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

Meristems are the stem cell reservoirs that enable plants to grow and develop throughout their lifetime. Meristem activities shape a plant’s architecture and phenotype, and enable it to acclimate and respond to its environment. However, little is known of the mechanisms through which meristem maintenance and functions are regulated. The receptor-like kinase (RLK) CLAVATA1 (CLV1) promotes cell differentiation and forms a negative feedback loop with the mobile, stem cell fate-promoting transcription factor WUSCHEL (WUS) in the shoot meristem to balance the generation of new organs with stem cell maintenance. Mutations in the CLV1 pathway are responsible for several advantageous crop traits achieved through selective breeding, such as larger tomato fruit, making meristems the focus of further attempts to improve crop productivity. A similar stem cell control pathway acts in the root meristem, involving the RLKs ARABIDOPSIS CRINKLY 4 (ACR4) and CLV1, which form complexes that preferentially localise to plasmodesmata (PDs). This led to the hypothesis that these complexes control the symplastic exchange of molecules, such as transcription factors that promote stem cell fate, through PDs. Here I will use state-of-the-art proteomics, super-resolution nanoscopy and high-resolution in vivo fluorescence microscopy methods to characterise these PD-localised RLK complexes in Arabidopsis, and identify novel downstream signalling effectors. Using CRISPR knock-out mutants and novel in vivo signalling and transport assays, I will analyse the roles of CLV1/ACR4-signalling in regulating PD signalling and transport, and in controlling meristem maintenance and development. A greater understanding of CLV1/ACR4-signalling functions and the effect of changes in regulatory gene expression will enable the development of synthetic peptides or targeted plant breeding strategies to control plant phenology and architecture, ensuring crops can be adapted to grow in an ever-changing climate.

Mots clés : clavata1, clv1, arabidopsis crinkly 4, acr4, meristem development, plasmodesmata, receptor like kinases, signalling

Participants :
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet Mesophotic (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs) are characterized by the presence of light-dependent corals, found at depths ranging from 30 m to 150 m in tropical and subtropical regions. These coral communities create massive coral reef structures with diverse but characteristic morphologies and geochemical signatures, which may serve as indicators for sea-level and water composition. In many localities, MCEs are linked physically, and possibly also biologically, to their shallow-water counterparts. Therefore, they have the potential to act as refugia for shallow reefs with a source of propagules, contributing to the resilience of shallower reefs. The prevailing view is that shallow corals are a good indicator of past sea-level and can predict the history of polar ice cap volumes, seawater composition, global temperature, and many other climatic and environmental parameters. Accordingly, sea-level changes have been at the forefront of paleoclimate research on corals for decades, and play a critical role in efforts to predict future sea-level rise in a warming world. However, in recent years, the new discoveries of MCE communities question the assumption that reef corals equate with shallow water, mainly because MCEs extend depth ranges of many corals. In this proposal, I will investigate past and modern MCEs to compare the biodiversity, community composition and geochemical properties of shallow reefs and MCEs. The main goal is to discover community structure dynamics over space and time for improved prediction of the Deep Reef Refugia Hypothesis (DRRH) in an era of global climate change. The uniqueness and advantages of this proposal are largely achieved due to the combination of geology, ecology and molecular approaches. The integrated database is expected to provide a major step forward towards recognizing selection forces that are shaping coral population structure, and through this understanding the potential of MCEs in serving as “lifeboats” for the world’s coral reefs.

Mots clés : mesophotic coral ecosystems, deep reef refugia, submerged banks, sea level fluctuations, coral biogeochemistry, community structure composition, coral reefs ecology, connectivity

Participants :
- University of Queensland (Australie) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Bar-Ilan University (Israël) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 269634.6 €
Projet DefTiMOFs (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) – porous materials with almost unlimited chemical and structural diversity - have incited an interesting alternative to the drawbacks that nanotechnology is currently facing. The defect engineering of MOFs has been used as a tool to modify their porosity, chemical reactivity and electronic conductivity among other properties, but research is still limited in the vast majority towards Zr-MOFs. Notably, defect chemistry of Ti-MOFs remains unexplored despite that the pristine materials photoactivity, chemical and structural stability and Titanium being an abundant biocompatible metal. This project, entitled `Defective Titanium Metal-Organic-Frameworks(DefTiMOFs)’ aims to develop novel high-throughput (HT)synthetic methodologies for the control of not only defect chemistry of Ti-MOFs,but also of their particle size and inner surface (porefunctionalisation) towards the controllable modification of their properties. HT synthesis will be convened with a set of novel characterisation techniques (mainly synchrotron-based) for atomic and molecular level of characterisation of defects, aiming to correlate synthetic conditions with defect formation (defect type, densityand spatial distribution within the framework)in order to provide thebase of knowledge to anticipate their properties based on the synthetic conditions. This will then allow for defect engineering of MOFs using a wide range of materials. In view of the above and inspired by the high demand for clean and renewable energy sources including efficient and affordablewater delivery systems in places with limited access to drinkablewater, the DefTiMOFs project aims to correlate defect chemistry of Ti-MOFs with their performance towards environmentally friendly applications. This will lead to the ultimate design of materials with outstanding performance in heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis (hydrogen production) and water harvesting from air.

Mots clés : titanium, defect engineering, structure property relations, functional materials, materials synthesis

Participants :
- University of Valencia (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet ToughMOF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of organic-inorganic hybrid materials with high porosity. Recently, it has been discovered that a subset of MOFs, namely zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), can be melted and quenched into glasses. This makes it possible to prepare bulk, transparent ZIF glasses with modifiable organic and inorganic building units. However, preliminary results have shown that one of the representative ZIF glasses, ZIF-62, exhibits lower fracture toughness than most traditional oxide glasses. This seriously limits the scope of possible ZIF glass applications within, e.g., gas separation and storage. In the proposed project, we will explore the composition-structure-mechanical property relationship of ZIF glasses. The aim is to optimize the glass composition and structure to achieve improved fracture toughness, while not significantly lowering the strength and stiffness. To this end, we will first systematically vary the ZIF glass structure by tuning the composition, thermal history, and pressure history, in addition to subjecting the glasses to irradiation by heavy ions. Then the mechanical properties of the different glasses will be measured. Finally, these experiments will be complemented by atomistic simulations and machine learning predictions to identify optimized glass structures with improved mechanical performance. The project builds on complementary expertise of the fellow applicant (atomistic simulations, machine learning) and supervisor (mechanics, MOF glasses). Together with the research and training environment provided by the host organization (Aalborg University, Denmark), this will ensure the achievement of this timely and innovative project as well as the dissemination and exploitation of the expected results. The research outputs will lead to new understanding of fracture behavior of MOF materials. The fellow applicant will emerge from the project with new skills, and the capability to launch his own research group.

Mots clés : amorphous materials, metal organic frameworks, fracture toughness, structure, md simulations, machine learning

Participants :
- Aalborg University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet VAPOMOF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline solids with highly regular pores in the nanometre range. Because of their unique properties, MOFs are high-potential candidates for integration with microelectronics. However, current methods for MOF film deposition, a key enabling step in device integration, are incompatible with microelectronics fabrication because of contamination and corrosion issues. The VAPOMOF host group very recently demonstrated the deposition of MOFs via chemical vapour deposition (CVD). This MOF-CVD technique circumvents the above issues and opens up a plethora of opportunities for MOF integration because of compatibility with existing microelectronics fabrication infrastructure. VAPOMOF targets the expansion of the MOF-CVD platform is and its implementation in two application areas: (1) MOF-CVD coatings with encapsulated luminescent guests to enable more efficient and affordable white-light emitting diodes. (2) MOF-CVD coatings with encapsulated responsive luminescent guests for the detection of volatile organic compounds via a change in the emission properties. The combined expertise of the fellow and host ensures the best chance for successfully completing the VAPOMOF objectives in a mutually beneficial manner. In addition, a secondment at a world-leading research centre with close ties to the microelectronics industry will provide insights in industrial needs and standards and a view on valorisation of scientific research.

Mots clés : metal organic frameworks, vapour phase deposition, sensors, solid state lighting, host guest chemistry

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172800.0 €
Projet cOMPoSe (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metamaterials are artificially structured materials whose interaction with electromagnetic waves is determined by their structure rather than by their chemical composition. The resulting material properties are not found in nature. Metamaterials that operate at optical frequencies, known as optical metamaterials, have attracted special attention due to their potentially ground-breaking technical applications such as sub-diffraction imaging or invisibility cloaking. The creation of optical metamaterials remains technologically challenging, as it requires fabricating nanometre scale features over macroscopic areas. Top-down lithographic techniques were utilized to create infrared metamaterials, and negative refraction was found in parts of the visible spectrum. However, state-of-the-art lithography is limited by the accessible feature sizes and often results in only microscopic patterning areas. Furthermore, these optical metamaterials aren’t truly three-dimensional (3D) as they are limited to a narrow range of light propagation directions. This research project will investigate an alternative bottom-up approach toward the fabrication of 3D optical metamaterials by replicating continuous network structures of self-assembled block copolymers. The ultimate goal is to realize a material that exhibits a negative refractive index in the visible optical spectrum. Advanced in situ scattering techniques will be used to investigate the self-assembly of 3D network structures by means of well-controlled annealing experiments. This will provide important insights that will help to overcome the limitations of “self-assembled” optical metamaterials made by current empirical approaches. The significance of this research stems from the intended fundamental understanding of self-assembled 3D block copolymer networks based on in-situ structural characterization, which will have a profound impact on the rational design and engineering strategies of future 3D optical metamaterials.

Mots clés : optical metamaterials, self assembly, block copolymers, long range order, continuous network morphologies, gyroid, solvent annealing, in situ gisaxs, negative refractive index

Participants :
- University of Fribourg (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187419.6 €
Projet RYTAC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metastasis is the leading cause of all cancer-related deaths. Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that shed off the primary tumour, enter into blood vessels and through the blood circulation are transferred to distant organs, whereby they establish new metastatic lesions. CTCs are detected as single cells and/or clusters of cells with clusters being more metastasis-prone than single CTCs. CTC clusters have different sizes varying from 2- to 50-cells. However, it still remains unknown if the different size of CTCs has an impact on their metastatic potential and what factors regulate their size. To elucidate the molecular dynamics of clustered CTC formation, we performed RNA-seq analysis in cells from primary tumours and CTCs and identified the YAP/TAZ gene signature to be upregulated in CTCs. YAP/TAZ is an interesting molecular node, as its function depends on its subcellular localisation. Junctional localised YAP/TAZ inhibits cancer cell dissemination by supporting the maintenance of cell-cell adhesions, while nuclear YAP/TAZ induces a genetic program that promotes cancer progression. We hypothesised that YAP/TAZ could play a critical role on CTC biology, regulating the size and metastatic potential of CTCs. Thus, the aim of this fellowship is to determine the impact of the size of clustered CTCs on establishing metastatic lesions and provide mechanistic insight on the role of YAP/TAZ. More specifically, I will determine: 1) the localisation of YAP/TAZ in CTCs from mouse models and patients with breast cancer, 2) if YAP/TAZ affects the size of clustered CTCs in breast cancer mouse models, 3) if YAP/TAZ localisation affects the metastatic potential of CTC clusters of variable sizes and 4) signals regulating the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of YAP/TAZ in CTCs. Hence, this research could be the foundation for developing novel anticancer therapies and an improved patient stratification system.

Mots clés : metastasis, circulating tumour cells, breast cancer, taz signalling

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet TMC4MPO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Methane is a particularly problematic greenhouse gas as its impact is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Human activity has increased the amount of methane in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Therefore, there is an imperative for the transformation of methane into useful chemicals. At this time, the most economically available route for the conversion of methane into more valuable chemicals is via synthesis gas, a mixture of CO and H2. The only large-scale process for natural gas conversion involves a reaction known as methane-steam reforming. However, it is an endothermic process that requires high operating temperatures. Methane partial oxidation (MPO) is a promising energy saving alternative because it does not require the use of superheated steam. A major goal is to find a catalyst that exhibits high activity, selectivity and stability at the relevant reaction conditions. This project envisions the computational prediction of novel MPO catalysts that overcome this challenges by computationally screening a large set of materials consisting of precious metals (Rh, Pd, Pt, Au) and more affordable metals (Co, Ni, Cu) supported on transition metal carbides (TMCs, TM = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W). These type of catalysts have exhibited outstanding performance in other chemical reactions in the past 5 years. To this end, state-of-the-art Density Functional Theory and Kinetic Monte Carlo frameworks will be employed to provide direct predictions of activity, selectivity, stability and yield for the most promising catalysts at relevant reaction conditions. Moreover, the large amount of results gathered from this project will serve as a big dataset to conduct descriptor analysis, and will suggest key properties that correlate well with their activity for C-H and O-H bond activation. The results obtained will be discussed with our experimental collaborators, who will prepare a selected set of catalysts based on my findings.

Mots clés : methane partial oxidation, syngas, transition metal carbides

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet BioNanoProbes (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Methods for specific recognition and targeting of bacteria are of key importance in developing approaches to counter the growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Cell surface carbohydrates play key roles in cell recognition mechanisms and bacterial adhesion. These key interactions typically exhibit high specificity and weak affinities toward their carbohydrate ligand. This low affinity is compensated in nature by the architecture of the protein, the host presenting the carbohydrate ligands in a multivalent manner or as clusters on the cell or mucosal surface. Glyco-nanomaterials offer the possibility of attaching several different molecules to the same nanoparticle while controlling the relative densities of these ligands. Recently, the Galan group demonstrated that a simple disaccharide, such as lactose can act as a “Trojan horse” on bi-functionalized fluorescent nanopartiples (CdSe QDs) to help intracellular delivery of other non-internalizable glycan moieties and largely avoid the endosomal/lysosomal degradative pathway. Following this, the group has developed a new class of water-soluble, non-toxic fluorescent carbon-based nanomaterials which are easily accessible from cheap carbohydrate starting materials and more excitingly, preliminary data have shown that these new carbon nanodots are able to label both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Based on these exciting results, the aim of this project is to develop a new class of glycan-based nanoprobes for labelling and delivery of antibiotics into bacteria. The glycan-based nano pro-drugs will be evaluated in bacterial binding and killing assays and screened for selective labelling and drug release using confocal microscopy and TEM. This is a multidisciplinary project involving synthetic organic and materials chemistry, glycobiology and microbiology.

Mots clés : fluorescent carbon dots, antimicrobial, smart glyco nanomaterials

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet MicroColGaSe (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MicroColGaSe (Monolithic MicroColumn Gas Sensor System: a system for portable low power high selectivity gas analysis) is an action aimed at the development and characterization of a novel microfabrication platform allowing the monolithic integration of a microfluidic separation microcolumn with a gas sensor fabricated with Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. A range of new MEMS microfluidic enhanced sensors can emerge from this platform. The primary result of this action is an ultra compact, low power consumption, high selectivity gas sensing system-on-chip. This novel integrated system is meant to enable high selectivity in mobile gas sensing devices which are forecast to become part of the consumer market in lead applications such as IoT, healthcare, environmental monitoring. Although MEMS gas sensors have been researched during the last 20 years and marketed in the last decade, their selectivity remains an intrinsic limit due to the nature of the detection principle. This action aims at providing high selectivity MEMS gas sensors using a microcolumn to pretreat the gas sample and obtain flow separation of its components. This is already achieved in complex systems which require multiple separate components to be connected, obtaining bulky and power consuming devices. Main objective of this action is to enable monolithic integration of the main components of the above described system: gas sensor, microcolumn, concentrator and filter - all in a single silicon chip. The dramatic advantages of this integration are in the cost, footprint, and energy efficiency. In particular, the extremely reduced footprint will make it possible to embed these sensors in consumer mobile devices such as smartphones and wearables. A network of partners will allow a complete development and characterization of this novel device, leading to a demonstration unit that will be used to disseminate the action results and prove the potential of this novel technology platform.

Mots clés : gas sensor, monolithic integration, high selectivity, energy efficiency

Participants :
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 183473.28 €