Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
De novo synthesis of a chloroplast genome in Nicotiana tabacum (ArtPlast)

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: Germany
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173847.36
EU funding (EUR): 173847.36
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Despite significant progress in chloroplast biotechnology the de novo synthesis of a chloroplast genome has remained elusive. The development of strategies to design, assemble and transform artificial chloroplast genomes would signify a step-change in the field of plant synthetic biology. Only recently, genome scale DNA synthesis and sequencing has become routine, providing an ideal foundation to revisit the challenge of chloroplast genome synthesis. I will join Ralph Bock, a world leader in chloroplast biotechnology, and combine the expertise of his laboratory with my background in synthetic biology to generate the first Nicotiana tabacum plant with an artificial chloroplast genome. I will base my strategy on creating and testing multiple different genome designs with varied degrees of structural and genetic code alterations in respect to the parental genome to identify viable designs. I will develop methods to assess those designs in parallel, permitting the rapid identification and fixing of problematic regions in the synthetic genome. I will proceed to assemble the verified chloroplast genomes in a hierarchical, parallelized manner from large pieces of synthetic DNA. Finally, I will characterize the phenotype of the resulting plants, focusing on understanding the changes in transcription, translation and metabolism. The methods developed in this work will provide insights into the design principles of organellar genomes, and provide a platform to reinvent and remodel the genetic code of chloroplasts. This work will thereby establish strategies to re-engineering complex cellular processes such as photosynthesis, or to design entirely new functions such as the genetic isolation of synthetic DNA in plants.

Keywords: synthetic biology,plant biology,chloroplast engineering,biotechnology,genome synthesis,molecular engineering
Resolving the mechanism of plant cell expansion at high spatio-temporal resolution. (STORMtheWALL)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Panel description: For all organisms : Structure and function of the cell, cell -cell communication, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, organogenesis, growth, development, evolution of development, organoids, stem cells, regeneration, therapeutic approaches
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2023-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2029368.0
EU funding (EUR): 2029368.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Plants critically shape ecosystems and our societies by converting sunlight and CO2 into O2 and bio-mass while they grow. Understanding this growth process constitutes a major frontier in plant research. Growth is a multi-scale process. At a subcellular scale, it depends on the expansion of the cell walls, which involves changes in the chemistry and architecture of constituent polymer networks. Very little is known on the nature and the control of the cell wall changes that are critical for growth, in striking contrast to the, often detailed, knowledge of growth-regulating signaling networks. This is in part due to the lack of appropriate tools to study changes in the complex cell wall polymer assemblies that often occur at fast (~s) and small (<micrometer) scales. In this project, I propose firstly, to breach the spatial limits of the tools by using multi-target optical nanoscopy to visualize cell wall architecture and remodeling, and secondly, to overcome their temporal limits by using light-gated actuators and multiplexed intracellular biosensors to simultaneously perturb and monitor the system dynamics in vivo. In particular, I will address pectin remodeling, the role of which in plant growth was shown to be critical, but without clearly understanding the mechanism. My objectives are to (1) reveal the key changes in cell wall architecture and chemistry during growth, (2) understand the fast signaling by which cells perceive and coordinate wall remodeling, and (3) build a dynamic hybrid model to explain how plants coordinate wall expansion. This interdisciplinary project will provide new insights into the nanoscale organization of cell walls and propose a novel pectin-based mechanism for its active reorganization during growth. This will provide an essential framework, not only for understanding plant growth and morphogenesis but also for the study of life beyond the plasma membrane, for instance in relation to immunity, multicellularity, or symbiosis.

Keywords: cell wall expansion,pectin,super resolution microscopy,optogenetics,fret biosensors,growth,polymer remodeling
ElectrIfied ammoNia CrAcking iN sTructured reactors (INCANT)

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: Italy
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS (ERC-2023-POC, 2023)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2025-03-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 162857.14
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

In view of the ongoing energy transition, solutions for the transportation and storage of hydrogen are urgently needed. Ammonia is recognized in principle as the best hydrogen carrier, but a bottleneck is represented by the lack of efficient industrial technologies for ammonia decomposition (cracking), a necessary step for hydrogen recovery. Capitalizing on the previous ERC projects of the PI (INTENT, AdG 2015; INSTANT, PoC 2020), INCANT proposes to develop an innovative reactor technology to valorise the potential of ammonia as energy vector via its cracking to hydrogen. The novelty core of INCANT is an electrified catalytic reactor configuration, which features ohmic heating of highly porous cellular internals (e.g., open-cell foams, 3D printed POCS). As demonstrated in the parent AdG ERC project INTENT for the case of another endothermic reaction, i.e. methane steam reforming, this solution provides a twofold advantage, in that: i) the high porosity can be packed with a large amount of catalyst particles, which is key to increase the conversion efficiency of the relatively slow NH3 cracking process; ii) the electrically and thermally connected cellular internals enable a very effective and uniform supply of the endothermic heat of reaction across the catalyst bed through the Joule effect (heat generation due to the passage of electric current in a conductor), with thermal efficiencies approaching 100%. The goal of INCANT is to adapt and demonstrate the same concept for the ammonia cracking reaction, developing a prototype NH3 reformer which will revolutionize the technology associated with the use of ammonia as hydrogen carrier: it will in fact enable the ammonia decomposition in compact, intensified structured reactors, which is optimal for distributed applications. If using electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar…), this concept results in releasing hydrogen with virtually no CO2 emissions.
Personalized forecasting of prostate cancer growth through advanced nonlinear biomechanical model supported by locally adaptive, locking-free isogeometric methods (PADLOCK)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Italy,Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2027-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209483.28
EU funding (EUR): 209483.28
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most diagnosed cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men worldwide in 2022. However, current clinical practice often remains inadequate with limited individualization, leading to overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and undertreatment. A spatiotemporal biomechanistic model informed by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging offers a powerful tool to address these challenges. Isogeometric analysis (IGA) and local h-adaptivity further contribute to accurately represent the complex biostructures and capture tumor dynamics. Hence, this technology enables personalized forecasting of PCa growth following its first diagnosis, leading to improved clinical and therapeutic decision-making. However, the existing models of PCa growth present fundamental limitations in predictive accuracy and computational efficiency. In this project, we will address three issues underlying those limitations: a suboptimal adaptive scheme for IGA, susceptibility to numerical locking due to the near-incompressible mechanical behavior of biostructures, and the assumption of linear elasticity. Towards this end, this project will follow a multifaceted approach that includes the integration of truncated hierarchical B-splines to enhance the adaptive IGA scheme, the use of mixed formulations to circumvent the adverse effects of volumetric locking while modeling near-incompressible biological tissues, and the incorporation of geometric and material nonlinearities to improve the accuracy of displacement and stress fields. Through these transformative strategies, the proposed model will represent a substantial step forward in the development of clinically viable predictive digital twins for PCa growth. This project aligns closely with the objectives of the European Commission’s cancer mission and could positively impact individuals with PCa. My expertise in IGA, locking, and biomechanics, uniquely equips me to achieve the project's objectives.

Keywords: prostate cancer,computational oncology,biomechanics,isogeometric analysis,adaptivity,numerical locking,non linear mechanics
Leveraging Vibration for Earthquake Safety: Development of a Vibration-Assisted Friction Damper to Protect Buildings and Communities from Earthquakes (GoodVibes)

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: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-05-01
End date: 2027-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 232916.16
EU funding (EUR): 232916.16
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

On average, earthquakes in Europe claim over 1,000 lives and cost 8.5 billion EUR in damages every year. Globally, these numbers rise to 36,000 lives and 35 billion EUR. The high costs are related to the fact that buildings are currently designed to avoid collapse in earthquakes but sustain extensive damage in the process. The widespread damage is often difficult to repair, making demolition the more economical option. This was the case in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand that wiped out 70% of the city-center. Thus, there is an urgent need for more practical and accessible solutions that prevent permanent damage to buildings and make repairs easier after earthquakes. This project proposes a solution for earthquake-proof buildings by developing a novel method of using vibrators to regulate ordinary friction dampers in buildings. The proposed solution could absorb the seismic energy during earthquakes, and allow buildings to re-center after earthquakes, thereby helping to save lives, reduce damage to buildings and the cost of repairs. Moreover, the proposed technology is cheap, efficient, and easy to implement as compared to state-of-the-art self-centering solutions. The project adopts an interdisciplinary (structural and mechanical engineering) and inter-sector (academia and industry) approach to develop the vibration-assisted friction damper, with an application for timber buildings. The methodology involves theoretical and computational modelling of the proposed damper, followed by a search for the optimal damper configuration in timber buildings via earthquake simulations, and finally an experimental test to validate the models developed and prove the concept of a vibration-assisted friction damper. The results of this project offer a solution to improve societal resilience against earthquake hazards and promote timber buildings for a more sustainable future.

Keywords: structural engineering,earthquake engineering,mechanical engineering,friction damper,induced vibration,friction vibration interaction,timber buildings,modelling,experimental testing
RESEARCH ACTION NETWORK FOR REDUCING REACTIVE NITROGEN LOSSES FROM AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS (ACTIONr)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Improved access to Excellence
Destination: Improved access to Excellence
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Greece,Austria,France
Call: Twinning (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03, 2021)
Start date: 2022-11-01
End date: 2025-10-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1506658.73
EU funding (EUR): 1480300.0
Participants: 5
Project status: SIGNED

Globally, 50-70% of the N fertilizer applied to cropping systems is lost as nitrate and N-oxides, raising agricultural production costs and contributing to pollution and climate change. These losses are directly linked to the nitrification process catalysed by soil nitrifying microbes. The mitigation of reactive nitrogen (Nr) loss via nitrification inhibitors (NIs) is a promising solution for increasing N use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture. ACTIONr aims to unravel the scientific excellence and innovation potential of a Widening country (Greece), through a European network of excellence on establishing novel tools and pathways for optimized NUE, reducing the continued acceleration of the N cycle, and decreasing the environmental footprint of Nr. As a centre for Greek agricultural production, Thessaly is suited to serve as a model for research on microbial N transformations for optimizing NUE in agroecosystems, but local capacity is not fully explored yet. Twinning of UTH with two internationally leading partners in Ecogenomics (UNIVIE) and Microbial Ecology (CNRS) of the soil N cycle will: (i) further develop research excellence of UTH, (ii) improve its networking efficiency and interdisciplinarity, and (iii) have broad societal and environmental impact towards more efficient N management in agricultural settings. These objectives will be achieved through the implementation of a well-designed plan of training, networking, and dissemination/communication activities, including staff exchanges, on-site training, summer schools and symposia, working groups on protocol unification, integrated PhD programs, and outreach events directed towards potential stakeholders and local communities. The expected impacts include an increase in scientific output and capacity building of UTH, the integration of sustainable N-fertilization strategies at EU level in compliance with SDG (e.g., SDG13 and 15), and the stimulation of public awareness on agri-environmental issues.

Keywords: ecogenomics soil microbial ecology n cycle nitrification,reactive nitrogen nitrogen use efficiency nitrification inhibitors ammonia oxidation greenhouse gases climate change mitigation
Directed Orchestration of Microfluidic Environments for guided Self-organisation (DOMES)

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: Netherlands
Call: ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS1 (ERC-2022-POC1, 2022)
Start date: 2022-06-01
End date: 2023-11-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In Europe, 263 per 10,000 pregnancies are diagnosed with a fetal congenital anomaly. Congenital anomalies, also referred to as birth defects, are defined as structural or functional disorders that occur during fetal development and are inherited, and/or caused by environmental factors. Unfortunately, the link between environmental factors, such as drugs, toxins or other chemicals, and the manifestation of these multifactorial disorders is poorly understood. To identify environmental factors affecting tissue and organogenesis and study their pathogenic mechanisms, new 3D in vitro models with reliable and highly reproducible architecture are urgently needed. None of the current cell culture systems available can provide the controlled environment needed to sufficiently guide the self-organization process of stem cell-based 3D in vitro models. Our new microfluidic platform, DOMES, is the first of its kind, combining precise control over morphogenetic processes with standardized and user-friendly handling. In this project, we will exemplarily focus on congenital diseases of the kidney, in particular the collecting duct system. We will analyse on-chip the impact of specific environmental compounds, such as drugs and endocrine disruptors, on the branching morphogenesis of the collecting duct. DOMES is a product family of microfluidic 3D cell culture chips which will allow the control and study not only of kidney organoids, but of other 3D cell models including lung, neural, gut organoids and embryoid bodies. This is the first instance of a cell culture platform allowing direct orchestration of the microfluidic environment for guiding self-organisation, symmetry breaking and organogenesis, and represents a paradigm shift in researchers ability to study development of organs and their congenital anomalies in vitro.
Hybrid spin-mechanical quantum systems (HYSPECQS)

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: Physics
Countries involved: Denmark
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 (HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-06-01
End date: 2024-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 214934.4
EU funding (EUR): 214934.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the last years the field of optomechanics, which studies the interaction of light with mechanical oscillators, has advanced considerably. Many pioneering experiments have demonstrated the ability to achieve quantum control of meso- and macroscopic systems. However, the intrinsic Gaussian nature of optomechanical systems makes the creation of complex non-classical states of motion challenging. In order to access them a quantum non-linearity, such as an electronic spin, needs to be introduced. Achieving strong coupling between a spin and a mesoscopic mechanical oscillator would have far-reaching implications, from tests of the foundations of quantum mechanics to applications in sensing and quantum information. Despite several attempts, this regime has remained elusive so far because of limitations such as short coherence times or low spin-mechanical coupling rates. In HYSPECQS I will overcome the limitations on coupling rate and coherence time by using state-of-the-art platforms. The spin degree of freedom will be provided by nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond, which can display hundreds of microseconds-long coherence times. The mechanical resonators, pioneered by the host group, are embedded in a thin silicon nitride membrane patterned with a phononic crystal. These resonators have been demonstrated to reach seconds-long coherence times at few tens of millikelvins. By functionalizing the resonators with nanoparticles generating high magnet field gradients, I will achieve strong spin-mechanical coupling, I will demonstrate sub-ms spin state detection with a mechanical resonator, and I will generate non-classical states of motion. The project will be carried out in the group of Prof. Albert Schliesser at the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen. I will gain theoretical and experimental understanding of cavity quantum optomechanics, which will complement my existing expertise on spin physics and interferometry, thereby enhancing my scientific and professional profile.

Keywords: optomechanics
Conservation and demolition of architectural heritage in times of transformation: politics of memory versus politics of professionalization (CONDEM)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Destination: Attracting and mobilising the best talents
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Poland,Bulgaria
Call: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04, 2022)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-10-31
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194742.0
EU funding (EUR): 194742.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

For societies undergoing profound transformations, the architectural heritage of the recent denounced past is central to both urban planning and political campaigning. I will explore how after regime change the fate of such heritage – monuments, signature buildings and other sites perceived as cultural products and symbols of the ousted regime – is justified, debated and contested among the political establishment and the professional society of architects. I argue that while the former group’s decisions on heritage conveyed memory politics, architects engaged with the issue driven by ‘politics of professionalization’, i.e. a pursuit for expert agency and public recognition. Looking into the confrontations and dialogues between and among politicians and architects, I highlight nationalist or civic values attached to architectural heritage and the inclusive or exclusive dimensions in its conceptualization. My research (CONDEM) focuses on Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s two largest cities, and three periods of political transformation: nation-state building after 1878, state socialism after WWII and liberal democracy after 1989. Located at the intersection of three research fields – urban history, memory studies and critical heritage studies – this is an interdisciplinary project combining historical and sociological methods. I will trace the evolution of the problem of heritage in legal documents, political papers and architectural critique over more than a century and conduct discourse analysis of heritage debates on the basis of identified case studies. For their selection, I employ four categories of ‘events’ that triggered intensification of the heritage debate: urbanist, corporate, heritagization and mnemonic. By investigating how the meaning of architectural heritage changed over time reflecting competing political interests, I aim to address the bigger question to what extent public representations of the past promote plurality or entrench discrimination.

Keywords: eastern europe,regime change,nation state building,state socialism,post socialism,architects,urban planning,public space,monuments,politics of memory,contentious heritage