Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Transgenerational Ecophysiological Responses to Multiple Stressors in a changing Ocean (TERMS-Ocean)

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: United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-11-01
End date: 2019-10-01
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 195454.8
EU funding (EUR): 195454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Global oceans are currently changing at a faster rate than at any other time over the last 300 million years, exposing marine organisms to multiple environmental stressors, such as climate change and ocean acidification (OA). Coastal marine invertebrates are globally important in terms of the ecosystem services and functions that they provide, hence it is vital to determine whether they can adapt and evolve to cope with these multiple stressors at the rate at which they are occurring. The TERMS-Ocean project will address this key question by determining the role of transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TPP) in the response of a keystone marine invertebrate to the combined impacts of climate change and OA. TPP examines the potential for phenotypic plasticity in offspring in response to parental stress and has been shown to alleviate physiological responses in single-stressor studies; however there is no evidence to date as to whether TPP can operate when multiple stressors are experienced in combination. Here, a novel common garden experimental design will be employed to examine the transgenerational responses of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to the combined effects of elevated temperature and OA in order to assess whether TPP plays a role in alleviating the effects of these stressors when experienced in combination. This project will be pivotal for my personal development to become an independent researcher and offers me the unique opportunity to work in a top 10 Russel Group University with a global reputation for excellence in environmental and climate change research. Exeter Biosciences is a leading institute in environmental biology and ecology and provides excellent opportunities for academic training and personal career development. A fellowship at Exeter will expose me to novel ideas and input from renowned researchers, offer me exciting opportunities for knowledge exchange, and have a strong impact on my personal and scientific development.

Keywords: climate change,ocean acidification,transgenerational phenotypic plasticity,physiological responses,temperature,sea urchin,paracentrotus,larval development,marine environment
Microglia action towards neuronal circuit formation and function in health and disease (MICROGLIA-CIRCUIT)

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: Austria
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-05-01
End date: 2022-10-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Constructing a neuronal circuit requires a firework of developmental events: First, the desired cell types have to be generated and wired correctly. Random propagating burst of action potentials among neighboring cells are shaping the functional maturation of these cell types, which later will be activity-dependent refined. Microglia are exposed to this environment from the beginning and show throughout development a morphological “activated”, phagocytic state. However, microglia have been proven to be involved in synapse refinement, which leads to the question how do microglia know when to alter neuronal circuit elements during development without inducing circuit malfunction? This is a fundamental question because the microglia activation state during development is intriguingly similar to the activation state in neurodegenerative diseases. To address this question, I use the retina as a model and propose the following three aims: First, we will reveal how the functional and gene regulatory network of microglia are altered when they are exposed to the neuronal activity-dependent environment and identify neuronal-imposed developmental checkpoints. We will study whether alteration of microglia function in this system will impact circuit formation and function. Second, we will examine microglia dynamics upon sequential removal of neuronal cell types in disease conditions and investigate whether functional restoration of cell types using optogenetic techniques resets microglia function. Third, we will establish the role of healthy and diseased microglia in human retinal circuit formation by reprogramming microglia and 3D-retinoids from healthy and diseased human iPS cells. I predict that my findings provide crucial insights into the functional impact of microglia upon both normal development and function, as well as how their actions may lead to disease phenotypes in situations of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: microglia neuron interaction,neuronal circuit development,transcriptional network,microglial dynamics,retina,disease,human ips cells
Integration of Geodetic and imAging TecHiques for monitoring and modelling the Earth's surface defoRmations and Seismic risk (GATHERS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Spreading excellence and widening participation
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Austria,Italy,Poland,Netherlands
Call: Twinning (H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-03, 2018)
Start date: 2019-12-01
End date: 2024-05-31
Duration (months): 54.0
Total project cost (EUR): 796050.0
EU funding (EUR): 796050.0
Participants: 4
Project status: SIGNED

H2020 WIDESPREAD TWINNING programme initiatives are aimed at closing networking and partnership gaps that institutions in the Widening countries suffer from. Through their cooperation and knowledge sharing the participating institutions will develop activities for education, staff exchanges, initiation of collaboration in scientific fields, publications and life-long cooperation. One of the key disciplines of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy we Wrocławiu - UPWr) are geospatial sciences (represented by Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics - IGiG). To further develop IGiG needs to embark on a new area of expertise; multi-technique monitoring of ground deformations and seismicity using emerging techniques such as Interferometric Synthetic-Aperture Radar (InSAR), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Current challenges in the field are related to the deformation rate and scale, a non-linear character of terrain movements, seismic magnitude, differentiation between the sources of surface deformations, require an enhancement of the methodological approaches as well as substantial expertise in interpretation of the results. To fully embrace this new research opportunities, IGiG researchers need to team-up with the best European scientists in geospatial sciences. Therefore the overall objective of the project is to enlarge the number of research-intensive sections at IGiG, foster development of leaders (to form Lead Research Working Group in InSAR, LiDAR and GNSS seismology), finally to establish strong networks with the best Universities in Europe to form competitive research applications in H2020. UPWr’ IGiG ambition is to be amongst the top geospatial sciences research institutions over the next three years, to become one of the leading centres of excellence in the Central and Eastern Europe.

Keywords: deformation monitoring,gnss,insar,lidar,mining,antropoghenic seismisity
Project on Integrated Assessment model-based Scenarios for Sustainable development Objectives (PICASSO)

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: Netherlands,Netherlands
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-06-01
End date: 2025-07-31
Duration (months): 74.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1843107.5
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

In 2015, nearly all nations agreed on a set of ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure environment protection and human development. Accounting for the coherence of the overall set of goals presents a major scientific challenge as there are many complex relationships and feedbacks between them and across various scales (local to global, near- and long-term). However, in fact very little scientific information exists on how to achieve such a diverse set of goals simultaneously. In the proposed research, I will address the scientific gap by developing a novel set of model-based scenarios that explore the efforts required to achieve a set of key sustainable development targets by 2050 simultaneously (i.e. using a backcasting approach). These targets are based on the SDGs and other international agreements, and cover key sustainability issues such as food production, energy and land use, climate change, water scarcity, and nutrient cycles. The purpose of the analysis is to identify 1) transformation processes needed for achieving these targets (including timing), 2) key synergies and trade-offs among sustainability issues, and 3) the relationships between different geographic scales. In PICASSO, I will use the integrated assessment model IMAGE 3.0 to develop such scenarios and explore the key linkages. For this purpose, important model improvements will be made to better cover the feedbacks and response options relevant for the SDG targets. Additional project activities will cover uncertainty analysis, and questions related to implementation (the role of different actors in these transitions). Stakeholder interaction is vital and will be formalised in a project forum with key stakeholders that will meet on a regular basis. The scenarios may thus be used to implement and evaluate the SDGs, and they will also result in new scientific understanding of integrated response strategies that can be used by other researchers in more detailed analysis.

Keywords: scenarios,sustainable development goals,integrated assessment modeling
Tracing the inFLUenza vaccine imPRINT on immune system to identify cellular signature of protection (FluPRINT)

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: United States,United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-06-01
End date: 2021-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 269857.8
EU funding (EUR): 269857.8
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Influenza virus causes a large socioeconomic burden on society, with 70 000 deaths every year in Europe. It is estimated that 1 in 1000 children and elderly every year are hospitalized due to influenza infection. Children, due to high susceptibility and high levels of shedding, are the main source of spread of the virus. Therefore, CDC in 2010 included children as a high priority group for influenza vaccination. Two influenza vaccines are licensed: inactivated (IIV) and live attenuated (LAIV) vaccine. The LAIV was introduced to provide broader protection by additional stimulation of T cell responses. At present the two major obstacles in the widespread use of LAIV are concerns raised over vaccine effectiveness and the lack of immunological correlates of protection. In 2016 the CDC in the US recommended against the use of LAIV due to its poor effectiveness in the 2015/2016 season. However, the same vaccine, in the same season had high effectiveness as assessed by UK and Finland public health authorities. Currently the reason for this discrepancy is not known. This project will take advantage of cohorts of children who have received LAIV provided by both US and UK sponsors, to investigate the immunological basis for the observed variability and to define the role of adaptive immunity by applying the systems biology tools and machine learning algorithms for predictive modelling. Progress in the clinical investigation of children has been hampered by limited methods that could be applied to the small blood volumes, but recent advances in systems biology have opened new opportunities that did not exist before. Tracing the influenza vaccine imprint on immune system, termed FluPRINT by the proposed project will help to identify cellular signatures of vaccine-induced protection in children which is of importance for the development of next generation of influenza vaccines that will be more effective in this target population.

Keywords: systems vaccinology,influenza vaccine,children immunity,t cell repertoire,mass cytometry
Fostering high scientific quality in protein research in Eastern Slovakia (CasProt)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Spreading excellence and widening participation
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Germany,Switzerland,Slovakia
Call: Twinning (H2020-WIDESPREAD-2020-5, 2020)
Start date: 2020-10-01
End date: 2023-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 889650.0
EU funding (EUR): 889650.0
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

The project “Fostering high scientific quality in protein science in Eastern Slovakia (CasProt)“ supports the second-best classical university in Slovakia, University of Pavol Jozef Safarik in Kosice (UPJS), located in one of the lowest GDP-producing regions in the Widening country Slovakia. The vital connections to the high R&I performing countries - Germany and Switzerland and the scientific excellence of our partners, Technical University in Munich (TUM) and University of Zurich (UZH), will trigger the critical steps toward becoming the UPJS as a leader in the field of protein science in Slovakia. This project will also energize a high-tech development and unfold the innovation potential of our University with the expected impact on the Eastern Slovakia region and consequently whole Slovakia. By means of short-term staff exchange, expert visits training, joint summer schools, workshops, and conference attendance, we will reach the following main objectives of the project: (1) Reinforcement scientific capacity and raise the research profile of the coordinating institution-UPJS in the field of protein science, (2) Identification and integration of the experienced and young/early-stage researchers into UPJS, (3) Enhance and stimulate the technological capacity of the coordinating institution-UPJS, and (4) Strengthening the research management and organizational skills at UPJS. The specific scientific goals of the CasProt project are: (i) to establish highly advanced protein evolution techniques of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), and (ii) to develop complex single-molecule force assays and instrumentations (e.g., optical tweezers with confocal fluorescence microscopy detection) for monitoring of the dynamics of wild-type and evolved GPCRs To successfully accomplish all the goals of the project, we chose two highly recognized scientific groups from top academic institutions, a group of prof. Andreas Plückthun (UZH) and group of prof. Matthias Rief (TUM).

Keywords: enhancement of scientific quality,protein science,directed evolution of proteins,single molecule biophysics
Predictive computational models for Enzyme Dynamics, Antimicrobial resistance, Catalysis and Thermoadaptation for Evolution and Design (PREDACTED)

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: United Kingdom
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANT (ERC-2020-ADG, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2482332.0
EU funding (EUR): 2482332.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Enzymes are superlative catalysts, honed by billions of years of evolution to achieve high specificity and efficiency. Understanding how enzymes function and are adapted to different environments will be essential in developing biocatalysts for the circular economy and in combating drug resistance. Basic principles of catalysis and mechanistic understanding have come from experiments and simulations, and significant progress has been made in designing and evolving de novo protein catalysts. Truly predictive understanding is limited, however. There is a need for models able to predict, e.g. whether an enzyme is able to break down a particular antibiotic and how to inhibit it; temperature dependence of catalysis; how mutations affect activity and temperature optima; to understand how catalytic power evolves and use those principles in the development of new biocatalysts. Theoretical developments, and emerging multiscale methods, provide a route to the predictive understanding required. Fundamentally, protein dynamics are vital, not in ‘driving’ reaction but rather as a fundamental facet of natural enzymes on which evolution acts. PREDACTED will simulate enzyme dynamics and dynamical changes associated with catalysis. We will (1) Investigate the adaptation of enzyme activity using the emerging theoretical framework of macromolecular rate theory, and develop simulation approaches to predict enzyme temperature optima, with relevance e.g. for understanding ecosystem response to climate change, and for the development of biocatalysts for practical industrial applications. (2) Develop predictive simulation models for enzymes responsible for antibiotic resistance, analyse allosteric effects and predict spectrums of activity. (3) Model antibiotic breakdown and inhibition of beta-lactamases (4) Apply the understanding developed in redesigning and engineering natural and artificial enzymes to test the catalytic principles and demonstrate how they can be applied in practice.

Keywords: enzyme catalysis,antimicrobial resistance,molecular dynamics,enzyme thermoadaptation,enzyme evolution,enzyme design,enzyme engineering,biomolecular simulation,multiscale modelling
Green and Affordable Water Supply for All (Desolenator)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Climate action, environment,  resource efficiency and raw materials
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Boosting the potential of small businesses for eco-innovation and a sustainable supply of raw materials (H2020-SMEINST-1-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-03-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Desolenator team offer a novel technology that uses an original photovoltaic system to collect both thermal and electrical power in order to desalinate and purify water from any source. The off-grid household product is on track to become the most affordable and environmentally friendly method of distilling water from any source. We believe Desolenator can make a major contribution to global drinking water shortages. Our team have developed and patented the core enabling technology behind the system “the desalination engine”. Our product development strategy involves developing different product variants of this core desalination engine (i.e. a premium product, a low cost unit, a community scale unit and niche market units) so that we can meet the needs of different global markets. At present, Desolenator do not clearly understand the market definition and user requirements in Southern Europe, and this is the focus of the enclosed Phase 1 Feasibility Study. We will work with market research experts to complete this project. The first stage of this plan will involve completing detailed research of market dynamics, water supply and regulatory issues in water stressed Southern European states (Malta & Cyprus). We will then work to identify our customers and understand their needs and purchasing requirements. Finally we will use our results to partner with relevant organisations. Desolenator can substantially improve the quality of life for European citizens suffering from water stress & contamination issues. Our technology can provide new water supply options to those in need, and completing this project will enable us to reduce stress on aquifers/reservoirs, reduce user anxiety during summer months and decrease dependence on imports. This project provides a stepping stone for our global expansion and job creation aims and will enable us to tackle the global water crisis.

Keywords: water,safe,affordable,sustainable,decentralised