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

Fungi are major components of the Earth's biosphere, playing a pivotal role as decomposers and recyclers of nutrients across different environments. However, fungal diversity and function in marine environments has been poorly studied, leading to a biased picture of fungal distribution. Latest studies indicated a distinct marine fungal diversity, including chytrids which can affect algae and zooplankton communities because of their parasitic lifestyle or function as food source. The project intends to investigate the importance of marine fungi in polar-regions, environments that promote the occurrence of endemism and thus the detection of novel species. WP1 aims to study marine fungal diversity and distribution and to provide novel and unique information on the influence of environmental variables on the biodiversity of fungi in these important and changing environments. Two hypotheses will be tested in this work package: firstly, are the fungi identified representative of 'bona-fide' marine lineages and not land-derived origin? Secondly, do fungi represent a higher diversity in marine polar waters compared to temperate and tropical waters? WP2 aims to elucidate the genes transcribed by polar fungi in these atypical and cold environments. This work will allow me to understand the biological characteristics of these fungi that underpin their diversity and distribution profiles by using comparative meta-transcriptomic analysis of environments rich in polar chytrid lineages. Once both work packages are brought together they will help to fill the gap in our understanding of the marine environment, providing important information on ecology of marine communities. Polar environments are undergoing unprecedented changes, it is therefore crucial to understand important components of the microbial community, specifically fungi. The combination of diversity analysis and reconstruction of biological function will uniquely allow for such progress.

Mots clés : illumina sequencing, meta barcode analysis, meta transcriptomic analysis, fungi, biodiversity, biogeography, arctic ocean, southern ocean

Participants :
- University of Exeter (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet FOUNDATION (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Fungi have a devastating impact on human nutrition and health. Each year, fungal pathogens provoke enormous agricultural losses in crop plants and contaminating food with harmful mycotoxins. The soil-borne fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum infects plant root and vascular tissue, causing wilt disease in over a hundred different crops, including both dicots and monocots. A particular aggressive strain of this pathogen, tropical race 4, is threatening banana plantations worldwide. Currently, there is little information on the crucial biotrophic infection stage of vascular pathogens, from penetration of root to colonization of xylem vessels. Fusarium provides an excellent model to investigate the cell-specific sensing and adaptation and suppression of plant immunity related to early infection stages. The host group has recently reported the chemotrophic sensing mechanism used by this pathogen, and identified host plant signals perceived by Fusarium in the soil. Moreover, their work revealed a combined action of enzymes involved in fungal cell wall remodelling and plant cell wall degradation which contributes in virulence of this pathogen. In this project, we aim to identify the cell-specific virulence genes that F. oxysporum uses to colonize a dicot host (Arabidopsis) versus monocot (Banana) that has a fundamentally distinct vascular tissue architecture. We will use dual RNA-Seq coupled with Laser capture microdissection (LCM) to identify core compatibility components in both the pathogen and the plant, that are essential for establishing wilt disease. This will lead to identification and characterization of potential targets in this interaction that could be used to develop novel resistance strategies in ongoing banana breeding efforts. This project will thus advance fundamental knowledge of how a fungus senses and colonizes such a broad host range, while creating new opportunities for crop protection by dissecting the interaction at a cell-type specific resolution.

Mots clés : pathogen, fusarium, cell specificity, defence modulation, compatibility

Participants :
- University of Córdoba (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet RANdOM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Autosomal monoallelic expression (MAE) is an epigenetic phenomenon that controls the relative expression of maternal and paternal alleles in thousands of mammalian genes. Despite MAE’s widespread character the molecular mechanisms involved in its establishment and maintenance are yet to be clarified. Recent work shows that the sets of genes subject to MAE are highly consistent across individuals and conserved between human and mouse species. I propose to test that such conservation is due to specific regulatory elements in the genome associated with MAE genes. The strategy to discover such elements is via a systematic analysis of differences in genome-wide MAE patterns. In the outgoing phase of the Fellowship, I will be based in DFCI under the supervision of Prof. A. Gimelbrant. There, I will experimentally map MAE patterns in mice with highly divergent genomic backgrounds and identify loci that consistently differ between strains in whether they are MAE. Using computational methods, I will then determine whether particular motifs are associated with such variable regions. I will further assess the role of the candidate regulatory elements using specific F1 crosses and targeted mutagenesis. The analysis in the mouse will be complemented by comparative analysis of human and chimp matched cells, in order to narrow down the candidate loci list and shed light on the evolution of MAE. Successful completion of this project will establish the first model of genetic control of MAE and open doors to progress in the mechanistic and developmental understanding of MAE. On return to the TCD, under the supervision of Prof. A. McLysaght, I will be the link between two laboratories with a diverse research focus that would not be collaborating unless in the context of this Fellowship. I will emerge from this collaborative work with new skills commensurate with a leading independent researcher in the EU.

Mots clés : random monoallelic expression, molecular evolution, mechanisms of gene expression

Participants :
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Trinity College Dublin (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 248063.4 €
Projet SUSTICOAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

BACKGROUND / NEED: There is a requirement to improve the sustainability of organic coatings by removal of materials hazardous to human health and by optimal use of raw materials and energy in manufacture and utilisation. AIM / OBJECTIVES: SUSTICOAT is a multidisciplinary project advancing understanding of how to improve the sustainability of organic coatings (paints) for corrosion protection to market applications. SUSTICOAT will make the connection between the scientific understanding and the production of real organic coatings, dealing with the complex issues that are involved in translating scientific concepts into new products. The objective of the project is to train 5 PhD students in both the innovation process required to go from scientific concept to commercial product and in a range of specific scientific skills: computational modelling, polymer synthesis, advanced characterisation, material science and chemical process engineering. TRAINING / RESEARCH: The training will be setup so that while each student will focus on a particular application area where they will be trained in the critical scientific skills they need, and with the other students they will have access through collaboration to a far wider range of expertise, such collaboration will be encouraged through the course of the project with specific training and opportunities to interact. SUSTICOAT by concentrating on realisation of scientific knowledge in real applications will give the students a unique set of skills in the translation of knowledge from academic to industrial use, this will be reinforced by appropriate academic and industrial training. IMPACT: SUSTICOAT combines the leading academic centre of corrosion science with the largest European manufacturer of corrosion protection coatings – providing world class science combined with market focus to address challenges with the most societal impact. SUSTICOAT will improve products and provide 5 skilled scientists to a €10b market.

Mots clés : organic coatings, formulation, applied research, prototyping, trl 4 7

Participants :
- Akzo nobel industrial coatings ab (Suède) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Manchester (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Akzo nobel coatings spa (Italie) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Akzo nobel car refinishes bv (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 1276871.4 €
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgique) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- AkzoNobel (Netherlands) (Pays-Bas) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
Projet BIOCLEAN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

BIOCLEAN addresses the urgent need to create a sustainable training network across academia, industry and the healthcare sector which will fill the gap in Europe and beyond to produce highly skilled multi-disciplinary young scientists competent in chemistry, engineering and experimental wet lab biology. BIOCLEAN will deliver this network of young scientists who can apply their proven skill sets gained during the project life time to solve industrial and healthcare sector real life biofilm management challenges.

Mots clés : biofilm, surface, characterisation

Participants :
- Fraunhofer Society (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 249216.48 €
- Procter & Gamble (Germany) (Allemagne) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 1290306.6 €
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 250560.0 €
- Procter & Gamble (Belgium) (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 250560.0 €
- University of Bristol (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 273287.88 €
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 273287.88 €
- AkzoNobel (United Kingdom) (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Procter & Gamble (United Kingdom) (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 273287.88 €
- Itram higiene sl (Espagne) — Partner, organization partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 501120.0 €
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 546575.76 €
Projet BIODEST (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Staff Exchanges
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

BIODEST (Synthesis, Characterization, Structure and Properties of Novel Biodegradable Polyesters) Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) project aims to strengthen around student and staff exchanges with the aim to improve skills and knowledge of the participating partners and promote collaboration between four European Research organizations: University of the Basque Country (Spain), University of Mons (Belgium), University of Genova (Italy), and University of Warwick (U.K.) and five non-EU Research Organizations: University of Tulane (USA), Chinese Academy of Science (China), Simon Bolivar University (Venezuela), University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), and Yamagata University (Japan). Moreover the non-academic European organization “Ma+D - Waste Valorization Engineering” will collaborate in the networking activities. The project will provide support for the participating research organizations to establish or reinforce long-term research cooperation in the topic of novel biodegradable polyesters through a coordinated joint programme of exchange of researchers for short periods.

Mots clés : biodegradable polyesters, biobased polymers, crystallization, morphological characterization

Participants :
- University of the Basque Country (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 539460.0 €
- University of Mons (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 226665.0 €
- Tulane University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
- Masd ingenieria de valorizacion de residuos de origen agroforestal (Espagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 88920.0 €
- Yamagata University (Japon) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Genoa (Italie) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 255555.0 €
- Institute of chemistry, chinese academy of sciences (Chine) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Stellenbosch University (Afrique du Sud) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 149400.0 €
Projet Back2theFuture (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Back2theFuture will develop a new research agenda on the perceptions of the future in the early modern Low Countries. A careful analysis of the semantics of expressions about the future will verify whether the future began to be perceived as malleable, a transition fundamental to the development of capitalism. This project goes beyond the research by intellectual and cultural historians who have focused on 1) the revolutionary eighteenth century; 2) the learned texts and philosophies of history written by the intelligentsia; 3) divination and magic; and 4) the long-term future namely eschatological expectations. If one agrees with the common opinion of social and economic historians that the Low Countries witnessed the early development of capitalism from the late medieval period onward, than it is necessary to look into the beliefs of more ordinary people prior to the eighteenth century. The project draws on a sizeable source collection of merchant correspondence, selected letters from the 'Prize Papers' and almanacs from the period 1500-1700. The texts will be close-read, expressions about the future will be selected and entered into a database which will include variables about the semantics and future horizons of these expressions. The project has three key outcomes: 1) a fuller understanding of people’s perception of the future and how they thought and wrote about it; 2) it can be (dis)proven whether a shift in thoughts and beliefs about the future interacted with nascent capitalism in the region; 3) a new methodology based on the integration of economic and cultural history and historical sociolinguistics which can be applied to other sources and other European regions. Back2theFuture is fully cross-disciplinary. The fellow will acquire a range of new skills, both scholarly and in management which will decisively improve the fellow’s academic and scientific career. Leiden University will benefit from both the project and the fellow’s expertise andnetwork.

Mots clés : future, low countries, early modern

Participants :
- Leiden University (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 177598.8 €
Projet ESSEVOL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Background: Coping with ever-changing conditions is a problem common to most living things. One solution that organisms have come up with is the evolution of systems that allow them to sense and respond to their surroundings. Despite being usually complex and costly to maintain, sensing devices are widespread throughout the Tree of Life, which has puzzled researchers for years. Theory has identified a number of scenarios that promote the emergence of environmental sensing systems. Yet, most aspects of their origin and evolution remain obscure; largely due to the practical difficulties of observing these processes in real time. Here I propose to fill this gap by combining experimental evolution with the Host Group's expertise on the molecular regulation of bacterial behaviour. Methodology: The plan is to couple sudden changes in growth conditions with arbitrary environmental cues (e.g., toxic metals) to select for bacteria capable of reading these cues and altering their behaviour accordingly. I will target a well-studied behaviour: motility, which plays a key role in nature allowing bacteria to find good conditions and move away from threats. Using this setting, I will test decades-long hypotheses about the genetic and ecological factors that shape the emergence of novel sensing systems. Later, I will exploit the power of new DNA sequencing techniques to work out how genetic changes drive the new behaviours. Impact: This research will shed light on how readily novel sensing systems can evolve, thus contributing to efforts to understand pressing issues such as the emergence of multi-drug resistance pathogens or the response of natural populations to the current global change. Outcomes could also help in the design of novel antimicrobial drugs and microbe-based reporters with applications in bioremediation (e.g., detection of contaminants), biotechnology (e.g. monitoring of industrial processes) and in Public Health (e.g., detection of pathogens in water supplies).

Mots clés : experimental evolution, bacterial signal transduction

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

Bacterial infections are a significant public health challenge and a major cause of human mortality globally. Antibiotics are indispensable for the treatment and prevention of infections caused by bacteria. However, global spread of drug-resistant bacteria, coupled with a dearth of new antibiotics in development has led to an alarming shortage of effective drugs. Gram-negative bacteria, in particular, protect themselves against antibiotics with a highly selective outer membrane. The high burden of diseases caused by Gram-negative bacteria, combined with their frequent multi-drug resistance has placed them as world´s highest-priority pathogens by the World Health Organization. Consequently, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches that combat Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The goal of "BacDrug" is to use lipid-based bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) produced by non-pathogenic Lactococcus lactis as delivery system. BMVs have great potential as nanocarriers to by-pass the outer membrane and deliver their toxic payload to kill drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. A range of strategies will be used to load BMVs with cargo, including genetic engineering of L. lactis as well as chemical treatments. This Fellowship will harness expertise and techniques across microbiology, molecular biology, nanotechnology and drug design to deliver a successful outcome. The collaborative, truly interdisciplinary, cross faculty setting within the groups of Prof Molly Stevens (materials and bioengineering) and Dr Andrew Edwards (molecular microbiology) at ICL combines world-class expertise and provides an environment to maximise the success of this Fellowship, both in terms of the delivering the project and the training opportunities provided. Moreover, this innovative, alternative strategy to tackle drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections has a high translational potential, which will be exploited via the clinical and translational research clinics at ICL.

Mots clés : bacterial membrane vesicles, multi drug resistant, gram negative bacteria, anti microbial resistant, drug design

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet BATTLE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Bacterial pathogens have evolved distinct ways of colonizing host cells and promote infection. Many human intestinal bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella and enteropathogenic/ enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli utilize type III secretion systems to deliver virulence effector proteins into the host to promote colonization and interfere with antimicrobial host response. Among the type III effectors, the NleB protein has been shown to be essential for virulence of enteric pathogens. NleB is a glycosyltransferase that has been shown to interact with host cell death-domain-containing proteins, GlcNAcylate a specific arginine on these and thereby inhibiting death receptor signalling and preventing host cell apoptosis. This proposal will 1) investigate how NleB specifically recognises the host death domains, 2) uncover the molecular mechanisms of arginine GlcNAcylation, 3) explain how death domain GlcNAcylation prevents the death domain from binding to its receptor, and 4) exploit this molecular information to generate bisubstrate inhibitors to interfere with this process.

Mots clés : bacterial virulence, arginine glcnacylation, apoptosis, signalling

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