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

A successful immune adaptation to pregnancy is essential to support mammalian reproductive fitness. Pregnancy presents a immunological dilemma where the maternal immune system must tolerate fetal antigens while maintaining its main protective functions. How the maternal immune system navigates these opposing demands and adapt to pregnancy remains largely unclear. This question is of importance at barrier sites such as the skin that represents a primary portal of infection and inflammatory disorders. Clinical observations support the idea that skin physiology and immunity are altered during pregnancy. Using experimental models, the host laboratory uncovered a remodeling of skin immunity during pregnancy associated with a significant increase in regulatory T cells and an altered dendritic cell network. The goal of our proposal is to understand how pregnancy impacts human skin with the ultimate goal to develop approaches to mitigate inflammatory responses during this critical stage. More specifically, this project aims at exploring how pregnancy impacts human skin immune landscape and putative function both at steady state and in the context of inflammation. This high dimensional analysis will be performed using high resolution transcriptomic technologies including single cell ATAC / RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. My expertise in these approaches will enable me to uncover underlying putative signalling pathways underlying immune cell changes and highlight pregnancy associated altered cell interactions. Candidate pathways will be validated using organoids mimicking pregnant skin. The generated data are expected to capture, for the first time, how the skin adapts to pregnancy. This work may provide fundamental insights into our understanding of maternal immunity and would potentially enable risk prediction and alleviation of inflammatory skin conditions that can appear or be exacerbated in pregnancy.

Mots clés : immunology, skin, pregnancy, single cell rna sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, organoids

Participants :
- Institut Pasteur (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226420.56 €
Projet RIETOM (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Bone and other hierarchically structured materials have unique mechanical properties, which are governed by the spatial arrangement of their nano-constituents. Their structure-mechanics relations can currently be determined down to ~10 µm using X-ray computed tomography. Below this, there is currently no method that can determine local anisotropy of its mechanical properties. This impedes state-of-the-art models from accurately predicting key macroscopic properties such as fracture behaviour. We propose in this project the development of a new method - Rietveld tomography - to determine local anisotropic macro- and micro-strain, based on a new way of analysing X-ray diffraction data that combines the properties of so-called X-ray tensor tomography and Rietveld refinement. The project will consist of the development of the mathematical formulation of Rietveld tomography in the environment of experts in this field at Aarhus Universitet, in particular supervisor Henrik Birkedal; combined with a stay at the secondment institution ESRF, where we will develop the experimental implementation of Rietveld tomography and validate the method. In the third part we will apply the method to osteonal bone and characterize its local response under mechanical load in situ. All that will be implemented and developed in the 24 months of the project, which compiles method development, data analysis strategy development and implementation, and experiments at large-scale synchrotron facilities. We expect that this study will (1) provide a new method to the research community to study not only biominerals but polycrystalline materials in general, linking for the first time hierarchical structure and texture in nanostructured composites. (2) It will lead to a quantum leap in our understanding of bone micromechanics with ensuing impact on bone micromechanical modelling with expected improvements in fracture prediction and ultimately clinical practice in e.g. osteoporosis management.

Mots clés : x ray imaging, computed tomography, rietveld refinement, tensor tomography, synchrotron radiation, biomechanics, bone

Participants :
- Université d'Aarhus (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 247553.28 €
- European synchrotron radiation facility (France) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet CLAIMAX (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Maximalist claims over territory and other goods abound in global politics, yet we lack a basic understanding of what makes a claim maximalist, what factors drive maximalist claims, and how they can be countered. While Russian claims concerning Ukraine’s foreign policy and territorial integrity as well as Chinese claims to the entirety of the South China Sea strike most citizens, analysts, and policymakers as maximalist, the conceptual distinctions between such claims and other, more ordinary claims have not been made in the international relations or law scholarships. Lacking a conceptual basis, we also do not know much about how to study the causes and consequences of maximalist claims. This project is a valuable first step in the direction of analytically rigorous and policy-relevant studies on excessive claims and ways to counter them. The proposed research defines maximalist claims as those that ostensibly go beyond the relevant rules of international law and claims made by other states. It aims to collect original data on all maximalist territorial and maritime claims in the post-World War II period. Bridging comparative politics and international security scholarship, it will formulate and test hypotheses linking domestic political institutions with the making and reception of maximalist claims. Moreover, it will seek to adduce experimental evidence to the mechanisms underlying perceptions of maximalism and formulation of appropriate responses. Throughout, the main objective of the project will be to understand how regime type influences interactions over maximalist claims involving both states and international organizations. This contribution is particularly timely given the rise of authoritarian regimes and authoritarian tendencies even in otherwise established democracies. Supported by robust communication and dissemination activities, these studies will advance the scholarship on multiple fronts and provide valuable input for policymaking processes.

Mots clés : international disputes, domestic institutions, foreign policy

Participants :
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 181152.96 €
Projet BantuAdapts (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The Bantu Expansion was a transformative human migration identified with linguistics that spread farming over much of Africa. There are competing theories to explain how Bantu people spread agriculture from their origin in Cameroun across one of the largest continental masses on Earth into regions inhospitable for farming, such as the Congolian forests and the Zambezian savannahs. Bantu people are thought to have adopted agriculture in the Sahel before undertaking a series of migrations through forest or savannah corridors, east of the Atlantic coastal forest and possibly along the coast, gradually bringing a stock-raising and crops to the entirety of Central Africa. Plant remains show the use of arboriculture (oil palm, Canarium), and savannah crops (cowpea and pearl millet), while later migrations incorporated sorghum, chicken, and cattle. However, forest crops such as banana, sugarcane, yams and taro (that came from southeast Asia) are the dominant foods in Central Africa today. However, it is unknown if these crops powered the Bantu Expansion. Africa was a heterogeneous landscape of forager-farmer-pastoralists interactions and some Bantu adaptations to the humid environments might be from pre-Bantu agriculturists, for example, use of southeast Asian crops. This project will investigate the prehistoric economy in two poorly explored areas of Central Africa, through reconstructing subsistence with plant microremains (phytoliths and starch) using sediment from archaeological sites along the envisaged migration routes in Central African Republic and Uganda. The resulting data will be combined with archaeological data, demographic parameters and geography to model these expansions and test hypothesised routes against linguistically inferred routes in savannah corridors and forest. These results will provide the first reconstruction of the early food producer economy, while modelling will assess the pathways of this transformative event.

Mots clés : phytoliths, bantu expansion, central african forest, sangha interval

Participants :
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 181152.96 €
Projet CAERUS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Disorders of consciousness (DoC) such as coma, and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, affect individuals, their families, and society. Every year, 2.5 million people suffer from DoC caused by traumatic brain injury, and up to 80% die from premature interruption of life-supporting therapies. It is estimated that 25% of these patients could be conscious even without observable behavioral responses. Medical practitioners today can use brain stimulation as a means to assess the presence of consciousness and facilitate recovery. However, the high variability in brain stimulation effects challenges effective diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The absence of guiding principles leaves us with empirical decisions about where, how, and when to stimulate. CAERUS is an innovative initiative that aims to enhance consciousness readout and rehabilitation strategies by designing a new and more controllable stimulation protocol. Synergizing my profile as a theoretical physicist and neuroscientist, with the excellence of the host supervisor Prof. Deco in the field of computational neuroscience, and the secondment supervisor Prof. Massimini in the neurophysiology of consciousness, CAERUS will bridge the gap between theory and bedside applications. By establishing a theory-driven approach, I will characterize the principal sources of variability of stimulus effects, and provide a blueprint for precisely identifying where, how, and when it is more convenient to stimulate. Exploiting the predictive power of advanced brain models, I will test in silico a circuit-level stimulation protocol, that is expected to significantly reduce the variability of stimulus effects. Finally, I will validate the enhanced controllability of the new stimulation protocol in experimental tests in the laboratory. CAERUS's interdisciplinary approach and cutting-edge technology will pave the way for a novel strategy to stimulate the brain, aiming to translate our findings into tangible clinical applications.

Mots clés : disorders of consciousness, consciousness readout, tms stimulation, state dependent brain stimulation, whole brain models, experimental validation

Participants :
- Université de Milan (Italie) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 194074.56 €
Projet MATERIALITIES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Legibility is at the center of intersectionality. It is common to find phrases such as “to make visible” certain forms of oppression as the main objective of intersectional studies. Its legal roots and inclusive potential lead to an increasing presence of the term and percolated human rights instruments. However, its use remains discursive and the attempts to operationalize the concept still replicate the “rights-bearing-subject” paradigm and hold on to identitarian categories. MATERIALITIES will contribute to materialize the “intersectional exposure” approaching visibility debates creatively by following a different strategy than that of creating the legal category of a subject in order to see them. Through new materialisms framings and using ethnographic approaches and vibrant audio-visual methods on four case studies from Argentina (1) and Spain (3), MATERIALITIES will consolidate a novel theoretical and operative framework about intersectionality in rights-based interventions in water conflicts. The trainings and transfers of knowledge focus on advocacy using creative activisms, innovative qualitative research methods, experiential or clinical teaching, networking and novel synergies, leadership and science communication skills. In addition, the guidance of Beatriz Rodriguez-Labajos, a leading scholar on the matter, at UPF, and Laia Forné Aguirre during a secondment at IDRA -a think-tank known for its strong links with grassroots organizations and experience in network practices- they all contribute to a project tailored for merging human rights advocacy and creative activism that will lead to an intersectional legal framework grounded on empirical approaches to water related conflicts and expanded by creative activisms. MATERIALITIES impact stands out for promoting debates that push for a more substantive translation of intersectionality into public policy reforms.

Mots clés : intersectionality, human rights, environmental justice, right to water, sociolegal studies, legal materialisms

Participants :
- Idra barcelona institute sccl (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 209914.56 €
Projet EXPLOTRANS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Low-qualified youth is a vulnerable group highly exposed to risks and the accumulation of disadvantages. Early school leaving and low qualifications, as stated by the European Commission, is linked to risk life outcomes such as unemployment, social exclusion or poor health. Consequently, these aspects are included in the European Pillars of Social Rights Action Plan 2030. EXPLOTRANS will produce new knowledge on the school-to-work transitions (STWT) of low-qualified young people in Spain and the impact the non-standard transitions have on subsequent labour market outcomes. From a holistic approach the project will overcome gaps and limitations of previous research. There is a gap in prior research on how specific STWT of low-qualified youth are related to labour market outcomes. Even more when looking at the analysis of the configuration of non-standard patterns considering individual characteristics such as gender, migration, and socioeconomic background. Why Spain as a case of study? 1) one of the highest early school leaving rates and the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe; 2) limited longitudinal and mixed-methods research on the topic, thus the research gap is wider than in other EU countries; 3) excellent case of study in terms of the weak vocational and training system (VET) and labour market; 4) the findings will facilitate future comparisons with other EU countries and contribute to develop relevant EU policies. Thus, using a mixed-methods approach and cutting-edge developments on sequence analysis, the project will provide new and evidence-based findings for academic, political, and societal use. EXPLOTRANS will significantly impact my academic career. Under the guidance of Prof. Ortiz Gervasi at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the project will consolidate me as an independent and international scholar. The host institution offers

Mots clés : low qualified youth, school to work transition, non standard trajectories, social inequalities, mixed methods research, labour market outcomes

Participants :
- Université de Genève (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 209914.56 €
Projet GradStim (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Studying the brain mechanisms behind consciousness is a major challenge for neuroscience and medicine. Accumulating evidence shows that the structural, histological, functional, genetic, and neurochemical inhomogeneities of the mammalian cortex do not follow a modular distribution; instead, these properties change following gradients, understood as axes of variance along which cortical features are ordered continuously. The gradient describing the axis of largest variance (principal gradient) obtained for an ample range of cortical features follows a unimodal-transmodal organization, ranging from externally-oriented sensory and motor regions to multimodal association regions, culminating in regions linked with internally oriented higher-order cognitive functions. In this project we propose a novel approach, constructing, validating and exploring whole-brain computational models combining empirical information including anatomical connectivity, spatial maps of local neuroanatomical features, to reproduce the configuration of human functional gradients, as determined using manifold learning techniques applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. This will allow us to investigate the process by which functional gradients emerge from the spatial distribution of cortical anatomical inhomogeneities. The models will also provide the possibility to investigate how different global brain states behave under perturbations. In order to achieve our goals, we propose a highly interdisciplinary project that combines state-of-the-art principal gradient expertise with whole-brain computational modelling proposing a synergy between two groups with large expertise in each area to address a common question: do realistic functional gradients emerge from the dynamical equations when coupled by realistic long-range structural connections, and modulated locally by empirical maps encoding relevant neurochemical data?

Mots clés : functional gradient, perturbational gradient, consciousness, anatomical connectivity, neuroanatomical features computational modelling, fmri, dti, cortical anatomical inhomogeneities

Participants :
- Université Paris Cité (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 211754.88 €
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet BIOELECTRO-CO2 (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The on-going climate crisis and accelerating production of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide has sparked a sense of urgency in the scientific community to come up with solutions to sequestrate and/or recycle CO2. CO2 is a rather stable molecule that needs a high energy input to be chemically activated, and applications to utilize CO2 effectively are still in their infancy, with several research gaps that need to be filled. In this proposal we will use a new biotechnology named microbial electrosynthesis (MES) that has the ability to use a number of aqueous and gaseous wastes, including CO2, and biotransform them into useful chemical commodities. In order to use MES for practical and large-scale applications, utilization of CO2 from exhaust gases should be the target. We will fabricate and use gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) enabling microbial catalysts to take up CO2 gas directly and more efficiently, solving the problem of low CO2 solubility in aqueous media and mass transfer limitations. This project will develop a novel dual biocatalyzed MES consisting of an efficient gas diffusion biocathode for CO2 sequestration in combination with a bioanode for simultaneous product valorization from glycerol, using different biocatalysts, including enriched and engineered synthetic communities. The use of microbial catalysts both at the anode and cathode will significantly increase efficiency and product specificity of the MES system, which is low with chemical catalysts. Furthermore, the application of a bioanode based on oxidation of a cheap industrial by-product such as glycerol, not only generates higher energy electrons for the GDE biocathode saving energy, but also leads to production of added value compounds, making the process more energy and cost efficient.

Mots clés : co2 valorization bioelectrocatalysis mixed microbial cultures, biotechnology, sustainability

Participants :
- Université nouvelle de Lisbonne (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 156778.56 €
- SGS (Portugal) (Portugal) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €