Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Biobanking and the Cyprus Human Genome Project (CY-Biobank)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Spreading excellence and widening participation
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Specific Grant agreement
Countries involved: Austria,Cyprus
Call: Teaming (H2020-WIDESPREAD-2014-1, 2014)
Start date: 2015-06-01
End date: 2016-05-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 460637.5
EU funding (EUR): 460637.5
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

The clinical and genetic investigations of diseases of the Cypriot population as well as eHealth are a priority of the Smart Specialization Strategy of the Cyprus government. This strategy can best be served by creating a Centre of Excellence (CoE) with two main spear heads: A contemporary Biobank and a research facility for developing the Cyprus Human Genome Project. Biobanks are organized collections of medical records and biological material of all types, aimed to support biomedical research, serving as repositories and distribution centers. Cyprus, as a Low Performing Member State, was the last country that started a Biobank, when 4 years ago we were competitively funded by the European Regional Development Fund & the Republic of Cyprus through the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation. That project provided €2m, 0.4m of which was for creating a seed infrastructure for Biobanking. The rest was used for research in inherited kidney diseases. The money for Biobanking was too little for supporting a contemporary operation of recruiting adequate numbers of patients with complete records and promoting translational research. Here, we propose to upgrade the existing small infrastructure and turning it into a CoE with the assistance of Advanced Partners who led a similar operation Europe-wide, Prof. K. Zatloukal, coordinator of the Biobanking & BioMolecular Resources Research Infrastructure that recently became an ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) directed by Jan-Eric Litton (BBMRI-ERIC) located in Graz, Austria. The previous activity allowed us to comprehend the problems associated with patient recruitment and record collection. This can now serve as a starting point for upgrading it into a larger scale operation of European standard, aimed at leading the Cyprus Human Genome Project, part of which will be the sequencing of 1000 Cypriot genomes. This CoE will provide the prospects for innovative research and lead Cyprus into the European Research Area.

Keywords: biobank,e health,cyprus human genone project,monogenic diseases,rare diseases,kidney disorders,multifactorial conditions,new therapeutics
TARASÓL - The pioneering bio-marine liposomal Sunscreen released to the skin upon sunlight exposure (TARASOL)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy
Theme: Cross-cutting marine and maritime research
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Iceland
Call: Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication of innovative solutions for blue growth (H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-02-01
End date: 2018-05-31
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Every human being from developed countries have beauty and personal care products, with a recent study showing French women use on average 18 cosmetics every day, which translates into an exposure of more than 100 chemicals daily. Unfortunately, many chemicals present in these products such as parabens or phthalates cause undesirable toxic effects in humans and the environment, leading to distressing medical issues like contact urticaria, endocrine disrupting effects (which may lead to cancer) or decreased male fertility. Moreover, despite the systematic use of sunscreen which is vital to prevent the harmful effects of prolonged sunlight exposure, many UV filter molecules still present toxicity issues themselves. TARAMAR was founded in 2010 with the aim to design, develop and commercialize all natural and risk-free cosmetic products. With TARASÓL, TARAMAR will deploy to the European market the first synthetic and toxicity-free scientifically-based organic sunscreen lacking adverse effects. TARASÓL is the result of years of basic research and technology transfer efforts that have led to a prototype incorporating three main innovations: a seaweed-based UV-filter with high protection against sunlight; a fully natural formulation and production process that circumvents the use of conventional preservatives and solvents and finally, a liposome-based delivery system equipped with an open mechanism that stabilizes and releases the bioactive UV filter upon sunlight exposure. Given the organic personal care and cosmetics global market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of ~10% per annum (with an estimated value of €17 billion by 2022), and the specific segment of organic sunscreens is calculated to be worth nearly €200 million per annum, TARASÓL is expected to be a commercial success, increasing the company’s revenue from €0.16 (in 2016) to €5.52M and allowing to double the number of jobs (14) by year 2023.

Keywords: skin care,sun care,organic,natural,sunscreen,toxicity free,preservatives,seaweed,uv filter,liposome,ingredient
Structure-performance relationships in porous carbons for energy storage (SuPERPORES)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Panel description: Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-07-01
End date: 2022-12-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1240318.0
EU funding (EUR): 1240318.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Supercapacitors are of great interest as energy storage systems because they exhibit very high rates of charge/discharge, long cycle lifes, and they are made of cheap and light materials. These attractive properties arise from the electrostatic nature of the charge storage which results from ion adsorption in the electrode pores. Recently, it was demonstrated that ions can enter pores of sub-nanometer sizes leading to a huge increase of capacitance. This was an important breakthrough as the energy density of supercapacitors, relatively low compared to batteries, is what currently limits their application. The progress towards more powerful supercapacitors is limited by our incomplete understanding of the relation between their performance, in particular their capacitance and charging rate, and the complex structure of the porous carbon electrodes. To make progress we need a better fundamental understanding of the ion transport and electrolyte structure in the pores but we are lacking the experimental and theoretical methods to do so. The aim of SuPERPORES is to carry out a systematic multi-scale simulation study of supercapacitors. The use of combined molecular and mesoscopic simulations will allow us to calculate the capacitive and transport properties of a wide range of systems. Molecular simulations will be used to model ordered three-dimensional porous carbons. This will allow us to vary geometric descriptors, e.g. pore size and ion size, in a systematic way and obtain relevant microscopic information for the subsequent computational screening of porous carbons, achieved through very efficient lattice simulations. We will then be able to formulate design principles for a new, and much improved, generation of supercapacitors. The simulations will also provide other macroscopic properties, e.g. adsorption isotherms and pair distribution functions, which will be used to propose a new method to determine accurately the structure of disordered porous carbons.

Keywords: supercapacitors,electrode electrolyte interface,ion transport in confined systems,multi scale simulations,porous carbons,capacitance
Engineering a lung bacteria to treat idiopatic lung fibrosis and other non-infectious lung diseases (LUNG-BIOREPAIR)

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: Spain
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANT (ERC-2020-ADG, 2020)
Start date: 2021-11-01
End date: 2026-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2973296.0
EU funding (EUR): 2973296.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Lung diseases are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Dysregulation of immunomodulatory molecules plays a key role in many pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and infections. In IPF acute or chronic inflammation results in senescence of the alveolar cells with telomere shortening and/or dysregulation of miRNAs. Modulating the immune response directly or its downstream repercussions could be a possible way to help treat lung diseases. Systemic treatment with immunomodulatory molecules however, can have several drawbacks and include toxic side effects in other organs, the need for continuous delivery and a high cost of production. Similarly, treating immunomodulatory repercussions such as telomere shortening or abnormal miRNA expression in target cells is not easy due to the lack of a technology that efficiently and specifically delivers RNA. Furthermore, viral transformation can result in toxicity and is associated with high costs. To circumvent these problems, we aim to engineer the genome-reduced lung bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a vector to locally express immunomodulatory proteins, and/or to deliver protein¬–RNA complexes into alveolar cells (Mycovector). M. pneumoniae does not have a cell wall, it directly releases secreted biomolecules into the medium, it does not recombine, it has a unique genetic code that prevents the transfer of genes to other bacteria and we have a non-pathogenic engineered version of it. To design this Mycovector, we will combine our experience in this organism with our know-how in protein design (http://foldxsuite.crg.eu/). We will use our Mycovector expressing different combinations of active biomolecules to treat bleomycin-induced IPF in mice. This project will not only offer new insights into the treatment of a currently incurable disease, but also show that bacterial chassis can be used in other organs different from the gut paving the way to other applications in human health.

Keywords: bacterial therapy,synthetic biology,protein design,lung fibrosis
Insights into cloudy exoplanet atmospheres (Exo-C)

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: United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2016-01-01
End date: 2017-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195454.8
EU funding (EUR): 195454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Exoplanet science is a young and rapidly growing field of Astrophysics. One element crucial to advancing progress in the field is the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres, which carry unique information about the composition, birth and evolution of the planets. Exoplanets host clouds and haze that can mask the information imprinted in the planets’ atmospheres. Just as on Solar System planets, therefore, in order to successfully characterize exoplanets, understanding how clouds and haze form and their impact on atmospheric observables is essential. Motivated by these ideas, Exo-C will break new ground on three related aspects, namely: [1] the formation of upper-atmospheric haze through both neutral but also ion photochemistry; [2] the dispersion of haze through the atmosphere as transported by planet-wise winds; [3] the impact of cloud patterns on the net brightness of exoplanets. The Host Group is currently leading international efforts in exoplanet General Circulation Models (GCMs), as well as in atmospheric characterization; both aspects are key to the project and represent new expertise that will be gained by the Experienced Researcher (ER). The ER himself is well trained in the photochemical and radiative transport modelling of exo- and Solar System planet atmospheres, traits that complement those already existing in the Host Group. The multi-faceted expertise from the involved participants will provide the ideal framework to explore both the inter-disciplinary ideas set out above as well as new ones leading to long-lasting collaborations. The project is particularly timely because GCMs are becoming mature enough to enable comparison between model outputs and measurements in a way that will provide fundamental knowledge about exoplanet atmospheres and modelling capacities. Additionally, clouds and haze provide a critical yet currently missing link between GCMs and observations that the current project will help establish.

Keywords: exoplanet,atmosphere,cloud,haze,model
Green Route to Wood-Derived Janus Particles for Stabilized Interfaces (PARTIFACE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and processes engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: Finland
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2019-COG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-06-01
End date: 2025-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2000000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Emulsions are elemental to many aspects of every-day life, from food to pharmaceuticals. However, today’s emulsion science faces a grand challenge in developing stabilizers with outstanding functionality in a sustainable manner. To enable society’s transformation from oil-based economy to bioeconomy, there is an urgent need to develop sophisticated biocompatible materials, such as stabilizers of food and non-food emulsions, from biomass-derived precursors through sustainable conversion routes. Current bio-based stabilizers are poorly defined and not as efficient as the synthetic ones, primarily because key technologies to construct sophisticated hierarchical structures from abundant biopolymers are lacking. I will use my expertise on wood biomass and emulsion stabilizer research to develop a novel approach for asymmetric, bi-facial “Janus” nanoparticles from two of the most abundant, but underused biopolymers: lignin and hemicelluloses. I will develop a green conversion route using enzymatic crosslinking to build a novel concept: tailored wood-based Janus particles with superior capacity to stabilize emulsion interfaces. I will further tailor the particles to control their cooling rate through reversible bond formation, which will revolutionize the materials science. To achieve this ambitious goal, it is crucial to carefully characterize the particles and formed interfaces. I will develop a novel method to characterize real emulsion systems with high precision, which existing methods cannot achieve. PARTIFACE will establish a green route to sophisticated hierarchical architectures—bi-facial Janus-particle-stabilized interfaces—and thermal control systems utilizing abundant bioresources. The project will lead to a breakthrough in colloid and interface science and contribute to more sustainable use of Earth’s resources.

Keywords: lignin,hemicelluloses,particles,emulsions,stabilizers,enzymes,atomic force microscopy
Preventing and mitigating farmed bivalve diseases (VIVALDI)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Ireland,Ireland,Italy,Italy,Italy,Germany,Spain,Spain,Israel,Norway,Norway,France,France,France,France,France,Netherlands,Denmark,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Scientific basis and tools for preventing and mitigating farmed mollusc diseases (H2020-SFS-2015-2, 2015)
Start date: 2016-03-01
End date: 2020-02-29
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5414417.5
EU funding (EUR): 4503082.5
Participants: 23
Project status: CLOSED

The overarching goal of VIVALDI is to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of the European shellfish industry by improving the understanding of bivalve diseases and by developing innovative solutions and tools for the prevention, control and mitigation of the major pathogens affecting the main European farmed shellfish species: Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), mussels (Mytilus edulis and M. galloprovincialis), European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), clams (Venerupis philipinarum) and scallops (Pecten maximus ). The project addresses the most harmful pathogens affecting either one or more of these shellfish species: the virus OsHV-1, Vibrio species including V. aestuarianus, V. splendidus, V. harveyi and V. tapetis, as well as the parasite Bonamia ostreae. The project is committed to provide practical solutions based on the most advanced knowledge. VIVALDI will dissect the disease mechanisms associated with pathogen virulence and pathogenesis and host immune responses, develop in vivo and in vitro models, and apply “omic” approaches that will help the development of diagnostic tools and drugs against pathogen targets, and breeding programmes in a collaborative effort with industrial partners. The proposal will include a global shellfish health approach, recognising that cultured bivalves are often exposed to several pathogens simultaneously, and that disease outbreaks can be due to the combined effect of two or more pathogens. The proposal will also investigate advantages and risks of the used of disease-resistant selected animals in order to improve consumer confidence and safety. VIVALDI will be both multi- and trans-disciplinary. In order to cover both basic and applied levels from molecules to farm, the proposal will integrate partners with a broad range of complementary expertises in pathology and animal health, epidemiology, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, genomics and food safety.

Keywords: bivalves,genetics,selection
Developing a disruptive and revolutionary tool for real time inline nanoparticle size measurement, for superior quality control and process efficiency. (NANOFLOWSIZER)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2019-03-01
End date: 2019-06-30
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Nanotechnology is rapidly growing in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food & beverage industries. The global market for Nano-based goods will reach €65 Billion by 2020. A regulator of growth is quality control of Nano particle (NP) size (PS) and size distribution (PSD). The size of NPs is a determinant of their properties e.g. a change in the NP size affects the efficacy and safety of drugs. Thus, the market for NP size measurement tools is rapidly growing and in 2017 was worth €274M. To date, there is no instrument able to measure NP PS and PSD inflow. Size measurement is done offline using Dynamic Light scattering (DLS) - requiring product sampling which is often impractical as it compromises the integrity of samples. DLS systems cannot measure NP size in turbid flowing suspensions and therefore, gives measurements after batches have been produced. Defective batches are discarded costing manufacturers €0.2-2M per event with ≥50% of all batches rejected. Poor quality control exposes consumers to increased risk. There is a need for NP size measurement tools able to measure NP suspensions inflow. InProcess-LSP was founded by highly skilled former employees of MSD/Merck in Netherlands. InProcess-LSP has developed the Nanoflowsizer (NFS) a novel instrument capable of real time, inline measurement of NP PS and PSD using Low Coherence Interferometry. The NFS will provide a remote measuring tool for continuous quality control. It will achieve a 0% batch rejection rate increasing quality processing speed by 99% eliminating the drawbacks of sampling. Manufacturers will have greater control and valuable insight for process optimisation. The advanced stage of development the prototype has attracted big pharmaceutical companies including Teva and Pfizer who are our industrial partners. Target users also include NP-based manufacturers in the food and beverage and in academia. The NFS project will achieve a revenue of €4.5M by 2020 and 20 new employees.

Keywords: nanotechnology,pharmaceutical,chemical,food and beverage,academy,nano particle,size distribution,batches,quality control,nanoflowsizer