Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet Cata-rotors (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The lens of a mammalian eye is a unique tissue, which maintains high transparency during an individual lifespan, yet has no protein and lipid turnover. Thus, the eye lens is considered as one of ideal models of human aging. With age the proteins and lipids of the lens accumulate numerous post-translational modifications, leading to defects in the cell membrane structure and, therefore, to impairments of metabolite transport. The retarding of the metabolite exchange predisposes the lens nucleus to oxidative stress – a key factor in the formation of cataracts. Therefore, a study of the normal functioning of the lens, as well as age- and cataract-related changes in metabolite transport through the lens cells may shed light on the general mechanism of the lens aging and cataractogenesis. The present project is aimed at investigating and directly quantifying age- and cataract-related changes in the properties of cell membranes of the human eye lens by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), employing fluorescent viscosity-sensitive probes termed ‘molecular rotors’. We envisage that the results obtained will show the distribution of viscosity within membranes of fibre cells and will allow to directly visualise how the age and the early stages of cataract influence on fluidity of these lipid bilayers, which are of vital importance in maintaining the clarity of our eye lens and our vision. Analysis of age-related changes in the structure of membrane proteins and experiments with animal eye lenses subjected to photo-oxidation and chemical oxidation will provide additional information on the mechanisms of age- and cataract-related changes in viscosity within lens fibre cell membranes. Overall, this project addresses issues of fundamental importance in biophysics, as well as provides underpinning knowledge for understanding of health and disease and the treatment of an important eye condition: cataract.

Mots clés : fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, molecular rotors, human eye lens, cataract, fibre cell, membranes, viscosity, lipid order, membrane proteins

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet MESSIAH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The literature approaches the authoritarian turn in Turkish politics either as an example of political Islam gone wrong or as part of the competitive authoritarianism that sweep across the globe. But even a cursory glance reveals the persistence and recurrence of authoritarian themes in Turkish political discourse regardless of religious leaning. How, then, can we talk about cultural underpinnings of authoritarian rule in Turkey without succumbing to cultural essentialism or presenting it as a sui generis case? Accordingly, this project aims to explore the historical transformation of an authoritarian and messianic concept of leadership in Turkish context from the mid-nineteenth century to present. Parallel to this the project will look at how such concepts are tied to the various temporalities, that is, alternative ways the past, the present and the future are represented and imagined politically. Employing a conceptual historical approach with an innovative research design, this project will be a cultural archeology of the authoritarian turn in Turkish politics and follow the Islamic and secular political theologies both of which imagine the leader as a savior figure in a state of crisis and exception. The project uses the word Messianism to define this authoritarian concept of leadership, because besides the obvious savior image of the ruler and attending concepts, the project will focus on religious and secular temporalities that are implied by, or built into, such concepts. These temporalities include national liberation, Muslim revival and material development all of which propose different narratives of Ottoman decline and fall, posit a set of enemies and threats and imagine a future where these threats are thwarted and community reaches a state of peace and security. Within such temporalities the leader emerges as a supreme agency which is able to interfere in the history and change its course.

Mots clés : messianism, auhtoritarian turn, conceptual history, turkish politics, middle eastern politics

Participants :
- University of Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 202158.72 €
Projet LiverMacRegenCircuit (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The liver, unlike many other tissues, has the ability to rapidly regenerate and restore function following tissue damage or surgical resection. This regenerative capacity has been recognized as far back as the ancient Greeks, who described it in the myth of Prometheus. Despite this, the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning the regeneration process are yet to be fully elucidated. Macrophages (Macs) have been proposed to play a role in regeneration but it has not been clear if these are Kupffer cells (KCs), the tissue resident macs of the liver, or macs recruited during the regeneration process (rMacs). Previously available tools have not allowed a distinction to be drawn between these cells. Within the liver KCs and/or rMacs are in close proximity to hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells (HSC) and particularly liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), these cells together with liver macrophages can be thought of as a tissue unit, which needs to be rebuilt as the liver regenerates. Adopting this tissue unit view of the liver, we hypothesize that these cells interact with one another forming a stable circuit, the maintenance of which is required for normal liver regeneration. Here we propose the use of novel and innovative tools including KC and tissue unit cell-specific knock in mice to study cell-cell cross-talk and conclusively determine the cell-circuit signals driving the formation of new functional units within the liver. With donor organs in short supply this project has the potential to uncover pro-regenerative therapies that are so desperately needed.

Mots clés : macrophage, kupffer cell, liver regeneration, cell cell interaction

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 166320.0 €
Projet PLOCEAN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

The long-term accumulation of plastic in our ocean has become a global challenge. Microplastics, and particularly those < 300 µm, are ubiquitous and persistent and get entangled in microbial organic matrices that change particles’ buoyancy, aging, and determine their bioavailability in the water for being ingested. Microplastics’ interaction with microorganisms may also change microbial communities distribution and activity, possibly perturbing biogeochemical cycles at the basis of marine ecosystems and food webs. Through primary production the ocean absorbs and converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic matter, further channelled to higher trophic levels by its incorporation into bacterial biomass, and thus provides up to 70% of the oxygen for life. PLOCEAN focuses on how microplastics interact with the microbial mechanisms of production and transformation of organic matter to address important research priorities: 1) plastic sources and distribution in marine environments; 2) biogeochemical processes driving plastics’ aging, transport and bioavailability affecting fish stocks and human consumption; and 3) the role of plastic in marine biogeochemical cycles that may determine changes in carbon turnover, nutrients cycling and primary productivity in coastal areas. PLOCEAN will combine field observations and laboratory studies applying the latest developments in research techniques: polymer characterization and metagenomics to study plastic-specific microbial communities, microbial contribution to particles' aging and interaction with organic matrices. PLOCEAN will also devote an important aspect to outreach and citizen science. The multi-disciplinary approach and the research questions addressed will contribute to fill knowledge gaps in the current understanding of environmental plastic fluxes, distribution, as well as impacts on biotic and abiotic marine compartments that affect biogeochemical processes behind marine ecosystem’s food webs and functioning.

Mots clés : microplastics, organic matter cycling, carbon cycling, marine microbial processes, biofilm, marine coastal areas, citizen science

Participants :
- State University System of Florida (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 264669.12 €
Projet BatSECoV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The majority of coronaviruses (CoV) originally emerged from bats including highly pathogenic SARS- and MERS-CoV. Bats evolved unique innate immune mechanisms that are likely responsible for the lack of immune pathology. One key process of the immune response is the secretion of cytokines, like interleukins (IL) and type I interferons (IFNs), however molecular details of cytokine secretions and their influence on the outcome of virus infections have not been studied in context of reservoir host species like bats. The aim of this research proposal is to determine the molecular mechanisms involved in the secretion of IL-1 and IFN in human and bat cells that could explain why bats have developed a tolerance against coronavirus infections. The training-through-research of the candidate will consist in analyzing the secretion of IFNs and IL-1 in cell culture supernatants of bat and human CoV-infected cells subjected to knockdowns of different molecules implicated in canonical or non-canonical secretory pathways, as well as activation and interactions between receptors of both secretory pathways. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of well developed molecular biology, cell biology, and virology. This proposal includes both the transfer of knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidate in new advanced techniques and transferable skills. The results will show in-depth mechanistic insights into bat cytokine secretion, which still has some gaps in its knowledge, and will serve as a promising platform for the development of new antiviral strategies to fight emerging zoonotic viruses, in line with the EU strategy listed Societal Changes of H2020 for the health, demographic change and wellbeing. The dissemination of the results to the scientific community will be done by publications in international open-access peer-reviewed journals, congresses, press releases and participation at science divulgation events.

Mots clés : coronaviruses, interferon, secretion, secretory autophagy, bat immunity, comparative immunology

Participants :
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet CRIMIPRIM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The majority of mitochondrial proteins are imported from the cytosol into the organelle. The main mitochondrial protein import pathways account for the import of mitochondrial matrix and mitochondrial inner membrane (IM) proteins, e.g. the subunits of the respiratory chain complexes (RCC). This import process is facilitated by mitochondrial IM and outer membrane (OM) contact sites. Furthermore, the aforementioned pathways depend on the IM elechtrochemical gradient and ATP to take place. The host lab showed that mild overexpression of the dynamin-related protein optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) protects against IM proton electrochemical gradient lost upon complex III inhibition. OPA1 is involved in RCC stabilisation and cristae remodeling, but also in mitochondrial IM and outer membrane contacts. Recently, lower levels of mitochondrial import receptor and channels proteins were linked to Parkinson disease. The hypothesis of this proposal is that OPA1 directly influences TIM23 and TIM22 protein import pathways. This fellowship will follow three main aims; a) define the relationship between OPA1 and protein import in models of Leigh syndrome, b) determine cristae integrity in TOM20, TIM23 and TIM22 deficient cells and c) define protein import machinery molecular partners of OPA1. I will use classical biochemistry and BN-PAGE gels to determine the integrity of TIM23 and TIM22 and to assess the mitochondrial import capacity in the mouse models. Next, I will measure by electron microscopy the shape of the cristae and perform detailed morphometric analyses to determine if the protein import plays a role in cristae biogenesis. Finally, using complexomic analysis, I will aim to identify potential import pathway partners of Opa1 and establish their role by their deletion by CrispR/Cas9 in Opa1tg cells. This research will open the possibility to target the import machinery to remodel cristae in mitochondria in an OPA1-dependant manner as an alternative to treat mitochondrial disorders.

Mots clés : mitochondria, mitochondria biogenesis, protein import, mitochondria inner membrane, mitochondria outer membrane, respiratory chain complex, electrochemical gradient

Participants :
- University of Padua (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet HeBo (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The management of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers is one the most complex issues the EU is facing: HeBo aims to tackle it from the perspective of healthcare implementation in migrant camps and informal settlements situated within the European territory. In such spaces, both healthcare actions and their omission assume specific meanings, including the form of border management technology. HeBo thus focuses in particular on the following main research objects: A) the management of migrants in contemporary Europe through the lens of the right to healthcare, B) the relationship between the implementation of the right to healthcare and European border policies, and C) the implementation of the right to health as a translation of the politics of life and the differentiated judgement of lives underlying the current migration management in the EU. While the implementation of healthcare in humanitarian contexts has been largely studied in extra-European countries, it remains understudied for camps and, in particular, informal settlements within the European space. Through ethnographic inquiry on governmental and non-governmental healthcare units, HeBo focuses on three crucial sites across the EU: the islands of Lampedusa (Italy) and Lesbos (Greece), and the area of Calais (France). HeBo will build on the expertise that Dr. Alunni developed in his previous work on healthcare within Roma camps in Italy. Professor Didier Fassin, who will supervise HeBo, is a leading scholar in the field of humanitarianism and on issues of power and health inequalities, and will therefore support Dr. Alunni with his experience. Due to the excellent quality of its infrastructure, scholarly research and staff, the IRIS (Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Social Sciences) at the EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris) will constitute the most appropriate academic environment for Dr. Alunni to become a leading social science scholar in the European Research Area.

Mots clés : health, healthcare, border, migration, europe, camps, informal settlements, asylum, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, right to health, eu policies, ngos, public healthcare systems, politics of life

Participants :
- École des hautes études en sciences sociales (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet ALGWAS-BIOR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The management of the growing amount of food waste is considered as an urgent environmental and economic burden by the European Commission. In response to this challenge, the Algwas-Bior Project proposes an integrated Biorefinery technology, focusing on the valorization of the waste stream released from the algae industry following agar extraction Gelidium sesquipedale. The hydrocolloid-centric extraction of this seaweed generates a large quantity of waste rich in organic materials and biologically active compounds. In Europe, a modest focus has been accorded so far to the industrial valorization of these compounds, particularly for the development of value-added food additives, pharmaceutical ingredients, and health-promoting products. The cascade technology will be a versatile solution adaptable to a wide range of food industry waste-stream valorization, thus, moving up the waste hierarchy through coupling the biomass and production sector in a solid circular Bioeconomy. The methodology combines high-quality process performance data generation supported by automated data acquisition and process control systems along with cutting edge analytical methods. The interdisciplinary concept mostly based on supercritical and subcritical fluids technologies, expanded to modern, clean technologies will be subjected to pilot-scale testing and process validation using the facilities of Hiperbaric as a secondment. The proposal will deliver state-of-the-art training to the researcher in these technologies within a three-way transfer of knowledge with the host institution and industrial partners. The results will lead to the development of commercialisable process that will reinforce the competitiveness of the food industry and will contribute to the strategy of the European Union to build a strong circular and bio-economy leading to the creation of viable green job opportunities.

Mots clés : algae industry waste stream, sustainable valorization, integrated biorefinery, clean technology, approach, bioactive compounds, supercritical fluids, subcritical treatment, value added bioproducts

Participants :
- University of Burgos (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 259398.72 €
Projet EPROAMA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The mass extinction marking the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary (KPgB), 66.02 million years ago. It was one of the most devastating events in the history of life, as well as the most recent and best studied of the ‘big five’ mass extinctions that occurred during the Phanerozoic. After decades of research, one of the most critical lines of inquiry is understanding the short- to long-term effects of this impact on the global environmental system, including the re-establishment of pre-impact environmental conditions and marine biological productivity. After characterizing how the recovery of palaeoenvironmental conditions were by the analysis of inorganic geochemical proxies, critical questions were raised about the nature of and recovery after the event. how did primary productivity and the biological pump change and how did that impact the source and character of organic matter reaching the seafloor? And crucially, how did these interlinked processes recover after the impact event? The Caravaca section is amongst the most continuous, well-preserved, and well-studied KPgB distal sections in the world. This allows these questions to be explored using molecular fossils (or biomarkers) – for the first time in this section and consequently at unprecedented stratigraphic resolution. The approach will broadly encompass several methods, all of which will be carried out in the OGU (Organic Geochemistry Unit) at Bristol University. These will include but are not limited to, the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) contents; the extract and analysis of the biomarkers from ground samples; the determination of key biomarker abundances and distributions by GC and GC-MS in order to ascertain changes in organic matter (OM) source, algal assemblages, terrestrial biomarkers, redox state (pristane/phytane ratio; homohopane index) and microbial inputs (hopanes); and finally, to explore changes in ‘apparent thermal maturity’ which could reflect changes in reoworked OM input.

Mots clés : cretaceous, paleogene boundary, biomarkers, organic matter sources, phytoplankton community, paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Participants :
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet RMAG (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The mechanics and flow behaviour of living or active matter is key to biological processes like wound healing or cancer metastasis, but today there is very limited understanding of what governs the mechanical properties of such dense active systems. The proposed project will harness tools from the Statistical Physics of Glasses to provide new fundamental insights into Active Matter mechanics and rheology. This will not only help understand the deformation and flow of living glassy systems but also pave the way to the creation of designer active materials. The project will use particle-based simulations of model active glasses to construct a detailed phenomenology of their behaviour for a broad range of deformation scenarios including steady shear, shear startup and oscillatory shear. The insights from this will be condensed into a mesoscopic model that extends and builds on the very successful Soft Glassy Rheology (SGR) model, by incorporating essential biophysical ingredients and in particular the driving by active processes. This mesoscopic approach will allow scaling up to realistic system sizes and will identify the key parameters that need to be tuned in the design of new active materials. The insights gained on a wide range of systems from the cytoplasm and cellular aggregates to synthetic active matter will have a strong impact both on the academic and, in the medium term, non-academic sectors. They will reach across traditional boundaries to researchers in physics, biology and chemistry and strengthen an important interdisciplinary field within the European Research Area. The outreach opportunities provided by the fascinating behaviour of active glassy materials will be exploited with dedicated dissemination and communication activities targeted at a broad range of audiences.

Mots clés : physics of glasses, active matter, mechanics and rheological response

Participants :
- University of Göttingen (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174806.4 €