Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet DNAMAKER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the last decades, DNA nanotechnology has been established as a robust method for the production of static, large two- and three-dimensional structures as well as dynamic systems based on the interaction of multiple small strands through strand displacement. In the proposed project, Dr. Erik Benson will join Professor Turberfield’s group to develop the first demonstration of atomically precise manufacturing based on DNA nanotechnology. In his Ph.D. studies, Erik developed methods for the design of wireframe DNA nanostructures and used several experimental techniques to study their assembly. He will combine these skills with Professor Turberfield’s expertise in DNA nanomachines and dynamic DNA toehold systems to develop a first-generation molecular printer. The printer will be constructed by DNA origami, and consist of a guide rail that host a sliding write head whose movements are externally controlled by the introduction of DNA strands. The addition of activator strands will trigger a DNA hybridization catalyst placed at the tip of the write head, causing it to modify the target surface at the precisely determined positions. The principles developed in this project can be expanded into two and three dimensions by the connection of multiple linear motors. The development of robust, externally controlled linear motion at the nanoscale can also find application in other fields including nano-manipulation, biophysics, and controlled catalysis.

Mots clés : dna nanotechnology, dna origami, strand displacement, molecular additive manufacturing, nanotechnology

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet SkillUp (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

In the last decades, European manufacturing has been the object of an intense reorganisation driven crucially by multinational firms’ offshoring strategies that have led to the emergence of global production networks. European companies have mainly devoted their efforts to presiding over high value-added upstream and downstream activities whilst offshoring low value-added operations to low labour cost economies. The hollowing out of manufacturing activities is impacting on the EU labour market: it affects the demand of jobs in the EU, and the local and regional stock of competences, raising concerns over a mismatch between firms’ skill needs and persistent skill shortages. The aim of SkillUp is to explore routes that combine firms’ upgrading strategies with workforce skill development in order to enhance the competitiveness of EU manufacturing industries. SkillUp focuses on: 1) which skills are needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow: in which industries? in which regions? 2) are these skills available and where can they be found? and 3) how should such skills be created and what training/education needs to be put in place for this be achieved? Long term European socio-economic growth rests of maintaining a competitive manufacturing sector necessarily in high value added industries, and SkillUp will identify the appropriate sets of skills needed to meet firms’ demand and enhance EU manufacturing competitiveness. The study will use a mixed method research: 1) inferential statistics (t-test) on the EU labour participation using EU Labour Force Survey; 2) a multiple case-study approach by collecting primary through firm-based interviews and secondary data from company reports as well as industry and regional aggregate data from Eurostat and the Labour Force Survey; 3) Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis - Boolean algebra and set theory - will be applied to detect interaction effects amongst firms’ upgrading strategies and workforce skill development.

Mots clés : workforce skill development, firms  upgrading strategies, global value chain, manufacturing sectors, education and training policies

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

In the last decades, the progress in medicine have contributed to extend human lifespan considerably. Unfortunately, this aging of populations gives rise to the increased appearance of degenerative diseases and cancers, and therefore represents a critical problem for public health. During embryonic development, cellular proliferation is an essential process that is required to generate all the tissues and organs that contribute to the adult organism. However, alterations in the molecular mechanisms regulating this fundamental process can drive developmental defects and tumors. Cellular fail-safe systems evolved to prevent these events to happen. One of them is the natural shortening of chromosome ends, termed the telomeres. This “molecular clock” prevents cells from proliferating if their telomeres become critically short, which could lead to chromosomal alterations. This mechanism is responsible for cellular aging in Human. Unfortunately, cancer cells can bypass this process through the activation of telomere maintenance mechanism allowing for virtually unlimited proliferation. Interestingly, such maintenance mechanisms naturally occur during early embryonic development. The proposed research is aimed at understanding how telomeres are regulated in this system and under a physiological context. My expertise in mouse embryonic work associated with the competences in telomere biology of the host laboratory of Dr. Jerome Déjardin will likely be a suitable combination to answer these questions. On the long term, these researches could lead to the discovery of key factors regulating telomere maintenance. Finally, as the suppression of telomere length maintenance inhibits cell growth, the present proposal could contribute to the development of new treatments against cancer or precocious aging.

Mots clés : telomere, chromatin, embryo

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet MED-FARWEST (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MED-FARWEST is a strongly innovative project that, focussing on the territory located in the far west of the Roman Empire, namely the Iberian Peninsula, will analyse two of the most interesting yet poorly understood phenomena of the crucial period of Late Antiquity (AD 300-700): 1. the complete abandonment of some cities and 2. the dismantling of the Roman rural world. Both phenomena have long seen consideration by a variety of independent researchers, but without satisfactory depth and explanation to the issue. This proposed project will be the first to apply a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, exploiting techniques developed especially in the sub-discipline of Landscape Archaeology, in which the rural and urban worlds are analysed as a single unit, and thus as part of a single reality in transformation. Hispania provides an ideal ‘test-bed’ for the study given the results of new fieldwork, an availability of relevant sites (urban/rural), and recent published outputs. The applicant and the proposed Host (University of Leicester) and Partner Organizations (the CSIC-National Research Council of Spain and CINECA of Italy) can draw upon a rich vein of expertise, specialists, research, publications, equipment and infrastructure to generate data, models and results for this project. The approach to be developed will be of major value for addressing other aspects of Roman-late antique transformation in Hispania (urban, rural, social, demographic, economic), but, crucially, will also provide guidelines for analyses elsewhere in the Empire, thus enabling much closer dialogue in approaches and debates both for Late Antiquity and for other periods.

Mots clés : late antiquity, hispania, landscape archaeology, urban centres, rural landscape, scientific visualization, spatial analysis, multidisciplinary approach

Participants :
- University of Leicester (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet METALS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Statut du projet : SIGNED

METALS aims to explore the Metallurgical Traditions in West Africa with emphasis on the Technology, Production, and Exchange of Copper in Nigeria from 700 BC to AD 1800. This period is significant in Nigeria’s past due to evidence of intense metalworking traditions with emergence of social complexity. There are two questions central to this project: first, what was the evolution of metallurgical traditions in early Nigeria in relation to technical processes and development and raw material choices? Second, how did prehistoric craftspeople in Nigeria interact with the wider region in terms of navigating production and consumption of copper and its alloys through the social network system? METALS will prioritize copper metallurgy as the more elusive technology, but will consider iron metallurgy equally alongside the copper research, not least to lay the foundation for a follow-on project proposal targeting Nigeria’s early iron metallurgy. The project will select materials from collections of museums both in Nigeria and Europe, while training-through-research will take place on an existing assemblage at the Host institute from a site in Morocco for an in-depth study on metallurgical production and development. The Nigerian museum assemblages will be complemented by materials from targeted archaeological fieldwork at areas of prime potential in southern Nigeria. Optical microscopy, handheld X-ray Fluorescence, SEM-EDS, and lead isotope analysis will be used to reconstruct the mineralogical and compositional constituent the metal and the chaîne opératoire of their production. METALS is designed as an interdisciplinary project that integrate material science, archaeology, anthropology, geochemistry, museum studies, anthropological theory and African/global history. This project will significantly expand knowledge of Africa’s contributions to metallurgy in global perspectives, and construct an open access online database of elemental composition of early metal objects.

Mots clés : archaeometallurgy, copper alloy, nigeria, technology, production, exchange, trade, west african, benin bronze, lead isotope analysis, copper mine, african iron age, museums collections

Participants :
- Cyprus Institute (Chypre) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 157941.12 €
Projet MICAL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MICALs are a family of redox enzymes that directly bind and disassemble actin filaments. An increasing body of evidence in recent years indicates that MICALs play essential roles in many tissues for myriad activities requiring discrete changes in the cytoskeleton, including axon guidance, cell morphology, synaptogenesis and neuronal plasticity. MICALs are a component of classical signalling pathways and are best known as effectors for semaphorin-plexin signalling. Although the field has made enormous advances in understanding MICAL function at the level of genetic and cellular experiments, our knowledge of the molecular-level mechanisms of MICAL signalling in cytoskeletal dynamics remains poorly understood. The overarching aim of this proposal is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying MICAL signalling. I aim to address two fundamental and long-standing questions: (1) How do MICAL proteins precisely turn their activity on and off? (2) How do cytoplasmic segments of plexins pass the signal on to MICALs and what mechanisms control signalling? I will use a hybrid approach integrating single particle cryoEM with high-resolution X-ray crystallography to determine the overall architecture of MICAL and to elucidate molecular mechanisms of MICAL autoinhibition. In parallel, I will aim to determine the high-resolution structure of MICAL in complex with plexin to dissect molecular mechanisms of MICAL activation. All previous attempts to tease out the mechanisms governing MICAL signalling failed because full-length MICAL is expressed at a relatively low level in many expression systems. The project will greatly benefit from my previously developed protocol describing the production of MICALs in milligram quantities. Our findings will reveal fundamental principles of MICAL signalling, which will open new possibilities in the manipulation of cell signalling, and pave the way towards the treatment of MICAL associated neurological disorders.

Mots clés : mical, signalling, plexin, cytoskeletal dynamics, semaphorin, autoinhibition

Participants :
- Charles University (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 156980.64 €
Projet MIMOP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MIMOP brings a fundamental fluid mechanics expert together with a Host Institute internationally renowned for its polar research and a world-leading University Partner. An outstanding problem in polar sciences is how quickly land-based ice moves toward the oceans and contribute to sea-level rise, which is one of the most disruptive consequences of climate change. Acceleration of the outflow from polar ice sheets appears linked to enhanced melting at the ice-shelf—ocean interface. The melting process is, however, poorly understood, because state-of-the-art models cannot resolve the effect of the ocean turbulence or basal roughness of the ice shelves. MIMOP aims to fill this critical gap in our knowledge. MIMOP objectives are to 1) Develop an innovative numerical model of the fluid dynamics of melting at the ice-ocean interface 2) Calibrate the model using new observations of ocean properties beneath an Antarctic ice shelf 3) Determine the sensitivity of melting to changes in temperature and current 4) Organise an international workshop with the aim of defining best practices for the calculation of melt rates in climate models The objectives will be achieved by combining a highly-efficient Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) code with a novel formulation of the equations for the solid/liquid phases of water based on the phase-field method. DNS enables turbulent motions to be simulated without approximation, while the phase-field method allows the ice-ocean interface to be rough and evolve in response to melting. The phase-field method has been applied in metallurgical problems and proof-of-concept simulations have demonstrated its suitability for ice melting. MIMOP will enable the Researcher to deliver high-impact results to scientists and the public through dissemination and outreach activities, and to receive training and organise a workshop, hence reaching a position of scientific leadership and maturity, opening the way to a permanent research position in Europe.

Mots clés : ocean turbulence, boundary layer dynamics, ice shelves, ice melting, phase change, direct numerical simulation, phase field method, sea level rise, climate change, polar regions, antarctica

Participants :
- UK Research and Innovation (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet MULTIRES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MULTIRES aims to develop an advanced, harmonised, multi-level framework to assess earthquake risk of existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings in earthquake-prone regions and to design/select practice-oriented, cost-effective, seismic resilience-enhancing solutions (e.g. structural retrofit, risk-transfer products). The framework will benefit several seismic-prone countries (e.g. Greece, Italy, Romania), for which most of the existing buildings are designed according to pre-seismic codes and where RC buildings represent the highest share from 1960s onwards (e.g. 48% in Italy). Two levels of analysis refinement will be considered, single buildings vs. building portfolios, specifically tailored to the expected needs/goals of different stakeholders: building owners and government agencies/(re)insurance companies. A coherent treatment of risk and uncertainty in each project’s task will promote dynamic and informed decision-making aiming at seismic resilience. MULTIRES builds on the probabilistic catastrophe risk modelling expertise of the Earthquake and People Interaction Centre (EPICentre) at the University College London (UCL), UK – the Host Institution - and seismic performance assessment of existing RC building expertise of the Fellow. State of the art/practice will be advanced providing flexible analysis methods for fragility and vulnerability assessment and their implementation tools (e.g. guidelines, computer codes). The framework will be applied to a large-scale building portfolio in Italy, where the Fellow and the Supervisor have strong links with local stakeholders, thus ensuring availability of data, knowledge transfer and true impact of the research on local communities. Through world-leading research training and co-development, the project will contribute to create a holistic culture of risk awareness and resilience in Europe, reflecting a strong commitment to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Mots clés : earthquake engineering, structural engineering, civil engineering, risk assessment, modelling and impact assessment, hazard analysis, decision making

Participants :
- University of London (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet MYSOBIO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

MYSOBIO investigates the complex relationship between funerary treatment and wider social dynamics through a novel interpretive model based on the contextual analysis of human skeletal remains and associated mortuary data. The research focusses on the post-mortem treatment of the body in collective mortuary assemblages. The main aim is to reconstruct, to a new level of detail, development in Mycenaean mortuary practice in the Late Bronze Age Aegean (1700-1050 BC). MYSOBIO will unravel the diversity of social responses at death and their mutual relationship with wider socio-political developments, instrumental in the rise and fall of the Mycenaean palaces, one of the first complex societies in Europe. To achieve this, it employs, for the first time, a holistic bioarchaeological approach that integrates up-to-date theoretical reflection in mortuary archaeology with cutting-edge, interdisciplinary scientific advances in the study of collective skeletal assemblages. This methodology brings together traditional archaeology, current mortuary theory, biological anthropology, funerary taphonomy, forensic sciences and archaeo-thanatology, further enhanced by state-of-the-art technological innovations from other scientific fields (social geography, applied mathematics, geomatics and archaeogenetics). The Fellowship will offer to the Experienced Researcher (ER) the opportunity to receive advanced training in these fields and achieve the research objectives, creating a new methodological pathway to the social dimensions of prehistoric mortuary assemblages with world-wide implications for Social Bioarchaeology. At the same time, the ER will attain professional maturity and greatly advance her career perspectives. She will acquire significant transferable skills, establish lasting multidisciplinary research networks, motivate the youth and educate the public on the social significance of archaeological research and the benefits of science.

Mots clés : bioarchaeology, human osteology, biological anthropology, archaeothanatology, mycenaean, aegean, funerary taphonomy, burial practices, commingled assemblages, agency, identity, status

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet COMPLEX ML (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Machine learning (ML) has proven capable of tackling difficult engineering problems in image recognition and automated translation, but even more impressively in domains where traditional algorithmic approaches had struggled, such as game playing. Though the relations between ML and physics are decades old, it only recently attracted a widespread attention of scientists in many subfields of theoretical physics due to its ability to identify patterns in high-dimensional data, and to efficiently approximate complicated functional relationships. At the same time, the empirically oriented philosophy of ML is very different from that of fundamental sciences: a trained model often offers little insights into the qualitatively important aspects of the problem, how the solution was arrived at, what are the guarantees of correctness, and, crucially, how to generalize it. Bridging this conceptual gap is thus of fundamental importance, if ML is to become a powerful and controlled tool in physics research. This interdisciplinary projects aims to bring about successful development and application of ML methods resulting in qualitatively new insights in physics by following a twofold strategy. On the one hand, the performance and training of state-of-the-art ML algorithms will be improved using methods of complex and disordered systems. Specific problems targeted will include novel reinforcement learning schemes, and training of binary neural networks, with input from industrial R&D researchers. On the other, cutting edge ML techniques, particularly those with a strong underpinning in information theory, will be combined with modern computational physics methods to develop new tools for disordered systems. This is motivated by the possibility of using them to study soft materials, providing better understanding of these ubiquitous but complex systems.

Mots clés : machine learning, disordered systems, renormalization group  rg, soft materials

Participants :
- University of Zurich (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260840.64 €
- University of Chicago (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €