Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet CYCLOME (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Sexual reproduction is one of the key processes conferring marine animals with resilience to environmental shifts. Since sponges are among the most important sessile organisms ensuring ocean’s health and their survival is threatened due to the increased water temperatures, a clear understanding of their life cycles and reproductive processes is needed to determine the faith of marine ecosystems under the current global warming scenario. Sponges present intimate associations with bacteria, which can represent up to 90% of the organismal volume, provide fundamental nutrition to their hosts and have profound effects on the sponge physiology. However, the microbiome influence on sponge sexual reproduction has never been explored. In this context, CYCLOME aims to advance our understanding of the role of microbiomes on the sponge reproductive processes by using a multidisciplinary approach that will allow us to elucidate changes in microbiome composition, functionality, and metabolism through the whole annual cycle of gonochoristic (male and female) sponges. By using modern next generation sequencing technology and cutting-edge ‘omics techniques combined with traditional microscopical observations, we expect to detect changes in the sponge bacterial communities and whether specific symbiont functions are upregulated or downregulated during the sponge life cycle influencing the production of sponge secondary metabolites. We hypothesize that the possession of large microbial consortia provides the sponges with nutritional benefits allowing to support sexual reproductive strategies during high energetic demand periods as well as helping them to survive during periods of post-reproduction recovery and overwinter, when waters are more oligotrophic. Overall, our study will provide a comprehensive view of basic biological processes that allow sponges to recruit and adapt to shifting conditions, which will facilitate policy decisions regarding conservation of marine biodiversity.

Mots clés : sponges, microbiome, sexual reproduction, microbiology, metabarcoding, metatranscriptome, symbiosis, life cycle, secondary metabolites

Participants :
- Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
- Université nationale d'Irlande à Galway (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ContTestCPS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are engineering artefacts characterised by the integration of software and physical components. CPS appear in various and critical aspects of human life, from drones to wind turbines. Hence, testing their safe and effective operation is of prime importance. However, due to the combination of physical and software components, CPS testing requires integrating different engineering disciplines. Notably, control engineering is used at the interface between the software and the physical component and provides mathematical guarantees on the CPS safety and performance. To overcome the interdisciplinary complexity of CPS development, this project sets out to integrate control engineering tools and guarantees into software testing practices. Through this integration, I will develop novel testing techniques that allow the engineers to implement safer and more effective CPS. First, I will introduce a novel testing technique based on the assumptions made by control engineers to complement the traditional use of CPS requirements. This technique will integrate the guarantees provided by control engineering into the testing process. Thus, this interdisciplinary testing will more effectively target critical CPS execution scenarios. Second, I will introduce the use of the frequency domain for the test case generation and output evaluation. Traditional CPS testing methods use the time domain to define input sequences and describe desired CPS properties as it is closer to the natural language. However, the time domain has limitations in terms of expressiveness of the relevant properties and in the computational complexity. Instead, the frequency domain is widely used in control engineering as it suits the analysis of the differential equations that describe the physical component. I will overcome the time-domain limitations for test case generation and evaluation by complementing its use with the frequency domain.

Mots clés : software testing, cyber physical systems

Participants :
- Université du Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €
Projet AGE2M (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The magnetically induced movement of a soft elastic material which contains magnetic particles includes rotations of said particles. In other words, the particles apply torque on their surroundings. Since the material is soft, large deformations take place, in part due to these rotations of the magnetic particles. The current coupled magneto-mechanical theory does not account for this phenomenon and is thus poorly suited for its description. At the same time, magnetically induced rotations are desired in robotics in order to allow for complex movement, which motivates the need for a better model. Another major problem are the long computational times, or in general, the large computational cost of simulating the complex materials which are used in soft robotics. These materials, otherwise called metamaterials, are endowed with an artificially designed micro-geometry, which allows the designer to control certain material properties. As a result, simulation tools must be able to correctly capture that geometry, which often entails openings or re-entrant corners. The reining approach of using standard finite element technology for that purpose yields a very high computational cost, since a vast amount of elements is required in the computation. This motivates the necessity of a new finite element framework with a significantly reduced computational cost. The solutions of this proposal consist in introducing novel theoretical and numerical frameworks for the design and computation of metamaterials with applications to soft robotics. The new theoretical framework will couple the theory of electromagentism by Maxwell with the micropolar continuum theory of Cosserat, thus allowing for micro-rotations and non-symmetrical stress tensors. The novel numerical framework will introduce new NUBRS-enhanced finite elements for Hilbert space complexes, allowing for computationally efficient and robust simulations.

Mots clés : electromagnestism, micropolar continua, finite elements, nurbs, metamaterials no plasmonics , numerical analysis, hilbert space complexes, electroelasticity, magnetoelasticity, elastomers

Participants :
- Université nationale d'Irlande à Galway (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université du Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191760.0 €
Projet M-HEAL (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

M-HEAL seeks to investigate the impact of modern workplace dynamics—specifically, market competition, automation, and organizational restructuring—on employees' mental health. The objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to identify the key factors influencing employees' mental health within the context of these workplace changes, (2) to quantify the extent to which these factors impact mental health, and (3) to explore how these effects vary across different individual, firm, and industry characteristics. The study will utilize an interdisciplinary approach to achieve these objectives, integrating insights from industrial organizations, labor economics, and health economics. The research will be conducted in Denmark, leveraging its comprehensive and longitudinal register data, which provides a unique opportunity to analyze these dynamics over a 20-year period. The methodology is structured into three work packages: a literature review and meta-analysis to establish a conceptual framework, a causal analysis using advanced microeconometric methods to identify the effects of workplace dynamics on mental health, and a heterogeneity analysis to assess how these effects differ across various demographic and firm characteristics. The relevance of this research to the work program lies in its potential to address the increasing societal challenge of workplace-related mental health issues, which are becoming more prevalent as economic and technological changes accelerate. By providing a deeper understanding of the causal relationships between workplace dynamics and mental health, this study aims to inform the development of targeted policies and interventions that can reduce the burden of work-related stress and improve overall mental health outcomes. The findings are expected to have significant implications for both academic research and practical policy-making, contributing to the broader goals of promoting health and well-being in the workplace across Europe.

Mots clés : health economics, competition economics, behavioral economics

Participants :
- École de commerce de Copenhague (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 247553.28 €
Projet DIVE IN (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Biodiversity is facing the imperative challenge posed by invasive species responsible for substantial damage to habitat integrity and ecosystem services. Freshwaters are particularly susceptible to invasions, and this is causing a dramatic decline of the irreplaceable services they provide. This project aims at untangling the mechanisms underlying invasion performance by determining and predicting the spatial range of functional variation of three highly invasive freshwater plants (Elodea nuttallii, Pistia stratiotes and Trapa natans) in response to environmental conditions, thereby obtaining better estimates of their influence on the functioning of invaded habitats. This global MSCA is outlined in 36 months and includes 24 months at McGill University, Canada, under the supervision of Prof. L. Iversen, an outstanding scientific leader in the field of landscape geography and freshwater science, and 12 months at the University of Parma, Italy, with supervisor Dr. R. Bolpagni, a renowned expert on freshwater plants. I will measure leaf functional traits of target species across ecological gradients and describe strong trait-environment relationships in Europe and Québec. I will also perform manipulative experiments to validate and implement spatial models of trait variation. Training through research will be combined with courses on spatial modelling, science communication, and project management. DIVE IN provides a robust framework that can be applied to different invasive plants and global change scenarios, supporting the development of effective actions to counter invasive freshwater plants establishment/success. DIVE IN’s impact will be maximized by publishing papers in high-quality scientific journals, as well as by public engagement activities, including a blog, workshops, and citizen science initiatives. This project is a key step in my future career and will grant me a unique training opportunity, opening doors to prestigious research positions in Europe.

Mots clés : functional traits, macrophytes, invasive species, spatial modelling

Participants :
- Université McGill (Canada) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Parme (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 256442.88 €
- State University of Maringá (Brésil) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet EcoRPCchem (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

With the enforcement of EU regulations 2024/573, the production and usage of Tetrafluoroethane (R134a) has been strongly regulated. This gas is a key component in the gas mixture of Resistive Plate Chambers, a detector technology widely employed in high-energy physics. A potential, more environment-friendly, substitute for this gas is Tetrafluoropropene (HFO) and several promising HFO-based mixtures have been proposed. The long-term behavior (aging) of RPCs operated with these mixtures is typically studied by exposing several detectors flushed with an HFO-based gas mixture to a radioactive source and by studying the stability of the absorbed current and RPC performance over time  Experimental tests are crucial to spot and quantify aging effects, but can rarely provide an explanation for their origin. This requires a deeper understanding of the microscopical modifications of the materials induced by the HFO decomposition when exposed to irradiation. This project aims at breaking down the aging phenomena of several RPC components in their basic building blocks by comparing the chemical (EDX spectroscopy and SEM analyses) and electrical (resistivity) features of new and aged samples of RPC materials. The results of these analyses will be used to formulate a model to describe the observed effects and develop a simulation code, allowing for a systematic test of the aging properties of different HFO-based gas mixtures.  I will carry out my research at the High Voltage Laboratory of the ETH Zurich University and at the Physics Department at the University of Torino, with the guidance of Prof. Christian Franck and Martino Gagliardi, leading experts on eco-friendly high-voltage gaseous insulation and RPC detectors respectively, while the chemical analyses will be performed at the CERN chemical laboratory.  On a personal level, this project will strengthen my academic profile significantly and provide an ideal training ground for my project- and time-management skills.

Mots clés : resistive plate chambers, eco friendly gas mixtures, edx spectroscopy, aging studies, material compatibility

Participants :
- Istituto nazionale di fisica nucleare (Italie) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 388940.52 €
Projet POW (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The aim of “Phenomenology of War: Imagining the Future, Interrupting the Present” (POW) is to offer the first systematic phenomenological treatment of war. Is war a phenomenon pertaining to the state of nature or the most extreme manifestation of the human potential for technological destruction? One of the working premises of POW is that both the naturalism and anti-naturalism of much contemporary philosophy are unable to account for the war-phenomenon since both tend to eliminate the human factor from their considerations of human relations. Naturalism tends to assimilate any distinctive human feature to impersonal natural dynamics. Anti-naturalism tends to interpret the human condition according to artificial human productions. The question whether war pertains to nature or culture remains essentially open today. As a central part of the project, POW will pay close attention to contemporary strategic and security studies. The multidisciplinary nature of these studies shall offer the empirical foundation to counter naïve and dogmatic presuppositions about what war should or should not be. POW aims to account for the war-phenomenon by recovering the original diversity of data in the realm of human warfare and by exploring war as a liminal phenomenon between nature and culture. To achieve the project objectives, the support of my supervisor at the UniTo (Prof. Gaetano Chiurazzi) and training in strategic studies at the Interdepartmental School in Strategic Studies (SUISS) at UniTo and at the National Defence University (NDU) in Helsinki will be crucial. By deepening my philosophical background and branching out to military studies, POW will enable me to recover the full originality and complexity of the human factor that lies at the heart of the war-phenomenon, resulting in the first phenomenological account of the historical and anthropological particularity of this characteristic mode of human relations.

Mots clés : phenomenology, nature, culture, strategy, history

Participants :
- Université de Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 209483.28 €
Projet IntrAflamE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The recently approved drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), targeting amyloid plaques removal, only mildly slow patients’ cognitive decline as neuronal loss starts decades before plaque deposition. To delay AD onset before symptoms development, prevention of neuronal death should be prioritised instead. An early AD pathological event is intraneuronal accumulation of amyloids (intraAβ) which can cause neuronal death at the pre-plaque stage. IntraAβ is only found in specific neuronal subtypes first to be lost in AD, suggesting it might underly their selective vulnerability. Reactive microglia could contribute to intraAβ as blocking neuroinflammatory processes in early AD reduces its accumulation. Whether microglia also contribute to intraAβ+ neurons selective loss is still unknown but could suggest repurposing of already available microglia targeting drugs for early neuroprotective therapies. I will test this hypothesis in 5xFAD mice, first confirming intraAβ accumulates in the neuronal subtypes selectively lost, as it occurs in humans. I will analyse the contribution of reactive microglia to intraAβ neurons death by pharmaceutically rescuing their reactivity and determine if intraAβ neurons-associated microglia express AD high-risk genes, which drive late AD pathology. Because AD affects women more, possibly due to their higher inflammatory response, the sex-specificity in the previous analyses will also be tested. Finally, I will establish microglia-containing human brain organoids to recapitulate this synergy in a in vitro human AD model, providing a foundation for future drug testing.  By determining the potentially detrimental interplay between microglia reactivity and intraAβ+ neurons, using both in vivo and in vitro models, my project will lay the basis of extensive future work while defining my research niche. In the long term, my results will impact development of novel neuroprotective therapies for treating AD before neuronal loss.

Mots clés : alzheimer s disease, microglia, vulnerable neurons, sex differences, intraneuronal amyloids, human brain organoids

Participants :
- Université de Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172750.08 €
Projet SubColonialMed (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

What was the shared experience of global cities in the southern and eastern Mediterranean during the second half of the 19th century? How did the subaltern classes experience the processes of modernization and colonialism? The aim of SubColonialMed is to offer new insights into socio-historical questions regarding the link between migrations and colonialism in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. The project is based on the Italian migration to Egypt but seeks to broaden its analysis to encompass the entire Mediterranean Italian diaspora. It examines the hypothesis that Italian "colonies" in the Mediterranean region were pivotal to the foreign and colonial policy of the Kingdom of Italy, contributing significantly to the shaping of national identity. I argue that, even before the occupation of Lybia, the communities in territories subject to the Capitulations legal system served as laboratories for the construction of Italians as national and white political subjects. However, it is a mistake to perceive a direct correlation between metropolitan colonial politics and mass migrations. Operating under the assumption that social transformations arise from global and local processes, this research regards migration as a social-historical phenomenon involving specific and autonomous dynamics of appropriation, hybridization, and rejection. Methodologically, it strives to break new ground by proposing a interdisciplinary study with three components: consular archives, judicial documents, and qualitative biographical data, all used to explore these connections. Combining the micro historical approach with post-colonial theories and intersectional method the project want to test how Italian subalterns in Egypt appropriated nationality becoming colonial actors. The goal is to arrive to fundamental new insights about the interethnic relations of ordinary people in the cosmopolitan cities of Egypt and in the rest of the region.

Mots clés : italian diaspora, colonial history, subalternity, capitulations, cosmopolitanism, contemporary egypt, mediterranean region

Participants :
- Université de Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172750.08 €