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

In recent years creation of artificial matrices from relatively simple biomaterials that can support tumour growth in 3D is becoming an increasingly popular platform for recreating the tumour microenvironment (TME) in vitro since 3D cell culture models can more realistically reflect the in vivo TME compared with 2D monolayer cultures. In this project, we will design and fabricate novel hydrogel matrices comprising of hyaluronan crosslinked with collagen-like triple helical peptide amphiphiles (PAs). The novel HA-PA matrix will contain built-in cell adhesion sequence, HA-binding motif and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) cleavable sequences. We will characterise these 3D hydrogel matrices to support the encapsulation and culture of ovarian cancer cells. The MMP-assisted hydrogel degradation, migration and invasion of ovarian cancer will be studied on these models using advanced electron microscopic techniques and enzyme assays. In the final phase of our study we will characterise the inhibitory potency of a highly potent and selector inhibitor of MMP-2 and MMP-9 on this system. The findings from this study will have direct implications in understanding the mechanisms associated with ovarian cancer dissemination and the newly developed hydrogel matrix can find further use as a novel biomaterial in tissue engineering and as a 3D cell culture model in cancer drug discovery and delivery.

Mots clés : hyaluronan, helical peptides, self assembly, matrix metalloproteinases, matrix degradation, 3d models, cell culture, cell migration, tumor microenvironment, ovarian cancer

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet SoftNanoHybrid (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In recent years, co-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) into block copolymer (BCP) aggregates is emerging as an active field of research, which considers the formation of mixed aggregates that combine synergistically the NP/BCP components to generate novel properties for advanced functional materials and applications. When NPs have been incorporated into the BCP micellar aggregates, various physical parameters e.g. distribution, the content, orientation, and localization of NPs in the polymeric matrix are extremely important, which play decisive roles in determining the characteristics and applications of the NP/BCP nanohybrid. In this proposal, we aim to investigate the morphological transformations of selected model BCP micelles in the presence of magnetic NPs of different size, shape, concentration and surface functionalization. Simultaneous encapsulation of the drug molecules controlled by the NP distribution and loading will provide critical information on the correlation of drug release with the physical parameters characterizing the polymer nanohybrids. We will also examine how the distribution of NPs within co-assembled structures is correlated with the parameters characterising the polymers and NPs. The drug release kinetics for selected nanohybrid systems will be investigated to rationalize the correlation between precise control of NPs localization/drugs loading with the drug release profile. Doxorubicin (Anti-cancer drug) containing BCP-NP nanohybrid will be formulated by solvent assisted dispersion technique. The drug release kinetics will be investigated by dialysis against tris buffer (pH 7.4/5.0) at 37oC.

Mots clés : nanoparticle polymer co assemblie, self assembly, block copolymers, nanoparticles, responsive, assemblies, drug release, targeting

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

In recent years, nanomaterial-based various drug delivery carriers have been developed for the potential targeted cancer therapy. However, still the advanced study for optimization of size, shape, surface chemistry of the nanocarrier and observation of biological interaction and evaluation of such nanocarrier are not well-developed that limit their use for the efficient clinical applications. Therefore, superior understandings of the cellular interaction of the nanocarrier with different physicochemical properties are essential and challenging for improved the cancer treatments. In this project, we will focus on the optimization of different physicochemical properties of nanocarrier such as size, shape, surface chemistry and etc via investigation of its biological interaction and evaluation by a potent imaging technique. For this purpose, we will synthesize a library of efficient biodegradable drug delivery carrier periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (nanoPMOs) with controlled size and shape and then functionalized with different targeting ligands with the controlled number per nanoparticle for mannose-6-phosphate receptor over-expressed prostate cancer. Then we will study the nanoPMOs-prostate cancer cell interactions, internalization pathway and intracellular degradation of nanoPMOs through the stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM). We will further evaluate the drug delivery efficacy of nanoPMOs and toxicity mechanism of drug loaded nanoPMOs to support microscopic observation. Thus the result of this biological interaction and evaluation of nanoPMOs with different physicochemical properties via super-resolution microscope STORM will help to develop a novel drug delivery carrier for prostate cancer therapy with optimal properties for clinical applications.

Mots clés : organosilica nanoparticles, storm, drug delivery, targeting, prostate cancer

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 184707.84 €
Projet ChroSoDSB (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In stark contrast to common belief, cellular DNA is not de facto safe as it constantly encounters numerous perils. To keep chromosomal DNA intact and to prevent the onset of pathological conditions, such as cancer and premature ageing, which are driven by DNA damage-induced genomic instability, life has evolved appropriate protective mechanisms, collectively referred to as the DNA Damage Response (DDR). A vital branch of the DDR is the response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), arguably the most cytotoxic and mutagenic lesions. DSBs lead to the modification of their local chromatin environment to allow scaffolding of downstream protein factories, comprised of signalling, chromatin remodelling and DNA repair proteins. These DSB processing factories assemble in the context of chromatinised DNA, making chromatin architecture crucial for DSB restoration. Though our understanding of how chromatin status affects the DSB response has significantly progressed in recent years, we are only starting to identify factors regulating this intricate interplay. Moreover, current ways to induce DSB result in random, heterogeneous DNA damage, therefore not allowing the study of the DSB response in a specific chromatin compartment. In order to overcome this technical hurdle and to identify new regulators of DSB signalling and repair, I will use a powerful new method, combining the generation of limited, well-distributed DSBs, exclusively located in either euchromatin or heterochromatin, with specific purification of DSB-containing chromatin protein-complexes. Subsequently, I will select, validate and functionally characterise novel factors that have not yet been implicated in the DSB response, but behave similarly to known DSB-related proteins. By performing this multidisciplinary project, I will obtain new scientific and transferrable skills, thus taking a huge step towards true scientific independence and better career opportunities.

Mots clés : dna damage response  ddr, dna double strand breaks  dsb, dna repair, euchromatin, heterochromatin

Participants :
- University of Copenhagen (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 200194.8 €
Projet Super MagneFiQuE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In superconducting quantum electronics, or superquantronics, macroscopic degrees of freedom, like currents and voltages, can exist in a quantum mechanical superposition. This macroscopic quantum coherence has led to the development of circuits behaving as atoms. An exciting new field of research is circuit-based quantum electrodynamics (cQED), in which these artificial atoms are placed in cavities to perform quantum optics in the microwave regime. This cQED architecture is arguably the most promising platform for realizing a full-scale quantum computer. However, a major draw-back of the circuits used for cQED today, which contain aluminum films, is that superconductivity is lost upon applying strong magnetic fields. This limitation poses a fundamental obstacle to interfacing superquantronic circuits with other quantum systems that rely on these strong magnetic fields for their operation. By forming such hybrid systems, new technologies can be developed, such as long term quantum memories for superconducting qubits using highly coherent solid-state spin ensembles, or a topological quantum computer using Majorana Fermions. The goal of this proposal is to realize magnetic-field compatible superquantronic circuits for the cQED architecture. A promising new approach is to combine magnetic-field compatible superconducting materials with semiconducting nanowires to build new circuit elements. We plan to develop circuits using these new elements and demonstrate the coherent operation of an artificial atom in cQED in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The magnetic-field compatible superquantronic circuits we will develop, provide a unique platform to create and study new quantum devices. This fellowship, along with his previous research experience with a wide range of quantum systems, will allow the applicant to define new research directions in fundamental physics and experimental quantum information science, by developing new hybrid quantum systems.

Mots clés : superconducting qubits, josephson effect, quantum electronics, semiconducting nanowires

Participants :
- Delft University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260929.8 €
- Yale University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet INDILANGHISTCULT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the 1980s, in a context of growing indigenous political activism, the Maya in Chiapas began to write and publish their own history in their own languages for the first time since the conquest. Just a few years before, Maya hieroglyphic writing – the last ancient script to be deciphered by modern scholars – was decoded as a logo-phonetic writing system with significant similarities to present-day Maya languages. These intellectual innovations have opened the door to the development of new understandings of the Maya past and present and the decolonization of knowledge produced by and about Maya peoples. This project aims to develop new interpretations of contemporary Maya historical narratives in Chiapas by using the most recent scholarship on ancient Maya writing and literacy to analyze a selection of texts produced in Maya languages in Chiapas since the 1980s, and to consider how innovations in scientific understandings of the ancient Maya have impacted upon contemporary Maya historians and writers. It also aims to use qualitative interviewing methods in order to understand: first, the relationship between bi-lingual education, the development of new Maya historiographies, and political activism from the 1970s; and second, how the use of digital media by indigenous people in Chiapas has revolutionized communication, consciousness and inclusion amongst a new generation of Maya in the last 10-15 years. It will bring together modern historical and social science research perspectives and methods, archaeological, epigraphic and linguistic expertise, indigenous cultural and historical knowledge and technological awareness to develop new understandings of Chiapas's Maya peoples, and will thus constitute an original, innovative and cross-disciplinary contribution to studies of history, communication and consciousness amongst indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica and beyond.

Mots clés : mexico, chiapas, indigenous peoples, maya, mesoamerican history, indigenous social and political movements, maya languages and epigraphy

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

In the BOB project, the role of bacteriocins in shaping oral biofilms will be investigated by moving a Spanish researcher currently working in Ireland to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria primarily known as killer peptides, and producing bacteria protect themselves expressing dedicated immunity proteins. The rise of whole-genome sequencing has revealed the presence of a large number of incomplete bacteriocin gene clusters in bacteria, and specifically, the presence of unpaired bacteriocin immunity genes. Little is known about the social role of bacteriocins and immunity genes. By using state-of-the-art bioinformatics, advanced genetic engineering techniques, biofilm assays and microscopy, BOB will interrogate how these components involve in microbe-microbe interactions during the formation of oral biofilms. First, an in silico analysis will give an overview of bacteriocin associated genes in oral streptococci. By construction of isogenic mutants and fluorescence labelling of strains, a set of biofilms will be studied to explore the role of these genes in biofilm formation. Initially, a biofilm model will be optimized using a known bacteriocin-producer and biofilm-forming Streptococcus mutans. Further the significance of unpaired immunity bacteriocin genes both in a mono and a mixed streptococcal biofilms will be examined. To gain a deeper understanding of how bacteriocin and immunity genes are regulated in oral biofilms, transcriptional reporters and RNA-seq will be performed. During the project, I will receive high-quality training through research that will significantly improve and complement my scientific knowledge and provide a strong platform for building an independent research career. The knowledge and competencies gained will help me achieve professional maturity and prepare me for a role as an independent researcher in the field of microbiology.

Mots clés : bacteriocins, biofilms, antimicrobial peptides, oral infections

Participants :
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 202158.72 €
Projet INWELCHAV (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the European context of ongoing crises (economical, political and humanitarian), populist radical right parties have consolidated their presence in mainstream politics. These parties sharpened the debate concerning the future of the welfare state, arguing for a separation between the “natives” of the ethnic majority, as self-evident targets for full welfare provision, and those belonging to a generic “other”–wherein migrants, ethnic minorities, racialized groups, people with alternative lifestyles are lumped together. However, both studies of the populist radical right and welfare studies are missing an intersectional awareness to how such conceptual distinction is operated. Taking a decidedly interdisciplinary approach, the present project aims to explore and scrutinize in a comparative framework the populist radical right’s discursive (re)construction of cultural identities and the terms of national belonging at times of economic, political and societal crises across Europe, from an intersectional perspective. The project will combine political sociology, with a focus on welfare and populism studies, intersectionality, and critical discourse analysis. The project focuses on three cases: the Finns Party (PS/SF) in Finland, the Greater Romania Party (PRM) in Romania, and the Sweden Democrats in Sweden. The objectives are to provide an account of the communalities and differences in articulating national identity and welfare chauvinism in the chosen countries, and to map out how these are expressed within the common European institutional framework, namely in the European Parliament.

Mots clés : intersectionality, populist radical right, welfare chauvinism, european union, finland, romania, sweden, political sociology

Participants :
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172800.0 €
Projet IsImAg (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, the Egyptian goddess Isis was remarkably popular along with the deities related to her, such as Sarapis, Harpocrates and Anubis. Tens of thousands of objects, from a wide variety of contexts and periods, convey images that attest to the immense success of these cults. Both rich and coherent, this corpus of transcultural imagery provides an excellent laboratory for the study of the creation, use and perception of ancient figurative media, especially in terms of agency. Previous research on this religious iconography has only wielded a fragmented vision, paying little attention to contexts and media. However, these images can only be understood in relation to one another and as part of their sociocultural and religious networks. Since 2013, reconstituting this overview has been the aim of a Thesaurus whose catalogues gather all Isiac images for every kind of medium, highlighting the contextualised objects and questioning what they meant and did. The progress of this collective undertaking allows me now to present a research project crucial to many categories of historians working on visual (material) culture. By reconstituting the history of Isiac images throughout various types of production, the Thesaurus demonstrates how figurative systems were constantly interacting and evolving during Antiquity. It enables us to ask new questions on the creation, use and perception of these object-images from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective. The synthesis emerging will form a "historical grammar" revealing the functioning of this figurative culture and its impact on ancient societies. With the largest part of the Thesaurus now available, Leiden University provides the best current academic context for the more interpretative and synthesising parts of the research. By partaking in a more conceptual research culture, this experience will have a decisive impact on my scientific development and will open up numerous new perspectives.

Mots clés : classical world, hellenistic and imperial ages, visual culture, object images, polymorphy, polysemy, figurative systems, polytheisms, egyptian gods, isiac cults, agency, contexts

Participants :
- Leiden University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet BRAIN CAMO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the UK alone, those suffering from brain disorders is approximately 45 million and associated healthcare costs exceed 130 billion euros per year. Neural electronics for recording and stimulating brain activity have become invaluable tools to study and treat disorders such as epilepsy, depression, and Parkinson’s. Currently used neural probes often fail in chronic evaluations (>1 year); the stiffness and chemistry of probes induce inflammation, neuronal death, and fibrous capsule formation. When examining a neural probe, the vast majority of the surface area is comprised of the encapsulation material; an insulating polymer that shields electronics from tissue. To date, most studies of implantable electronics have utilized only bare insulation as the tissue-interfacing material, yet in long-term studies, these insulation materials degrade and crack from the in vivo environment and expose the underlying electronics. Furthermore, adherence of proteins and cells to insulation promotes the immune response against the probe. Therefore, introducing an effective barrier between insulation and tissue is a highly promising approach for improving probe biocompatibility and performance. In this proposal, the approach is to use water-immiscible liquids anchored to the surface by a gel to shield neural probes from surrounding tissue. The proposed strategy of these immobilized liquid coatings (ILCs) is applicable to all implantable electronics, including those for other tissues and those based on various materials (silicon, metal, and organics). This proposal will focus solely on organic probes, which can be flexible and have recently been shown to improve biocompatibility by the reducing the mechanical mismatch between probe and brain tissue. Therefore, applying ILCs to organic neural probes will advance the current state-of-the-art and will address chronic biocompatibility on multiple fronts.

Mots clés : bioelectronics, implantable electronics, neural probes, biocompatibility, organic electronics

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €