Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet PROTAG-8 (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the PROTAG-8 project, we aim to target galectin-8 by protein degradation using proteolysis targeting chimeras or shortly, PROTACs. Galectin-8 is a galactoside-binding lectin that exists as a soluble intracellular and extracellular receptor, with an extensive exchange between the membrane-bound and cytosolic forms. Its inhibitors are potential new anticancer drugs, but the affinity of classical galectin-8 inhibitors is in the low micromolar range, hardly sufficient for their use as drug molecules. The overarching aim of PROTAG-8 is to explore whether the PROTAC method can be implemented for galectin-8 and to answer the question of whether PROTACs offer advantages over classical selective galectin-8 ligands. Since PROTACs need only bind their targets with high selectivity and with an affinity high enough to stabilize the ternary complex between the protein of interest and the E3 ligase, the affinity in the micromolar range could be sufficient for their activity, unlike conventional ligands. The current state-of-the-art in the development of PROTACs focuses only on intracellular proteins, but galectin-8 exists as both an intracellular and extracellular protein. Based on this fact, we want to find out whether such a receptor, which occurs both in the cytosol and in the extracellular matrix, can be effectively targeted with PROTACS and its activity modulated. This scientific question will be tackled by a highly-qualified PhD Nives Hribernik with international experience in glycochemistry, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, and is expected to be an excellent springboard to her independent scientific career. The project proposal includes renowned principal investigators from two academic institutions: Prof. Dr. Marko Anderluh from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Prof. Dr. Ulf Nilsson and Prof. Derek Logan from Lund University (Sweden), giving the PROTAG-8 international and interdisciplinary background.

Mots clés : carbohydrate binding receptors, galectins, galectin 8, proteolysis targeting chimeras protacs

Participants :
- Université de Lund (Suède) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Ljubljana (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 155559.36 €
Projet ATTIC (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Despite numerous studies of liquid water, its molecular structure has not yet been fully resolved and understanding of its specific properties remains limited. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that interfacial water formed on surfaces of various synthetic materials tends to exhibit long-range order. Specifically, water exhibits unique physicochemical properties next to the super hydrophilic Nafion surface such as the exclusion of solutes and microspheres, higher refractive index and viscosity, absorption at 270 nm, and charge separation susceptible to incident electromagnetic energy. Ordered layers of water molecules have been also found next to biomolecules like proteins or DNA suggesting a dynamic interaction between matter and aqueous media based on hydrogen bonding or other electrostatic interactions. Simulation studies have also shown that water adjacent to graphene surfaces could build an extensive hydrogen bond network suggesting that water might be involved in the p–p interactions between aromatic groups. In the ATTIC project, the water layer built in the vicinity of various surfaces will be extensively investigated at a molecular level by employing dielectric, THZ and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The spectroscopic studies will be initially focused on Nafion and other hydrophilic surfaces and subsequently, the interactions of water with the aromatic groups of graphene will be explored. The last part of the project includes spectroscopic studies next to orthogonally synthesized styrene-based polymers that bear different functionalization to explore how alterations in the electronic density of aromatic groups affect the water dynamics and the overall self-assembly state of polymers in water. This project aims to bridge the gap between diverse experimental and theoretical works on unique water properties and to pave the way for the development of innovative water-based technologies.

Mots clés : structured water, hydrogen bonding network, hydrophilic surfaces, nafion, graphene, polymer self assembly, raft polymerization

Participants :
- FZU  Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 150438.72 €
- École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ASVA-CGR (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Structural variations are genomic alterations affecting portions of the chromosomes longer than 50 base pairs. These alterations are a main contributing factor to human diseases and different types of cancer. The main limitation of current approaches for the analysis of structural variations lies in their unreliability in characterizing these alterations in repetitive and hard-to-call regions of the genome. Structural variations falling in these regions can not be routinely detected and their significance is still unknown.  In this proposal, we aim to develop novel computational approaches to address the challenge of fully characterizing structural variations in these hard and still uninvestigated regions. By developing accurate tools for comprehensive detection of structural variations, we aim to increase our current knowledge of this class of genetic alterations. Moreover, by designing new benchmarking methodologies, we will provide a more accurate evaluation of our as well as other tools. This will also assist the development of new generations of tools able to accurately characterize structural variations that are currently unknown.  We will employ a multi-faceted strategy that is not limited to a single sequencing technology. By combining data coming from different sequencing technologies and ideas coming from alignment-based, assembly-based, mapping-free, and pangenomic-based approaches, we will be able to take a significant step towards the complete characterization and analysis of structural variations.  The development of new tools and the planned collaboration with biology-oriented research groups will enhance our understanding of the impact of structural variations on human health, diseases, and cancer and hence improve clinical diagnostics and pave the way for personalized medicine.

Mots clés : structural variations, sequence analysis, string algorithms, pangenomes, sequencing

Participants :
- Université Comenius de Bratislava (Slovaquie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 149219.52 €
Projet miRules (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are short regulatory RNA molecules which modulate the levels of RNA and proteins in cells. Understanding the role of miRNAs in health and disease is a field with high engagement in molecular biology and biomedicine, with over 50 000 scientific articles published in the past 5 years (PubMed search “microrna[MeSH Terms]”). However, predicting their molecular targets is still a major unsolved challenge, and the state-of-the-art bioinformatic solutions for this task remain far from perfect. First, the task requires an exceptionally high accuracy and precision, as it can be compared to looking for a few hundred needles in a haystack: a few hundred targets among hundreds of thousands of transcripts. Second, the true mechanism of target binding is still unknown, which necessitates the use of heuristic approaches - ones that seem to work often enough, but are not necessarily related to the way miRNAs actually find their targets. The aim of this project is to use bioinformatic methods to gain more knowledge about the mechanisms of miRNA-target interactions. We will approach this problem from several angles: 1) Using the deep learning methodology recently developed by the host group (miRBind), which reaches a single nucleotide resolution in its predictions; 2) Analyzing the interactions from an evolutionary perspective; 3) Developing a customized pairwise alignment algorithm combined with a dedicated statistical methodology. The Researcher will benefit from this project by gaining experience in the field of genomics in a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment.  In the future, the results of this project will enable creating knowledge-driven machine learning models for improved prediction of the molecular targets of miRNAs, which will facilitate the fundamental and applied research on the complex biology of these molecules.

Mots clés : microrna mirna mirna target interactions mti sequence alignment smith waterman mirna seed

Participants :
- Université de Malte (Malte) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189474.24 €
Projet PLASMAG (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This project will develop a new method for spatial manipulation of light by designing and validating assemblies of plasmonic nanostructures and fluorophores to advance visualization of densely packed biological structures and their dynamics. The visualization of densely packed biological structures is extremely challenging, yet crucial for understanding dynamic biological processes in virtually any context; light manipulation at the nanoscale using plasmonic nanoparticles has the potential to magnify nanoscopic sample structure while simultaneously enhancing the optical response beyond the capabilities of current super-resolution microscopy techniques. While the ability of metal nanostructures to enhance the response of fluorophores has been utilized for decades, we are still far from understanding the underlying mechanisms of plasmonic enhancement. To fully exploit the potential of this approach, we need to know how spectral overlap between the plasmonic nanoparticle and the absorption and emission channels of the fluorophore affects the coupling efficiency and spatial projection. To translate these effect into applications, we have to understand how the fluorophore-particle distance affects the far-field projection of the fluorophore. We will use self-assembled DNA, single-molecule localization microscopy, and finite difference time domain electromagnetic simulations to measure, describe and reconstruct sub-diffraction limited shifts in the projection of plasmon-coupled fluorophores. This will let us pave the way to the design of a magnifying device aimed at visualizing densely packed biological structures. Fundamental understanding of plasmonic coupling obtained in this project will be directly applicable in various fields of research by providing a tool for high-resolution visualization of molecular structures and their dynamics in the form of plasmonic assemblies, and enabling precise control over enhancement in fluorescence and Raman systems.

Mots clés : plasmonic enhancement, dna origami, metal nanoparticles, single molecule localization microscopy, spatial light manipulation

Participants :
- Czech Acad Sci J Heyrovský Inst Phys Chem (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Autres, subvention : 166278.72 €
Projet OCCUPOMICS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Archaeological site occupation time span estimates can take the form of quantitative and qualitative intervals. The former can use methods such as radiocarbon dating to obtain temporal calendar intervals that, in some cases, can be fairly precise. For the latter, broader temporal qualitative intervals can be inferred from the characterization of collected materials and artefacts, the identification of specific physical structures, or the type of burial practices. With the increasing incorporation of genomic analysis in archaeological studies where human remains are present, specifically to study population origins, admixture, and social organisation, radiocarbon dates are frequently obtained from the osteological materials being analysed. This allows for a better integration of the genomic, archaeological, and anthropological data, but also leads to an increased usage of finite and unique osteological material. To overcome this, it is theoretically possible to estimate site occupation interval spans using an intertwined matrix of genomic admixture intervals, and only a handful radiocarbon dates for calibration, if calendar dates are required. This project aims to use genomic admixture date estimation software, such as DATES, to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed methodology by using published data from hundreds of samples, and by producing a new genomic and radiocarbon dataset from a site in Portugal. The latter will allow subsampling and simulation analysis, which will be essential for statistical testing of a new open source bioinformatic analytical tool, named OCCUPOMICS, which would allow the user to quickly calculate site occupation intervals and calendar dates by inputting a genomic dataset and any related direct radiocarbon dates.This project, therefore, could lead to a decreased need of radiocarbon dates when site-wise genomic data is available, provide improved precision in dating sites, as well as saving unique osteological material and reducing costs.

Mots clés : ancient dna radiocarbon dating bioinformatics paleogenomics c14 admixture timing

Participants :
- Université de Coimbra (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172618.56 €
Projet ProBIOnCell (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The main goal of ProBIOnCell is to broaden my expertise by performing state-of-the-art scientific research in the fields of applied physics and cell biology by implementing functionalized AFM tips with natural and/or synthetic ionophores incorporated into biomimetic membranes, for electrochemically testing their ability to detect target ions in cellular cultures, so that to probe and localize cell membrane ion channels, gap-junction and focal adhesion on mouse primary cardiac fibroblast cells. Advancing the characterization of biological cells allows for a deeper understanding and modeling the physiological behavior of biological tissues, with huge potentials in biomedicine for improving the management of cardiovascular diseases and their treatment. From a personal perspective, this project contributes to my first international mobility, which is fundamental for unlocking new career perspectives towards a permanent research position and will be implemented at the National Institute of Materials Physics (NIMP) of Bucharest.  In order to achieve the main goal of ProBIOnCell some specific objectives are foreseen:  O1. Membrane synthesis and ionophores incorporation. Bilipid membranes, hydrogels and liposomes will be synthesized and the incorporation of ionophores investigated.  O2. Functionalization of electrodes and AFM tips. This objective involves the deposition or bottom-up construction of the membrane with embedded ionophores at the surface of electrodes and AFM tips.  O3. Development of suitable control healthy and pathological fibroblast cell cultures, test the membrane capacity for the detection of target ions by electrochemical methods in the absence and in the presence of inhibitory compounds, and localize ion channels, gap junctions, and focal adhesions by AFM.

Mots clés : applied physics, atomic force microcopy afm , cell receptors, ion channels, functionalization, ionophores, cell communication, biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics

Participants :
- Institutul national de cercetare dezvoltare pentru fizica materialelor (Roumanie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 149575.68 €
Projet PADMME (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an aggressive type of cancer of plasma cells where fast diagnosis and treatment monitoring is vital, especially given the overall low survival rate. Proteasome, a multi-catalytic complex essential in damaged protein degradation, has been recently established as a biomarker for MM, in which elevated levels have been observed in blood plasma of unhealthy individuals, as well as its impaired activity has been target for treatment alongside regular chemotherapy. PADMME addresses increasing contributions on proteasome electrochemical recognition and aims to develop novel interdisciplinary technologies translatable into POCT systems for MM care. For this, we propose the development of sensitive and selective dual-channel platforms comprising conductive polymeric fiber biosensors integrated on paper-based microfluidic supports to simultaneously detect quantity and specific activity of proteasome in blood plasma. Paper supports ensure disposability and ease of commercialization, whilst incorporation of microfluidic paths allows low sample volume requirements and in situ pre-treatment steps. Conductive polymeric fiber scaffolds provide increased signal resolution for the construction of biosensors, necessary for the recognition of low concentrations of the biomarker. Then, investigating proteasome at the dual-channel platform in drug-treated and untreated MM cell lines will demonstrate how changes in quantity and specific activity are specifically linked to the disease dynamics. The last step will comprise validation of the technology for analysis in blood plasma, technology able to improve overall monitoring of MM disease progression and therapeutic efficiency, crucial to overcome delays in treatment due to drug resistance complications. Training through research will allow me to refine my expertise, creativity and innovative potential on smart biosensor technologies translated into point-of-care testing devices for cancer care and drug assessment.

Mots clés : proteasome, biosensor, electrochemistry, bioelectrochemistry, biomarker, multiple myeloma, paper, microfluidic

Participants :
- Institutul national de cercetare dezvoltare pentru fizica materialelor (Roumanie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 133735.68 €
Projet Pattspin (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The collective behavior of magnetic particles in rotating fields opens challenging physical questions and suggests their role as model systems for nonlinear behavior in soft matter physics. Their non-equilibrium phase diagrams show a wide range of patterns. From the experimental perspective, the control by an external magnetic field of collective dynamics of particles with permanent dipoles, namely magnetic spinners, offers a promising route for applications such as chiral fluids, cargo transport, and targeted delivery. However, the full comprehensive understanding of pattern control of the magnetic-responsive aggregates remains challenging and it lacks a profound investigation, which is crucial for future applications. This proposal aims to investigate the pattern formation in systems of magnetic spinners by theoretical approaches, which are compared to experimental data, to find characteristic parameters and rules. Studies will make use, of particle-resolved computer simulations such as Langevin Dynamics Simulation, based on Langevin equations to investigate the interplay among magnetic, hydrodynamics, and lubrication interaction.

Mots clés : softmatter, molecular dynamics simulations, magnetic particles

Participants :
- Université de Lettonie (Lettonie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162499.2 €
Projet HEO4CAT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

High-entropy oxides (HEOs) are a new category of materials constituted of five or more elements that are randomly distributed in a single phase. Such materials can have better properties than conventional oxides, related to the lattice distortion and synergistic effects of the component. Due to this lattice distortion and the uneven electron-cloud distribution between the metals and the oxygen, HEOs can impact on different catalytic reactions, such as CO2 reduction, H2S removal and the degradation of pollutants. However, HEO testing and application in catalysis is an undeveloped field. The conventional photocatalysts, such as TiO2, are mainly used in slurry conditions (demanding a post-filtration step) and present a low quantum efficiency and low activity under visible light. Doping or co-doping of conventional catalysts can promote changes in the crystalline structure and improve the photocatalytic activity. Thus, the use of new, multi-element materials such as HEOs appears to be an excellent, innovative alternative to overcome these drawbacks. HEOs can be synthesised by the anodic oxidation of high-entropy alloys (HEAs), creating strongly attached nanostructures that do not need a filtration step, and with enhanced photocatalysts properties. Using this strategy, our ambition is to develop a new and highly efficient photocatalyst, which will contribute to a major step forward in catalysis. The produced materials will be fully characterised and the photocatalytic efficiency will be evaluated over the degradation of new pollutants present in water such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, hormones, microplastics, etc. and compared with conventional/commercial photocatalysts.

Mots clés : high entropy materials, anodization, nanotubes, nanostructures, photocatalysts

Participants :
- Institut Jožef Stefan (Slovénie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172763.98 €