Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
MICROORC: ORCHESTRATING FOOD SYSTEM MICROBIOMES TO MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE (MICROORC)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Theme: Bio-Environment
Destination: Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Norway,Portugal,Finland,France,Denmark,Italy,Sweden,Hungary,Germany
Call: Microbiomes fighting food waste through applicable solutions in food processing, packaging and shelf life (HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01, 2023)
Start date: 2023-11-01
End date: 2027-10-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5403587.75
EU funding (EUR): 4922812.5
Participants: 20
Project status: SIGNED

The MICROORC project aims to provide business innovations for monitoring and orchestrating the microbiome and by that reduce the amount of avoidable food waste – by developing tools, technologies, services, and guidelines for i) improved food process control, accurate shelf life prediction and dynamic date labelling, and ii) extension of shelf life by bioprotection and packaging technologies that control the growth of spoilage or pathogenic organisms. Five areas are selected for the potential for predicting and extending shelf life, reduction in food waste and fostering a sustainable food system: • Predictive analytics models incorporating microbiome information to predict shelf life • Time-temperature indicators (TTIs), sensoring and smart label solutions for dynamic shelf life labelling • Rapid detection assays for microbial indicators of food spoilage • Microbiome based protection technologies to replace synthetic chemicals and increase shelf life and safety • Novel packaging solutions targeting spoilage for sustainable development and increased shelf life MICROORC will support the transition to more sustainable and healthy food systems by considering raw chicken and salmon as well as plant-based meat analogues. To guide and demonstrate the industrial, social and economic relevance of the MICROORC innovations, the project will evaluate consumer acceptance and the environmental sustainability aspects of all stages of the product life cycle, identify and help resolve legislative and regulatory challenges to implementation of new technologies, and propose a novel policy framework for microbiome control in the food system. A multinational, multi-actor and trans-disciplinary consortium including cutting-edge companies and experienced research institutions has been established to develop and pilot tools, technologies and guidelines that utilize and control microbiomes for fighting food waste to ensure transition to more sustainable food production and consumption.

Keywords: microbiome,food cultures,lca,policy,consumer,industry 5 0
Nonlocal nonlinear optical response of solids (NL2Optic)

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: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194074.56
EU funding (EUR): 194074.56
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Understanding the light-matter interactions taking place inside a crystalline solid is a challenging task, but of great significance both for fundamental science and technological applications. When laser light shines on a crystal, light waves and electric currents interact and give rise to a multitude of interesting and relevant nonlinear optical (NLO) effects: harmonic generation, current injection, the Kerr effect, and many more.1 Their study forms a rich and broad subject that sits at the intersection of nonlinear optics and condensed matter physics. Most of these effects are captured by a perturbative expansion of the current density on the optical fields. The coefficients of the expansion are the linear, second, third and higher order conductivities. They are in general functions of time and space (or frequency and momentum) and, for light intensities that are not too extreme, encapsulate the entire optical response of the material. Indeed, the nonlinear conductivities provide a unifying framework for understanding the aforementioned nonlinear phenomena, with each nonlinear effect being ascribed to a particular frequency component of a conductivity. Material-specific calculations of the nonlinear conductivity remain difficult, however, mostly relying on the electric-dipole (infinite wavelength) approximation, whereby the spatial dependence of the conductivity is neglected (local response) on account of the approximate uniformity of the optical fields at the scale of the unit cell. This approximation leaves out important magneto-optical and magnetoelectric effects, as well as the possibility of second order nonlinearities in centrosymmetric materials. The proposed project (NL2Optic) aims to overcome this limitation by developing and applying a theory of the nonlocal nonlinear optical response of bulk crystalline solids. The proposal merges perturbative methods introduced by the applicant and a well established ab initio approach developed by the host.

Keywords: nonlinear optics solid state physics ab initio nonlinear conductivity wannier functions multipoles quantum geometry altermagnets moir magnetoelectric effect optical rotation
Contracts for Control System Design (COCOS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Systems and Communication Engineering
Panel description: Electrical, electronic, communication, optical and systems engineering
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-08-01
End date: 2030-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1984840.0
EU funding (EUR): 1984840.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The expansion and performance improvement of our engineered systems have traditionally been achieved by increasing the level of automation, driven by advances in control system design. However, due to the increasing complexity and ever-tighter performance requirements on systems such as smart manufacturing systems, autonomous vehicles, and smart energy systems, we are reaching the limits of what can be achieved by existing control techniques. Namely, existing techniques (i) do not naturally guarantee relevant requirements such as safety, resource-efficiency, or transient performance, and (ii) do not scale with the increasing size and heterogeneity resulting from integrating more and more components in our engineering systems. I propose a new approach for control system design based on contracts, inspired by ideas from software design in computer science. A contract is a detailed quantitative specification on the dynamic behavior of a component and/or the overall system, capable of expressing relevant requirements. Crucially, contracts enable modularity as the design of a component only needs to guarantee satisfaction of its component contract, i.e., without requiring knowledge of other components in the system. For correctly designed contracts, this then guarantees desired system-level behavior. My initial results show the feasibility of using contracts for control system design. I will develop a contract theory for control system design that includes techniques for the automatic design of component contracts aimed at optimizing system-level performance, and control design for contract satisfaction. Consequently, this project will present (control) system engineers with a scalable approach to guarantee the efficient, safe, and reliable operation of future engineering systems. The practical relevance of the theory will be tested by case studies in high-tech manufacturing systems and autonomous vehicles, and supported by efficient computational tools.

Keywords: contract theory,modular control system design,systems engineering,large scale engineering systems
Control of body weight by specialized brain-adipose loop neurons (BrainLoops)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Panel description: Nervous system development, homeostasis and ageing , nervous system  function and dysfunction , systems neuroscience  and modelling , biological basis of cognitive processes and of behaviour, neurological and mental disorders – In humans and all other organisms
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2023-STG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-06-01
End date: 2029-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499521.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499521.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Disruption of energy homeostasis can lead to obesity, a major health issue worldwide. Therapeutic efforts to reduce adiposity are nullified by metabolic adaptations. The mechanisms underlying these phenomena are unclear, precluding efficient intervention. Although it is well established that important hormonal factors control adiposity, it is less appreciated that fat (white adipose tissue, WAT) is innervated by sympathetic and sensory fibres forming, with discrete brain nuclei, loop circuits. These circuits are well-positioned for enabling WAT-brain bidirectional, non-hormonal communication, yet they remained uncharacterized. This project will uncover the brain circuits processing sensory-sympathetic homeostatic control of body weight. Using labelling tracing strategies of the WAT, I will identify the brain areas containing loop neurons. I will interrogate their role in regulating body weight and processing WAT-derived inputs, using cutting-edge and complementary single-cell imaging and transcriptomic analysis. Complementarily, I will functionally manipulate, using opto- and chemo-genetics tools, the activity of loop neurons, and their brain→WAT outputs, in lean mice, mimicking activity changes in obesity, and assess system-wide effects on behavior, metabolism, and body weight. My expertise in both central and peripheral systems gives me a unique perspective to address these fundamental questions. Uncovering the role of non-hormonal WAT-body communication in the regulation of energy homeostasis will revolutionise our understanding of weight regulation in health and disease. This project will identify new molecular targets to develop better therapeutic strategies for obesity while also creating a platform for synergy between brain circuits and body organs, facilitating a host of future advances and new research directions.

Keywords: brain,fat,organs,neurons,loop,obesity,metabolic disorders,axis,interoception
PoxviRus cOnTrolled EmergenCy using Therapeutics and Innovative VaccinEs (PROTECTIVE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies  and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions , pharmacology, preventative  medicine, epidemiology and public health , digital medicine
Countries involved: Italy
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2025-STG, 2025)
Start date: 2025-11-01
End date: 2030-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499375.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499375.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Recent Monkeypox (mpox) outbreaks have caught once again the world unprepared. Low-middle income countries are currently most affected by mpox, however cases keep being reported worldwide. The continues circulation of mpox can rapidly burst in a global crisis that can set-back our world into chaos, reminiscing the recent pandemic. Lack of effective and affordable medical interventions urges the need to develop innovative countermeasures against orthopoxviruses. Recent technologies and methodological advancements allow to develop vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in record time, and their use can be vital to stop current and future orthopoxvirus-related threats. Here we propose to discover and develop mAbs against mpox and other orthopoxviruses. These reagents will be crucial to identify and design novel protective antigens to develop innovative vaccines. We will isolate, through an antigen-agnostic approach, mAbs from mpox infected or vaccinated individuals to build a panel of neutralizing mAbs (nAbs) able to recognize orthopoxviruses shared and protective epitopes. Generative artificial intelligence will be systemically integrated in our workflow to identify antigens targeted by discovered nAbs at unprecedented speed. Data-augmentation and iterative deep-learning models will be used to in silico design new vaccine immunogens which can be produced as recombinant proteins or mRNA, or loaded on nanoparticles. This approach will provide broadly nAbs and effective vaccines designed to protect from mpox and other orthopoxviruses. If successful, the approach herein proposed will fuel the field of vaccinology allowing unprecedent speed for antigen discovery and vaccine development. This approach could be translated to all pathogens for which no cure or prevention are available including emerging viral pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. This will strongly increase European competitiveness in fighting infectious disease and control future crisis.

Keywords: monoclonal antibodies,monkeypox,orthopoxviruses,pandemic preparedness,global health,artificial intelligence
Designing multiferroic double perovskites Bi2BB'O6 for next-generation MagnetoElectric meMOries (DesMEMO)

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: 2027-11-30
Duration (months): 25.0
Total project cost (EUR): 260347.92
EU funding (EUR): 260347.92
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Computers and electronic devices are essential, but the emerging concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), demand substantial power. Thus, a significant shift in computer hardware is necessary. However, Moore's law, which has driven microelectronics by scaling complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS-) transistors, is reaching its limit. Therefore, encoding information in collective order parameters using innovative materials and architectures becomes crucial for future advancements. Among the proposed approaches, electric-field control of magnetism through multiferroics stands out as the most promising pathway. In 2019, Intel proposed magnetoelectric spin-orbit (MESO) devices aiming to create low-power and dimensionally-scalable transistors that address the limitations of CMOS-based technology. Limited by the rarity of room-temperature multiferroics, this architecture primarily relies on the ferroelectric/antiferromagnetic compound BiFeO3. However, when Intel with CIC nanoGUNE realized the first complete MESO device in 2024, the device exhibited non-deterministic behavior due to the weak magnetoelectricity of BiFeO3. This highlights the urgent need for replacing BiFeO3 and achieve reliable performance in MESO devices. This research proposal aims to design bismuth-based double perovskites (Bi2BB’O6) as reliable alternatives to BiFeO3 for magnetoelectric memories. These materials uniquely combine room-temperature ferroelectricitywith ferro- or ferrimagnetism. The proposed compound will also simplify MESO memory structures. This experimental project will leverage advanced thin film growth facilities, including Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and sputtering techniques to stabilize and engineer these materials. The approach combines scanning probe microscopy and synchrotron-based spectroscopy and imaging to optimize their magnetoelectric response, ultimately ensuring the successful realization of these devices.

Keywords: multiferroics,magnetoelectric memories,doublel perovskites,epitaxy
Precision Health Lipidomics for early NCD prevention in Ethiopia (ENABLE-plus)

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: Norway,Portugal
Call: Hop on Facility (HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-06, 2023)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 499983.75
EU funding (EUR): 499983.75
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The ENABLE-Plus project, integrates the University of Aveiro (UAveiro) as a new partner to enhance the existing ENABLE project, focused on NCD prevention in Ethiopia and promote inclusiveness for Widening countries. UAveiro will contribute cutting-edge (Epi)Lipidomics expertise, enabling the identification of novel biomarkers related to nutrition, physical activity, and environmental exposures. These advanced techniques will enhance the project's ability to address early metabolic changes linked to NCD risks, particularly in vulnerable populations. UAveiro’s expertise strengthens research excellence by enhancing the biomarker study in ENABLE, applying cutting-edge (Epi)Lipidomics and bioinformatics to generate comprehensive data that supports early diagnosis and intervention. This collaboration bridges important research gaps by enabling state-of-the-art bioinformatics and data analysis techniques, ultimately contributing to the creation of the ENABLE exposome—a comprehensive framework linking environmental and behavioral factors with molecular data to understand disease risk. The project will also build local capacity through training and mentorship, ensuring that Ethiopian institutions can conduct these analyses independently in the future. Through this partnership, ENABLE-Plus mobilizes excellence in Portugal, enlarges the project's outreach, and provides new competencies for working in transnational research. ENABLE-Plus will advance the transition towards healthier populations and improved disease prevention strategies in Ethiopia and beyond, as well as enhance the visibility of UAveiro in global health research. The project not only enhances research capacity in both Europe and Ethiopia but also strengthens collaboration between institutions, fostering long-term partnerships. By integrating innovative lipidomics research with local expertise, ENABLE-Plus contributes to sustainable health solutions and supports Horizon Europe’s goals for global inclusiveness.

Keywords: biomarker,exposome,mother child health,omics,ncds
FOOD FOR THE FUTURE: ENVIRONMENTAL QUANTIFICATION AND IMPACT REDUCTION (FOODTURE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Theme: Bio-Environment
Destination: Clean Environment and zero pollution
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Norway,France,Belgium,Peru,Denmark,Serbia,Italy,Switzerland
Call: Environmental impacts of food systems (HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6790375.0
EU funding (EUR): 6790375.0
Participants: 20
Project status: SIGNED

The FOODTURE initiative aims at catalyzing a transformative shift towards sustainable and innovative practices within the European food sector. Through the development and validation of enhanced life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and the promotion of stakeholder engagement, FOODTURE seeks to uncover effective strategies for sustainability and foster a resilient, circular food value chain. Emphasizing transparency and open access, the initiative performs R&I on precision agriculture techniques and environmental stewardship practices to mitigate pollution and enhance holistic impact assessment. FOODTURE delivers 16 clusters of results, including: A) whole-value chain LCIs of EU food systems; B) methodologies for improved Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA); C) system-level impact quantifications, including an analysis of trade-offs and synergies between environmental, social, economic, animal welfare and human health impacts; D) policy briefs, open access & free tools, and capacity building sessions, that stakeholders can use to integrate LCAs in their daily operations. All of this is performed with the continuous integration of all value chain’s actors, in every step of the project’s implementation. Through collaborative action and innovative solutions, FOODTURE prioritizes zero pollution and assessment of regionalized environmental impacts, thus aspiring to set a new standard for holistic food system management, driving meaningful progress towards a more sustainable and resilient future for European food systems

Keywords: sustainability,food value chain,life cycle assemssment,food environmental sustainability impact
Role of reactive microglia and intraneuronal amyloids on neuronal vulnerability in early Alzheimer’s disease (IntrAflamE)

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: Italy
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172750.08
EU funding (EUR): 172750.08
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The recently approved drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), targeting amyloid plaques removal, only mildly slow patients’ cognitive decline as neuronal loss starts decades before plaque deposition. To delay AD onset before symptoms development, prevention of neuronal death should be prioritised instead. An early AD pathological event is intraneuronal accumulation of amyloids (intraAβ) which can cause neuronal death at the pre-plaque stage. IntraAβ is only found in specific neuronal subtypes first to be lost in AD, suggesting it might underly their selective vulnerability. Reactive microglia could contribute to intraAβ as blocking neuroinflammatory processes in early AD reduces its accumulation. Whether microglia also contribute to intraAβ+ neurons selective loss is still unknown but could suggest repurposing of already available microglia targeting drugs for early neuroprotective therapies. I will test this hypothesis in 5xFAD mice, first confirming intraAβ accumulates in the neuronal subtypes selectively lost, as it occurs in humans. I will analyse the contribution of reactive microglia to intraAβ neurons death by pharmaceutically rescuing their reactivity and determine if intraAβ neurons-associated microglia express AD high-risk genes, which drive late AD pathology. Because AD affects women more, possibly due to their higher inflammatory response, the sex-specificity in the previous analyses will also be tested. Finally, I will establish microglia-containing human brain organoids to recapitulate this synergy in a in vitro human AD model, providing a foundation for future drug testing. By determining the potentially detrimental interplay between microglia reactivity and intraAβ+ neurons, using both in vivo and in vitro models, my project will lay the basis of extensive future work while defining my research niche. In the long term, my results will impact development of novel neuroprotective therapies for treating AD before neuronal loss.

Keywords: alzheimer s disease,microglia,vulnerable neurons,sex differences,intraneuronal amyloids,human brain organoids