it is by no means a new phenomenon. Even though the importance of South-North (and vice versa) mobility on the development of our society has been addressed by historians, characteristics of this phenomenon have not yet been fully investigated nor have been the similarities between early modern’s mobility and our actual experience. Was migration in the early modern world a network driven phenomenon? What is the link between internal migration and long distance mobility? Leaving aside individual experience, how did migration influence the life of communities at large? This research project aims to answer to these questions and to deepen our understanding on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region during the early modern period. In order to do so it investigates mobility between Palestinian parishes and from Palestine to Europe during the 17th and the 18th century focusing on the Custody of the Holy Land of Jerusalem. By complementing Islamic court records and Ottoman surveys with Franciscan sources and previously unused parish registers, it will shed new light on spatial mobility and will contribute to overcome the limits of current research on the topic. Methodologically, the proposal breaks new ground by combining micro-, meso- and macro-level analysis and conceptualizing the role of the Franciscan order as part of a migration network. The results of in-depth research on numbers, motives and experiences of individuals and groups moving in and around the Holy Land will help to advance the wider fields of migration, mission and parish studies in the Mediterranean.

Mots clés : migration, mediterranean, ottoman empire, middle east, palestine, parishes, missionaries, religious conversions, cultural history, demography, franciscans, networks

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

Migration scholars are increasingly attentive to human agency in global mobility processes, leading to a growing interest in ‘migratory imaginations’. There is an unfortunate tendency in the discipline, however, to emphasise the perceptual dimension of the imagination at the expense of its action-oriented one. This hinders the imagination's conceptual and empirical potentials, not least where the particularly ‘active’ imaginations of immigrants are concerned. We know, for instance, that migrants are likely to develop multiple place affiliations and cultural identifications by virtue of their exposure to several environments. Yet little is known about the sociocognitive frameworks that foster these multipolar orientations. Im.magine addresses this gap by treating international migration experience as an ‘extreme life event’ that expands the imagination through combined material and symbolic processes. On a theoretical level, Im.magine underscores the crucial elements of relational and reflexive thinking, which are visible in foundational sociological and geographical conceptions of the imagination, yet frequently overlooked in research on migration-related imaginations. It offers an empirical application of reflexive imaginations by means of comparative case studies of North Africans living in Montréal, Canada, and Marseille, France. Through a triangulated use of official and literary discourse as well as first-person oral, visual, sensory, and digital migration narratives, it will help open up the ‘black box’ of immigrant imaginations. Specifically, by casting migrant biographies onto multiscalar and inter-connected spatio-temporal frames, the project will advance our understanding of complex place affiliations and identifications, thus illuminating the very real impacts of the imagination on mobility processes.

Mots clés : geographic imaginations, reflexive and cognitive approaches to migration, mental mapping, migration narratives

Participants :
- Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 244385.28 €
- Université de Montréal (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet UkrAD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Migration, admixture and natural selection have been shaping human societies and genomes through time. Southern Ukraine, as part of the Eurasian Steppe, has been in the path of several migrating groups, e.g. Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists, mixed-origin Cimmerians and Scythians, Gothic Chernyakhov people, Iranian Alans, Golden Horde Mongols, Turkic Nogais, Slavic Cossacks. This fellowship aims to study how one of the main ancestry components in Europe, the fusion of Steppe and early farmer ancestry, formed and how other migration processes shaped genetic variation in Ukraine. Furthermore, we aim to identify important signals of selection (e.g., diet- and immunity-related) and their ecological drivers. To that end, genomic data of 150 individuals will be generated. The ancestry composition of the individuals will be characterized in the context of modern and ancient samples, and interpreted in the context of archaeological and historical information. A novel likelihood-based method will be used to test hypotheses of which ecological factors, such as urbanization, higher population density, mobility, zoonoses, famine and wider contact networks, have been important in driving selection on alleles related to infectious disease resistance, through influencing sanitation and pathogen transmission. The researcher will mature to be independent thanks to developing excisting and acquiring new skills through training received from the host and the secondment host. She will further her skills in her current research area of demographic history inference and will expand into a new field – studying natural selection. Furthermore, she will develop transferable skills by conceiving and managing a project, disseminating the project results through journal articles, conference presentations etc., communicating scientific results to students, science enthusiasts and the general public, networking with people from the host/secondment team and external collaborators, supervising students.

Mots clés : ancient dna, population genetics, natural selection, demographic history, ukraine

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet CPA-EST (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mind-wandering (MW) is the occurrence of thoughts that are decoupled from immediate perceptual inputs and unrelated to the activity at hand. MW represents a substantial part of our daily thinking time and it has substantial negative effects on reading, memory, and the ability to focus attention. At the same time, MW can enhance creativity and afford opportunities to plan for the future. However, most of what we currently know about MW comes from laboratory studies where the tasks from which the mind wanders are simple, boring, repetitive, and do not reflect the richness of daily life events. A limited body of research using experience sampling gives a coarse-grained characterization of MW in real-life situations, but this approach cannot measure the detailed behavioral structure of MW, or its neural correlates, to reveal underlying mechanisms. To overcome this barrier, we will leverage new advances in methods to study naturalistic event comprehension in the laboratory. We will adopt a multi-method approach that will combine (i) validated event cognition tasks that involve the viewing of movies of naturalistic everyday activities with (ii) state-of-the-art techniques to measure the behavioral, physiological, and neural correlates of MW. Study 1 will use eye-tracking to determine whether and how the event structure of naturalistic activities affects the perceptual decoupling component of MW. Study 2 will examine how the structure of everyday activities can modulate the content of MW episodes. Finally, Study 3 will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the neural correlates of MW are modulated by the event structure of everyday activities. Together, these studies will provide the foundations for a detailed account of MW in naturalistic settings, laying the basis for future interventions aimed at helping individuals to capitalize on the benefits of MW in their daily life while minimizing the associated costs.

Mots clés : functional magnetic resonance imaging, eye tracking, mind wandering, memory, experience sampling method, event cognition, self generated thought, naturalistic activities, attention

Participants :
- University of Liège (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160465.2 €
- University of Washington (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MICROCRACK (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mining is a huge industry that accounts for a very significant share of global energy consumption, with rock comminution being responsible for – at least – half of the total energy expenditure. There is, consequently, a strong need to develop innovative energy-efficient mining techniques, and this proposal will focus on this major opportunity. A physically-based constitutive framework for anisotropic cracking of heterogeneous rocks will be developed, laying the scientific foundations for micromechanical modelling of rock fracture. The model will embed the mechanisms governing cracking of heterogeneous rocks in a novel and interdisciplinary approach. The complementary profile of the applicant and the host group is a strong asset, with their previous experience in micromechanics and fracture establishing the basis to successfully overcome the theoretical, numerical and experimental challenges of the project. The proposal builds upon the applicant’s background and involves new research areas, widening his competences and supporting development to academic maturity. An appropriate work plan has been programmed to achieve the scientific objectives and ensure knowledge transfer. Milestones and deliverables have been established to monitor the progress of the project implementation and pertinent corrective measures projected. A detailed dissemination strategy has been proposed to communicate findings to the general public, and to increase the impact of the research outcomes in the scientific community and engineering practice. The Cambridge Centre for Micromechanics provides an optimum environment for the project, containing the facilities required to perform the indispensable critical experiments and advanced numerical simulations. Moreover, it constitutes a unique platform to develop international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary recognition, supporting the applicant in achieving a breakthrough that will significantly impact his scientific career.

Mots clés : fracture, micromechanics, finite element method, damage, cracking

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet Mitobetes (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mitobetes project brings a new research on poorly characterized mitochondrial protein involved in important cellular and physiological processes such diabetes, kidney failure and cancer. It also aims on the role of mitochondria in diabetes, the disease which affects almost 10% of European population. The mitobetes project has a potential to help to find a new mitochondrial protein involved in diabetes, find a mechanism of diabetes development, increase the public knowledge about diabetes and thus helps to decrease EU healthcare costs. Mitochondria are crucial organelles not only in energy conversion, but also in a plethora of other biological processes. Their function is closely related to their dynamics, controlled by the pro-fusion proteins Mitofusin (Mfn) 1 and 2 and Optic atrophy 1 (Opa1); and by the fission proteins mitochondrial fission factor (Mff) and dynamin related protein 1 (Drp1). Opa1 not only controls mitochondrial fusion, but also shape of the mitochondrial cristae, a crucial parameter in determining mitochondrial function and participation in apoptosis. Opa1 exists in high molecular weight complexes of unknown composition that are dynamically modulated during cristae remodeling. Recently, the host laboratory completed a proteomic catalogue of proteins associating with Opa1 in intact cristae and leaving the complex only when cristae shape was disrupted. Among the hits associating with Opa1, the host lab discovered Von Willebrand Domain-containing Protein 8 (Vwa8), a mitochondrial protein of unknown function whose higher levels correlate with worse prognosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Here, I propose to understand the function of Vwa8 in mitochondrial network and cristae shape, Opa1 function, apoptosis and bioenergetics. This project will not only characterize the role of a novel protein in involved mitochondrial morphology and function, but also verify if a link between mitochondrial morphology and AML exists.

Mots clés : mitochondrial fission and fusion, diabetes, acute myeloid leukemia, vwa8, opa1, cristae

Participants :
- University of Padua (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183473.28 €
Projet MitoZebra (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Mitochondria are well known as the powerhouse of cells and play a vital role in embryo development regulating energy homeostasis. Mitochondrial function has been studied for decades, although several aspects of mitochondrial metabolism during development still remain unclear. Which mechanisms are responsible for the continuous increase in respiratory chain activity during embryogenesis? How does translational activity in the early embryo contribute to this process, and how is the translational activity in mitochondria coordinated with the translational activity in the cytoplasm? In my project, I will investigate mechanisms that underlie the increase in mitochondrial energy production during embryogenesis. Using zebrafish embryos as a model system for vertebrate development, I propose to measure mitochondrial translational activity with de novo translation assays and assess its contribution to the assembly of new respiratory chain complexes. Also, I will explore the largely enigmatic mechanism of the co-regulation of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial translation. My research will provide novel insights into the universal yet poorly understood mechanisms that activate mitochondrial function after fertilization. Since in the early embryo nucleus is transcriptionally inactive, my work has the potential to discover novel, transcription-independent feedback-mechanisms that balance mitochondrial and cytoplasmic translations.

Mots clés : zebrafis, embryogenesis, mitochondria, cytoplasmic and mitochondrial translation, respiratory chain

Participants :
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 186167.04 €