Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Regulation of gene expression by transcriptional coactivators (COACTIVATOR)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2017-11-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

How a cell responds to developmental or environmental changes by altering gene expression is a fundamental question in biology. One critical level of regulation is transcription initiation, which is controlled by large multiprotein complexes, including coactivators. Many studies have shown that coactivators have distinct activities that play crucial roles in transcription, and their perturbation can cause cancer or neurodegeneration. Little is known, however, about how these activities integrate external signals to control transcription. I have established one such coactivator, the highly conserved SAGA complex, as an excellent model to address this question. First, I discovered that, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, SAGA regulates the switch from proliferation to differentiation. SAGA uses distinct activities to function either as a repressor or as an activator of differentiation genes, depending on the levels of extracellular nutrients. Second, I discovered that S. pombe provides a unique opportunity to study the function of the largest SAGA subunit, Tra1. Its mammalian homolog, TRRAP, is a key regulator of early embryogenesis and oncogenesis. My overall objective is to address key issues in the regulation of gene expression by focusing on SAGA, using a combination of genetic, genomic, biochemical, and proteomic approaches. One goal of this proposal is to identify which nutrient-sensing signaling pathway causes SAGA to switch from a repressor to an activator at the promoters of differentiation genes. A second objective is to address the role of Tra1 in coordinating the activity of kinases sensing various cellular stresses and the regulatory roles of transcriptional coactivators. Overall, these studies will illuminate previously unknown mechanisms for the control of transcription by signal transduction pathways in eukaryotes.

Keywords: functional biology,molecular genetics,genomics,proteomics,epigenetics,transcription,chromatin,signal transduction,fission yeast
Interactions between ANTs and LABoulbeniales fungi (ANTLAB)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Hungary
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Biodiversity on Earth ultimately depends on the origin of species by natural selection. Important driving forces of diversification are the evolutionary processes between parasites and their hosts. The obligate ectoparasitic Laboulbeniales fungi are associated with arthropods. Only some ant species are known hosts, and of only five species of these fungi. Of these five species, only Rickia wasmannii and Laboulbenia camponoti were known from Europe, until recent records of the exotic L. formicarum. These fungi are understudied in Europe and the few references about them are mostly records from new regions. Publications about the physiological and behavioural effect of these fungi on their ant hosts are not available but I hypothesise their strong evolutionary effect on the ants and vice versa. Based on the relatively easy laboratory culturing of ant colonies and to the large proportion of infected individuals within infected ant nests, ants are excellent model organisms to study the interaction of Laboulbeniales fungi with their hosts. Such general principles can potentially help also understand the adaptation mechanisms of other parasite populations to their hosts. My aim is to provide hitherto missing basic knowledge about the ant-Laboulbeniales system, and to foster deeper study of this interaction. My research will include distribution mapping, investigation of the transmission between ant colonies and testing the physiological and behavioural effect of these fungi on ant colonies. The results can be relevant for conservational questions (e.g. the rarity of R. wasmannii and L. camponoti, if they need any protection; or the effect of the exotic L. formicarum on the native ant species). This project will enable me to introduce new methods (e.g. GC-MS) and the research atmosphere acquired in Copenhagen (during a Marie Curie IEF), to learn new methods (e.g. SEM), and to collaborate with researchers across Europe, which will benefit my research career.

Keywords: animal ecology,ant parasitic fungi,behavioural ecology,biogeography,conservation biology,entomology,laboulbenia formicarum,lasius neglectus,myrmecology,myrmica,parasitology,rickia wasmannii
QUANTUM INTERFACE BETWEEN ATOMIC AND NANO-PHOTONIC SYSTEMS (ATOMNANO)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2016-07-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Techniques to interface atomic systems with quantum optical fields form a cornerstone for future technologies that aim to exploit the laws of quantum physics for enhanced performance over classical devices. For example, quantum information processing is perhaps at the forefront of such possibilities, where photons can be used to relay information over large distances, while atoms naturally are physical systems that can process and store this information. The vast majority of atom-light interfaces developed thus far have been in relatively bulky geometries, such as atomic ensembles in free space or atoms coupled to macroscopic Fabry-Perot cavities. While remarkable progress has been made, these systems remain difficult to scale up and have limited functionality compared to the potential of atomic systems coupled with state-of-the-art nano-photonic devices. ATOMNANO will be a broad theoretical effort aimed at investigating novel techniques to trap cold atoms near nano-photonic structures, developing promising applications for these systems, and advancing theoretical tools to understand the emerging physics. The constituent projects will interface compelling ideas at the interface of several fields such as quantum optics, atomic physics, nano-photonics, quantum information science, and condensed matter physics. Furthermore, ATOMNANO will involve close collaborations with leading experimental groups in these fields to rapidly identify and coordinate the most promising and fundamentally new avenues for future research.

Keywords: p107 atomic - molecular physics,p108 optics and quantum optics
Understanding molecular mechanisms and pathogenic functions of Nef-like retrovirus infectivity factors (NEF-FACTORS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Despite decades of intense research, HIV and other retroviruses retain still surprisingly obscure features, which we need to understand. One of these features concerns Nef, a pathogenic factor of primate lentiviruses, crucial for virus replication and disease progression. This is a challenging lentiviral molecule, because of its extraordinary multifunctionality. If we know relatively well how Nef downregulates cell surface receptors, or activates T-cells and macrophages, we still do not understand how it promotes the infectivity power of virus particle. When HIV is derived from lymphoid cells, up to 98% of its infectious capacity can depend on Nef being expressed in producer cells, but we do not know how this occurs. Despite its many functions already known, in Nef there is space for another activity which has gone unnoticed until now. I have recently unveiled the ability of Nef to increase HIV resistance, up to 50-fold and very specifically, to one of the most powerful and broad classes of neutralizing antibodies. This feature is genetically separable from other activities of Nef, and given its potential implications for pathogenesis in vivo, it deserves immediate attention. While Nef is only present in primate lentiviruses, I have discovered that the activities on virus infectivity and neutralization are not unique to HIV and SIV, but also exerted by gammaretroviruses via a molecule called glycosylated gag (Glycogag) which has no sequence relation with Nef. I have recently shown that the two unrelated proteins share impressive functional similarity, which indicates a compelling case of convergent evolution and open the possibility that Nef and Glycogag are part of a novel class of fundamental retrovirus infectivity factors. The research proposed here intends to unveil how these factors work and to reveal the significance of their role in vivo, to hopefully identify new strategies to fight virus infections.

Keywords: lif,l608 virology,l101 molecular biology and interactions
Centering the Margins: Identifications and Belonging in Lebanon and Syria: 1943-1958 (CENTERING THE MARGIN)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

My research will bring out the multiplicity and fluidity of identifications across national and city-vs.-town boundaries in Lebanon and Syria from 1943-1958. Notably, it is precisely within and amongst the interactions of the inhabitants of the towns of Zahle (Lebanon) and Qamishle (Syria) with those of Beirut and Damascus where new identifications were constructed. These identifications have been obscured by both nationalist histories that reinforce the power of the nation-state, and cosmopolitan histories that claim to weaken this power. Specifically, I will be addressing the following two questions: • How did the inhabitants of the peripheral towns of Zahle and Qamishle articulate self and external identifications during the consolidation of nation-state power in Lebanon and Syria? • How did these identifications interact with and inform the identifications of the inhabitants of the capital cities of Beirut and Damascus? The transformations of how people identified themselves and were identified during the formative years of the Lebanese and Syrian nation-states help us understand the current manifestations of violent struggle over power and membership in both countries. This project therefore calls for multi-sited research in order to go beyond current frameworks of diversity and cosmopolitanism, adding to our understanding of how people view themselves and one another, and the adaptation of identifications over time and location. This grant will enable me to fulfill the requirements to gain permanent employment, namely excellence in scholarship and the facility to attract external funds. Permanent employment confirms not only my commitment to the host institution as a locale, but also solidifies my position as an extension of its scholarship, teaching, innovative research, and obligation to society.

Keywords: kinship,cultural,political,&social dimensions of classification,identification,cosmopolitanism,nationalism,nationalization,marginal/center,inter-religious,ethnic,and sectarian relations
Efficient Synthesis and Design of Reconfigurable MEMS-based Band-Pass Filters in SIW Technology (SIWTUNE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-02-13
End date: 2017-02-12
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project is focused on the development of novel microwave and millimetre-wave fully reconfigurable band-pass filters that combine miniaturization, easy integration onto planar substrates, low losses, low power consumption, improved power handling capabilities and a low-cost and high-yield fabrication scheme. These filters are key components of emerging RF front-ends for future telecommunication systems in both ground and space equipment. To achieve this goal, different emerging and promising technologies will be used. In fact, this project tries to combine the advantages of novel combline SIW resonators with the enhanced characteristics of MEMS varactors to tune the response of coupled resonator filters. The project encompasses all the steps of the filter development process, including EM modelling, design and fabrication issues of the novel topology. This project also aims at improving the European Union competitiveness on the emerging areas involved, by means of scientific excellence and the transfer of the results of this project to the European industry. In addition, the current project also includes a training program at an advanced level for the promising multidisciplinary candidate, in order to reinforce a position of professional maturity, diversity and independence to try to guarantee a bright future career in R&D in Europe

Keywords: g206 communication technology - high-frequency technology,g202 electrical and electronic engineering,g313 micro(system) engineering
Race, identity, exclusion and belonging in higher education: Personal narratives and classroom discourse (RIEBHE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Norway
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-02-01
End date: 2017-06-04
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 87500.0
EU funding (EUR): 87500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project informs our understanding of how issues related to race and racialization are constructed through the use of language in higher education settings in Europe, using Norway as a case example. Study 1 compares race and racialization in classroom talk (discourse) in 2-4 university courses, both traditional lectures and dialogue-based courses. Study 2 explores personal stories (narratives) of university students, professors and staff from racial minority groups, creating new spaces for often-silenced voices. In a methodologically innovative move, the two studies are placed in ‘conversation,’ to understand how race and racialization discourse and personal narratives can ‘talk’ to each other to reveal the workings of ideology, agency and resistance. Based on previous research, the researcher anticipates race and racialization discourse to be hidden under more explicit talk about immigration, religion and nation. Higher education serves as a ‘laboratory’ for examining these issues. Although race and racialization discourse has been studied in schools and educational policy, there is a gap in higher education research in this area. Universities are important because the ideas developed and propagated in higher education influence the broader social context: university students are democratic participants who go on to take positions of power and academics shape public discourse. Finally, Norway is a strong case example for at least two reasons. First, Norway is one of the last countries in Europe to transition to a ‘multicultural’ state. Second, Norway’s wealth has largely protected the country from the economic hardship that has affected much of Europe, so it provides an opportunity to understand how race and racialization discourse is constructed in relatively low-stress circumstances. The Norwegian case can be used as a comparison to explore how issues of race and racialization are constructed in Europe and relate to minority residents’ personal narratives.

Keywords: s106 globalization - migration - interethnic relations,s213 education,s311 cultural studies - cultural diversity,s208 use of language,s101 social structure - inequalities - social mobility
Role of enzyme-coupled TRP channels in immune cell function (RETIF)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2016-07-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Low systemic magnesium (Mg2+) levels exacerbate pro-inflammatory diseases, suggesting a putative role of Mg2+ transport in immune system homeostasis. The Mg2+ and calcium (Ca2+) conducting transient receptor potential ion channel, TRPM7 has an indispensable, vital role in cellular physiology. TRPM7 regulates cellular and systemic Mg2+ homeostasis and is essential for immune cell differentiation, proliferation and survival. However, little is known about underlying mechanisms or the physiologic regulation of the protein’s channel or enzymatic domain. Autoimmune diseases are often accompanied by low systemic Mg2+ concentrations, which might be associated with altered TRPM7 function. Thus, it is important to identify whether TRPM7 represents a valuable new target for immune therapy. Antigen-presenting cells (APC) and T cells are pivotal regulators of immune system homeostasis. The intrinsic risk of potentially harmful autoreactive T cells is controlled centrally during selection in the thymus. Peripheral mechanisms to limit autoimmunity include immunosuppression through regulatory T cells (Tregs). In the last years Tregs received enormous attention as their deficiency provokes severe autoimmune disorders. The regulation of tissue homeostasis by APC is equally important to avoid unbalanced pro-reactive immune system responses. APC maintain tissue homeostasis via phagocytosis of invading pathogens and secretion of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators. In this project we are planning an interdisciplinary approach combining biophysics with basic immunology to study the role of TRPM7 in APC and T cell function and in immune system homeostasis. We are going to use novel innovative tools to identify the physiologic role of the channel versus the kinase activity. This is particularly important, as the numbers of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases resultant from unbalanced immune responses, such as multiple sclerosis or colitis, are continuously increasing.

Keywords: l307 cell signalling and cellular interactions,l612 biological basis of immunity related disorders,l106 biophysics,l308 signal transduction,l305 cell differentiation - physiology and dynamics
European Urbanization and its consequnces for Bird Health and Performance (EUBITOX)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2012-10-01
End date: 2017-05-14
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

With a growing human population and urbanisation of the landscape, it is increasingly important to understand and predict the consequences of urbanisation on ecosystems. An important step in this direction is to address how individual organisms respond to human disturbance and how this impacts on populations in urban environments. This proposal outlines a multidisciplinary research project combining physiology, molecular biology, toxicology, and evolutionary ecology to study the short- and long-term consequences of urbanization on the cellular health and performance of wild birds. The work is divided into two synergistic work packages (WPs), each using comparative and experimental approaches in replicated urban/rural pairs of bird populations across Europe. In WP1, I will test how urbanisation affects bird nutrition and its implications for their physiology and how this impacts on growth, reproduction, and survival. In WP2, I will target the short- and long-term effects of pollution on the health of wild birds, and whether birds in urban environments exhibit adaptations to high levels of pollution. My research will use state-of-the-art methods in physiology and ecotoxicology – including analyses of fatty acids and antioxidant profiles, accumulation of oxidative damage and heavy metals, and dietary intake using stable isotopes. Furthermore, capitalizing on recent genomic resources for great tits, I will document genetic variation in candidate antioxidant genes (single nucleotide polymorphism) and global and local variation in DNA-methylation between individuals within and among populations. The present project will enhance European research excellence by producing novel high-quality science at the interface of ecology and physiology and by contributing to the development of a European network of researchers in urban ecology. A successful outcome of this integration grant will bring me one step closer to secure tenure at one of the leading universities in Europe.

Keywords: oxidative stress,ecophysiology,snp,epigenetics,nutrition,pollution,great tits