Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Study on methylation as risk and prognostic factor for breast cancer. (METHYLBRECA)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-11-01
End date: 2016-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 269743.8
EU funding (EUR): 269743.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Throughout life, methylation of DNA plays an important role in normal and appropriate regulation of gene expression. Many gene-specific changes in methylation have been described in the context of disease predisposition, development and progression, including cancer. However, the literature for breast cancer is still sparse. The hypothesis of this research proposal is that aberrant methylation of DNA in some genes plays an important role in breast carcinogenesis and progression. Specifically, the hypotheses are that (i) measures of methylation of DNA from peripheral blood and saliva are associated with breast cancer risk; (ii) measures of methylation of DNA from breast tumours are important prognostic indicators. The plan to test these hypotheses is to conduct a case-control study on breast cancer nested within the E3N French cohort. Methylation levels in DNA extracted from blood collected before diagnosis will be measured in a panel of CpG loci potentially involved in breast carcinogenesis and in the DNA repetitive elements LINE-1 and Alu. Then, the risk of breast cancer in relation with their pre-diagnostic methylation levels will be estimated. Tumour tissues will be retrieved for breast cancer cases and methylation levels in DNA extracted from tumour will be measured in a panel of CpG loci potentially involved in breast cancer progression. The correlation of the methylation levels with the clinico-pathological breast cancer prognostic factors and survival will be estimated. To verify that the association between methylation levels and breast cancer risk is mediated by the regulation of gene expression, gene expression in the tumour samples will be measured and correlated with methylation levels. This study will further our understanding of the biology of breast cancer and its findings could open new avenues for the prevention, early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

Keywords: l709 public health and epidemiology,l208 epigenetics and gene regulation,l406 cancer and its biological basis,breast cancer,prospective study,methylation
A stochastic model of eye lens growth with implications for cortical cataract formation (MOLEGRO)

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: Croatia
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2017-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 336315.0
EU funding (EUR): 336315.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Humans have lenses in their eyes; to focus light on the retina. The lens must be precisely built, flexible, and remain transparent throughout life. If anything fails, our ability to see is seriously affected. Lack of flexibility affects practically everyone over the age of 50. Cataract affects transparency and is the most common cause of blindness in the world. The biological lens grows throughout life, via a complex, but still regular process. Starts with some 350 mitotically-active cells and reaches some 7 million cells in a 60 year old human. How to describe and understand such a remarkable process? What is its effect on pathological developments? Even data collection looks extremely difficult, while the sheer complexity of the problem requires truly interdisciplinary approach, including the help of advanced mathematics. Thanks to the unprecedented technological development, it is now possible to label single cells within the eye lens, and to follow the path of its daughter cells. The Bassnett lab at Washington Univ School of Medicine is the leader in this labelling technique and has a very ambitious program to answer questions above. Two years ago we joined Prof. Steven Bassnett in this fascinating endeavor. We bring more than 20 years of research experience in probability theory and mathematical analysis, leadership on several NSF grants, as well as more than 10 years of leading the Division of Prob. & Stats, Dept of Mathematics, Univ of Zagreb. We propose to develop mathematical models of various stages in the growth of the lens. Initial period of our collaboration is completed and we are now at the level where daily contact is needed. Our model is Markov in nature, and would involve branching processes with immigration and emigration. At the ultimate level we need to consider also measure-valued processes, technically a highly demanding topic. We plan to return to Zagreb and fully develop student program and research group in biomedical mathematics.

Keywords: eye lens,cortical cataract,growth model,branching processes,markov processes,measure-valued processes.
Quantum Chemistry of Enzymatic Nucleophilic Substitution: Untangling the Role of Metal Ions and Protein Environment in Biochemical Nucleophilic Substitution at Phosphorus and Sulfur (COMPENZ)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-11-01
End date: 2016-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183469.8
EU funding (EUR): 183469.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Enzymatic nucleophilic substitution reactions are ubiquitous as key steps in biochemical processes of living cells. Despite their importance, they are poorly understood, in particular regarding the exact mechanism and involvement of the protein environment and the role and mechanistic involvement of metal ions. Through interpretative methods from chemical reactivity theory, I will tackle the missing links in this field of molecular life sciences. This project thus goes beyond transition state calculations, which are today’s state of the art in computational enzymology, by addressing the question why. The project’s goal is to build a new research protocol to give insight in enzymatic reactions. This is original and innovative, and will as such contribute to Europe’s excellence. Through the integrated scientific and complementary skills training, it will offer much to my career development. The role of metal ions and the protein environment in triphosphate hydrolysis and sulfur oxidation reactions, which are abundant and ubiquitous enzymatic reactions involved in e.g. signal and energy transduction will be untangled via quantitative molecular orbital (MO)-theory. The MO-model and its associated energy-decomposition approach, for which the host will offer a training, can make trends in reaction barriers transparent and is the current state of the art in explanatory chemistry. This approach is only marginally used to tackle the chemistry of enzymatic reactions and gives the project its originality and pioneering nature. Further, by studying the nature of the reaction barrier of sulfur oxidation reactions, I will pioneer the field of theoretical redox protein sulfur chemistry. Sulfur redox biology is being studied extensively by biochemists, but only marginally by theoreticians. In conclusion, by studying representative proteins, this project translates fundamental chemical insights into biological relevance, giving the project its interdisciplinary nature.

Keywords: enzymatic hydrolysis,sn2-reactions,atp and gtp hydrolysis,sulfur oxidation redox biology,metal ions molecular orbital theory,chemical reactivity theory,chemical bond
The Native Peoples and the Portuguese Inquisition (NATIVE INQUISITION)

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: Portugal
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-07-01
End date: 2016-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 202630.0
EU funding (EUR): 202630.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project NATIVE INQUISITION will investigate the accusations and proceedings against the indigenous peoples and their descendants in Brazil sent to the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Portugal during the eighteenth century. The project NATIVE INQUISITION intends to investigate the accusations, seeking to understand the lived experience of indigenous peoples of distinct Native Brazilian tribes that were incorporated into the Portuguese America colonization. The central objective is to gain an understanding of the social-cultural and religious practices of resistance and adaptation adopted by the natives of Portuguese America, as well as the inclusion of those indigenous peoples in a society marked by cultural hybridism and miscegenation in colonial Brazil. Thus, taking an ethnohistorical approach, NATIVE INQUISITION attempts to interpret the cultural dilemmas in religious and interethnic contact of these populations with the colonizer. This project will provide a description and examine inquisitorial accusations against the indigenous and “mestizos”, producing a cartography of the ethnic groups involved, the reasons and regions. The study report will also developed an inventory of related historical sources with a view to promoting further research on the Native Peoples involved with the Portuguese Inquisition. NATIVE INQUISITION will particularly focus on analysing and building knowledge of the rich and diverse world of indigenous cultures, which constitute the root and essence of Latin America. Drawing on the continuing struggle of these peoples for their rights, autonomy and access to resources this research aims to contend and show that their political, cultural, economic and social expressions are instrumental to understanding the present of Latin America.

Keywords: indigenous,portuguese inquisition,identity and ethnicity,latin america
Chemical programming of Toll like Receptor 4: Design, synthesis and biological studies of prostate-cancer vaccines (TLRPROSTATE)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-05
End date: 2018-01-04
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 341387.1
EU funding (EUR): 341387.1
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The IOF proposal, TLRPROSTATE, consists of a 24 month outgoing phase to The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, and a 12 month return phase to the Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC) for a total of 36 months. TLRPROSTATE will use advanced methods in synthetic biology to develop synthetic vaccines against prostate cancer, which is the second most common cancer worldwide for men. The project will consist of the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of synthetic vaccines that will chemically stimulate the toll-like receptors and therefore create an immune response. This exciting research area will increase Miranda’s expertise and knowledge in the field of synthetic biology as well as in the synthesis of complex organic molecules. During the return phase, Miranda will integrate his research findings into the studies carried out by the research group at IPNA. The return of knowledge and skills to the Canary Islands, Spain, will take place at a time when there is an increasing support from the government and also European authorities for the development of the Canary Islands as a nerve center in Biomedical studies through research programs partially financed by European funding.

Keywords: toll-like receptor,prostate-specific membrane antigen,chemical programming,prostate cancer,vaccine,agonist,linker,organic synthesis
DElineation of Striato-CoRtical contrIbutions to BEhavioral symptoms in FrontoTemporal Dementia (DESCRIBE-FTD)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-10-01
End date: 2016-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Second to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in prevalence, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative condition resulting from the progressive deterioration of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Cognitive and behavioural impairments are the most early and prevalent characteristic of FTD. In numerous studies, these disturbances have been related to cortical atrophy, but recent findings suggest an early involvement of subcortical dysfunctions. Among these subcortical structures, it has been suggested that striatial atrophy is an early feature of FTD. The striatum has important structural and functional connections with frontal, temporal and insula regions, which have been all implicated in the generation of behavioural symptoms. Still, at this stage it is not clear how either cortical or striatal brain regions or their interaction generate these symptoms. In this project, we propose to characterize and contrast the integrity of the striatal subregions (nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, putamen) in FTD, AD and Parkinson’s disease (PD), which have respectively more cortical or striatal dysfunction, and in healthy aged controls. In addition, we will employ state-of-the-art structural and functional neuroimaging to delineate striatal and cortical contributions to behaviour in FTD and controls. Finally, we will develop novel tasks assessing the functions supported by striatal structures specifically. These tests will allow a clinical delineation of cortical and striatal degeneration at diagnosis. The results will lead to a better characterization of behavioural dysfunctions in neurodegeneration and in FTD particularly. This project will inform future diagnostic guidelines and disease modifying therapies in FTD. Also, in exploring the behavioural disturbances due to striatal subregions dysfunctions, these findings will provide an insight into the functions of the striatum and will help to understand the normal functioning of this critical cerebral structure.

Keywords: striatum,frontotemporal dementia,neurodegenerative diseases,behavior,ftd,alzheimer's disease
Early Multisensory Rehabilitation of Cognitive and Perceptual Functions for Stroke Patients with Unilateral Neglect (EARLY RECOVERIES)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-12
End date: 2016-05-11
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United Nations with about 1 million new cases each year. Following stroke, patients with perceptual and cognitive impairments have the worst prognostic outcomes. There is evidence to suggest that perceptual and cognitive symptoms can be alleviated by multisensory integration, which has the effect of enhancing motor, perceptual and cognitive processes. This research project will investigate for the first time the functional benefits that stem from multisensory stimulation of attention in healthy adults and stroke patients with perceptual and cognitive impairments. The research project will involve the development of multisensory learning paradigms with stimulus and environmental parameters that optimally enhance perceptual learning and cognitive function in healthy adults. Multisensory learning paradigms will then be tailored for patients with stroke to determine the perceptual and cognitive symptoms that can be alleviated, and state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques (including MR spectroscopy) will be used to evaluate the underlying neural substrates of the effects. The project will show whether multisensoty stimulation provides an effective means of attentional rehabilitation after stroke and whether the effects generalize to everyday life, with long-term outcomes that improve functional independence in patients with stroke.

Keywords: stroke,multisensory,cognition,perception,attention,rehabilitation,learning,neural networks,neuroscience,audition,vision,tactile
Molecular basis of centriole length control (CENTRIOLE_LENGTH)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2016-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 199317.6
EU funding (EUR): 199317.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Centrioles play a key role in the assembly of the centrosome, the major microtubule organizing center, and are crucial for the formation of cilia and flagella. Significant progress has been made toward understanding centriole biogenesis, but the mechanisms that determine centriole length and prevent centrioles from forming cilia or flagella remain unknown. CP110, Cep97, Cep120, CPAP, SPICE1 and centrobin have been identified as key players in these fundamental biological processes. The overarching aim of this research proposal is to understand how these proteins cooperate in order to control centriole length. The following unresolved questions will be addressed: 1) What is the molecular mechanism of the interactions between centriolar proteins that play a key role in controlling centriole length and cilia formation? 2) How do the proteins involved in centriole length control interact with tubulin and microtubules? 3) What is the functional importance of interactions of key proteins in controlling centriole length and cilia formation? A multidisciplinary approach encompassing state-of-the-art bioinformatics, biochemical, biophysical, and structural and cell biology methods will be used to tackle these open questions. The results will significantly contribute to our understanding of centriole and cilia biogenesis. Ultimately, the proposed research will help to understand how misregulation of these processes leads to human diseases such as cancer, polycystic kidney disease, microcephaly, dwarfism, and primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Keywords: control of centriole length,centriolar proteins,high-resolution structures,biochemical/biophysical characterization
Novel Homogeneous Double Metal Cyanide Catalyst for the Polymerization of Carbon dioxide, Propylene Oxide and Lactide (HOMCAT)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-08
End date: 2016-09-07
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Objectives of the proposal HOMCAT are (i) preparation and characterization of homogeneous catalyst systems, (ii) various polymerization studies using the catalyst system, (iii) kinetic and mechanistic studies of the polymerization reaction,(iv) analysis of polymer properties, (v) polymer scale up: Recently Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymer has drawn much attention in both academic and industrial sectors. Among the several reported catalyst systems for the copolymerization, a highly active homogeneous Salen-cobalt complex tethered with quaternary ammonium salt (Salen-Co)was very attractive in terms of catalytic activity, easy to implement in industry and able to polymerize cheap monomer propylene oxide (PO), whereas most of the reported catalyst systems can only polymerize expensive cyclohexene oxide monomer (CHO). Using the catalyst system, a pilot plant for the continuous commercial process was constructed for the preparation of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). One of the potential applications of the prepared low molecular weight copolymer is to use it as a soft segment in polyurethane (PU). But due to the strictly alternating nature of the PPC formed by Salen-Co, the PU prepared using the PPC-diol is highly brittle. In this aspect, heterogeneous double metal cyanide (het-DMC) catalyst found to be very useful, which can produce some flexible ether linkage in PPC and thus the prepared PU was attractive in the polymer market. DMC catalyst has several drawbacks like, inconsistency in activity, produce broad molecular weight distribution and due to the heterogeneous nature, it is difficult to characterize and the polymerization mechanism have remained elusive. In this proposal (HOMCAT), using a novel strategy, we have designed several homogeneous DMC catalysts (hom-DMC) that can have the merits of highly active Salen-Co catalysts as well as het-DMC catalysts. The hom-DMC catalyst is designed in such a way that, it can also polymerize lactide to polylactide (PLA).

Keywords: co2/epoxide copolymerization,homogeneous catalyst,double metal cyanide catalyst,ring opening polymerization,polylactide