Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet USES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In developing countries the majority of rural communities rely on natural resources and environmental products for food, fuel, building materials and medicines. Rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions can have important consequences for environmental resources and ecosystem services. Consequently, the pressure that natural resources experience from population growth is a significant barrier to sustainable human development. This research project will broaden the approach to sustainable development research by studying population-environment relationships using data with unrivalled spatial and temporal resolutions. The objectives of the research are to identify: (1) How satellite data can be used to estimate aspects of environmental resources and ecosystem services important for livelihoods; (2) the relationships between household poverty and remotely sensed environmental conditions? And are these relationships consistent at different time periods? and; (3) how changes in poverty relate to changes in environmental conditions and vice versa? To study these relationships household panel survey data and remotely sensed environmental data will be coupled using GIS and non-parametric Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and random forests models which can handle and represent meaningfully the complex, nonlinear relationships between poverty and environment. The project will contribute to the Horizon 2020 aim of furthering sustainability science by exploring how changes in society and the environment are linked and contribute to society beginning to think about interventions to managing environmental resources which could contribute to development and to understand the changes likely in environmental resources when development occurs. It will contribute to the Work Programme as the fellow will gain new skills and training in geospatial and computational ecology and become an EU leading specialist in a research field with a lot of growth potential.

Mots clés : population environment research

Participants :
- Aarhus University (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212194.8 €
Projet CHAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In embryonic cells, actomyosin forms a cortical reticulated gel that turns over rapidly, is weakly organized, and is composed of a variety of structures, with distinct architectures and dynamics, which are nucleated and elongated by different factors, and bind to specific sets of actin-binding proteins that modulate their dynamics. Understanding how actin is distributed between these structures is critical to understand the biology and mechanics of the actin cytoskeleton and therefore its role in processes ranging from morphogenesis and cell division to endocytosis and polarization. In the proposed work, taking advantage of single-molecule techniques I developed during my previous post-doc, I will use the early C. elegans embryo as a model system to tease out the general rules and the critical regulatory elements that control actin homeostasis. I will follow three major directions: (1) analysis of actin dynamics in a steady-state system, the 1-cell stage embryo during maintenance phase, (2) analysis of the mechanisms underlying actin homeostasis in face of changes in the concentration landscape and biochemical properties of the players and (3) analysis of the modulation of actin dynamics and homeostasis during early embryonic development and between different cell types. I propose here a research program to expand our knowledge of how the structure of the actin meshwork is regulated and controls morphogenesis in embryonic cells, and in particular the mechanical properties of the cell. Importantly this program explores how modulations of the concentrations of actin-interacting proteins impinge on the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton as a whole, and should improve our understanding of the general mechanisms that underlie the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton machinery, and how deregulations may be responsible for the onset of specific behaviors of the actin cytoskeleton that may eventually result in the development of cancer-like cellular behaviors.

Mots clés : cell biology, actin dynamics, homeostasis, cortex, single molecule imaging, simulation

Participants :
- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 46269.0 €
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 138807.0 €
Projet IDIOM2 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In future, benefits from air quality strategies may be offset by changing climate. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation may alter emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) released by plants in response to drivers such as temperature and soil moisture. BVOCs influence levels of greenhouse gases, aerosols, and surface ozone and thus affect climate and air quality. Climate change in turn may affect BVOC emissions, and this is a major uncertainty in air quality projections and reduces our ability to design effective air quality strategies. In particular, it is crucial to better understand the behaviour of BVOC emissions in critical climates, especially in conditions of water stress. IDIOM2 will tackle key open questions in the BVOC-water stress relationship, focusing on the Mediterranean region, a high BVOC-source area with a warm-dry climate that already suffers from severe ozone pollution events during summer. Using a multidisciplinary approach, trained by internationally-recognized climatologists and ecologists, Dr. Strada will combine climate data and novel space observations of BVOC emissions, soil moisture, and photosynthesis to clarify the effects of water stress on BVOC emissions. This analysis will feed into regional climate model projections of BVOC emissions over Europe under “business-as-usual” and “low carbon” pathways, and to improvements of existing model representations of BVOC-water stress relationships. Building on her advanced modelling experience, Dr. Strada will integrate new developments in a coupled regional climate-vegetation-chemistry model to assess the evolution of BVOC emissions, related ozone levels, and impacts on human and plant health. In line with Horizon2020-Societal Challenge 5 priorities, IDIOM2 will contribute to “progress the current state-of-the art knowledge on links between climate change and impacts on human health in Europe”.

Mots clés : biogenic volatile organic compounds, surface ozone, regional climate modelling, water stress, mediterranean

Participants :
- Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet CO2-RR-MODCAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In future, fuels and basic chemicals may be produced via an electrolytic process that converts CO2, water and electricity derived from renewable energy sources. Such promising, yet underdeveloped technology needs fundamental breakthroughs in the development of efficient electrode catalysts, i.e. electrocatalysts, for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2-RR). In fact, none of the currently known catalysts has adequate efficiency. In this project, I propose to investigate well-defined ruthenium oxide (RuOx) and molybdenum sulphide (MoSx) nano catalysts for the CO2-RR. The goal is to discover new, efficient catalysts on the basis of fundamental insight. In the first phase, model RuOx and MoSx catalysts (nanoparticles, thin films) will be investigated to elucidate the physicochemical parameters that control their performance. In the second phase, synthetic strategies will be applied to enhance the catalyst activity and selectivity; these will be based on the preparation of metal substituted RuOx and on the exploitation of catalyst-support interactions. The proposed investigation is: • Timely, given the relevance attributed by the European Union and by the chemical industry to the research on CO2 re-utilization strategies that involve the integration of renewable energy sources; • Innovative. RuOx and MoSx are promising, yet largely unexplored catalysts for the CO2-RR. The strategies devised to enhance their performance are radically different from what has been proposed so far. • Expected to provide high impact. The structure-activity descriptors identified through this study will open new perspectives for the design of efficient catalysts via controlled synthetic processes. The research methodology is based on the synthesis of well-defined catalysts coupled with a multi-analytical characterization approach. As such, it is ideal to achieve the objectives and it will provide new knowledge for the researcher. The planned collaborations will have great impact for the host group.

Mots clés : electrocatalysis, co2 electrocatalytic reduction, solar fuels, methanol, thin film, mass selected nanoparticles, model catalysts, metal oxides, metal sulphides, magnetron sputtering

Participants :
- Technical University of Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 200194.8 €
Projet DYNAMPSI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In general, ordered arrays of nanomagnets with strong magnetostatic interactions forms magnonic crystals where spin waves, which are the fundamental magnetic excitation in a metallic ferromagnetic material with frequencies in the microwave regime. Similar to magnonic crystal, phononic crystals are also special periodic materials with great promise for controlling and manipulating the propagation of elastic waves. Interestingly, the elastic waves and spin waves of comparable wavelength can propagate simultaneously in magnonic structures in the same gigahertz frequency range. This opens the perspective for extending the functionalities of wave-processing nanodevices by combining the properties of spin waves and elastic waves. Recently, artificial spin ice has emerged as a new candidate for reconfigurable magnonic devices, where the specific geometries and resulting magnetic configurations give a variety of interesting magnonic properties. But the influence of magnetoelastic coupling on the spin wave dispersion of magnonic crystals and especially artificial spin ice systems is still unexplored field. In this project, we are aiming to tune the magnetic band structure for an artificial magphonic spin ice (AMPSI) system, which increases the applications of spin ices, as a reconfigurable magnonic crystals. This follows to the main objectives of this project, which is to demonstrate programmable Fan-Out magnonic device using AMPSI and to study the magnetic monopole dynamics in AMPSI.

Mots clés : magnonics, phononics, spinwaves, artificial spin ice, magnetization dynamics, spintronics

Participants :
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Pologne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 137625.6 €
Projet MORPHOGENESIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In its latest action plan on digital education, the European Union underlined the ambition of ensuring that all citizens are prepared to live and work in the digital age. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic, with its widespread closure of schools and universities, has thrown into sharp relief how the introduction of digital technology fundamentally reshapes the organisation of education. Within a few months, it became evident that schooling without school or studying without campus prompts the influx of new, private actors on an unprecedented scale. This project focuses on such digital reorganisation of education, cut off from the classroom. In particular, I propose to investigate how the conversion towards digital learning platforms participates in a worldwide disruption of pedagogical valuation processes. While existing research has so far favoured questions of power and inequalities, the disruptive capacity of these learning platforms to radically redefine what education values as worth learning has hardly been studied. To fill this gap, MORPHOGENESIS proposes (1) to build a framework that formulates an ensemble of concepts with theoretical insights from three related (sub)disciplines (sociology of education, organisation studies and the study of regionalisation and globalisation processes). With the help of Luhmannian systems theory, the coherent formulation of such framework will make it possible to analyse how, through such digital platforms, the reorganisation and the differentiation of global education go hand in hand; (2) to develop an extended case ethnography of the start-up scene in New York, where this so-called EdTech is currently being imagined, coded and executed into the platforms that explicitly aspire to disrupt contemporary education. Together, the conceptual framework and methodology will enable a better grasp of the metamorphosis that education is currently undergoing and the unprecedented role that online learning platforms play within it.

Mots clés : globalisation of education, education industry, privatisation, educational technology, systems theory, sociology of valuation

Participants :
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 269002.56 €
- Columbia University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet HYPOVACC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In light of current events, developing new technologies for the fight against severe infectious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a global health emergency. Despite the tremendous improvement of vaccine technologies, the design of potent, durable and safe vaccines displaying an ease of distribution and a reduced cost, remains a major technological challenge. This research project proposes to develop a novel biocompatible, injectable and scalable vaccine technology based on supramolecular hydrogels-containing polymersomes to enable a controlled local vaccine exposure for durable and broadly protective immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The platform will leverage supramolecular hydrogels as depot carriers for a sustained co-release of complex mixtures of immunomodulatory compounds comprising a typical vaccine and polymersomes to enhance the presentation of subunit antigens. Immunogenicity will be improved through potent immune stimulating-adjuvants mixtures, selected from a precise screening of vastly different molecules in terms of chemical nature and size, and a controlled multipresentation of antigens by fine-tuned antigen-grafted polymersomes. This highly innovative project will cover various disciplines ranging from chemistry, material science, to bioengineering, and will use new polymersomes and hydrogels constructs, vaccine technology and recently developed immunological assays. The proposal will be conducted in two internationally recognized leading teams in the field of drug delivery systems in Bordeaux University, France and Stanford University, USA. The international exposure and the outstanding scientific environment gained through the fellowship will be a key step for the independence and maturity of the researcher. She will acquire a unique multidisciplinary research profile which will be of significant interest for her future independent career in Europe.

Mots clés : hydrogel, polymersome, biomaterials, self assembly, supramolecular chemistry, drug delivery, vaccines, immunoengineering

Participants :
- Stanford University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Bordeaux (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 257619.84 €
Projet CROWDY (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In living cells, proteins operate in an extremely crowded environment, which has a substantial impact on their structural and dynamical properties. Taking into account the effects of macromolecular crowding is thus imperative for a full understanding of protein function in vivo. However, despite a growing interest in the characterization of in-cell crowding, its net effect remains only partially understood as experimental studies addressing such phenomena in the cytoplasm are very challenging. In this project, we aim to examine the effect of macromolecular crowding on protein mobility and stability at the microscopic resolution. To this end, we will deploy a novel multi-scale simulation approach developed in the host laboratory. This multi-scale framework combines a detailed description of proteins with an efficient lattice-based model of solvent hydrodynamics. In the course of the project, we will consider systems of progressive complexity, ranging from crowded binary protein suspensions through a model of a bacterial cytoplasm and a lipid vesicle forming a biological nanoreactor. Our computational studies will be performed in close contact with two top-level experimental groups active in the field. We will pay particular attention to the behavior of superoxide dismutase 1, a protein involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Our multi-scale molecular simulations will shed light on how protein dynamics and stability are locally affected by the heterogeneity of the cellular environment. Moreover, we will investigate how crowding is modulated by the presence of membrane surfaces. The simulations will allow us to clarify the origins of crowding effects at an atomistic level, which will provide a vital support for the microscopic interpretation of experimental data. Thus, our project will offer unprecedented insights into the structure and dynamics of the crowded environment inside living cells.

Mots clés : coarse graining, hydrodynamics, macromolecular crowding, protein diffusion, protein, stability, biological nanoreactor

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet GROUPCOG (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In many taxa, individuals form groups that collectively process information and make decisions. Through pooling information, these groups can theoretically achieve better decisions than solitary agents. However, it has become increasingly clear that understanding successes and failures of collective decision-making requires a detailed understanding of individual cognitive abilities and of information transfer among group members. I would like to build on my background in social insect collective behavior to investigate a longstanding question in complex systems science: when and how does collective intelligence emerge from individual cognition? I propose to elucidate this issue using novel experiments with homing pigeons–a species that has numerous advantages as a model system. First, pigeons can process information both individually and collectively. When flying alone, each pigeon establishes idiosyncratic habitual routes over time, based on memorized chains of landscape cues. Flocks of pigeons are also collectively able to develop distinctive routes. Thus, I can directly compare the cognitive performance of individuals and groups by giving them the same spatio-cognitive tasks. Second, as pigeons have been among the most important subjects in laboratory experiments on animal cognition, a wealth of data is available on pigeons’ individual cognition. Finally, cutting-edge GPS devices provide high-resolution spatiotemporal data, allowing me to create and validate highly detailed individual-based models. My results will be applicable to multiple research fields, including optimal decision-making theory and collective robotics.

Mots clés : collective cognition, wisdom of crowds, information transmission, cumulative cultural evolution, social learning, agent based model

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet Phonon-ART (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In many technologies, heat management becomes the bottleneck for the next generation development. Phonons are mechanical vibrations of the atomic lattice that are responsible for the transmission of heat in many relevant materials, like semiconductors, thus controlling them analogously to photons and electrons is indispensable. Advanced time-resolved Raman spectroscopies enable the extraction of relevant information such as phonon spectra, lifetimes, and relaxation times, all critical to understanding thermal transport through advanced materials. In this project we aim to apply these techniques to solve two important open questions: (i) how to engineer the temperature sensors of the future based on diamond-based materials; and (ii) understanding the underlying physical mechanism responsible for deviations from the macroscopic predictions for nanoscale system, such as hypersonic surface phononic crystals, critical to technological applications. For this purpose, I propose four main objectives to the project. First, implementing an ultrafast time-resolved spontaneous Raman method to access the timescale of the absolute phonon mode population. Second, implementing a time-resolved stimulated Raman spectroscopy technique to explore the coherence of selectively excited phonons. Third, extending this technique to a time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman (CARS) spectroscopy to probe the population dephasing lifetime of the system and energy relaxation time. This project will significantly advance the field of ultrafast, nano, materials and thermal science and will extend European knowledge in two different directions: advancing the current metrology tools by means of a fully developed time-resolved CARS setup at University of Basel, and studying energy flow dynamics in novel materials that will impact both fundamental understanding and technological applications.

Mots clés : nanoscale thermal transport, phonons, raman spectroscopy, phononic materials, diamond

Participants :
- University of Basel (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €