Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet CRYPTRANS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recent research has shown that freshwater systems, and particularly their deepest parts, abound with fungi. These fungi (predominantly in the poorly understood phyla Chytridiomycota and Cryptomycota) are largely new to science and are thought to be involved in ecological processes that convert organic matter into nutrients readily accessible to organisms at higher trophic levels. Given the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressure on freshwater systems, we need to understand these processes and the organisms involved in substantial detail. The present project will characterize these new fungi and detail the processes and ecological services they drive through next-generation sequencing of DNA (metagenomics) and RNA (metatranscriptomics) pools in freshwater depth gradients. The overarching questions are: (1) What fungi are down there? (2) What are their functions and roles? and (3) What are the implications for the study of fungi, freshwater ecosystems, and ecology at large? This combination of taxonomy/systematics and ecological/functional research questions applied to these most unexplored and remote ecological settings represents a novel approach on freshwater systems and biological diversity - one with the potential to redefine the pursuit of biological research questions across biological disciplines and beyond habitats normally targeted. The applicant has developed a new high-tech sampling device capable of stable RNA/DNA capture down to 100 m depth, and he brings substantial expertise on functional and ecological assessment of metagenomics sequence datasets to the project. The host research group is the world authority on molecular identification of fungi and comparison of fungal communities across sites and locations. Jointly this team is in a position to push the boundaries of biological knowledge, with the ultimate intent to allow the applicant to establish a progressive, vibrant research group at the very forefront of freshwater systems research in Europe.

Mots clés : aquatic environmental metatranscriptomics, aquatic fungi, freshwater ecosystems

Participants :
- University of Gothenburg (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 185857.2 €
Projet TADF-DLC-OLEDs (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Recent years have seen tremendous advances in the area of vacuum-deposited organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and these are now commercialized as displays in small portable devices, flat-panel full-colour televisions, and solid-state lighting sources for the automotive industry. The state-of-the-art emitters in these devices consist of a combination of fluorescent and phosphorescent materials, each of which has weaknesses in terms of performance and sustainability. Thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitters offer the potential to overcome these weaknesses. Vacuum-deposition fabrication processes are, however, both costly and materials-wasteful and it is also difficult and expensive to fabricate large-area pixels given the size of the evaporator. Solution-processed OLEDs addresses these detracting features of the fabrication process. The state-of-the-art solution-processed OLEDs, and in particular blue OLEDs typically show poor device performance both in terms of stability and external quantum efficiency (EQE) that is significantly worse than vacuum-deposited devices. This proposal addresses these specific issues using an innovative approach. We will develop solution-processable blue TADF emitters based on discotic liquid crystalline (DLC) molecules, which we contend will provide horizontal alignment in solution-processed films, something not possible at present, in order to improve the light-outcoupling efficiency and hence the EQE.

Mots clés : organic semiconductors, luminescent materials, horizontal alignment, liquid crystals, delayed fluorescence, organic light emitting diodes, electroluminescent device, solution processing

Participants :
- University of St Andrews (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet QHYDRO (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recent years have witnessed a remarkable surge in interest for the electronic properties of new materials, particularly when excited by electromagnetic radiation. This is a very vast domain of research that encompasses all sorts of nano-objects (metallic films and nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, semiconductor quantum dots,…), new materials like graphene, as well as metamaterials whose structure can be engineered so as to display some particular optical properties. In this project, we will focus our attention on metallic nano-objects and the composite metamaterials that can be constructed out of them, such as networks of interacting nanoparticles. Standard methods to study the electron response – such as the time-dependent density functional theory or Hartree-Fock equations – are computationally very costly in terms of run time and memory storage. On the other hand, recent approaches rely on much simpler methods based on improvements of the classical Mie theory. Here, we propose to develop and implement a set of quantum hydrodynamic (QHD) models that are sufficiently simple to be run on standard computers (desktop PC or small university cluster), but contain enough physics to study the electron response beyond the Mie model – in particular nonlinear, nonlocal, and quantum effects. The combination of flexibility and accuracy of QHD models makes them an ideal tool to investigate many open problems in the emerging field of nanoplasmonics. Using this approach, several configurations of nano-objects will be studied, including dimers and trimers of metallic nanoparticles and nanorods, metal-dielectric multilayers, nanoparticles in the vicinity of a thin metal film, and arrays of nanoparticles interacting via the dipole force.

Mots clés : nanoparticles, plasmonics, quantum fluids, ultrafast electron dynamics

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 173076.0 €
Projet TOP WSF (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recently discovered topological Dirac and Weyl semimetals are provoking an incredible interest not only because they represent a point of contact between high-energy and solid state physics, but also due to the technological perspectives they offer in the fields of electronics, spintronics, spin-caloritronics, quantum computing and energy harvesting. Although several exceptional properties, caused by the non-trivial topology, have been observed on macroscopic single crystals, many concrete applications pass through the integration of candidate materials into nano/micro-structured devices. To this aim, the establishment of methods to fabricate high-quality thin films and the investigation of the evolution of their topological transport properties with scaling the sample dimensions is a crucial step, but the current state of art is still strongly lacking. In this project, I want to fabricate thin films of selected topological semimetals with different magnetic ground states (non-magnetic, ferromagnetic, non-collinear antiferromagnetic) using the pulsed-laser deposition technique and set a protocol to optimize the growing conditions. The aim is to explore the evolution of their topological electric and thermoelectric transport properties, including anomalous Hall and Nernst effects, chiral anomalies and giant magnetoresistance, as a function of different tunable parameters (thin film thickness, sample lateral size, temperature, magnetic field, strain). This will be achieved through a sophisticated method of sample patterning with a multiple-approach, which combines optical lithography and focused-ion-beam techniques. In this way, I will be able to obtain highly conditioned micro/nano-structures with an optimal control over the geometrical factors. This study will be of crucial importance to obtain at the same time a new insight into the fundamental physics of topological semimetals and a clue into the actual perspectives of transport devices.

Mots clés : topology, thin films, transport properties, thermoelectric properties, dirac semimetals, weyl semimetals, optical lithography, focused ion beam

Participants :
- University of Genoa (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet PANSYMBIOSIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Recently it has become clear that host-associated microbes play a major role in host adaptive responses to environmental change. To predict future responses, we can explore the past and use geological events, which provide valuable insights into adaptive mechanisms because these events were major drivers of evolution. The formation of the Isthmus of Panamá separated a previous, ancient ocean and all of its marine life into the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. These two oceans have developed into very different habitats. Closely related animal populations that were separated by the Isthmus had to adapt to diverging environmental conditions. Today we find closely related species pairs, i.e., geminate species, that are genetically very similar but live in highly divergent habitats. This provides a powerful study system to explore drivers and processes of speciation, diversification, and adaptation. In this project, I am integrating this knowledge to study the evolution of an animal-microbial symbiosis that was divided into several geminate species pairs by the Isthmus of Panamá. I am going to compare lucinid clam populations (Lucinidae) and their endosymbiotic bacterial chemosymbionts (Candidatus Thiodiazotropha) at the genomic and transcriptomic level. Lucinid clams are an excellent model system in this context because their shells are preserved as fossils and we know that they have existed before the Isthmus closed. Hence, I can calibrate the rates of molecular evolution with the closure of the Isthmus. By studying several populations of hosts and bacterial symbionts, I will be able to use population genetic theory to inform how this symbiosis evolves in response to changing environmental conditions.

Mots clés : microbiome, symbiosis, evolution, ecology, allopatric speciation, marine

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet Rotaxane-DNA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recently, DNA-mimics have been developed in which a natural phosphate unit linking the DNA bases is replaced with a non-natural triazole. This DNA-mimic behaves identically to natural DNA, presenting an opportunity I will exploit during this Fellowship: my mentor, Prof Goldup, has developed chemistry that wraps a ring-shaped molecule (macrocycle) around such triazole links to produce interlocked molecules called rotaxanes. These molecules are perhaps most famous as components of molecular machines, culminating in the 2016 Nobel Prize for chemistry part-awarded to Stoddart and Sauvage, but the mechanical bond also offers opportunities to control the chemistry of the interlocked components. Combining these approaches, I will create interlocked rotaxane-DNAs to study how threading the macrocycle onto DNA affects the biological function of the nucleic acid. During this Fellowship I will develop the first generation of rotaxane-oligonucleotides, study their properties and utilize the mechanical bond to regulate their biological activity. These interlocked oligonucleotides will be demonstrated as versatile new tools for chemical biology through examples of controlled gene expression and therapeutic siRNA applications.

Mots clés : mechanically interlocked architectures, rotaxanes, synthetic oligonucleotide mimics, caged nucleotides

Participants :
- University of Southampton (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet ENIRIS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recently, a novel type of long, filamentous bacteria has been discovered, which are capable of guiding electrical currents over centimeter distances. These so-called “cable bacteria” were first isolated from marine sediments, and laboratory experiments demonstrate that electrons are passed on from cell to cell along the longitudinal axis of the filaments. This long-distance electron transport radically extends the physiological capacities of prokaryotes, and profoundly changes our understanding of biogeochemical transformations in marine sediments. In my PhD research, I have documented that in addition to oxygen, these sulphur oxidizing bacteria can also use nitrate as an electron acceptor. This new form of “electrogenic” nitrate reduction could have important implications for the removal of bio-available N in marine ecosystems. However, the effect of this newly described nitrate reducing process on the global nitrogen cycle, as well as the factors that ultimately control the occurrence, remain unknown. The goal of this project is to identify the end products of the electrogenic nitrate reduction and the environmental controls that regulate its occurrence. This project will hence provide new insights into the physiological abilities of micro-organisms and improve our understanding of N dynamics in marine sediments, strengthening European excellence in these fields of research. The goals of the project will be attained by combining state-of-the-art biogeochemical techniques with a novel and interdisciplinary approach based on principles traditionally applied in microbiology, electrochemistry and geophysics. This project will allow me to work on an up-to-front topic and thus to build up a unique research profile among the large number of researchers in the of nitrogen cycling.

Mots clés : nitrate, marine sediment, cable bacteria, denitrification, electric currents, microsensors

Participants :
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 85587.14 €
- Dutch Research Council (Pays-Bas) — Partner, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 77457.46 €
Projet SalHyd5 (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Recently, the discovery of new antibiotics has slowed, while the incidences of infections caused by bacteria that have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics are rising. There is therefore a growing clinical need for innovative approaches to developing novel anti-infective compounds. Hydrogen is an important energy substrate for a number of pathogenic bacteria and H2 oxidation is essential for the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. S. enterica expresses three different H2-uptake [NiFe]-hydrogenases and one of these (termed hydrogenase-5) belongs to a novel class of O2-tolerant hydrogenases that is synthesized aerobically and oxidizes H2 in the presence of O2. The Hyd-5 gene cluster encodes two accessory proteins, HydH and HydG, that are absent in anaerobic systems and are conserved in those systems in which hydrogenases are synthesized in the presence of oxygen. In other systems, HydH homologs have been proposed as scaffolding proteins that bind the immature [NiFe] cofactor prior its transfer to the large subunit of the enzyme. HydG-like proteins are hypothesised to assemble or stabilize the Fe-S clusters of small subunit during biosyntheis. This proposal aims to study the functional role of accessory proteins HydH and HydG in the biosynthesis of Hyd-5 and to design novel small molecule compounds that potentially inhibit hydrogenase activity and assembly. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of Hyd-5 will allow the development of hydrogenase inhibitors and, as consequence, anti-infectives of virulence of Salmonella and other bacterial pathogens. This project addresses a key biomedical challenge and establishes [NiFe] hydrogenases as novel and credible drug targets.

Mots clés : nife  hydrogenase, oxygen tolerance, salmonella, hydrogen, protein protein interaction, nife  cofactor, fe s cluster, inhibitor

Participants :
- University of Dundee (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet iSEAu (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Reliable and detailed underwater scene sensing, and analysis has a fundamental role in numerous underwater activities drawing both scientific and economic interest. Computer vision and remote sensing have evolved impressively in the last decade, propelled also by advancements in deep learning, enabling unprecedented levels of robust and automatic information extraction from visual data. At the same time, there is increasing interest in visual based underwater sensing, however, deep learning methods are less explored in this domain. On the other hand, sensing modalities based on Single Photon Cameras (SPCs) and transient imaging are gradually maturing, having certain characteristics that allow sensing in challenging visibility conditions, as the ones of underwater environments. iSEAu aims to significantly advance the state-of-the-art of underwater scene sensing by bridging the gap in the use of data-driven methods in underwater perception, and by combining the respective advantages of SPCs, multispectral and conventional cameras. Investing on intensive knowledge transfer, the goal is to bring together the fields of computer vision, machine learning and remote sensing for optimally addressing the underwater visual sensing challenges. The project objectives address these challenges in two levels. The first concerns the development of methods for “removing the water” from underwater images by harnessing the power of learning-based methods, and the development of methods based on SPC transient imaging for perception in challenging visibility conditions. The second level concerns the adaptation and enhancement to the underwater domain of state-of-the-art methods for image-based extraction of structural and semantic information, and their field-testing considering representative application scenarios. In summary, iSEAu will provide novel data-driven methodologies and technological solutions to researchers, scientists and users for underwater sensing of unmatched fidelity.

Mots clés : computer vision, deep learning, remote sensing, underwater imaging, colour reconstruction, spectral imaging, single photon cameras, signal processing

Participants :
- National Technical University of Athens (Grèce) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165085.44 €
Projet Bioisotopes (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Reliable and robust methods for determining iron, zinc and copper status in the general population are needed. High precision natural intrinsic isotopic techniques originating in Earth Sciences can be used to reveal elusive metal pathways. The tight energy controls in biological systems mean that the isotope effect is seen in different metal-protein environments, depending on the ligand coordination and, if relevant, the oxidation state of the metal. When metal pathways adjust, due to increased or decreased uptake, excretion or another metabolic change, the isotope composition of a metal reservoir reflects this. Recent studies have indicated that these high precision isotopic analyses of blood may provide a new reliable method to determine metal status and disease. However, the interpretation of high precision isotopic data currently relies on computational models and plant-based laboratory experiments, and these assumptions are not sufficient to constrain isotopic signatures in human biological systems. Accurate interpretation of the isotopic signature is key to understanding the metabolic pathway that lead to a change in metal status. This study will investigate the isotopic fractionation of iron, copper and zinc on binding with proteins in simple to complex biological systems, and how this relates to metal cell metabolism, with the key aim of establishing a robust reference frame for future investigations of isotope biochemistry.

Mots clés : isotope geochemistry

Participants :
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet NERELUN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Religion has become a salient issue within the United Nations (UN), especially in its human rights activities. This is especially due to a widespread perception of the growing threat posed by Islam, especially to the universality of human rights. The academic debate on the topic is highly polarised, with one view defending secularism as a basis of the universality of human rights and the suppression of religion, and the other seeing religion as a basis of universality and secularism as a threat to it; a more critical view questions both the neat distinctions between these rival views, and their internal coherence. Taking a different path, this project takes secular and religious visions as two sides of the same equation, and explores the question of how states negotiate the unending conflict between these two visions in relation to the construction of human right norms and institutions within the UN. It aims to write a revisionist history of the sources and consequences of the conflict between secular and religious vision in the field of human rights. The project proposes an entirely new theory to conceptualise the dialectic conflict between these two visions, and to select the case studies that exemplify the different configurations of the positions of states on the matter. These positions are then assessed in relation to five critical junctures in the development of human right norms and institutions, based on primary sources collected from UN archives and semi-structured interviews, analysed through the process-tracing method. In producing a theoretically informed and empirical investigation, the project aims to reframe the terms of the debate across disciplines, and allow for the formulation of innovative policy recommendations to help EU states cope with the tension between secular and religious visions domestically and at the UN, in a way that transcends binary or absolutist perspectives that dominate academic and public debates.

Mots clés : human rights, united nations, religion, islam, universalism

Participants :
- Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 275619.84 €
- Columbia University (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €