Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet MAGLEV (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The MESSENGER mission imaged explosive volcanic deposits on Mercury: a surprising result because Mercury’s proximity to the Sun should have depleted its constituents in volatiles. Mercury’s large core suggests its rocky shell was stripped by some process, which most likely would have removed its volatiles too. The volatiles’ species, how Mercury retained them, and how they were concentrated in Mercury’s magmas are unknown. Mercury’s volcanic plains formed ≥3.5 billion years ago, before magma ascent routes were closed by global contraction, but some impact craters liberated magmas for an unknown time afterward. The University of Leicester-built Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer on the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission will measure Mercury’s composition. Mercury’s explosive volcanic deposits are important targets, but it is unknown how MIXS will respond to their exotic physical and chemical properties under different observation conditions. Vital groundwork remains to be done before BepiColombo arrives in 2026. Through the Mercury: Assessment of the Geology of Late Eruptions and Volatiles (MAGLEV) action, I will: (1) conduct an interdisciplinary study of materials excavated by Mercury’s Caloris basin to provide the deepest constraint on Mercury’s volatile subsurface distribution to assess how they were concentrated in Mercury’s magmas, with implications for the planet’s formation; (2) measure the volumes and ages of late-stage lavas found within impact craters, to inform us about the thermal evolution of Mercury and Mercury-like exoplanets, and; (3) quantify the response of the University of Leicester’s MIXS emulator to synthetic analogues of key Mercury terrains, to optimise MIXS operating parameters. By conducting MAGLEV at the Institute for Space based at Space Park Leicester, I will gain new research skills, planetary perspectives, teaching opportunities, and space mission experience, all of which will enhance my short-to-long term career development.

Mots clés : planetary science mercury

Participants :
- Université de Leicester (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260347.92 €
Projet ExplainDissolution (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The European pharmaceutical market is worth more than 200 billion euros, and a significant share of it comes from tablets, the most popular dosage form used to treat hundreds of millions of patients. The in vitro dissolution profile is used to characterize how the drug is released from tablets, indicating their effectiveness. However, an incomplete understanding of the effect of material attributes and process parameters on the dissolution profile of tablets has been the source of various quality problems for decades. These include product recalls that undermine the trust of patients in medicines and cause major financial loss. Therefore, the purpose of this proposal is to integrate advanced mechanistic modelling techniques to construct a next-generation modelling framework that predicts the dissolution profile of tablets. This will be realized by combining continuum-based modelling of tablet compression with discrete element method simulation of disintegration and population balance equation-based description of drug dissolution. The integration of these techniques requires an interdisciplinary approach and has not been done before. The resulting integrated model will consider the properties of the tablet components and the geometry of the tablet press to predict how the drug will be released from the tablet following administration. By applying this technique, we estimate that the drug development cycle can become 4-5% shorter and many quality issues can be prevented. The Fellow will undertake a non-academic placement at Pion Inc. to access state-of-the-art dissolution testing equipment with in situ UV probes for real-time concentration measurement. During the project, the Fellow will gain familiarity with the mechanistic modelling techniques described above. Combining this new knowledge with his expertise in empirical dissolution modelling will enable the Fellow to pursue an ambitious research programme in the future, greatly enhancing his academic career.

Mots clés : tableting dissolution testing disintegration powders mechanistic modelling quality assurance

Participants :
- Pion inc.(uk) ltd (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, associated partner, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 0.0 €
- Université de Leicester (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 292891.41 €
Projet POPYNA (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most diagnosed cancer worldwide. Though several treatment strategies are available today, around a million people die of this disease each year worldwide. Thus, there is still a pivotal need for new and more effective treatments. Intra-tumor cellular heterogeneity has emerged lately as an intrinsic feature of malignancies and as one of the factors responsible for therapy resistance or tolerance. However, the role that phenotypically distinct subpopulations have on tumor biology is far from being understood. This multi-disciplinary proposal is based on the use of cutting-edge techniques to unravel the basic features of intra-tumor phenotypic heterogeneity and subpopulations interactions. The goals are to (1) identify and characterize phenotypically distinct subpopulations on a set of metastatic CRC human-derived organoids by single-cell RNA sequencing; (2) monitor their plasticity (transitions) by generation of fluorescent reporter lines and live-imaging lineage tracing; (3) study the impact of each subpopulation on tumor growth, and identify underlying molecular pathways by live-imaging. Ambitiously, this project aims at witnessing phenotypic transitions in living cells, a challenging task that has not been fully accomplished yet, with relevant therapeutic consequences. It is expected that this project will provide the scientific community with a deeper understanding on subpopulations dynamics in colorectal cancer, that could ultimately result in the discovery of novel treatment strategies, such as targeting a specific subpopulation or interfering with molecular determinants of transitions. Moreover, it will foster the independent career of the applicant as a researcher by expanding her skills and international network. This project tackles a relevant problem of modern cancer biology by employing innovative techniques, complemented with state-of-the-art facilities and high quality training and mentoring.

Mots clés : intra tumor heterogeneity, scrnaseq, quantitative live imaging, population dynamics, cancer, organoids, plasticity

Participants :
- Université de Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 172750.08 €
Projet ASTER (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The centrosome is one of the main microtubule-organizing centers in cells, spawning filaments that define the cell’s shape and polarity. Peculiarly, it is almost always positioned either at the center of the cell or at its periphery, rarely in between. Precise centrosome positioning is crucial: when positioned in the center, the centrosome has the fundamental task of integrating information from the whole cell via the microtubule network. Instead, its swift transition to the periphery is a key step of cell differentiation and polarization. Yet, despite its importance, the mechanism regulating this transition is unknown: several factors are probably involved and regulated in the process, including forces due to molecular motors or to the dynamics of the actin and microtubule networks. In particular, the role of the actin network inside which the microtubules are embedded is starting to be understood as a fundamental player, yet the precise physical mechanism is not understood. This project consists in resorting to the in vitro reconstitution of both the actin and the microtubule networks at the same time, to study their interaction in a minimal biomimetic system. Using an artificial centrosome spawning microtubules and embedding it inside an artificial actin cortex in a dynamic state, adding molecular motors to provide activity and confining it inside cell-sized microwells, we aim to understand how a sharp center to periphery transition can occur and what are the physical processes involved. The possibility to add different purified components one at a time will allow exploring what role factors such as motor- and polymerization-based forces or the mechanical coupling to a contractile actin network play, individually and combined, in defining and controlling precise centrosome positioning. The project paves the way for the understanding of centrosome positioning in cells but also represents an big step in the ongoing effort to build a synthetic cell "from scratch".

Mots clés : centrosome positioning, in vitro reconstitution, synthetic cell, mechanobiology, actin microtubules composites, molecular motors, biopolymer networks, active gels, active matter, soft biological matter

Participants :
- Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 195914.88 €
Projet Chromofold (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In human cells, the SMC complex condensin plays a significant and essential role in chromosome condensation, but there is conflicting data. Studies from other groups have suggested that the loop extruding activity of condensin is important for chromosome folding, but a study from my host lab suggested that loop extrusion (LE) alone is not able to package chromosomes. Using molecular biology experiments and polymer simulations they hypothesized that condensin has an additional bridging induced phase separation (BIPS) activity that is required for correct chromosome folding. In its absence, chromosomes are not fully compacted leading to chromosome instability.  I will collaborate closely with polymer physicists in Edinburgh to interpret experimental data and to understand how different condensin activities are necessary for chromosome folding. Together, we expect to provide a new model of condensin molecular functions based on experiments in vivo analyzed together with simulations of mitotic chromosomes. Deviations between simulations and experiments will be used to identify gaps in our knowledge leading to new hypothesis generation.  My aim is to investigate how different condensin activities (BIPS vs LE) regulate mitotic chromosome folding. To achieve this I have the following objectives: (i) Use an in silico model of condensin-mediated chromatin folding with diverse levels of LE and BIPS to develop models of chromosome folding and generate testable hypotheses and predictions. (ii) In human cells replace endogenous condensin components with already identified separation of function mutants to alter the balance between BIPS and LE activities and assess their role in chromosome folding. (iii) Explore how different mutations affect condensin binding and clustering on mitotic chromosomes using super-resolution microscopy.

Mots clés : smc complex, mitotic chromosome, condensin, separation of function, loop extrusion, simulation, genome organization, chromatin folding

Participants :
- Université d'Édimbourg (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 260347.92 €
Projet DEPICTNESS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Given colonial and imperial backgrounds on the history of many of the European powers, different geographical displacements and the lack of proper representation the Black community, and people of colour (PoC), are historically portrayed in a sarcastic, humorous and racist fashion in European textual and visual repertoire. One would assume that the traditions perpetuated by colonial powers in representation of otherness would be replicated in imperialist countries, but these attributes can also be seen in countries that have no slavery or colonial past. DEPICTNESS is an interdisciplinary postdoctoral project that lays in the in-between place of Translation studies and Semiotic studies (not to mention other relevant fields as Travel Writing and Comparative Literature). One of DEPICTNESS objectives is to analyse the works of Hergé (Belgian cartoonist) and Gori (Estonian caricaturist). Chosen images of both artists’ PoC characters will form the visual selection, while the phrases using petit nègre in the Hergé collection and its translations in Portuguese, Galician, English and Estonian will form the textual selection. Both selections will be analysed and compared to see how differently white and PoC characters are portrayed textually and visually by both artists; for the visual selection a Semiotics approach will be used, while for the verbal selection a postcolonial methodology applied to translation studies will analyse the implications of being described by an accent. Concerning this selection and the artists’ production, founded on Travel Writing theory, another objective of DEPICTNESS is to coin a travel writer category called the static traveller taking in consideration the analytical corpus of the project. The multi-comparative approach of DEPICTNESS plot imagery and textual selection in order to explore the representations made by Gori and Hergé.

Mots clés : translation studies tintin gori

Participants :
- Université de Tallinn (Estonie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 151901.76 €
Projet INCEPT (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Ambitious goals of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and decarbonisation have been set by the recent policies European Green Deal, Energy Union (2030 energy and climate targets) and European Union’s 2050 long-term decarbonisation strategy, aiming for a successful green energy transition. My project objective is to enhance the cryogenic chilldown process to minimise liquid hydrogen consumption in future applications as fuel for terrestrial, maritime and aviation transportation. Indeed, combined with partial vehicle electrification, the use of cryogenic fuels (first and foremost liquid hydrogen) in terrestrial, maritime and aviation transports has gained an increasingly prominent role thanks to their environmentally friendly nature and ability to store the energy and control its release. Cryogenic fuels can be stored as gas or liquid. Even though cryogenic liquefaction requires energy due to typical low temperatures (< 120 K), it is advantageous since it produces high fuel densities. This makes liquified cryogenic fuels particularly suitable for the next hybrid transport systems. However, defined as the initial transient process of keeping the system adjusted to the low temperature, cryogenic chilldown in pipelines of fuel storage and handling systems is still highly inefficient (average quenching efficiency < 39%). I propose a new strategy for cryogenic chilldown enhancement by tuning the inner wettability of pipelines using surface engineering via femtosecond laser texturing.

Mots clés : zero emission green propulsion cryogenics chilldown enhancement surface engineering high resolution thermography

Participants :
- KU Leuven (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 175920.0 €
- Agence spatiale européenne (France) — Partner, associated partner, Autres, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet HyPlex (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Gene therapy has long been seen as a promising solution to unmet clinical needs and the licencing of gene therapy SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has provided a flavour of the technology’s potential. However, gene therapy still faces significant challenges in clinical and commercial translation including the need for effective and safe delivery vectors. Polymeric nanoparticles offer great flexibility in gene vectors design, improved stability and easier scale-up of production compared to lipid nanoparticles but often suffer from cytotoxicity and underperformance in vivo. The goal of HyPlex is to develop the next generation polymeric nanovectors which can easily be functionalised to further improve delivery efficacy. The project will develop novel chemistry to achieve polylysine/polyacrylate hybrid nanogels. Functionalisation of nanogels will be demonstrated by the introduction of mannose, a common cell binding motive as well as diethylene glycol ethyl ether arylate to optimise the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance. In an interdisciplinary approach gene loading and cell transfection will be studied up to in vitro level. The project results will be exploited as part of an ongoing commercialisation initiative at RCSI, which will provide the applicant with a unique experience in research translation and commercialisation. The high-level science is complemented by bespoke training activities, which will significantly advance the career opportunities of the applicant. Project results will be communicated to peers as well as the public with specific focus on encouraging female secondary school pupils to take up scientific careers.

Mots clés : nanogels, polypeptides, polyacrylates, gene delivery, soft nanomaterials

Participants :
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 215534.4 €
Projet VWF-MISS (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a large multimeric glycoprotein that circulates in plasma and plays a key role in primary hemostasis at sites of vascular injury. In addition, recent studies have highlighted a novel role for VWF in regulating inflammation in multiple human pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, von Willebrand disease, and several cancers. Notwithstanding these findings, the biological mechanisms through which VWF exerts its immunomodulatory effects remain poorly understood. The overarching aim of the VWF-Macrophage Intracellular Signalling Study (VWF-MISS) is to gain novel insights into the molecular mechanisms through which VWF regulates macrophage biology over the course of an 18-month fellowship. Specifically, VWF-MISS will characterize i) the macrophage receptors involved in modulating the pro-inflammatory response, ii) the molecular basis involved in the temporal regulation of VWF signalling, and iii) the role of specific VWF domains and/or mutations in regulating macrophage inflammatory signalling using a wide range of in vitro laboratory strategies and bioinformatics (RNA-sequencing). As such, the applicant will integrate existing expertise from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland O’Donnell laboratory (VWF biology; host organisation) and Trinity College Dublin Fallon laboratory (innate immunity; secondment) to address these research objectives. The concept that VWF plays a key role at the interplay of hemostasis and inflammation has clear translational relevance with respect to both bleeding and thrombosis and presents the intriguing possibility that specific targeting of the VWF-macrophage interaction could offer exciting therapeutic opportunities. The VWF-MISS project will equip the applicant with transferable laboratory and analytical skills, that, combined with her clinical background, will significantly advance her career goal to direct a scientific research program relating to the crosstalk between hemostasis and immunity.

Mots clés : hemostasis, von willebrand factor, macrophage

Participants :
- Trinity College (Irlande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189546.48 €
Projet YAHYA-6G (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

YAHYA-6G aims to propose new signal processing solutions doped with machine-learning. We will focus on the detection and compensation of RF imperfections in mMIMO (massive Multiple input Multiple output) based NOMA (Non-orthogonal multiple access) pair . In other hand, YAHYA-6G target is to minimize the long-term power consumption based on the stochastic optimization theory for mMIMO-NOMA IoT networks with EH (Energy Harvesting) in presence of RF imperfections. Thus the objectives of the YAHYA-6G project are: 1- Identify major RF imperfections that may occur in a multi-access / multi-antenna broadband system. 2- Propose new solutions to optimize the energy efficiency at the RF transmitters. This solution will focus on the power amplifier that represents 60 at 70% of the energy consumed in an RF transmitter. 3- Analyze the impact of these RF imperfections on mobile radio systems exploiting NOMA technologies. 4- Propose a Deep Learning online learning process to detect the NOMA channel characteristics and compensate the effect of HPA nonlinearity. A joint detection of the NOMA interference and HPA (High Power Amplifier) nonlinearity will be studied in mMIMO-NOMA system. 5- Resolve a non convex based problem coping with the expected 6G requirements, with a particular focus on optimal resource scheduling and computation capacity allocation and reducing energy consumption of wireless devices, through a set of new algorithms . 6- Realize a demonstrator based on the SDR (Software Defined Radio) USRP cards on which some algorithms developed in the project will be implemented.

Mots clés : massive mimo, eh, noma, rf imperfections

Participants :
- Instituto de Telecomunicações (Portugal) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 172618.56 €