Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet TemGPC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Concrete is a non-uniform, multi-phase porous material. With the increase in temperature, the chemical configuration of the material changes, and the mortar and coarse aggregate, owing to their different thermal expansions, will produce different thermal stresses, thereby reducing their bonding strength. The thermal and mechanical behaviours of geopolymer concrete that uses geopolymer to replace traditional Portland cement, are different from those of Portland cement concrete in many ways. In order to enable the widespread and safe use of geopolymer concrete in construction industry where fire safety is extremely important, this project will carry out a systematic study on the thermal and mechanical behaviours of geopolymer concrete at elevated temperatures. The study includes the effect of temperature on the thermal and mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete and the combined effect of the initial stress and temperature on the constitutive relation of geopolymer concrete at various different temperatures. The research methodology includes the use of advanced experimental testing techniques and multi-physics and multi-phases computer modelling, and the development of theoretical models based on the results obtained from both the experimental and numerical studies. The research will create new knowledge and improve our understanding on the temperature effect on concrete behaviour and performance. The work will help maintain EU excellence in concrete research. The outcome of the project can also lead to the development of new types of concrete with targeted performance. This project covers a wide range of disciplines including materials, chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science. Through the project the individual fellowship will significantly improve his interdisciplinary knowledge and innovative research skills as well as his career development.

Mots clés : geopolymer concrete, thermal, mechanical, elevated temperatures

Participants :
- University of Plymouth (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet PROMINENT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Cofund Doctoral programme
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Diabetes is increasing rapidly from 415 million patients in 2015 to 642 million patients by 2040. As a result, it will become the leading disease worldwide, affecting 1 out of 10 persons globally and 3 out of 4 in low and middle income countries. The World Health Organisation marked World Health Day 2016 as calling for action on diabetes. Despite successful treatment of the inadequate glucose handling, diabetic patients show long-term effects of the disease such as a progressive loss of multiple organ function, in particular in the cardiovascular and renal systems. About half of the diabetic patients are at risk for renal complications associated with a markedly increased disease burden and death rate, the latter even surpassing the death rate in all treated cancer patients. The major reason for the lack of treatment efficacy is the large variation in individual response to the treatment. Consequently, we are left with a huge unmet need in the treatment of this chronic disease. A huge step forward in chronic diabetes disease management is personalised medicine. The EC has recognized the importance of personalised medicine and has started initiatives in this regard in 2016. The COFUND PROMINENT programme of the Research Institute for Drug Exploration (GUIDE) brings these fields together and introduces personalised medicine for chronic diabetes disease management. PROMINENT is focussed at setting up a dedicated doctoral training programme for 16 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and the University of Groningen (RUG). PROMINENT aims to select the best students to become excellently trained researchers, who can perform high quality research, and who subsequently have a major impact on scientific breakthroughs that foster the European society and economy in this field.

Mots clés : personalised medicine, diabetes mellitus, doctoral training, multidisciplinary

Participants :
- University Medical Center Groningen (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 1674240.0 €
Projet MINT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Different nanomaterials were developed so far in particular against cancer, paid very little attention to their potential immunogenicity, to their final destiny, as well as to the importance of zero-delivery in unwanted places. Thus, there is still a huge disproportion between the present nanomedicine tools and the clinical requirements. The ambitious purpose of the MINT project is to develop immunocompatible tumor targeted zinc oxide nanocrystals (ZnO-NCs) coated by extracellular vesicles (EVs) with enhanced drug delivery capabilities to cancer cells, by disturbing the supportive tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal human malignancies. Moreover, ZnO-NCs is doped with transition metal elements to be probed for treatment monitoring. In recent years while several therapeutic advances were implemented in many cancer types, the scenario of pancreatic cancer remains unchanged. The main factor behind the limited efficacy of chemotherapeutics in pancreatic cancer is its complex microenvironment. We propose to deliver Hedgehog pathway inhibitor & vascular endothelial growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor simultaneously through the multifunctional EV-coated doped ZnO-NCs to deplete tumor stroma, normalize tumor vascularity and improve pancreatic cancer therapeutic index. The proposed Fellowship will enable a highly interdisciplinary collaboration between the Researcher, experienced in targeted therapy & pancreatic cancer biology, and the supervisor, pioneer in designing nanotheranostics. These working conditions will effectively promote the Researcher’s professional development, providing her with excellent new expertise in nanotheranostics and fundamental leadership skills, significantly widening her career perspectives. The project outcomes will be of tremendous benefit to the European biomedical sectors, bridge the current gap between the conventional therapies and the Frontier research in the field of cancer nanomedicine.

Mots clés : doped zinc oxide nanocrystals, extracellular vesicle, targeted peptide ligand, tumor microenvironment, pancreatic cancer

Participants :
- Polytechnic University of Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183473.28 €
Projet PATECH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Digital technologies are in the centre of the ongoing industrial revolution that is bound to change not only markets, but also societies and governments. Central to these developments is the evolution of public sector technological capacities, that is, an ability of public organizations to explore, develop and/or adapt new technological solutions in public service design, delivery and evaluation. One of the central questions that has so far fallen in between different research strands is how technology affects the evolution of work organization and administrative capacities in public sector. In the context of increasing dependence on technological developments, and thus, related opportunities as well as uncertainties and risks, the conventional public administration accounts fall short in fully grasping the influence of technology on public sector change. The research objectives of the project are to: a) develop a coherent and novel conceptual framework on public sector technological capacities and provide novel and empirically grounded explanations on the co-evolutionary development mechanisms of public organizations and technology through comparative cross-country analysis. In order to map and understand different co-evolutionary patterns, the project will use a comparative approach by studying two different fields (with high and low/moderate level of technological complexity) in two different small states (in an advanced (Belgium) and less advanced (Estonia) socio-economic contexts).

Mots clés : public administration and technology, public sector innovation, organizational change, public sector change, technological capacity, evolutionary economics, institutional theory

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172800.0 €
Projet FEDev-WF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

European women’s football has come a long way in recent years, yet it is still considerably underdeveloped. Football being one of the most revered forms of popular culture in Europe offers a unique window into evolution of roles and representation of achievements of women, but despite significant strides in recent years the women’s game is still far behind. Fewer sponsorship deals, lower stadium attendance and commercial value were a few of the problems with which women’s football struggled, even before the Covid-19 outbreak. Now, the sustainable survival of the game is under threat. In both industry and academia there is a gap in attention to women’s football fandom, particularly from the organisations’ side, and its potentials for commercial value creation and financial sustainability of the game. Taking the high potential of fandom to generate sustainable income, the present project aims to develop fan engagement practice to increase attendance and commercial value in women’s football. I will employ a novel interdisciplinary, comparative participatory approach involving academia and industry stakeholders, identifying the unique attributes and current state of women’s football fandom and key components of an effective fan engagement framework for teams and associations. The project will be conducted in the context of Ireland and will be hosted by Dublin City University. To learn about fan engaging planning, practices and data analysis in the industry, I will carry out two secondments in two well-known sport marketing companies in Europe. Collectively, the outcomes of this project will provide a novel understanding of gendered perceptions of women’s football in Ireland and Europe, and how fan engagement can be tailored to women’s football for better commercialisation. The findings would help the industry engage fans effectively for the survival of the game, and future research can build up on the ideas and findings in different countries and women’s sports.

Mots clés : fan engagement, women s football, commercial value, participatory research

Participants :
- Dublin City University (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196590.72 €
Projet SCDCDC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ever increasing value and cost of energy has led the researchers to focus their efforts in energy efficient and cost effective systems. Additionally, the wide spreading of wireless technologies and mobile platforms require highly cost effective and energy efficient solutions for affordable products such as mobile phones, tablets, medical systems etc. that have decent performance with long battery lives. This proposal focuses on the intersection of these two trends and can be defined as energy efficient/low cost integrated circuits for wireless, bio and energy efficient systems. The objective of this research is to analyze and design highly efficient, scalable and cost effective integrated circuits for highly integrated wireless systems, energy harvesters and bio-sensors. Specifically, we will focus on analyzing and designing Switched Capacitor DC-DC converters as the main goal. These converters eliminate the need of using costly and bulky off-chip inductors and can be integrated fully on-chip for such low power applications. For higher power applications, SC DC-DC converters can be designed to work with cheaper and smaller size off-chip capacitors. In this research, we will analyze and design both versions of these converters to test their performance with critical wireless communication blocks such as VCOs and PAs. This will be the first step in utilizing these converters and switched capacitor systems in wireless systems, bio-sensors and energy harvesting solutions.

Mots clés : switched capacitor, dc dc converters, nonlinear regulators, pulse width modulation converter, supply modulation, vco supply sensitivity, cmos, bio sensors

Participants :
- Istanbul Şehir University (Turquie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 157845.6 €
Projet SCALABLE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Every landscape on Earth is influenced to some degree by people, and in turn, societies and cultures are shaped by landscapes. Biocultural diversity is the notion that biological and cultural diversity are dependent on each other, and that biological diversity is managed, conserved, and created by different cultural groups. Agricultural landscapes are visibly shaped by human practices, and in these areas the relationship between nature and culture runs deep, where everyday practices and traditions have coevolved with the environment over millennia. This is especially true in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes where the traditional management of the land have endured over millennia. However, these landscapes depend on human interventions and currently are threatened by their abandonment, driving by migration to more urban areas, intensification processes, or aging of population, having a direct impact on the human well-being of local communities. In this project, I propose an interdisciplinary methodology to identify how gender equity can promote pathways for future conservation of mountain agricultural in the biocultural regions of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in South of Spain. To this end, I will first (1) evaluate current and future biocultural practices developed by local communities in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Then (2) I will map biocultural practices as elements for conservation of landscapes and the ecosystem services provided using a gender perspective. Finally (3), based on participatory approaches, I will identify future pathways to secure the maintenance of local well-being and the conservation of biocultural landscapes to foster gender equity and landscape sustainability. By considering traditional ecological knowledge, perspectives and needs, the project will inherently address broader societal issues such as gender and environmental justice, with the last goal to support future development of rural areas in south of Spain.

Mots clés : biocultural approaches, gender, rural, social ecological systems, transdisciplinary research

Participants :
- University of Almería (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172932.48 €
Projet MitoFORMSinHF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Every year 15.9 million people worldwide suffer a myocardial infarction (MI) causing sudden death in some individuals and predisposing survivors to recurrent MI’s and heart failure (HF), making ischemic heart disease the greatest contributor to human mortality. Research has uncovered molecular mechanisms that contribute to cellular demise during ischemic heart disease, however, to date there is no effective molecularly designed therapeutic. Recent studies implicate metabolism in ischemic cardiac injury pathogenesis. Optic Atrophy 1 (OPA1), a dynamin-related inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) protein, orchestrates IMM fusion and maintains mitochondrial cristae form and structure. During MI disassembly of OPA1-containing oligomers ultimately induces apoptosis. Solute carrier family members (SLC25As) are thought to sense metabolic alterations and influence OPA1 oligomerization to regulate cristae function and shape, implicating metabolism in mitochondrial cristae formation. Whether metabolic sources or metabolic changes during IR injury contribute to disruption of OPA1 assembly, cristae maintenance, and apoptosis are yet to be elucidated. This is of great scientific interest because of the promising therapeutic potential to prevent pathogenic cristae remodeling and apoptosis during IR injury. I will work with state of the art imaging equipment within the Department of Biology at Padua University and receive expert training in mitochondrial biology under the supervision of Dr. Luca Scorrano in order to investigate if metabolic sources contribute to cristae maintenance and are implicated in ischemic cardiac injury. I will disseminate knowledge gained to American and European research societies focused on basic cardiovascular biology by attending conferences and the general public through the use of social media and scientific outreach. This proposals completion will launch my career as an independent investigator in Europe and forge international research connections.

Mots clés : mitochondrial cristae junctions, ischemia reperfusion injury, mitochondria, apoptosis, basic cardiovascular sciences

Participants :
- University of Padua (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet POET-mCRC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Every year nearly 228,000 individuals die from colorectal cancer (CRC) in Europe, the second most common cancer in Europe. Around 30% of the CRC patients develop liver metastases and these are the main cause of death. Removal of liver metastatic tumors is the primary treatment method for CRC, however, 50-75% of the patients experience a relapse of the metastases within two years, rendering adjunct treatment strategies necessary for these patients. Preclinical work has demonstrated that exercise exerts anti-tumor effects as it is indeed able to inhibit tumor growth. Thus, exercise constitutes an excellent candidate as a complementary to the pharmacological treatment approach for CRC metastatic patients (mCRC). My primary aim is to investigate the effects of chronic exercise on tumor recurrence after liver metastasis removal. Secondary aims are to identify the “optimal dose” of exercise to obtain the largest beneficial effect and explore the changes on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a marker of disease progression. I hypothesize that exercise training will delay or ameliorate disease recurrence in mCRC patients. Patients will be randomized to 3 groups: control, group 1(300 min/week), group 2 (150 min/week) of combined aerobic and strength exercise training for 6 months. Study endpoints will be tumor recurrence, inflammation and immune markers, physiological adaptations and ctDNA changes. The outcomes will provide essential knowledge about how to optimize the guidelines for exercise prescription as part of the treatment plan for mCRC patients. The fellowship will be vital for my reintegration into academia and for me to evolve as a lead researcher. It also constitutes an ideal means of knowledge transfer between myself and the host organization as I will gain knowledge in the oncology area and advance my skills in molecular biology techniques while I convey my experience in dose-response methodology and the conduct of large-scale human exercise trials.

Mots clés : colorectal cancer, liver metastasis, aerobic exercise, resistance exercise

Participants :
- Capital Region of Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 328968.0 €
Projet SubcorticalBCI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Every year, half a million people become paralysed by a spinal cord injury. Assistive technologies, such as Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), can improve their mobility, independence, and overall well-being. BCIs bypass a neurological injury by reading the user’s intent from their brain activity and using it to control a computer cursor or a robotic arm, or even to reanimate their own paralysed limbs. Despite these remarkable feats, BCIs still face challenges that prevent their widespread use. Here, I propose to address two of their main shortcomings: their unintuitive control that produces unskilled movements, and their instable performance that decays over time. The brain controls movement by coordinating the activity of many areas. Thus, unintuitive BCI control might be due to their reliance on the activity of a single cortical region (typically motor cortex) to decode the user’s intent. I will develop a new type of BCI that reads the activity of the striatum, a subcortical area that receives inputs from the entire cortex and has been shown to be critical for skilled movements. My hypothesis is that a BCI based on striatal activity will mimic the execution of a skilled movement. Using large-scale neural recording techniques and emerging computational techniques, I will identify striatal population dynamics and use them as input for the BCI, expecting to show that such an approach outperforms current BCIs. Next, I will address the instability problem. BCI instability is mainly caused by the inevitable changes in recorded neurons over long timescales. My host has recently developed a method that reveals the ‘true’ cortical dynamics underlying a given behaviour. I will adopt this method for the proposed BCI to stabilise its performance over long time periods. If successful, this project will lead to BCIs that are easier to use, more precise, and stable. Their future translation to humans could bring BCIs closer to the clinic, with considerable socioeconomic impact.

Mots clés : brain computer interfaces, brain machine interfaces, neuroprosthetics, neural engineering, electrophysiological recording, motor control, neural data science

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €