Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Upgrading waste glycerol to essential chemicals (FLEXICAT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC-Proof of Concept (ERC-2017-PoC, 2017)
Start date: 2018-08-01
End date: 2019-07-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 146461.0
EU funding (EUR): 146461.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The production of waste glycerol is increasing annually and there is a desire to efficiently upgrade it to more valuable chemicals. In particular glycerol is a bio-derived feedstock and its efficient transformation to essential chemicals is an alternative to using fossil fuel based resources. We have discovered a new-class of catalysts based on active metal nanoparticles supported on perovskite metal oxides. These catalysts are very efficient for the transformation of glycerol to highly desirable products, like lactic acid, and they have been patented. We are able to control the product selectivity and activity of the catalysts by tailoring the composition of the perovskite phase, and exert an unprecedented degree of control over the yield of the desired product. The new catalysts demonstrate a level of performance that is industrially significant. The perovskite-based catalyst system is a major advance and the key step is in the preparation of the perovskites in order to achieve high surface areas. This activity is unique to perovskites and we now want to take this discovery forward to attain a flexible/adaptable process for conversion of glycerol to higher value materials, maximising value by allowing switching of product streams. The commercial proposition for which we are seeking financial support is to bring forward a demonstrator catalyst system that delivers the efficient formation of selected products (e.g. glyceric acid, lactic acid, tartronic acid) from glycerol. The technical programme has been developed following feedback from industry and independent market research commissioned by Cardiff and will focus on de-risking the technology and strengthening the commercial case to exploit this innovation.

Keywords: heterogeneous catalysis,perovskites,selective oxidation,glycerol,lactic acid
Higher-loop amplitudes on the sphere: a new approach to the perturbative expansion of quantum field theories (NewLoops)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Physics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2017-10-01
End date: 2019-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 175419.6
EU funding (EUR): 175419.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Almost all we know about particle physics and the Standard Model comes from scattering experiments and our ability to predict them via scattering amplitudes (these measure probabilities of scattering processes). To meet the impressive technological advances of particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, new tools and concepts have emerged over the last 25 years. More than giving methods, they have triggered a revolution in our understanding of the formal microscopic structure of particle physics, a subject people thought they knew everything about. My program is based on a set of formulæ due to Cachazo, He & Yuan (CHY), that challenge the way we think about scattering amplitudes. They relate to 'twistor' ideas and string theory. The former aims at manifesting the geometry of field theories, but failed so far to grasp their quantum-ness. The latter, in spite of its mathematical beauty, has the drawback of having additional contributions that are hard to decouple from the field theory ones. The CHY formulæ retain the advantages of both methods, and lead to a variety of remarkable expressions for scattering amplitudes in a increasing number of theories, including gauge, gravity and scalar theories. In a crucial work, I showed that these methods actually carry over to the first quantum correction: this was the first time ever that twistor methods were shown to work at the quantum level. My project aims to extend this and reformulate the full pertubative quantum expansion of field theories in the CHY language. This would be a major conceptual advance. I explain that to do so will require to understand a more fundamental object called Null String, whose quantization will shed light on my 'quantum CHY formalism'. I also propose applications of the formalism of interest for LHC physic, like a third order calculation for the 2 to 3 gluon scattering in gauge theory, that all other existing methods have failed to determine so far.

Keywords: high energy physics,scattering amplitudes,string theory,gauge theories and gravity,precision calculations
Big DATA approaches FOR improved monitoring of research and innovation performance and assessment of the societal IMPACT in the Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing Societal Challenge (Data4Impact)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies
Theme: Innovative societies
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Italy,Sweden,Greece,Lithuania
Call: Better integration of evidence on the impact of research and innovation in policy making (H2020-SC6-CO-CREATION-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2017-11-01
End date: 2019-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499978.75
EU funding (EUR): 1499978.75
Participants: 6
Project status: CLOSED

Recent technological developments in data mining, data treatment and data analysis have been rapid and far reaching, offering new dimensions and opportunities for performance analytics in various domains. The introduction of new technologies and initiatives, including open access mechanisms and social media/online media, has been generating increasing volumes of new data on the research domain. Data4Impact aims to capitalise on these developments and utilise big data approaches to improve the monitoring of research and innovation performance and assessment of the societal impact in the Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing Societal Challenge. The project has he following main objectives: a) define, develop, analyse and disseminate new indicators for assessing the performance of EU and national research and innovation systems; b) explore and collect “big” data on health-related societal challenges at input, throughput, output/result and impact levels; c) employ big data approaches to yield more data on the societal impact of national and EU funding on tackling health-related societal challenges; d) engage stakeholders in the project activities, validate the project results and develop new indicators and tools using a hands-on approach. It will do so by developing a robust conceptual model addressing all key stages of the innovation process; mining large volumes of data on research results and impacts; and analysis of these data using topic modelling, machine learning and other techniques aimed at natural language processing. The Data4Impact consortium possesses specialist knowledge of the health domain & indicator systems, and is uniquely placed to mine data and apply big data approaches thanks to the partner’s long-standing involvement in OA e-infrastructures and big data analytics. Through these objectives, activities and competences Data4Impact addresses both key issues described in the specific CO-CREATION-08-2016-2017 call.

Keywords: big data,health,indicators,societal impact,data mining,topic modeling,machine learning,social media,media analysis,clinical guidelines,tools
Retooling plant immunity for resistance to blast fungi (BLASTOFF)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering
Panel description: Biotechnology using all organisms, biotechnology for environment and food applications, applied plant and animal sciences, bioengineering and synthetic biology, biomass and biofuels, biohazards
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2016-ADG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-09-01
End date: 2023-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2491893.0
EU funding (EUR): 1874187.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Plant NLR-type immune receptors tend to have a narrow spectrum of pathogen recognition, which is currently limiting their value in agriculture. NLRs can recognize pathogen effectors through unconventional domains that have evolved by duplication of an effector target followed by fusion into the NLR. One NLR with an integrated domain is the rice resistance protein Pik-1, which binds an effector of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae via its Heavy-Metal Associated (HMA) domain. We solved the crystal structure of the HMA domain of Pik-1 in complex with a blast fungus effector and gained an unprecedented level of detail of the molecular interactions that define pathogen recognition. This led to the overall aim of this proposal to generate a complete picture of the biophysical interactions between blast fungus effectors and HMA-containing cereal proteins to guide the retooling of the plant immune system towards resistance to blast diseases. M. oryzae is a general cereal killer that infects wheat, barley and rice, which are staple food for a majority of the world population. The central hypothesis of the proposed research is that mutations in cereal HMA-containing proteins will result in broad-spectrum resistance to blast fungi. To achieve our goal, we will pursue the following objectives: 1. BIOPHYSICS. Define the biophysical properties that underpin binding of M. oryzae effectors to HMA-containing proteins of cereal crops. 2. RECEPTOR ENGINEERING. Develop Pik-1 receptors that respond to a wide-spectrum of M. oryzae effectors. 3. GENOME EDITING. Mutate HMA domain-containing genes in cereal genomes to confer broad-spectrum blast resistance. At the completion of this project, we will generate a thorough understanding of the biophysical properties of pathogen effector binding to cereal HMA proteins, and deliver traits and non-transgenic cultivars for breeding blast disease resistance in cereal crops.

Keywords: plant pathology
European and Chinese Platform for Stacked Aero-Structure Drilling Process and Equipment (ECSASDPE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Research and innovation staff exchange
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Germany,China,France,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2017-01-01
End date: 2022-06-30
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1615500.0
EU funding (EUR): 859500.0
Participants: 11
Project status: CLOSED

Weight reduction and cost savings have driven composites research towards a number of recent high profile achievements. The increased use of anisotropic AL/CFRP/Ti stacks in aircraft structures has in turn created enormous challenges for the industry due to the difficulties that arise from drilling these heterogeneous stack materials. The project “European and Chinese Platform for Stacked Aero-Structure Drilling Process and Equipment (ECSASDPE)” focuses on the staff exchange between the partners of EU and China, and the development of key enabling techniques and equipment for theorbital drilling process of stacked AL/CFRP/Ti. It meets the objectives and requirements of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE), by establishing multiple bridges between European and Chinese institutions. The ultimate goal of ECSASDPE is to set up a long-term international and inter-sector collaboration consortium through research and innovation staff exchanges between 8 world-recognised institutions in the cutting-edge research area of high value manufacturing with promising applications in scientific and engineering sectors. The synergistic methodologies achieved by ECSASDPE will serve as the building blocks of the stacked composite materialmachining mechanism, equipment design, process monitor and control, and machining quality metrology and characterisation and scale up application, and thus enhance the leading position of the consortium for the scientific and technological progresses in high value manufacturing. This project is divided into six inter-related work packages: (1) Setup of knowledge base and road mapping; (2) Fundamentals of drilling process; (3) Key techniques for Equipment development; (4) System integration and performance verification; (5) Dissemination and exploitation, and (6) Project management. The work packages integrate all activities that will lead to the accomplishment of all the project objectives within 66 months.

Keywords: cfrp,ti stack,orbital drilling,parallel robot,surface integrity
A global alliance for Zika virus control and prevention (ZIKAlliance)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Theme: Treating and managing disease
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Spain,Italy,Italy,Ecuador,Germany,Germany,Cuba,Switzerland,Belgium,Belgium,Colombia,Belgium,Switzerland,Switzerland,Norway,China,France,France,France,France,France,France,New Caledonia,French Polynesia,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,Brazil,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,Portugal,Peru,Mexico,Cambodia,Senegal
Call: Addressing the urgent research gaps against the Zika virus and other emerging threats in Latin America (H2020-SC1-2016-RTD-Zika, 2016)
Start date: 2016-10-01
End date: 2021-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 15694925.99
EU funding (EUR): 11964209.0
Participants: 58
Project status: CLOSED

ZIKAlliance is a multidisciplinary project with a global "One Health" approach, built: on a multi-centric network of clinical cohorts in the Caribbean, Central & South America; research sites in countries where the virus has been or is currently circulating (Africa, Asia, Polynesia) or at risk for emergence (Reunion Island); a strong network of European and Brazilian clinical & basic research institutions; and multiple interfaces with other scientific and public health programmes. ZIKAlliance will addrees three key objectives relating to (i) impact of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy and short & medium term effects on newborns, (ii) associated natural history of ZIKV infection in humans and their environment in the context of other circulating arboviruses and (iii) building the overall capacity for preparedness research for future epidemic threats in Latin America & the Caribbean. The project will take advantage of large standardised clinical cohorts of pregnant women and febrile patients in regions of Latin America and the Caribbean were the virus is circulating, expanding a preexisting network established by the IDAMS EU project. I will also benefit of a very strong expertise in basic and environmental sciences, with access to both field work and sophisticated technological infrastructures to characterise virus replication and physiopathology mechanisms. To meet its 3 key objectives, the scientific project has been organised in 9 work packages, with WP2/3 dedicated to clinical research (cohorts, clinical biology, epidemiology & modeling), WP3/4 to basic research (virology & antivirals, pathophysiology & animal models), WP5/6 to environmental research (animal reservoirs, vectors & vector control) , WP7/8 to social sciences & communication, and WP9 to management. The broad consortium set-up allow gathering the necessary expertise for an actual interdisciplinary approach, and operating in a range of countries with contrasting ZIKV epidemiological status.

Keywords: microcephaly,fetal abnormalities,case definition,modeling,natural history,biological diagnosis,immunology,prior flavivirus immunity,pathophysiology,vector control,animal reservoir,social sciences
Mechanisms of natural auto immunity triggered by plant NLR immune receptors (NLRs)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Germany
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-09-01
End date: 2017-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 159460.8
EU funding (EUR): 159460.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Resistance (R) loci with nucleotide binding/leucine rich repeat (NB-LRR or NLR) domains have been identified as the major causal genes for hybrid necrosis, which presents an extreme example of the trade-off between plant growth and the activation of immune system. This is an exciting finding both for plant breeders and plant pathologists. However, how these NLR proteins or even the whole NLR family lead to hybrid necrosis, how they contribute to fitness under natural conditions, and how this is reflected in their extreme sequence variation remain largely unknown. In this proposal, I plan to exhaustively explore their function by systematically knocking out the NLR loci from genome of different Arabidopsis accessions using genome editing, and testing their fitness performance in the natural habitat. I will also reveal the cellular and biochemical mechanisms by which NLR proteins inappropriately interact with other cellular proteins to cause hybrid necrosis and compare the hybrid necrosis activity with pathogen induced immunity.

Keywords: hybrid necrosis,nb lrr r protein,arabidopsis thaliana,epistasis,autoimmunity
Redefining the esophageal stem cell niche – towards targeting of squamous cell carcinoma (TroyCAN)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions, pharmacology, preventative medicine, epidemiology and public health, digital medicine
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2019-STG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-03-01
End date: 2025-08-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1483389.0
EU funding (EUR): 1483389.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cancer develops from mutations in stem and progenitor cells. Patients suffering from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma are commonly treated by a combination of chemotherapy and esophagectomy, a debilitating surgical procedure. My group have identified heterogeneity within the esophageal progenitor population in homeostasis which is likely to have implications for the development of squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus, lead to targeted therapeutic strategies and hopefully reduce the need for surgical intervention. Stem and progenitor cells reside in a complex microenvironment, or niche, that is instructive in determining cell fate during homeostasis and tumor initiation. In the morphologically uniform esophageal epithelium, the presence of progenitor subpopulations cells as well as local microenvironmental niches is not evident. My group aim to not only delineate the functional heterogeneity within the esophageal progenitor population during homeostasis and cancer development, but also map out and eventually target the stromal niche cells driving this phenotypic epithelial heterogeneity. Furthermore, we will use a clinically relevant platform to screen for druggable targets with the ability to eliminate esophageal tumor initiating cells. The incidence of human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas is dramatically increasing, and delineation of the esophageal stem cell niche is a vital first step towards identifying new combined therapeutic strategies directed at eliminating this cancer.

Keywords: stem cell heterogeneity,origin of cancer,mouse model,human organic screening,epithelial to mesenchymal crosstalk
SERBian- Austrian-Italian (SAI) partnership FORcing EXCELLence in ecosystem research (SERBIA FOR EXCELL)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Spreading excellence and widening participation
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Austria,Italy,Serbia
Call: Twinning (H2020-TWINN-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 931745.0
EU funding (EUR): 931745.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

The overall aim of the project is the upgrade of knowledge, skills and social capacity of UNSFA in the field of environmental sciences, with special focus on agrometeorology and related ecosystem sciences (such as plant physiology, crop management). The main tool for reaching that aim will be establishment of the AgMnet+ research network at UNSFA in collaboration with leading international research institutions BOKU and UNIFI. As a strategy to improve S&T capacities of UNSFA, AgMnet+ will introduce the concepts of small study groups (SSGs) of UNSFA, BOKU and UNIFI students and develop joint study teaching material in English and native languages. BOKU and UNIFI partners will implement goal-driven measurement and modelling training in the selected research fields for AgMnet+ members. Additionally, EU partners will organise expert training related to preparation of research project proposals for AgMnet+ researchers. Intensive exchange of short term scientific visits, guest lectures and students visits among partner institutions will contribute to improved eligibility of AgMnet+ members for participation on EU projects, increased number of papers in peer-review journals and increased citation. Finally, AgMnet+ will serve as a robust basis for the further sustainable development of the selected research fields at UNSFA, in Serbia and wider region of Western Balkan Countries. Strategic partnership with BOKU and UNIFI, initiated by this project will significantly enhance the research and innovations capacities of UNSFA and help to upgrade the knowledge and skills of both of its students and researchers. Additionally, it will reduce potential "crowding out" effect at BOKU and UNIFI and increase research and social capacity of all project participants.

Keywords: agrometeorology,crop modeling,networking