Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Multimodal navigation in insects: Use of olfactory, visual and idiothetic cues in ants (ANT NAVIGATION)

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: 2015-02-01
End date: 2017-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Being able to navigate efficiently through the environment is a requirement for most animal species, including humans. Solitary ant foragers, that don’t rely on social cues such as chemical trails, are specialized for individual navigation and little else, thus their movements are a window onto the spatial computations underpinning navigation. Allied to the practicality of studying ants in the lab or field, ant navigation is a rare opportunity to understand in detail how behaviour emerges from the interaction between brain, body and environment. The classic view of solitary ant navigation is that they rely on path integration when in unfamiliar terrain and as they become experienced they rely more on learnt, mainly visual, information. However, recent behavioural observations show that the ants’ navigational toolkit is more diverse, for instance using olfaction for orientation. Also we are beginning to see interesting multimodal interactions. We know little about the integration of multimodal cues at the behavioural-output level, and even less about the mechanistic details of cue integration. Yet such knowledge is necessary in order to understand the computational strategies that ants need for navigation in their environment. In this project, we approach the question of cue integration by studying the fine details of ants’ movements during navigation. Such fine details of the ants’ movements can identify the computational strategies being used for navigation and are key for the understanding of navigational mechanisms. It is our goal to understand if insects need complex cognitive mechanisms to implement multimodal interactions or if simple movement strategies (sensori-motor behaviours) are sufficient for multimodal cue integration. This project will give first and important insights into the mechanisms underpinning the integration of multiple cues in insects.

Keywords: neuroethology,navigation,multimodal integration,vision,olfaction,path integration,insects,ants
Variations in biochemical and microbiological milk composition among highly diverse human populations and their impact on infant gut ecosystem (MILKBIOME)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-19
End date: 2017-01-18
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 166336.2
EU funding (EUR): 166336.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Human milk is universally considered as the best nutrition for the new born infant and recent research has revealed that, in addition to its nutritional value, it represents a constant supply of commensal, non-pathogenic and potential probiotic bacteria to the infant gastrointestinal tract. Milk is also a rich source of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which have been shown to interrupt the attachment of enteric pathogens to the intestinal mucosa and to act as prebiotic substrates within the infant intestine, where they can promote the growth of certain beneficial bacteria. Therefore human milk may strongly influence the composition of the new born intestinal microbiota, known to be closely related to survivorship. The rationale behind this multidisciplinary and cooperative project is that human milk composition may have evolved differentially under various environmental pressures. Thus, a single “normal” or healthy milk composition would not exist, but instead it would be conditioned by a combination of evolutionary and socio-ecological factors. The applicant will investigate how selected population-specific factors can contribute to variation of two main human milk components, i.e. HMOs and milk microbiota. In addition, this project will provide further insights on the consequences that these variations may pose to the infant fecal microbiota. To achieve these goals the applicant will use conventional HMOs determination methodologies and will develop a new high-throughput variant of traditional molecular fingerprinting methods, which will significantly improve the existing ability to characterize complex microbial communities. Finally, socioecological data will be collected and analyzed on the studied populations, in order to gain insight on the environmental and evolutionary factors conditioning milk variation. Results obtained will be of great value to the European scientific community and will influence the way “normal” human milk composition is regarded.

Keywords: human milk,microbiota,human milk oligosaccharides,next-generation sequencing
Evaluation of the Uncertainties of the Galactic Magnetic Field to Elucidate the Origin of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (COSMICMAG)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2017-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 338362.4
EU funding (EUR): 338362.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

We propose to develop a new analysis approach for charged particle astronomy to find the astrophysical sources of cosmic particles with extreme energies. During the recent years, there has been a rapid progress in our understanding of Galactic magnetic field (GMF) and the collected statistics of ultra-high energy cosmic ray events. It should therefore be possible to correct the measured arrival directions of cosmic rays on Earth for deflections in the GMF and to significantly improve the search for their astrophysical sources in this way. The research objectives of this proposal are therefore: 1) A thorough evaluation of the uncertainties of the GMF with the aim of producing sky maps of the deflection uncertainty of cosmic rays given their arrival direction and rigidity (= energy divided by charge). 2) Development of an optimal analysis method for correlation studies that takes into account the deflection uncertainties originating from the uncertainties in both, GMF and the estimated rigidities. 3) Application of the optimal data analysis method to data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. During the outgoing phase, the fellow will join the astrophysics group of the New York University to acquire state-of-the art knowledge on the interpretation of astrophysical data relevant for the GMF. At the return host, the Karlsruher Institute of Technology, he will apply the obtained knowledge to data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. This project will allow the fellow to be trained in the theoretical foundations and computational tools needed to study the GMF. It will broaden his knowledge in astrophysics and therefore complement his current expertise of the particle physics of air showers. The interdisciplinary training and the possibility to gain teaching experience at both hosts, will contribute to the long-term development of the fellow’s career and make him eligible for a leading academic position in Europe.

Keywords: galactic magnetic field,cosmic rays,charged particle astronomy
Beam physics studies into the design and optimization of a novel low energy antimatter research facility (BEAPHY)

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: 2014-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 299558.4
EU funding (EUR): 299558.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Antiprotons, stored and cooled at low energies in a storage ring or at rest in traps, are highly desirable for the investigation of a large number of basic questions on fundamental interactions, on the static structure of exotic antiprotonic atomic systems or of (radioactive) nuclei as well as on the time-dependent quantum dynamics of correlated systems. Fundamental studies include for example CPT tests by high-resolution spectroscopy of the 1s-2s transition or of the ground-state hyperfine structure of antihydrogen, as well as gravity experiments with antimatter. In addition, low-energy antiprotons are the ideal and perhaps the only tool to study in detail correlated quantum dynamics of few-electron systems in the femto and sub-femtosecond time regime. Antimatter experiments are at the cutting edge of science; impressively underlined through the award of ‘most important physics breakthrough’ in 2010 to the successful trapping of antihydrogen by physicsworld. They are, however, very difficult to realize and presently limited by the performance of the only existing facility in the world, the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN. To enable the efficient investigation of essentially all these important questions, a new experimental facility, the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring (ELENA) will be built. The here-proposed BeaPhy project combines a cutting edge research project in beam physics with a very broad training of the proposer. The key challenges in the design, construction and operation of the new research infrastructure ELENA will be addressed through beam dynamics studies that will optimize the experimental performance for all antimatter experiments at the AD.

Keywords: antimatter research,low energy beams,storage rings,beam dynamics,atomic physics,fundamental interactions,numerical studies
Biodegradation of xenobiotic tertiary alcohols (BIOTEROL)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2017-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 168794.4
EU funding (EUR): 168794.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Tertiary alcohol groups are not unusual in nature. They can even be moieties of central metabolites, such as citric and mevalonic acid, which are processed by nearly universal metabolic pathways. However, simple tertiary alcohols not possessing additional functional groups are rarely degraded by bacteria or other organisms. These xenobiotic compounds might be formed during microbial attack of some important groundwater pollutants, such as fuel oxygenate ethers, alkyl phenols, naphthenic acids and related compounds all possessing already a tertiary alcohol group or an aliphatic side chain which could be converted to it in the course of degradation. In most of these cases, the tertiary alcohol is accumulating as dead end metabolite, however Aquincola tertiaricarbonaris L108 and other strains contain mechanisms to degrade the simplest tertiary alcohols: tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and tert-amyl alcohol (TAA). On principle, the mechanisms involved in the degradation pathways of these mechanisms should be also applicable to larger tertiary alcohols. However, in the TBA- and TAA-degrading bacterial strains PM1 and L108 the enzymes involved in these pathways seem not to be adapted to enable efficient conversion of alcohols with more than 5 carbon atoms (Schuster et al. 2013) and natural evolution towards productive degradation of xenobiotic C6 to C10 tertiary alcohols might be quite difficult. Although a complete pathway for the degradation of larger xenobiotic tertiary alcohols might not exist, partial metabolic sequences at least adapted to monoterpene conversion have been detected in a few bacterial strains. Thus the planned work entails the elucidation of the unknown enzymatic steps related to TBA and TAA degradation, as well as the initiation of a pathway evolution in batch and chemostat cultivation using pure and mixed cultures for specific C6-C10 compounds, analyzing the recombination events and degradation performance of these cultures.

Keywords: biodegradation - bioreactors - tertiary alcohols - xenobiotic -
Activity-Dependent Maturation of Inhibitory Processing in the Spinal Dorsal Horn (ADMIP)

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-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-03-01
End date: 2018-10-01
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 294219.6
EU funding (EUR): 294219.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the early postnatal period neonates are particularly sensitive to touch, often responding with exaggerated reflexes and whole-body movements to an isolated cutaneous stimulus. This suggests a predominance of excitation over inhibition in spinal sensory networks, which may facilitate activity-dependent synaptic strengthening. We have recently shown that neonatal hypersensitivity to touch is due to the late maturation of glycinergic inhibitory signalling and that this signalling, in turn, requires nociceptive activity in the dorsal horn at a critical postnatal period. However, the phenotype of the interneurons involved and the mechanism for their maturation remains to be determined. Parvalbumin expressing neurons form a subgroup of inhibitory interneurons that express both GABA and glycine and are involved in the control of innocuous afferent input in the adult dorsal horn making them a key target for this process. Our pilot data shows that parvalbumin is not expressed in the dorsal horn until the second postnatal week, coinciding with the behavioural decrease in touch-hypersensitivity. Using a combination of cutting edge targeted genetic manipulations and in vivo electrophysiological recordings of dorsal horn neurons, this project will identify which populations of interneurons inhibit tactile activity in the neonatal and adult dorsal horn and which primary afferent inputs drive their activity-dependent maturation. This data will provide fundamental biological knowledge required for better management of infants in intensive care.

Keywords: pain,inhibition,sensory,spinal cord,activity-dependent,development,tactile
A structural mechanism of photoreceptor protein signalling by time-resolved anisotropic X-ray solution scattering (ANISOPROTEINXRAY)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 197811.6
EU funding (EUR): 197811.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Photoreceptor proteins are light sensing biomolecules used by bacteria, funghi and plants to react to light stimuli. To date, a range of light-signalling proteins and their function are known. However, the mechanisms of signal propagation from the light sensitive chromophore to the signalling cascade in the cell are still elusive. Protein crystallography is an established method to gain structural information on static protein conformations. Only recently, time-resolved X-ray scattering methods for proteins in aqueous solution have been developed to study conformational changes that proteins undergo while functioning. Though, time-resolved X-ray solution scattering acts on proteins in their natural environment, the method lacks information content. To date, the method cannot be fully exploited because the scattering signal is averaged over all orientations that proteins adopt in solution. I propose to establish a new and promising anisotropic X-ray scattering technique which should double the information content compared to the standard method. I plan to achieve this by arresting the protein rotation in hydrogels and by excitation with polarized light. Furthermore, I will develop indispensable analysis tools to derive structural changes from the anisotropic X-ray scattering. With this new technique, I propose to elucidate the signal transduction sequence in the BLUF-domain containing photoreceptor proteins BlrP1 and AppA, covering all intermediates in the ns to ms time-scale. If successful, this project will uncover the sequence and nature of structural events that lead to signal transduction from the chromophores to the output domains of these proteins. Photoreceptors are not only interesting as easily excitable targets for the development of time-resolved methods, they also reveal nature's highly optimized strategies to transform light signals into cellular response, ultimately providing guidelines to sensing applications.

Keywords: photoreceptor,photochemistry,signal transduction,structrual dynamics,reaction mechanism,blue light sensing,waxs,time-resolved x-ray solution scattering,anisotropic scattering,md simulation
Functional non-coding mutations in human cancer (CANCERGENOMES)

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: Denmark
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2017-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 230809.8
EU funding (EUR): 230809.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

There is an urgent need to improve approaches for cancer diagnosis and targeted treatment, which requires a detailed understanding of the disease and its genetic basis. The advent of next-generation sequencing has allowed researchers to obtain comprehensive profiles of acquired genetic mutations in patient tumors. However, due to primarily reasons of cost, these sequencing approaches have so far ignored mutations in the multitude of non-protein-coding DNA sequence elements that control and regulate gene expression, and strong evidence is currently accumulating that mutations in these regions can cause cancer. With recent improvements in DNA sequencing efficiency and cost, it is now becoming feasible for large research consortia such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) in large cohorts of cancer patients. The proposed research project, “CancerGenomes”, aims to systematically detect and functionally characterize cancer mutations in non-protein-coding regulatory regions using WGS datasets from TCGA. Specifically, I will develop computational and statistical methodology for detecting and evaluating the functional impact of non-coding mutations. Using WGS data from more than 700 cancer genomes in >20 cancer types, I will derive a pan-cancer atlas of candidate functional non-coding mutations and analyze their impact on individual cancer genes, pathways and regulatory networks. The feasibility of the project will be guaranteed by the applicant’s strong background in cancer genomics and TCGA data analysis in synergy with the host group’s unique expertise in gene regulation and whole genome sequencing analysis. Ultimately, the discovery of new cancer driver mutations in non-coding regions can lead to new anti-cancer drug targets and more accurate diagnosis of cancer patients.

Keywords: cancer and its biological basis,bioinformatics,whole genome sequencing,somatic mutations,gene regulation,functional genomics
The mechanics and transport of the active cytoskeleton in biomimetic and living cellular systems (BIOMIMETIC-MECHANICS)

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: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194046.6
EU funding (EUR): 194046.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Intracellular transport involves movement of molecules and organelles through the subcellular environment and is critical for proper cell function. It can be driven by molecular motors or by cytoskeletal fluctuations and flow of the cytoplasm. Transport plays an integral role in many cellular functions, including migration and division, which are intimately linked to the metastatic spread of cancer. Transport of intracellular components requires interaction with the cytoskeleton in the bulk cytoplasm as well as the cell cortex. Cells also respond to their surrounding physical environment by changing shape and reorganizing their internal structures via passive and active processes. Thus, the interplay between the cell cortex and the bulk cytoskeleton is a key factor in understanding intracellular transport. However, the cytoskeleton-cortex interaction and its role in cell mechanics is not well understood. To this end, we propose a project to characterize the mechanics of the cytoskeleton-cortex interaction in biomimetic and living systems. We focus on three main questions: (1) What is the purely physical change in the actin cytoskeleton in response geometric confinement? (2) What is the role of active processes in structural reorganization? (3) How does the active reorganization of a living cell contribute to intracellular transport? The structural reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton will be measured via confocal imaging and subcellular transport or flow will be quantified by single particle tracking of tracers/organelles. The mechanics of the bulk cytoskeleton and actin cortex will be measured using active microrheology and fluctuation spectroscopy, respectively. This study will uncover how the cytoskeleton-cortex interaction dictates cell mechanics and its contribution to intracellular transport. Our results will lead to a better understanding of how mechanics affects cell motility and division, and has potential to lead to new clinical treatments for cancer

Keywords: intracellular transport,nonequilibrium physics,statistical mechanics,biomimetic,dynamic blebs,meiotic division,active microrheology,fluctuation spectroscopy