Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Discovering how T6SS effectors are deployed in the recipient cytoplasm (IMCross)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Panel description: The immune system , related disorders  and their mechanisms , biology of infectious agents and infection, biological basis of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases , innovative imm unological tools and approaches , including  therapies
Countries involved: Israel
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-04-01
End date: 2030-03-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999188.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999188.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Interbacterial competition is a key driver of the emergence of new bacterial strains. A widely used strategy during interbacterial competition is delivering toxins into competitors’ cytoplasm, where they target conserved components. The type VI secretion system (T6SS), a machine that delivers toxic effectors into neighboring cells, is a major player in interbacterial competitions. It fires an effector-loaded tube that penetrates the recipient cell envelope. Although many T6SS effectors target the competitors’ cytoplasm, it is not known whether they are directly deployed there or rather deployed in the periplasm and then transported into the cytoplasm. We have recently identified several domains within modular T6SS effectors that are fused specifically to cytoplasm-targeting toxic domains. The new domains are required for competitor intoxication during competition but not for T6SS-mediated secretion of the effectors. Therefore, we hypothesize that T6SS effectors are first deployed in the periplasm, where specialized domains such as these re-localize cytoplasm-targeting effectors into the recipient’s cytoplasm. In IMCross, we will leverage our unique expertise in identifying and characterizing novel domains within effectors to go beyond the state-of-the-art and determine how cytoplasm-targeting T6SS effectors reach their target. We will (1) reveal the initial site of T6SS effector deployment, (2) identify effector domains responsible for transport across the recipient inner membrane and determine whether they employ receptors in the process, and (3) establish a pipeline to discover re-localization domains and cytoplasm-targeting toxic domains in T6SS effectors. The discovery of specialized T6SS effector re-localization domains will revolutionize our understanding of effector modularity and trafficking during competition. Furthermore, such domains are key in developing tools to identify novel toxic domains and engineer synthetic toxins as alternative antibiotics.

Keywords: t6ss,antibacterial competition,toxin,protein secretion,membrane crossing
Women In Science Night: Celebrate science, sustainability and gender diversity (WiseNight 2024-2025)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: European Researchers' Night
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: European Researchers' Night and Researchers at Schools 2024-2025 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-CITIZENS-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 298653.85
EU funding (EUR): 298653.85
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

With this project, Belgian Women in Science, a Brussels-based non-profit organisation, aims to bring women researchers closer to the general public and stimulate the interest in scientific careers among young people with a special focus on gender diversity and inclusiveness. Citizens of all ages will be able to discover research related to nature, space and the 5 EU missions (cancer, soil deal, ocean & waters, adaptation to climate change, climate-neutral smart cities) allowing them to exchange ideas and experiences with scientists about their careers and breakthroughs. To achieve this, we will organize over 100 activities engaging the audience like demonstrations focused on climate change and evolution; art & science exhibitions portraying female scientists, workshops focusing on new trends in science and technology such as water and solar power and food of the future. The European Researchers Night (“Night”) events take place in two inspiring locations in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, also enabling the discovery of historic and natural landmarks where research has been conducted for almost two centuries. The ‘Researchers at Schools’ (“Schools”) workshops take place in schools, with a special focus on reaching vulnerable children. In addition, some workshops will be organised at a Brussels university campus, where students can become researchers & innovators, and in the two musea (Museum of Natural Sciences “Museum” and the Planetarium of Belgium “Planetarium”). Our awareness campaign will be one of the successful key points in this project. A dedicated media plan has been designed and a specialized press office will be involved to promote the activities at national level, also promoting our outreach events throughout the whole year on social media channels. In order to evaluate the impact, we will analyse the target audience reached; measure the increase of knowledge and promotion of the researcher's figure; and understand the level of appreciation.

Keywords: climate change,cancer research,smart cities,science outreach,science education,gender diversity,sustainability,european research and innovation,role models,exchanges with researchers
The Italian Lauda: Disseminating Poetry and Concepts Through Melody (12th-16th centuries) (LAUDARE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Texts and Concepts
Panel description: Literary studies , literature,  philosophy
Countries involved: Italy
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): 2388928.0
EU funding (EUR): 2388928.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

The lauda, a vibrant expression of popular piety, is the poetic-musical genre that from the second half of the twelfth century marked the birth and the spread of singing in the Italian language. It was based on melodies of varied origins, but mostly functional in orally conveying – through minstrels, lay confraternities and preachers – the dissemination of texts and (not only spiritual) concepts among a largely illiterate population. Despite this ‘volatility’, a good corpus of laude has been preserved in written form for ritual needs, sometimes with musical notation, forming an impressive repository of ‘frozen orality’. While realizing the importance and vastness of this heritage, scholars for over a century have been mainly engaged in alternatively considering it either from a literary or a musical point of view. Therefore, no systematic research has yet to shed light on the specific nature of the phenomenon, its dynamics of creation and transmission and all indicators that make it a reliable mirror of society, culture and mentality in medieval and early Renaissance Italy. The LAUDARE project aims to approach the Italian lauda in its intrinsic intermediality by collecting the whole corpus of texts handed down with music up to the mid 1500s and comprehensively exploring the dynamics of composition and transmission of poems and related tunes according to the mechanisms of orality. An open access database, making searchable the entire corpus, will allow wide-ranging surveys such as the territorial impact of a text and/or its musical setting as well as the diffusion of melodic patterns and text formulas. The results will be collected in a specific volume. Other expected outputs are a handbook, at least ten open access articles, three workshops and two international conferences with proceedings, one of which will have involved related disciplines such as medieval and religious history, linguistics, palaeography, iconography, anthropology, and urban studies.

Keywords: italian lauda mediaval music medieval poetry music and poetry intermediality orality digital humanties early music performance medieval history history of mentality
The first versatile, scalable, xeno-free Extracellular Matrix Platform for Advanced 2D Stem Cell Culture (FaCellitate)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Theme: EIC Accelerator
Destination: Other destinations
Action type: EIC actions
Countries involved: Germany
Call: EIC Accelerator 2024 - Short application (HORIZON-EIC-2024-ACCELERATOR-01, 2024)
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

faCellitate, founded in 2021 as an innovative spin-off from BASF’s incubator, is transforming 3D cell culture and stem cell research with its advanced, xeno-free cell culture coatings. Positioned as a leader in the 3D cell culture market, faCellitate addresses the critical need for advanced cell technologies and regenerative medicine solutions. Its proprietary polymer platform offers researchers interactive consumables that create fully synthetic and biologically relevant environments for cell growth. The smart surface coatings, free of chemical reactions, enhance cell interaction, significantly raising the standards for biological research. faCellitate’s flagship product, BIOFLOAT, provides an ultra-low attachment surface enabling the rapid and consistent formation of perfectly round 3D spheroids, compatible with high-throughput assays. Building on this success, faCellitate is introducing BIOINSTRUCT, a patented biomimetic surface designed for 2D cultures of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Culturing hiPSCs requires specialized growth surfaces to support proliferation, maintain pluripotency, and achieve biological relevance, particularly in toxicology studies, where controlled environments and high-throughput screening are critical. faCellitate aims to launch a first-to-market, scalable ECM-mimicking platform for 2D stem cell culture, which is versatile, xeno-free, and biologically relevant. The global cell culture market, valued at $51.3B by 2028, represents a vast opportunity. The toxicology segment, the largest portion of this market, is projected to reach $17.1B by 2028 and offers a significant Service Obtainable Market of $842.75M for pharma toxicology. faCellitate has raised €3.7M in seed funding and has been recognized as one of Germany’s top 15 emerging biotech startups. To bring BIOINSTRUCT to market an additional €11.5M is needed. Of this amount, the company seeks a €2.5M grant and €4M in equity from the EIC.

Keywords: 2d and 3d cell culture platform,3d cell culture,stem cell research,xeno free coatings,hipscs,biomimetic surface,toxicology studies,in vitro toxicology market,regenerative medicine
INNOVATIVE PILOT LINES FOR SUSTAINABLE GRAPHENE-BASED FLEXIBLE AND STRUCTURAL ENERGY HARVESTING AND STORAGE DEVICES (GRAPHERGIA)

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
Countries involved: Greece,Germany,France,Spain,Italy,Slovenia
Call: 2D materials-based devices and systems for energy storage and/or harvesting (RIA) (HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2027-03-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4499331.25
EU funding (EUR): 4499331.25
Participants: 11
Project status: SIGNED

GRAPHERGIA aims is to develop a new science-based, holistic approach, implementing new advances to achieve one-step, laser-assisted synthesis, processing, functionalization and simultaneous integration of graphene-based materials and graphene nanohybrids, directly into relevant energy harvesting/storage devices. This will lead to a scalable, cost-effective and climate-neutral production of (i) e-textiles with the specific functions of wearable power supplying and self-powered structural sensors and (ii) next generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries. Based on current TRL 3-4 activities, the consortium explores novel ideas for 2D materials engineering and integration at TRL 5 or higher, establishing versatile pilot-scale-based approaches for these two types of applications. Configurations of TENG-based e-textiles will be prepared to fabricate flexible architectures, designed to sustainably convert energy from the environment to electricity. Laser-scribed solid-state micro-flexible supercapacitors, will be coupled to TENGs, via innovative power management circuits, acting as energy reservoirs to provide on-demand batteryless charging to wearable devices and sensors. All-in-one, self-charging power textiles with integrated electronic systems will provide a human-body-centric technology and interface of the user to the IoT by wireless transmission of sensors’ signals. In parallel, GRAPHERGIA defines a credible “dry electrode” approach to fabricate next generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries aspiring to reach the technical/economic targets of the 2030 European SET-plan. The proposed methodology will be implemented by blending recently devised IPR-protected technologies of consortium partners. To achieve these targets, a combined 2D materials and process-oriented approaches will be adopted, based on low-cost raw materials and inherently scalable fabrication approaches to ensure a cost-effective and climate-neutral production of energy harvesting and storage devices.

Keywords: graphene graphene nanohybrids triboelectric energy harvesting self charging e textiles self powered structural micro flexible supercapacitors graphene enabled li ion batteries iot wearables
Environmentally-informed functional characterisation of the secondary red chloroplast proteome (ChloroMosaic)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Panel description: For all organisms : Ecology, biodiversity, environmental change , evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology , marine biology, ecophysiology, theoretical developments and mod elling
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2023-01-01
End date: 2028-08-31
Duration (months): 68.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498352.0
EU funding (EUR): 1485852.0
Participants: 3
Project status: SIGNED

Photosynthesis in the ocean is as significant as that of land plants, and is performed by a wide range of cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae, the most abundant of which have originated through the secondary endosymbioses of red algae. Previously, I have shown that these "secondary red chloroplasts" are evolutionary mosaics, supported by nucleus-encoded proteins of symbiont, host and horizontally acquired origin; and that the most successful of these groups (diatoms, haptophytes and dinoflagellates) are connected to one another via chloroplast endosymbioses. My research programme will answer a question of fundamental importance to the evolutionary history, and future ecology of the planet: why is the secondary red chloroplast so successful in the modern ocean? I will perform next-generation proteomic (LOPIT) characterisation of the dinoflagellate chloroplast, whose composition remains unknown; phylogenomic and spatial reconstruction of the pan-secondary red chloroplast proteome, using environmental sequence data from the Tara Oceans expedition; and phenotyping of proteins via CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis in the model diatom Phaeodactylum. I will focus on defining the proteins that underpin the dominant contributions of secondary red chloroplasts to marine primary production; and their unique success in high oceanic latitudes. Thus far, I have characterised a mitochondria-associated transporter that facilitates photo-acclimation in secondary red chloroplasts under Fe limitation; and a complete glycolytic pathway that regulates diatom chloroplast metabolism in polar oceans. The phylogenetically-grounded insights from this project will connect a defining event in eukaryotic evolution, the endosymbiotic evolution of chloroplasts, to the functional biology of marine ecosystems; identify new proteins for optimising photosynthetic production in cultivable species; and define new biomarkers for the resilience of algal communities to anthropogenic climate change.

Keywords: dinoflagellates,diatoms,photosynthesis,endosymbiosis,environmental genomics,proteomics
Advancing Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Conservation in the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin (MarineGuardian)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Mission
Theme: Ocean, seas and waters
Destination: Ocean, seas and waters
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Iceland,Canada,Denmark,Spain,Faroe Islands,Norway,Portugal,United Kingdom
Call: Atlantic and Arctic sea basin lighthouse, Mediterranean Sea basin lighthouse, Baltic and North Sea basin lighthouse - Reducing the environmental impacts of fisheries on marine species and habitats (HORIZON-MISS-2024-OCEAN-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2029-05-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 8524748.75
EU funding (EUR): 8049776.0
Participants: 21
Project status: SIGNED

MarineGuardian will, through a holistic approach, provide impact-driven solutions to reduce fisheries´ environmental impacts on marine species and habitats in line with the Common Fisheries Policy, Marine Action Plan, EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The seafood sector contributes to global food security, but is largely unsustainable, with 38% of fish stocks overexploited and significant ecological implications. 79% of EU’s coastal seabed habitats are disrupted, and a quarter lost, mainly due to intense bottom trawling. Current solutions for more sustainable fisheries exist but are fragmented and often lack real-time actionable insights for fishers and policymakers. MarineGuardian will advance tools, technologies and operational strategies, and enhance knowledge to accelerate the transition towards sustainable and economically viable fisheries. The project will deliver: 1) innovative technologies to reduce and prevent incidental catches of sensitive species and juveniles, 2) best practice guidelines for reduced discard and damage to catch, 3) decision support systems for effective mitigation measures to protect sensitive marine ecosystems, whilst optimising fishing operations, 4) new methods for data sharing in seafood value chains to ease corporate sustainability reporting and ecolabelling processes. These will be co-developed with fishers, management authorities, and policy makers, tested in 6 case studies to demonstrate their feasibility and ensure long term viability of the European seafood sector. A roadmap for sustainable fisheries will be drawn-up to demonstrate scalability and replicability of the solutions in line with the Mission Ocean objectives. The consortium holds the cross-cutting knowledge and expertise within private and research sectors from across the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin, needed to successfully reach the project’s objectives and have a long-lasting impact on the seafood sector and marine environment.

Keywords: innovative fishing gear,fishing strategies,fisheries selectivity,environmental impact of fisheries,
Technology for High-Repetition-rate Intense Laser Laboratories (THRILL)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Research infrastructures
Theme: Research infrastructures
Destination: Technology and infrastructures
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,France,Belgium,United States,Czechia
Call: R&D for the next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods (HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-01-01
End date: 2026-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10425250.0
EU funding (EUR): 10425250.0
Participants: 11
Project status: SIGNED

The THRILL project deals with providing new schemes and devices for pushing forward the limits of research infrastructures (RI) of European relevance and ESFRI landmarks. To do so, the project partners have identified several technical bottlenecks in high-energy high-repetition-rate laser technology that prevent it from reaching the technical readiness level required to technically specify and build the needed devices, and guaranteeing sustainable and reliable operation of such laser beamlines at the partnering RIs. Advancing the technical readiness of these topics is strategically aligned with the long-term plans and evolution of the ESFRI landmarks FAIR, ELI (-BL) and Eu-XFEL, and RI APOLLON, bringing them to the next level of development and strengthening their leading position. The project is well focused and it is deliberately restricted to three enabling technologies, which require the most urgent efforts and timely attention by the community: high-energy high-repetition-rate amplification, high-energy beam transport and optical coating resilience for large optics. To reach our goals, the major activity within THRILL will be organized around producing several prototypes demonstrating a high level of technical readiness. Our proposal is addressing not yet explored technical bottlenecks - such as transport over long distances of large-aperture laser beams via relay imaging using all-reflective optics - and aims at proposing concrete steps to increase the performances and effectiveness of the industrial community through the co-development of advanced technologies up to prototyping in operational environments. The project is not only pushing technology, it is also offering an outstanding opportunity to train a qualified work force for RIs and industry. With this in mind, the structure of THRILL promotes synergetic work, fast transfer to industry and integrated research activities at the European level. Access to the RIs will be granted as in-kind contribution.

Keywords: high energy laser,laser technology,laser amplifier,laser components,optical coating