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

Mental imagery is the ability of humans to visualize experiences or events in the mind. Mental imagery has recently successfully been applied as a therapeutic tool to treat dysfunctional cognitive processes underlying depression. Besides cognitive dysfunctions, people with depression also have difficulties in engaging in simple behavioural activities such as going outside or meeting friends. I argue that mental imagery can not only enhance cognitive aspects but also the behavioural problems people with depression face by drawing from established behavioural activation treatment principles. This central claim is founded in basic research showing that visualizing oneself engaging in a specific behaviour increases the chances of actually acting out this behaviour. The main research aim is to experimentally test the effects of mental imagery of approach behaviour on activity levels, mood and depressive symptoms in mildly depressed individuals. In an experimental study, participants will be randomized to a training condition or a control condition: the training consists of daily mental imagery of behavioural activities for 7 days and builds on previous ground-breaking work of researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge where I will conduct the study. By working closely together with the supervisor at the host institution, prof. Emily Holmes, the fellowship will enable me to gain new knowledge and to deepen my background and expertise in experimental research designs. I will further broaden my research supervision and management skills through participation in staff development courses offered by the MRC in Cambridge. This newly acquired transferrable knowledge will form the backbone of a future grant application that I will prepare in collaboration with the supervisor towards the end of the fellowship.

Mots clés : experimental psychology, clinical psychology, experimental psychopathology, mental imagery, behavioural activation, depressive symptoms, computerized depression treatment

Participants :
- UK Research and Innovation (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 122159.25 €
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 73295.55 €
Projet SUPREME (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Mercury emission into the environment is a globally relevant issue because exposure to mercury represents a significant threat to humans and biodiversity worldwide. Now more than ever, we need to understand how will exposure to mercury contamination affect life history traits of wildlife. SUPREME aims to investigate for the first time the consequences of mercury exposure in seabirds with a particular focus on physiological traits and susceptibility to viral diseases, a topic that clearly deserve further investigations given the dramatic rise in mercury contamination and the likely increase of infectious diseases occurrence in the years to come. The project aims to address two main objectives: i) assess to which extent mercury exposure causes physiological dysfunction and facilitates the manifestation of the disease and ii) determine whether mercury accumulation and viral disease accelerate telomere shortening. The existing high levels of mercury and the annual viral outbreaks that cause the mortality of almost all seabird chicks in the study site (a small island in French Guiana, South America) exploit an unprecedented opportunity to investigate a topic that remains largely unexplored. Not only SUPREME will combine the collection of longitudinal (within-individual variation over time) with experimental data, but will benefit from hundreds of blood samples (i.e. 413) collected by myself from 2015 to 2017. SUPREME has an extra value in terms of conservation because it will be carried out on a colony of Magnificent frigatebirds that is considered one of the most important of South America, acting as a genetic bridge among Brazilian and Caribbean colonies. Never has it been more crucial to liase with competent authorities to implement regulatory measures to limit mercury emission into the environment. SUPREME aims to also reach this objective by demonstrating the impact of environmental contaminants on wildlife health and by transferring the results to local authorities


Participants :
- Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet Cosmo Plasmas (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Merging galaxy clusters are among the most energetic events in the Universe. Their interaction generates shocks and turbulence in the ionised cluster medium, driving the amplification of magnetic fields and the acceleration of relativistic particles. This leads to the formation of large diffuse radio sources in some clusters. The next generation of radio telescopes, including the European LOFAR observatory, will revolutionize the field, unveiling a complex picture of these non-thermal processes in clusters. However we still lack numerical simulations to match the capabilities of these instruments. This roots in the complexity of models for MHD-turbulence and cosmic-rays poses challenging demands to simulators. Only recent advances in implementations at the outgoing host and by the applicant make these simulations now feasible. Hence this project aims to simulate non-thermal radio sources in galaxy clusters with unprecedented detail. The applicant will run the first Eulerian cosmological MHD simulation that resolves the MHD dynamo in clusters including a self-consistent treatment of cosmic-rays in the intra-cluster-medium. During the outgoing-phase, he will interact with leading experts in the simulation of cosmic ray acceleration and magnetic field amplification at the University of Minnesota. He will be trained in the optimization of grid methods for MHD simulations and algorithms at Cray Inc, a leading vendor of super-computers. Upon return, the applicant will work with leading theorists and observers at the host to fully exploit his simulations. The comparison with LOFAR data and complementary observations will allow a leap forward in the understanding of the complex mechannisms opeating in the cluster medium. The project will establish the applicant as a leading numerical researcher in non-thermal cluster physics and a key figure in the interpretation of radio data. Moreover, the results will directly benefit the European radio astronomical community.

Mots clés : galaxy clusters, cosmology, particle acceleration, shocks, turbulence, non thermal radiation

Participants :
- National Institute for Astrophysics (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 244269.0 €
- University of Minnesota System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MDCRC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metabolic reprogramming has recently emerged as a key hallmark of cancer. Despite many efforts made to identify metabolic properties of cancer cells, there is a complete lack of understanding of the specific steps in the tumorigenic process when this metabolic rewiring occurs and its biological consequences. In this regard, our previous work has revealed a critical role of glucose metabolism in driving tumor initiation, in particular in the intestine. Importantly, recent studies have demonstrated that intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are the cell of origin of colorectal cancer (CRC), and our preliminary data suggests that glucose metabolism could be important for ISC activity. Based on these findings, we propose to study the specific metabolic properties of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and its relevance in stem cell dynamics and CRC initiation and progression. Specifically, we will develop three aims: 1. To analyze the role of metabolic reprogramming in ISCs and its contribution to CRC by employing a combination of genetic, metabolic and imaging techniques. 2. To study the metabolic evolution of CRC. In this aim, by using patient-derived xenografts and intestinal organoids expressing a genetically encoded metabolic reporter, we will analyze glucose metabolism in vivo at a single cell level to define step-wise the role of metabolic reprogramming in CRC progression. All together, the successful completion of this proposal will identify the specific cells and steps during CRC where glucose metabolism is functionally relevant and the underlying molecular mechanisms, thus expanding our view of metabolic reprogramming beyond the idea of being just an adaptation to increased proliferation. Importantly, the results derived from this project could potentially be used to improve current therapies by targeting specific metabolic pathways.

Mots clés : colorectal cancer, metabolic reprogramming, intestinal stem cells, tumor initiating cells, intravital imaging

Participants :
- Candiolo Cancer Institute (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet METLINK (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metabolism is crucial for cellular survival. The large amount of evidence covering metabolic entries is mainly about the enzymatic processes and single reactions happening within the metabolic map, but there is poorer understanding of the cellular growth signaling network and regulation around metabolism. With METLINK we aim at identifying new and previously undiscovered selective links between metabolic genes and cellular growth pro-survival mechanisms. The hits will be identified with the use of a pooled libraries of CRISPR/Cas9 lentiviral vectors against metabolic genes and cell cycle/ cancer genes. The metabolic library targets will be divided into sub-pools (carbohydrate metabolism: 245; inositol metabolism and lipid metabolism: 571; tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, respiratory chain, integration energy metabolism: 240; nucleotide metabolism, vitamin synthesis and biological oxidations: 361; amino acid metabolism and protein processing: 667; others: 355) and therefore be amenable to medium-throughput screening and selected metabolic processes interrogation. The cancer/cell cycle genes target will be approximately 500 genes. The screening will be initially performed on the human fibroblasts BJ and IMR90, easier to genetically modify, and later validated in other relevant cancer cell line. This will result in the identification of new Achilles’ heels in cancer within metabolism and propose new druggable targets. They will be validated and screened with a library of compounds actually present at SciLifeLab within Karolinska Institute. Lately this proposal will elucidate potential links between oncogenes or cellular growth genes and metabolic genes providing new avenues for treatment within metabolic reactions.

Mots clés : cell cycle, crispr, cas9, synthetic lethality, metabolomics

Participants :
- Karolinska Institutet (Suède) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet ProgLMMsDyn (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metamaterials have gained importance across disciplines, owing to their superior and tailorable characteristics and performance. Alongside classic metamaterials with optimal properties such as customised stiffness, density, wave dispersion, and energy absorption, reconfigurable metamaterials have recently begun to attract attention. Reconfigurability can be achieved by interconnected multistable elements that possess more than one stable state. Controlled and cooperative switching of large arrays of such multistable elements leads to dynamic transition events of interest for applications ranging from haptic interfaces and morphing surfaces in 2D to shape-morphing and deployable structures in 3D. This research will focus on a new class of locally multistable 2D metamaterials of great potential for haptics (capable of conveying static and dynamic tactile sensations), while providing the general theoretical basis and new physics for a myriad of applications in both 2D and 3D. We consider multistable systems with unprecedented numbers of stable equilibria, leading to highly complex transitional behaviour beyond what has been studied so far and beyond what is tractable by available theories. This calls for new theoretical modelling, simulation tools, and experimental prototyping for validation, which lay the foundations for the main goal of producing a novel interactive haptic interface. The research is divided into three stages. The first is model development and system identification to facilitate theoretical and efficient numerical descriptions of the system to be experimentally investigated. The next stage uses machine-learning to identify target reconfiguration (both static and dynamic) utilising minimal actuation. The final stage estimates the loads introduced into the system using an asymptotic solution of the system’s dynamics. These constitute a step forward in the research of reconfigurable metamaterials and serve as a basis for countless applications.

Mots clés : programmable metamaterials, reconfigurable metamaterials, local multistability, system identification, underactuated systems, nonlinear dynamics, reduced order modelling, transitional waves

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet EMMA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metaphor and metonymy are key tools in communication, particularly when abstract ideas or emotions are discussed. While extant literature addresses metaphor in language and images, little has dealt with the combination of metaphor and metonymy in the multimodal context of advertising, where they play a key role. The EMMA fellowship aims to redress this by testing figurative complexity and emotions, the impact of these on comprehension, accuracy of interpretation and advertising effectiveness. It involves an interdisciplinary study that combines cognitive and physiological psychology with linguistic and marketing interpretations. A mixed-methods approach of lab experiments and qualitative inquiry will assess the speed and depth of comprehension, the perceived appeal, and the physiological effect of static and video advertisements on participants from three linguistic and cultural backgrounds (English, Spanish, and Chinese). If advertisers, charities and NGOs target, and are sensitive to, linguistic and cultural differences in metaphors, local and international communities can benefit from specific, appropriate and ethical advertising. The fellow will benefit from involvement in a cutting-edge study and secondments both at a leading research institute in The Netherlands an two advertising companies in Spain.


Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet MS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metastasis is the primary cause of cancer deaths. For most cancers, the identification and the mechanisms by which the metastatic initiating cells (MICs) successfully establish a secondary tumour at a distant site from their primary tumour remains elusive (1). New animal models are needed to better understand the clonal dynamic and molecular mechanisms guiding different steps of the metastatic cascades in vivo, given the tremendous heterogeneity of tumours (2-7) and the limited capacity to trace multiple genetic clones in parallel with the traditional reporter mice (8). This will aid the design of new methods for early diagnosis and the monitoring of patients with metastasis, as well as the development of new strategies that target or prevent metastasis. In this project, I will use clonal lineage tracing with Poly-Lox reporter that enables tracing of over 200’000 clones (9) and confetti reporter (10) combined with single cell transcriptional profiling in order to define the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the metastatic cascade in vivo in two different mouse models of squamous cell carcinoma and breast tumour. With the immunostaining, FACS and single cell sequencing analyses I will study the role of various fibroblast sub-populations in affecting the extravasion and establishment of tumour cells at the site of metastasis.

Mots clés : metastasis, cancer, dna barcoding

Participants :
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 3024.76 €
- University of Basel (Suisse) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 97624.31 €
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 77670.93 €
Projet birdGRC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Metazoans typically keep the same genetic information in all body cells over their life cycle. However, some organisms show exceptions to this rule through programmed DNA elimination from the somatic cell line, as it is the case of the puzzling germline-restricted chromosome (GRC) in songbirds. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the GRC is likely present in over half of all bird species and that the zebra finch GRC is enriched in developmental genes. The latter constitutes a novel mechanism for germline-specific gene expression in multicellular organisms, which is of significant relevance to fields as genomics, developmental biology, ecology or even cancer research. However, it remains mysterious how the GRC affects differential gene expression between tissues, the genomic divergence between species, and the determination of cell fate between germline and soma. To elucidate this, we will first perform multiplatform sequencing and high-quality assembly of the GRC in the zebra finch. Then, by comparing somatic and germline genomes from many bird species to infer the evolutionary trajectories of the GRC, we will determine its most ancient and, therefore, important genes. Finally, we will perform a functional analysis to elucidate the role of these genes in primordial germ cells and the early transmission in embryos. Recent technological advances in sequencing, bioinformatics and developmental biology provide us now with a unique moment to perform the proposed multi-omics analyses. Successful and high-quality implementation will be ensured by the extensive experience of the fellow in cytogenetics and genomics of supernumerary chromosomes as well as in developmental biology in zebrafish. In addition, the host lab is expert in cutting-edge multiplatform genomics techniques and has a multidisciplinary network of collaborators, and the secondment partner is expert in experimental biology with zebra finch embryos and primordial germ cell cultures.

Mots clés : programmed dna elimination, zebra finch, germline restricted chromosome, cytogenomics, single molecule sequencing

Participants :
- University of East Anglia (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203852.16 €
- Uppsala University (Suède) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet 4lessCH4 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that can come from many sources, both natural and manmade. The low temperature direct route to converting methane to methanol (CH3OH) a key feedstock for the production of chemicals that can also fuel vehicles or be reformed to produce hydrogen has long been a holy grail. The efficient use of CH4 emissions require catalysts that can activate the first C-H bond while suppressing complete dehydrogenation and avoiding CO/CO2 formation. The potential benefit of finding non-expensive and efficient catalysts for directly converting methane to methanol (DMTM), using only molecular oxygen, and perhaps water, is significant and new catalysts are being sought. This project aims to the rational design of such catalysts based on non-noble metal nanoalloys/reducible oxide systems. There are key challenges to be addressed, namely, to improve reactants activation, to obtain an understanding of the reaction mechanism and to improve selectivity. Real powder catalysts are too complex to enable us to disentagle the effect of the nature of the metallic phase (composition, structure, nanoparticle size), the role of the oxidic support and of metal-support interactions, and the role of alloying and water in controlling selectivity. The strategy here consists of creating and investigating model systems, which include essential parts of the real ones, but can still be studied at the atomic level using state-of-the-art computational methodology in chemistry. Calculations will be performed in close collaboration with experimental work employing well-defined model systems as well as powders. The synergistic power of theory and experiment is crucial to design new or improved catalysts. Theory will not only be used to explain experimental data, but also for pre-screening the behavior of catalysts. The goal is to develop basic principles for the rational design and optimization of nano-structured catalysts for mitigating greenhouse gases.

Mots clés : computational chemistry, heterogeneous catalysts design, methane conversion, methanol reaction mechanisms, metal oxide chemistry, nanoparticles, nanoalloys, ceria, materials gap

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172932.48 €