Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SLOHD (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

This project aims at tackling problems in statistical mechanics, with a primary focus on spin glasses, followed by an exploration of machine learning related questions. Spin glasses, initially studied in the 1980s using non-rigorous methods by theoretical physicists, revealed complex behaviours which were previously unknown: They conjectured that the phenomenon they depicted should be present in many more models such as neuronal networks. From a mathematical perspective, spin glasses are disordered systems where each "spin" can be seen as a random variable, interacting with others through a network of complex, often conflicting, interactions. Recent recognition in the field, with Giorgio Parisi winning the Nobel Prize in 2021 and Michel Talagrand receiving the Abel Prize in 2024, highlights the importance of spin glass studies. However, many questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding the mixed Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model: the phase transition between the high and the low-temperature regime is not known rigorously. One key objective of the fellowship is to explore this phase transition mainly through a dynamical approach by viewing the disorder in the Hamiltonian as different Brownian motions, with temperature playing the role of time. Beyond spin glasses, the project will also investigate neural networks (specifically, one-hidden-layer models with a large but finite number of neurons): the algorithms underlying their training are still not fully understood, and we aim to elucidate why, despite the non-convexity of their objective, do they converge to a desirable solution? Although spin glasses and machine learning may seem unrelated at first glance, it is believed that many probabilistic techniques from spin glass theory can be applied to understanding machine learning algorithms, especially in high-dimensional settings. By bridging these two areas, the fellowship aims to deepen our theoretical understanding of both domains.

Mots clés : spin glass, sherrington kirkpatrick, mean field, fluctuations, learning, stochastic gradient descent

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 242260.56 €
Projet NANO-PROTECT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The main objective of NANO-PROTECT is to develop innovative antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-biofilm (4A) nano-enabled coatings for medical textiles, upholstery fabrics, and personal protective equipment (PPE) which would be susceptible to pathogens contamination in hospitals. This proposal will focus on designing a pallet of antibiotic-free nanocomposites for coating medical textiles. Novel inorganic nanoparticles with broad antimicrobial activities comprising antibiotic-resistant strains and viruses will be fabricated. The designed nanoparticles will be used for fabricating nano-enabled inorganic/bio-based composites comprising different mechanisms of anti-biofilm and antimicrobial activities. The durability of the antimicrobial function will be monitored by visual indicators. Safer water-based sonochemistry, bio-based metal reduction, self-assembling, enzymatic crosslinking, and a combination thereof would be employed. Moreover, versatile high-precision technologies for nanometric coatings (spray coating, and ink-jet printing) will be tested with a lower quantity of NPs requirements. Further, single-step sonochemical fabrication and coating will be evaluated to make “ready-to-use” products with nano-structured antimicrobial surfaces. Therefore, NANO-PROTECT's nanotechnology-based solutions will provide environmental health safety for patients, visitors, and professionals.

Mots clés : nanocoatings, textiles, nanomaterials, healthcare associated infections

Participants :
- Université polytechnique de Catalogne (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet DeMOBilise (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Bladder cancer (BCa) is the 5th most common cancer in Europe, with an annual economic burden of €5 billion. Despite efforts aimed at early detection and targeted therapies, the development of metastatic BCa (5%) remains a major cause of mortality (patient survival rate of only 21 %). Recent evidence has strongly implicated a role of Bone Morphogenic Proteins (BMPs) in BCa progression. However, their regulation remains poorly understood and their role in metastatic BCa remains to be elucidated. Moreover, there is paucity of understanding regarding the gender disparity in BCa, whereby men are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed, compared to women, who have worse prognosis. DeMOBilise seeks to address this critical gap in the knowledge by investigating the synergistic role of sex steroids (SS) and BMPs in BCa bone metastasis. This will be achieved by using single cell multiomics and CRISPR gene editing, coupled with state-of-the-art Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technology and spatially resolved imaging of the bone perivascular niche within the OoC. This study will thereby investigate, at an unprecedented level of detail, the functional role of BMP signalling and its synergy with SS in BCa metastatic processes. I will spend 2 years at Columbia University (USA) expanding my skills in cancer models and single cell sequencing and also acquiring a new skillset in OoC fabrication. I will return to the University of Limerick (Ireland) and receive training in steroidogenesis, high-dimensional imaging and mass spectrometry. Additionally, I will have a 6-month Non-Academic Placement in the start-up company Hooke Bio, who specialize in the development and utilisation of high through-put microfluidic systems for 3D microtissue drug screening. I will be immersed within a multidisciplinary team with expertise in OoC fabrication, bone metastasis, and 3D cancer modelling that will support me in meeting my research/training objectives and prepare me for a career as an independent researcher.

Mots clés : bladder cancer, metastasis, bone perivascular niche, organ on a chip, sex steroids

Participants :
- Hooke bio ltd (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Limerick (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 328494.96 €
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet hTARGET (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) stands among the most common mechanisms for the emergence and persistence of Antibiotic Resistance (AR) in microbial communities, a major challenge in medicine and agriculture. While molecular mechanisms driving HGT are typically studied through in vitro co-cultures of two species, a donor and an acceptor species, HGT occurs in nature within microbial communities (such as the human gut microbiome) in which such two species interact with many others. Metagenomics has identified these ecological interactions as potential catalysts for HGT, yet direct experimental evidence remains lacking. This project aims to elucidate how ecological interactions drive HGT of AR genes in diverse bacterial communities by combining experiments and theoretical models. Recent experimental advances have enabled the ecological interrogation of highly diverse communities in vitro, while theoretical models, inspired by statistical physics, can disentangle the dominant ecological interactions and predict the community dynamics. I will use high-throughput, in vitro techniques to assemble hundreds of different synthetic communities in which we will measure the rates of HGT of AR genes, both in the presence and absence of antibiotic exposure. I will develop a novel theoretical model that incorporates species interactions, environmental context and HGT. Utilizing statistical physics tools, I will generate testable predictions capable of interpreting the experimental outcomes. The project aims to generate a novel, quantitative understanding of how ecology modulates the HGT of AR genes, bridging the gap between molecular mechanisms previously described in pairwise co-cultures and ecological trends inferred from metagenomics. This knowledge will not only lead to the development of a theoretical framework integrating community ecology and HGT but also has the potential to indicate new strategies for addressing the global antibiotic resistance crisis.

Mots clés : antibiotic resistance, horizontal gene transfer, community ecology, eco evolution, plasmid

Participants :
- Université de Vienne (Autriche) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet IDEA4Sun (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

This project aims to develop advanced materials solutions for next generation solar energy harvesting systems: Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technologies, generating heat, can be combined with Photovoltaic (PV), generating low-cost electricity, in compact hybrid PV-CST systems where PV cells replace mirrors on the concentrators. This type of system will maintain current solar electricity production costs while adding simultaneous heat generation for various end users (residential, commercial, industrial), including the option of thermal storage to address solar intermittency and enable on-demand electricity and heat production. For this application, innovative spectrally selective surfaces are necessary, especially “PV mirrors” splitting the solar spectrum, transparent towards the underlying PV cells and reflective towards the thermal absorbers placed at the focus of the concentrators. Highly absorbing, low emissive solar selective coatings adapted to the truncated solar spectrum are also needed for the thermal absorbers. In this project, these selective surface properties will be achieved by developing efficient multilayered thin film architectures. The latter will first be designed by numerical simulations using advanced optimization methods, using in-house SolPOC open source code. Efforts will be put on reducing environmental impacts, by selecting sustainable materials and minimizing development time and cost through extensive optical simulation. The best solutions will be synthesized by vacuum sputtering deposition to validate the coatings feasibility. Thermo-optical characterizations will validate their performance. Comparisons with simulated optical behavior will validate the design methods, providing a reliable and free tool for developing optical surfaces and solar, accessible to all. Doing thus, the researcher will acquire new experimental skills and increase his employability, while applying his own extensive expertise to fulfill our goals.

Mots clés : solar, pv, concentrated solar thermal, optical coatings, plasma deposition

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet HERMES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

HERMES aims to develop more effective strategies that increase our understanding of the brain in health and disease.  The ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study brain fluids noninvasively offers a unique opportunity for revealing how cerebrospinal fluid promotes waste clearance from the brain. Perivascular spaces are key structures involved in this process. They are gaps surrounding small blood vessels along which cerebrospinal fluid can move. A comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and function of perivascular spaces is lacking, but it could ultimately uncover important mechanisms of brain disease and lead to novel treatments harnessing cerebrospinal fluid movement for drug delivery to the brain.  Building on my expertise in structural MRI and my proposed supervisor’s expertise in functional MRI coupled with supplemental gas inhalation, I will use MRI to track oxygen movements in brain fluids, thus developing inhaled oxygen as an image contrast agent for perivascular spaces. I will characterise the anatomy and function of perivascular spaces in a healthy population from 20 to 60 years old. Then, leveraging my proposed clinical co-supervisor’s expertise in neuroinflammation, I will investigate the role of impaired perivascular space function in multiple sclerosis, the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults, affecting more than 700,000 people in Europe.  During this fellowship, I will deepen my scientific expertise by learning how to conduct MRI experiments with multiple image contrasts and supplemental oxygen. The training provided by my supervisors, the scientific and transferable skills provided by the fellowship and the excellence of the host institution will all be essential to deliver the goals of this project. Ultimately, HERMES will help me to establish my own research group and create a long-term impact by sharing my expertise with academic and industrial partners.

Mots clés : magnetic resonance imaging cerebrospinal fluid perivascular spaces multiple sclerosis gas challenge brain neurological disease functional mri

Participants :
- Université Gabriele d'Annunzio de Chieti-Pescara (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172874.24 €
Projet DEPT2D (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Noble gases are governed by the weak and well-understood van der Waals interaction which makes them an excellent model system for different physical phenomena. Condensed noble gases on surfaces at cryogenic temperatures were the first experimental examples of 2D systems back in the 1960s. By encapsulating them between graphene and a substrate in the 2010s, these structures could also be studied at elevated temperatures via STM. However, here the encapsulation layer often obscures the arrangement of trapped atoms. I recently showed that by trapping noble gases between two graphene layers, the atoms can be observed directly via transmission electron microscopy (Längle et al. 2024, Nature Materials). This provides direct insight into the atomic arrangement and dynamics of this system with surprising properties:  * Anomalous diffusion governed by defects in the encapsulating membrane was observed, mimicking diffusion through a 2D glass. * Clusters become more fluid when they grow, contrary to what is expected in nanomaterials. * For small clusters, the atomic arrangement deviates from the close-packed hexagonal structure indicating deviations from the assumed isotropic van der Waals interaction.  In this project, I will track the structure of 2D noble gas clusters in time and space using a laser pump-probe setup in a scanning transmission electron microscope, which provides atomic-scale imaging with nanosecond temporal resolution. With this, I will study the diffusion, atomic arrangement, orientational order, symmetry breaking, and phase transitions of 2D clusters as a function of size, temperature, and pressure. Additionally, the bonding, electronic structure and band gap of these clusters under the same conditions will be probed by monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy.  This will contribute to the fundamental understanding of 2D physics with exciting possibilities for basic condensed-matter research opening avenues toward other 2D confined systems.

Mots clés : 2d confined clusters, atomic dynamics, phase transition, electron spectroscopies, electron microscopy, time resolved spectroscopy, out of equilibrium spectroscopy

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet FerOtChee (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The production of high-quality plant protein as sustainable alternative for animal proteins is an immediate requirement for the EU population. FerOtChee is a multidisciplinary project that focuses on the development of fermented plant-based Mozzarella-style cheese using oat protein. The challenges associated with the nutritional and technofunctional properties of oat protein will be addressed using innovative solutions: a) Blending: Oat protein will be partially replaced with pea protein as a complementary source. This approach has a potential to create protein hybrids with a balanced amino acid profile; b) Chemical modification: Enzymatic hydrolysis may improve the technofunctional properties of oat protein. It can also lead to the generation of lower molecular weight peptides with health-promoting effects; and c) Microbial fermentation: This will be the main strategy employed in FerOtChee to enhance the nutritional quality of oat protein. During submerged fermentation, microbial strains will be cultivated individually or in a co-cultivation setup using an oat-enriched protein substrate. Microbial enzymes e.g., proteolytic, cell-wall degrading, and antinutritional factor (ANF)-degrading enzymes generated during fermentation will target issues like poor digestibility, low recovery, and high ANF content in oat protein. The oat cheese will undergo assessment for technofunctional properties, in vitro digestibility, biological activities and the level ANF. The optimised process, which results in the production of high-quality fermented cheese at the lab scale will be transferred to a food-grade pilot plant. The majority of this project will be carried out at UCD (main host). The Fellow will also engage in two secondments: 1) Scientific secondment at INRAe-Rennes for study of in vitro digestibility using INFOGEST; and 2) Industry placement at Tirlán to upscale the process. The Fellow will also undergo a training plan that encompasses scientific and transferrable skills.


Participants :
- Université de Limerick (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 249618.0 €
- Glanbia (Ireland) (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (France) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet URC-Hypoxia (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Hypoxia, the condition of inadequate oxygen availability, has profound implications for life on Earth. It contributes to biodiversity loss and is a key factor in many human diseases, including stroke and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, which are leading causes of death and disability in the EU. The URC-Hypoxia project aims to explore the molecular mechanisms that enable certain organisms, like the waxworm Galleria mellonella, to be resilient to hypoxia. By studying how these organisms survive hypoxia through the "Preparation for Oxidative Stress" (POS) adaptive response, the project seeks to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying POS. This knowledge might be relevant in finding biomarkers and putative target molecules to improve hypoxia-related human diseases. The project will test the hypothesis that early reactive oxygen species (ROS) production under hypoxia triggers redox-sensitive signaling pathways, leading to POS as part of the cellular stress response. This will be explored using transcriptomics, proteomics, and oxidative modification mapping techniques. Key objectives include: (1) Characterizing anoxia tolerance in Galleria mellonella and identifying key windows for redox signaling events; (2) Quantifying ROS production and pinpointing redox imbalance; (3) Identifying transcripts, gene networks, proteins, and oxidative modifications involved in the hypoxia response; and (4) Testing the feasibility of targeting these mechanisms to enhance hypoxia resilience in human cells. The methodology employs advanced tools like mass spectrometry, RNA sequencing, and imaging techniques, leveraging the host institution (i3S) specialized scientific platforms. The project is expected to provide new insights into the molecular basis of hypoxia tolerance, which could lead to innovative treatments for hypoxia-related diseases. It aligns with EU health priorities by addressing chronic disease management.

Mots clés : anoxia, free radicals, glutathione, hypoxia, ischemia, neurodegeneration, oxygen, oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, redox balance, stroke

Participants :
- Institut de Recherche et d’Innovation en Santé de l’Université de Porto (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 207183.12 €