Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Reducing myopia progression with red light therapy: Treatment mechanisms and safety levels. (MyReL)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Sweden,United States
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2025-01-06
End date: 2028-01-05
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 282168.0
EU funding (EUR): 282168.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Myopia (shortsightedness) represents a mismatch between the eye’s length and its dioptric system (refracting power), which results in distant fixated objects being imaged in front of the retina. The underlying problem is typically excessive eye elongation, multiplying the risk of sight-threatening eye diseases. Faced with rapidly increasing myopia prevalence figures worldwide, and associated huge economic burdens, public health systems need more and improved myopia control in children. A recently described, controversial method for reducing myopia progression in children is “low-level” red-light therapy (LRL), with clinical trials reporting significant effects with daily, short periods of direct retinal red laser light stimulation. However, a recent report of retinal damage and reduced vision, along with inadequate safety monitoring calls its safety into question. MyReL addresses open questions regarding the underlying mechanism, ocular effects, risks and long-term safety of LRL using an established animal (guinea pig) model of myopia and complimentary studies in humans. The interdisciplinary project will allow detailed evaluation of LRL-induced structural and functional changes in myopic guinea pig eyes. Results from the latter will be used to inform a complimentary human study focused on 3 areas, in which choroidal thickness will serve as a biomarker for therapeutic effects: (1) the intensity-dependent dose-response effects of LRL (limited to established safe intensities), (2) short-term effects of ambient red-light exposure, (3) effects of manipulating the spectrum of digital device screens. Plausible outcomes of these novel studies include a prototype for hazard-free LRL, as well as recommendations on optimal spectral settings for digital devices, both aimed at controlling myopia progression in children. In these ways, MyReL will help to prevent severe eye diseases, with a significant positive impact on health and economic sectors, given EU’s aging population.

Keywords: myopia,myopia control therapy,red laser light therapy
EXPANDing Immune Cells and their Tumor Antigens during checkpoint immunotherapy (EXPAND IT)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Panel description: Organ and tissue physiology, comparative physiology, physiology  of ageing , pathophysiology, inter - organ and tissue communication, endocrinology, nutrition,  metabolism, interaction with the microbiome, non -communicable diseases including cancer (and except disorders of the nervous system  and immunity -related diseases)
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2021-ADG, 2021)
Start date: 2023-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cancer immunotherapy using immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized the treatment of advanced-stage cancers. One of the major limitations of ICB is that durable responses are observed only in a subset of patients and in some specific cancer types. We recently analyzed tumor biopsies from breast cancer patients collected during ICB and indeed observed only in a subset of patients that tumor-infiltrating T-cells undergo rapid expansion when exposed to ICB. We characterized the gene expression programs underlying this expansion at single-cell level and realized that - although these expanding T-cells are the main executors of therapeutic response to ICB - several key questions regarding their function remain unanswered. First, we lack accurate knowledge about where in the heterogeneous tumor microenvironment (TME) and in which metabolic niches T-cell expansion occurs. Secondly, based on their TCR sequence we cannot predict upfront which T-cells will expand (or rather act as bystander T-cells), nor can we say to which tumor antigens these expanding T-cells are directed. Thirdly, it is not known which molecular events underlie the generation of the tumor antigens regulating T-cell expansion. Fourthly, we also observed an expansion of the B-cell repertoire and were left with similar questions as for expanding T-cells. For instance, where are expanding B-cells located, how do they interact with expanding T-cells, and do they perhaps even recognize the same tumor antigens. In EXPAND IT, we will use several innovative (single-cell) technologies to provide answers to these questions. These insights will much better characterize the mechanisms driving response to ICB, but will also provide important answers on how to sensitize patients not responding to ICB. Our findings could also contribute to the discovery of high-avidity anti-tumor TCRs that can be used in novel TCR-based cellular therapies.

Keywords: single cell profiling spatial transcriptomics,spatial metabolomics,tumor microenvironment,antigen discovery,modelling of the t and b cell repertoire
Cube satellite embedding pyroelectric modules to harvest energy in space (CUBE_SAT_PYRO)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Luxembourg
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2025-POC, 2025)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-02-28
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Can we find new sources of energy in space? This project aims to explore pyroelectric materials as an alternative or complement to photovoltaic panels. Unlike solar panels, which require continuous sunlight, pyroelectric energy harvesters convert thermal variations into electricity, offering an alternative energy solution in space. For the first time, this study will assess the potential of pyroelectric energy harvesters directly in space. Pyroelectric modules will be selected, prepared, mounted on a cube satellite, and launched in space in low earth orbit. The harvested energy will be measured in situ in space. The measurement data will be sent from the satellite and collected via a ground station built in our premises. The objective of this project is to show that this pyroelectric element can generate an electric energy density of 200 J/kg per thermal cycle and a continuous power density of 1 W/kg, which would show that pyroelectric energy harvesting is a convincing solution to produce electric energy in space. The project is structured in five work packages addressing the key scientific and technological challenges but also focusing on a strong exploitation plan. The first work package is about pyroelectric materials. The harvesting modules and their associated electronics will be developed in the second one, both occurring before launch. Post-launch, the third work package will analyse thermal cycling behaviour in space, whereas the fourth one will evaluate long-term reliability, notably assessing radiation effect on pyroelectric harvesters for several months. Finally, the last work package is dedicated to project management and exploitation strategies, in which we will look for partners after the intellectual property is secured. By demonstrating the feasibility of pyroelectric energy harvesting in space, this project will offer a new electric power source for satellites and space missions, broadening the possibilities for future space exploration.

Keywords: cube satetille waste heat energy harvesting pyroelectric materials
Deciphering the lay ethics of terminal risks: local terminal risks as PRoxiEs For Existential Risks (PREFER)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Panel description: Human geography, demography, health, susta inability science, territorial planning, spatial analysis
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2021-ADG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2485314.0
EU funding (EUR): 2485314.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The main objective of the PREFER project is to open the scientific debate on existential risk to empirical enquiry. The PREFER team will identify how lay ethics (the ethics of ordinary people) manifest themselves in non-Western communities faced with extreme threat. Local terminal risks due to the collapse of regional ecosystems will serve as proxies for existential risks. Thus, this pioneering project will obtain, for the first time, empirical evidence on how ordinary humans evaluate and cope with real-life terminal situations. Existential risks concern humanity as a whole: it is essential to add to the variety and number of voices heard in scientific deliberations. A broader discourse on existential risk will contribute to better governance and decision-making around existential risks. The PREFER team will conduct field work in two diverse geographical areas whose inhabitants are experiencing the collapse of life-sustaining ecosystems: the Arctic and the Mekong Delta. Three communities in each area will serve as case studies. Preparatory fieldwork has revealed that members are aware of the terminal threat and have expressed fears that they are facing the end of the life they know. Community transdisciplinary research (the co-production of knowledge with and for local communities) will be accompanied by ethnographic work. Data will be collected in the form of narratives which will be analyzed as sources of information on how local communities appraise the multiple dimensions of local terminal risk, including descriptions, the meanings drawn from these and involvement in impact mitigation actions. These results will then be applied to existential risks, all the while analyzing the appositeness of the PREFER proxy-based approach. Finally, although the main focus is on widening the discourse on existential risks, PREFER will also contribute to the urgent empirical analysis of terminality in the face of collapsing regional ecosystems.

Keywords: lay ethics,existential risk,local terminal risk,transdiscipinary research
Exploring new paths: non-standard transitions to the labour market of low-qualified youth (EXPLOTRANS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Spain,Switzerland
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-09-01
End date: 2028-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209914.56
EU funding (EUR): 209914.56
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Low-qualified youth is a vulnerable group highly exposed to risks and the accumulation of disadvantages. Early school leaving and low qualifications, as stated by the European Commission, is linked to risk life outcomes such as unemployment, social exclusion or poor health. Consequently, these aspects are included in the European Pillars of Social Rights Action Plan 2030. EXPLOTRANS will produce new knowledge on the school-to-work transitions (STWT) of low-qualified young people in Spain and the impact the non-standard transitions have on subsequent labour market outcomes. From a holistic approach the project will overcome gaps and limitations of previous research. There is a gap in prior research on how specific STWT of low-qualified youth are related to labour market outcomes. Even more when looking at the analysis of the configuration of non-standard patterns considering individual characteristics such as gender, migration, and socioeconomic background. Why Spain as a case of study? 1) one of the highest early school leaving rates and the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe; 2) limited longitudinal and mixed-methods research on the topic, thus the research gap is wider than in other EU countries; 3) excellent case of study in terms of the weak vocational and training system (VET) and labour market; 4) the findings will facilitate future comparisons with other EU countries and contribute to develop relevant EU policies. Thus, using a mixed-methods approach and cutting-edge developments on sequence analysis, the project will provide new and evidence-based findings for academic, political, and societal use. EXPLOTRANS will significantly impact my academic career. Under the guidance of Prof. Ortiz Gervasi at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the project will consolidate me as an independent and international scholar. The host institution offers

Keywords: low qualified youth,school to work transition,non standard trajectories,social inequalities,mixed methods research,labour market outcomes
Transitions to adulthood in a context of migration: From unaccompanied minors in Scandinavia to refuge seeking young adults in France (ComAge)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Denmark
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2023-09-01
End date: 2028-07-31
Duration (months): 59.0
Total project cost (EUR): 214934.4
EU funding (EUR): 214934.4
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Discussions about migration, integration and unaccompanied minors figure prominently across Europe in public discourse and at policy level. Thousands of unaccompanied minors arrive in Europe each year. Many are granted temporary or permanent permission to stay, yet little research has focused on their transitions to adulthood. ComAge’s scientific significance lies in its aim to contribute to address this gap through investigating unaccompanied minors’ social and legal transitions to adulthood as affected by structural implications, imaginaries, and relational aspects. This is of relevance to support further research on the topic, and for European policymakers and practitioners to respond to the needs and situations unaccompanied minors experience upon their arrival and stay. Young Afghans are a timely and relevant case study to investigate transitions to adulthood as they are the largest group of unaccompanied minors claiming asylum in Europe each year since 2008. To investigate transitions as affected by the ‘return turn’, i.e., increased use of temporary protection and focus on return, participants will be recruited among young Afghans who arrived in Scandinavia as minors and left for France to avoid forced removal as they approach legal adulthood. ComAge is an ethnographic study drawing on in-depth interviews, participant/observation and creative co-articulations as a bottom-up approach that tunes into different forms, layers and modes of expression. ComAge builds on the experienced researcher’s previous research on young Afghans’ journeys to Europe and the implications of age and social relations on their trajectories.

Keywords: afghans,legal and social adulthood,precarious inclusion,temporary protection,creative co articulations methods,return turn,secondary migration
Identifying genetic and epigenetic changes underlying adaptation in the invasive species Drosophila suzukii (GeEpiAdaptation)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2023-02-01
End date: 2025-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 206276.88
EU funding (EUR): 206276.88
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the last few decades, problems related to the colonization of invasive species have become increasingly important at a global scale. Biological invasions are not only a threat to the environment but also have an important impact in economy. Thus, in order to manage and control invasive species, it is of crucial importance to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie successful invasive processes. In this project, I propose to investigate the genetic and epigenetic changes underlying adaptation in the destructive crop pest Drosophila suzukii. D. suzukii uses a sclerotized ovipositor to pierce the skin of unripe fruits causing dramatic losses to the fruit industry. It has spread from South East Asia to Europe and North America in only ten years, evidencing its invasive success. In the proposed work, I will first validate experimentally the function of candidate genomic regions related with the invasive success of D. suzukii using the state-of-the-art CRISPR/Cas technology. As such I will expand the knowledge of the genetic basis of the invasion process of this species. Besides, technical improvements of the use of CRISPR/Cas can be of future application in programs dedication to the biological prevention of this pest. Second, D. suzukii, as an invasive species, has to face with different oxidative agents when colonizing new environments such as the use of different herbicides or changes in UV exposure. In this work, I will identify for the first time the transgenerational epigenetic modifications induced after oxidative stress in native and invasive natural populations. I will also study whether those epigenetic modifications have any molecular or fitness effects and their possible association with invasive success. Overall, I expect these results to provide new insights into the prediction of the invasive potential in natural populations.

Keywords: biological invasion,adaptation,oxidative stress,drosophila,crispr cas,transposable elements
GRAphene PHotonic frequency miXer (GRAPH-X)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Digital, Industry and Space
Theme: Digital
Destination: Digital & Emerging Technologies for Competitiveness and Fit for the Green Deal
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Partnership: Photonics (co-programmed)
Countries involved: Italy,France,Germany,Sweden,United Kingdom,Spain
Call: Advanced Photonic Integrated Circuits (Photonics Partnership) (RIA) (HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-10-01
End date: 2026-03-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4781502.5
EU funding (EUR): 4781502.5
Participants: 10
Project status: SIGNED

Graph-X aims at the development of a novel hardware platform based on graphene photonic integrated circuits for ultra-high speed and scalable sub-THz D- (110-170 GHz) and H-band (170-240 GHz) wireless links. The proposed technology will be the basic building block for high-speed radio back haul links, multi beam forming antennas for massive MIMO, short distance high resolution RADAR sensing. GraPh-X targets the distribution and detection of multi Gbit/s radio signals over sub-THz tunable carrier frequencies. The main outcome of GraPh-X will be a monolithic electronic and photonic chip (EPIC) that will constitute the basic building block of a completely new class of photonic/electronic antenna arrays for the next generation sub-THz communication and RADAR systems. The proposed approach will allow to overcome the technical bottlenecks of current sub-THz technology, such as increasing detrimental effect of phase noise at higher carrier frequencies, and carrier frequency stability. To reach the goal, the wafer scale graphene photonic technology is needed and must go beyond the state of the art. A new technique (HMG-Stack technology) will be developed to allow multi-stacking of graphene layers maintaining the same properties of single layer graphene. The key component of GraPh-X is a novel optoelectronic efficient frequency mixer able to mix two optical wavelengths and a high data rate electrical signal. The photonic chip will be realized using a SiN photonic platform that will integrate HMG-Stack as active material. The monolithic integration of the graphene photonic mixer with SiGe BiCMOS electronics for mmWave amplification will enable high output power and reduced footprint (<500x500µm2), matching the requirements of a single element of mmWave antenna array system.

Keywords: graphene photonic devices,electronic and photonic integrated circuits,sub thz links
At-home, Maximised Potential DNA/RNA Detecting Device (AMPD)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Italy
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2024-09-01
End date: 2026-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172750.08
EU funding (EUR): 172750.08
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project will develop the At-home, Maximised Potential DNA/RNA Detecting Device (AMP’D). AMP'D is a hand-held, equipment free point-of-care device that can detect DNA/RNA biomarkers in easily accessible bodily fluids - such as blood, nasal and saliva samples. It is intended for diagnosing both infectious diseases and cancer. Additionally, it can do it at-home and early in disease progression. Both infectious diseases and cancer are leading causes of death globally. In 2020, cancer accounted for 10 million deaths. Furthermore, Covid-19 alone has accounted for 6.5 million deaths since the start of the pandemic. AMP'D intends to significantly reduce the number of deaths for both diseases - by providing a platform that can allow for ultra-sensitive, low cost and convenient detection. First, AMP'D can detect extremely low concentrations of biomarkers - at the early stages of these diseases. Second, AMP'D can cut the cost of each test from US$200 (commonly observed with pathological lab tests) to US$10. Finally, AMP'D can enable at-home diagnosis with blood, nasal and saliva samples - thus preventing invasive/uncomfortable procedures that deter many people from getting tested until it is too late. The development of such a device can enable end-users anywhere in the world to detect these diseases - even before symptoms appear. This can allow for early intervention before prognosis worsens - thus saving lives.

Keywords: diagnostics,biosensors,lab on a chip,poc miniaturisation,nucleic acids