Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Imaging neural gain control in the human visual system (HVGC)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Gain control is a canonical neural computation that is found across the brain. Almost all models of neuronal gain propose that the activity of each neuron is normalized by the combined activity of its neighbouring neurons – a so-called ‘gain pool’. Information in the visual pathways undergoes several such normalization stages beginning in the retina and continuing through visual cortex. Gain control has been studied in animal models and using psychophysical techniques in humans but direct, quantitative measurements of neuronal activity in well-defined human visual areas has proved technically challenging. Gain control mechanisms that operate across long distances in visual space are particularly interesting to us because they must be implemented in cortex and may be sensitive markers of neurological disease. In this project, we will use a novel and innovative combination of neuroimaging techniques (functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electrical source imaging (ESI)) together with visual psychophysics to measure the spatial, temporal and featural tuning of long-range gain control in the human visual system and relate these findings to perception. We have two objectives: 1: Different types of stimuli appear to have different types of gain pools. Using electrical source imaging (ESI) and fMRI we will map the selectivity of long-range gain pools in different visual areas and examine how this selectivity affects the way that different stimuli are seen. 2: Gain control changes profoundly across both space and time. We will use fMRI to examine the spatial characteristics of long-range gain control and ESI to examine its temporal characteristics. We will relate these data to perception - the ultimate goal being to predict the appearance of novel, dynamic stimuli.

Keywords: neurobiology,neurosciences,neurophysiology
Local Processing of Dendritically Synthesized Membrane Proteins (DENDRITIC PROCESSING)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2015-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The local synthesis and degradation of proteins represent a particularly efficient means to adaptively modify the composition of targeted dendritic branches and associated synapses. Recent data from our laboratory show that numerous mRNA encoding neurotransmitter receptors and voltage-gated channels are enriched in distal dendrites, indicating that local translation sustains local membrane protein turnover and may thus regulate dendritic excitability. In contrast to cytoplasmic proteins, local production of cell-surface proteins requires their processing by the secretory apparatus. Although the list of dendritic mRNAs encoding membrane and secreted proteins keeps growing, whether and how dendritically synthesized membrane proteins are locally processed by secretory organelles is still largely elusive. Here we propose to assess the dendritic synthesis and turnover of key neurotransmitter receptors and voltage-gated channels controlling dendritic excitability by combining genetic engineering and biochemical approaches to selectively label and purify nascent proteins in specified dendritic compartments. Furthermore, by analyzing their glycosylation status and controlling the targeting of their mRNA to distal dendrites, we aim to understand how dendritically synthesized membrane proteins are processed by dendritic secretory organelles. The turnover and glycosylation status of neuronal ion channels in vivo is largely unknown. By assessing a large cast of synaptic receptors and voltage-gated channels, this project will hopefully allow important inferences to be made about local protein synthesis, glycosylation and protein stability in brain. In the longer run, the proposed research will enable us to focus later functional studies on molecules displaying rapid turnover, and thus more likely to be acutely affected by adaptive regulations of secretory functions.

Keywords: neuroscience,neuronal plasticity,local protein translation,secretory pathway,glycosylation,non-caninical secretory trafficking
Solution-processed nanocrystal photovoltaics from environmentally benign and earth-abundant elements (SUNLIGHT)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2017-05-01
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the search for cost-effective solar cells, colloidal inorganic semiconducting nanocrystals (NCs) have received much interest due to their readily-tunable absorption across the visible/near-IR, their high absorption coefficients and photostability. Yet many state-of-the-art NCs for photovoltaics are either based on toxic compositions or scarce elements on earth. It thus becomes essential to develop new systems from environmentally benign and earth-abundant elements with strong absorption properties. This project identified a few potential candidates, namely FeS2, Cu2S, CuO and Cu2ZnSnS4, due to their low raw material cost, their suitable band gaps, their high absorption coefficients and the availability of NC synthetic protocols. Relatively little work has been done on applying these NCs in solution-processed solar cells compared to those from II-VI/IV-VI groups, the Cu(InGa)(SeS)2 and Si systems. Specifically, this project involves the following aspects: 1. Optimization of synthetic methods for the above-mentioned NC systems. 2. Functionalization of NC surfaces with difference ligands via ligand exchange. 3. Realization of field-effect transistors based on NC thin films and investigation of the effects of NC size/morphology and ligands on charge transport. 4. Realization and optimization of solar cells based on NCs or NC/organic hybrids by correlating the effects of different synthetic and ligand conditions, improvement in light harvesting by the tandem cell approach. It can be anticipated that, by developing solar cells based on these new NCs, this project will gain fundamental understandings on how different NC and surface properties can impact the charge dissociation, transport, and recombination processes. The Marie-Curie grant would also consolidate the current efforts of this applicant, establish her further in her research and provide the ideal platform for her to become internationally leading in the field of applying colloidal NCs in optoelectronics.

Keywords: materials engineering,opto-electronic components,surface chemistry,organometallic chemistry,nanoelectronics
Circuit mechanisms underlying dynamic spike time synchronization in mouse motor cortex (M1SYNC)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2016-02-29
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Direct electrical stimulation of the motor cortex is sufficient to trigger movement, but the mechanisms by which neurons in this cortical region intrinsically encode motor output continue to be resolved. Spontaneous activity in the motor cortex is surprisingly sparse, and the precise temporal synchronization of this weak and distributed activity may be critical for efficient cortical communication. The fact that spiking within cortical motor circuits naturally reverberates within rhythmic oscillations demonstrates that exquisite mechanisms for controlling spike timing do exist. Moreover, these brain rhythms display a transition from beta- (15-30 Hz) to gamma-frequency oscillations (30-120 Hz) during movement planning and initiation, and even during motor imagery, suggesting further that flexible control of spike time synchronization may be an important feature of cortical coding. This project will use optogentic control of neuronal activity in order to elucidate the circuit mechanisms and function of beta/gamma-frequency oscillations in the mouse motor cortex. The objectives are to (i) determine how the pattern of network synchronization reflects the spatial profile and intensity of light-induced neuronal activity in acute cortical slices, (ii) resolve the synaptic and circuit mechanisms underlying the activity-dependent tuning of these cortical networks, and (iii) determine how fast network oscillations influence sensorimotor integration of sensory-evoked responses in vivo. The synchronization of brain activity is disrupted in numerous neurological and mental disorders, and thus resolving its role in cortical circuit processing could be key to understanding both brain function and dysfunction.

Keywords: neurophysiology,neurobiology
Role of c-Myc in atherosclerotic macrophages (MYCMACS)

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: United Kingdom,Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 50000.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Atherosclerosis and associated cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of mortality in developed countries and the World Health Organization has estimated that by 2020 these disorders will be the main sanitary and socio-economic problem world-wide due in part to the progressive aging of our societies. Atherosclerosis is a complex chronic inflammatory process triggered and perpetuated by cardiovascular risk factors which cause endothelial dysfunction and leukocyte infiltration within the subendothelial space in the artery wall. The most prominent immune cells that invade lesions are monocytes/macrophages (comprising up to 60% of atheromata mass) and T-lymphocytes. Recent evidences suggest that different atherosclerotic stages are associated with distinct macrophage subtypes, principally the classically-activated (M1) and alternatively-activated (M2) populations. The main obstacle to the anti-atherosclerotic therapy based on targeting atherosclerotic macrophage is that very little is known about the intracellular pathways and transcription factors involved in macrophage activation. I recently demonstrated that the transcription factor c-Myc is specifically induced in human macrophages during M2 alternative activation and controls the expression of around 50% of M2-specific markers. The main goal of this project is to elucidate the role thatc-Myc plays in macrophage functions that are relevant in atherosclerosis (eg., proliferation, apoptosis, migration, lipid uptake) and the effects of ablating macrophage c-Myc expression on disease initiation and progression.

Keywords: health sciences,cardiology,immunology
Bridging the world of fungi and dementia (PROFITS)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-02-01
End date: 2016-01-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which seriously interferes with the daily life of millions of people. People suffering from Alzheimer’s disease show the accumulation of two misfolded proteins in the nerve cells of their brains – amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Although many aspects of the Alzheimer’s disease pattern are well-established, only little is known about the onset, development and progression of this disease. Thus, early detection, including diagnosis before symptoms become visible, is still not possible yet. Furthermore, the development of drugs designed to slow down or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease progression is very difficult and tedious. In the envisaged project, a microorganism, the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger, will be used to study the onset and development of Alzheimer’s disease. The presence of misfolded proteins in this microorganism provokes a cellular reaction that shows many parallels to what is known from nerve cells. It seems that both man and fungus use similar defense strategies to detect and get rid of dangerous misfolded proteins. This makes A. niger very appealing for use as a model system to explore in utmost detail the origin and temporal progression of Alzheimer’s disease. As it is a fast-growing and easy genetically tractable organism, respective analyses can be performed very cost and time effective, something which is not feasible when working with human cell models.
Supramolecular Biomedical Materials (SUPRABIOMAT)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Nanostructured functional materials are undoubtedly one of the main focal points in academic and industrial research communities. Nature’s own ‘bottom-up’ strategy for the construction of immensely complex and sophisticated nanoscaled systems have served as an inspiration for ground-breaking developments in the field of supramolecular chemistry. I aim to combine self-assembly and self-organization for the fabrication of complex supramolecular systems with specific functionality. I propose to use peptide discotics for the controlled self-assembly of supramolecular functional nanoparticles in water and target molecular imaging studies in order to develop Supramolecular Biomedical Materials. I will establish a set of semi-empirical rules, a packing parameter, for the design of supramolecular colloidal particles. The strategy of frustrated growth will aim to balance out positive non-covalent interactions with repulsive forces. Thereby the growth, stability and biocompatible surface functionalisation of the architectures can be controlled, aiming at sizes below 20 nm. The resulting supramolecular materials will be applied in molecular imaging, the development of nanoparticulate targeted and multimodal contrast agents. The elegance and uniqueness of these Supramolecular Biomedical Materials is that following the initial targeting event, the self-assembled scaffolds will disassemble into their small building blocks. This optimises secretion by the renal system and at the same time, the highly ‘effective’ imaging is also retained because of the high local concentration of the imaging agent, thus enhancing overall contrast, sensitivity and resolution of for example cardiovascular disease processes. This will significantly reduce the residence times of the targeted agent, which is one of the major limitations in current biomedical applications using non-reversible nanoparticulate imaging.

Keywords: physical sciences,bio-nanotechnology,supramolecular and macro-organic chemistry,molecular imaging,supramolecular medicine,functional biomaterials
Foundations of Intergenerational Discounting (FINDISC)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Decisions about climate change, pension systems and other long-term issues affect not only the present but also future generations. Among the difficult questions raised by such intergenerational decisions, the following stands out as particularly controversial: how can the method of time discounting be applied to intergenerational decisions? In an intergenerational context, time discounting is the method of weighting costs and benefits to future generations less than those to the present one. This method is widely employed in public policy decisions with a large time-scale. Famously, there is widespread disagreement about intergenerational discounting, in particular about its social scientific foundations and its conceptual and ethical justification. This project in the philosophy of economics seeks to develop sound foundations for intergenerational discounting by employing approaches in measurement theory from philosophy of science, such as the representational theory of measurement. The project asks what kind of qualitative concepts a discounting factor expresses and under which conditions it is well founded. The proposed research has four objectives. Firstly, the project will provide general axiomatic foundations for intergenerational discounting, outlining the conditions that have to be met in order to establish discounting factors. Secondly, the project will assess conceptual motivations for intergenerational discounting that have been put forward in the literature on the social discount rate on the basis of the general axiomatic foundations, such as those that appeal to pure time preference, uncertainty, and the growth rate. Thirdly, the project will examine to what extent a distinction between facts and values can be upheld in intergenerational discounting, determining the scope of value-free discounting. Fourthly, these results will be applied to the current debates in economics and public policy about intergenerational discounting and climate change.

Keywords: philosophy of science,philosophy of economics,decision theory,measurement,representational theory of measurement,foundations of economic theory,time discounting,social discount rate
The Star Formation and Enrichment Histories of Galaxies (SFEHG)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the big challenges and opportunities in astronomy today. One of the main pathways to pick up this challenge is to study in detail the stellar populations in galaxies in the local universe. Two questions we would particularly like to answer but cannot at the present time are: 1) How old is the oldest significant population of stars in each galaxy and what is its mass fraction? 2) What is the enrichment history of each galaxy, i.e. what is the relation between the stellar ages and the stellar element abundances per galaxy? My research program centers on answering these questions through assembling observational data that can completely characterize the stellar content of galaxy disk over their full spatial extent (the largest Integral Field Spectroscopy Survey ever undertaken), through developing novel methods to extract the full information content from these and other data (full spectral fitting, accurate stellar population models) and through developing methods that allow to mimick the observational process on simulated galaxies (through close collaboration with the simulators). Obtaining a Career Integration Grant would allow me to pursue this research program in a much more agressive manner by maintaining and extending my collaborations within Europe and within my host institution AIP and its surrounding research area in Potsdam alike. Specifically, the CIG would allow me to 1) extend my role as Project Scientist for the pan-European CALIFA collaboration 2) keep and extend my network of European collaborators in the field of stellar population modelling and analysis 3) prepare for the upcoming opportunities in the context of the MUSE@VLT instrument, the MaNGA project and the instrument studies Fireball/ERASMUS-F 4) develop a method to "observe" simulated galaxies and 5) format our complex datasets in a manner immediately comprehensible to non-specialized astronomers and the educated public alike.

Keywords: astronomy
Identification of new targets of Wt1 during cardiovascular development. (WT1HEART)

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-2011-CIG, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-02
End date: 2016-04-01
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The epicardium is a mesothelial tissue that plays a crucial role during heart development, by contributing to the formation of cardiovascular precursor cells and by producing growth factors important for heart formation. Wt1 gene encodes a zinc finger protein, which plays a critical role in normal development of several organs such as kidney, gonads, spleen and heart. During heart formation, Wt1 is mainly expressed in the epicardium and epicardial derived cells. Deletion of Wt1 gene in an epicardial specific manner lead to a KO mouse with profound defect in both cardiomyocyte proliferation and coronary vascular development, suggesting that Wt1 KO epicardial cells constitute a good model to study the putative growth factors and signalling produced by epicardial cells. The principal objectives of the proposed project are to identify new targets of Wt1 during cardiovascular development, to explore their role in the formation of coronary blood vessels and cardiomyocyte proliferation and to dissect some of the mechanisms involved. We propose to study how Wt1 deletion, in vitro and in vivo, induced expression or repression of chemokines and growth factors and how this influences heart morphogenesis. The molecular mechanisms that regulate the development of the cardiovascular system in mouse embryos are comparable with those that regulate repair in adult tissue. The identification of new Wt1 targets during epicardium development, would allow us to design new strategies to activate those pathways during regeneration and repair of damaged hearts

Keywords: natural sciences,cell biology,developmental biology,molecular biology,cardiovascular,wt1,epicardium,stem cells