Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Use of adoptive T cell transfer in combination with oncolytic adenoviruses for cancer treatment (CANCER THERAPIES)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IOF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-05-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 223669.6
EU funding (EUR): 223669.6
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Metastatic cancer remains an incurable disease in the majority of cases and thus development of novel treatment strategies is required. Adoptive T cell therapy is a promising therapy for patients with a wide range of cancers. This therapy involves ex vivo activation and expansion of T cells followed by infusion into patients. Peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells can be redirected against tumor-associated antigens (TAA) by genetically modifying them with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Commonly, CARs consist of an antibody-based external receptor structure coupled to an intracellular signaling domain. Recent clinical studies using CAR-modified cells have established the feasibility and safety of this strategy in human patients. However, several hurdles have still to be overcome for a successful tumor treatment with this therapy. First, infused CAR-modified cells have short persistence in the host, limiting antitumor responses. And second, tumor creates a strong immunosuppressive environment that can impair the efficacy of infused T cells. Our hypothesis in the proposed program is that persistence and efficacy of genetically modified T cells in cancer patients can be increased by: (1) choosing the “right” T cell subset candidate (2) improving the signaling endodomain of CARs, (3) breaking tumor immunotolerance. In this regard, we propose that oncolytic adenoviruses, whose replication has been restricted to malignant cells, can be used to enhance tumor immunotherapy as they offer (a) tumor debulking and (b) danger signals that elicit strong immune responses. In order to test these hypothesis, the proposed program aims to (1) evaluate the contribution of different costimulatory signalling domains to CAR T cell function, (2) compare the in vivo engraftment, trafficking, persistence and efficacy of different subsets of engineered CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, including Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tc17 cells in tumor bearing mice, (3) Evaluate the ability of oncolytic adenoviruses e

Keywords: anticancer therapy,immunotherapy,chimeric antigen receptors,oncolytic adenovirus.
Mechanisms of CENP-A Assembly and Propagation at Fission Yeast Centromeres (S.P CENP-A)

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-2010-IIF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-03-01
End date: 2013-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 201049.6
EU funding (EUR): 201049.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Centromeres are vital structures on eukaryotic chromosomes that are essential for proper chromosome segregation during cell division. Centromeric DNA is bound by a centromere-speciﬁc variant of histone H3 known as CENP-A that replaces canonical H3 in centromeric chromatin, thus specifying centromere identity. The regulation of CENP-A chromatin assembly, however, remains poorly understood. Here, I propose experiments directed towards understanding how CENP-A chromatin is established and faithfully propagated in the ﬁssion yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In Aim 1, I will adopt biochemical and genetic approaches to identify novel factors that contribute to CENP-A chromatin integrity. I expect to discover proteins that could inﬂuence CENP-A chromatin at several levels, including CENP-A assembly factors & chaperones, chromatin remodelling and histone modifying enzymes. In Aim 2, I propose to systematically characterise the novel factors identiﬁed from Aim 1, in order to assess their exact functions at centromeres. I will also perform experiments that will allow me to classify them into two distinct groups: CENP-A incorporation speciﬁc and CENP-A propagation speciﬁc factors. In Aim 3, I will devise a specialised approach to investigate the features of CENP-A that confer it the unique ability to serve as an epigenetic mark that maintains centromere position and identity. Through the state-of-the-art approaches I propose in this application, I expect to uncover the complex mechanisms that define centromeric chromatin integrity. This research will elevate Europe's reputation in epigenetics and chromatin research, and thus enhance European excellence in the life sciences.

Keywords: proteomics,molecular genetics,cell biology,molecular biology
Microbial activities of the sulfur cycle in the subsurface of the Iberian Pyritic Belt (MICROIPB)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-30
End date: 2013-09-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 166565.6
EU funding (EUR): 166565.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Microbial processes in subsurface ecosystems are of increasing interest due to their implications for mankind, in regards to energy, climate and health. However, these ecosystems are among the least understood. The Iberian Pyritic Belt (IPB), located in southwestern Spain is one of the largest sulfide deposits on Earth. It is of tremendous interest due to its high concentrations of metals (As, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Ni ..), and constant low pH (mean 2.3) in ground and surface waters. This has been largely attributed to mining practices over the last 5,000 years. However, recent evidence points to subsurface microbial processes contributing significantly to the oxidative processes that lead anomalous metal concentrations and low pH. Next to nothing is known about microorganisms and the processes they mediate in this system. The sulfur cycle occupies a central role in the biogeochemical pathways that occur in this ecosystem. Therefore, the goal of this project is to conduct a multidisciplinary study into the role microorganisms play in the cycling of sulfur, and implications of this on the local geology and groundwater geochemistry within the IPB. This project will innovatively combine tools that span engineering, geology, geochemistry and microbiology to achieve the following: (1) Identify regions where the oxidation of sulfides, both pyritic and non pyritic and the reduction of sulfate are occurring. (2) Determine the relationship between microbial community structure and underlying geochemical changes. (3) Determine microorganisms, mechanisms, and factors controlling pyrite oxidation, sulfide oxidation and sulfate reduction. (4) Develop a geomicrobial model for the sulfur cycle and it affects on local geology and groundwater geochemistry in the IPB. This project responds to key targets set by FP7: It will contribute to the competiveness of European science by promoting the transfer of knowledge, and by engaging in timely, innovative and novel research.

Keywords: microbiology,geomicrobiology,iberian pyritic belt,acid mine drainage,molecular ecology,biogeochemistry,sulfide oxdiation,sulfate reduction,sulfur cycle,subsurface,groundwater
Network QTL mapping of circadian clock (NETWORK QTL MAPPING)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IOF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2014-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 223669.6
EU funding (EUR): 223669.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding the molecular and genetic basis of complex quantitative traits is an important goal in genetics with wide ranging ramifications across the scientific community. Phenotypes within species are not fixed and instead have significant levels of natural genetic variation that distinguishes individuals. This includes traits ranging from development to metabolism to pathogen resistance, with selection often maintaining the underlying genetic variation. One network that is known to be naturally variable while also having global ramifications for organisms across metabolism and development is the circadian clock. Natural variation in the circadian clock could lead to complex genotype by environment interactions, perhaps causing large effects on transcript or metabolite levels. I propose to clone three metabolic loci controlling circadian output variation in Arabidopsis and the dentification of homologous genes in B. oleracea and B. rapa.

Keywords: natural sciences,agricultural sciences,crop sciences,genetic engineering,genetic mapping,genomics
The role of small RNAs in remyelination (SRNAS REMYELINATION)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IIF, 2010)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 179101.6
EU funding (EUR): 179101.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), myelinating cells are the principal affected cells. Following pathological loss of myelin, remyelination by oligodendrocyte precursors (OPC) occurs but becomes increasingly incomplete and eventually fails in the majority of lesions. Understanding the molecular basis of myelination and remyelination and the regulation of the cells that achieve myelination and remyelination is primordial for both fundamental and clinical research. The host lab and others have shown, mainly using conditional transgenic approaches in mice, that Dicer, an enzyme responsible for the maturation of small RNAs, including miRNAs, is essential for correct development of myelinating cells and their interactions with neurons. However, the functional role of small RNAs in adult remyelination has not been explored. Thus, the ETH Fellow will examine the importance of Dicer and DGCR8 (the latter is required specifically for miRNA maturation) during remyelination after injury. To achieve this goal, we will use conditional floxed alleles in the mouse that target these two genes. In combination with a well characterized tamoxifen-inducible PDGFRα-CreERT2 allele, we will eliminate DGCR8 and Dicer specifically in adult oligodendrocytes precursors cells followed by spinal cord injection of lysolecithin, a well-controlled demyelination/remyelination model. In parallel and in collaboration with other lab members, the ETH fellow will perform complementary neuroprotection experiments using a suitable neuron-specific inducible Cre recombinase line combined with the Dicer or the DGCR8 conditional lines. The work is embedded firmly in ongoing work in the host lab examining the functional role of Dicer and DGCR8 in glial development.

Keywords: remyelination,oligodendrocyte precursor cells,central nervous system,mirnas,dicer,dgcr8
Learning Greek in the Renaissance: Marcus Musurus, philologist, editor of Greek texts and teacher (MUSURUS)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-11-01
End date: 2013-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187364.0
EU funding (EUR): 187364.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The ancient texts transmitted by the humanists of the Renaissance are the direct source of our cultural heritage. It is therefore important to understand how humanists have worked to establish a continuous link between antiquity and our time and to enter the duration in the originality of our own thinking. In this perspective the case of Marcus Musurus offers an investigation particularly favorable. The research proposed in the framework of a Marie Curie IEF, by integrating in both a personal search and an international programme, seeks to clarify this issue by increasing the available documentation and proposing an interpretation renewed. In particular, using both the methods of classical philology and the history of libraries and cultural traditions to restore Marcus Musurus the uniqueness of his intellectual contribution while describing the cultural context within which this work takes place.

Keywords: literature,humanities,greek literature,literary criticism,medieval history,paleography
Complex mechanical response of silica-based amorphous materials: from the atomic to the mesoscopic scale (PLASTAMORPH)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-12-01
End date: 2013-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194064.0
EU funding (EUR): 194064.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project focuses on the study of the mechanical behaviour of silica-based amorphous materials, which have attracted the interest of the scientific community both for their intrinsic physical properties and for the possibility to use them in technological applications, for example in micro- and nano-electronic devices, coatings and glasses. The mechanical response of amorphous materials, such as silica and silicate glasses, is still under investigation and it has not been fully understood yet because of the difficulty to visualize the microscopic rearrangements at the atomic scale. For example, the plastic response cannot be described in terms of dislocations as in crystals. Moreover, the small-scale response can be responsible for the macroscopic mechanical properties, like e.g. plastification, rupture and densification, but a clear link between the atomic-scale behaviour and the macroscopic phenomenology has not been established yet. Therefore, the aim of the project is to obtain an accurate and realistic theoretical description of the elastic and plastic response of silica-based amorphous materials by using complementary numerical techniques, trying to identify the relevant physical mechanisms of the response from the atomic to the mesoscopic length scale. We will propose a multi-scale modelling of the mechanical behaviour of these materials by performing Molecular Dynamics calculations at the nanoscale and finite-element calculations at the micrometer scale. The obtained results will be compared to experimental results found for different glasses and for several mechanical deformations. In this way we will provide a unifying description of these systems at different length scales and we will analyze the microscopic foundation of their phenomenological behaviour, thus advancing the state of knowledge in the field of amorphous materials.

Keywords: amorphous materials,disorder,glasses,multi-scale approach,mesoscopic,plastic response,molecular dynamics,finite-element modeling,stochastic modeling,empirical potentials,raman spectra
Universal Quantum Simulation With Trapped Ions (UQSI)

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: Austria
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IIF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-06-01
End date: 2013-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 184606.4
EU funding (EUR): 184606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Scientists are beginning to achieve a level of control over quantum systems in the laboratory required to use them to predict the behaviour of other quantum systems i.e. to perform quantum simulations. This has the potential to solve problems of fundamental importance in many fields of research and technology. In this document I present a research proposal in the field of experimental quantum simulation, to be carried out in a trapped-ion system at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information in Innsbruck, Austria. The central objective is to develop and apply the first universal quantum simulator, building on the world leading ion-trap expertise in Innsbruck. This will be achieved in three steps: completing the set of operations and techniques required for a universal simulation toolbox; building a new ion trap that will enable coherent control over more than 10 ions; applying this technology to perform the most advanced quantum simulations to date. These all represent important next steps in the young, multi-disciplinary field of quantum simulation. Through my research in Australia I have become an expert in quantum simulation and performed a recent benchmark quantum simulation experiment using a photonic approach. I am therefore in a unique position to help the group in Innsbruck achieve these goals and establish itself as a world leader in quantum simulation.

Keywords: quantum mechanics,quantum information,quantum computation,atomic physics,quantum optics
Environmental River Management: An Innovative Holistic Approach for Mediterranean Streams (HOLRIVERMED)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2013-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 166565.6
EU funding (EUR): 166565.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Within the Mediterranean area water abstractions strongly affect water-related organisms, increasing the duration and magnitude of droughts and impairing the capacity of streams to support the ecosystem. This alteration of the natural flow regime act on biota through an hydro-morphologic template. Consequently, the development of models and methods able to relate stream flow alterations and the ecological responses of aquatic and riparian species (such as vegetation, macroinvertebrates and fish) is a fundamental issue for water resources management, including the maintenance of water quality and quantity for wildlife conservation. In response to the lack of available information and to the present scientific criticisms, this project aims to devise improvements for the environmental management of Mediterranean streams (i) for a comprehensive analysis of the various taxonomic and functional groups composing the riverine ecosystem, (ii) to represent rivers at large spatial and temporal scales and (iii) to provide knowledge and the ecological understanding of temporary and intermittent watercourses. Furthermore, flexible tools will be developed for the efficient implementation of the obtained methodologies and the applications within different Mediterranean river basins will contribute to the development of a sustainable water resources management at European level. The project also represents a strong possibility for the fellow researcher to boost his competences in several disciplines (such as hydraulics, hydrology and ecology) and to foster multidisciplinary collaborations, in order to reach professional maturity, bring forth high-level research and establish long-term, high quality activities and education in Europe.

Keywords: freshwater ecology,coastal zone ecosystems and management,environmental flows,global change,modelling tools
Argonaute-associated factors required for translational repression in plant RNA silencing (ASTRIR)

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-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 177601.6
EU funding (EUR): 177601.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators of eukaryotic gene expression. In plants, most miRNAs associate with AGO1 as part of RNA-induced-silencing-complexes (RISC) to regulate target mRNAs via perfectly or near-perfecly miRNA-complementarity sites. These sites differ from those found in metazoan miRNA target transcripts, where extensive mis-pairing prevents endonucleolytic cleavage, or ‘slicing’, and favors translational repression as an alternative mode of AGO action. Recently, two classes of miRNA action deficient (mad) mutants have been isolated in Arabidopsis thaliana: class I mutants carry lesions in genes required for slicing, whereas class II mutants are still able to slice but yet, fail to silence miRNA target transcripts at the protein level. Studying many examples of endogenous miRNA/target mRNA interactions in the context of class-II mad mutants, the host laboratory showed that most plant miRNAs may, in fact, concurrently slice and translationally inhibit any given pool of target mRNAs, raising the fundamental question of how slicing is avoided during translational repression? One hypothesis holds that translational repressor proteins specifically associate with AtAGO1 on polysomes and block its slicing activity. The recent purification and preliminary characterization, in the host laboratory, of several possible core components of the AtAGO1 RISC support this idea. Combining biochemical and genetic approaches, I will address (i) how these proteins interact with each other, (ii) how their inactivation/over-expression impacts the mode of action of AtAGO1 and its known functions in the various Arabidopsis silencing pathways, and (iii) how these factors may be exploited to uncover the full suite of small RNAs operating preferentially via translational repression. Parallel investigations in mammalian cell systems will further uncover the extent to which the underlying mechanisms are conserved in metazoans.

Keywords: rna silencing,argonaute,translational repression,reverse genetic,arabidopsis thaliana,biochemestry