Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet TaggingMemory (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The experience of aversive events is a component of everyone’s lives. People perceive aversive events and traumas differently but the explanation of this different perception is poorly understood. At times, this different perception leads to chronic fear disorders like phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite the high prevalence of such disorders, effective treatments for traumatic memories remain scarce. Therefore, a good understanding of the time-evolution of fear memory is necessary to clarify how different neuronal circuits are disrupted in disease states but also to set the basis for the development of unified therapeutic strategy to attenuate PTSD. Currently, the limited knowledge of the mechanisms underlying fear memory at brain-wide level is mainly due to the technical limitations in large-scale analysis of neuronal activity. TaggingMemory seeks to study the anatomical and functional circuitry underlying fear memory extinction reconstructing single-cell-resolution maps of whole-brain connectivity. The identification of this circuitry could pave the way for a better comprehension of PTSD circuitry at single-individual level. To reach this goal, I will develop a new quadruple transgenic mouse model able to capture multiple memories in the same brain. Using this transgenic line such as preclinical model of PTSD, I will reconstruct the evolutionary maps of fear memory. Then, I will test psychedelics as new promising drugs for PTSD treatment in order to analyze how fear attenuation changes with or without drug treatment, highlighting the connectivity differences that drive fear suppression. Finally, by identifying brain regions pivotal for a successful memory extinction, I will then unravel the anatomical circuits with sub-cellular resolution by a cutting-edge intelligent light-sheet microscope. The present action will pioneer the anatomical and functional characterization of the well-known but poorly understood phenomenon of fear memory.

Mots clés : transgenic mice, psychedelics, fear extinction, engram, tissue clearing, light sheet microscopy, whole brain mapping

Participants :
- Université de Florence (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 288859.2 €
- Université Columbia (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet FC (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

What is left of migrants’ death at sea, and how do migrant corpses (bodies and body remains) enter the lives of those who encounter them? Are such remains lost forever, or do they live through the narratives of the borderland communities who accidentally receive them? As ethnography reveals most powerfully, border deaths primarily affect the families of the dead and/or missing at sea. The aftermath of this violence is however manifold and its impact on the neighbouring communities remains an important yet neglected topic in both scholarship and practice. Fishers of Corpses begins to fill this gap by addressing how the remains of the migrants who die in the Central Mediterranean routes to Europe affect borderland communities, leaving traces in their stories, practices, and memories. By doing so, the main objective of the project is to re-frame border deaths from a local perspective, focusing on its border-less reverberations and exploring it as a pervasive phenomenon that concerns not only the dead and their families, but also the Mediterranean societies at large. This inclusive shift of attention from border death to its manifold effects requires an epistemic change in conventional perspectives and debate that incorporates the lived experiences of borderland inhabitants in this tragically normalised dimension. To do so, the project sensitively bridges a more traditional participant observation approach on board a fishing vessel (ethnographic dimension), with art methods (artistic dimension) to explore novel methodological and conceptual approaches to better comprehend and communicate the pervasive effects of border death and its aftermaths. This methodological advance is a key element of the project, as it will allow to produce an anthropological archive of border death in the Mediterranean based on pictures, videos, oral histories and artwork produced during the research and digitally stored to be made available in open access (archival dimension).

Mots clés : border death, migration, memory, archive, art, mediterranean

Participants :
- Chr. Michelsen institute (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 284179.68 €
- Université Columbia (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet MemUnited (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

It is generally assumed that there are two distinct memory systems in the human brain: declarative memory supports memories for facts and events, while the procedural memory supports motor skills. However, recent evidence suggests that these multiple memory systems are less independent than originally thought and that the hippocampus, historically associated with declarative memory, is also involved in procedural motor memory. Accordingly, the project MemUnited (Hippocampus unites Memory Systems by preserving Sequential Order) proposes and tests an integrative framework that specifies the shared neural processes that support learning and memory across multiple memory systems. Specifically, given that declarative episodic and procedural motor memories consist of temporally organized sequences of events (e.g. order in which guests arrived at your dinner party) and movements (e.g. playing the piano), and the hippocampus is critical to preserve sequential order of experiences, I will investigate whether the neural mechanisms of sequential order processing supported by the hippocampus are jointly used in declarative episodic and procedural motor memory. To do so I will use state-of-the-art multivariate pattern analyses of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data acquired during the different phases of memory formation (i.e., encoding, consolidation and retrieval). Findings in the proposed research will fill a gap in the field by providing a detailed characterization of the role of the hippocampus in multiple memory systems. The findings will offer the opportunity to reconsider the historical models of memory classification and develop more integrative views of memory organization in general and hippocampal functioning in particular. Moreover, it will open new avenues for the development of integrative treatment of procedural and declarative memory deficits.

Mots clés : human hippocampus serial order memory episodic memory motor sequence learning functional magnetic resonance imaging multivariate pattern analysis

Participants :
- Université de Gand (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 222003.12 €
- Université Columbia (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PIONEER (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Light is one of the most powerful tools in our hands to study the world around us. Lasers have indeed revolutionized our daily life. Since they only work at a few fixed wavelengths, it is crucial to convert their wavelength into the required one. Nonlinear optics provides essential tools to this end. For instance, second harmonic generation is a nonlinear process in which an intense input field at frequency ω generates a new field at the second harmonic frequency 2ω. The maximum efficiency of the nonlinear process is achieved by minimising the wave vector mismatch ∆k, i.e. the difference of the input wave vector at ω and the wave vector of the second harmonic at 2ω, achieving the so-called phase-matching condition (∆k=0). Birefringent phase-matching (BPM) can be obtained in anisotropic nonlinear crystals with moderate nonlinearities (few pm/V). Alternatively, quasi-phase-matching (QPM) makes use of periodically-poled nonlinear crystals with larger nonlinearities (10-20 pm/V). Typical crystals for BPM and QPM have a large efficiency but macroscopic thickness, i.e. millimeter/centimeters, and do not easily lend themselves to on-chip integration. PIONEER aims at revolutionising nonlinear optics at the nanoscale, achieving birefringent and quasi phase-matching in engineered vertical stacks of layered semiconductors, like non-centrosymmetric transition metal dichalcogenides (3R-TMDs), which possess huge nonlinearities (100-1000 pm/V) and promise to achieve the same efficiencies of bulk nonlinear crystals within micron-thicknesses. The goal of PIONEER is the development of ultra-compact on-chip integrable nonlinear devices, like entangled photon sources, nano-lasers and waveguides based on 3R-TMDs, exceeding the performances of state-of-the-art photonic resonators and nonlinear waveguides. PIONEER will initiate the field of phase-matched nonlinear optics with layered semiconductors and will trigger the next revolution of integrated nonlinear optical devices.

Mots clés : nonlinear optics, second harmonic generation, phase matching, quasi phase matching, coherence length, transition metal dichalcogenides, quantum optics, entangled photons, lasing, integrated optics

Participants :
- École polytechnique de Milan (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 265099.2 €
- Université Columbia (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet INTERSECT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Vector-borne viruses (arboviruses) pose an increasing global threat, causing widespread disease in both humans and animals with significant health and economic impacts. In Europe, the mosquito-borne Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) is especially concerning as this virus is expanding its territory beyond Africa, causing severe disease in both humans and ruminants. Despite ongoing research, critical gaps remain in understanding the RVFV infection cycle, particularly regarding the initial mechanism of mosquito mediated transmission. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program, the INTERSECT project will expand knowledge on early RVFV infection in the skin using advanced virus particle analysis and 3D imaging techniques. These insights are crucial for developing targeted therapeutics and improve risk models. The INTERSECT project aims to investigate early RVFV infection in the skin of its natural host, focusing on mosquito transmission and replication. The specific objectives are to 1) map the genomic composition and distribution of RVFV virions, 2) examine the initial infection in ruminant skin, and 3) elucidate the early host immune response. To address its aims, the project will analyze RVFV infected mosquitos, skin biopsies and sera from infected lambs to study RVFV transmission, replication dynamics, and host immune responses. The project will employ cutting-edge methodologies, including tissue optical clearing, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), advanced microscopy, and spatial transcriptomics to uncover critical insights into early RVFV infection mechanisms. The project will provide advanced training in imaging and genomic analysis and enhance transferable skills through publications, presentations, and public engagement. INTERSECT will advance the scientific understanding of RVFV infection and develop methods applicable to other arboviruses, ultimately contributing to global health, informing vaccine development and outbreak prevention.

Mots clés : rift valley fever virus, arbovirus cutaneous transmission, tissue optical clearance

Participants :
- Wageningen University & Research (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 217076.16 €
Projet DNAPC4ImunoMol (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Our goal is to develop all-DNA structures (protocells) that can act as modulators of the immune system and, in particular, of signaling processes in oncology. Molecular DNA switches that interact with cells via aptamers have been developed and used for drug delivery, cell imaging, and potential therapies. However, there are several advantages of incorporating these swithces into protocells, such as the protection of these circuits against degradation, the ability to create gradients and as a delviery method for in vivo application. DNA protocells that (i) have the ability to recognize proteins and small molecules and (ii) amplify signals and generate output that alters cell physiology have not yet been developed. Realizing these structures requires filling a gap in our knowledge of how of how aptamer reactions network in confinement. We anticipate that by filling these gaps in our knowledge, we will be able to produce a pure DNA protocell that can harbor aptamer-based response networks for modulation of intercelullar communication in the tumor microenvironment.

Mots clés : dna protocell, aptamer, tumor microenvironment, self assembly, dna computing, nucleic acids, cell communication

Participants :
- Université Johannes-Gutenberg de Mayence (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 173847.36 €
- Université de la ville de New York (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ProteNano-MAG (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

The key goals of “ProteNano-MAG” are: (a) the training of a talented researcher, Dr. Lourdes Marcano, in the fast-growing field of science, technology and industrial applications of nanomedicine, where the host and partner institutions have critical knowledge and expertise; and, (b) the design, development and optimisation of eco-friendly synthesis routes using bioinspired simplified engineered proteins as templates for the preparation of magnetic nanoparticles for effective diagnosis and therapeutic intervention in cancer treatment. The interdisciplinary training program includes protein engineering, preparation of magnetic nanomaterials, characterization including sophisticated synchrotron-related techniques, in-vitro studies, magnetic resonance imaging and implementation for hyperthermia applications. The fellow is a talented researcher who has gained much expertise in biological synthesis mediated by magnetotactic bacteria (natural systems which are inspiration to “ProteNano-MAG”) and structural and magnetic characterization of single-domain magnetic nanoparticles during her undergraduate and postgraduate career. To further boost her career, she needs to gain expertise in alternative routes for the preparation of magnetic nanomaterials, design and characterization of recombinant simplified protein systems and state-of-the-art techniques such as space-resolved X-ray fluorescence and absorption spectroscopies, fields in which the CIC biomaGUNE and the two secondment’ co-hosts, the ESRF and the Universität Bayreuth, have a world-recognised expertise. Additionally, through the six-month placement at Resonant Circuits Ltd., the fellow will gain additional high-level training in magnetic hyperthermia for the medical/industrial application of the prepared magnetic nanoparticles. This multidisciplinary project will also increase her supervision experience, project and intellectual property management expertise, and research funding and proposal writing skills.

Mots clés : bioinspired synthesis of nanomaterials magnetic nanoparticles protein engineering magnetic and structural characterization synchrotron techniques nano xrf nano xanes mri magnetic hyperthermia

Participants :
- European synchrotron radiation facility (France) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Centre for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 181152.96 €
- Université de Bayreuth (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet PRINN (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Scientists have huge needs for better analysis tools. Machine learning is a powerful framework to provide outstanding tools, but the current large-scale neural networks are not adapted for scientific applications where datasets are limited. Probabilistic networks are a powerful alternative for smaller datasets. However, they have flaws that prevent them to work well for complex tasks. They notably have speed and accuracy limitations. This project aims to make a breakthrough in machine learning for scientific applications by developing a new physics-informed probabilistic neural network adapted for small datasets. The basic unit of our network overcomes the limitations of the current probabilistic methods by considering a recurrent Gaussian process and using an analytical integration method. The first objective of our project is to deploy several units that each represent a state in a neural network, and to consider abrupt transitions from one state to another. This network will be applied to the analysis of single-particle tracking data, an important and complex biology problem for which our model will be particularly well-suited. Next, we will extend our network to consider maps and spatiotemporal maps. This second phase will be applied to mapping cell viscosity, a particularly promising super-resolution technique that does not require specific markers. Our last objective is to create a modular network to enable better scalability of our architecture for more complex tasks. We will test this architecture on multimodal data like vital signs to predict patient outcomes. This project will therefore result in a powerful open-access neural network that other scientists will be able to derive for their scientific applications, along with a series of three scientific tools that will redefine the state-of-the-art in their respective fields and for which we expect a large use.

Mots clés : neural networks, machine learning, probability, statistics, signal processing, kalman filtering, single particle tracking, sequential data, mapping, denoising weather forecasting, patient outcomes

Participants :
- Sorbonne Université (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 413379.72 €
- Université Columbia (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet WomenAndOceans (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Using historical maritime archaeological methods, this project will investigate the role of Indigenous women in oceans’ activities in the Pacific Islands in order to highlight the importance of Indigenous women knowledge for environmental security. This study will be aligned with the approach of the Science-Policy Platform of the United Nations of working with indigenous and local knowledge to offer solutions to environmental challenges . Environmental security is concerned with ecological emergencies such as climate change, food security or biodiversity loss and its effects on the security of people and societies. Indigenous peoples in general emphasise the spiritual nature of their relationship with the land or the oceans, which is basic to their existence and to their sustainable use of the oceans . Many Indigenous women have always been providing for their families by diving for pearls, seaweeds, shellfish, sea urchins, lobster, sea cucumber, shellfish, oyster, octopus and abalone for centuries . These women have witnessed coastal erosion, changes in currents, warming of the seas, variation in fishing stocks, naval operations or historical shipwrecks, all essential information for environmental security. For Indigenous communities in the Pacific Islands, the main source of livelihood is the sea and Indigenous women have a history of being the ones diving for food and resources. In addition, throughout the Pacific, women are regarded as original sources of navigation knowledge . Consequently, as custodians and teachers of significant traditional knowledge, Indigenous women bring a unique strength and insight to oceans’ governance. Using the ancestral voyaging knowledge and oceans’ relations of Indigenous communities, this study will contribute with science to the role of Indigenous communities’ knowledge in informing responses to global challenges.

Mots clés : historical maritime archaeology, indigenous women, oceans heritage, environmental security, navigation

Participants :
- Université Pompeu Fabra (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 285140.64 €
- University of Guam (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université d'Hawaï (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet NITRO-EARTH (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

NITRO-EARTH is aiming to investigate the hardly explored nitrogen chemistry of the alkaline-earth metals (Ae) in order to disclose new reactivity and catalysis. In the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle oxidized (NOx), neutral (N2) and reduced (NH3) forms of N are interconverted by a complicated network of processes. In contrast, manipulation of N in industry is challenging and often needs brute-force methods. The Haber-Bosch process for N2-to-NH3 conversion is, despite being metal-catalysed, one of the most energy consuming industrial processes. This proposal focusses on the organometallic chemistry of imido [RN(2ˉ)] and nitrido [N(3ˉ)] complexes of the alkaline-earth metals, in particular Mg and Ca. While the amide (R2Nˉ) chemistry of the Ae metals is well-established, Ae-imido complexes are rare and Ae-nitrido compounds solely exist as insoluble salts, e.g. Mg3N2. Given the importance of imido and nitrido ligands in transition metal chemistry, access to soluble Ae=NR and Ae≡N complexes promises a rich reactivity and is the prelude of new catalytic processes based on abundant, generally biocompatible, alkaline-earth metals. The various pathways to reach the target include utilization of recently introduced, highly reducing Mg(0) complexes by HARDER and nitreones which have been investigated by PATEL. Also HARDER’s recently discovered N2 fixation with Ca will play a role in the synthetic approach. Owing to the highly ionic character and negative charge on N in Ae=NR or Ae≡N complexes, these novel complexes will be extremely potent nucleophiles or deprotonating reagents. This will be strongly dependent on nuclearity and aggregation which will be controlled by a library of bulky ligands currently available in the HARDER group. The work will be heavily supported by ab initio calculations. The project ultimately leads to the generation of a new class of alkaline-earth metal catalysts which may provide sustainable alternative for transition metal based catalysts.

Mots clés : early main group metals, alkaline earth metals, imido and nitrido complexes, sustainability, low valent complexes

Participants :
- Université Friedrich-Alexander d'Erlangen-Nuremberg (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €