Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Identifying and characterising transmembrane transporters of tryptophan and kynurenine in normal and cancerous brain tissue (KP TRANSPORT)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 161968.8
EU funding (EUR): 161968.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The catabolism of the essential amino acid tryptophan (Trp) by tumour cells expressing either IDO1/2 or TDO has been associated with malignant tumour progression and poor patient survival. Expression of these rate-limiting genes leads to both depletion of Trp and accumulation of the Trp breakdown product kynurenine (Kyn) in the tumour microenvironment. Kyn has recently been shown to act as a ligand for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), causing its nuclear translocation and resulting in expression changes which in tumour cells result in increased survival and motility, whilst in T-cells induce anergy and apoptosis. Although the membrane transport protein LAT1 is known to act as a Trp/Kyn exchanger, accumulating evidence from transport kinetics studies clearly indicate the presence of highly specific, as yet unidentified Trp and Kyn transporters. Identifying the transport proteins responsible would offer a significant therapeutic target not only for aggressive, hard to treat brain cancers such as gliomas, but also in a number of neurodegenerative and auto-immune disorders in which the catabolism of Trp has been shown to be altered. I propose to do precisely this by expanding on discoveries I made during my studies of the role of the Trp catabolite 3-hydroxykynurenine in Huntington’s Disease, wherein I took advantage of unique features of Drosophila physiology to identify a number of candidate Trp/Kyn transporter proteins. To fully realise the potential of my discoveries I should like to characterise the human homologs of these transporters in glioma culture and in vivo models, which will require me to change both my scientific field and model system. To gain the required expertise I am applying for an IEF to train with Michael Platten's group at the DKFZ in Germany, a world leading cancer research center which has developed a number of unique reporters for Trp and Kyn levels that are essential to my characterisation of the transporters identified.

Keywords: tryptophan,kynurenine,cancer,transporters,neurodegenerative disease,tdo,ido,ido2,therapeutics,adaptive immunity,auto-immune disorders,neurophysiology
Development of a Sustainable Route to the Important Platform Chemical 3-Hydroxypropanoic Acid Using Synthetic Biology and a Geobacillus Chassis (GEO-HPA)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 309235.2
EU funding (EUR): 309235.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The environmental damage caused by the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels for chemical manufacture threatens the very future of our planet. Attention must now focus on biological routes that convert lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) into the required platform chemicals. 3-hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP) has been ranked as the third most important chemical that can be derived from LCB by the US Department of Energy. However no commercial biological process is presently available. Current attempts are thwarted by the high cost of feedstock, low titers and yield and 3-HP toxicity. The goal of GEO-HPA is the development of a bioprocess for 3-HP production from LCB using the bacterium Geobacillus (the process organism of the UK biofuel company TMO Renewables Ltd). Geobacillus is capable of growth at high temperatures (up to 70 C), can rapidly metabolize a wide range of substrates (including pentose sugars and insoluble substrates) typically found in LCB hydrolysates and is thus capable of the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of this feedstock. The pathways necessary production will be introduced into the Geobacillus genome using Synthetic Biology approaches, coupled with the deliberate inactivation of genes encoding competing pathways. Culture conditions, process variables and reactor operation mode will be optimized. The in situ removal of 3-HP and process scale-up will lead to improved 3-HP titers, yield and productivity. The project will capitalize on the extensive expertise of Dr Kumar and the unique range of ‘state-of-the-art’ tools, resources and partners (TMO Renewables Ltd) available at the host institution. It will lead to complementary exchange of capabilities and knowledge between Europe and India, and the establishment of a long lasting collaboration. The outcome will be an economic and sustainable commercial route to 3-HP that will enhance EU competitiveness in the development of bio-based production of chemicals from renewable sources.

Keywords: 3-hydroxypropanoic acid,geobacillus,biomass,sustainability,synthetic biology,metabolic engineering,fermentation,process scale-up
Investigating the topography of nuclear phosphoinositide signalling in relation to chromatin and the genome (NUC-INOSITIDE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-02-25
End date: 2017-02-24
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 249242.8
EU funding (EUR): 249242.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Phosphoinositides (PIs) are an important group of phospholipid messengers that regulate diverse cellular functions. A combination of mono, bis and tris-phosphorylation generates seven different PIs present in various subcellular compartments and importantly found within the nucleus. Nuclear PI levels change in response to diverse stimuli such as differentiation, growth factor receptor activation, growth responses in vivo, cell cycle progression, DNA damage, and cellular stressors. Chromatin forms a highly ordered repressive structure that limits access to the DNA sequence. It is widely held that disruption of chromatin compaction, which can be induced by histone tail modification is a rate-determining step in processes such as RNA transcription, DNA replication and DNA repair. Histones modification is reversible and its homeostasis is maintained by antagonistic enzymes that modify (writers) and those that remove the modification (erasers), while proteins that interact with the modifications (readers) act to interpret them. Differential states of histone modification appear to exhibit distinct distribution patterns in mammalian chromatin and appear to define different transcriptional landscapes. We have shown that many proteins that act as writers, readers and erasers of histone marks such as PHD finger containing proteins are receptors for nuclear PIs, suggesting a role for nuclear PI in chromatin modulation. In this study I will develop and use novel technologies and proprietary specific small molecular weight inhibitors of PI-kinases, to define the topographical environment of nuclear PI-signalling in relation to different chromatin landscapes and the genome. I will then determine if and how specific modulation of nuclear PIs in different chromatin landscapes functionally regulates transcriptional output. I expect to uncover a novel regulatory layer of chromatin modulation that depends on changes in nuclear PIs induced by extra and intra cellular cues.

Keywords: phosphoinositide lipid signaling lipid kinase nucleus histone modifications
Tunable Graphene Nanostructures for Plasmon-Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy (GRYPHON)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 199317.6
EU funding (EUR): 199317.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful technique for bio-chemical analyses and an essential sensing tool in medicine, biology, chemistry, pharmacy and many other disciplines and industries. Surface-enhancing techniques use noble metal nano-structures to induce high field-enhancement and improve the sensitivity of these systems and sensors. Important improvements have been achieved with the optimization of these nano-structures, but it is now clear that enabling a new significant step in performance will require the exploration of new approaches, beyond the mere geometrical optimization of noble metal particles and arrays. This project proposes to use graphene as a new enabling material to improve the sensitivity and versatility of infrared spectroscopy systems and sensors. Beyond the trend to study graphene for virtually any application to determine its potential, current state of research in graphene plasmonics already demonstrates outstanding potential for spectroscopy. Still, the unique electromagnetic properties of graphene have not yet been exploited for surfaced-enhanced infrared absorption. Indeed, graphene nano-structures have the potential to surpass its noble metal counterparts in several aspects. Graphene-based resonators can potentially achieve higher Q-factors than those provided by metal resonators, which in turn would lead to enhanced sensitivities. High Q-factor graphene resonators can be then used for enhanced sensing through new approaches, for instance by taking advantage of the graphene conductivity variation due to analyte-induced doping. New capabilities arise also from the electrostatic tunability of graphene conductivity, which can provide additional capabilities such as wavelength-scanning and spatial-scanning. In summary, graphene-based plasmon-enhanced infrared systems have the potential to reach a versatility degree, sensitivity levels and additional capabilities, that clearly surpass those of current IR surface-enhanced systems.

Keywords: nanotechnology,electromagnetic waves,graphene,reconfigurable systems,surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy,bio-chemical analysis
Complex Preferences in Matching Markets and Auctions (CPMMA)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-08-01
End date: 2016-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 204930.6
EU funding (EUR): 204930.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Our proposal is in Microeconomic theory. The subfields for this proposal are Matching Markets and Auctions. Our objectives are to: a) provide a generalized framework which would subsume matching and auction settings; b) in our generalized framework, to show how the assumptions on agents preferences in matching and auction settings relate to each other, via fundamental mathematical properties; c) to find new ways, analytically tractable, that would enable market participants to express their increasingly complex preferences. Our envisioned results are hoped to help towards improving the functioning of: a) entry-level job markets that include an increasing fraction of couples which need to express complex preferences, such as in the National Resident Matching Program or in other similar clearinghouses throughout the UK; b) auction processes in which bidders need to express complex preferences over mixes of indivisible goods, such as the auction ran by the Bank of England to provide liquidity to financial institutions or the auctions ran by the European Central Bank to provide liquidity to European Union member states in need to finance their sovereign debt. This proposal will contribute to the European excellence by advancing the frontier of the theoretical knowledge on topics that have practical applications of paramount importance for the EU. The fellow is an experienced researcher who's publication track record includes contributions at the interface between matching markets and auctions. These contributions have appeared in top economic journals. The outgoing and return hosts of the fellow are Stanford University and the University of St Andrews, respectively.

Keywords: matching markets,auctions,marked design
Cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the integration of CGE interneurons into cortical circuits (INTRACORT)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding how brain function emerges through the assembly of specific neuronal circuits is one of the main challenges in neuroscience. In the cerebral cortex, excitatory glutamatergic pyramidal cells and inhibitory interneurons constitute the main cellular elements of neuronal circuits. Interneuron deficits seem to underlie a variety of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in humans, but our current knowledge of the mechanisms controlling their precise integration into cortical circuits remains very limited. I aim to determine the mechanisms mediating the allocation of interneurons born in the caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE) into circuits composed of pyramidal neurons and interneurons in the cerebral cortex. The first goal of this project is to distinguish whether pyramidal cells or medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) interneurons influence the allocation of CGE interneurons in the superficial layers of the cortex. To this end, I will use a set of transgenic mouse models to specifically disrupt the normal lamination of pyramidal cells or MGE interneurons in the superficial or deep layers of the cortex and evaluate its effect on the allocation of CGE interneurons. Next, I will identify genes encoding transmembrane or secreted proteins responsible for the proper laminar allocation of CGE interneurons. This will be done both via a candidate-based approach and an unbiased screen involving fluorescence-activated cell sorting and RNA sequencing, followed by differential expression analysis. Functional analysis of candidate genes will be assessed via gain and loss of function experiments using in utero electroporation or retroviral infection prior to mutant mouse analysis. Together, these experiments will allow the dissection of the mechanisms underlying the precise integration of CGE interneurons into cortical circuits and contribute to our understanding of the etiology of several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

Keywords: gabaergic interneuron,migration,layering,cerebral cortex,assembly of neural circuits
Optimising Turbo-Spindle Efficiency for Machining at Ultra-High Speed (OPTEMUS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-01
End date: 2017-04-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 282109.2
EU funding (EUR): 282109.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

There is a growing demand for ultra-high speed precision machine tool spindles to create complex miniature devices in a variety of materials, in consumer markets such as medical devices, electronics and communications. Air turbine spindles are a key enabling technology for micro-scale mechanical machining due to their high speed, high power-to-weight and volume ratios, low friction, low vibration and low thermal deformation characteristics. However, a major drawback of pneumatic technology is its low energy efficiency. Nonetheless, to date there has been little analysis of the energy usage and life cycle costs of turbine spindles. A holistic life cycle assessment for turbo-spindles is therefore proposed and would provide a baseline on the competitive position of the technology. Additionally, the efficiency of current turbo-spindle technology is considerably less than that achieved in established turbomachinery applications e.g. turbochargers. Therefore in order to significantly improve the energy efficiency of turbo-spindles for machine tools, two principle methods are proposed: 1. Turbine design optimisation, based on a combination of state of art one and three dimensional modelling approaches. 2. The recovery of refrigerated exhaust air from the motor to cool machine sub-systems or for chip removal/cooling in near-dry machining applications. To facilitate the development of turbo-spindle technology, the proposed IOF brings together a multi-disciplinary team of turbomachinery and machine tool experts from Queens University Belfast and University of California, Davis. Both advanced production technology and energy efficiency are priority research areas for the EU for reasons of economic and environmental sustainability. The project aims to contribute to an enhanced and world leading manufacturing expertise and capability in EU. In particular, the expertise developed during the project will help the Fellow to become a recognised research leader in the field.

Keywords: air turbine spindle,energy efficiency,high speed machining,precision machine tools
Sugar and Oxalate Free Beetroot Juice: Production and Assessment of its Human Health Benefits (SOFBJ_PRODHUMHEALTH)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-10-01
End date: 2016-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The beetroot and beetroot juice consumption has been found to confer a number of short terms human health benefits due to naturally occurring actives. Unfortunately beetroot is also naturally rich in oxalate a known anti-nutrient that could cause adverse health effects ranging from mild stomach irritation up to kidney failure in long terms consumption and severe cases of poisoning. Furthermore, beetroot juice is also naturally rich in sugars that have no significant contribution in any of the positive reported human health benefits. On the contrary, sugars significantly increase the caloric content of the juice something that presently is negatively viewed from the European consumers. In the present proposal we aim to develop a process for generating a Sugar- and Oxalate-Free Beetroot Juice (SOFBJ) without any compromise on its human health benefits. To this effect the process development part of the project will be coupled with rigorous assessment of relevant human health benefits. The production and characterization of SOFBJ will open the way for utilizing beetroot juice as broad range functional ingredient in the food industry. The existence of such ingredient will allow generation of functional foods with a variety of benefits for consumers such as anti-hypertensive, increased mental acuity and sport performance. The project constitutes an excellent training opportunity for the nominated fellow as he will expand his skills in areas that has not had the opportunity to acquire training so far. Exposure to such a multidisciplinary project combining Food Science Chemical Engineering and Human Nutrition is very advantageous for being effective in Functional Ingredients/Foods research. Acknowledging the multidisciplinary nature of the research programme a cross-functional project team of experts will be also in place throughout the project. Significant uplifting of the fellows employability in either industrial R&D or Academia is expected.

Keywords: upgrade of natural extract,human health benefits,beetroot juice,vasodiliating,beetroot fractionation,simulating moving bed chromatography,oxalate removal,sugar removal,food additive
Variational Basis Learning for Statistical Motion Atlases: Application to Quantitative Dynamic Cardiac Imaging (BALMORAL)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-07-01
End date: 2016-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 309235.2
EU funding (EUR): 309235.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a severe progressive disorder characterised by a vasculopathy of the small pulmonary arteries to the lung. Failure of the right ventricle (RV) to adapt to elevated resistance to blood flow results in death, usually within 3 years for untreated patients with PAH. Image-based global measures can only reflect the overall performance of the RV; however, there is good evidence that PAH can be identified by localised motion abnormalities in the RV and the interventricular septum (IVS), without the need for invasive and expensive right heart catheterisation. In this proposal, we are interested in assessment of the diagnostic value of the motion abnormalities in RV and IVS, relevant to PAH. Given two groups of PAH patients and healthy controls, an important distinguishing feature of our computational framework with the existing literature is that it will allow multiscale evaluations all at the same time: L1) At the population level; a statistical motion atlas describing the “average” pattern of the heart motion over the population will be constructed. Two atlases will be made for PAH patients and healthy control subjects; L2) at the patient level; for any subject a probability value of being a patient with PAH will be measured to describe the severity of the disease; L3) at the myocardium level; localised and expert interpretable abnormality map over the heart will be measured for a given patient. From two populations of patients with PAH and normal controls, we aim to learn a set of optimal basis functions that are both discriminative at the patient level, and sparsely fitted to the pathological areas. The proposed method is a novel full Bayesian probabilistic framework, which learns the sparseness and the number of the basis function from the data by maximising the model evidence using variational Bayes.

Keywords: machine learning,statistical inference,variational bayes,cardiovascular disease,computer aided diagnosis,medical image analysis