Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of ratioNally Designed Influenza vaccines (ENDFLU)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Theme: Preventing disease
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,India,Germany,Switzerland,Sweden,Belgium,Netherlands
Call: Towards a next generation influenza vaccine to protect citizens worldwide – an EU-India collaboration (H2020-SC1-2019-Single-Stage-RTD, 2019)
Start date: 2020-08-01
End date: 2025-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 14444867.5
EU funding (EUR): 8646254.25
Participants: 14
Project status: SIGNED

ENDFLU will develop three complementary next-generation influenza vaccination strategies for the world, fueled by the unique combined expertise of Indian and European partners in rational vaccine design and development: • Create a repository of pre-pandemic GMP-compliant MVA-based vaccine seeds, each encoding an influenza hemagglutinin (HA), based on European partners demonstration of clinical safety and cross-clade immunogenicity of MVA-H5. • Optimize and select protein- and MVA-based constructs developed by Indian and European ENDFLU partners, resulting in a rationally combined vaccine formulation that induces broadly protective humoral and cell-mediated immunity against all influenza manifestations. This will be advanced in a Phase I clinical trial and Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) study. • Pre-clinically advance other promising protein- and MVA-based constructs toward future development beyond ENDFLU. Constructs to elicit humoral immunity build on rationally-designed and optimized conserved epitopes of influenza surface proteins, HA stem- and HA head-nanoparticles, and NA-M2e fusions either as proteins or MVA expressed. Other MVA-based constructs to elicit cell-mediated immunity will encode conserved internal protein T cell epitopes, as an artificial polyepitope. The best candidates will be selected based on biochemical, biophysical, functional and manufacturing criteria, and immunogenicity and protective efficacy in mice and ferrets. The selected protein-based construct will enter a Part A Phase I clinical trial in India assessing safety, immunogenicity and optimal dose, to be combined with the selected MVA-based construct. This protein-MVA combination will enter a Part B Phase I clinical trial in the EU, assessing safety and immunogenicity, followed by the CHIM study. A dissemination and exploitation plan, and collaboration with key scientific advocacy organizations will facilitate the adoption of ENDFLU achievements to combat influenza worldwide.

Keywords: influenza vaccines,next generation strategies,repository,protein based constructs,mva based constructs,preclinical development,phase 1 clinical trial,controlled human infection model study
Appealing Character Design for Embodied Virtual Reality (ForEVR)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: France
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-09-01
End date: 2023-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 184707.84
EU funding (EUR): 184707.84
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The ForEVR project is focused on delivering a radically improved interaction with another user or virtual character in immersive Embodied Virtual Reality (EVR). EVR offers the possibility of interacting with another in a computer-generated world by using virtual humans, and the interaction can closely resemble real-life, physical interaction. Embodied virtual interaction creates a powerful illusion of presence with another and is a valuable candidate for the alternative to physical meetings. A strikingly overlooked problem of such interactive systems is the representation of humans in virtual environments. Current designs are driven by commercial models, which are frequently subjected to bias and are not appropriate for non-entertainment applications. On the other hand, characters which appear almost human can cause discomfort and negative evaluation from the users. Since virtual reality can induce realistic responses in people, inappropriate character representations can have psychologically damaging effects on the users. The ForEVR project proposes a radical approach to solving the problem of character design by focusing on the appeal of character motion to compensate for the issues created by the realistic appearance. It will employ rigorous methods to define, implement and evaluate motion processing techniques for realistic characters in order to improve their overall appeal, while being suitable for non-entertainment applications. Users’ response to the characters will be evaluated using standard measures from psychology and novel measures of EVR. The ForEVR project joins interdisciplinary (psychology/computer graphics) and involves one of the foremost research institutes with the research team specializing in creating behavior for autonomous virtual humans, while collaborating with an industry partner who is developing EVR for mental health and rehabilitation applications. This project will help me achieve academic independence needed for a tenure position.

Keywords: virtual characters,virtual reality,animation,embodiment
Solidarity in the European Union (EUSOL)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Panel description: Political science, international relations, law
Countries involved: Italy,United Kingdom
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2017-COG, 2017)
Start date: 2018-09-01
End date: 2024-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1013604.0
EU funding (EUR): 603604.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

What principles of socioeconomic justice, if any, should apply to the European Union? Do European citizens have obligations of social justice that cross the borders of member states? If so, what are their grounds? I propose to answer these questions by providing a normative account of one of the fundamental values underpinning European integration, namely solidarity. The project has two main aims. The first is to develop a normative model of inter-, trans-, and supra-national solidarity that is responsive to the specific circumstances and history of the European Union (EUSOL1). The second aim is to apply this model to a number of central issues dividing the EU, including the free movement of persons, burden-sharing within the EU’s refugee policy, inter-state transfers, and enlargement and accession (EUSOL2). The project breaks new ground in normative debates on the nature and development of the EU, international/global justice, and the role of facts in normative political theory, and addresses some of the most pressing issues facing the EU today.

Keywords: european union,international,global justice,solidarity,social,distributive justice,practice dependence
Pannexin1 nanobodies for the clinical treatment of liver disease (CONNECT-2-CLINIC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment 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: Belgium
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2019-PoC, 2019)
Start date: 2020-01-01
End date: 2021-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Pannexin1 (Panx1) channels mediate the exchange of biochemical messengers between the cytosol of a cell and its extracellular environment. This type of cellular communication underlies cell death and inflammation, both which are associated with a plethora of diseases. Closing pannexin channels therefore seems an interesting therapeutic strategy. In this respect, the ERC Starting Grant project CONNECT has demonstrated that peptide-based inhibition of Panx1 channels counteracts the manifestation of acute and chronic liver disease. However, these peptides cope with stability issues thus impeding clinical application. No other types of appropriate Panx1 channel inhibitors are available today despite their promising therapeutic potential. The present CONNECT-2-CLINIC project will meet this urgent need by generating specific and in vivo-applicable Panx1 channel inhibitors. For this purpose, nanobodies targeted towards Panx1 will be produced using unprecedented protocols that combine DNA immunization with new nanodisc technology. Panx1 nanobodies will be tested in vitro for their capacity to inhibit Panx1 channels and to reduce cell death and inflammation. They will be subsequently tested in a human-relevant mouse model of cholestatic liver disease. This technology track will be aligned by a 3-phase business track in order to analyze and create market value. By doing so, the CONNECT-2-CLINIC project will provide solid proof-of-concept for further pharmaceutical development and clinical application.

Keywords: connexin,pannexin,peptidomimetic,nanobody,liver disease
Gases in Water (GAS-WAT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Panel description: Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics
Countries involved: Sweden
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANT (ERC-2020-ADG, 2020)
Start date: 2021-08-01
End date: 2026-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2295625.0
EU funding (EUR): 2295625.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Is there “hidden” structure in normal liquid water? Do nanoscopic structural heterogeneities in ambient water exist and affect solution chemistry? In this project we will focus on structural fluctuations in simulations of liquid water as observed through the enhancement of the isothermal compressibility. From both experiment and theory a two-state picture of water is emerging with fluctuations between high- (HDL) and low-density (LDL) local structures. The structure of these is unknown. Moreover, present simulation models require a pressure shift of one thousand atmospheres to reproduce the experimental compressibility maximum at ambient pressure. We propose to develop a unique description of the liquid that extends to take into account that the water molecule exists in two forms, ortho and para, with different rotational properties. We will use Argon dissolved in water as discrete probe of the LDL local environments in high-resolution EXAFS measurements to discern their structure in combination. Finally, in a two-state picture with LDL structures providing “pockets of stability” for dissolved oxygen, the question arises how fish entice the oxygen to leave the water and enter the gills. We will carry out a combined experimental X-ray spectroscopic and theoretical modeling study of water in polyelectrolyte and polysaccharide models of the mucous layer found outside lamella of fish gills and specifically determine how water structure there differs from the bulk. Has Nature through evolution found a way to restructure the water to enhance exchange of gases?

Keywords: liquid water,fluctuations,ortho and para water,x ray spectroscopy,clathrates,fish gills,oxygen dissolution
Diffusion Barrier Layers and Anticorrosive Coatings from Functional Carbon Nanosheets (CARBOTIGHT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2015-PoC, 2015)
Start date: 2016-02-01
End date: 2017-01-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 149500.0
EU funding (EUR): 149500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Materials with excellent diffusion barrier properties are highly relevant for packaging applications (food, pharmaceutics), sealing (car tires), protective encapsulation (microelectronics, photovoltaics, displays), and anticorrosive coatings (automotive). In all these fields of application, there is a strong technological demand for more effective, less costly, and environmentally benign solutions, which constitutes a significant business opportunity. The proposed project aims to develop novel barrier layers and anticorrosive coatings based on functionalized carbon nanosheets that are prepared from reactive, carbon-rich molecular precursors with chemical functional groups that provide surface-specific binding and adhesion. These materials combine the excellent barrier and anticorrosive properties of atomically dense carbon or inorganic thin film coatings with the tailored surface properties of monolayer coatings. Moreover, their preparation will be compatible with scalable and inexpensive solution-phase processing methods such as painting, spraying, or printing, followed by UV curing. The goal of the proposed project is to provide technology demonstrators for a diffusion barrier layer aimed at packaging applications, as well as for a wear-resistant, anti-corrosive coating on a metal surface.

Keywords: diffusion barrier layers,anticorrosive coatings,carbon nanosheets,surface adhesion,oleophobic coating,nanocoating
Best practices and implementation of innovative business models for Renewable Energy aggregatorS (BestRES)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: Low-cost, low-carbon energy supply
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Austria,Germany,Spain,Germany,Germany,Cyprus,Belgium,United Kingdom,Portugal
Call: Market uptake of existing and emerging renewable electricity, heating and cooling technologies (H2020-LCE-2015-3, 2015)
Start date: 2016-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1994812.5
EU funding (EUR): 1994812.5
Participants: 13
Project status: CLOSED

Europe´s electricity sector is in the midst of major transformation moving from public monopolies to competitive private companies in liberalized markets. The liberalization is expected to increase competition and thus increase cost-efficiency in energy production, transmission and distribution with the result of decreasing electricity prices. The efforts of Member State governments to create a more competitive and sustainable electricity sector are currently clouded by a major economic downturn in Europe´s economic activity. Such economic hardship often triggers reluctance to change which is becoming visible in particular in the electricity sector, where measures to protect jobs and national industry start to compete with market liberalization. The affordability of sustainable electricity is questioned. There is a strong need for innovative business models for Renewable Energy Source (RES) electricity generation in the long and mid-term because support schemes will fade out in the long term pushing renewables on the market at no marginal costs which then in particular for strongly correlated generation as wind and PV leads to price deterioration during production hours. Already today many Member States have drastically reduced measures to further support the development of the RES sector, so that new investment is not possible without tapping new revenues with new business. The aim of the BestRES project is to identify best practices business models for renewable electricity generation in Europe and to improve these further taking into account new opportunities and synergies coming along with changing market designs in line with the EU target model. Business models investigated in this project shall make use of the aggregation of various renewable sources, storage and flexible demand. The improved business models will be implemented during the project in real-life environments, depending on the market conditions, to proof the soundness of the developed concept.

Keywords: aggregators,aggregation,market integration,business models,implementation,recommendations
Neural circuits for route planning in goal-directed spatial navigation (NavigationCircuits)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — 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
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-05-01
End date: 2023-03-31
Duration (months): 71.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1483750.0
EU funding (EUR): 1483750.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Spatial navigation is a fundamental ability for animals to survive in a geometric space. A prominent feature of rats is their ability to create an internal metric space, or a map, in their brain. While place cells in the hippocampus are considered key elements of the spatial representation system, the activity of these cells primarily depends on the animal’s instantaneous position; thus it is not clear how the brain computes an estimate of future positions, necessary for route planning. Although several ideas have been proposed to extract future representations from place cells, how such information is used in downstream brain structures is still largely unknown. I thus propose to clarify the roles of the hippocampus in the larger context of brain circuits for route planning. A growing body of evidence indicates key roles for the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) in navigation. I hypothesize that RSC, downstream of hippocampal area CA1, may represent the animal’s future position by making use of information from place cells about positions and movements. The future positions may then be evaluated in mPFC, a downstream target of RSC and CA1, which potentially represents the spatial proximity to the goal. I will clarify the key circuit dynamics during route decisions among these structures together with the hippocampus. As route planning requires information about positional relationships in the environment, I will also investigate a role for brief trajectory sequences generated by place cells, or replay, for transferring such information from the hippocampus to RSC. Simultaneous high-density recordings from multiple regions as well as optogenetic silencing of specific projections are all available in freely behaving rats, and extensive use of computational methods will help decipher the codes in navigation circuits. The studies will provide key insights into how internal models in the brain influence cognition and behaviour.
Digging in Early Picasso’s Artworks: Making and Meaning Research Forum (DEPART)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Society and Enterprise panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Spain
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2020-08-26
End date: 2023-03-25
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172932.48
EU funding (EUR): 172932.48
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project aims to provide in-depth research on technical art history and scientific analysis on the early Picasso objects (paintings and graphic art), largely deposited at the host institution, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona (MPB). This interdisciplinary research between curatorial, conservation, and natural science approaches includes investigating the painting techniques and artists’ materials of early period artworks (1895-1900). The final goal of this project is to offer an open access platform/database of technical art historical and scientific research which will help national and international scholars to unveil ambiguities still existing on Picasso’s artistic discourses. Moreover, results from this project will also help professionals to better design exhibition, conservation, storage and display strategies which will be of paramount importance to preserve our cultural heritage for future generations. The candidate’s conservation scientist background, expertise on modern materials, and her network with museums and academic institutions will be beneficial for this project and the host institutions. At the same time, by working on such top-notch Museum and scientific academia environment (University of Barcelona (UB), project’s secondment institution), the candidate future professional career will clearly benefit. The successful implementation of the research and training objectives will be secured by the resources of the highly qualified institutions involved in this project (Picasso Museum Barcelona and the University of Barcelona). In-situ studies, preparation of samples and paint replicas, and documentation of Picasso’s artworks will be done at the MPB. The scientific analysis of samples will be carried out at the UB, where a range of analytical equipment is available. Results obtained from this project will lay the foundation for a future international Picasso Museum network platform.

Keywords: picasso s early artworks,technical art history,conservation science,paintings,graphic art