Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet Spindle Brain Organoid (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The development of the human brain is a key and fascinating question in neurobiology. Studies in model organisms have provided enormous insight into basic mechanisms of neurogenesis, which relies on the balance between proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Although human neurogenesis follows the same principles, human specific processes that lead to human brain expansion are largely unclear. In vitro models that recapitulate human brain development are invaluable tools to provide insight into human specific processes and brain expansion. In this application, I propose to use human cerebral organoids, a novel in vitro model system of human brain development, to investigate human specific mechanisms of brain development. Studies in primates suggest that the orientation of the mitotic spindle in neural stem cell divisions may be a key factor driving the expansion of the human brain. In order to gain insight into the role of spindle orientation in human brain development, I will use cerebral organoids to investigate how changes in spindle orientation affect proliferation of human neural stem cells and their differentiation into neural fates. To induce changes in spindle orientation in cerebral organoids, I will inactivate known regulators of spindle orientation. For this, I will establish an inducible loss-of-function system in human embryonic stem cells to inactivate such regulators in a controlled manner during the development of cerebral organoids. By using live-imaging techniques in such organoids, I will analyse how changes in spindle orientation affect the outcome of neural stem cell divisions. Then, by using immunohistochemical analysis, I will examine how changes in spindle orientation influence neuronal layering and cortical architecture. Overall, I expect to gain insight into the role of spindle orientation in human brain development and into the mechanisms underlying human brain expansion.

Mots clés : cerebral organoid, spindle orientation, asymmetric cell division, neural stem cell, human cortical development, crispr cas9

Participants :
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 166156.8 €
Projet AIM_COACH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The development of the understanding of normal and especially pathological human brain development is as important as ever, and has the potential to unlock enormous clinical benefits. It is essential to understand the underlying reasons that leads to faulty brain development in premature babies, we need to undertake studies that investigate these reasons so as to use the results to provide at-risk infants with an early diagnosis of brain damage and start intervention while the brain is still plastic. AIM_COACH: Artificial Intelligence Model for Cognitive Assessment for infants and Children, intends to answer all these questions. Objective of this research is to document normal and abnormal brain development in full-term and premature infants by analysing Electroencephalography (EEG) signals of infants and small children. To this end, researcher will develop an Artificial intelligence based Cognitive Assessment system for real time analysis in order to facilitate learning in infants and young children who show signs of developmental delay and learning problems. It will be offered as an intervention programme to those children that are likely to benefit most from an early diagnosis and early intervention before school age. Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions- Individual Fellowships Call (MSCA-IF) which is purely a research and training fellowship provides a conducive environment in realising the objectives of AIM_COACH and offers an ideal ambience for developing skills to reach future career objectives in view of the researcher’s competitiveness for permanent academic posts at the world’s leading-100 universities.


Participants :
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 214158.72 €
Projet BICACH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The direct catalytic functionalization of C-H bonds, an ubiquitous motif in organic molecules, represents a paradigm shift in the standard logic of organic synthesis. One of the major challenges to render this approach synthetically useful is to control the site-selectivity because most organic molecules exhibit several similar aliphatic C-H bonds. The functionalization of aliphatic C-H bond mediated by photoredox catalysis is a highly active field of research. To date, state-of-the-art site-selective methods in this field rely on substrate control which are inherently restricted to the functionalization of a single C-H bond within the substrate backbone. The innovative aspect of this research program is to target catalyst control to allow the site-selective functionalization of several different C-H bonds of a single substrate. Through this approach, we wish to go beyond the challenging problem of site-selectivity to enable site-divergent functionalizations. Such a breakthrough would provide a new tool for a flexible and streamlined access to molecular complexity from chemical feedstocks. To achieve our objectives, we plan to develop novel bifunctional catalysts incorporating one moiety able to engage into dynamic non-covalent interactions with the substrate and another functional group able to perform Hydrogen Atom Transfer (HAT) processes. These two functional groups are connected by an inert spacer which will position the HAT unit in proximity to a particular C-H bond of the substrate, thus controlling site-selectivity for the C-H activation event. By varying the nature of the spacer, we expect to selectively functionalize several different positions of linear alkyl chains possessing almost undistinguishable methylene C-H bonds. Overall, BICACH aims at using simple bifunctional organocatalysts and light energy to trigger highly challenging C-H functionalization processes. In addition, it offers a unique training to the ER with broad future research perspectives.

Mots clés : photoredox catalysis, bifunctional catalysis, c h functionalization

Participants :
- University of Regensburg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet Exoplanet Finder (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The direct detection of young and warm extrasolar giant planets in the habitable zone of nearby cool stars is one of the major goals of future ground-based high-contrast imaging (HCI) instruments. The motive is to study the physical and chemical properties of exoplanetary atmospheres and search for evidences of biosignatures. Direct imaging is the required technique to characterize exoplanets with spectroscopy of their atmospheres. However, the ability to resolve planet signal above bright stellar halo is still a challenge. A coronagraph is an optic, which suppresses the diffraction effects of the telescope by blocking the starlight but wavefront errors arising due to Earth’s atmospheric turbulence scatter starlight over the science region of interest and bury faint planet photons in stellar/speckle noise. Most of these errors are mitigated by the dedicated Extreme Adaptive Optics instruments. However, under the AO/ExAO WF residuals, imaging and characterizing exoplanets at small angles require achieving detection limit 10 to 100 times better than the state of the art. No existing ground-based HCI instruments have successfully disentangled the planet signals from stellar residuals at small angles. The proposal seek to develop and demonstrate wavefront sensing and control techniques that will enhance the planet detection sensitivity at small angles and will aid the existing HCI instruments in directly imaging young Jovian-like exoplanets at small angles around nearby stars. This research proposal will also enable next generation of exoplanets characterization instruments with the European Extremely Large Telescope to perform low resolution spectroscopy of Neptune or Super-Earth exoplanets in the HZ of low mass stars (for example M-type).

Mots clés : extreme adaptive optics instrumentation, wavefront sensing, ground based high contrast imaging of extrasolar planets, coronagraphy, speckle suppression techniques

Participants :
- Observatoire de Paris (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet DEFCOMANT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The discovery of antibiotics is one of the greatest achievements in human medicine. However, the introduction and overuse of antibiotics led towards selection of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens that are one of the major concerns of modern medicine. Novel antibiotic classes are the most promising way to overcome current antibiotic resistance. To achieve this goal, antibacterial drug development is re-focused once again on natural products, especially by sourcing not-yet-explored or underexplored environments that represent a rich source of potentially bioactive microorganisms. One of such unique and intact environments is Antarctica with surprisingly high microbial biodiversity. The Antarctic soil microbiome has been proven as a rich reservoir of biosynthetically active bacteria with potential to produce novel antimicrobial molecules. However, simple exploration for antimicrobials among isolated microorganisms has its limitation, one of which is supressed expression of biosynthetic genes in laboratory conditions. The aim of the proposed project is to search for antimicrobial metabolites among unique Antarctic isolates and to streamline the process through a novel approach. Biosynthetic potential of isolates will be firstly characterized through genomics to identify the most promising strains. Afterwards, a novel tool, co-cultivation combined with high advanced omics methods will be implemented to design and grow well-defined microbial communities. Mutual microbial interactions in communities will stimulate metabolic activities of individual strains and expression of otherwise ‘silent’ genes resulting in production of various compounds, some of which may express antimicrobial activities. This project will result in establishment of the first defined Antarctic microbiotas and access their full biosynthetic potential to produce bioactive compounds, especially those active against the most critical multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in human healthcare.

Mots clés : antimicrobial compunds, natural drug research, antarctica, microbial communities, consortia, microbiome, multidrug resistant pathogens

Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174167.04 €
Projet MISFIT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The discovery of sulfur mass-independent isotopic fractionation (S-MIF) in Archean rocks older than 2.4 billion years and in stratospheric sulfate from explosive volcanic eruptions provides unique constraints on fundamental questions regarding the late oxygenation of the atmosphere, the shift from an anaerobic to aerobic environment for life, and the reconstruction of the impact of volcanic eruptions on atmospheric oxidizing capacity and climate, respectively. However, recent controversy has emerged regarding the origin of S-MIF and there is no general consensus of it. This project will explore potential processes responsible for S-MIF signals in atmospheric sulfate by using a new set of chamber experiments on SO2-oxidation related production of S-MIF, considering environmental conditions as close as possible to those of the stratosphere and the presupposed Archean atmosphere. A S-MIF isotope scheme will be developed and incorporated together with the Oxygen-MIF isotope scheme into a global 3-D chemical transport model. The model will be used to investigate the magnitude and direction of the multiple sulfur and oxygen isotope signals produced in atmospheric sulfate, strengthening the ground on which the MIF isotopic markers are used to infer information on the climate evolution of our planet. This project capitalizes the host's knowledge and experience in theory and application of MIF, method development for MIF analysis and photolysis experiments on MIF, the fellow's experience in MIF analysis, method development and chemical modeling, and the research facilities in host and secondment institutes. The fellow will gain S-MIF knowledge, new experimental skills, and strengthened state-of-the-art modeling skill. Such new knowledge and skills will significantly add to the fellow's career development. The bidirectional transfer of knowledge will diversify the fellow and the host's competence and constitute a key ingredient in pursuing the goals of this project.

Mots clés : mass independent fractionation, sulfur isotopes, oxygen isotopes

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet NP4theLHC14 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN marks the beginning of a new era in particle physics. After an impressive forty-year search that has ended making Europe the undisputed leader in particle physics, the finding of the long-sought particle offers us the unique possibility of start testing the origin of the electroweak symmetry breaking. In particular, this means that we could be closer than ever to understand some extremely important unsolved puzzles in particle physics, like the large hierarchy between the electroweak and the Planck scales or the origin of fermion masses. Models of composite Higgs are certainly among the best motivated and attractive scenarios trying to address these issues. They also occupy a prominent place in the forefront of theoretical physics, being the object of study of a large community of particle physicists. In this proposal I present an innovative and compelling scenario within this framework where composite leptons, motivated by minimal implementations of leptons featuring a seesaw mechanism of type-III, can partially or fully replace the usual role of the top quark as a trigger of electroweak symmetry breaking without including any anomalously light partner. The presence of custodial symmetry, customary in realistic incarnations of composite Higgs models, ensures that the required sizable degree of compositeness of the right-handed charged leptons is in complete agreement with electroweak precision measurements. These new scenarios offer a beautiful bridge between flavor, neutrino physics and Higgs physics. Throughout this proposal I develop the main objectives and goals of the research proposed, namely, the precise study of lepton flavor constraints in realistic holographic realizations of these models, the study of their implications on Higgs physics, the possible constraints coming from loop corrections to precision observables, their experimental probes at the LHC as well as the possible relation with Dark Matter.

Mots clés : composite higgs models, models with warped extra dimensions, beyond the standard model phenomenology, higgs physics, neutrino physics, flavor

Participants :
- European Organization for Nuclear Research (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 187419.6 €
Projet MELCA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The divergent selective pressures experienced by females and males often lead to the evolution of dramatic morphological, physiological and behavioural differences. Social insects hold a special place for understanding the evolution of phenotypic differences, because one sex at least is subdivided into morphologically distinct reproductive and non-reproductive (worker) castes. This research program will investigate the molecular mechanisms governing the evolution of sex (male vs female) and caste (queen vs worker) differences by studying the remarkable longhorn crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis. This species has evolved an unusual genetic system, whereby queen, male and worker phenotypes do not only result from gene expression differences, but also possess different genetic makeups. Under this system, the genomes of queens and males no longer recombine and evolve as separate entities similar to sex chromosomes. Queens are clones of their mother, males are clones of their father, and sterile workers are produced sexually through the union of queen and male genomes. The MELCA project proposes to take advantage of this double-clonal system to study how selection shapes the evolution and expression of genes involved in phenotypic differences. We will sequence the genomes and transcriptomes of double-clonal queens, males, and workers, and link patterns of gene expression with changes in rates of molecular evolution to test predictions regarding the nature of selection acting on genes involved in sex and caste differences. First, we will investigate the effects of the double-clonal system on patterns of sex-biased and allele-biased gene expression. Second, we will determine if this system leads to differences in rate of evolution for genes with sex or caste functions.

Mots clés : social insect, molecular evolution, gene expression, sex differences, caste, asexuality

Participants :
- University of Lausanne (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175419.6 €
Projet COMPLEXDYNAMICS-PHIM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The dynamics of infectious diseases are by nature non-linear and the understanding of such processes is mathematically difficult, demanding concepts from various fields of mathematics tackling biological questions for real life systems. To be descriptive and predictive, models try to include relevant information on the host-pathogen-vector interactions via the available empirical data. These models have shown rich dynamic structures, with bifurcations up to chaotic attractors able to describe large fluctuations observed in real world disease incidence data. In this project, the origin of the chaotic dynamics in multi-strain epidemiological models will be studied and the mechanisms needed to generate such complex behavior will be identified in basic models, disentangling it from external forcing such as seasonality for example. Multi-strain models will be extended, in collaboration with Prof. Andrea Pugliese (Trento University) providing his experience on vector dynamics, age and space-structured epidemic modeling. The dynamics of vaccine implementation and the control of vector populations, combined with the host-pathogen interactions, will be rigorously evaluated. The over-riding aim of this project is to develop the simplest models able to address specific public health questions, taking into account the chaotic behavior found in such systems, a challenging and new approach. The developed models will be investigated using innovative methods from dynamical systems theory and stochastic processes, including an ambitious and novel application of a recently developed technique for parameter estimation in such complex systems, a method called maximum likelihood iterated filtering including dynamic noise in likelihood functions for multi-strain dynamics. This proposal requires a highly interdisciplinary approach with results applied well beyond the state-of-the-art.

Mots clés : stochastic processes, chaos, multi strain dynamics, vaccine implementation, vector control, prediction, parameter estimation, lyapunov exponents, bayesian approach, bifurcation analysis

Participants :
- University of Trento (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet GLOSS-VIBE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The early medieval period is marked by constant interchange and multicultural relationships, and has significantly shaped Western intellectual history. During this time Irish scholars started to annotate texts, i.e. underlining, highlighting, glossing etc. – techniques that quickly spread across the European continent and are still used today. Gloss-ViBe will research the early medieval Celtic glossing tradition on the Venerable Bede’s De Temporum Ratione. Its main research question is: “Are vernacular glosses original compositions or translations from original Latin glosses?” The present project will investigate the Celtic and Latin glosses found in the manuscript Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Codex 15298 (olim Suppl. 2698) from different angles including methodology from the digital humanities, philology, linguistics and translational studies. Since there is a lack of comprehensive editions of early medieval glossed manuscripts, this study is a pioneering and challenging task. One of its main deliverables will be the first such comprehensive digital documentary edition. It will include the primary text and all the glosses and annotations found in the Vienna Bede. Because of the fragile nature of the manuscript and recent advances in digital humanities in conjecture with a simultaneously arising interest on how to annotate (digital) documents caused by the recent shift from paper to digital media, the proposed research is highly topical at this time. It offers insights into how information has been processed that can be directly applied to modern annotation systems. Additionally, researching the multicultural environment in which early medieval manuscripts were composed also has impact for understanding modern migration patterns, especially in a scholarly environment.

Mots clés : digital editions, early medieval glosses, multilingualism, language contact

Participants :
- University of Graz (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 174167.04 €