Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Assessing the risks of plant pathogen resistance evolution for the success of microbe-mediated biocontrol (RhizoEvo)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Finland
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-01-15
End date: 2027-10-14
Duration (months): 45.0
Total project cost (EUR): 215534.4
EU funding (EUR): 215534.4
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Microbe-mediated plant pathogen biocontrol has been suggested as an environmentally friendly alternative for agrochemicals to increase global food production. While biocontrol bacteria have been shown to suppress the growth of plant pathogenic bacteria via the production of antimicrobials, it remains unclear whether pathogens can escape this by evolving resistance. The main aim of this proposal is to experimentally test whether plant pathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum bacterium can evolve resistant to Pseudomonas protegens biocontrol bacterium in the tomato plant rhizosphere. I will also test if pathogen resistance evolution results in co-evolution and increased antimicrobial activity of the biocontrol bacterium, and if microbial adaptations will affect how both bacteria interact with the tomato plant, potentially shifting plant-microbe interactions along the parasitism-mutualism continuum (virulence vs. plant growth-promotion). To achieve this, I will learn to use a novel experimental-evolution system that allows direct tracking of bacterial adaptation in the rhizosphere of tomatoes over successive plant generations. Training will also be provided to quantify bacterial adaptation using a combination of microbiological assays, genomics, metabolomics and plant assays. The proposed work will help to assess the potential risks of plant pathogen resistance evolution for the long-term efficiency of microbe-mediated biocontrol. It will also improve fundamental understanding of the rapid microbial evolution in an agriculturally relevant model system and help identify potentially novel antimicrobial compounds for future crop protection.

Keywords: experimental evolution,plant microbe interactions,microbial biocontrol,plant bacterial pathogen,crop health
Time to pay up? Reparations and global development challenges (REPAIR)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Panel description: Sociology, social psychology, education  sciences , communication  studies
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2023-STG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2059661.0
EU funding (EUR): 2059661.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Reparations have become a popular demand in global development contexts. Disenfranchised groups from around the world and countries from the Global South increasingly call for reparations. They ask for apologies for past harm, symbolic and institutional measures that recognize and prevent such harm, and – most controversially – for monetary payments. Reparations are meant to respond to environmental pollution, mitigate the worst effects of climate change, compensate for infectious disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks, and bring some degree of justice for indigenous peoples and other minorities. REPAIR studies these new calls for reparations that address different global development challenges. It compares reparations for infectious disease outbreaks, climate change, minority rights violations, and toxic environments. The project’s research objectives are: 1. Compare how reparations payments are established, implemented and received as part of addressing these global development challenges 2. Learn what these payments teach us about reparations in development, from an economic, moral and political perspective 3. Identify what kind of wealth transfer reparations constitute, and what this tells us about the “reparative aspects” of economic life more generally. REPAIR is innovative in that it is the first comparative social-science study of reparations in the field of development. It not only analyses a new and important set of reparations cases, but drastically broadens the comparative frame of their study. Moreover, REPAIR is the first research project to use novel theory and methods from economic anthropology to study reparations. This promises relevant new insights into their sociocultural nature and effects. Lastly, by investigating reparations as a form of wealth transfer and focusing on the “reparative aspects” of economic activity, REPAIR hopes to push the boundaries of our understanding of economic life in general.

Keywords: anthropology,reparations,development
Effect of pH on colloidal structures in human intestinal fluids and intestinal absorption of anticancer drugs (pH4HIF)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Belgium,Bulgaria
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-09-01
End date: 2025-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 175920.0
EU funding (EUR): 175920.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Oral administration followed by intestinal absorption is the preferred way to deliver drugs to the body. Therefore, estimating the correct oral dose to achieve a therapeutic effect is an important challenge when developing drug products. Predicting intestinal drug absorption needs to consider multiple influencing factors, including properties of the drug, the formulation, and the human intestinal fluids (HIF). One of the critical factors of HIF is pH, as it may influence intestinal drug absorption both directly and indirectly. The direct effect of pH on a drug’s ionisation state and, subsequently, intestinal absorption is widely known. However, the effect of pH on the solubilisation and absorption of lipophilic drugs by changing the colloidal structures present in HIF, has not yet been systematically analysed. Understanding this indirect pH effect is especially needed to improve dose predictions for drugs with a narrow therapeutic window such as anticancer drugs, and address both inefficiency and potential side effects. The proposed project therefore aims to understand and predict the pH effect on colloidal structures in HIF and how it affects the absorption potential of anticancer drugs in both fasted and fed state conditions. To achieve its goal, the project combines the expertise of the host group at KU Leuven in absorption profiling using in vitro and in vivo methods with the applicant’s experience in predictive in silico modelling. This approach will provide unique insights into the indirect pH effect on drug absorption and contribute to the development of in silico predictive models to guide the early-stage formulation and dose optimisation of anticancer drugs. As such, the project will have important value for pipelining new anticancer drugs and will benefit the European Commission priorities for 2019-2024, such as the pharmaceutical strategy and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

Keywords: ph,human intestinal fluid,qspr,colloidal structure,solubility,permeation,predictive models,anticancer drugs,fasted and fed state
Fluid dynamics of binary systems composed of stars and black holes (ROGALLO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Universe Sciences
Panel description: Astro -physics/ -chemistry/ -biology; solar system; planetary systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; space sciences; astronomical instrumentation and data
Countries involved: Czechia
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-07-01
End date: 2030-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2310044.0
EU funding (EUR): 2310044.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

This project aims to conduct previously unachievable (magneto)hydrodynamical simulations of binary systems involving stars, planets, neutron stars, and black holes. The phenomena occurring in these systems lie at the heart of some of the most important unsolved astrophysical problems, such as the evolutionary origin of gravitational wave sources, the acceleration sites of high-energy particles, and the coevolution of galaxies with their supermassive black holes. Advancements in the theoretical understanding of these phenomena are urgently needed to interpret observations from a wide range of current and future ground- and space-based facilities. Traditionally, numerical simulations of fluid dynamics in binary systems have relied on general-purpose codes that either discretize matter into particles or divide space into finite volume elements organized in an unstructured or logically-Cartesian mesh, such as spherical or cylindrical coordinates. However, these approaches lose accuracy or yield unphysical results when applied to the complicated, yet largely predictable, structure of binary systems. To achieve a dramatically higher level of realism in fluid dynamics simulations of binary systems, I will develop a new 3D parallel multiphysics code, ROGALLO. This code will be based on the discontinuous Galerkin method coupled with complex meshes specifically adapted to structures arising in binary systems. Leveraging the most recent developments in numerical mathematics, I will use ROGALLO to substantially advance the theory of fundamental processes such as pulsations, turbulence, mixing, mass transfer and mass loss, accretion, and explosions for a wide variety of binary systems. These systems include tidally-deformed or mass-transferring stars, chemically-homogeneous gravitational wave progenitors, classical novae, Type Ia supernovae, circumbinary disks around supermassive black holes, or gaseous bodies moving through fluid.

Keywords: binary stars,binary black holes,mass transfer and loss,pulsations,explosions,circumbinary disks,classical novae,magneto hydrodynamics,numerical methods
Deciphering the structure and functions of the soil microbiome of exotic plantation of a changing world (EXOFUN) (EXOFUN)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 181152.96
EU funding (EUR): 181152.96
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Over the centuries, exotic trees have been planted worldwide for the rehabilitation of degraded lands and to obtain financial benefits from wood, paper production, tannins, ornamental assets. However, despite being evolutionary naïve to the new environment outcompete the locally adapted native plants in resource acquisition, displace the native vegetation and may become invasive species. While the influence of exotic plantations on native vegetation structure and community composition is well documented, surprisingly, much less is known about how exotic tree plantations have altered the structure and function of the soil microbiome. Although soil conservation is integral for the achievement of socio-ecological sustainability, a comprehensive study focused on the biogeographical comparisons of cyclic linkages between exotic plants and soil microbes and its influence on the multiple ecosystem functions is lacking. This is urgently needed to better understand the impacts of exotic plantations on biodiversity and function along with interaction with other global change drivers such as climate change. Using Eucalyptus globulis and Pinus pinea as our model exotic tree species, the main aim of EXOFUN is to understand the influence of exotic plantations on the structure and function of the soil microbiome at a cross-continental scale by combining observational studies and greenhouse experiments. How do exotic tree plantations influence carbon sequestration, soil biodiversity maintenance, and the capacity of ecosystems to response to climate change compared with native forests? In the current UN-decade of ecosystem restoration, the outcomes of this project will help to understand that to what extent the plantation of the exotic species be allowed, or should we completely replace it with native plants to maximize the ecosystem services. The outcome will also contribute to the European mission (soil deal for Europe) to protect and restore soil across Europe by 2030.

Keywords: soil ecology,invasion,microbiome,ecosystem multifunctionality,climate change,restoration
Deuterium labeling of GLUCOse improves magnetic resonance imaging Sensitivity to CANcer metabolism (GLUCO-SCAN)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment 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: Austria
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2022-COG, 2022)
Start date: 2023-12-01
End date: 2028-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2495924.0
EU funding (EUR): 2495924.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The targeted scientific breakthrough of GLUCO-SCAN is the development and clinical evaluation of a disruptive whole-body molecular imaging concept for cancer assessment. The only currently established whole-body molecular imaging device is positron emission tomography (PET). Glucose (Glc)-sensitive PET is widely used in cancer diagnosis and treatment assessment, but has several major limitations: PET involves harmful ionizing radiation, is expensive, not widely available, and cannot differentiate between cancer-specific and normal cellular glucose uptake. These limitations prohibit an even more widespread use of PET, e.g. for screening. We propose a new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) concept, whole-body deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) that will overcome these limitations. Deuteration is a simple chemical procedure with which it is possible to artificially label a broad range of molecules with an equally broad range of potential applications, e.g., targeting Glc metabolism in cancer. After ingestion, this labeled Glc is metabolized in cells and the label is transferred to all metabolic products, which can be tracked by DMI. Building on our recent preliminary results in Nature Biomed, we propose a combination of novel MRI hardware, dynamic spectroscopic data sampling, deep learning algorithms, and a clinical validation to answer the following three research questions in a 5-year project: (i) Is DMI a viable alternative for whole-body cancer assessment? (ii) How is DMI positioned compared to Glc-sensitive PET? (iii) Can DMI be performed on widely available MRI systems and simultaneous with standard MRI? GLUCO-SCAN will fill a gap in current medical imaging by offering an alternative for whole-body PET examinations and potentially even for screening of high risk populations. Ultimately, it will pave the way for a new generation of MR scanners with all-in-one whole-body imaging capability that would capture morphologic and molecular information simultaneously.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging,magnetic resonance spectroscopy,ultra high field,glucose metabolism,oxidative glycolytic metabolism,cancer diagnosis,oncology
Targeted nanohorns for lithium neutron capture therapy (TARLIT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS2 (ERC-2022-POC2, 2022)
Start date: 2023-01-01
End date: 2024-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Half of all cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy, either alone or combined with other therapeutic modalities (mainly surgery and chemotherapy). One of the first concerns related to radiotherapy is the toxicity of healthy organs and tissues close to the tumour. It is well-known that radiation therapy not only kills cancerous cells that divide, but also affects to the cells in division in healthy tissue. Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is a form of radiotherapy that exploits the potential of some specific isotopes for cancer treatment. The nuclear reaction that takes place when some isotopes are irradiated with neutrons, produces lethal particles with path lengths that can limit the destructive effects to a single cell, thus conferring high therapeutic precision to this form of radiotherapy. For this therapy to be successful, enough neutron active atoms must be delivered to the tumour site so a lethal capture reaction can take place. However, current benchmark pharmacologic agents are limited in their performance due to the low concentration of active species delivered in the tumour sites. TARLIT goes beyond the state-of-the-art and presents an innovative approach that consists on the design of nanoparticles as carriers of enriched lithium compounds. The possibility to deliver lithium nuclides into cancer cells, and the fact that nuclear reactions of lithium resultant from neutron irradiation produce higher energetic particles that the current state of the art, can significantly improve the efficiency of NCT in the eradication of cancer cells and tumours.
IZAR: The first robotic surgery station for the spine (IZAR)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

To date, outcomes in spine surgery heavily rely on the skill, dexterity, and experience of the surgeon, with procedures primarily conducted manually. As a result, one in four spine patients experience complications, with 11% categorized as major, leading to prolonged hospital stays, need for revision surgeries and heightened suffering. For the advancement of patient care and medical practice in spine surgery, it is crucial to develop solutions that streamline surgical procedures, making them easier, safer, more predictable, and minimally invasive whenever feasible. Robotic guidance offers a promising blue ocean opportunity in the market, especially when addressing critical concerns such as accurate and safe cutting. Deneb Medical has developed IZAR, the world’s first surgery station engineered to specifically mitigate the challenges arising from human limitations in spine surgery, including the risk of damage to critical anatomical structures (e.g., nerves, the spinal cord, and blood vessels). Besides the automized insertion of pedicle screws, IZAR is the first station to overcome the limitations of current spine surgery robots through its innovative features, including a patented safe tissue-cutting functionality that collaborates seamlessly with a surgical navigation system, and a real-time tissue-identification capability that empowers the robot to comprehend and adapt to the surgical environment effectively. Offering a comprehensive solution for all types of spine surgery, IZAR digitalizes preoperative planning, empowers surgeons to perform more precise surgeries, and enables hospitals to optimize cost efficiency.

Keywords: spine surgery robotics surgery digitalization
SUSTAINABLE RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY FOR STEEL SLAGS. CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS AND FeO FOR THE STEEL AND BATTERY INDUSTRY, WITH REST AS A CEMENT SUBSTITUTE. (Critical Minerals)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Finland
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2499284.38
EU funding (EUR): 2499284.38
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Steelmaking is one of the world’s core industries, as steel is the backbone of construction, transport, manufacturing and many other industries. However, steelmaking is a major contributor to carbon emissions – consuming around 7-9% of global annual energy production and emitting 7% of all industrial CO2. Steelmaking also causes a lot of by-products. Steelmaking slag is the most common by-product– for every ton of steel, 0.2 tons of slag is created. Globally over 300 million tons of steelmaking slag is produced annually. Steelmaking slag mainly consists of iron, calcium, silicon, and other heavy metals. Complete recovery and separation of valuable minerals from the chemically rich by-product has remained technical, economic and environmental challenge. 48% of steel slags are only piled, 36,8% are dumped to bottom of the roads, and only 6,8% are recycled for metallurgical use to take advantage of the full value of the steel slag. Maicon has developed the first technology to separate Metal, Iron oxides, and Calcium oxides and heavy metals from steel slag. Metals are recycled as scrap metals for steel manufacturing, Iron oxides (FeO) as iron ore concentrate substitutes for pig iron manufacturing, and Calcium oxide (CaO) rich tailings as Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) for the cement substitutes, and valuable heavy metals such as Vanadium are recycled back to steel manufacturing. Maicon has verified 85-90% Vanadium recovery from steel slag. Vanadium is a Critical Raw Material for the EU. Maicon's technology has significant positive economic and environmental impacts. The results are high-value recycled minerals and Zero waste in landfills. Activities under this EIC financing will allow Maicon to validate the potential of the technology and prepare it for market launch. The approach follows a multi-step process to gradually expand the application of the technology.

Keywords: critical metals,supplementary cementitious materials,scms,co2 free,co2 reduction,ai,engineering,hightech,sustainable recycling,steel slag,critical raw materials,crms,feo,vanadium