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

The extensive overuse of antibiotics in both the medicine and food industry resulted in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria strains, putting at risk lives of millions of patients worldwide. Finding new antibiotics is a highly challenging and continuous process, as, eventually, bacteria develop resistance for specific antibiotic(s). Thus, there is an urgent need for alternative long-lasting antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a part of the innate host defence system that counteract microbial infections. AMPs exhibit a rapid antimicrobial activity covering both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Due to this feature, AMPs are very appealing as potential pharmacological agents that could be used as an alternative for conventional antibiotics. Although many AMPs show high antibacterial activity, they also exhibit undesirable characteristics that prevent their widespread implementation in clinical use. In nature, development of biomolecules is driven by evolution, which can be mimicked in the laboratory using directed evolutionary processes to generate billions of variations of genetic sequences that encode myriad peptides or proteins some of which possess improved characteristics. One of the main experimental challenges in directed evolution studies is the relatively large size of the DNA-encoded libraries that must be screened. In the context of AMP evolution studies, an additional challenge is the time-consuming nature of the conventional assays used to assess the antimicrobial activity of AMPs. Here, I propose establishing MicroREvolution as a novel high-throughput microfluidics-based platform that will overcome limitations of current conventional assays and realise a novel concept, offering an exceptional possibility to rapidly explore the therapeutic potential of myriad laboratory-evolved AMPs in a time- and cost-effective manner.

Mots clés : protein engineering, directed evolution, random mutagenesis, antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides, microfluidics, high throughput screening

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet PFCsByPlasCat (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The extensive use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in many industrial/commercial applications, as surfactants, emulsifiers, etc., and their high chemical stability are responsible for their ubiquitous presence in the environment. Specifically, the contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is raising great concern as more data on PFCs toxicity in humans and wildlife is becoming available. Thus, a parallel surge in monitoring campaigns and in the search for innovative water treatment technologies for PFCs is required. Since PFCs are highly resistant to degradation by standard chemical and biological processes, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are being considered and, including Fenton, ozone and UV irradiation with catalysts, applied so far with limited success. Among innovative AOPs, air non-thermal plasmas (NTP), which produce several reactive species at a time, have been recently tested for the treatment of PFOA/PFOS yielding promising results. The proposed research aims to advance the state of art by developing an innovative treatment process for PFCs in which NTP is applied in combination with novel boron-doped graphene oxide (B-GO) nano photocatalysts. The catalysts synthesized and characterized by the Researcher will be tested on prepared solutions of PFOA and PFOS using various NTP reactors which are available in the beneficiary laboratory. The best catalyst-reactor combination will thus be identified; conditions and parameters will be optimized to maximize the synergy between plasma and catalyst and the efficiency of the novel hybrid plas-cat process. Real samples of contaminated groundwater will be tested to verify the process applicability to complex matrices. For excellence of research, basic guidelines will be drawn and disseminated for implementing an efficient hybrid plas-cat process in view of auspicable scaling-up and technology transfer to stakeholders.

Mots clés : non thermal plasma, cold plasma, emerging organic pollutants, perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid, advanced oxidation process  aop, engineered nanoparticles, boron doped graphene oxide

Participants :
- University of Padua (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183473.28 €
Projet SynECS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The extracellular space (ECS) is a complex network of biomolecules that constitutes a key microenvironment for cellular communication, homeostasis, and clearance of toxic metabolites. In the brain, signalling molecules, neuromodulators, and nutrients transit via the ECS, therefore mediating the communication between cells. To date, understanding the role of the ECS in modulating neuronal communication represents a knowledge frontier in brain research. This limit has conceptual and methodological roots: the complex 3-D dynamical organization of the ECS and the current lack of dedicated relevant investigation tools. The aim of this project is to combine several innovative nanotechnological approaches to reveal the morphological and rheological properties of the brain extracellular space around synapses during neuronal communication processes. To decrypt the intimate interplay between ECS and synapses in neuronal communication, this Action proposes to use innovative optical nanoimaging and nanostimulation methodologies based on nano-probes (single-wall carbon nanotubes, SWCNTs, and gold nanorods, Au NRs). Au NRs will be used to stimulate individual neurons in hippocampal cultured organotypic slices, while SWCNTs will image and unveil the rheological characteristics of the ECS around synapses. The outcomes of this project will bring us a step closer to fully understand chemical-based neural communication and synaptic connectivity.

Mots clés : gold nanoparticles, neural stimulation, extracellular space  ecs, single molecule imaging

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet PerovskiteHTM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The extraordinary recent progress in lead-halide perovskite-based solar cells has largely been based on the properties and processing of the perovskite layer. Inevitably some cell performance limitations are now linked with other component materials, where progress is required to enable the full potential of the technology to be realised: 1. Poor charge mobility and/or high synthesis cost of current organic hole-transport materials (HTMs) incorporated into cells, limiting current collection and cost. 2. Poor moisture stability of the perovskite, limiting device lifetime. 3. Toxicity of Pb, that could preclude some application areas for the devices, or poorer light harvesting if Pb is replaced by Sn. This proposal tackles all three of these points, through design, synthesis, characterisation, in-house testing and application of new organic hole-transport materials with enhanced properties. This builds upon materials previously developed in the host group, which have already shown excellent promise in perovskite cells. Crucially, the project will provide a complementary experience for the Fellow that adds to his previous outstanding contributions during his PhD to the area of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). His PhD experience in preparing emissive materials for these electricity-in-light-out OLEDs will now be extended to light-in-electricity-out solar cells. This will give the Fellow a superb overview of both fields such that he can use the synergies in materials development across the whole area as a springboard for his subsequent career.

Mots clés : solar cells, hole transport materials, perovskites

Participants :
- University of Edinburgh (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet ReMyelin (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The failure of the endogenous regenerative process – remyelination - in chronic Multiple Sclerosis (MS) lesions leaves axons denuded of myelin and contributes to the neurodegeneration that underlies the progressive disability associated with the disease. Stimulating effective remyelination is therefore a key goal for regenerative medicine. Neuropathological studies in humans and animal models have shown that remyelination results in short, thin myelin sheaths. predicted to be less efficient at accelerating conduction and providing axonal metabolic support - two key functions of the myelin sheath. To this end, this project (ReMyelin) examines intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that might explain these short, thin sheaths. We propose that they result from a combination of altered intrinsic and extrinsic pathways affecting the myelination process. Intrinsic pathways will be revealed by an innovative three-dimensional culture system using artificial axons developed in the laboratory of the host investigator, enabling changes associating with ageing to be revealed, whilst extrinsic pathways will be revealed using a genetic approach that allows the visualization of newly-generated myelin-forming cells (oligodendrocytes) and their myelin sheaths in demyelinated lesions of mice. These studies on the extrinsic pathway will focus on the role of axonal activity, using chemogenetics to activate or inhibit axonal activity focally and rehabilitation to activate the system more globally. Together these experimental approaches will identify the causes for altered sheath geometry in remyelination, with these new discoveries then underpinning future studies targeting these pathways so as to enhance remyelination.

Mots clés : myelin biology, neuropathology, brain, multiple sclerosis, imaging, glial cells, oligodendrocyte lineage

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

The fall of a city captivates the imagination, provokes intense emotional reactions and is often used to draw a line in historical narratives. The global attention and media coverage which the destruction of Mosul, Aleppo, or Palmyra have attracted during the ongoing war in Syria demonstrates the continuing power of the motif. Since antiquity the fall of cities has been lamented in different genres of writing and used to create historiographical thresholds. Prominent examples include biblical cities such as Jericho, Babylon or Jerusalem and ancient cities such as Troy, Carthage or Rome. This project aims to understand the role these ancient and biblical narratives played in the shaping of medieval political and cultural identities across transalpine Europe, reassessing the underestimated yet crucial role these biblical and ancient narratives played as they migrated into medieval Europe. Despite an increased interest in city laments in recent scholarship these studies remain mostly anchored in their original ancient or mediterranean contexts. The reception of these traditions in Western and Central Europe and most importantly the German lands remains unexplored, despite the fact that for over a thousand years, recourse to fallen cities provided the most inuential foil for narratives of political authority and legitimacy and also to make sense of present political occurrences such as the re-conquest of the city of Acre – the last outpost of the crusaders in the Eastern Mediterranen – to the Mamluks in 1291. Using the fall of Acre as a medieval starting point I will take a synchronous and daichronous look at medieval texts written between late 11th and the early 14th century to examine 1) which ancient textual traditions of lament were available for medieval writers 2) how were they used to make sense of the present by re-purposing the past and 3) how medieval identities were constructed and contemporary concerns of political and cultural belonging negotiated.

Mots clés : city studies, history of discourse, historiography

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet FReSCH (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Economic Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The fashion industry is harming the environment and is also creating psychological and health impacts for workers due to poor working conditions and human rights abuses. Much of the focus of the fashion industry is on environmental sustainability with social sustainability largely ignored. There are trade-offs not only between business goals and sustainability but also between environmental and social sustainability practices. Ensuring environmental sustainability requires a parallel focus on justice and fairness. This action will contribute to the thematic European Commission priorities in terms of building a climate-neutral, fair and social Europe, and sustainable fashion value chains. It will research the optimal strategies for a just, fair and inclusive transition to a low-carbon circular fashion industry. This action is one of the first to investigate economic, environmental and social sustainability to understand the trade-offs, tensions and outcomes between these three in the transition to a low-carbon circular fashion industry. By using a novel methodology, simultaneous multi-level action research, this action will take a top-down and bottom-up perspective by examining a fashion supply chain in transition, H&M and its suppliers, in a country characterised by complex economic, environmental and social issues, Turkey. Action research in H&M will be instrumental in understanding the development of strategies and resources to cascade environmental and social sustainability practices throughout its supply chains. While, action research with suppliers, ‘Worker Circles’, will uncover the realities of SME suppliers and the outcomes of economic and environmental demands on working conditions and human rights practices to enable worker self-determination to solve problems in unique context-specific and customised ways.

Mots clés : sustainability, sustainability transition, supply chain management, fashion industry

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196590.72 €
Projet QUMATTO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

The feasibility to sculpt light oscillations on the attosecond (10-18s) timescale has allowed sub-laser-cycle monitoring and control of electron dynamics in gas phase. Attosecond science is now transitioning into the solid state. This route has potential for revolutionary technological impact, improving the speed of information processing by six orders of magnitude, up to the PHz. Yet, standard semiconductors, which have been the focus of most of attosecond studies in solids so far, will always suffer from high energy losses. Quantum materials offer a solution thanks to their unique properties: scatter-free transport (topological insulators), and ability to harness extra electronic degrees of freedom as information carriers (valleytronics). This proposal brings together two fields that have traditionally been apart, attosecond laser technology and quantum materials. Bringing attosecond and strong-field physics into lightwave control of quantum materials, this combined theoretical and experimental project aims to: (i) induce, control and probe electronic and topological properties in quantum materials (2D materials, 3D topological insulators) at few-femtosecond to attosecond timescales via non-resonant, intense tailored light fields, (ii) manipulate and read the electronic valley and spin degrees of freedom at optical (PHz) rates in the non-resonant strong-field regime, i.e., in a way such that the same laser system can be used for a wide range of monolayers and heterostructures. On the one hand, the QUMATTO project has the potential to open new routes for ultra-fast information processing in energy-efficient materials. On the other, it will allow to gain new understanding of quantum properties, e.g., laser-induced topological phase transitions, by studying them at the ultrafast timescales of coherent electron motion.

Mots clés : attosecond science, high harmonic generation, strong field physics

Participants :
- National Research Council Canada (Canada) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Forschungsverbund Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 233434.56 €
Projet ASUNDER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The fellowship aims at establishing the applicant an expert in the study of environmental conflicts through training in the interdisciplinary fields of political ecology and environmental history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). Training will consist in courses on environmental history at the Centre for Culture, History & Environment and research under the guidance of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Director Prof Paul Robbins. The research project will mobilise political ecology theory on environmental subjects and environmental history research methods to investigate the understudied phenomenon of acceptance of environmental harm occurring in the course of environmental conflicts. This will be examined through a case study of a conflict over silica sand mining – an activity necessary to obtain sand for use in the controversial process of shale gas extraction (fracking) – in Wisconsin, the larger silica producer in the US. The project will advance theory and analysis of ecological distribution conflicts. The fellow will benefit from interactions with UW’s Geography department political ecology experts and complementary skills training in science communication via digital media technologies (podcasts) and radio. The fellow will expand his network and expertise by attending specialised seminars and benefit from UW’s world-class library facilities. Project findings will be integrated in European research networks working on environmental conflicts, ecological economics and political ecology and contribute to making the European Research Area a centre of excellence in those fields. Knowledge from the outgoing period will be reintegrated in the Institute of Environmental Science & Technology of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona through postgraduate teaching and supervision, and by establishing a distinctive line of research on subjects and environmental conflict. Long-term collaboration between host institutions is envisaged through the project

Mots clés : environmental conflict, political ecology, environmental history, mining, silica sand

Participants :
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 257191.2 €
- University of Wisconsin System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet CLAMOR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The fellowship aims at establishing the applicant as an expert in the study of environmental conflicts through training in the interdisciplinary fields of (gendered) water justice and data-intensive social science at the University of California Berkeley. I will analyse artworks produced in water-related ecological distribution conflicts (EDC) in which transformative or restorative initiatives operate under violent conditions. The use of artworks in EDC has not been theorised enough although they are crucial to elicit the valuation languages held by local populations, this being a main tenet of ecological economics, and more generally of the environmental social sciences. I will conduct empirical research on the gendered use in EDC of artistic creations (films, plastic arts and songs), connected multimedia, and supporting ICTs, at two levels: a) case studies drawing on activist knowledge of EDC over wetlands and over coal (both water-related) under diverse contexts of violence in Colombia and California; and b) databases on artworks, and on social media, from EDC in countries where there is violence against environmental defenders (e.g., Philippines and Brazil). The research and associated training will innovatively use mixed methods, combining in-depth case studies, ideal for developing causal explanations, with data-intensive social science research methods such as big-data extended ethnography, which provide grounds for generalisation. CLAMOR will address environmental justice issues that are of relevant for Europe and will build up a large database of artworks used in EDC at the global level. The action contributes to two H2020’s societal challenges and reinforces the European Innovation Partnership on Water, and the Water Justice Action Group in particular. Knowledge will be reintegrated at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona through postgraduate teaching and supervision, and by establishing a distinctive line of research on arts and environmental conflicts.

Mots clés : environmental justice, ecological distribution conflicts, environmental activism, wetlands, coal, environmental conflict databases, data intensive social research, case studies, colombia, california

Participants :
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 257191.2 €
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €