Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of Transcription Proofreading (MTP)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Molecular and Structural Biology and Biochemistry
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-11-01
End date: 2013-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1149831.0
EU funding (EUR): 1149831.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Transcription, the copying of DNA into RNA, is the first step in the realisation of genetic information. RNA is either directly used by the cell or decoded into proteins during translation. The accuracy of transcription is thus essential for proper functioning of the cell. In all living organisms transcription is performed by multisubunit RNA polymerases, enzymes that are highly conserved in evolution from bacteria to humans. Surprisingly, the mechanisms that ensure accuracy of transcription remain largely unknown. Recently I discovered a novel mechanism of transcriptional proofreading used by bacterial RNA polymerase. I showed that the RNA transcript itself assists RNA polymerase in identifying and correcting mistakes. This discovery led to the hypothesis that this transcript-assisted proofreading is the universal mechanism of transcriptional error correction in all three domains of life. In this proposal we will investigate this hypothesis and search for other mechanisms of transcriptional proofreading used by bacterial, archaeal, and three eukaryotic RNA polymerases. For the first time experimental systems will be built for the simultaneous investigation of transcription elongation complexes formed by bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic RNA polymerases I, II and III, which will be used to elucidate the mechanisms of error correction used by these RNA polymerases. Using molecular modelling, directed mutagenesis and in vivo screenings we will investigate the impact of these proofreading mechanisms on the total fidelity of transcription in vitro and in vivo. Experimental systems built in this research may be of use for screening of potential antibacterial and antifungal drugs taking advantage of the simultaneous investigation of RNA polymerases from all domains of Life. This research may also have potential applications in drug design by providing new targets for antibiotics.

Keywords: transcription,rna polymerase,fidelity,proofreading,elongation complex
Biophysical aspects of self-organization in actin-based cell motility (BIOSELFORGANIZATION)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2013-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 900000.0
EU funding (EUR): 900000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cell motility is a fascinating dynamic process crucial for a wide variety of biological phenomena including defense against injury or infection, embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. A spatially extended, self-organized, mechanochemical machine consisting of numerous actin polymers, accessory proteins and molecular motors drives this process. This impressive assembly self-organizes over several orders of magnitude in both the temporal and spatial domains bridging from the fast dynamics of individual molecular-sized building blocks to the persistent motion of whole cells over minutes and hours. The molecular players involved in the process and the basic biochemical mechanisms are largely known. However, the principles governing the assembly of the motility apparatus, which involve an intricate interplay between biophysical processes and biochemical reactions, are still poorly understood. The proposed research is focused on investigating the biophysical aspects of the self-organization processes underlying cell motility and trying to adapt these processes to instill motility in artificial cells. Important biophysical characteristics of moving cells such as the intracellular fluid flow and membrane tension will be measured and their effect on the motility process will be examined, using fish epithelial keratocytes as a model system. The dynamics of the system will be further investigated by quantitatively analyzing the morphological and kinematic variation displayed by a population of cells and by an individual cell through time. Such measurements will feed into and direct the development of quantitative theoretical models. In parallel, I will work toward the development of a synthetic physical model system for cell motility by encapsulating the actin machinery in a cell-sized compartment. This synthetic system will allow cell motility to be studied in a simplified and controlled environment, detached from the complexity of the living cell.

Keywords: cell motility,biological self-organization,actin,artificial cell
LEVERAGING CESGA TO RESEARCH CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (NEXTCESGA)

Framework: FP7 — Capacities
Programme: Research Potential
Destination: International Co-operation
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-REGPOT-2007-2, 2007)
Start date: 2008-05-01
End date: 2009-04-30
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 155121.6
EU funding (EUR): 138316.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Fundación CESGA is a public foundation which has been nominated as singular research infrastructure by the Spanish Government in 2007. It is a 14 years old centre who has been devoted to provided high performance computing and networking facilities to the researchers of three regional universities, the research centres in the region and to the research centres of the National Research Council of Spain. Since last year 2006, it has a new mission: to become a centre of research excellence in the fields of High Performance Computing and Mathematics applied to the industry. As first step, a clear Action Plan for this transformation has to be defined with the advice of an External Advisory Committee of leading experts in these fields who analyze the strengths and opportunities of CESGA for the future. This project is devoted to produce a SWOT analysis and an Action Plan for leveraging CESGA to a research centre of excellence in the near future.

Keywords: research,center,excellence,remote regions,hpc,mathematics,external evaluation,evaluation by experts
Nuclear reaction studies relevant to the astrophysical p-process nucleosynthesis (ATOMKI-PPROCESS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Fundamental constituents of matter
Countries involved: Hungary
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 750000.0
EU funding (EUR): 750000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The astrophysical p-process, the stellar production mechanism of the heavy, proton rich isotopes (p-isotopes), is one of the least studied processes in nucleosynthesis. The astrophysical site(s) for the p-process could not yet be clearly identified. In order to reproduce the natural abundances of the p-isotopes, the p-process models must take into account a huge nuclear reaction network. A precise knowledge of the rate of the nuclear reactions in this network is essential for a reliable abundance calculation and for a clear assignment of the astrophysical site(s). For lack of experimental data the nuclear physics inputs for the reaction networks are based on statistical model calculations. These calculations are largely untested in the mass and energy range relevant to the p-process and the uncertainties in the reaction rate values result in a correspondingly uncertain prediction of the p-isotope abundances. Therefore, experiments aiming at the determination of reaction rates for the p-process are of great importance. In this project nuclear reaction cross section measurements will be carried out in the mass and energy range of p-process to check the reliability of the statistical model calculations and to put the p-process models on a more reliable base. The accelerators of the Institute of Nuclear Research in Debrecen, Hungary provide the necessary basis for such studies. The p-process model calculations are especially sensitive to the rates of reactions involving alpha particles and heavy nuclei. Because of technical difficulties, so far there are practically no experimental data available on such reactions and the uncertainty in these reaction rates is presently one of the biggest contributions to the uncertainty of p-isotope abundance calculations. With the help of the ERC grant the alpha-induced reaction cross sections can be measured on heavy isotopes for the first time, which could contribute to a better understanding of the astrophysical p-process.

Keywords: nuclear astrophysics
Engineering model of the Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit (EGATEC)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: European Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-2-ERG, 2007)
Start date: 2007-10-01
End date: 2009-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 30000.0
EU funding (EUR): 30000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

I propose here the possibility of modelling the global atmospheric electric circuit as a network of electrical elements and simulating it using existing engineering software for simulations of electrical circuits. With the use of new findings in the area of atmospheric electricity and newest data sets and models of atmospheric parameters this model gives an attractive prospect of extensive studies in this field.

Keywords: atmospheric electricity
Deciphering the molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding for the development of novel therapeutics (NEUROFOLD)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Portugal
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG, 2007)
Start date: 2007-09-03
End date: 2011-09-02
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Protein misfolding is a fundamental problem in biology which is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Prion diseases. The overall goal of my research will be to contribute for the understanding of how protein misfolding is associated with disease. Therefore, my research will be focused on the identification and characterization of the toxic species leading to neurotoxicity in different neurodegenerative disorders. This knowledge is critical for a thorough understanding of the disease mechanisms. I will also focus on determining the normal function and biology of some of the key proteins involved in these diseases, such as -synuclein, DJ-1, Tau, and huntingtin, to elucidate how each protein relates to the pathobiology of the respective disease. In HD, for example, recent evidence suggests that loss of normal huntingtin function is involved in the disease mechanisms. In PD, the recessive nature of some of the mutations associated with familial cases also suggests that loss of function might be at the root of the problems. For my research I will employ advanced molecular and cell biology tools, such as genetic screens in yeast and RNA interference screens in mammalian cells, coupled to other genomic approaches, such as gene profiling experiments. I will couple these lines of investigation with novel in vitro and in vivo imaging approaches for the study of protein misfolding at a molecular level, with the ultimate goal of discovering novel avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Keywords: health sciences,neurosciences,neurobiology,molecular biology,multiphoton imaging,molecular genetic screens,parkinson's disease,rnai
Physiological Interactions between Marine Cyanobacteria and their Viruses (PIMCYV)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Neurosciences and neural disorders
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2013-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1582200.0
EU funding (EUR): 1582200.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Viruses (phages) influence many aspects of microbial processes including the population dynamics, diversity and evolution of their hosts. Yet we know practically nothing about the physiological interactions between hosts and phages during infection even though it is the outcome of these very interactions that affects the above-mentioned processes. Using marine cyanobacteria as a model system I propose to study the physiological interactions between ecologically important microbes and the phages that infect them to gain an understanding of the mechanisms through which they impact microbial ecology processes. Cyanobacteria are an important component of marine phytoplankton and contribute significantly to primary production in vast regions of the world’s oceans. The specific objectives of this proposed study are to: (1) Identify phage genes involved in taking over host metabolic processes; (2) Assess the fitness advantage to the phage provided by bacterial-like genes in phage genomes; (3) Develop a genetic manipulation system for cyanobacterial phages to determine the function of genes in (1) and (2); (4) Discover genes functioning in host defense mechanisms in diverse cyanobacterial-phage systems using whole-genome expression analysis and the generation of phage resistant strains; (5) Determine the impact of genes identified in (4) above on host fitness and phage development during infection. Discovery of the mechanisms employed by phage for taking over host metabolic processes and the defense mechanisms set into motion by the host to overcome phage infection will provide insight into how such interactions influence the diversity and evolution of both cyanobacteria and their phages. Furthermore, this study has high potential for uncovering new bacterial defense mechanisms as well as the discovery of novel viral mechanisms for shutting down bacterial metabolic processes, both of which may also have future practical applications.

Keywords: marine biology,microbial ecology,cyanobacteria,phage,gene expression,functional genomics
Novel Lipid Biomarkers from Polar Ice: Climatic and Ecological Applications. (ICEPROXY)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2013-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1888593.6
EU funding (EUR): 1888593.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

It is widely acknowledged that polar sea ice plays a critical role in global climate change. As such, sea ice reconstructions are of paramount importance in establishing climatic evolution of the geological past. In the current project, some well characterised organic chemicals (biomarkers) from microalgae will be used as proxy indicators of current and past sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. These biomarkers, so-called highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs), possess a number of characteristics that make them attractive as sea ice proxies. Firstly, some HBIs are unique to sea ice diatoms, so their presence in polar sediments can be directly correlated with the previous occurrence of sea ice. Secondly, they are relatively resistant to degradation, which extends their usefulness in the geological record. Thirdly, their relative abundance makes them straightforward to measure with a high degree of geological resolution. One component of this project will consist of performing regional calibrations of the proxies. Concentrations of selected biomarkers in recent Arctic and Antarctic sediments will be correlated with the sea ice abundances determined using satellite technology over the last 30 years. The successful calibration of the proxies will then enable reconstructions of past sea ice extents to be performed at unprecedented high resolution. Sediment cores will be obtained from key locations across both of the Arctic and Antarctic regions and the data derived from these studies will be used for climate modelling studies. As a complement to these physico-chemical studies on sea ice, a second component of the project will investigate the use of these biomarkers for studying sea ice-biota interactions and, by examining the transfer of these chemicals through food chains, new tools for determining the consequences of future climate change on polar ecosystems will be established.

Keywords: biomarkers,algae,sea-ice
The implementation of research potential of the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry in the European Research Area (WOOD-NET)

Framework: FP7 — Capacities
Programme: Research Potential
Destination: Unlocking and developing the Research Potential of research entities established in the EU�s Convergence regions and Outermost Regions
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Latvia
Call:  (FP7-REGPOT-2007-1, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1176200.0
EU funding (EUR): 1049320.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project’s objective is to improve the research capacities and to reinforce the S&T potential of the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LSIWC) in its scientific excellence with the aim of unlocking its capacity and make it accessible for ERA; to strengthen LSIWC as a central part, which ensures the smooth integration of researchers from convergence and outermost regions in a field vital for the social-economic development of Europe and Latvia such as Forestry and Forest Products. The project embraces thematic priorities such as the investigation of the structure and biodegradation of wood as a construction material and a cultural historical object to ensure its durability and competitiveness in the changing climate and biodiversity conditions; interdisciplinary theoretical wood studies on the molecular and nano-level, and development of technologies for chemical compounds, production of composite materials and energy from wood, its components and other types of biomass; rational utilization of woodworking and wood processing residues for the development of innovative multifunctional products for agriculture, forestry and environment protection. The project will promote the exchange of know-how and experience, formation of strategic co-operation partnership between the related leading European research centres. It will activate the dissemination of scientific information and joint results, will expand the involvement of young researchers in the scientific environment. The project envisages the acquisition of unique research equipment and upgrading of the existing one, which will extend the research potentialities, strengthen the Institute as an international research centre and make it attractive for the co-operation partners. 51 institutions as provisional cooperation partners from 24 countries will predicted: 41 from 20 ERA countries (between them 14 from 9 new EU countries); 10 from 4 ICPC (Eastern European and Mediterranean) countries.

Keywords: forest products,biomass processing,wood science,wood chemistry
A European Approach to Conflict Resolution? Institutional Learning and the ESDP (EUCONRES)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-05-01
End date: 2013-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1019264.0
EU funding (EUR): 1019264.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

To what extent can international institutions learn? What factors determine whether such institutions develop capacities for self-awareness and endogenous institutional change? This project investigates these questions in the context of the European Union (EU). Specifically, it examines the dramatic expansion in security missions led by the EU since 2003, a capacity that many observers doubted was even possible for the EU. To explain this change in institutional behaviour, the project intends to develop a theory of institutional learning to analyze the EU’s instigation and implementation of 16 security operations in various regions under the auspices of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). In addition, with these missions the EU has shown a growing capacity to innovate in security affairs, using a unique civilian crisis management (CCM) capacity linked to security sector reform and other EU policy tools, including the ESDP, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). These changes demand further examination in light of not only the growing ambitions of the EU itself but also in terms of the increasing demands for security assistance placed on a variety of IOs, such as the UN, NATO, and the OSCE. The initial phase of the project will focus on four key ESDP operations as detailed case studies – Macedonia, the Palestinian Authority, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bosnia-Hercegovina – to explain this innovation. Following the investigation of these representative cases, the later stages of the project will examine more recent EU security operations in hopes of developing a general theory of EU institutional learning in the area of foreign/security/defence policy. The project also hopes to generalize beyond this theory to other EU policy domains and, potentially, other IOs at the regional and global levels. In doing so the findings could have major implications for global governance.

Keywords: conflict resolution,institutional learning,institutionalization,european security and defence policy,esdp,crisis management