Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
The coupled dynamics of Southern Ocean climate change (DYNOS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Reintegration panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-09-03
End date: 2020-09-02
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183454.8
EU funding (EUR): 183454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

As a major sink of both heat and carbon dioxide, the Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in the trajectory of global climate change. However, Southern Ocean climate is highly complex and perturbed by both rising greenhouse gas concentrations and ozone depletion. Contemporary climate models vary greatly in their representations of the current and future climate of the Southern Ocean, limiting our ability to produce reliable climate predictions. To address this issue, this proposal takes a novel interdisciplinary approach, integrating stratosphere-troposphere-ocean-sea ice interactions. It aims to answer the following questions: (1) What mechanisms control the time-dependent coupled response of the Southern Ocean to anthropogenic forcing? (2) How do uncertainties in the response depend on models’ representation of key physical processes? (3) How far can observational estimates reduce model uncertainties in SO climate projections? The project will make use of a range of newly-available observations of the Southern Ocean, as well as perform a suite of simulations with the state-of-the-art UK Earth System Model (UKESM). Close links will be maintained with modelling groups to ensure that the results of this project feed into the development of the next generation of climate models. This action will also include knowledge transfer between the atmospheric science and oceanography communities, as well as the generation of a publicly available ensemble of “Climate Response Function” simulations, which will be a vital resource for the community. This fellowship will allow the Researcher to gain important new knowledge in both oceanic and atmospheric dynamics by working with world-leading experts in these fields. It will provide skills in the use of state-of-the-art UK and European climate models and spur multiple new research opportunities, enabling the Researcher to stay at the forefront of climate research and acting as a stepping stone towards a leadership position.
Certified Quantum Security (CerQuS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Panel description: Informatics and information systems, computer science, scientific computing, intelligent systems
Countries involved: Estonia
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2024-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1716475.0
EU funding (EUR): 1716475.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Digital communication permeates all areas of today's daily life. Cryptographic protocols are used to secure that communication. Quantum communication and the advent of quantum computers both threaten existing cryptographic solutions, and create new opportunities for secure protocols. The security of cryptographic systems is normally ensured by mathematical proofs. Due to human error, however, these proofs often contain errors, limiting the usefulness of said proofs. This is especially true in the case of quantum protocols since human intuition is well-adapted to the classical world, but not to quantum mechanics. To resolve this problem, methods for verifying cryptographic security proofs using computers (i.e., for "certifying" the security) have been developed. Yet, all existing verification approaches handle classical cryptography only - for quantum protocols, no approaches exist. This project will lay the foundations for the verification of quantum cryptography. We will design logics and software tools for developing and verifying security proofs on the computer, both for classical protocols secure against quantum computer (post-quantum security) and for protocols that use quantum communication. Our main approach is the design of a logic (quantum relational Hoare logic, qRHL) for reasoning about the relationship between pairs of quantum programs, together with an ecosystem of manual and automated reasoning tools, culminating in fully certified security proofs for real-world quantum protocols. As a final result, the project will improve the security of protocols in the quantum age, by removing one possible source of human error. In addition, the project directly impacts the research community, by providing new foundations in program verification, and by providing cryptographers with new tools for the verification of their protocols.

Keywords: quantum cryptography,formal verification
Materials Engineering of Integrated Hybrid Spectral Converters for Next Generation Luminescent Solar Devices (SPECTRACON)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and processes engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-05-01
End date: 2024-10-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2124593.0
EU funding (EUR): 2124593.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Solar energy conversion will play a key role in our transition to a carbon-neutral society. However, single junction photovoltaic (PV) cells fail to achieve their theoretical efficiency due to an inability to harness all wavelengths of the solar spectrum. Spectral losses may be overcome through the addition of a spectral converter coating to the surface of a finished PV cell, which, through a photoluminescence process, converts solar photons into wavelengths suitable for use. Nonetheless, spectral converters currently fail to deliver their promise to significantly boost PV cell performance due to the difficulties of translating luminescent molecules (lumophores) from solution into efficient solid-state materials. By considering the lumophore-host material as an integrated unit, rather than discrete components, in SPECTRACON, I take a radically new approach to the design of spectral converters. Organic-inorganic hybrid polymer hosts incorporating covalently-grafted lumophores will be rationally engineered to deliver spectral converters with the tailored optical, structural, viscoelastic and mechanical properties needed for high performance solid-state conversion, which has so far been unattainable. Using cheap materials and a solution-based process suitable for scalable manufacturing, these spectral converters will be integrated with PV cells to realise next generation luminescent solar devices which display record levels of efficiency and reduced costs. A scientific breakthrough that demonstrates efficient solar spectral conversion in the solid-state would enable immediate deployment of luminescent solar devices to the commercial market, thus accelerating progress to an all-renewables society and delivering unprecedented impact on the quality of life of future generations. Moreover, the fundamental knowledge gleaned on the design of efficient solid-state emitters will open up new frontiers for application in light-emitting displays, optical storage and sensing.

Keywords: organic inorganic hybrid,polymer,composite,solar energy,spectral conversion,photoluminescence,fluorescence,luminescent solar concentrator,upconversion,downshifting,photovoltaic cell
Preparing open access in the european research area through scholarly communication (OPERAS-P)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Research Infrastructures
Theme: Research infrastructures
Destination: Development and infrastructures
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Italy,Italy,Germany,Croatia,Poland,Switzerland,Greece,Sweden,France,Netherlands,Netherlands,Luxembourg,Portugal,United Kingdom
Call: Preparatory Phase of new ESFRI projects and early phase support to ESFRI high strategic potential areas (H2020-INFRADEV-2019-2, 2019)
Start date: 2019-07-01
End date: 2021-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2010539.13
EU funding (EUR): 2010539.13
Participants: 17
Project status: CLOSED

OPERAS-P (Preparation) project will support the development of OPERAS, the European Research infrastructure for open access publications in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The project will further the development of the infrastructure in view of achieving the necessary scientific, technical and community maturity. To achieve this goal, OPERAS-P will address the necessary requirements according the Work Programme with three objectives: supporting the ESFRI application, start the implementation of innovative services, and support the expansion of the consortium. First objective will include the conceptual framework for a Governance plan, including a vision statement and two Landscape Studies: one per country, one for end-users. This work will include a business model addressing the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure. In parallel, this work will be supported by the implementation of the AISBL statutes in the infrastructure. The implementation of innovative services will address the development of a transnational access to publication services, based on the adoption of common standards, the interoperability between publishing services and bridging towards the EOSC marketplace. This work will rely on the problematics identified in the White Paper OPERAS-P will support the development of the consortium with an outreach strategy based on the Landscape Study. This body of work will stand in the continuity of the work already realized in former project OPERAS-D, in particular the Design Study.

Keywords: open access,monographs,infrastructure,humanities
A Multi-omics Approach To Decode Epigenetic Lesions In Pancreatic Cancer Development (MultiPan)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Germany
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2021-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 162806.4
EU funding (EUR): 162806.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Chromatin, the complex structured macromolecule consisting of DNA wrapped around histones, represents the ground where transcription factors, signalling pathways and mechanical stimulations converge to regulate gene expression and determine cellular phenotypes. Epigenetic mechanisms altering these phenotypes without modifying the DNA sequence are extremely pliable and allow for subtle and reversible changes in gene regulation. Consequently, aberrations in chromatin regulation are associated with a wide range of diseases, such as cancer, where they can be pivotal for the fitness and activity of malignant cells. Here we aim to investigate the role played by epigenetic mutations in pancreatic cancer, a dismal disease with poor prognosis and projected to be the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the next decade. The candidate will apply cutting-edge technologies such as parallel single-cell RNA-seq and single-nucleus ATAC-seq to uncover the correlation between changes in chromatin accessibility and gene expression in patient-derived and engineered 3D organoid models. These findings will constitute the basis for functional validations that will involve the combination of epigenomic tools (dCas9-mediated epigenetic modifications) and high-resolution imaging approaches (light-sheet microscopy). Therefore, this project will provide a comprehensive view of the epigenetic lesions occurring during cancer development, shedding light on mechanisms of gene de-regulation and paving the way to novel approaches to cancer treatment.
ATTributing heAt-related excess mortality and morbidity to Climate cHange (ATTACH)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Germany
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2025-07-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 174806.4
EU funding (EUR): 174806.4
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Climate change is known to affect deaths and hospitalizations associated with heat exposure in Europe. Yet, despite a broad epidemiological knowledge base on the future impacts of climate change, few studies so far have formally attributed heat-related mortality and morbidity to climate change that has already occurred over the past century. ATTACH contributes to the closing of this important research gap, with a special focus on recent European heatwaves. The project will make use of death count and hospitalization statistics from major cities in Germany, and will combine state-of-the-art epidemiological approaches (time-series Poisson regression including distributed-lag non-linear models, and meta-regression techniques) with an innovative approach to climate impact attribution. This novel approach derives counterfactual climate data, mimicking a world without climate change, from detrended observations. In line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, effective communication and dissemination activities will ensure that results can be applied to improve adaptation measures for protection of population health from the adverse consequences of climate change. The institutional and training arrangements will guarantee an impactful knowledge transfer between the applicant and the host, opening up opportunities for fruitful collaboration at the interface of epidemiology and climate sciences. Overall, ATTACH will significantly improve the prospective of the applicant for developing a career as an independent research group leader in the field of climate change and health.

Keywords: climate change,human health,climate impact attribution,heat,heatwave,mortality,morbidity,temperature
Bacterial persister regrowth (RESUSCITATION)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
Panel description: The immune system, related disorders and their mechanisms, biology of infectious agents and infection, biological basis of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, innovative immunological tools and approaches, including therapies
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2017-STG, 2017)
Start date: 2018-02-01
End date: 2023-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499996.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499996.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This proposal aims to provide insight into persister resuscitation. Persisters are multidrug-tolerant cells that are transiently non-growing and able to generate viable offspring by resuming growth when antibiotic pressure is removed. Despite their implication in relapses of many infectious diseases, and progress in understanding how persisters form through the action of toxin-antitoxin modules, the mechanisms underlying resuscitation of these persisters are still unknown. The interaction between Salmonella and host macrophages has proven to be a powerful and relevant model to study persister biology since the bacteria specifically respond to engulfment by the host defence cells by forming high proportions of persisters. Upon encounter with the host, Salmonella activates 14 toxins to arrest growth and persist in this environment. With the recent discovery of a detoxifying enzyme (Pth) counteracting the action of a persister-inducing toxin (TacT), thus allowing growth resumption of Salmonella persisters, we can now begin to address the pending question of persister regrowth. The consolidation of my research group around the experimental plan proposed here, will enable us to dissect the balance between intoxication vs. detoxification or entry vs. exit from persistence induced by Tact and Pth respectively. This is the first couple of toxin/detoxifying enzymes to be identified. I intend to extend this knowledge to the whole repertoire of toxins involved in Salmonella persister formation through systematic identification and characterization of the detoxifying mechanisms allowing resuscitation. Additionally I will investigate the lag phase leading to regrowth of persisters; and target the toxins involved in persister formation to force persisters out of growth arrest. This work will unravel persister resuscitation and could ultimately provide ways to force persisters out of that state so they become re-sensitized to antibiotics.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance,antibiotic tolerance,persisters,growth arrest
Enigmatic fish ears: solving a sensory biology riddle with bioengineering and Artificial Intelligence (FISHEARS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Global Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: New Zealand,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2022-06-01
End date: 2025-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 272084.16
EU funding (EUR): 272084.16
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

One of the predominant riddles of sensory biology is the diversity in fish auditory systems. It is widely accepted that fishes are well adapted to utilising underwater sounds as sensory cues in key life-history events. However, the functional significance and the driving force leading to the differences in fish inner ear sizes and structures are unknown. A complex interplay of physical, evolutionary, functional and ecological factors may shape the different elements: a multiscale environment too complicated for human conceptualisation. I propose to address this question by applying novel bioimaging and computational tools to investigate elasmobranch fish ears. Firstly, diffusible iodine-based contrast enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) will be used, co-registered with MRI data, to build 3D high resolution models of the inner ears. Secondly, a Finite Element (FE) model will be created to digitally replicate a fish ear and understand the biomechanics of its structure. Finally, a statistical framework will be developed to incorporate the factors that may shape the hearing system of elasmobranch fishes, including the collected data, together with the available physiological, ecological and biogeographical information on each species, as well as species’ acoustic environmental parameters. A Machine Learning algorithm will be applied to infer patterns and relationships between the factors, to perform both cluster and prediction analyses. Thus, a reliable model will be developed, which can predict the hearing capability of any elasmobranch species based on the ear morphology and the first evidence of the function of fish ear diversity.

Keywords: neuroecology,underwater acoustics,bioacoustics,bioimaging,bioengineering,hearing system,fish,elasmobranchs
A Deep Learning approach for boulder detection –The key to understand planetary surfaces evolution and their crater statistics-based ages (BOULDERING)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Global Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Norway,United States
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2024-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 284345.28
EU funding (EUR): 284345.28
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Many planetary surfaces are heavily cratered as they witnessed the early stages of Solar System evolution during which impact cratering was a frequent process. Upon impact, rock fragments are ejected from the crater cavity and deposited elsewhere on the surface, where they potentially form secondary craters. The unknown contribution of secondary craters increase crater density and distort crater statistics, which ultimately biases the estimated age of a surface unit, a key diagnostics for understanding the evolution of planetary bodies. The size and velocity distribution of the ejected rock fragments is a poorly understood aspect so that an important link between crater statistics and planetary surface age keeps missing. One way to close this connection is to make use of the population of boulders (meter-sized rocks) that can be detected on high-resolution images of planetary surfaces, such as the Moon’s. Boulders are the only remnants of the ejected materials and their size and shape as well as the terrain on which they are found provide important insight into the ejection mechanisms. BOULDERING aims to advance the detection of boulders on planetary surfaces from high-resolution imagery using deep learning and to compile size and shape distributions of boulder populations. Based on this, this project will boost our understanding of cratering records and the implications for planetary surface evolution. A versatile automatic boulder detection algorithm will be developed using a convolutional neural network. This algorithm will first be validated on terrestrial boulder populations in Death Valley and the Mojave Desert and will then be trained with remote sensing data for application on the lunar and martian surfaces. By following this approach, ground data collected on Earth will be used to test the algorithm’s capacity to measure the sizes and shapes of boulders, which is key to make robust inferences on the boulder population on other planetary bodies.

Keywords: planetary sciences,comparative planetology,moon,mars,surface processes,impact craters,impact cratering mechanisms,computer sciences,convolutional neural networks