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

Stroke is associated with the death of brain tissue and is a significant cause of mortality and disability among survivors. Tissue necrosis, in addition to the active release of chromatin by activated neutrophils, a process known as NETosis, results in the release of extracellular nucleosomes, DNA, and histones (ExNDH). Such processes serve to exacerbate the initial tissue injury and promote a pro-inflammatory state, thereby amplifying the original injury. The evidence supporting this hypothesis is that the inhibition of histones, the degradation of DNA, the depletion of infiltrated neutrophils and the blocking of NETosis all result in an improvement in the outcome of stroke. While the cellular effects of ExNDH are well documented, there remain significant unanswered questions. It is yet unclear where, when, and how they arise in the extracellular space. Are they sequestered by the extracellular matrix or microvesicles? What is the fate of these substances within the vasculature and the brain parenchyma? What impact do different stroke treatment modalities have on these pathways? The objective of this project is to address these questions in vivo in a systematic manner, thereby filling a significant gap in our understanding of stroke pathophysiology. To approach these matters, I will locally express fluorescent histone protein in the brain of mice using lentiviruses, induce stroke, and track the movement of fluorescent histones using immunofluorescence analysis and two-photon microscopy. By elucidating the distinctive molecular mechanisms that disrupt the detrimental feedback loop of neuronal damage following a stroke, this research has the potential to improve patient treatment. By leveraging my extensive expertise in neuroimmunology and collaborating with the host institute at the forefront of stroke-vascular biology research, I will also be able to contribute to the evolution of new ideas and expand my scientific horizons.

Mots clés : extracellular nucleosomes, dna, histone degradation, neutrophils, netosis, inflammatory response, stroke pathophysiology

Participants :
- Université d'Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 267418.56 €
Projet TanyCilia (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Obesity and metabolic diseases are a top priority challenge for health systems. Monitoring changes in the body’s energy levels is a task of the hypothalamus (HpT) which integrates the actions of peripheral hormones and nutrients with neural information. However, this regulation is complex, and the causes and biological mechanisms leading to metabolic disorders remain to be explored. Among the cells involved, tanycytes play a key role. They are glial cells that line the third ventricle and mediate information about changes in the circulation to various HpT nuclei. They regulate important neuroendocrine functions such as food intake and energy balance. Although tanycytes are known to integrate external and internal signals, the specific cellular organelles through which they sense these cues remain unknown. Primary cilia (PC) are one such compartment crucial for perceiving peripheral signals, and they are indeed present in tanycytes. We have coined the name tanycilia for them. However, the function of tanycilia is still unclear. Here, we hypothesize that cilia may act as antennae for tanycytes, sensing nutrients or hormones, enabling adaptive cellular responses, and transmitting metabolic information to neurons. This project aims to I) characterize tanycilia morphology for the first time; II) identify their functions, primarily in the regulation of metabolism; and III) examine them in pathological contexts like obesity and anorexia. To achieve these goals, we will employ immunohistochemical techniques to characterize tanycilia in wild-type mice. To investigate their function, we will genetically manipulate tanycilia using inducible mouse models in combination with tanycyte-specific adeno-associated viruses (rAAV). The discovery of tanycilia's roles in integrating peripheral signals to regulate neuroendocrine functions holds promise for understanding and treating metabolic disorders.

Mots clés : tanycytes, primary cilia, signalling pathways, metabolism, reproduction, hypothalamus, calcium activity, obesity, anorexia

Participants :
- University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet MIPED (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Migrants In the Politics of Energy Decarbonisation (MIPED), a research project conducted by Rocío Hiraldo under the supervision of David Jordhus-Lier at the University of Oslo (UiO), will study the place of migrant workers in the politics of energy decarbonisation, a question underexplored in the literature yet highly relevant due to the growing recognition of the need of migrant labour in the attainment of European climate targets in the energy sector. Focusing on four case studies in Spain, MIPED will examine how the inclusion and exclusion of migrant workers’ labour concerns in mobilisations around energy decarbonisation is shaped by the socio-spatial interactions of migrant workers with labour, environmental and climate activists in this context. Through a combination of different fields of research, a qualitative and innovative methodology, a consideration of social inequalities intersecting this research question together with ethical and environmental issues, MIPED will address three research objectives: mapping how migrant workers’ experiences of (changes in) their labour conditions in the context of energy decarbonisation; studying how these experiences are taken into consideration by activist organisations mobilising around energy decarbonisation; exploring the social relations and socio-spatial interactions between these organisations and migrant workers. MIPED will reach academics, policy-makers, activists and society through the production of various research outputs including: 3 articles authored by the researcher, 1 to 3 articles co-authored by the researcher and academics at UiO, a policy brief, blog and newspaper articles, social media dissemination, an academic workshop, two project videos and a project blog page. The researcher’s background on MIPED topics and the two-way training process between the researcher and the host institution will ensure the successful attainment of project deliverables on due time.

Mots clés : just transition low carbon development migrant workers political ecology environmental labour studies

Participants :
- Université d'Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 267418.56 €
Projet INMATTER (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In recent years the establishment and subsequent closure of refugee camps across Europe have become emblematic highlighting significant and long-lasting socio-environmental transformations and disruptions. INMATTER addresses this urgent reality by examining the profound impacts of constructing and dismantling refugee camps in mainland and island Greece. While existing literature focuses mainly on policies and interactions among volunteers and refugees, and less on camps’ materialities, INMATTER attempts a shift in perspective. It will incorporate the experiences of local camp workers—whose involvement in camp management has substantially increased—and the affected landscape by combining state-of-the-art approaches from social anthropology, migration and material studies and environmental humanities. Having worked extensively in the humanitarian sector in Greece, I gained deep insights into overlooked relationships, agents, and practices that while matter remain unnoticed. Since 2015, when thousands of asylum seekers arrived on Greek shores, there has been a dramatic shift—from temporary to new permanent camp structures, and from narratives of hospitality to hostility. Violence is now routinized and systematic. Dehumanizing policies and inhumane infrastructures erode empathy, shape the lives and perceptions of refugees and locals, and an ever-changing precarious landscape. Through a nuanced exploration of material remnants, memories and spaces where lives intersect, INMATTER will examine practices of symbiosis, care and healing amid disruption and conflict. Utilizing multimodal ethnography and an engaging audiovisual narrative, it will provide a more inclusive body of knowledge ensuring its findings resonate with broad audiences. Thus, the project’s impact will extend beyond the fellowship, offering crucial perspectives on the transformations of European landscapes and communities in times of crisis, and fostering continued dialogue and understanding.

Mots clés : refugee camps, refugees, local societies, landscape, materialities, infrastructures, multimodal ethnography, greece, crisis

Participants :
- Université d'Oslo (Norvège) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 251578.56 €
Projet ImageTumor (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart failure before the age of 70. The field of metal-based anticancer drugs has been on the rise ever since the discovery of the anticancer properties of cisplatin in 1965, which is in daily clinical use against various types of cancer. Many compounds failed to enter clinical studies since their anti cancer activity is mainly studied in two dimensional (2D) monolayer cells which does not mimic the complex tumor micro environment in humans. In the human body the cancer tumors grow in 3-dimensional structure, hence it is vital to study the anticancer activity of a drug molecules in the 3D tumors rather in 2D mono layer cells. Next, tumor hypoxia (1% Oxygen), a situation where tumor cells are deprived of oxygen, is a major challenge for oncology. In this project we propose the synthesis of N-Heterocyclic Carbene/1,8-naphthalicanhydride conjugated series of metal complexes (Gold, Rhodium, Iridium) to study the anticancer activity and penetration depths in 3D tumor spheroids under hypoxia. We also investigate the activation by reduction mechanism in presence of cellular thiols and cytotoxicity in vitro (3D cell spheroids) and compare the results among the three metal centers. The metal protein interactions play key role in many biological processes; hence we also investigate the metal-protein interaction studies using capillary electrophoresis inductively-coupled mass spectrometry (at secondment). We will investigate the structure activity relationship between metals and of related coordinating ligands in 3D spheroid under hypoxic conditions. We mainly utilize X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) imaging and synchrotron radiation to test the cellular localizations and penetration depth for the proposed metal complexes. This project is expected to yield unique insights towards optimization of next-generation anti-tumor drugs.

Mots clés : x ray fluorescence imaging, metal complexes, cytotoxicity, hypoxia, tumor spheroids, metal protein interactions, 

Participants :
- Université de la Ruhr à Bochum (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
- Université d'Auckland (Nouvelle-Zélande) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet HISTORABLE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a multifactorial disease affecting over 450 million people in Europe alone, amounting to the burden of life-threatening diseases and worsening quality of life. Skeletal muscle is affected early in T2D and contributes to the fast decline of whole-body glucose homeostasis, which is called insulin resistance. Interestingly, even when isolated from the body and cultured in a laboratory in non-diabetogenic conditions, the skeletal muscle cells do not lose the characteristics of the donor, i.e., the cells remain insulin resistant, indicating the existence of a cell-autonomous mechanism that retains the metabolic memory across generations of cells. Nonetheless, such a mechanism remains elusive. Accumulating evidence suggests a potential role of histone post-translational modifications as essential vectors of inheritable information, but it is still a matter of intense debate. In this project, to address this question and understand the pathology of T2D, we will trace a comprehensive genome-wide map of histone post-translational modifications induced by T2D in human primary skeletal muscle cells and investigate whether these histone marks can store and transmit information about the metabolic phenotype from the donor to the next generation of cells. Targeted studies using pharmacological and genetic interventions will then address the role of histone modifying enzymes in metabolic memory transmission. The outcomes could lead to a novel understanding of a broader system of cellular memory storage and transmission. By characterizing the disturbances caused by diabetes in the epigenome using state-of-the-art techniques and multidisciplinary approaches, we could pave the way for innovative clinical interventions addressing a critical global health challenge.

Mots clés : epigenetic regulation of metabolic flexibility and inheritance in the skeletal muscle

Participants :
- Institut Karolinska (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 206887.68 €
Projet PHOBIDE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Semileptonic B-meson decays proceeding via b→c and b→u transitions are processes widely studied in the Standard Model (SM) of Particle Physics. Measurements from B factories and the LHC have been used to determine |Vcb| and |Vub|, two of the elements of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix and, as such, crucial input parameters of the SM. There is a long-standing tension affecting both |Vcb| and |Vub| determinations from inclusive and exclusive decays and significant hints of lepton flavour universality violation in semileptonic B meson decays with tau leptons in the final state and rare decays mediated by the b→s transition. Their possible origin from New Physics (NP) beyond the SM has been broadly scrutinized in the context of exclusive decays. However inclusive B meson decays have never been used as competitive probes of NP. In this project we will establish the theoretical foundation for the study of non-standard interactions in inclusive semileptonic decays driven by b→c and b→u transitions. We will perform a comprehensive model-independent analysis of the constraints on NP from this class of decays, including for the first time all available data on kinematic differential distributions. We will investigate the implications for viable scenarios of physics beyond the SM and present their interplay with the exclusive modes. Disentangling low-energy non-perturbative effects from NP effects is challenging and requires addressing new issues, making the proposed action interdisciplinary and innovative. The researcher Matteo Fael has a broad experience in the theory and phenomenology of inclusive B-meson decays while the supervisor Gian Francesco Giudice is a world-class expert in flavour and collider phenomenology, development of NP models and study of their implications for particle physics and cosmology.

Mots clés : bottom quark, semileptonic decays, heavy quark expansion

Participants :
- Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 226629.12 €
Projet HOPES (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Emotions guide humans and animals in the selection of behavioral strategies to optimize outcomes and promote well-being. Repeated or unexpected strong negative stimuli such as stressors impair the processing of emotions and lead to the development of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Understanding how individuals control their emotions and cope with stressful events has become a major clinical challenge for the development of new treatments. This project aims to define the circuit mechanisms that control emotional regulation. I will focus on a brain region key in emotional regulation, namely the lateral habenula (LHb). Over the past decades, clinical and preclinical studies have identified the LHb as a major hub in the regulation of negative emotions and in the induction of mood disorders. Recent studies have highlighted that lateral hypothalamic (LHA) excitatory inputs to the LHb drive negative emotions (i.e., aversion) and may play a role in depression. However, how the LHb integrates diverse types of inputs to promote negative emotions remains unknown. The main hypothesis of the project is that the complex regulation of emotions is defined by a discrete organization of inputs to LHb that underlies maladaptive circuit-specific dysfunction in models of stress. I will investigate here the molecular and functional properties of the LHb neurons based on their discrete inputs from the LHA. I will use a multidisciplinary approach combining cutting-edge spatial transcriptomics, neuronal tracing and optogenetics to define for the first time the role of the molecularly-defined discrete LHA-LHb pathways in normal and disease-related behaviours. This project will provide key insights about the regulation of mood by the lateral habenula and how the inputs from the lateral hypothalamus are key in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders.

Mots clés : emotional processing, habenula, hypothalamus, neuronal diversity, mood disorders

Participants :
- Institut Karolinska (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 206887.68 €
Projet PLANTID (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The root system anchors the plant to the ground and absorbs water and nutrients to sustain plant development. Understanding root development and its adaptative behaviours to changing environments is a major goal of the 21st century. This interdisciplinary project aims to identify a conserved developmental program between a non-domesticated model plant, Brachypodium, and a cultivated legume crop, Lupin. Secondary root formations such as lateral root (LR) and cluster root (CR) are significant contributors to the adaptative nature of the root system’s architecture. This work will initiate five new collaborations and reciprocal expertise transfers that will benefit both the host labs and the researcher. Preliminary results from the hosting labs showed that Brachypodium LR and Lupin CR organogenesis share common developmental stages. The objectives of PLANTID are (i) investigating the developmental trajectories of LR cells in Brachypodium and (ii) identifying key cell wall (CW) regulators required for LR/CR development in Brachypodium and Lupin. The first phase of PLANTID will be conducted in the Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Neuchâtel (CH) and the second phase at the IPSiM (Institut for Plant Sciences of Montpellier), Montpellier (FR). The two research labs have complementary experiences in the root development of those organisms. Secondment at MPIMP Laboratory in Potsdam will generate the first CW atlas in LR morphogenesis for the two species. I will lead this fellowship with my strong expertise in CW biology and LR development. I will identify genetic regulators that impact nutrients and water uptake with a high potential for agricultural applications in cereal species (e.g biofuel and crop productivity). The project objectives support the strategic plan for research and innovation in the Horizon EU 2021-24 and the EU Green Deal: Restoring EU’s ecosystems and biodiversity to manage sustainable agriculture (Cluster 6).

Mots clés : brachypodium distachyon lupinus albus secondary root morphogenesis spatial accommodation mechanisms conserved genetic regulators cell wall atlas lateral root specific single nuclei rnaseq

Participants :
- Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences (Allemagne) — Partner, associated partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 308746.56 €
- Université de Neuchâtel (Suisse) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet nano-Asymmetry (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The compositional and structural asymmetry of cell membranes remains one of the greatest knowledge gaps in cell biology. Cells invest significant amount of energy to establish and maintain inter-leaflet asymmetry; however, the physiological roles of bilayer lipids during dynamic cellular processes in eukaryote membranes remain poorly understood, mostly due to the limits of previously available methodologies and the complexity of lipid membranes. Current knowledge originates from indirect and perturbing techniques (i.e. enzymatic digestion and mass spectrometry) which significantly limits the applicability to certain cell types with no internal membranes. Moreover, these bulk methods do not provide spatial information on lipid asymmetry which prevents detailed observation of subcellular changes during dynamics processes such as host-pathogen interactions.  In this project, I will develop a method to directly visualize and quantify membrane asymmetry, which will be applicable to study any cell type as well as intracellular membranes. Recent advances in super-resolution microscopy, including my latest publications, paved the way for direct observation and quantification of lipid asymmetry. I will combine state-of-the-art isotropic expansion methods with super-resolution microscopy to visualize membrane lipids in individual leaflets of bilayers. To obtain further insights on the physiological role of membrane asymmetry, I will investigate changes in lipid asymmetry induced by infection with viral particles. The novel methods I will develop will significantly contribute to a better understanding of lipid asymmetry in biological membranes and its impact in cellular physiology and diseases mechanisms.

Mots clés : super resolution microscopy, expansion microscopy, dstorm, sted, lipid asymmetry of biological membranes, biomimetic cell models, 

Participants :
- Institut Karolinska (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 222727.68 €