Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet NPSL (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Nanopore is a breakthrough genomic sequencing tool with long read length, high accuracy, and high throughput in reading DNA. However, it is the proteome that ultimately determines the cell’s phenotype, and tremendous efforts have been made to develop sequencing techniques for reading proteins in the past decade. First breakthroughs have been appearing for sequencing short peptides at the single-molecule level. Current strategies are however still far from sequencing full-length native proteins due to the low synthesis efficiencies in protein handling and the limited scanning length (can only read short peptides with ~25 amino acids). Here, I will first develop a novel method to synthesize a large variety of proteins that are connected to DNA with their own codon sequences, using just a few reactions with a puromycin linker labeled to a mRNA, and followed by in vitro translation, reverse transcription, and RNase cleavage. Furthermore, I propose a single-molecule protein nanopore engineering strategy that significantly extends the MspA nanopore lumen length to push the limit for protein reading length. With the proven abilities of a Hel308 DNA helicase, the engineered nanopore can read the entire DNA codons first, followed by the read of >100 amino acids of the protein. Upon recording large data sets, I will build a protein signal library with the related codon information for the training of a machine learning model, which serves as a tool for de novo protein sequencing. This work has great potential to push the limits of sequencing technology to reading the whole proteome.

Mots clés : nanopore, protein sequencing

Participants :
- Université de technologie de Delft (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203464.32 €
Projet CellUS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The discovery of the green fluorescence protein (GFP) and the parallel development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy (2008 and 2014 Nobel Prizes) led to major breakthroughs in basic biology and medicine by enabling the visualization of the pathways of individual molecules inside living cells. While optical imaging is limited to studying thin specimens (<1mm) due to light scattering in tissue, the introduction of nanoscale gas vesicles (GVs) as the “GFP for ultrasound” provides an alternative to light for deep tissue cellular imaging. However, current ultrasound imaging methods are bound by the diffraction limit, leading to a resolution of ~100 μm at an ultrasound frequency of 15 MHz. While this allows for the detection of cell populations, signals arising from individual cells cannot be isolated. With this project, my goal is to develop a new super-resolution method for cellular ultrasound imaging. The first application of this method will consist in characterizing cancer microenvironments. The first research objective will be to develop a 3D super resolution method for cellular imaging that relies on nonlinear ultrasound imaging of engineered cells expressing GVs. To put this research effort in context, the grand challenge for super-resolution cellular ultrasound imaging would be to reach a resolution of 10 μm which is the characteristic length of a single cell. The second research objective will consist in applying this imaging method to preclinical cancer research. The development of super resolution cellular imaging would provide a new tool for drug screening and treatment monitoring. To do so my project will be conducted on multi-cellular tumorous spheroid models. The output of this project will be an new ultrasound imaging method for oncology and basic biology research. The successful completion of this project will equip biomedical researchers around the world with a tool to inspect cellular functions deep into opaque tissue.

Mots clés : ultrasound imaging, super resolution imaging, biomolecular ultrasound, acoustic reporter genes, oncology research

Participants :
- Université de technologie de Delft (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 217076.16 €
Projet GoodVibes (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

On average, earthquakes in Europe claim over 1,000 lives and cost 8.5 billion EUR in damages every year. Globally, these numbers rise to 36,000 lives and 35 billion EUR. The high costs are related to the fact that buildings are currently designed to avoid collapse in earthquakes but sustain extensive damage in the process. The widespread damage is often difficult to repair, making demolition the more economical option. This was the case in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand that wiped out 70% of the city-center. Thus, there is an urgent need for more practical and accessible solutions that prevent permanent damage to buildings and make repairs easier after earthquakes. This project proposes a solution for earthquake-proof buildings by developing a novel method of using vibrators to regulate ordinary friction dampers in buildings. The proposed solution could absorb the seismic energy during earthquakes, and allow buildings to re-center after earthquakes, thereby helping to save lives, reduce damage to buildings and the cost of repairs. Moreover, the proposed technology is cheap, efficient, and easy to implement as compared to state-of-the-art self-centering solutions. The project adopts an interdisciplinary (structural and mechanical engineering) and inter-sector (academia and industry) approach to develop the vibration-assisted friction damper, with an application for timber buildings. The methodology involves theoretical and computational modelling of the proposed damper, followed by a search for the optimal damper configuration in timber buildings via earthquake simulations, and finally an experimental test to validate the models developed and prove the concept of a vibration-assisted friction damper. The results of this project offer a solution to improve societal resilience against earthquake hazards and promote timber buildings for a more sustainable future.

Mots clés : structural engineering, earthquake engineering, mechanical engineering, friction damper, induced vibration, friction vibration interaction, timber buildings, modelling, experimental testing

Participants :
- Université de technologie de Delft (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 232916.16 €
Projet StormTRACK (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Low-lying coastal regions are facing a severe increase in flood risk as a consequence of climate change, placing a tenth of the world’s population under growing social and financial pressure. To protect these areas from flooding, more storm surge barriers are constructed in estuaries, and the closure of existing barriers during storm events is becoming more frequent. While these measures are necessary to keep coastal communities safe, closing a surge barrier can significantly alter the way storms transport sediments across an estuary. As such alterations can threaten the morphodynamic and ecological equilibrium of these systems with consequences for their long-term stability, understanding how to minimize the impact of surge barriers on estuary storm sediment transport dynamics is necessary. With StormTRACK, I aim to inform sustainable surge barrier operation by conducting the first assessment of surge barrier impact on storm sediment transport pathways in estuaries. To understand how storms transport sediments between different areas of an estuary and how surge barrier closure alters such dynamics, I will develop tools that will allow me to simulate the movement of sand and mud particles in coastal settings at local-to-regional scale and to validate such simulations through remote sensing images of sediment plumes. I will then employ these tools to investigate how surge barriers affect storm sediment transport pathways across tide and wave dominated estuaries for a variety of storm and surge barrier operation scenarios. Implemented at Caltech and TU Delft, StormTRACK will allow me to diversify my competences and skills, through advanced and interdisciplinary training, while strengthening my international and inter-sectoral network. Ultimately, I will be able to provide new fundamental knowledge about the interplay between surge barriers and storm sediments across estuaries and help promote sustainable estuary management across and beyond Europe.

Mots clés : sediment transport, storms, surge barriers, lagrangian particle tracking

Participants :
- Institut de technologie de Californie (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de technologie de Delft (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 258622.8 €
Projet SCOUT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Wearable robotics is undergoing a disruptive transition, from rigid exoskeletons to lightweight soft robotic exosuits, which have achieved remarkable results in human motor assistance and augmentation. These devices, however, still lack intuitive control approaches imposing additional cognitive load on their users. A future wearable robot that can help us to walk, run, jump, dance, and restore independence in people with neuromuscular impairments, requires the key ingredient to achieve the symbiotic connection between the user and the robot. In the classical control strategy for wearable robots, inertial measurement units (IMUs) are often exploited to detect user’s motion intention. Although the latter are valuable wearable tools, their reliability and accuracy are often debated, due to their drift and poor battery life (being powered), raising challenges for researchers and engineers to improve their stability over time. The SCOUT project aims to break this technological bottleneck by developing a novel wearable artificial sensor system based on passive magnetic markers to detect human motion. Inspired by the natural human sensorimotor system, and exploiting recent advances in magnets localization, a soft magnetic exoskin will be designed to transduce joints motion of the user into decipherable magnetic fields. These will be decoded by a central interpreting unit to have a real-time, reliable, and robust measure of human kinematics without the need of time-consuming parameter tuning and calibrations. Besides the intended benefit for current wearable robots, this project could develop a novel human-machine interface with wide potential for a diverse range of applications, such as human motion analysis, ergonomics, virtual reality, and robotic teleoperation.

Mots clés : wearable robotics, human motion tracking, cognitive human robot interface, robotic exosuits, neurorehabilitation, human augmentation, magnetic tracking

Participants :
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 123141.88 €
Projet IXIXions (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit exceptional properties to study many-body physics with direct optical control through their tightly-bound excitons and enhanced Coulomb interactions. Even more versatile physics emerge in heterobilayers of TMDs, which host long-lived dipolar interlayer excitons (IXs), with promising potential for quantum simulation experiments and realizing a plethora of correlated phases. In recent years, TMD heterobilayers have been at the center of many-body physics where effects such as the formation of a Wigner crystal, the demonstration of Hubbard model quantum simulation and the realization of Bose-Einstein condensates are just a few examples. However, deterministic control of single IXs and therefore interactions among individual IXs has not been shown. For MSCA project, I propose to study many-body physics of IXs, starting from the individual IX level and then progressing to small and well controlled IX populations. To do so I will use nanoscale patterned graphene electrical gates to trap and manipulate them. This top-down approach is scalable and flexible, allowing for the creation of arbitrary trap potentials and geometries. The scope of this two-year project is to use this technique to fundamentally study the exciton-exciton interactions that are at the basis of the exciting physics that arises from these new materials. However, the scientific potential of a method that can site-control IXs does not end here, this technique could form the foundation for quantum-simulation, demonstration of Hubbard model physics and exploring new quantum phases.

Mots clés : 2d materials, transition metal dichalcogenides, interlayer excitons, quantum confinement, coulomb interaction, exchange interaction

Participants :
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet PARIS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe lower respiratory tract infections and a major cause of mortality in children under 5 years old and the elderly worldwide. While RSV impose a huge disease burden on public healthcare system, the development of effective vaccines and specific antivirals is impeded by a lack of knowledge of virus multiplications mechanisms, virus-host interactions or pathogenicity. Here, we propose to comprehensively map RSV-host interactions and characterize the cellular response to infection through an integrated multi-omics approach and using experimental systems close to natural infection. This project will combine my expertise in RSV biology and the host laboratory’s profound experience in systems biology analysis. By using state-of-the-art-of proteomics and transcriptomics, we will characterize the RSV RNA-bound proteome as well as the protein-protein interactome, analyze the proteome of cells expressing the individual viral proteins (effectome), and assess the influence of RSV infection on cellular mRNA expression, protein abundance, and phosphorylation. We will systematically map the identified viral-induced perturbations onto a network of known cellular protein-protein interactions and signalling pathways. This comprehensive network will highlight RSV-induced perturbations and pinpoint RSV host dependency-factors, whose functional importance and therapeutic potential will be assessed by conducting genetic and drug-based loss and gain of function experiments. Biochemical and structural methods, and further analyses of the cellular response in genetically or drug-perturbed cells will yield insights into the molecular function of selected proteins. The proposed multilevel approach will thus reveal yet unstudied proteins and pathways determining RSV growth, pathology or viral host defense mechanisms, which will shed light on unresolved questions of RSV biology, and reveal hotspots amenable to therapeutic intervention.

Mots clés : rna viruses, virus host interactions, rna binding proteins

Participants :
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet GLEE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have emerged as the dominant artificial lighting technology due to their stability and efficiency. However, challenges persist with white LEDs, including their reliance on rare-earth materials, and complex/costly recycling processes. To address these issues, research initiatives are focused on developing sustainable color filters using organic phosphors, based on conjugated polymers, organic dyes and fluorescent proteins (FPs), as the next generation of hybrid WLEDs. Among them, biogenic FP-based phosphors (FPs embedded in polymers/nanoparticles) stand up, as their respective bio-hybrid LEDs (BioHLEDs) have recently achieved high efficiencies and stabilities, making them an attractive alternative to conventional WLEDs. A critical challenge in BioHLEDs is enhancing their stability under high-power conditions, which is hindered by excessive heat generation and deactivation of FPs, which is attributed to FP motion induced by high photon flux and efficient heat transfer facilitated by water molecules in the polymer matrix. The Glycosylation strategy in bio-hybrid Light Emitting diodEs (GLEE) project proposes a novel approach to develop water-less FP-polymer phosphors capable of withstanding high photon flux without heat generation and FP deactivation. Inspired by natural osmotic dehydration mechanisms, the project aims to use sugars as desiccation protectants. Under dry conditions, sugars replace interfacial water molecules, reinforcing intra-protein hydrogen bonds, restricting FP motion, and slowing down heat/ deactivation processes. This involves synthesizing/characterizing glyco-artificial FPs (GAFPs) and glyco-polymeric matrices (GPMs) for BioHLEDs. Through chemo-selective glycosylation, GAFPs will be created with various sugar stabilizers to enhance their thermodynamic/irradiation stability. Additionally, GPMs will be developed to shield FPs from water molecules, enhancing H-bonding interactions, and inhibiting FP motion/deactivation.

Mots clés : bio hybrid light emitting diodes, color down converting filters, fluorescent proteins, biogenic coating, protein glycosylation

Participants :
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
Projet TUCAS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The Tree Urban Cooling Capacity through Analysis and Simulations (TUCAS) project addresses an urgent environmental concern, Urban Heat Islands (UHIs), by developing enhanced cooling models for Urban Plant Canopies (UPCs). Building on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and LiDAR, the project aims to improve Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, contributing significantly to the field of urban ecology. The project will focus on two cities with contrasting climates, Palencia in Spain and Freising in Germany, to study the interplay between urban climate and UPC cooling capacities. A planned secondment at the Technical University of Munich will provide valuable knowledge exchange in Green Technologies and UPC Management. The project is expected to have a significant impact on the fellow, enhancing leadership skills, expanding international networks, and deepening understanding of urban ecosystems. The outcomes of the TUCAS project are poised to contribute to scientific knowledge, societal engagement with climate change issues, and efforts to combat global warming.

Mots clés : urban heat islands uhis , urban plant canopies upcs , artificial intelligence, lidar, computational fluid dynamics models, urban ecology, climate change, green technologies, and knowledge exchange

Participants :
- Université de Valladolid (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 209914.56 €
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet SSDM (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Recent breakthroughs in machine learning have opened up opportunities for robots to build a semantic understanding of their operating environment and interact with humans in more natural ways. While machine learning has unlocked new potentials for robot autonomy, as robots venture into the real world, physical interactions with the surrounding environment pose additional challenges. One typical challenge in practical applications is providing safety guarantees in robot decision-making. Much of the safe robot decision-making literature today focuses on explicit safety constraints defined in the robot state and input space. However, in practical applications, robots are often required to infer semantics-grounded safe actions from perception input. While recent machine learning techniques are increasingly capable of distilling semantic information from perception, translating the semantic understanding to explicit safety constraints is non-trivial. In this proposed project, we aim to close the perception-action loop and develop mathematical foundations and algorithmic tools that enable robots to make intelligent and semantically safe decisions.


Participants :
- Université technique de Munich (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €