Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Linking foraminiferal diets and shell chemistry: an experimental approach to improving paleoceanography proxies (FORAM-C)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-15
End date: 2010-09-14
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170733.61
EU funding (EUR): 170733.61
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The isotopic composition and elemental chemistry of calcareous microfossils is one of the proxies most frequently applied in paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies. Faunal data of foraminifers and the stable isotope (δ13C and δ18O) and elemental ratios of their carbonate shells provide crucial proxies for reconstructing ancient oceanic environments. However, these studies are not possible without complementary research aimed at understanding the biological mechanisms that underlie the isotopic signal. The complexity of these factors demonstrates the necessity of studies on living specimens from culturing experiments with laboratory controlled conditions. It has been proposed that the stable carbon isotope ratios of foraminiferal shells are affected by diet. According to this idea, the stable carbon isotopic composition depends, among other things, on the stable isotopic composition of its food sources and on isotopic fractionation during the feeding process. Therefore, the work that is proposed to undertake in this Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship aims to better understand feeding strategies in order to properly apply isotope-based proxies in paleoceanography and consists of two parts: 1) to develop a technique that will improve our ability to examine trophic pathways in foraminifera and the fate of carbon ingested by these protists, and 2) to relate the above measurements to isotopic composition of the growing shell using stable isotope tracers. We will test hypotheses addressing species-specific feeding patterns, resource partitioning and selective feeding. These are key hypotheses addressed to better understand food as a controlling resource for foraminifer biomass and shell growth as well as the role of foraminifera in carbon cycling.

Keywords: proxies,foraminifera,stable isotopes,culturing experiments,trophic pathways
Integrated Quantum Optomechanical Systems (IQOS) (IQOS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Austria
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-03-01
End date: 2011-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171412.21
EU funding (EUR): 171412.21
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Microstructures of high mechanical and optical quality are promising contenders in the race to achieve the first demonstration of quantum optical control of a “macroscopic” mechanical system. The ultimate goal in this emerging field of quantum optomechanics is to combine the concepts of cavity quantum optics with radiation pressure coupling to generate and detect quantum effects of massive mechanical systems, including the quantum ground state or even entangled quantum states of mechanical devices. In this proposal we seek to merge expertise in microfabricated optical systems developed by Dr. Garrett Cole with the foundational research in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Optics enabled at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna in order to develop arrays of integrated quantum optomechanical systems on a chip. This work will not only pave the way for new and exciting discoveries in fundamental physics, but will simultaneously push the limits of current engineering capabilities in the areas of micro-optics and micromechanical systems.

Keywords: physics,quantum mechanics,microfabrication,nanotechnology,optics,photonics,semiconductors
Study of the functional role of the distinct skin dendritic cell subsets in vivo. (ROLE OF SKIN DCS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173401.73
EU funding (EUR): 173401.73
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The skin is a fascinating tissue at the level of immune regulation. As barrier with the outside world, it is in constant contact with innocuous environmental antigens, but it is also the entrance site for pathogens. Dendritic cells (DCs) play an essential role in initiation and regulation of immune responses. Thus, skin DCs appear to mediate two seemingly incompatible functions: maintaining tolerance against harmless self and environmental antigens constantly present in the skin, while retaining the capacity to induce powerful immune responses to invading pathogens. However, the skin DC population consists of 4 distinct DC subsets. This IEF project is based on the hypothesis that the 4 distinct skin DC subsets possess different regulatory properties. We hypothesize that the different functional tasks performed by skin DCs are in fact mediated by distinct skin DC subsets and speculate that while a particular DC subset may preferentially induce tolerance through induction of regulatory T cells (TREG), other DC subsets may be more efficient for induction of TH1, TH2 or TH17 T cell effector responses to fight invading pathogens. Accordingly, this project proposes to combine state-of-the-art cellular and molecular techniques to unambiguously study the specific role of the 4 skin DC subsets in vivo. We will identify genes underlying the functional diversity of the DC subsets, and in parallel generate an innovative KI mouse model that will restrict the antigen-presenting capacity to one particular skin DC subset at a time, allowing us to unravel the specific role of the distinct skin DC subsets in the induction of TH1, TH2, TH17 and TREG responses in vivo. This study should lead to a better understanding of the functional differences between the distinct skin DC subsets and allow selection of the most optimal DC target for therapy. Such knowledge is mandatory for development of more efficient vaccines and design of new immune intervention strategies to fight skin diseases.

Keywords: health sciences,immunology,dermatology,vaccines,immune regulation,dendritic cells,skin immunology,tolerance
Doubt and Its Names (DOUBTANDITSNAMES)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-10-01
End date: 2012-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 326565.05
EU funding (EUR): 326565.05
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project deals with a root of Western culture: doubt. Its chief aim is produce a history of Renaissance doubt by comparing the professional philosophers’ treatment of doubt to a wider range of contemporary sceptical attitudes. It will single out a select group of concepts of sceptical interest – such as doubt, uncertainty, conjecture, and so on – from well-known Renaissance sources that belong to an eminently ‘conjectural’ discipline such as philology, or more precisely textual criticism. The proposed research aims at identifying the sceptical elements within philology by shedding new light on humanist editorial practices (e.g., critical apparatus, running commentaries, etc.). It will focus on the exact conditions which led outstanding Renaissance philologists such as Angelo Poliziano and Erasmus of Rotterdam, Lorenzo Valla and Beatus Rhenanus, to name only a few, to suspend judgment about a controversial text. This project embraces a strongly interdisciplinary method. Besides textual criticism, it will explore doubt in other non-philosophical domains, such as medicine, law, and history, in order to point out both theoretical connections and historical interactions between these disciplines, and map out doubt and its names in the early modern period. The concrete aim of the project is to produce a monograph entitled ‘Doubt and its names’.

Keywords: humanities,doubt,uncertainty,conjecture,modern scepticism,modern philology and scholarship
MUCOSAL VACCINATION USING NON-PATHOGENIC LACTIC ACID BACTERIA AS A STRATEGY TO PREVENT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY CAUSED BY VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS (LABVLEISH)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-12-16
End date: 2011-12-15
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 218731.03
EU funding (EUR): 218731.03
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a vector borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and constitutes a major public health problem particularly in poorer countries. There is also recognised risk that the disease may become more prevalent in Europe as a consequence of global warming and migration. Treatment is prolonged and expensive and has been complicated by the emergence of drug resistant Leishmania. While attempts to develop an effective vaccine have been shown to be feasible, there is no vaccine in active clinical use. The past decade has seen increasing interest in the use of dietary lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as mucosal vaccine delivery vehicles and a number of prototypes have demonstrated efficacy in experimental models of infectious diseases. Furthermore, some strains of LAB have been shown to promote T helper 1 or mixed T helper (Th) cellular responses to expressed or co-administered antigen, which are considered advantageous in vaccination strategies targeting VL. The goal of this proposal is therefore to develop a new immuno-prophylactic paradigm for preventing VL. We will bioengineer harmless Lactococcus lactis (an LAB) to express conserved immunogenic antigens from Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of VL in Europe. Using animal models, we will demonstrate that these bioengineered strains can prevent disease after parasitic challenge when administered as a mucosal vaccine. We will also test the properties of a L. lactis strain producing interleukin-12 (a potent cytokine that induces Th1 cells) when co-administered as a mucosal adjuvant. If successful, this program of research has enormous potential to create a new path to preventing VL disease and other leishmaniases that is both inexpensive and amenable to large-scale vaccination programmes in populations who are at risk. There may also be scope to expand this approach to target other neglected diseases.

Keywords: neglected and emerging diseases,visceral leishmaniasis,need for effective vaccines,new immuno-prophylactic strategy,lactic acid bacteria based mucosal delivery,experimental models
Immunogenicity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in vivo (IMSCIV)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-04-01
End date: 2011-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170733.61
EU funding (EUR): 170733.61
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The immunogenicity of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and their differentiated progeny in vivo under regular or inflammatory conditions will be addressed using established mouse models of allorecognition and spontaneous autoimmune diabetes. Survival and homing of MSC in vivo in syngeneic and allogeneic recipients will be investigated by tracking MSC. Allorecognition of mouse MSC in vivo will be assessed using CD8+ T cells from BM3 T cell receptor transgenic mice, which specifically recognise the MHC class I molecule H2Kb. The importance of antigen presenting cells (APC) and helper T cells in allorecognition of allogeneic MSC in vivo will also be examined. The non obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model will allow investigation of the immunogenicity of MSC in vivo in an inflammatory environment. The effect of IFN-gamma activation of MSC prior to in vivo transplantation into NOD mice will determine the role of this cytokine in the development of a hypo-immunogenic phenotype of MSC in vivo. The reparative and immunosuppressive ability of MSC, activated MSC and insulin producing islet-like differentiated MSC in autoimmune diabetes in vivo will be assessed using the NOD mouse.

Keywords: adult stem cells,immune response,repair,regeneration,autoimmune diabetes
Biomolecular investigation on archaeological grape seeds: a genetic time capsule from the past. (TIME CAPSULE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Denmark
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 203817.53
EU funding (EUR): 203817.53
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The introduction of agriculture represented a major breakthrough for the development of human civilisation. The accumulation of excesses of food resources enabled for the growth of more complex socio-political entities, but it also required a continuous process of selection by controlled breeding. This process, tremendously successful at increasing food production, conversely led to a consistent decline in genetic diversity. Research into ancient biomolecules, however, allows the recovery and analysis of old genetic data, which can often be resolved in both time and space, adding a new dimension to the investigation of the dynamics of plant selection and of their ‘lost’ genetic diversity. Deposits of seeds, found in archaeological contexts, represent natural time-capsules, transporting genetic information from the past to be analysed in the present. This project will investigate seeds of the Vitis vinifera species: grapevine. From grape comes wine, which arguably represents one of the most important products of plant domestication during the development of human civilisation, at least in western Eurasia. It is intimately bound up with the expansion of agriculture, trade and commerce, and it also has great importance in socio-religious, cultural and political aspects of many societies, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Ancient DNA from grape seeds will be investigated exploiting the new ‘high-throughput’ DNA sequencing techniques and the recently acquired knowledge of the grape genome.

Keywords: archaeology,archaeobotany,ancient dna,ancient rna,ancient proteins,high throughput dna sequencing,seeds,grape,vitis vinifera,microsatellites,transcriptomics,oxidative / hydrolytic damage
Tree Range Evolution under Climate Change (TRECC)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-02-01
End date: 2012-05-23
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 158133.51
EU funding (EUR): 158133.51
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Ongoing global warming impacts species&apos; biology, with some species showing population extinction, others displacing their distributional range and/or modify their phenology, either through phenotypic plasticity or genetic modifications. This two-year project aims at evaluating how changing climatic conditions will modify the distributional range of tree species, taking adaptation into account. More specifically, the following questions will be addressed: (1) under which conditions will distribution ranges move, and at what speed? (2) will populations at the low-latitude edge of the distribution survive, adapt or go extinct? This will be done through the combined use of two existing approaches: theoretical and process-based modelling. Theoretical approaches taking into account genetic and environmental variability, migration, gene flow and adaptation have been developed to predict the width of a species&apos; range, but they remain hard to parameterize for use in the real world. Process-based models rely on biological observations, and can be used to predict species&apos; ranges under given environmental conditions; however, they do not yet take evolution into account. The candidate will (1) develop a spatially explicit theoretical model of species&apos; range evolution, including the effects of drift (stochasticity due to finite populations); (2) calibrate this model using existing data, and the fitness values predicted by the process-based model, on well-studied tree species in a first instance, and modify the process-based model so that it can take into account individual variability and trait evolution, for further use with other species. This work will enhance collaboration between two leading laboratories, and strengthen the links between ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Furthermore, the candidate will acquire competence in modelling, which will complete her interdisciplinary training and facilitate her integration as a researcher in the host country.

Keywords: adaptation,climate change impacts,distributional range,ecological modelling,evolution,forest ecosystems,gene flow,phenology,theoretical modelling,temperate trees
Epistemology and Democracy in Complex Societies (EPIDEMICS) (EPIDEMICS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-01-01
End date: 2012-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221678.58
EU funding (EUR): 221678.58
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

It is often said that the sciences should be brought into democracy (EC 2000), but conceptual frameworks for making sense of that aspiration are surprisingly underdeveloped. There is a now a wealth of middle-range theoretical and empirical research on new democratic institutional innovations addressing themes such as genetic modification, biosecurity, reproductive technologies and genetic testing, but there has been little synthesis and comparative analysis of these contributions in terms of democratic theory. This project will fulfil the need for a richer theoretical account of democratic theory in the context of scientific governance, drawing on sociology of knowledge and political theory. Such interdisciplinary conceptual work is important because the prosperity and competitiveness of the EU depends not only on technological developments and commercial innovation, but also on the cultivation of stable, reflective and responsible governmental practices and public spheres. Project Aims: • Theoretical: To develop an interdisciplinary framework that clarifies the philosophical commitments behind studies of what Mark Warren calls ‘governance-driven democratization’. • Applied: This project will begin from and relate back to the wide range of policy innovations associated with ‘democratization’ of scientific governance in both the EU and North America. • Organisational: The project will develop mechanisms to transfer the knowledge and research networks acquired in the overseas phase to EU researchers across disciplines and sectors. Professor Mark Warren leads a global center of excellence in democracy studies at the University of British Columbia. I am uniquely placed to benefit from this fellowship in terms of skills and career development, to bring this project to successful and productive conclusion, and to benefit the EU through a clear plan for the dissemination of the knowledge and networks acquired during the projec

Keywords: political sciences,science and society,democratic theory
Adaptive Evolution of Mutual Mate Preferences in Nature (AEMMPN)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-10-31
End date: 2014-12-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 244483.74
EU funding (EUR): 244483.74
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Mate preferences are ubiquitous in nature and it has long been recognised that the sexual selection they generate may have important consequences for the evolution of biodiversity. This is especially true when preferences differ among populations, a situation that appears common in nature. Despite much attention being given to their role in the evolution of extravagant sexual display traits, less work has focused on understanding the mechanisms by which they diverge among populations and in particular the role (if any) male mate choice plays. Using an Australian Drosophila model, we aim to directly test for adaptive population divergence at mate preference loci in nature and develop a detailed understanding of the quantitative genetics of male and female mate preferences. In particular, using a combination of cutting-edge statistical quantitative genetics, molecular genetics, and behavioural assays we will 1) test for adaptive mate preference divergence among natural populations, 2) directly quantify the evolvability of female and male mate preferences and 3) determine the evolutionary coupling of mate preference in males and females by measuring the extent to which their genetic basis is shared between the sexes. A key part of this project is the re-integration of the methods beyond Drosophila, applying the techniques developed to European organisms to gain a more comprehensive understanding of mate preference evolution. The work will be on the frontline of applying quantitative genetics to evolution in the wild and we fully expect that the work outlined in this proposal will make a significant advance in understanding how and why mate preferences diverge. Our results will be of significant importance to evolutionary biologists, behaviourists, and molecular ecologists worldwide and will have important consequences for how we view mating decisions as a generator of phenotypic diversity.

Keywords: sexual selection,quantitative genetics,adaptation,mating preferences,natural selection