Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Mycolic Acid Cyclopropane Synthase Enzymes as New Biocatalysts for Green Cyclopropanation Reactions (MyCyclop)

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: United Kingdom
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2027-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 276187.92
EU funding (EUR): 276187.92
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Cyclopropane rings are a key structural motif that may be found in a wide range of natural products, chemicals, fragrances and pharmaceuticals. Current methods for the manufacturing of cyclopropane-containing molecules show significant limitations in terms of safety, environmental impact and green metrics. Only a few biocatalytic methodologies for the asymmetric synthesis of cyclopropanes have been developed so far, and they rely on repurposed or artificial heme enzymes (P450, myoglobin). However, these approaches suffer from significant limitations in terms of "green chemistry" and industrial application since they require stoichiometric amounts of hazardous diazo-compound reagents as co-substrates. Overcoming these limitations is a critical challenge that underscores the need for further research and development in 'green chemistry' and industrial application of biocatalysis. Mycolic Acid Cyclopropane Synthases (MACSs) are pivotal cyclopropane synthase enzymes found in mycobacteria, such as M. tuberculosis. They are a group of homologous enzymes in the mycolic acid biosynthesis pathway, and they are crucial in catalysing the cyclopropanation of double bonds. Since MACSs use S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as a methylene donor rather than diazo-carbene co-substrates, they present a viable option for creating mild and sustainable cyclopropanation biocatalysts. Furthermore, with their ability to catalytic cyclopropanate short- to long-chain unsaturated fatty acids and their ease of bioengineering, these enzymes present a novel and exciting opportunity for future biocatalyst development. This project focuses on the characterization and development of MACSs as cyclopropanating biocatalysts through enzyme engineering approaches.

Keywords: biocatalysis
Autoantigen-specific adoptive regulatory T cell therapy against type 1 diabetes (ARTiDe) (ARTiDe)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Health
Theme: Health
Destination: Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: France,Poland,Germany,United States
Call: Pre-clinical development of the next generation of immunotherapies for diseases or disorders with unmet medical needs (HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-two-stage, 2022)
Start date: 2023-07-01
End date: 2028-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6998037.5
EU funding (EUR): 6998037.5
Participants: 12
Project status: SIGNED

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an incurable disease, often starting in childhood, with a risk of devastating complications, premature mortality, and high social burden. It is caused by the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells, yet the standard of care is insulin replacement, acting only at the symptom level. Thus, T1D is a disease with a high unmet need for innovative therapy. Ideally, such therapy shall suppress selectively the immune cells driving T1D without impairing protective immunity. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the guardians of human immune tolerance, and genetic defects in Tregs are associated with T1D. Tregs additionally possess tissue regenerative capacity, making them ideal to treat T1D in cell therapy. However, such therapy, performed with polyclonally expanded patient Tregs, showed limited efficacy in T1D. These expanded Tregs are however poor in relevant autoreactive Tregs to save insulin-producing cells. In fact, the identification and manufacturing of autoreactive Tregs remain fundamental technical challenges to successfully apply these cells in the clinic. ARTiDe aims at a breakthrough in antigen-specific Treg therapy in T1D by establishing the production of human Tregs genetically engineered to express an autoreactive T cell antigen receptor (TCR) ready for clinical use. To achieve this ambitious goal, ARTiDe combines the complementary expertise of 8 partners providing novel technologies for the systematic identification of autoantigen-specific Tregs in humans, the selection of optimal TCR to produce protective Tregs, and innovative humanized T1D pre-clinical models to test their efficacy and safety, as well as Treg supporting strategies, in vivo. World-leading biotechs for adoptive T cell therapy will establish novel GMP-compatible manufacturing of highly purified TCR-engineered Tregs. ARTiDe will deliver a Treg production process and regulatory certificates that will allow launching a phase 1 clinical trial just after the project.

Keywords: type 1 diabetes,autoimmune disease,immune mediated disease,cell therapy,gene therapy,regulatory t cells,medical product development,machine learning
Multidimensional knowledge-based annotation for ethical context-aware heritage data life cycles (INFINITY)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Theme: Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Destination: Innovative Research on the European Cultural Heritage and the Cultural and Creative Industries
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Italy,United Kingdom,Poland,Spain,Switzerland,Austria,Germany,Netherlands
Call: A European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage – Innovative tools for advanced data enrichment (HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01, 2024)
Start date: 2026-01-01
End date: 2029-06-30
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6379275.42
EU funding (EUR): 5971161.21
Participants: 17
Project status: SIGNED

INFINITY advances the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) with an innovative ecosystem of tools and methods that enhance the lifecycle management of Cultural Heritage Digital Objects (CHDOs). It focuses on creating enriched, multi-context descriptions of CHDOs through multidimensional knowledge graphs, supporting their nuanced, ethical and sustainable reuse. By embedding workflows, data provenance, IPR, and diverse cultural, historical and socio-political perspectives into CHDO descriptions, the project ensures inclusive and accurate representations. Outputs adhere to FAIR principles, ensuring they are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable in both commercial and non-commercial contexts.Key innovations include an open library of Semantic Web and AI-driven software components for metadata enrichment, multilingual knowledge extraction and explainable AI tools, all designed for seamless integration into existing Collection Management Systems . The project introduces scalable infrastructures to support large-scale crowdsourcing and citizen science campaigns, fostering collaborative CHDO annotation and reuse. Advanced interfaces provide intuitive access to CHDO, enabling responsible interaction by diverse users, including citizens, cultural organizations, researchers and creative industries. Five use cases covering a wide range of data enrichment, IPR and ethical reuse scenarios will frame the development, validation and exploitation of INFINITY’s solutions. To drive engagement and adoption, INFINITY will establish a stakeholder network, deliver capacity-building workshops, provide training resources and launch an open call for cultural institutions and creative industries. These initiatives aim to unlock the potential of CHDOs to foster societal connections, enable innovative business models and support cultural preservation. INFINITY's innovative toolkit for CHDO metadata ensures long term success for the ECCCH.

Keywords: cultural heritage objects,collection management,digital humanities,collaborative cloud,data spaces,digital twins,semantic web,artificial intelligence,open access,open source,data ethics
Vehicle Emission Retrofit Activities (VERA)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Mobility
Destination: Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Greece,Netherlands,Germany,Austria,Romania,Spain,United Kingdom,France,Belgium
Call: Development and demonstration of cost affordable and adaptable retrofit solutions for tailpipe and brake polluting emissions (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01, 2021)
Start date: 2022-12-01
End date: 2026-05-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 6056416.25
EU funding (EUR): 4695269.0
Participants: 19
Project status: SIGNED

VERA will develop, optimise and demonstrate innovative tailpipe retrofit solutions that address particle (sub-23nm) and NOx emissions of road vehicles running on gasoline and natural gas and driving high mileages within the city (taxi, delivery van, bus), while particular considerations will be made for NH3 emissions. System adaptability will be ensured by a central development methodology for all the retrofit systems, allowing fast and accurate optimisation according to the requirements of each application, while the cost will be minimised using innovative washcoats and compact packaging. A variety of brake retrofit solutions will be developed, deployed and optimised for brake particle emissions of road vehicles, comprising an active filtration system capturing the generated particles and innovative brake discs and pads to reduce brake wear. The combination of the two solutions will aim at the maximum reduction of brake particles, while alternative production techniques will be applied to reduce the cost. Brake particles from metro applications will be also addressed with an active filtration system and properly machined pads, covering two types of braking technologies. The brake solutions of VERA combine unique advantages: they can all be used for first installation on new vehicles, the discs and pads can be manufactured for any vehicle as replacement parts, while the capturing system can be applied from road vehicles to metros. Further to the systems, exposure of workers and passengers in a metro station will be assessed with combined field measurements and modelling of particle dispersion inside stations and tunnels. Following the detailed evaluation of the systems, an impact assessment study will highlight the benefits of the proposed solutions against their cost. Both environmental and health impacts will be analysed, while possible incentive and regulatory schemes for retrofitting will be considered in the scenarios of the cost-benefit analysis.

Keywords: tailpipe retrofits,brake retrofits,particle emissions,nox,nh3,health impacts,cost benefit analysis,incentives and regulation for retrofitting
Investigating virus-induced morbidity in filarial infections (VILARIA)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies  and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions , pharmacology, preventative  medicine, epidemiology and public health , digital medicine
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2024-STG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-02-01
End date: 2030-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499808.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499808.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Filarial parasites cause over 200 million infections globally. Filarial morbidity was presumably limited to the skin, eyes, and lymphatic vessels. However, my research generated evidence that Onchocerca volvulus infection also induces neurological disease including Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy (OAE). However, the causal mechanisms for neurological symptoms linked to O. volvulus infection are still unknown. Recently my research group co-discovered a virus (OVRV1) within O. volvulus. Being related to the rabies virus family, OVRV1 could potentially cause OAE. I will investigate the clinical implications of this virus in >1600 persons from 3 affected countries. Case-control studies will verify whether OVRV1 is a risk factor for OAE. In a cohort study of onchocerciasis-exposed children with neurological symptoms, I will investigate the presence of OVRV1 in cerebrospinal fluid and assess its neurotoxicity by seeding OVRV1-positive samples on neural organoids. Viral metagenomics on Mansonella perstans (most common filarial disease, >110 million infections) will determine if it also harbours OVRV1 or other viruses. Finally, I will establish a prospective pregnancy cohort (n=900) and follow-up their children to investigate the materno-foetal consequences of in utero exposure to filarial parasites and/or viruses. This project is expected to unveil new disease mechanisms and may lead to new diagnostic/treatment options. If OVRV1 is shown to be associated with OAE, it could serve as a biomarker to diagnose this condition. However if OVRV1 is found to be an O. volvulus-specific endosymbiont, it could be used to improve the performance of the current onchocerciasis diagnostic tests. It could even become a target for the development of new (macro)filaricidal drugs. Demonstrating that filarial infections can adversely impact pregnancy/child health will justify research on safe approaches to treat pregnant women and under-fives with ivermectin during mass drug administration.

Keywords: onchocerciasis mansonellosis virus epilepsy pregnancy
Smart management of energy and costs in museums. A chemical background for a control methodology for Temperature and Relative Humidity fluctuationss (SMARTMUS-E)

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: Chemistry
Countries involved: Czechia,Italy
Call: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04, 2022)
Start date: 2023-08-01
End date: 2026-01-31
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 207848.4
EU funding (EUR): 207848.4
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Fellow: Paola Lucero; Host institution: Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL,CZ); Supervisor: Karel Lemr (Department of Analytical Chemistry, DAC-UPOL) Co-supervisor: Petr Bednar (DAC, UPOL); Host institution and Supervisor secondment: Ca’Foscari University (CFU, IT) Isadora Antoniano; Host institution and Supervisor non-Academic Placement: Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice (GAV, IT), Silvia Salvini; Aim of the project: RO1: to give to the methodology that I published in 2020, for monitoring and control of fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity in museum environment, a chemical background considering materials degradation; RO2: to gain knowledge into materials degradation and determine what fluctuations can be tolerated by museum objects, without damage; RO3: To gain knowledge on historical buildings behavior and their capacity dumping outdoor weather variations RO4: to transfer the gained knowledge by training an initial set of end-users in cultural institutions to help them managing their energy consumption; Innovation: Creation of a methodology for characterization of museum indoor environment that considers material degradation. Enable conservation professionals to estimate how safe is museum environment in historical buildings under climate change influence. To contribute saving energy by allowing wider yet safe fluctuations of Temperature and Relative Humidity in museums with mechanical air conditioning systems; Procedure and data: Gain knowledge on materials behavior using analytical techniques to characterize degradation in mockup samples naturally and artificially aged and combine this data with the characterization of indoor environment in museums; Results: 2 Journal articles, 4 conference presentations, 7 workshops, 5 public events an online professional forum, online data repository for Temperature and Relative Humidity museum records Partner Institutions: GAV, Český Krumlov Castle, Viking Museum, Hist. Museum of Oslo, Nat. Heritage Institute CZ

Keywords: analytical chemistry,art materials,natural and artificial aging,energy saving,climate change
Understanding Long-term Trends in Multi-pathogen Epidemiology in Africa using Multiplex Serological and Molecular Assays (ULTIMASero)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Panel description: Medical technologies  and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, therapeutic approaches and interventions , pharmacology, preventative  medicine, epidemiology and public health , digital medicine
Countries involved: France,Senegal,Madagascar,Cameroon
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-12-01
End date: 2030-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2000000.0
Participants: 4
Project status: SIGNED

Enormous progress is being made in the fight against parasitic diseases such as malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, which is driving a long-term epidemiological shift in the burden of infectious diseases. Until recently, most febrile patients presenting to rural health facilities were presumptively treated for malaria. However, the decline in malaria cases coupled with the roll out of rapid diagnostic tests has revealed a substantial burden of non-malaria fevers. I hypothesise that the predominant disease burden in Africa is changing from parasites to viruses, and that the diversity of infecting pathogens is increasing over time. ULTIMASero aims to investigate long-term trends in the epidemiology of infectious diseases by taking a multi-pathogen approach using multiplex serological and molecular assays, epidemiological studies, and statistical modelling. This will be achieved through four aims: (i) Investigate febrile patients in longitudinal studies in Senegal, Cameroon, and Madagascar; (ii) Develop a multiplex serological assay for viral, parasitic, and bacterial pathogens in Africa; (iii) Create statistical and machine learning tools for multiplex data; and (iv) Implement sero-epidemiological analyses of long-term trends in infectious disease in general populations. The key technological output will be a multiplex serological assay using Luminex bead-based technology to measure antibodies to infectious diseases transmitted in Africa. The assay will test small volume blood samples for antibodies to >300 antigens from >100 pathogens. We will test samples from prospective cohorts of febrile patients to provide an in-depth assessment of the burden of febrile illness, and from 50,000 biobanked samples dating back over 30 years to assess long-term trends in multi-pathogen epidemiology in the general population. The knowledge generated from this interdisciplinary project will have major implications for how we study, track, prevent and treat febrile illness in Africa.

Keywords: infectious disease epidemiology serological diagnostics malaria statistical models machine learning surveillance fever
Chemotherapy-induced Alopecia - Relief Managed by Engineered Silk (CARMESilk)

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,United States
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-10-01
End date: 2028-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 401232.0
EU funding (EUR): 401232.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

This research project, CARMESilk, aims to develop an innovative solution for preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) to improve cancer patients' quality of life. CIA is one of the most distressing side effects of cancer, affecting up to 65% of cancer patients undergoing treatment, causing social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem, and depression. Doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic agent from the group of anthracyclines, is used as cancer drug in breast, ovary, bladder, and thyroid cancers, among others, and it has an incidence of CIA of 60-100%. Current therapies focus mainly on scalp cooling technology with limited availability, high cost, long-time treatment, and not recommended for children. For this reason, the development of effective CIA prevention technologies has the potential to be truly life-changing for cancer patients by alleviating the psychological distress associated with treatment and by empowering patients to maintain a sense of normalcy and control during a challenging period. CARMESilk, aims to create a novel, patient-friendly technology, silk fibroin-based, that selectively captures doxorubicin within the hair matrix, via minimally invasive routes, thereby preventing hair loss while still maintaining chemotherapy efficacy. The fabrication of a 3D bioprinted scalp model using human hair follicles will establish the way for personalized CIA prevention strategies. CARMESilk is an interdisciplinary project combining nanotechnology, materials science, and bioengineering with a patient-centric approach. The project, as a Global fellowship, will be performed over three years, in US (2 years) and in Germany (1 year), with experts in the tissue engineering field. The achievement of CARMESilk goals will represent an improvement in patients' quality of life, a proof of concept of the technology that can be applied to other chemotherapy agents, highly impacting CIA prevention during an already challenging period.

Keywords: nanoparticles,silk fibroin,3d bioprinting,microfluidics