Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SynSilable (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The current project purposes to produce ultra-high performance concrete, especially at early age, and also to further reduce cement consumption using novel nanotechnology techniques. Due to the fact that concrete is the most important building material and also one of the largest sources of air pollution, it is necessary to improve its performance. The slow process of increasing the strength of concrete and barriers to the use of nanomaterials justify the need to use new technology. To achieve this, using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been considered due to their high chemical activity and suitable dispersibility. In this study using MSNs in concrete will be dealt with for the first time. MSNs are synthesized and optimized in this study and then will be used in different amounts in cement composites to examine the micro structure, durability and mechanical properties. The methodology of the project is divided into three section: 1- Synthesizing and investigating MSNs 2- Examining the properties of cement paste containing MSNs 3- Investigating of properties of concrete containing MSN and doing LCA. Conducting the project in KU Leuven with its global facilities, working with prof. Ozlem, and also interdisciplinary nature of this study, will give the applicant this opportunity to be trained in different terms including becoming familiar with equipment, synthesizing, analyzing the micro structure of concrete, and managing project. These help him to fill his research gap. Furthermore, given the two-way science interaction nature of this project, it can open a new research path at KU Leuven. Considering the applicant’s current experience in concrete and the experience he will gain in this project, it is expected that he will become an independent scientist in concrete chemistry at academia or industry. The output of the project can lead to the production of sustainable products in line with EU policies, reduce project time and improve the performance of concrete.

Mots clés : concrete nano silica mesoporous silica nanoparticles, cement based materials synthesis mechanical properties durability repair mortar sustainable products nano technology

Participants :
- Université de Malaga (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €
Projet OVADEX (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Treatment resistance in ovarian cancer (OC) is common. Recent efforts have identified new treatment approaches with potential to improve its management, but their therapeutic effects are limited due to treatment resistances. Tumor microenvironment (TME) is emerging as a key contributor to treatment resistance, being the metabolic cross-talk between TME and OC one of the recently proposed mechanisms. The hosting lab has evidence that platinum-resistant OC cells have defects in serine biosynthesis which leads to an enhance uptake of serine. Importantly, exogenous serine is also required for some TME components, suggesting a possible competition for it and affecting their anti-cancer function. Thus, my working hypothesis is that metabolic cross-talk between TME and OC could involve serine metabolism, which could mediate treatment resistance. Unfortunately, there is a lack of preclinical models of OC that recapitulate TME to study its role. In this regard, the secondment lab developed a new ex vivo platform based on patient-derived explants (PDEs) that allows the study of TME interactions with cancer cells. In OVADEX, I will use PDEs to dissect the role of TME components in treatment response in OC, and particularly, in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells. My objectives are to generate OC PDEs and expose them to standard and emerging therapies, to define metabolic changes in OC cells and cellular and phenotypic changes in TME before and after treatment and to associate changes in TME and OC cells to serine metabolism and treatment resistance. To this end, I will integrate innovative techniques and the access of the hosting team to a unique registry of OC patients. Through this work, I aim to broaden my scientific expertise and my international network for pursuing an academic career in Europe. OVADEX will contribute to actualize many objectives outlined in my career development plan to become a PI in the field of preclinical models for cancer applications.

Mots clés : oncology, preclinical models, organoids, tumor microenvironment, ovarian cancer, chemotherapy

Participants :
- Antoni van Leeuwenhoekziekenhuis (Pays-Bas) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €
Projet SASPE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The challenge taken worldwide in achieving a global climate-neutral society fasten the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy and increasing the demand for energy storage systems (ESS) due to the intermittency of renewable energy sources. Supercapacitors (SC), especially hybrid supercapacitors, are a promising technology for powering hybrids, electric cars, or micro-grids, owing to many exciting advantages over batteries concerning specific power and cycle life. However, some research challenges such as high self-discharge, high production cost, and safety concerns impede market uptake. So the development of efficient, cost-effective SC technology with extremely low self-discharge, high energy and power density is significant. The SASPE aims at developing an all solid-state supercapacitor and build a novel strategy to reduce its self-discharge by applying modified solid polymer electrolyte with layered inorganic materials. Notably, SASPE will introduce a novel hybrid solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) with high ionic conductivity that can reduce the self-discharge of SCs, which will be prepared by a simple, environmentally benign, and cost-effective method. The SASPE will guarantee SC's safe operation by using modified SPE with high mechanical strength. SASPE also offers 2D hybrid binder-free electrodes with promising electrochemical performance such as specific capacitance, energy density, and power density. The project will connect the physical properties of inorganic materials with their electrochemical properties by using a nanofiller/matrix synthesis approach and in-depth physicochemical and electrochemical characterization techniques. SASPE will bring novel hybrid SPE along with high capacitance electrode materials and will make a solution for problems faced in current SC technology. The project will play a vital role in the electric vehicle industry by providing essential research progress in SC technology, which will help attain a green environment.

Mots clés : energy storage devices, self discharge, all solid state supercapacitors, hybrid solid polymer electrolytes

Participants :
- Université d'Oulu (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 235938.48 €
- Université de Szeged (Hongrie) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet TAVCA (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The number of people with Alzheimer’s disorder (AD) and other dementia is expected to triple worldwide by 2050. To tackle the global burden of AD, the European Parliament acknowledges and points to the urgent need to develop interventions that can prevent or delay AD. The locus coeruleus (LC) in the brainstem plays a key role in determining late-life cognitive decline and is considered a promising therapeutic target to prevent AD. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a neuromodulation tool hypothesized to increase LC activity and, in turn, prevent cognitive aging. Evidence for an effect of taVNS on the LC is mixed which undermines the discovery of taVNS as a preventive strategy for AD. The current project aims to reveal whether taVNS increases LC activity in young and older adults. To this end, I will address 3 research questions. First, do short bursts of taVNS increase LC activity in a parametric-dependent manner in both young and older adults? Second, does the effect of taVNS on LC activity depend on the individual’s background arousal state? Third, does a short taVNS intervention improve a cognitive function that relies on LC activity? Addressing these questions is key to learn how to effectively activate the LC through taVNS and validate the mechanism through which taVNS may prevent AD. The project adopts a novel interdisciplinary approach integrating knowledge from psychophysiology (sub-field: respiratory psychophysiology), gerontology (cognitive neuroscience of aging), and neurostimulation (taVNS). As a taVNS and LC expert, I am particularly suited to successfully conduct the project. The fellowship will provide an exceptional chance to expand my expertise and receive top-quality training from internationally established experts in the fields of cognitive neuroscience of aging and respiratory psychophysiology. It will also allow me to establish my independent research line, develop my career, and expand my scientific network.

Mots clés : vagus nerve stimulation, locus coeruleus

Participants :
- Université de Californie du Sud (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 266684.16 €
Projet DISCWORLD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Machine learning is popular nowadays, thanks to the impressive results achieved by systems like DeepMind’s AlphaGo, OpenAI’s language prediction model GPT-3 or Amazon’s speech recognition system Alexa. At the basis of these successes, there is representation learning, which enables training deep neural networks in an unsupervised fashion and provides the starting conditions for subsequent task-specific training. However, current representation learning strategies use large neural networks and consume large amount of data, thus being data and energy inefficient. In contrast, humans learn from limited data in a very efficient way. This is due to the fact that humans are able to perform reasoning, while representation learning strategies lack such capability. This research project aims to overcome these limitations by providing the mathematical foundations for the integration between unsupervised learning and reasoning AI systems based on logic. Specifically, the aim is to devise algorithms enabling the discovery of symbolic representations from noisy/ambiguous data together with their relations and being able to adapt the acquired relational knowledge over time. The resulting solutions will be applied to improve image understanding in autonomous driving and to gain insights about causal reasoning and learning symbolic abstractions in mathematical domains.

Mots clés : probability, logic, program synthesis, unsupervised learning, deep learning, continual learning

Participants :
- Institut de technologie du Massachusetts (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177322.08 €
Projet PROTAG-8 (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the PROTAG-8 project, we aim to target galectin-8 by protein degradation using proteolysis targeting chimeras or shortly, PROTACs. Galectin-8 is a galactoside-binding lectin that exists as a soluble intracellular and extracellular receptor, with an extensive exchange between the membrane-bound and cytosolic forms. Its inhibitors are potential new anticancer drugs, but the affinity of classical galectin-8 inhibitors is in the low micromolar range, hardly sufficient for their use as drug molecules. The overarching aim of PROTAG-8 is to explore whether the PROTAC method can be implemented for galectin-8 and to answer the question of whether PROTACs offer advantages over classical selective galectin-8 ligands. Since PROTACs need only bind their targets with high selectivity and with an affinity high enough to stabilize the ternary complex between the protein of interest and the E3 ligase, the affinity in the micromolar range could be sufficient for their activity, unlike conventional ligands. The current state-of-the-art in the development of PROTACs focuses only on intracellular proteins, but galectin-8 exists as both an intracellular and extracellular protein. Based on this fact, we want to find out whether such a receptor, which occurs both in the cytosol and in the extracellular matrix, can be effectively targeted with PROTACS and its activity modulated. This scientific question will be tackled by a highly-qualified PhD Nives Hribernik with international experience in glycochemistry, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, and is expected to be an excellent springboard to her independent scientific career. The project proposal includes renowned principal investigators from two academic institutions: Prof. Dr. Marko Anderluh from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Prof. Dr. Ulf Nilsson and Prof. Derek Logan from Lund University (Sweden), giving the PROTAG-8 international and interdisciplinary background.

Mots clés : carbohydrate binding receptors, galectins, galectin 8, proteolysis targeting chimeras protacs

Participants :
- Université de Ljubljana (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 155559.36 €
- Université de Lund (Suède) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MOEBHIOS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

MOEBHIOS (Multi-attribute values’ OntologiEs to improve Built Heritage InformatiOn assessment in cluStered territories) aim is to develop an innovative Value-Based Decision-Making approach on historical Built Heritage on the cross-border contexts of clustered territories. The improvement of Information Systems for territorial geo-mapping with Multi-attributes Values from Social Sciences fields will be pursued, developing advanced Information Ontologies specifically suited for landscape and Built Heritage. The project is tested on the pilot case study of historical Built Heritage in Palestine, assuming a key example of complex heritage ecosystem at the territorial scale envying societal and landscape developing programs, similar to other contexts at European borders. To achieve the goal, the research project provides a path of theoretical studies, on-field direct training and practical activities (social surveys, technical dialogue sessions) for the collection of data concepts and logical structures referring to 4 main macro-areas concerning Built Heritage analysis: social, archaeological, economic and cultural fields. The researcher will participate to a creative research & training program across Europe and Middle East, in contact with excellent research laboratories and chairs in Cultural Heritage social (Palestine) and economic (Germany) fields. The researcher will re-integrate the advanced social sciences skills to Architectural and Built Heritage research, considering the horizon of digital practices of documentation and 3D modelling experimented at the beneficiary sending institution (Italy). The scientific quality of resulting Information Ontologies for historical Built Heritage is envisaged by development agencies for territorial governance and the strengthen of local communities in Third Countries, fostering the establishment of good-practices and standard protocols on dynamic representation and monitoring of tangible Heritage through EU and above.

Mots clés : architecture, tangible heritage, digital documentation, social values, heritage conservation, heritage mapping, digital survey, information system, clustered territories, palestine

Participants :
- Université de Pavie (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 277535.04 €
- European University Viadrina (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université al-Qods (Palestine) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PFAS-ITOX (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a class of persistent chemicals, have been linked to an array of adverse health outcomes including reduced antibody response to vaccination. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on the serious implications of PFAS immunotoxicity. However, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on clinical immune outcomes (e.g., infections or asthma) in children, whose developing immune system is highly sensitive to chemical exposures. This proposal (PFAS-ITOX) addresses this research gap by leveraging a unique cohort of children with a wide range of PFAS exposures (background to highly exposed) and detailed medical records to investigate the potential immunotoxic effects of prenatal and childhood PFAS exposures on clinically relevant outcomes, including COVID-19 incidence. It was discovered in 2013 that one of two municipal water supplies in Ronneby, Sweden was delivering water that was highly contaminated by PFASs from firefighting foam runoff at a nearby military airport. Earlier studies in Ronneby found that serum PFAS concentrations corresponded closely with residential address history, allowing residential history to be used as an accurate proxy for exposure. PFAS-ITOX uses this “natural experiment” to create a longitudinal cohort of children and evaluate whether high PFAS exposures are associated with clinical outcomes related to immunosuppression (e.g., counts of common childhood infections) and hypersensitivity (e.g., incidence of asthma). While existing studies of PFAS immunotoxicity rely on self-reported data or hospital admission records, I will use the Skåne Healthcare Register, unique to southern Sweden, to identify outcomes at all levels of care, including primary care where many immune outcomes are diagnosed. The proposal's results will inform future PFAS research, provide necessary evidence for risk assessments, and provide critical information to health practitioners caring for highly-exposed individuals.

Mots clés : pfas perfluoroalkyl substances immunotoxicity adaptive immunity childhood infection allergy asthma eczema exposure window prenatal exposure covid 19

Participants :
- Université de Lund (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 229474.95 €
Projet NatuRel (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

My project spotlights a category of religious images that has hitherto escaped scholarly investigation: sacred representations that were believed to be a product of nature. Objects of this kind—such as marble slabs whose veining suggested a silhouette of the Virgin, or plants whose shape recalled that of a crucifix—garnered considerable attention in late medieval and early modern Christian culture. Regarded both as divine prodigies to be revered and as natural wonders to be investigated, they were described and reproduced in travel accounts, religious writings, and natural history treatises. Combining sources and methods from art history, religious studies, and the history of science, my research will chart the world-wide geography of these objects, investigate their materiality, and explore their embedding in late medieval and early modern Christian culture. In doing so, it will deepen our understanding of the perception of natural environments and materials in Western culture, and of the evolution of historical ideas concerning the agencies of nature, God and man in the shaping of the physical world. Two internationally recognized research teams, specializing in the geography and materiality of sacred art (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), and in the relationship of visuality and nature (KU Leuven, Belgium), will host the project during the outgoing and the return phase of a 3-year Global Fellowship. An additional secondment to UC Davis, California, will enable me to develop a crucial stage of my research in collaboration with historians of science. The outputs of the project—including webinars, an online exhibition, the first monograph on this subject, and a series of lessons taught at KU Leuven—will counter the divide between STEM fields and humanities by involving side by side scientists and historians; will strengthen the engagement of art history in ecocriticism; and will promote education on the connection between art and the environment.

Mots clés : miraculous images devotional images christian iconography nature empiricism natural history pilgrimage travel literature history of science

Participants :
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Fribourg (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 298749.12 €