Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Targeting B cell Activation driven by Natural Killer cells (TABANK)

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: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2025-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 211754.88
EU funding (EUR): 211754.88
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Autoimmune diseases affect nearly 4% of the world’s population and can be life-threatening. Among them, primary Sjögren Syndrome (pSS) is the most common systemic autoimmune disease. Unfortunately, to date, treatments are focusing on relieving symptoms. It is of public relevance to find potential new biomarkers for treatments. B cells are one key player in pSS and promising drugs targeting B cell activation are currently under phase 3 clinical trials. Restraining B cell hyperactivity is central to treating pSS permanently. Hence, instead of targeting B cell activation, pSS treatments would also benefit from targeting signals or interactions leading to B cell activation. The TABANK project aims to address this hypothesis by using cutting-edge technologies (high-parameter flow cytometry, single-cell sequencing technologies and unsupervised analysis) to interrogate the immune network in the circulation of pSS donors as well as in the inflamed environment of impaired salivary glands. This overarching goal will be achieved by (i) Compiling a comprehensive database of immune cell profiles in pSS using both single-cell sequencing and high-parameter mass and flow cytometry; (ii) Determining potential interactions of immune cells leading to B cell activation using a novel computational approach; and (iii) Validating these interactions using ex vivo culture. TABANK will be conducted at the Lymphocytes B, Autoimmunity and Immunotherapies center, Université of Brest Occidentale a leading research institution in the study of immunotherapies for B cell diseases. This project will be supervised by two leading experts in autoimmune diseases and B cell biology. This unique synergy, in addition the researcher’s own expertise in examining immune responses in human tissues, particularly oral mucosal tissues, will precondition the project for success while facilitating a mutually beneficial, two-way transfer of knowledge.

Keywords: b cell hyperactivity,immune network,inflammation,primary sj gren symptom,ex vivo culture models
Reconstituting Cytoplasm Mechanics (CYTOMECH)

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: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-06-01
End date: 2026-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195914.88
EU funding (EUR): 195914.88
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The cytoplasm is not a simple water-like liquid; it is a crowded heterogeneous medium filled with macromolecules, active cytoskeleton networks and endomembranes. This rich rheology must be precisely coordinated to regulate fundamental cellular processes such as molecular diffusion or cell division. However, while the material properties of the cytoplasm have been well studied at the nanoscale relevant to e.g. protein diffusion, its regulation at the scale of larger assemblies, like nuclei or mitotic spindles, remains poorly addressed. Recent results from the host team suggest that cytoplasm fluid mechanics play a key role in the regulation of cell division of large cells that mark the development of early embryos. In this CYTOMECH project, I thus aim to address how cytoplasm mechanics is regulated during early embryo development. I hypothesize that endomembrane vesicles, tubules and sheets form a crowded polydisperse suspension close to jamming that dominate cytoplasm rheology at the scale of large objects like nuclei or mitotic spindle, relevant to early embryo morphogenesis. Using sea urchin embryos as a model, I will first combine advanced imaging of the cytoplasm with active measurements of cytoplasm mechanics using in vivo magnetic tweezers to address how this endomembrane suspension evolves during early embryogenesis to modulate cytoplasm material properties along with embryo development. Then, using an artificial cell approach, I propose to reconstitute cytoplasm mechanics by encapsulating different cytoplasm extract fractions, enriched in various sets of endomembranes, in water-in-oil droplets; and use this assay to perform a mechanical screen of the cytoplasm. CYTOMECH will represent a breakthrough for our current understanding of how spatiotemporal changes of cytoplasm composition, organization and activity support cell division and embryo morphogenesis, as well as a unique training opportunity for the applicant to become an independent researcher.

Keywords: cytoplasm rheology cell mechanics cell division cytoskeleton endomembranes sea urchin
Smart and Sustainable Host UniverCities: leveraging city-university interactions to further the twin green and digital transition (SUNSET)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Doctoral Networks
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Belgium,Norway,Estonia,Finland,Netherlands
Call: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-03-01
End date: 2028-02-29
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2719468.8
EU funding (EUR): 2719468.8
Participants: 22
Project status: SIGNED

SUNSET aims to develop innovative research and training capacity around city-university interactions driving the EU’s green and digital transition. This twin transition is a defining element of the current EU policy agenda towards achieving climate neutrality and sustainable growth. The European Commission considers cities to be frontrunners in this transition agenda, but their transformational capacity and resilience crucially depends on the presence of agile and high-performing urban innovation ecosystems. SUNSET brings together (1) prominent researchers working in diverse geographical and disciplinary settings at leading universities (N=6) with (2) partners (N=16) from city governments (often participating in the Cities Mission to achieve climate neutrality by 2030), innovation companies, research institutes and civil society organizations to analyze and foster the performance of these urban innovation ecosystems: drawing on a purposeful range of interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral exchanges, the Doctoral Network will investigate whether and how universities can successfully become key drivers of the twin transition in cities via their role as innovation partners, the implementation of campus living labs, and as architects of decision-making in governance ecosystems. Through a tailored combination of network-wide training events and academic and non-academic secondments, the SUNSET Doctoral Network will train a new generation of researchers to become future urban innovation ecosystem leaders in the pursuit of the twin green and digital transition. The findings will lead to practical guidelines regarding the design and implementation of living labs for university and city management, tailored strategies to foster more inclusive and diverse urban ecosystems, and diverse forms of scientific outreach and dissemination.

Keywords: sustainable innovation,digital innovation,twin transition,urban innovation ecosystem,quadruple helix,cities
Deep Learning Augmented Topologically-Protected Photocatalysts (DELATOP)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Italy
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-11-01
End date: 2025-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172750.08
EU funding (EUR): 172750.08
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Sunlight, as a non-stop power source granted by nature, provides about ten thousand times more energy than humans consume globally. Therefore, its harvesting and conversion to storable energy, such as plants perform in photosynthesis, represents a long-held dream of humanity. With the rapid progress of photocatalysis, humankind now endeavors to split water molecules using sunlight, thus storing solar energy into clean and recyclable hydrogen gas. To date, the efficiency of this conversion is up to 20% but with insufficient stability. In this context, DELATOP represents an effective solution to boost solar-to-hydrogen (StH) efficiency while significantly improving conversion robustness. Recently, cavity chemistry has arisen as a novel path to control chemical reaction rates in the context of light-matter interactions. Concurrently, photonic devices with topologically protected resonances have demonstrated superior defect tolerance and life-cycle durability. In this regard, DELATOP aims to design novel photocatalytic heterojunctions endowed with exceptional photon harvesting and carrier generation rate. Furthermore, using artificial intelligence (AI) for reverse engineering design, the R&D cycles can be significantly reduced with proper optimizations. As a result, the first AI-designed topo-photocatalysts will be delivered, conjugating high-imperfection tolerance and a super-extended lifetime of photo-carriers (~100 times), i.e., smart management of photons and carriers for the next-generation of green energy technologies. The project identifies three objectives to reach the final goal: I) Conceive and design novel photonic solutions based on topologically-protected resonances to be applied in the photocatalytic context; II) Deliver the first AI-designed topo-photocatalyst through injecting deep learning neurons into the previous design; III) Fabrication and characterization of topologically protected photocatalytic devices with enhanced StH conversion efficiency.

Keywords: topological photonics,nanophotonics,cavity chemistry,nanofabrication,light matter interaction
Optimization of surface multi-channel electrode arrays and motor unit extraction in underrepresented populations (MUDecomp)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Italy
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 188590.08
EU funding (EUR): 188590.08
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The motor unit (MU) represents the final common pathway consisting of the motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it innervates. Force is controlled by recruiting MUs or modulating their discharge rate. Traditional MU behaviour investigations use intramuscular electrodes and signal processing which identifies only a few MUs close to the electrode. Recently, High-Density surface electrodes(HDsEMG) allowed for MU identification non-invasively, but it has limitations. Decomposition algorithms (DA) can with validity and reliability identify MUs, but this is primarily in healthy young males. Greater adipose tissue thickness increases signal filtering, leading to a lower amplitude MU action potential which is more difficult to detect with the current DAs. This challenge has left a 'knowledge gap' in the study of MU behaviour in underrepresented populations (URP) (clinical, female, obese). This fellowship aims to optimize the state-of-the-art technology of HDsEMG and DA for a more diverse population. I aim to (1) identify limitations of HD-sEMG and DA in URPs; (2) adapt electrode configurations for URPs, and (3) optimize DA for individuals across URPs. This project is pertinent, as a large sector of the population is not studied, hindering MU behaviour research progression. I will focus on URPs where MU identification is challenging. I will fill this knowledge gap to allow the study of MU behaviour and assessment of all populations. Adapting this non-invasive technology is an important innovation which may be used as a model for diagnosis in clinical populations. The quality and success of this project are ensured by collaborations between myself and experts in signal processing (my supervisor Dr. Negro) and a company leading in multichannel electrode design. Their knowledge and expertise along with the facilities will guarantee the success of this project. The training will provide me with substantial hard and soft skills to become an independent translational scientist.

Keywords: motor unit decomposition,high density semg,neuromechanics,muscle function,clinical neurophysiology,mune,als,dpn
PRehistoric fISheries assisTing marIne baseliNEs (PRISTINE)

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: France,United Kingdom,United States
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-11-01
End date: 2024-11-30
Duration (months): 25.0
Total project cost (EUR): 211754.88
EU funding (EUR): 211754.88
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Ensuring sustainable fisheries is one of the key issues to address the conservation of marine biodiversity and socio-economic development. Such approaches usually operate based on fisheries records from the last decades, which are proved to be inappropriate reference criteria for evaluating long-term impacts of fish exploitation whereas archaeological data is increasingly admitted as an essential source of information. One of the most severely threatened marine regions is the Indo-Pacific, which also holds a rich history of marine resources exploitation since, at least, the Neolithic. Specific taxonomical identification of Indo-Pacific fish remains is still a pending task mainly due to the high diversity of fishes exploited and to difficulties in species identification from morphological analysis. This situation impedes acquiring a deep understanding of the prehistoric fisheries and their impacts over time. Through the analyses of archaeological and modern fishes from the Indo-Pacific, PRISTINE will implement a back to the future approach to provide reliable ecological baselines and enhance our current understanding of fish exploitation from a long-term perspective by identifying and quantifying the range of fish species exploited dating back 5,000 years. To this aim, PRISTINE will apply cutting-edge proteomic methodologies to 1) develop a finger-print Collagen Reference Database of representative modern Indo-Pacific fishes, 2) obtain the taxonomical identification of Neolithic fish remains, and 3) achieve a long-term evaluation of Indo-Pacific fisheries. This research will contribute to attempts on the identification of healthy tropical reef fisheries and evaluation of anthropogenic impacts over time to assist in ensuring efforts to conserve the present and manage the future of marine scenarios.

Keywords: ichthyoarchaeology,palaeoproteomics,ecological baselines,ancient fisheries,indo pacific,conservation
Characterizing H2 natural reservoirs At Rifted Margins (CH2ARM)

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: Germany,Italy
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-03-01
End date: 2028-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 202125.12
EU funding (EUR): 202125.12
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The ongoing energy transition requires new technologies and ingenuity to provide timely solutions. One major discovery in this direction is the production of hydrogen through natural processes. Hydrogen is a promising source of green energy, but our understanding of its natural formation is currently superficial. In particular, we need to quantify the potential hydrogen fluxes that occur during the formation of continental rifted margins, which make up half of the world's margins and extend hundreds of kilometres beneath the ocean. As these margins form, mantle rocks react with seawater to release hydrogen. However, accurately estimating this production is challenging due to the complexity of rifted margins, limited access to high-resolution data and difficulties in modelling the process. CH2ARM aims to estimate hydrogen fluxes resulting from serpentinization at two European continental rifted margins. The project leverages the applicant's expertise in seismic data and numerical modelling to achieve two main objectives: first, to map the occurrence of serpentinised mantle using a novel joint inversion of high-resolution seismic data sets; and second, to quantify hydrogen production rates through numerical modelling of fluid infiltration processes. By advancing the understanding of large-scale natural hydrogen production associated with serpentinisation, CH2ARM will provide critical insights for the exploration and potential future exploitation of natural hydrogen reservoirs as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

Keywords: natural hydrogen,green energy,continental margins,seismic modelling,numerical modelling
An integrative understanding of the role that urban trees plays for people and nature (BioCiTrees)

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,Argentina
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-03-18
End date: 2026-03-17
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 181152.96
EU funding (EUR): 181152.96
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

There is a huge pressure on cities to build robust urban ecosystems in a way that can withstand global change while providing good living conditions for citizens. The accomplishment of this goal is essential to ensure an equitable future maintaining the benefits of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) that the urban green infrastructures (UGI, i.e., trees, parks and urban forests) provide. To achieve this challenge, we first must identify which type of UGI better adapt to present and future conditions and hence increase its long-term ecosystem functionality and resilience. Thus, there is an urgent need of empirical research to optimize UGI functions and NCP, which are still insufficient. Additionally, society’s preferences for given UGIs may not coincide with UGIs that maximize nature’s benefits to people. This could add new trade-offs between social and ecological dimensions of those benefits. The main objective of BioCiTrees is to build mechanistic models testing which species maximize different NCP (i.e., air purification and insect biodiversity support) while exploring trade-offs between society’s preference for certain UGIs and the provision of those contributions. For this, BioCiTrees will apply trait-based approaches to identify key traits and community functional components that maximize the benefits of those contributions in the context of global change, an evidence that is lacking. Moreover, this project will develop a survey to identify different stakeholders’ preferences for certain UGIs, providing support for establishing targets to co-develop UGIs taking cultural values into account. BioCiTrees will help to fill a major gap in our understanding of the underlaying mechanisms controlling NCP in urban ecosystems so that we can use the full potential of the UGI for the benefit of urban citizens while tackling global challenges, a priority of the Horizon Europe and the EU Green Deal.

Keywords: nature s contributions to people functional traits people s perceptions air pollution insect biodiversity cities climate change
A novel versatile water treatment (desalination) method based on supercavitation (Hydratico)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Poland
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

Utility providers and industrial sectors within the European Union are confronted with urgent water treatment challenges. The existing wastewater infrastructure, aged over 50 years in many cases, necessitates replacement, repair, or upgrading, with an estimated EU yearly investment in wastewater treatment facilities and related infrastructure reaching €25B by 2025. Hydratico's ambition is to address the growing demand for water desalination, unmet by traditional methods like reverse osmosis or thermal evaporation. Our unique approach offers energy- & cost-efficient, mobile and scalable systems that can be rapidly deployed in challenging environments such as mines and industrial facilities or seamlessly integrated into existing wastewater treatment processes, e.g. in municipalities. These units can be scaled well and they have standardised designs and BOMs—which is critical for cost-efficient deployments. We offer a novel, patented desalination process based on the supercavitation effect. We can manufacture modular water treatment systems with a throughput of 1-25 m3/h. Our systems are highly compact & mobile—they can fit in a standard (40 ft) intermodal container, and have energy processing needs as low as ~0.5 kW/m3—10X less than thermal desalination & reverse osmosis.

Keywords: desalination,supercavitation,water purification