Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Dissecting Carotenoid-Related Protein Interaction Dynamics for Tailoring Healthier Crops (CAROTENACTORS)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2014-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 176053.2
EU funding (EUR): 176053.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Improving health, food quality and food safety are major demands of Europe’s society and economy. Addressing these demands requires a deeper knowledge of the basic mechanisms that regulate plant and animal metabolism. Carotenoids are a group of plant pigments that animals need to ingest as an essential source of retinoids (including vitamin A). Dietary consumption of carotenoids is also associated with protection against a broad range of chronic human diseases. Despite carotenoids are essential for plants and animals we still lack fundamental knowledge about how carotenoid biosynthesis is regulated. Particularly, our comprehension of how interactions at the protein level modulate carotenoid metabolism is still scarce. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit ripening represents a well-characterized model to study carotenoid biosynthesis and assaying metabolic remodeling strategies endeavored to improve the health-promoting properties of crops. This proposal aims to discover and validate protein factors interacting with known regulatory components of the carotenoid pathway in tomato fruit, to provide an initial understanding of how their dynamic interactions orchestrate carotenogenesis during tomato fruit ripening. It is expected that the proposed study will lead to the generation of fundamental knowledge about carotenoid regulatory networks with a potential application in breeding programs. Both the project and the host institution aim to unite the highest excellence in basic scientific research with applied technological innovation to meet the current demands of European society. The strong biotechnology background of the applicant together with the highly developed expertise in carotenoid research of the receiving group will synergistically contribute to the success of this proposal. In addition, the challenges associated with this project will serve to develop the candidate into an independent scientist with a rich network of international collaborations.

Keywords: natural sciences,carotenoid metabolism,metabolism modulation trough protein-protein interactions,applied biology,plant biotechnology,metabolic engineering,crop biofortification.
Effector discovery and validation of Puccinia striiformis sp. f. tritici, a wheat pathogen (RUST-SAFE)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-19
End date: 2014-03-18
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200371.8
EU funding (EUR): 200371.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Effectors are used by pathogens as weapons against their hosts. Puccunia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST) the causal agent of yellow rust, is able to produce and secrete these proteins inside its host, wheat. This disease is responsible of epidemics around the world, including Europe. Even more, two new and aggressive strains of this pathogen may constitute the most expansive and accelerated spread ever of a wheat disease. The discovery and characterization of new effectors of yellow rust will open the door to new and sustainable resistance strategies, which is in accordance to European Union objective of sustainable management of crop pest diseases, that has been founded through the 6th and 7th framework programmes. I propose the use of state-of-the-art sequencing technology to obtain putative fungal sequences from wheat infected tissues with four PST isolates, and a bioinformatics approach to search, identify, classify and select from these sequences which correspond to putative effectors. Afterwards I propose an innovative and elegant experiment to test whether they are real effectors, monitoring the collapse of effector-transfected protoplasts as a result of gene-for-gene recognition resistance mechanism. The John Innes Centre, where this project will be carried out, and the nearby The Sainsbury’s Laboratory and Norwich Research Park compose a cluster of excellence and expertise in plant biology and microbiology that have been awarded by these EU programmes. I will take advantage of the multidisciplinary approach of the proposal and of the scientific expertise and training experience of the host to expand my knowledge and boost my career to reach a position of independent researcher. Finally, the proposed IEF would make a significant contribution to ERA, sharing knowledge and enhancing the integration with other efforts founded by the EU like wheat breeding and genomics, giving more coherence to research in the food safety key area.

Keywords: natural sciences,effector,pathogen,puccinia,rust,agriculture,sustainability,wheat,fungicide,bioinformatics,protoplast
Characterization of the role of CCBE1 during development and disease (CCBE1 FUNCTION)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183805.8
EU funding (EUR): 183805.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The lymphatic vasculature is crucial for fluid homeostasis and immune function, and has a central role in many pathological conditions. The molecular mechanisms underlying lymphangiogenesis are poorly understood. Recently, CCBE1 has been identified in the host lab as a key regulator of lymphangiogenesis in zebrafish, mice and human. Importantly, CCBE1 has been associated to Hennekam Syndrome where patients suffer from lymphedema, cardiovascular anomalies and mental retardation.This proposal aims at elucidating the biological role of CCBE1 both on a mechanistic level, but also in biological contexts other than the lymphatic system. To that end, inducible knock out alleles of the mouse Ccbe1 gene have been generated and will be employed in the study, complemented by work in zebrafish embryos. As Hennekam Syndrome patiens suffer from mental retardation, and since Ccbe1 is expressed in the murine cortex, I will analyze neurogenesis in Ccbe1 knock-out mice. In addition to the systemic knock-out of Ccbe1, I will also induce neuron-specific deletion of Ccbe1 by different means. Second, in mutant ccbe1 zebrafish, venous sprouting is severely affected. Recent data show that in Ccbe1 mutant mice there is no ingression of veins into the hindbrain at embryonic day E10.5. Hence, I will analyze this very specific and locally restricted defect, and will also analyze the development of the venous vasculature of the hindbrain of zebrafish. Additionally, I will analyze the role of CCBE1 for venous sprouting in the skin, the retina and the liver of Ccbe1 knock-out mice. Third, mutant knock-in mouse lines will be established that express mutant or epitope-tagged wild type CCBE1 molecules to further characterize the function and distribution of CCBE1 in vivo. In summary, my work will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular function of Ccbe1 in lymphangiogenesis and will provide vital insight into the requirement for Ccbe1 on other aspects of organogenesis.

Keywords: natural sciences: development,lymphangiogenesis,ccbe1,hennekam syndrome
Evolution and ecophysiology of Cand. Riegeria galateiae, the thiotrophic alphaprotebacterial symbiont of a catenulid flatworm (CARISYM)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2014-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 174475.2
EU funding (EUR): 174475.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Harnessing chemoautotrophic symbionts is a recurring evolutionary strategy. Eukaryotes from six phyla as well as one archaeon have acquired sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from three groups, Alpha-, Gamma- and Epsilonproteobacteria. The intracellular ‘Cand. Riegeria’ endosymbionts of the mouth and gutless flatworms Paracatenula are the only alphaproteobacterial representatives. They form a family-level clade within Rhodospirillales and have been co-evolving with their hosts for the last 500 million years. The aim of this project is to study the evolution and ecophysiology of Cand. Riegeria galateiae (CRG). We will sequence the genome of CRG and analyze its evolution in a symbiosis-related context by comparing it to its closest free-living relatives. Comparison of the CRG genome to the genomes of other thiotrophic symbionts will reveal genes/pathways which are shared between these symbionts or are specific to CRG. We will screen the CRG genome and other intracellular Alphaproteobacteria for genes with a potential function in their intracellular lifestyle. Using RNA-seq we will analyze the transcriptomic reaction of CRG to fluctuations in its chemical environment and trace the transcriptional response and the carbon flow through the symbiotic association on a single cell level. The main training aspects for the researcher will be a multidisciplinary application of single cell level techniques in genomics, transcriptomics and ecophysiology. This research will contribute to our knowledge on the diversity and the function of chemosynthetic microbes, both free-living and symbiotic. This project on an ancient clade of intracellular endosymbionts with a phylogenetic position distant to other symbiotic Alphaproteobacteria will illuminate the common genetic predispositions that have allowed several members of this class to become successfully incorporated into eukaryotic cells as mutualists or pathogens.

Keywords: symbiosis,intracellular,chemoautotrophic,genome,ecophysiology,transcriptome,single cell,thiotrophic,ancient,alphaproteobacteria,marine flatworm,meiofauna,subtidal sand
FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISATION OF COLORECTAL CANCER PREDISPOSITION GENES AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERMEDIATE BIOMARKERS OF DISEASE RISK (CRCINTERMPHEN)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-10-26
End date: 2014-10-25
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209033.4
EU funding (EUR): 209033.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in both men and women in the EU. Recent advances in CRC genetics, largely through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have identified 17 common polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with increased CRC risk in the general population. The SNPs only account for a minority of the genetic variation in CRC and genotyping these SNPs alone is not a sufficiently powerful risk predictor to be used in clinical practice. However, whilst the nature of the functional variation correlated with these SNPs is largely unknown, the CRC GWAS have provided excellent evidence for some of the important molecular pathways that influence disease risk, including bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling and telomere length. These discoveries raise the important possibility that we can use intermediate molecular phenotypes as surrogate markers of genetic variation, thus allowing much better prediction of CRC risk. For example, although we would not know all the polymorphisms or mutations that impacted on an individual’s BMP signalling, by measuring that pathway’s activity, we could sum the effects of those genetic variants and provide a clinically-useful means of assessing CRC risk. In this proposal, I shall determine whether candidate molecular pathways can be used as intermediate phenotypes to predict CRC risk. I shall study not only BMP signalling and telomere length, but also candidate phenotypes such as stem cell markers, apoptosis/senescence markers and Wnt pathway activity. The national bowel cancer screening programme in the UK allows normal colorectal mucosa to be obtained readily, so as to build up a bank of tissue from patients with and without CRC. For each molecular phenotype, I shall (a) develop assays, (b) assess each patient and (c) test for associations with known CRC risk SNPs and overall disease risk. The finding of strong risk predictors would allow preventive measures to be targeted to those at highest risk of CRC.

Keywords: health sciences,colorectal cancer,genetics,low-penetrance,intermediate phenotypes,molecular predictors,bone morphogenetic protein pathway,stem cells,telomeres,tissue bank,assay development
From protohistory to history: social change in Italy at the dawn of the Classical world (FROMPROTOHISTORY)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-10-01
End date: 2014-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183805.8
EU funding (EUR): 183805.8
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The transition from protohistory to history (the 9th-8th centuries B.C.) in the Mediterranean set the stage for the creation of the Classical world. The most potent agent of change was the Greek colonisation, alongside which came vast transformations in the structure, ideology and culture of many communities across the Early Iron Age Mediterranean. However, the Greek colonisation and its associated transformations remain poorly understood. This is because research has chiefly focussed on the colonisation event itself rather than the long-term socioeconomic dynamics internal to the indigenous groups amongst whom the Greeks settled. This project aims to clarify how these dynamics shaped the Greek colonisation and its associated, wide-ranging changes in the Mediterranean. The project involves a re-evaluation of the archaeological evidence from the coastal area of the Gulf of Taranto, southern Italy, with an emphasis on funerary data from two major EIA cemeteries. Among the regions where Greeks settled in the Mediterranean, the Taranto Gulf is an extremely promising area of investigation because of its extensive and well-documented archaeological evidence. Additionally, its burial and settlement patterns have close parallels to other Mediterranean regions, giving this project much potential for resolving wider processes operating during this formative period. The typological analysis of grave good assemblages and burial structure at these cemeteries will be integrated with a battery of fresh scientific investigations including osteological and isotopic analyses, and AMS radiocarbon dating of human remains. This multidisciplinary approach will enable a comprehensive reconstruction of diachronic socioeconomic developments in the organisation of indigenous communities in the years before and immediately after the Greek colonisation.

Keywords: humanities,social sciences,iron age italy,greek colonisation,social change,cemetery analysis
Role of Rnd proteins in the regulation of dendrite, spine and synapse formation in the developing hippocampus and their implication in hippocampal-dependent memory (RHOHIPPOMEMO)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-07-02
End date: 2014-07-01
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 193594.8
EU funding (EUR): 193594.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The rapidly growing elderly population and the increasing occurrence of memory disorders make the promotion of “healthy ageing” and the treatment of these disorders a major challenge in our modern societies. However, the development of treatments is hindered mainly because the biological basis of memory is still unclear. For this reason a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating memory processes appears fundamental. Normal development of hippocampal networks is crucial for memory and learning. In particular, the proper development of the dendritic arbor and spines is critical for the establishment and function of synapses, and, in turn, for neuronal activity and brain function. In the project presented here, I propose to study the role of Rnd proteins in the regulation of dendrite, spine and synapse formation in the developing hippocampus and their implication in hippocampal-dependent memory. Indeed, my preliminary data and data from the literature indicate that these atypical RhoGTPases are particularly good candidates to modulate these functions but this has not been explored yet. The ultimate goals of this study are to provide mechanistic insights into the critical aspect of memory regulation and eventually to propose new therapeutic strategies for learning and memory disorders. The attractiveness of this project is to study the role of these Rnd proteins directly in vivo by using not only in vivo electroporation of Rnd shRNA but also Rnd conditional knockouts. To successfully achieve the goals of my proposal, I have chosen to conduct this project in a host laboratory which is well known for its expertise in memory, behavior and adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Thus, the successful funding of this proposal will allow me to complement my current experimental and theoretical background especially in the field of neurogenesis and neuronal development but also to investigate new fields of research like memory thereby contributing to my career development.

Keywords: rhogtpases,dendrite,spine,synapse,memory,hippocampus,neural development
Temporal Reasoning with Data for Verification (DATAVERIF)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2015-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 372353.6
EU funding (EUR): 372353.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The development of formal methods for the verification of computer systems is recognized as a grand challenge by many research institutions. A successful approach for the verification of systems consists in modelling the system to be verified by a mathematical structure and in expressing behavioral properties in a logical formalism. The assumption that programs are finite-state is usually too restrictive and model-checking techniques for infinite-state systems have flourished these last 20 years. Our research program is motivated by the following assessment: most of model-checking techniques to verify infinite-state systems are mainly interested on the control and less on the data values stored by local or global program variables. In this project, the applicant shall develop verification techniques for systems heavily manipulating data, will design relevant formal specification languages to express properties on data, develop algorithms using SMT solvers that are essential for computer-aided verification. This latter method is mastered by the members of the host institution, Analysis of Computer Systems Group at New York University CS Department. In view of expanding the applicant's skills and competencies, the research training objectives are mainly to get a new expertise in an emerging technology mixing verification and automated deduction, to reach a position of professional maturity by initiating a new research team in the return host dedicated to SMT techniques and to provide transfer of knowledge by the supervision of early-stage researchers and by proposing new curriculum in master programmes.

Keywords: technological sciences,formal verification,temporal logics,reasoning about data
ICEphobicity for severe ICing Environments (ICE^2)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2014-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 192622.2
EU funding (EUR): 192622.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Icing on structures represents a severe risk for human safety and has a significant economic impact on operation costs in many different areas such as aeronautics, power systems (e.g. wind turbines and electric power transmission lines), civil construction (e.g. bridges) and oil platforms to name a few. US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) estimates that each year there are about 30 icing related accidents in aeronautics in the US alone. Although icing research has a long tradition, there is a need to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of ice accretion, to improve the prediction of ice accumulation due to supercooled drops and ice crystals, which can adhere to cold surfaces and cause ice accumulation, and to develop effective ice protection systems. Impact of supercooled drops and ice crystals is particularly relevant to icing in severe icing conditions such as the ones with high degree of supercooling. The new proposed standards from Federal Aviation Administration published in June 2010 also recognize this as a very important problem. Therefore, the aim of the proposed project is to advance the fundamental science base on the dynamics and the phase change phenomena in severely supercooled drops and ice crystals interacting with surfaces and to define a new norm for icephobicity. Carefully designed supercooled drop and ice crystal impact experiments on solid surfaces with different texture and wettability are proposed as a means to develop the required understanding of ice adhesion. Through optimal choice of surface properties and results of impact experiments, the project will focus on developing so called icephobic surfaces, which should form the basis for a highly promising coating strategy to combat ice accumulation on surfaces by minimizing ice adhesion and increase the efficiency of present anti-icing systems.

Keywords: applied thermodynamics,surface physics,icing,supercooled drops,ice crystals,superhydrophobicity,icephobicity