Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet DRIVE-In (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Photonic integration is emerging as a new standard for providing high-performance, miniaturised optical systems for a wide range of applications, among others in the thriving sector of vehicle autonomy. However, the potential of the sector is currently hampered by the availability of accurate simulation and validation tools for optoelectronic Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) design, which is why an exceptional improvement of PIC software tools and better modelling procedures and simulation tools for Process Design Kits (PDKs) are of the utmost importance. To foster the adoption of photonic based solutions in the automotive industry, the academic and industrial partners of DRIVE-In will work synergistically to generate a cohort of four young scientists with advanced inter-disciplinary skills in hybrid optoelectronic circuit designs and software simulation and modelling of Indium Phosphide-(InP)-based PICs. DRIVE-In will train four ESRs at two leading European academic institutions and three industrial companies, thus forming a strong interdisciplinary network between industry and technical sciences to overcome specific barriers in the intersection of the integrated photonics sector and the automotive industry. With combined skills in e.g. hybrid optoelectronic circuit designs and software simulation and modelling of InP-PICs, the DRIVE-In ESRs will contribute to overcoming the challenges related to hybridisation of integrated photonics and microelectronics, increasing PIC complexity, needs for high-performance FSO links and for software simulation and fast-generation layout models. The availability of professionals combining the DRIVE-In skills will directly fuel emerging optoelectronic PIC-based innovation and ensure its exploitation by the photonic industry in the automotive sector. Additionally, unique career opportunities will arise for the professionals involved in this technological step change in advanced InP-PIC design and simulation.

Mots clés : photonic integrated circuits, indium phosphide, process design kits, hybrid systems, optoelectronic, photonics simulation and modelling tools, automotive, advanced driver assistance systems, lidar

Participants :
- VPIphotonics (Germany) (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 252788.4 €
- Universidade de Vigo (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 752714.64 €
Projet LODIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Photonic structures are extremely widespread in nature, and studying how light interacts with them is important. This contributes to understanding of the structures’ biological significance and also supports development of novel, bio-inspired optical materials. Natural photonic structures are, however, generally very challenging to model when one refuses to approximate their optical response to the one of simple periodic materials. The complications in describing light-matter interaction in such systems are introduced by the fact that natural structures are highly hierarchical (with features spread on different length-scales) and generally affected by disorder. With this proposal, we want to address these challenges by developing novel analysis tools, which will be used to increase understanding of disordered photonic structures. In particular, we will develop tools for two systems: One system is the striations found on a range of flower petals, which create iridescence due to their grating-like organisation. The other system is that of the helicoidal multilayer structure found in Pollia condensata fruit. This gives rise to a colour-selective, characteristic appearance, impossible to obtain using only pigmentation. The scientific goal of developing novel analysis tools for complex and disordered photonic structures is important in biology. Moreover, such tools will find application in the development of novel photonic structures, and they are relevant not only for natural photonics materials, but more in general, for self-assembled systems where disorder and hierarchical structuring are an inherent part of the fabrication process.

Mots clés : disordered photonics, biomimetics, plant photonics, numerical methods

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet STMICRO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Progress in modern information processing relies on the combination of a few-nanometer structures with ever-increasing signal speeds approaching the terahertz (THz) level and beyond. However, the design of such devices is currently restricted by our inability to see and measure the underlying charge carrier dynamics at sufficient resolution in time and space. This proposal aims at solving this problem by combining femtosecond laser technology with electron microscopy for achieving sub-nanometer and multi-THz space-time resolution of electromagnetic fields and charge motion in future microelectronic devices. It relies on the recently demonstrated technique of electron pulse compression down to femtoseconds by means of optical radiation. Electron pulses can capture the electric fields in structures as small as atoms at an instant of time. While conventional electron microscopy is the main tool allowing to see modern nanometer-sized electronic components, it can only sense the structure of devices and not how they operate dynamically. In contrast, femtosecond electron microscopy allows to resolve THz dynamics. Here, in order to drive microelectronic components at THz frequencies, laser-generated THz pulses will be used. Furthermore, a variation of scanning nanotip microscopy will be added providing ultrafine spatial resolution. In combination, this will allow to visualize charge motion and electric fields in microelectronic devices in real-time at with unprecedented space-time resolution. This investigation will critically expand our fundamental knowledge of electron transport at extremely high frequencies, which is necessary for designing future microelectronic devices. Furthermore, it will introduce a disruptive diagnostic solution for industry to see their current and future prototypes while in operation, in order to guide future micro- and nano-electronics towards faster frequency regimes than current technology allows.

Mots clés : ultrafast electron imaging, femtosecond electron microscopy

Participants :
- University of Konstanz (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet ActiLit (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Project ACTILIT will focus on female literacy and female literate education at the end of Middle Ages (1350-1500). The ER will adopt a new historiographical approach centered on - a crucial element for the improvement of personal agency - the concept of practical literacy, i.e. one’s abilities to read, write and count in every-day life for practical purposes. ACTILIT will also renew our vision of the role of women in the transmission of literate skills, by highlighting the importance of the role of mothers as first teachers of their children, and nuns’ monasteries as centers of education for both religious and lay girls. Based on the analysis of different sets of documentation written by women (nuns’ archival fonds and corpora of letters), ACTILIT will bring into light (1) the main characteristics of female practical writing (script, accounting techniques, purposes of female practical writings) and the diffusion of such skills among women in a specific society (Tuscany); (2) the knowledge transmissions chains (from mother to daughters, nuns to lay women) and the content of the gendered literacy that was taught to girls; (3) the differences in female practical literacy (formal characteristics, use, extent in society) in different European regions, thanks to the comparison between sets of documents from Tuscany and Germany, that will serve as a foundation for a broader study, at a European level, on women’s capacity to write and count in the pre-modern period. ACTILIT will thus radically change our perception of the relationship between women and literacy in past times.

Mots clés : history of literacy, cultural history   social history, history of education, renaissance studies, women s agency, women s studies

Participants :
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet ALISE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Staff Exchanges
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Project ALISE (Antibody Light-Induced Selectivity Enhancement) will integrate the expertise, resources and knowledge of participating Institutions focusing on design, synthesis and preclinical study of conjugates of monoclonal antibodies with peptides whose anti-cancer activity can be enhanced in tumours by irradiation with light (LC-APCs). The possibility to boost the anti-cancer activity only in tumours, multiplied by targeting cancer cells by antibodies will be a basis for innovative and safer therapeutic strategies. Four of seven participating Institutions successfully collaborated in the field of light-controllable anticancer peptides, but this Project will widen the scope of collaboration, both in terms of the research field and collaborating Institutions. The participating Institutions are complementary in their expertise and know-how: the University of Cambridge will contribute with its know-how in design and preparation of antibodies. Light controllable peptides will be designed at Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, synthesized, then loaded onto the antibodies in Cambridge. Company Enamine will perform initial screening of the conjugates in vitro and assess their safety. National Cancer Institute of Ukraine will contribute with its expertise in immunology, Cancer Center Amsterdam – with its expertise and knowledge in preclinical and clinical oncology. Lumobiotics GmbH will complement the consortium with its expertise in drug development. Integration of this potential will be achieved through research staff exchange and other activities organized in five work packages: 1) design and synthesis of novel light-controllable peptides as anti-cancer antibody payloads; 2) preparation and characterization of peptide conjugates with a model antibody; 3) biological screening of model LC-APCs; 4) preclinical evaluation of the LC-APCs aiming at treatment of human PDAC; 5) management, training, communication, dissemination.

Mots clés : antibody drug conjugates, molecular photoswitches, photocontrolled drug candidates

Participants :
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 73600.0 €
- Enamine (Ukraine) (Ukraine) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 303600.0 €
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 64400.0 €
- Latvian Academy of Sciences (Lettonie) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 55200.0 €
- National Cancer Institute (Ukraine) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 55200.0 €
- Lumobiotics gmbh (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 165600.0 €
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 27600.0 €
Projet UPRECON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Projections indicate that, by 2050, every person aged 85 years or more will be diagnosed with a cognition-related disease. While there is currently no clear strategy for curing such diseases, there are promising developments in the early diagnosis of disease and the inhibition of worsening symptoms. Building on results obtained during my post-doctoral work regarding laser technology for amyloid aggregates detection, I propose to use an advanced ultrafast spectroscopy for structural analyses of the peptides and proteins that form the different fibril architectures in the brains of patients with pathogenic aggregates. In combination with multiphoton absorption, this laser technique has the potential to detect and diagnose in a non-invasive modality the early forms of toxic oligomeric intermediates in the brains of persons with suspected Alzheimer´s or Parkinson´s disease. This methodology has potentially enormous benefits for patients and society. Importantly, the proposed approach of using high-intensity light in the infrared region of absorption does not damage cells and tissues during long-duration irradiation, it does not require the use of chemical labels, and it reduces the need for surgical intervention, as it is non-invasive and safe for human health. I will transfer the knowledge and expertise on biophotonics of amyloid fibrils to Europe and the Host laboratory at the Polish Academy of Science will provide me with advanced training in time-resolved ultrafast laser spectroscopy and access to newly designed setups, as well as supplementary career path-specific training in ancillary skills.

Mots clés : amyloid fibrils, peptides aggregation, laser detection, biophotonics, structure recognition

Participants :
- Polish Academy of Sciences (Pologne) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Warsaw (Pologne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 134462.4 €
Projet UbiGABA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Proper brain functioning requires a balance between inhibitory and excitatory synaptic activity. This balance can be maintained by regulating the number of neurotransmitter receptors in the postsynaptic membrane. A major inhibitory synaptic receptor is the hetero-pentameric GABAA Receptor (GABAAR), which is stabilised in the synapse by the intracellular scaffolding protein gephyrin. Gephyrin, in turn, is recruited to and stabilised at the synapse by the adhesion protein neuroligin-2 (NL2). Regulation of synaptic strength involves lateral diffusion of GABAARs into and out of synapses, endocytic downregulation followed by either degradation or membrane re-insertion, and altering the size of gephyrin clusters. Altered GABAAR trafficking is implicated in neurological and psychiatric disorders, including epilepsy and excitotoxicity in ischemia. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood. Ubiquitination is a well-known mechanism that regulates protein trafficking and turnover, however its role in stability and plasticity of the GABAergic synapse remains unclear. Preliminary work from the Kittler lab suggests that: 1) the ubiquitin ligase Unk plays a key role in ubiquitination of the GABAAR; 2) gephyrin can be poly-ubiquitinated and that its proteasomal turnover may be regulated by the de-ubiquitinating enzyme OTUD4; 3) NL2 can be mono-ubiquitinated, potentially directing its trafficking, and that the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 may regulate this process. Thus ubiquitination may play several key roles in regulating the dynamics of receptor, scaffold, and adhesion molecules at the inhibitory synapse. Using molecular, biochemical, cell biological, and state-of-the-art imaging approaches I aim to study how ubiquitination of GABAARs, NL2 and gephyrin affects GABAAR trafficking, and formation and stability of the inhibitory synapse. This may lead to improved understanding of how ubiquitination regulates neuronal excitability in healthy and pathological conditions.

Mots clés : ubiquitination, inhibitory synapse, protein trafficking, gabaa receptor, neuroligin 2, gephyrin, postsynaptic density, protein turnover, synaptic plasticity and pathology, endocytosis

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet LAMININ (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Proper wiring and connectivity of the central and peripheral nervous system requires that during embryonic development neurons migrate and extend in the correct directions to connect to their targets. Defects in the neuronal navigation machinery lead to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders such as Hirschsprung’s disease, Kallmann syndrome, ACC and has been associated with autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy. Neuronal navigation relies on a structure at the tips of neuronal extensions, termed the growth cone which is able to detect gradients of guidance molecules (chemotactants) secreted by cells at a distance. The chemotactant netrin, which binds multiple netrin receptors, can switch between attracting and repelling growth cones, a property which helps neurons change directionality upon reaching an intermediate target. While it has been demonstrated that this is related to the complement of netrin receptors expressed by the neuron, it is unclear how different receptor combinations trigger opposing directional responses within the growth cone. It was recently shown that aberrant expression of netrin receptors in cells that don’t normally express it cause aberrant migration of neurons, which might explain some of the symptoms associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Mowat-Wilson syndrome. This proposal aims to understand at the molecular level how netrin can both attract and repel neuronal growth cones. This will be accomplished by mapping the interactome of both attractive and repulsive netrin-receptor complexes, and by mapping the spatial distribution and activity of proteins within actively steering growth cones, via high resolution microscopy, micropatterning and optogenetics to spatially modulate protein activities. This combinatorial approach will improve our understanding of neuronal guidance, associated disorders, and new technologies developed in this proposal might aid in the development of novel organ-on-chip technology.

Mots clés : neuronal navigation, optogenetics, micropatterning, microscopy, fluorescence, spatiotemporal control, protein dynamics, cytoskeleton, cell biology, chemotaxis, neurodevelopmental disorders

Participants :
- Erasmus MC (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175572.48 €
Projet LOFUPRO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Properties are those things that we attribute to objects, such as the property of being red or the property of being a prime number. Talk of properties is ubiquitous throughout the sciences and everyday language, and raises difficult philosophical questions as to the nature and existence of properties. The research project offers a novel deflationary account of the notion of property. Deflationary accounts of some concept typically deny that there is something that all objects falling under the relevant concept have in common, and hence that traditional attempts to analyse these concepts are misguided. For example, according to the deflationary theory of truth, the predicate "is true" is unlike predicates such as "is red". Whereas the latter picks out some salient feature of reality, this is not the case with the former: "is true" was only introduced into our language to serve a certain logical function. For instance, we cannot assert all theorems of arithmetic one by one as there are infinitely many of them; however, the truth predicate enables us to assert all of them by saying "All theorems of arithmetic are true". The aim of the project is to lay down the fundamental theoretical framework for a deflationary account of properties, according to which the notion of property was only introduced into our language to serve a certain logical function. (a) The project will make use of tools and techniques belonging to mathematical logic to give a formally precise characterisation of the logical function of property talk. (b) It will provide formal (axiomatic) theories of properties that can be used to do important foundational work in semantics, logic and mathematics, in particular to give a semantics for languages with unrestricted quantifiers and to give a reductive account of mathematics. (c) Finally, it attempts to show that, contrary to received wisdom, the notion of property plays no significant explanatory role in metaphysics and the philosophy of science.

Mots clés : properties, deflationism, truth, logicism, unrestricted quantification, formal semantics, foundations of mathematics, paradoxes, metaphysics

Participants :
- University of Amsterdam (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet PREVENT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest types of cancer in males worldwide. Early stage PC is often curable but many patients develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), resulting in lethal end-stage disease. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) plasma levels have been traditionally exploited for diagnosis and prognosis. However, the application of PSA as a biomarker is associated with predictability issues. Advanced therapies are required for the treatment of CRPC, guided by a reliable companion diagnostic (CDx) test to monitor therapeutic efficacy. The aim of “PREVENT” is to co-develop a nanomedicine-based combination therapy for the treatment of CRPC and a CDx based on extracellular vesicles (EVs). I will employ tumour-targeted nanomedicines to deliver more drug to the tumour and reduce side effects when compared to free drug. The treatment comprises microfluidics-prepared lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing siRNAs that target genes involved in CRPC and LNPs loaded with the cytotoxic anti-cancer agent docetaxel to achieve synergistic therapeutic effects. For the CDx test, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have created excitement as possible biomarker candidates. EVs are released by cells as means of intercellular communication and can be detected in bodily fluids. The number of EVs and their composition is altered in CRPC, raising opportunities to exploit them in a CDx test. As EVs provide a fingerprint of their parental cell, EVs can be considered liquid biopsies, providing more information than standard biomarker measurements, and much less invasive than prostate biopsies. I will collect blood and urine samples during the preclinical evaluation of the proposed treatment for analysis using immunocapture and flow cytometry-based immunodetection platforms. The co-development of a nanomedicine combination treatment for CRPC and a CDx test is a rational strategy that has the potential to advance into clinical evaluation and ultimately improve patient survival.

Mots clés : castration resistant prostate cancer, nanomedicine, targeted drug delivery, combination treatment, rnai, docetaxel, extracellular vesicles, biomarker, companion diagnostic test

Participants :
- University Medical Center Utrecht (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 228421.8 €
- University of British Columbia (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €