Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Quantifying minute forces: How mechanoregulation determines the behavior of pathogenic bacteria (BacForce)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Cellular, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Panel description: Structure and function of the cell, cell-cell communication, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, organogenesis, growth, development, evolution of development, organoids, stem cells, regeneration, therapeutic approaches
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2019-STG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-08-01
End date: 2026-07-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498864.0
EU funding (EUR): 1498864.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Bacteria can generate mechanical forces that are important for the colonization of surfaces, formation of biofilms, and infection of host cells. This proposal addresses the fundamental question of how bacteria can control their force generation to robustly respond to chemo-mechanical cues on complex surfaces. Currently, a knowledge gap exists between the molecular regulation pathways on the one hand and the mechanical behavior on the other hand. One major impediment for understanding of how behavior is connected to control is, to date, the impossibility of studying bacterial force directly in unconstrained situations. Based on an initial study, I propose employing new methods for the unperturbed, high-resolution measurement of bacterial traction forces on wide spatiotemporal scales. Thus, the force-generation linking behavior to control can be investigated directly. The objectives are to (A) gain access to nanoscopic mechanical phenomena through the development of cutting-edge super-resolution traction force microscopy, (B) employ the methods to characterize how Pseudomonas aeruginosa controls pilus-generated forces while responding to chemical cues, and (C) establish how surface rigidity affects force generation by P. aeruginosa during biofilm formation. In an interdisciplinary approach, I will combine traction measurements with genetic perturbations, molecule labeling, and computer simulations to produce functional models of the mechanocontrol strategies. Altogether, I will establish a novel technique, opening up the possibility of studying nanoscopic force generation in many types of cells. Through these advances, I will characterize a set of mechanoregulation strategies in P. aeruginosa that are paradigmatic for diverse Gram-negative pathogens employing the same type of pili. Broadly, I expect that the studied bacterial control strategies have a generic, minimal nature and can appear as basic motives throughout development, homeostasis, and disease.

Keywords: traction force microscopy,mechanoregulation
Interstitium-on-a-chip to explore its role in cancer metastasis (ICE-METs)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2021-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 212933.76
EU funding (EUR): 212933.76
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The annual number of metastatic cancer deaths and the cost of cancer treatment makes cancer research a priority for the European Union. One of the key factors in metastatic cancer is the ability of the cancer cells to migrate from a primary tumor to the blood vessels and lymphatics. A better understanding of how cancer cells interact with the microenvironment and migrate from blood vessels to the lymphatics to create distant metastases, is key for discovering efficient chemotherapy drugs that will cover the growing needs of the worldwide population. The possibility of developing biomimetic engineered devices to understand metastasis proliferation and testing of drugs is a crucial goal for the research community, both in science and medicine, translating to major benefits for future patients. Therefore, the goal of the ICE-METs project is to deliver, a novel engineered microfluidic biomimetic platform to monitor the migration and proliferation of cancer cells in metastasis.

Keywords: microfluidics,in vitro model,bioelectronics,metastasis
Engineering a scaffold based therapy for corneal regeneration (EyeRegen)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting 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: Ireland
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2014-STG, 2014)
Start date: 2015-07-01
End date: 2020-12-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498734.0
EU funding (EUR): 1498734.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Corneal blindness resulting from disease, physical injury or chemical burns affects millions worldwide and has a considerable economic and social impact on the lives of people across Europe. In many cases corneal transplants can restore vision however the shortage of donor corneas suitable for transplantation has necessitated the development of alternative treatments. The aim of this project is to develop a new approach to corneal tissue regeneration. Previous approaches at engineering corneal tissue have required access to donor cells and lengthy culture periods in an attempt to grow tissue in vitro prior to implantation with only limited success and at great expense. Our approach will differ fundamentally from these in that we will design artificial corneal scaffolds that do not require donated cells or in vitro culture but instead will recruit the patient’s own cells to regenerate the cornea post-implantation. These biomaterial scaffolds will incorporate specific chemical and physical cues with the deliberate aim of attracting cells and inducing tissue formation. Studies will be undertaken to examine how different chemical, biochemical, physical and mechanical cues can be used to control the behaviour of corneal epithelial, stromal and endothelial cells. Once the optimal combination of these cues has been determined, this information will be incorporated into the design of the scaffold. Recent advances in manufacturing and material processing technology will enable us to develop scaffolds with organized nanometric architectures and that incorporate controlled growth factor release mechanisms. Techniques such as 3D bio-printing and nanofiber electrospinning will be used to fabricate scaffolds. The ability of the scaffold to attract cells and promote matrix remodelling will be examined by developing an in vitro bioreactor system capable of mimicking the ocular environment and by performing in vivo tests using a live animal model.
Robust Automation and Point of Care IDentification of COVID (RAPID-COVID)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Innovative Medicines Initiative 2
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Partnership: IMI2 (Art-187)
Countries involved: Spain,Slovenia,France,France,United Kingdom
Call: Development of therapeutics and diagnostics combatting coronavirus infections (H2020-JTI-IMI2-2020-21-single-stage, 2020)
Start date: 2020-08-01
End date: 2022-04-30
Duration (months): 21.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2832585.0
EU funding (EUR): 2832585.0
Participants: 5
Project status: SIGNED

As of 30th March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak had caused over 735,000 infections globally, claiming more than 35,000 lives. By the end of July 2020 these numbers have increased globally to more than 17 millions infections and more than 660,000 lives have been lost due to the disease. Rapid and definitive diagnosis of the specific SARS-CoV-2 is essential, while identifying other common viral and bacterial pathogens is beneficial in the management of treatment and in timely isolation of infected patients with overlapping clinical symptoms. A recent study has shown that 5.8% of SARS-CoV-2 infected and 18.4% of non-SARS-CoV-2-infected patients had other concurrent pathogen infections. Failure to distinguish different pathogens may lead to unnecessary antimicrobial use, cross-infection of mis-grouped patients and further spreading of the infection. Therefore, in response to the current outbreak, singleplex testing is not optimal, especially considering the virus may become permanently and globally endemic. Simple, sensitive and multiplex detection of all respiratory pathogens is technically challenging. In response to the need for faster and better detection of multiple respiratory pathogens, GeneFirst has developed a prototype using its innovative proprietary technology - MPA (Multiplex Probe Amplification) - to simultaneously detect and differentiate SARS-CoV-2 as well as 30 other common respiratory bacteria and viruses. This assay will allow for accurate, cost-effective and comprehensive diagnoses during the current outbreak as well as future routine diagnosis. In this project, the consortium aims to analytically and clinically validate (CE-mark) this assay on two automated platforms for Point-of-Care and core pathology testing. This strategy provides maximum flexibility in screening and triage, allowing better and faster care, alleviating pressures on healthcare systems and improving patient recovery rates. GeneFirst aim to commercialise the assay for £8.50 (€9.00) per test.

Keywords: multiplex probe amplification,point of care,high throughput robotic platform,clinical validation,covid 19,respiratory pathogens
Human Rights – MUtually Raising excellence (HURMUR)

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: Germany,Estonia,Denmark
Call: Twinning (H2020-TWINN-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1014675.0
EU funding (EUR): 1014675.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

The project “HURMUR: Human rights – mutually raising excellence” will decisively expand the world-class research area of human rights in Europe. Tallinn University Law School will develop research excellence of human rights and become involved in global research and regional dissemination networks through specific activities of an outstanding consortium, where two other partners are premier global academic institutions in the field of human rights – the Danish Institute for Human Rights and Walther Schücking Institute of International Law (Kiel University, Germany). Their rennomee which is a guarantee that Tallinn University Law School will develop capacity to i) become a leader in the Baltic region of participating in state-of-the art research of human and fundamental rights, ii) initiate new research and development project of European magnitude exploring the changing nature of human rights in the contemporary society; iii) build bridges between Estonian/Baltic/Russian human rights research and activist communities. This goal is achievable via: i) organizational reform of Tallinn University’s International Research Centre of Fundamental Rights; ii) establishment and publication of a new regional peer-reviewed academic journal, the East European Yearbook on Human Rights; iii) strengthened research capacities of TLU on universality of human rights (including in particular freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and identity rights), and human rights narratives and discourses, and on new human rights (including rights related to well-being; rights related to the exercise of public authority; rights related to new technologies and rights related to identity and personality), as well as increased publication activity in this area; iv) increased dissemination and communication of TLU research and knowledge to the public, including academia, policy makers, law makers and civil society.

Keywords: human rights,new human rights,yearbook,research center,estonia,denmark,germany,capacity building,european research networks,integration,civil society,peer to peer interaction
Novel treatment for peripheral arterial disease (FlowOx)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Finland,Norway,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Fast Track to Innovation Pilot (H2020-FTIPilot-2016-1, 2016)
Start date: 2016-12-01
End date: 2019-11-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2747678.58
EU funding (EUR): 2080500.0
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is caused by the deposition of fatty material on the inner walls of peripheral arteries causing reducing perfusion and local nutrition to the muscles and skin. The condition affect 202 million people globally and is increasing at a rate of 20% per annum due to an aging population and epidemic growth of diabetes. The social costs amounts to $210 - 380 billion per annum. Behavioural changes such as smoking cessation, healthy nutrition and exercise is recommended to reduce impact and risk. When the condition worsens, patients ability to walk and exercise is reduced. When disease progress to critical limb ischemia (unbearable pain and chronic wounds), the patients follow a trajectory towards costly vascular surgery or amputation. FlowOx targets the gap in care with a patented, cost effective and clinically promising home treatment solution. In order to secure the successful introduction of FlowOx into the market by 2020, resources are required to fill the following gaps in innovation:1) strong clinical evidence of efficacy 2) health economic assessment 3) design for large scale manufacturing and 4) a validated commercial model Germany, UK and Scandinavia. These 4 challenges will be addressed in the FlowOx project over a 30-month period. The Fast Track to Innovation Pilot program was selected to support a resource demanding and technically challenging stage of the product roadmap. The support enables Otivio to join forces with a medical device manufacturer, Innokas Medical, Finland, and UK based Univ. of Salford and Univ. of Bangor with extensive experience in clinical and health economic studies. The FlowOx project enables Otivio and Innokas to enter the world-wide PAD market, gaining a strong market positon with a home care device for PAD treatment and expected sales of over €220 million within 5 years of launch.

Keywords: medical device,prophylactic,therapeutic treatment,peripheral arterial disease,randomized clinical trials,health economics assessment,design for manufacturing and assembly,commercialization
Aerodynamic Lift force of Trains subjected to cross winds—get it right! (LiftTrain)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-12-08
End date: 2018-12-07
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195454.8
EU funding (EUR): 195454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A European-wide move to standardize the criteria for certification of railway vehicles has lead to the development of regulations for rail operators regarding velocities and pressures generated by trains and on train in cross winds. There are two approved methodologies currently used in these regulations; physical modeling using the wind tunnel experiments and numerical modeling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. Although there are different types of CFD techniques, yet all of them suffer the lake of accuracy in predicting the values of the experimental lift force resulting on either overestimation or underestimation of the rolling moment coefficient. The aim of this innovative Fellowship is to develop an accurate numerical technique based on the steady Reynolds Average Navier Stocks (RANS) capable of accurately predict the aerodynamic forces. The methodology will be based on wind tunnel experiments, moving model testing and different types of steady and unsteady CFD techniques. In this project we will investigate for the first time the effect of surface roughness on the lift force prediction of a train subjected to cross wind. Building on the complementary skills of the Experienced Researcher (ER) (numerical modeling) and the Beneficiary (CFD & physical modeling), we will extend significantly the existing knowledge of modeling trains on smooth surface to include a novel numerical technique to simulate the surface roughness and hence better estimate the lift force coefficient. Our work will be validated using wind tunnel experiment at POLIMI, ITALY and underpinned with those at our industrial collaborator, Interfleet and academic partner Chalmers, Sweden. Success will define improvements to prediction of the lift force coefficient in both physical experiments and CFD modeling, offering tangible environment and financial benefits and providing an exceptional training opportunity for the ER.
European Training Network on Electromagnetic Risks in Medical Technology (ETERNITY)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Innovative Training Networks (ITN)-European Training Networks
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Spain,Belgium,Netherlands,Netherlands,Portugal
Call: Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-03-01
End date: 2025-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3594719.16
EU funding (EUR): 3594719.16
Participants: 8
Project status: SIGNED

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is not just an annoyance. With increasing numbers of safety-critical devices communicating wirelessly, ensuring that equipment functions correctly is an ever-increasing concern. Nowhere is this more true than hospital environments. Europe is a leader in many areas of medical technology, with companies like Philips at the forefront of research. However, with highly complex interactions between devices becoming the norm, guaranteeing safety requires that we start to assess new equipment using a risk-based approach rather than the conventional rules-based approach, a method that is increasing inappropriate for harsh EMI environments. The ETERNITY ETN will train 14 ESRs through a combination of research, doctoral schools, network-wide events and secondments at the Participants, which include 7 Beneficiaries (4 academic and 3 from industry) and 5 Partner Organisations from across Europe. In combination, these Participants can offer the ESRs research training that is international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral. The 14 ESRs are set to benefit from excellent supervision, with a triple-supervisor system that combines leading researchers from academia and industry, and to have access to some of Europe's finest research facilities. The training programme on offer will go beyond the needs of the ESRs in terms of technical hands-on training and taught courses focusing on the necessary aspects of engineering, with a wide range of complementary and transferrable-skills training that will equip them for their future careers in academia, industry, the public sector or, perhaps, their own start-up. ETERNITY is about maximising opportunities; giving the ESRs the chance to really benefit from a carefully crafted research-training programme; and allowing them to learn and develop as individuals who will make a difference to a vitally important area in terms of people’s safety and well-being in an increasingly technologically complex world.

Keywords: electromagnetic interference and compatibility,risk management,system and medical engineering,high frequency,wireless communication
Hybrid Imaging of PET and PrOmpt gamma for preCision RAnge- and biological- guidance in proton ThErapy (HIPPOCRATE)

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: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2017-06-01
End date: 2021-05-04
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171460.8
EU funding (EUR): 171460.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Proton therapy is rapidly being established in the EU as a promising external beam tumour therapy modality offering an increased tumour-dose conformity with better sparing of critical organs and healthy tissue compared to conventional photon therapy. However, full exploitation of its clinical potential is still hampered by non-negligible uncertainties during the treatment planning and delivery, posing the urgent demand of novel real-time techniques for in vivo verification of the proton beam range. To this aim, the objective of this project proposal HIPPOCRATE (Hybrid Imaging of PET and PrOmpt gamma for preCision RAnge- and biological- guidance in proton ThErapy) is to explore the optimal design and clinical potential of an innovative hybrid medical imaging approach that goes well beyond the state of the art, by combining real-time range verification from energetic prompt gammas with Positron-Emission-Tomography (PET) imaging of irradiation-induced or externally injected tracers, to promote biological- and dose- guidance for personalized, high-precision proton therapy. By improving the quality of the rapidly emerging proton therapy modality, this project will promote longer and healthier lives for cancer patients, with a high societal impact on the EU. Moreover, HIPPOCRATE can potentially go beyond the boundaries of medical imaging in proton therapy, by enabling high quality imaging of a whole new range of promising unconventional radionuclides for diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging, as well as opening the perspective of biological image guidance at the radiotherapy treatment site, independent of the primary radiation quality.

Keywords: in vivo range verification,compton camera,radiation detectors,positron emission tomography,image reconstruction,image resolution,proton therapy,monte carlo simulations,medical imaging