Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Deciphering the mechanisms of developmentally regulated centriole elimination (CENTEL)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Reintegration panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-04-01
End date: 2023-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 191149.44
EU funding (EUR): 191149.44
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Centrioles are evolutionary conserved organelles that template the formation of cilia, flagella and centrosomes. Centriole number dictates how many such structures form in a cell, so that controlling this number is essential for proper development and health. During sexual reproduction of animals, only the sperm contributes centrioles to the zygote, whereas centrioles are eliminated from the oocyte. The signals initiating and the processes executing centriole elimination remain largely elusive, both during oogenesis and in other developmental contexts where this can occur. Here, I propose to conduct state-of-the art live imaging and use novel quantitative super-resolution approaches in C. elegans to uncover the timing and molecular changes during oogenesis centriole elimination. Moreover, I will decipher the role of the RNA-binding protein CGH-1 in the timing of centriole elimination through a sequencing-based approach. Furthermore, I will conduct a proteomic screen to identify and characterize novel components required for oogenesis centriole elimination in worms. In a complementary approach, I will address the potential evolutionary conservation of centriole elimination mechanisms using the protist N. gruberi, which diverged from C. elegans over a billion years ago. I propose to also analyze in detail the dynamics of the elimination process in this system using deployed molecular markers. Moreover, I will conduct a proteomic screen to identify candidate centriolar proteins directing centriole elimination in N. gruberi. Furthermore, I will develop RNAi-mediated and CRISPR/Cas9 inactivation methods to test the function of candidate proteins in centriole elimination, thus also adding an important item to the toolbox at the disposal of scientists using N. gruberi. Overall, my work is expected to reveal whether centriole elimination is an ancestral mechanisms that has been conserved across eukaryotes and uncover the underlying molecular tenets of this process.

Keywords: centrioles,elimination,organelle turn over,c elegans,oogenesis,reproduction,gamete formation,naegleria gruberi,cellular differentiation
Individual Differences in Environmental Sensitivity to Parenting (EStoPARENTING)

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: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-05-01
End date: 2018-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183454.8
EU funding (EUR): 183454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Parenting is one of the strongest, most robust and consistent predictors of child development. Although parenting is important for all children, a substantial number of studies provide evidence that some children are more negatively affected by harsh parenting than other children. More recently, it has been shown that some of these “vulnerable” children also benefit more from supportive parenting: they are generally more sensitive to their rearing environment. However, these studies tend to rely on proxy markers of such Environmental Sensitivity (ES). Specifically designed measures of ES do currently not exist. We propose to develop a new observer-rated ES measure in early childhood and, applying this measure, investigate whether more sensitive children are more affected by both negative and positive parenting practices in middle childhood. Furthermore, we will explore associations between this new objective measure of ES and related temperament traits as well as gene variants, applying a multidisciplinary approach. The project is based on existing data from the on-going longitudinal Stony Brook Temperament Study. The Experienced Researcher, with extensive proficiency in parenting research and in the coding of child behaviour, will be trained to undertake this research with the support of the leading experts in the field. This project will significantly advance the field of developmental psychology by providing the first objective measure of sensitivity in early childhood which will allow for more precise empirical testing of Environmental Sensitivity. The findings of the proposed study will significantly deepen our understanding and insight into the interplay between individual difference in Environmental Sensitivity and parenting quality across childhood by applying a modern multidisciplinary approach which combines methods of developmental psychology with molecular genetics.

Keywords: parenting,environmental sensitivity,sensory processing sensitivity,differential susceptibility,vulnerability
Selective retention of VEGF for cancer and retinopathies therapeutics (VeCare)

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: Portugal
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2018-PoC, 2018)
Start date: 2019-03-01
End date: 2021-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Angiogenesis is the mechanism of blood vessel formation from pre-existing ones and is vital for nutrient and oxygen delivery to all cells in the organism. However, dysregulation of angiogenesis is detrimental for the organism. Excessive or abnormal angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer and various retinopathies and favours tumour growth and metastasis, and vision loss, respectively. Excessive or abnormal angiogenesis is fuelled by hypoxia-driven expression of high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the main pro-angiogenic molecule that stimulates the formation of new blood vessels. Although VEGF-centric anti-angiogenic therapies do exist, their efficacy is limited by their specificity and numerous side effects, hampering greatly their potential clinical benefits. Therefore, there is an urgent need for improved anti-VEGF therapeutic strategies. The aim of this PoC project is to identify a novel class of anti-VEGF drugs. We designed an innovative and unique screening method to identify an unexplored mechanism to inhibit VEGF function in vivo, which has the prospect of reduced toxicity and, thus, enhanced clinical efficacy. This project will enable the creation of a start-up company to commercialize the newly identified class of drugs for subsequent clinical development to curb cancer and retinopathies. We aim at improving patient survival and well-being, and reducing the economic burden associated with these diseases.

Keywords: anti angiogenic therapy,cancer,vascular retinopathies,high content drug screening,vascular endothelial growth factor
Exposure to heat and air pollution in EUrope – cardiopulmonary impacts and benefits of mitigation and adaptation (EXHAUSTION)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Climate action, environment,  resource efficiency and raw materials
Theme: Fighting and adapting to climate change
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Italy,Germany,Norway,Greece,Sweden,Romania,Finland,Belgium,Greece,Denmark,United Kingdom,Portugal,Luxembourg
Call: Climate change impacts in Europe (H2020-LC-CLA-2018-2, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2024-01-31
Duration (months): 56.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6573508.25
EU funding (EUR): 6573508.25
Participants: 16
Project status: SIGNED

Extreme heat and wildland fires are identified as key climate risks in Europe. The two risks are interlinked, as the risk of wildland fires increases during periods of extreme heat and decreasing precipitation. Extreme heat increases the death and disease rates for cardiopulmonary disease (CPD). Wildland fires cause intense air pollution in the form of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3). These are the two major air pollutants threatening human health in Europe, and their main health effects are related to CPD. Episodes of extreme temperatures and extreme levels of PM2.5 and O3 are likely to occur simultaneously and could occur more often, last longer, and become more intense in a warming world. EXHAUSTION will establish exposure projections for extreme heat and air pollution based on the most updated and advanced climate modeling efforts. EXHAUSTION has access to unique retrospective health registries on CPD mortality and morbidity in Northern, Central, and Southern European settings. In addition, EXHAUSTION draws upon a large time-series data base in a multi-country observational study. These data enable us to derive novel exposure-response relationships for heat, air pollution, and CPD. By combining the exposure projections and the exposure-response relationships, EXHAUSTION quantifies the future exacerbation of CPD in European settings and attributes the change in CPD mortality to a changing climate. EXHAUSTION will develop innovative adaptation strategies informed by epidemiological evidence, and address major inequity issues by identifying how age, sex, and indicators of socio-economic status (SES) predict probability for CPD caused by extreme heat and air pollution. EXHAUSTION will model socio-economic cost estimates for the response in CPD, and identify and validate possible adaptation strategies. Cost estimates, including projected health co-benefits of future adaptive measures and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures will be established.

Keywords: climate change,air pollution,cardiopulmonary health,mortality,morbidity,economic costs,socio economic consequences
Continuous hazardous water Pollutants sensing in the environment (CoPs)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Norway,Netherlands,Denmark
Call: Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) (H2020-EIC-FTI-2018-2020, 2018)
Start date: 2018-09-01
End date: 2021-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2791430.0
EU funding (EUR): 1954000.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

CoPs combines the expertise of the 3 industry partners – ground-breaking electrochemical sensors developed by IPM, miniaturised electronics customised by PAL and CAU’s geo-monitoring hardware and software – and is expected to bring economic, social and environmental impacts, including towards achieving UN SDGs and EU policy. Pesticide and nitrate pollution in fresh waters pose a significant risk to public health and the environment. Exposure to pesticides can lead to several cancer types or Parkinson’s disease, while nitrate can result in “Blue Baby Syndrome” and cause eutrophication. According to latest estimates, getting sick from drinking tap water in Europe had a societal cost of €220 million. Meanwhile, inefficient water monitoring based on sampling and lab analyses does not provide early alerts. Water suppliers need to meet EU monitoring requirements and react instantly with contamination treatment protocols, protect water supplies and avoid economic losses through shutdowns. Our innovative solution rapidly detects specific water pollutants and transmit real-time data on contaminant levels and movements in natural water systems before they could reach water infrastructures and consumers. It saves both time and costs (by at least 40%), it vastly improves data quality and quantity, and it provides a data analysis and hazardous pollutants alert service to monitoring agencies. Our goal is to mature, scale-up and demonstrate the production of the CoPs sensor platform for continuous in-situ water monitoring, targeting water suppliers as initial clients, and with the potential to create new markets within the agriculture and private well owner segments. A successful CoPs project will allow us to create measurable impacts on our companies, quantified as accumulated revenue of €217m in five years (2021-2025), equal to accumulated operating profit of €86.05m, creating 101 full time employments in our value chain, and generating €21.83m in reduced costs for our end-users

Keywords: pesticides,nitrate,water quality,pollutants monitoring,realtime,in situ,continuous,early warning,agricultural chemicals runoff,clean water supply,geo monitoring,miniaturized electronics
Role of DNA methylation reprogramming in germline stress response (MASTER)

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: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-04-01
End date: 2023-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224933.76
EU funding (EUR): 224933.76
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cytosine methylation is an ancient epigenetic modification that carries essential regulatory functions in eukaryotic genomes. This modification is reprogramed in both male and female germlines of mammals, regulating essential germline functions. My host lab discovered that DNA methylation reprogramming also occurs in male germlines of flowering plants, such as Arabidopsis, rice and maize. This reprogramming is catalyzed by the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway (RdDM), which methylates hundreds of genes specifically in the male germline. In Arabidopsis, this germline-specific methylation (GSM) regulates male meiosis by controlling gene transcription and splicing. It is unknown if methylation reprogramming also occurs in plant female germlines. Furthermore, our preliminary data suggest that GSM is modulated by ambient temperature. It is mysterious if and how environmental modulation of methylation reprogramming contributes to stress tolerance in plant germlines. I propose to answer these questions in Arabidopsis using a combination of single-cell genomics, epigenetics, genetics and developmental biology approaches. My preliminary work detected GSM in the egg companion cell and gynoecium (female organ), whose development was reported to be affected by RdDM mutations. Data also suggest that heat-induced modulation of GSM activates a heat shock gene in male meiocytes. Thus, I hypothesize that methylation reprogramming occurs and plays essential regulatory roles in the female germline, and beyond; an important function of such reprogramming is to mediate germline response to environmental stresses such as heat. Here, I will test this hypothesis and elucidate the scope, mechanism and environmental adaptation function of germline reprogramming. My discoveries will elucidate essential methylation and regulatory mechanisms in plant germlines that mediate intergenerational heredity, and establish a novel epigenetic paradigm in how germlines perceive and respond to stress.

Keywords: germline,dna methylation,reprogramming,rddm,heat stress
Robust and affordable process control technologies for improving standards and optimising industrial operations (ProPAT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Sustainable, resource-efficient and low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive process industries
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Spain,Spain,Ireland,Germany,Italy,Spain,Switzerland,Finland,Greece,Greece,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Integrated Process Control (H2020-SPIRE-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5882260.5
EU funding (EUR): 5484160.5
Participants: 18
Project status: CLOSED

The Process Industries require a high degree of automation, monitoring, and advanced simulation and control for their often complex manufacturing processes and operations. Emphasis is on continuous or batch production, mixing, reaction and separation of materials of higher value. Indeed, increased globalisation and competition are drivers for process analytical technologies (PAT) that enable seamless process control, greater flexibility and cost efficiency. ProPAT aims to develop novel sensors and analysers for providing measurements on composition, particle size and local bulk properties, as well as more traditional but smart sensors for measuring other process parameters, such as temperature, flowrate, pressure, etc., and integrate them into a versatile global control platform for data acquisition, data processing & mining and User Interface in order to measure properties of process streams and products, accurately and in real-time. The platform also provides self-learning and predictive capabilities aimed for dramatically reducing overcosts derived from even slight deviations from the optimum process. Low cost MEMS-NIR spectroscopic and granulometric analysers, smart sensors for in batch and in continuous processes will be developed and integrated into the global control platform with the chemometric tools and the predictive software to deliver an integrated process control platform. ProPAT will enable near real time closed-loop process control to operate industrial processes at their optimum, both economically and environmentally, while ensuring high levels of quality. It will also allow the uptake of the Quality by Design for continuous process improvement. The project results will be validated in different processes and applications including milling of minerals, ceramics, metals, mixing and granulation of pharma products and polymerization of resins, and will represent a major step forward towards more efficient, reliable and sustainable industrial operation

Keywords: nir spectroscopy,mems,smart sensors,granulometer,chemometrics,predictive models,process control,polymerization,milling,mixing,granulation,minerals,ceramics,metals,pharma,resins
A training network for the rational design of the next generation of well-defined glycoconjugate vaccines (GLYCOVAX)

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: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Germany,Italy,Spain,Germany,Italy,Italy,Croatia,France,Netherlands,United Kingdom,Portugal
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN-ETN) (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2015-11-01
End date: 2019-10-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3554499.69
EU funding (EUR): 3554499.69
Participants: 12
Project status: CLOSED

GLYCOVAX is a network for the education of promising young scientists who will learn how to rationally design a next generation of well-defined and innovative glycoconjugate vaccines to improve current preventive therapies and to tackle unmet medical needs. Glycoconjugate vaccines represent the key for success of vaccination in children. The covalent linkage to proteins renders carbohydrates able to evoke a T-cell memory response. Current vaccines are prepared from heterogeneous mixtures of sugars linked by unspecific methods to the carrier protein giving complex mixtures of products. Due to this intricate structure, it has not been possible to apply a medicinal chemistry approach in the development of glycoconjugate vaccines and to fully understand their mechanism of action. Combination of novel approaches for glycan synthesis and site-selective conjugation methods now gives access to conjugates defined in sugar component and attachment site, thus leading to robust structure-immunogenicity relationship. Advancements in structural biophysics can be applied to select the optimal glycan antigen. By combining the beneficiaries’ expertise in carbohydrate synthesis, bioconjugation, high throughput screening, structural glycobiology, vaccinology and immunology, together with the experience in project management, GLYCOVAX will create a multidisciplinary environment where 14 young researchers will contribute to develop a novel route towards improved, safer and better characterized glycoconjugate vaccines, and contemporarily acquire transferable skills which will lead them to become the new leaders of academic or industrial research. The network will involve 9 academic groups and 2 industrial partners as Beneficiaries, and one SME as Partner Organization. The profound interaction between academy and industry will aid the students to get new concepts and visions for translating their ideas from the bench to the manufacturing of the next generation of glycoconjugate vaccines.

Keywords: carbohydrates,glycoconjugates,carbohydrate chemistry,glycoscience,automated synthesis,bioconjugation,glycan microarrays,immunology,biophysics,vaccines,structural vaccinology
Molecular mechanisms of the mechanical interaction between the cell nucleus and the actin cytoskeleton (MiMEtiC)

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,Finland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016, 2016)
Start date: 2017-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171460.94
EU funding (EUR): 171460.8
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in growth, development, and disease by sensing mechanical stress and mediating structural remodeling and cell functional responses. The cytoskeleton, which is linked directly to the nuclear lamina and thereby to chromatin, has recently been proposed to impact on chromatin remodeling and transcriptional activity. However, the mechanisms and biological consequences of force-dependent chromatin remodeling have remained elusive. Within this context main goals for my project are 1) to characterize nuclear rheology and stress transmission over the nuclear-cytoskeletal linkage, 2) to identify molecular mechanisms of force transmission into the nucleus and 3) to develop a numerical model of cell contractility and remodeling to systematically and quantitatively investigate the stress transmission to the nucleus to test my hypothesis that global force application to the nucleus can control nuclear mechanics, chromatin structure and transcriptional activity in a predictable, biologically meaningful way. This interdisciplinary project, integrating both cell/molecular biology of genome regulation and bioengineering, will advance our understanding of cellular mechanosensing and mechanotransduction, and carries therefore a strong transformative potential for discovering new strategies to mitigate many diseases where the interplay of mechanics and biochemistry are critical.

Keywords: mechanobiology,cell mechanics,nuclear mechanics,cytoskeleton