Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Identifying cellular and molecular features of protective anti-malaria B cell response (Bmem-Malaria)

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: Netherlands
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): 187624.32
EU funding (EUR): 187624.32
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Malaria is one of the leading life-threatening diseases with a reported 627,000 deaths and 241 million infections in 2020, mostly in low-income countries. Despite the advances gained by control measures, malaria incidence by Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) has plateaued in the last decade. Intervention through vaccines and antibody therapy shows promising results, yet long-lasting protective immunity remains unattainable. Anti-malaria memory B cells comprise transcriptionally distinct sub-populations, but their contribution to protective immunity is unclear. Here, I plan to combine state-of-the-art strategies to identify the cellular and molecular features of protective immunity offered by B cells and encoded antibodies, respectively. To that end, I will use the unique samples from controlled human malaria infection trials to isolate memory B cells reactive to Pf antigens, obtain transcriptome and immunoglobulin (Ig) gene sequences at the single cell level and measure antibody inhibitory properties at the monoclonal level. Transcripts signifying resting, activated or exhausted phenotype will allow memory B cell clustering, whereas Ig gene features will help define clonal expansion and selection strength of antibodies. By cloning and testing antibodies in specialized in vitro and in vivo assays, I aim to discover potent inhibitory antibodies targeting different parasite developmental stages. I will reveal the protective antibody molecular properties defined by Ig gene features, affinity, and epitope specificity. By single-cell level integration of transcriptome and antibody functionality for the first time, this project will not only deliver potent parasite inhibitory antibodies of therapeutic potential but also lay a clear blueprint for attaining protective immunity through future vaccine designs. This fellowship will support me in acquiring interdisciplinary expertise and advancing my career as a leading scientist in B cell immunology and malaria vaccinology.

Keywords: malaria,b cell immunology,antibodies,ig gene repertoire
Democratization and digitalization of ICJ. Digital documentation of ICL violations and the participatory turn (DIGDEM)

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: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United States
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-10-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 276187.92
EU funding (EUR): 276187.92
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The DIG&DEM project addresses the growing field of digitalization and democratization in international criminal justice (ICJ), responding to the need for critical research in this evolving landscape. The ICC’s 2024 dynamic complementarity underscores the urgency for stronger domestic engagement, especially as universal jurisdiction gains renewed focus after Russia's aggression against Ukraine. This research targets the challenges within ICJ, where often unprepared domestic jurisdictions remain ineffective. Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in bridging authorities with survivors and spotlighting issues like gender-based violence and ecocide. The project aims to integrate CSOs more effectively into the ICJ ecosystem. First, it develops cooperation methods between CSOs and authorities, enhancing guidelines for less experienced jurisdictions. Second, it examines digitalization's impact on CSOs' roles, identifying best practices and mitigating risks. This research offers new theoretical insights and practical guidelines to strengthen CSOs' roles in the increasingly digitalized and complex ICJ landscape. This project will take place at Swansea University, United Kingdom (under the supervision of prof. Yvonne McDermott Rees) with secondment at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, United States (under the supervision of prof. Alexa Koenig). The knowledge transfer between Dr. Kaja Kowalczewska and world-leading universities in digital evidence and open-source investigations will equip her with expertise at the intersection of law, technology, and gender in ICJ processes. Paired with strategic leadership and advocacy skills, this will enable her to secure a tenured academic position in Poland, consult on ICL reform, and work as a criminal lawyer. Additionally, she will serve as a trainer and campaigner in the CSO sector, directly contributing to closing the accountability gap and strengthening justice mechanisms in the EU.

Keywords: civil society organisations,digital evidence,participatory approach,icj ecosystem,dynamic complementarity
EFFicient user-centric EneRgy managEment SysTems for optimized EVs (EFFEREST)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Mobility
Destination: Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes
Action type: Innovation actions
Partnership: 2ZERO (co-programmed)
Countries involved: Austria,Spain,Belgium,Germany,Türkiye,Italy
Call: User-centric design and operation of EV for optimized energy efficiency (2ZERO Partnership) (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D5-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2026-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6416748.74
EU funding (EUR): 4999814.25
Participants: 11
Project status: SIGNED

EFFEREST targets a decisive leap forward in the novel use of data to achieve energy efficient electric vehicle (EV) designs, matching enhanced user acceptance with efficient vehicle operation. Significant improvements will be gained by leveraging knowledge from real fleet behaviour. Users will benefit from personalised data and the always-available option to select the vehicle performance type; in this way, users will perceive that individualised eco-functionality sufficiently fulfils normal daily-use requirements and will be motivated to save energy even over longer periods of regular usage. To achieve its ambition, EFFEREST brings together 11 partners from industrial and research backgrounds covering the entire EV value chain. A co-design framework will be implemented with a holistic user-centric energy management system control architecture based on adaptive digital twins, model-based optimization for component rightsizing, predictive model-based control and AI, benefitting from V2X, fleet-generated information and historical data. Most importantly, novel indicators will be identified that provide deeper insight into the effect that technical improvements have on user experience: this will help to derive more realistic development targets with a direct impact on user attractiveness, which in turn will impact the controllers that will be tailored adaptively to the current condition of the specific EV and its usage pattern, thus providing personalized and robust behaviour. Innovations in powertrains, battery systems, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will then be demonstrated through extensive evaluations in test facilities and a demonstrator vehicle, the aim being to make EVs more energy-efficient, comfortable, safe and affordable. As such, EFFEREST will increase the competitiveness of Europe, strengthening industrial leadership in key digital, enabling and emerging technologies to make EVs more attractive for the worldwide mass market.

Keywords: electric vehicles,thermal management,energy management system,holistic user centric solutions,
Biophotonic Nanoparticle-enabled Laser Blood Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer (LaserBlood)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Open to supporting projects in all areas of science, technology,...
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Italy,Germany,Ireland,Portugal
Call: EIC Pathfinder Open (HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3386586.25
EU funding (EUR): 3386586.25
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly form of cancer that is on the rise due to various factors, including an aging population and unhealthy lifestyles. Regrettably, PDAC is among the top cancer killers, with a dismal five-year survival rate of less than 10%. The lack of adequate screening programs is a significant factor contributing to this dire statistic. However, the identification of PDAC in its early stages could help reduce the mortality rate by as much as 80%. The project LASERBLOOD (Biophotonic Nanoparticle-enabled Laser Blood Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer) aims to develop an in vitro diagnostic test based on the fluorescence lifetime fingerprint of the personalized protein corona, offering critical information at every stage of PDAC progression. The protein corona (PC) is a coating of bio-molecular substances surrounding nanoparticles when exposed to biofluids. It is both personalized and disease-specific, making it an ideal marker to monitor the variation of nanoparticle PC and correlate it to the development of PDAC. The analysis will use fluorescence lifetime (FL) analysis, a non-invasive, reactant-free, and real-time technique. In the initial phase, the consortium will utilize a mouse model (MKC) to identify the FL fingerprint of protein corona at each stage of PDAC development. The MKC mouse model is genetically engineered to be bioluminescent and develop PDAC in a controlled manner. By linking the development of PDAC observed through bioluminescent imaging to the FL response of PC in blood samples, the consortium will provide an unprecedented fingerprint of the disease's progression from its first occurrence. At a second stage, the project will validate on humans the use of the FL fingerprint of protein corona as a tool for the early diagnosis of PDAC. The findings will provide the scientific and technological foundation for the development of an in vitro PDAC test for large scale screening of the population.

Keywords: pancreatic cancer,early diagnosis,fluorescence lifetime,nanoparticles,protein corona,oncology
International Innovation Network for the Development of Cost- and Environmentally Efficient Seasonal Thermal Energy Storages (INTERSTORES)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Energy
Destination: Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Austria,Finland,Romania,Switzerland,Netherlands,France,Serbia,United Kingdom
Call: Demonstration of innovative, large-scale, seasonal heat and/or cooling storage technologies for decarbonisation and security of supply (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10999075.0
EU funding (EUR): 9537362.5
Participants: 15
Project status: SIGNED

Future energy systems will integrate diverse, variable renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels, use sector coupling and waste heat recovery, and interact symbiotically with a variety of users. Seasonal thermal energy storages (sTES) are existential for peak-shaving and load-shifting in these systems and they increase the usability of decentrally generated thermal energy. INTERSTORES aims to achieve successful market acceptance, technological attractiveness and competitiveness by improving performance, cost efficiency and increased reliability. By pooling engineering, (hydro-)geological, environmental, and applied disciplines as well as expertise from different sectors, 14 partners from 9 countries will ensure a high exploitability through technology transfer measures. For this, INTERSTORES promotes the full-scale realization of two different sTES variants. Two demonstrators address one crucial concept of versatile sTES solutions in European’s future energy systems: The combination of several tuneable sTES.Overarching goal is proving the international market potential of novel Reno-sTES and Giga-CTES by demonstration of highly favourable techno-economic and environmental performance. With the unique opportunity of full-scale demonstration, INTERSTORES’ innovations will close critical gaps for arriving at reliable facilites, robust operational functioning and replicable implementation. The two solutions will reveal crucial differences regarding optimal design, integration potential on different scales, operating conditions, costs, environmental impacts and benefits. Finally, INTERSTORES will not only demonstrate application of planned innovation modules for sTES to project’s demo sites, but set a major focus on maximizing their replication potential. This will be achieved by complementing technological and digital developments at the demos with research on European transfer sites, regional markets and new business opportunities.

Keywords: thermal energy storage,renewable energy,optimization,
Insights into local heterogeneity of all-solid-state thermal batteries (HEAT2BATTERY-HOPON)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Destination: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Denmark,Portugal
Call: Hop-on facility (HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-03, 2025)
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 599041.25
EU funding (EUR): 599041.25
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The Heat2Battery project addresses the urgent need for efficient energy conversion in the transition to sustainable energy systems by developing a novel All-Solid-State Thermal Battery (ASSTC). This technology is designed to directly harvest and store waste heat, a major source of energy loss in current systems, and convert it into usable electrical energy. The ASSTC operates through thermally-induced phase transitions and redox-driven protonation processes, enabling charging at high temperatures and discharging at lower temperatures. The core innovation lies in the use of solid-state proton conductors and engineered hydrogen-storing electrodes that allow for fast, reversible proton transport and phase changes. Current techniques for characterization of battery component and stacks available to the consortium offer powerful insights but are limited in their ability to probe functional material properties—such as electrical, thermal, and mechanical—at high spatial resolution under realistic working conditions. This hampers a detailed understanding of how local heterogeneities influence battery performance, a factor already identified as a critical risk. To overcome this, the inclusion of the Universidade de Aveiro (UAveiro) as a Hop-On partner introduces unique expertise in nanoscale and mesoscopic characterization under in situ and operando conditions. UAveiro will provide access to functional imaging techniques that resolve electrical and mechanical behavior at length scales from ~10 nm to several micrometers, where key processes like phase nucleation and growth, ion transport, and mechanical failure occur. The contribution of the new partner will enhance the consortium’s ability to study, control, and mitigate microstructural heterogeneity, improving battery performance, durability, and risk management.

Keywords: scanning probe microscopy,electrochemistry,batteries and fuel cells,ionic solids,structural properties of materials,thin films,thermal battery,heat recovery,materials discovery
Zero-loss Energy harvesting Using nanowire solar cells in Space (ZEUS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Challenges
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Sweden,Spain,Germany,Greece
Call: EIC Pathfinder Challenge: In-space solar energy harvesting for innovative space applications (HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2028-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4548872.5
EU funding (EUR): 4548872.5
Participants: 6
Project status: SIGNED

The ZEUS project is focused on advancing the development of innovative, highly efficient and radiation-resistant nanowire solar cells designed for in-orbit solar energy collection. While current space-tested nanowire solar cells offer around 15% efficiency using single-band gap cells, ZEUS aims to significantly enhance this efficiency, potentially reaching up to 47%, by employing triple junction nanowire cells with a carefully selected set of III-V semiconductor materials. To this end, this interdisciplinary project will also optimize nanowire surface passivation schemes to improve voltage and current matching of the solar cell. This project aims to achieve scalability through a peel-off technology that transfers solar cells onto lightweight, flexible substrates (creating a thin film), enabling the creation of large deployable photovoltaic panels. Key objectives include: 1. Enhancing the efficiency of radiation-resistant nanowire solar cells. 2. Scale up wafer size to 100mm^2 and develop modules at a size of 1x1 cm^2. 3. Improving power conversion efficiency in breakthrough wireless power transmission systems based on III-V nanowire MOSFETs. 4. Reducing weight and material usage through nanowire peeling and wafer re-use. Additionally, the project underscores its commitment to environmental sustainability by focusing on two key aspects: decarbonization and the efficient use of critical raw materials. By means of a life cycle assessment of nanowire solar cells, ZEUS seeks to demonstrate the environmental benefits and commercial potential particularly for space energy generation. This research has far-reaching applications, including integrating nanowire-based devices into stretchable polymer films (offering flexibility in solar cells, electronics, detectors, and LEDs), self-powered nodes for IoT or cryogenic electronics. An industrial advisor from Azur Space Solar will help the project with scalability and exploitation strategy.

Keywords: nanowire solar cells,triple junction,radiation hard,space testing,efficiency benchmark,nanowire mosfets,wireless power transmission,lca and decarbonization,cct proposal
The MECHanical GENome: How DNA sequence guides chromosomal organization and dynamics (MECHGEN)

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: Physics
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-11-01
End date: 2027-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 260347.92
EU funding (EUR): 260347.92
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Beyond its role in encoding the primary structure of proteins, the sequence of DNA also determines its mechanical properties such as shape and flexibility. This sequence-specific mechanical code significantly influences interactions between the cellular machinery and the genome, affecting critical processes such as gene regulation and chromatin organization. However, the extent to which this MECHanical GENome drives biological function remains largely unexplored. MECHGEN seeks to bridge this gap by leveraging a recently developed coarse-graining methodology to construct a multi-resolution molecular dynamics (MD) model that integrates sequence-dependent elastic properties of DNA. This model will enable efficient simulations of genomic length DNA, chromatin, and other biologically relevant systems. Using this new methodology, we propose to study two aspects of chromosomal organization. The first will investigate how DNA sequence influences the distribution of topological strains and how sequence context determines the exposure of DNA damage in supercoiled DNA, offering new insights into genomic stability and repair mechanisms. The second line of investigation will explore how DNA sequence shapes chromatin structure and function, focusing on nucleosome positioning and higher-order chromatin architectures. By combining coarse-grained simulations with experimental data, MECHGEN aims to clarify the role of sequence variations in chromosomal organization and gene regulation. These findings could significantly impact our understanding of genomic function and stability, with potential applications in the study and treatment of genetic diseases.

Keywords: polymer physics,dna,chromatin,supercoiling,coarse graining
Origin of Animals using high-quality Genomic Assemblies and Metagenomic Analyses (OriGAMA)

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: Spain,Netherlands
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2025-08-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Duration (months): 26.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165312.96
EU funding (EUR): 165312.96
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

One of the most fundamental questions in evolutionary biology is centred on our ancestors: How did animals originate? Recent advances in various disciplines have refined this question of whether the most profound divergence in the animal phylogenetic tree, estimated to have occurred approximately 800 million years ago, was between the sponges (Porifera) or the comb-jellies (Ctenophora), and this remains a contentious point of discussion within the scientific community. This is important as it influences our understanding of the evolution of the nervous, muscular and digestive systems. Did the ancestor of all animals already possess complex systems, or did these systems evolve at a later stage? The project described in this proposal aims to answer this question through multiple crucial steps, firstly by improving the genomic quality data from the animal clades in contention and their closest relatives, then by applying innovative and state-of-the-art phylogenomics, comparative genomics and molecular dating techniques, and thirdly through harnessing the power of hidden diversity in the environment through metagenomics. We will use our novel high-quality data to infer the animal tree of life, and importantly, to reconstruct the gene content and metabolism of their last common ancestor. Thanks to the use of complete sets of proteins, we will be able to address this question, for the first time, from a higher hierarchical level, rather than merely looking at the differences between gene histories. We can use our inference of these interacting metabolic networks, which are more conserved across deep time, to understand the evolution of the group and reconstruct the metabolism of the last common ancestor of animals.

Keywords: metagenomics,phylogenomics,animals,ctenophores,protists,bioinformatics,molecular clocks,systematic error,tara oceans