Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet AstroMiRimage (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This Horizon2020 – Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions – Individual Fellowship grant proposal focuses on exploring mechanisms controlling the structure of support cells (astrocytes) in the brain that promote hyper-excitable neuronal networks and underlie common, chronic neurologic disorders such as epilepsy. My research builds on emerging data showing the molecular machinery for microRNAs - short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by targeting mRNAs - is present locally, within astrocyte processes. For this purpose, I will employ for the first time super-resolution microscopy to visualise astrocyte processes and microRNAs in rodent and human brain. I will then target candidate microRNAs to influence astrocyte morphology, and increase local translation of neurotransmitter and ion channels in astrocytic processes. In turn, this allows the clearing of excess glutamate and potassium from the synaptic cleft and hence prevents synchronous neuronal discharges that generate seizures. During the fellowship, I will acquire new research skills in modelling epilepsy and through training and secondments, where I will visualise locally produced proteins in astrocyte processes after microRNA targeting. The ground-breaking nature of the project will enhance my creative and innovative potential. With advanced training and international mobility, the fellowship will help me to diversify my scientific and non-scientific skills needed to help me reach my career goal of transitioning into an independent principal investigator in molecular imaging and translational neuroscience focused on astrocyte biology and pathophysiology. These findings will have strong therapeutic relevance, offering a novel strategy for seizure-suppressive or disease-modifying actions via targeting microRNAs that regulate aberrant astrocyte morphology that could benefit patients with drug-resistant, refractory epilepsy, which affects approximately 2 million people in Europe.

Mots clés : epilepsy, epileptogenesis, microrna, antagomir, astrocytes, super resolution microscopy, calcium imaging

Participants :
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175866.0 €
Projet RESOURCEFUL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

This MSC Action will investigate the interplay of behaviour, climate, and human pressure on species extinction, using a highly interdisciplinary approach uniting theoretical population modelling with palaeogenomics. This MSC Action will investigate the interplay of behaviour and population structure on extinction risk in species that rely on geographically fixed resources. It will focus on long extinct cave bears by utilising a highly interdisciplinary approach uniting theoretical population modelling with palaeogenomics to test the causes of their extinction. The host organisation, Prof. Manica’s UCAM Group, is a world-leading research group in population genetics and modelling. I will be provided with training and development opportunities that allow me to build a spatially explicit computational model of cave bear populations that use multiple caves for hibernation. Development of my existing knowledge of palaeogenomics during secondment in Dr. Barlow’s TNTU Lab will allow me to assemble a population level sample of contemporaneous Romanian cave bear genomes to further refine the model based on empirical data. Finally, this refined cave bear population model will allow, for the first time, a detailed and statistically robust assessment of the effect of human competition for caves on cave bear extinction. This MSC Action provides numerous opportunities for my training and personal development, by locating myself in the world-leading UCAM Group, attendance of five formal training courses, and further opportunities during the secondment and visits to other labs. It will result in internationally significant research outputs that will be disseminated to the scientific community via publications and presentations, as well as to different target audiences via public engagement, media and teaching activities. Moreover, it will provide numerous vital steps towards my ultimate career goal of establishing a world-leading research group within the field of palaeogenomics

Mots clés : palaeogenomics, ancient dna, population modelling, population dynamics, extinction, cave bears, ursus spelaeus

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 337400.64 €
Projet ARC-NeuroHet (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This MSCA Reintegration proposal is aimed to study the heterogeneity of neuronal populations implicated in the maintenance of energy balance. Because of their location, neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) integrate nutrient and hormonal signals carried in the blood. Then, they regulate downstream neuron’s activity in order to adapt food intake and energy expenditure. Deregulation of energy homeostasis can lead to obesity and diabetes, two of the major chronic diseases in the EU. AgRP neurons, an ARC population, have a prominent role in the regulation of food intake and systemic insulin sensitivity. They establish axonal projections with several brain areas and recent evidences show that each sub-circuit can have a specific function in the regulation of food intake and/or glucose homeostasis. For this fellowship I propose to use an innovative experimental approach to investigate a specific novel AgRP neuronal subpopulation, characterized by the expression of the UDP-receptor, P2Y6, as a first step to unravel the heterogeneity of the total population. Although P2Y6 activation increases short-term food intake, its effects on glucose homeostasis are still unknown. I plan to combine new recombinase technologies with state of the art techniques to genetically identify the AgRP, P2Y6 subpopulation and then: 1) characterize their in vivo dynamic response to physiological activators; 2) map specific AgRP+, P2Y6+ sub-circuits and dissect their role in each facet of energy homeostasis; and 3) investigate new molecular markers, as possible drugable targets. Results from this project will unveil new aspects of neuronal heterogeneity that participate in the regulation of energy homeostasis and will contribute to design new strategies to curb the actual obesity trends. The completion of this MSCA fellowship represents an exceptional opportunity to reinforce my professional maturity and to develop my independent research line.

Mots clés : agrp neurons, neuronal heterogeneity, energy homeostasis, obesity, p2y6

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet Valvax (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This MSCA research project “Evaluating the Long-Run Socioeconomic Effects of Childhood Vaccination” (Valvax) combines research in the fields of economics and clinical sciences to ask the overarching research question: What are the long-run social benefits attributable to early childhood access and experience with vaccines? To answer this question, I will use the historical 1954 Salk polio vaccine trial and detailed individual level microdata to study the socio-effects of childhood vaccination. With over 1.8 million child participants ages 6-10, the Salk trials were one of the largest medical trials ever conducted. While the direct benefits of herd immunity and reductions in infectious disease are well studied, researchers have not studied the potential long-run effects of increased vaccine coverage on socioeconomic outcomes. Furthermore, economic historians have not studied the Salk trial and its effects. Economists have established a strong connection between early childhood health and measures of economic wellbeing later in adulthood. Furthermore, medical researchers have found that vaccines can broadly affect overall health. Valvax combines the University of Southern Denmark’s research expertise on the indirect effects of vaccines and focus in economic history to analyze the Salk trials and provide the first-ever study on the long-run socioeconomic effects of childhood vaccinations.

Mots clés : salk vaccine trials, poliomyelitis, long run socioeconomic effects, non specific effects

Participants :
- University of Southern Denmark (Danemark) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 207312.0 €
Projet NEMoCuRe (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This MSCA-IF describes a career development plan to prepare Dr. Matrone to become an independent investigator. This program builds on Dr. Matrone’s background as a talented biologist in cardiovascular regeneration and will provide him with the skills to decipher the mechanisms of S-Nitrosylation of epigenetic modifiers during tissue regeneration in zebrafish (Danio rerio). These studies will lay the foundations for future studies that will be carried out by Dr. Matrone as an independent investigator. The project will be carried out at the Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Matrone’s mentor is Dr. Martin Denvir, Reader in Cardiology. Dr. Denvir is an excellent mentor with extensive experience in cardiovascular disease. The MSCA-IF will consist of structured mentorship, formal coursework, a provocative research project and a program of career transition. Dr. Matrone’s research proposal is based on supportive preliminary data. Changes in S-nitrosylation of epigenetic modifiers in response to injury will be assessed in nuclear proteins extracts from injured tissues and identified by mass spec-proteomic analyses. The most interesting and novel epigenetic modifiers will be further studied in vascular development and regeneration following laser injury in the dorsal aorta. Candidate proteins will be knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 or knocked down by morpholinos and will be mutated by site-specific mutagenesis. Furthermore, Dr. Matrone will assess the role of the innate immune system and iNOS in S-nitrosylation of nuclear proteins (e.g. epigenetic modifiers). He will confirm and refine his preliminary data showing that the innate immune system and iNOS trigger tissue regeneration. He will pharmacologically and genetically modulate TLR3, NFkB and iNOS and will take advantage of transgenic lines to track changes in the immune system activation in situ. These studies may provide insights toward novel strategies for tissue regeneration in humans.

Mots clés : s nitrosylation, inos, nfkb, epigenome, injury, regeneration, zebrafish

Participants :
- University of Edinburgh (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet cubiform (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This Project aims to evaluate a biomimetic mucus gel (BMG) for its use as mucosal vaccine and mucosal restoration for farmed fish. In addition, through a joint experimental and computational approach, rationalizing the design of chitosan (CS)-based nanodevices (ND) to load in BMG to apply on both healthy and disrupted mucosal surfaces. The aim of this project is to develop a treatment for improving animal health and welfare that are important goals in blue economy . The research work will be developed by the applicant, Dr. Collado González, in the group of Prof. María Ángeles Esteban (supervisor) at the University of Murcia (UM, host). Farmed fish constitutes an essential way for providing dietary proteins and nutrients and they are used as a medical research model. In 2016 in EU, aquaculture resulted in about 75000 jobs and 1.3 million tonnes of aquatic animals which resulted in a gross value added of €2 billion in 2017. In fish, all surfaces are covered with mucus layer that is connected to the mucosal immunity. Mucins (MUC) are glycoproteins present at any mucosal surface . Among other functions, MUC increase lubricity of the mucosa and avoid infection by pathogens. CS refers to a family of aminopolysaccharides that have been proposed for the treatment of pathologies related to MUC. The characterization of the effects of the BMG on the metabolic and phagocytic activities as well as the viability of immune system cells will allow to optimize the BMGs to develop an effective mucosal treatment. A key issue in the development of applications in the field is that MUC and CS are families of flexible polymers with high variability in their properties and behaviour, reason why their interactions at the molecular level are difficult to unravel and not fully understood. Elucidating the main physicochemical forces behind such interactions will allow the optimization of transmucosal CS-based ND.

Mots clés : crosslinked mucin glycoproteins, chitosan, nanodelivery, scaffold

Participants :
- University of Murcia (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet SPARTEVs (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This Proposal aims to enhance the current knowledge of seminal extracellular vesicles (EVs) and to evaluate whether they can improve the efficiency of in vitro embryo production (IVP), a technology with a great potential in the biomedical and agricultural field but still inefficient. Inquire the EVs is currently a challenge as they seem to play a vital role in intercellular communication, including embryo development. Knowing that seminal plasma (SP) is beneficial for sperm-oocyte interaction and embryo development and that it contains EVs, our hypothesis is that seminal EVs could play a pivotal role in the successful development of the above cited reproductive events. The experiments will be performed with gametes and porcine SP, as this species is relevant in the agricultural field and is an excellent animal model for exploring human reproductive physiology. The first experiment will focus on developing an efficient procedure to isolate the two EV-subtypes, exosomes and microvesicles, and then analyze their charge in proteins to reveal the specific EV-subtype function. Then, the main objective will be to evaluate the role of each SP-EV-subtype on in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization and subsequent embryo development. Further, the transcriptomic changes experienced by embryos will be analyzed. The objectives will be reached through a multidisciplinary approach. The Project will be carried out at the University of Bologna, will be supervised by Prof. Tamanini, who has an extensive experience in reproductive biology, and will strength the Applicant’s background. The Proposal represents an innovative challenge for IVP, both for livestock animals and humans, since it tackles the problematic of IVP efficiency from a novel angle. The Proposal has a great potential impact on Society, addressing two H2020-challenges “Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing” and “Food security; sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and inland water research and the bioeconomy”.

Mots clés : seminal plasma, extracellular vesicles, reproductive biology, assisted reproductive technology

Participants :
- University of Bologna (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183473.28 €
Projet CYBERNETS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This Reintegration Panel proposal, CYBERNETS, focuses on the study of Cybernetic Communication Networks (CCN). CCNs are wireless networks that are context-aware, possess learning capabilities and artificial intelligence to guarantee reliability, efficiency and resilience to changes, failures or attacks via autonomous, self-configuring and self-healing individual and network behavior. Typical examples of CCNs are beyond-5G cellular systems and critical communication systems, e.g., law enforcement, disaster relief, body- area, medical instruments, space, and indoor/outdoor commercial applications. A practical implementation of a CCN requires extending classical communication systems to embrace the dynamics of fully decentralized systems whose components might exhibit either cooperative, non-cooperative or even malicious behaviors to improve individual and/or global performance. In this context, CYBERNETS aims to develop a relevant understanding of the interactions between information theory, game theory and signal processing to tackle two particular problems from both theoretical and practical perspectives: (I) use of feedback and (II) behavior adaptation in fully decentralized CCNs. In the former, the main objectives are: (i) to determine the fundamental limits of data transmission rates in CCNs with feedback; and (ii) to develop and test in real-systems, transmit-receive configurations to provide a proof-of-concept of feedback in CCNs. For the achievement of these practical objectives, CYBERNETS relies on the world-class testbed infrastructure of INRIA at the CITI Lab for fully closing the gap between theoretical analysis and real-system implementation. In the latter, the main objectives are: (i) to identify and explore alternatives for allowing transmitter-receiver pairs to learn equilibrium strategies in CCNs with and without feedback; (ii) to study the impact of network-state knowledge on scenarios derived from the malicious behavior of network components.

Mots clés : decentralized wireless networks, feedback, interference, reliability, security, capacity region, cybernetics, cellular networks, information theory, game theory, signal processing, learning

Participants :
- Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet OASES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This action addresses EU SC1: Health, demographic change and wellbeing. Diet related ill health is a major threat to public health and the sustainability of health services in the UK, Europe and internationally. Sensory education has been proposed as one aspect of a multi-pronged response strategy. It aims to improve children’s confidence and enjoyment in trying and appreciating flavours, so as to support the development of healthy dietary variety. Sensory education has been embedded in schools and nurseries in other countries (e.g. Sweden, Finland), but not in UK schools. This action will develop new methods for assessing outcomes of sensory education, and conduct outcomes assessment of the novel Flavour School intervention programme in UK schools. Flavour School is a sensory education programme adapting the established Sapere method to the UK school context. It currently targets early primary school children, age 4-5 years, with particular focus on fruit and vegetables. Outcomes assessment of sensory education has proven challenging. This action will develop new methods for assessment, following recommendations emerging from previous research for direct behavioural analysis in more natural settings, and video recorded testing sessions to enable more sophisticated analysis. These methods are labour intensive, so this action will also develop computer vision facial expression analysis to facilitate video coding, to enable larger scale studies with economically feasible human labour levels. Overall, this action will assess the value of a specific programme of sensory education in UK schools, and will develop innovative, open-source methods for outcomes assessment which will be valuable for gathering quantitative data on the impact of sensory education more generally. In turn, this will support evidence based decision making at the policy level, to implement effective, value-for-money interventions to combat diet related ill health.

Mots clés : sensory education, dietary health, obesity, schools, children, intervention, outcomes assessment

Participants :
- University of Leeds (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet The Human Imprint (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This action addresses a new chapter in ecocriticism: the advent of the ‘Anthropocene’ in contemporary literature. In recent years, the profound changes in our relationship with the biosphere influence not only our lives as consumers, but also the plots of the stories we read. As modern societies are starting to feel the first effects of climate change, rapidly increasing levels of carbon dioxide emissions and the fouling of waterways, novels have become a key medium in the discussion of the real, anticipated and imaginary implications of our life in the ‘Anthropocene’. As a reflection on socio-political and ecological realities of our lives, literature projects various ways how life in this new reality can be imagined, e.g. as the break-down of social norms or as the wake-up call to a post-human future. Adam Traxler’s notion of ‘Anthropocene fictions’ will be extended to include Chinese-language texts. Just like the industrialised countries of Europe and North America, the Greater China Region is struggling to come to terms with its experience of climate change and resource depletion, and, at the same time, a growing sense of environmental guilt. Despite striking similarities in how these texts dramatize dystopian landscapes, cultural heritage does play a role in how the future of humanity is imagined. Surprisingly, these differences are not necessarily related to conventional concepts of China and ‘the West’. On the most general level, this action will allow researchers and the wider public to understand how the environmental crisis is experienced in different regions around the globe.

Mots clés : comparative literature, chinese studies, sinology, germanistik, german studies, comparative criticism

Participants :
- University of Vienna (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166156.8 €
Projet CH4BioVal (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This action aims to obtain new methanotroph strains able to transform methane into valuable user products, in particular the bio-polymer PHA and ectoine. This will contribute to couple the abatement of a gas with high green-house power, to the production of useful chemicals and bio-consumables, which is in agreement with the objectives of H2020. This action combines the isolation of methanotroph strains using suitable selective pressures, with state of the art bioinformatic techniques to understand the metabolism of the selected strains and select thargeted genetic modifications aiming to improve the performance of the strains. The action is expected to result in patents of high producer methanotroph strains. A secondment in industry will allow to explore the posibilities for industrial aplications of the developed technologies.

Mots clés : metabolic engineering, methanotrophy, biorefinery

Participants :
- University of Valladolid (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 170121.6 €