Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Multiscattering Formalism: Casimir Effect and Related Topics (MUFO)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2015-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 193594.8
EU funding (EUR): 193594.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

CNRS is one of the most prestigious research institutions of Europe. Research work of this project will be carried out at the “Laboratoire de Physique Theorique et Modeles Statistiques” (LPTMS) in Orsay University. In the framework of this project, the fellow will get insight on one of the more fruitful and interesting developments on Casimir effect nowadays, the multiscattering formalism of Casimir effect. In this theoretical work, the fellow, under the supervision of one of the original developers of the multiscattering method, would extend the range of applicability of this method to new systems of theoretical and experimental interest. The project is divided in two parts, the first one is the study of Casimir effect in new geometries by the use of the multiscattering formalism: 1) Casimir effect between spheres and cylinders; 2) Effects of confinement in Casimir effect; 3) Implementation of a multiscattering based numerical method of Casimir effect. In the second part of the project, the goal is a generalization of the multiscattering formalism to study new systems that nowadays are beyond its range of applicability: 4) Interaction between arbitrary shaped charges and dielectrics; 5) The modification of the local density of states of the electromagnetic field because the presence of arbitrary shaped dielectrics in the system; 6) Study of dynamical situations, finite relative velocities and accelerations between bodies, and its connections with dynamical Casimir effect and Unruh effect. The level of interdisciplinarity of the proposed work is broad: dynamical and quantum-thermodynamical effects applied over systems of dielectrics and charges. We expect that the results of this project would be of interest in the community of Casimir effect and with experimental relevance.

Keywords: thermodynamics,statistical physics,quantum field theory
Quantum Correlations in Complex Systems (QUACOCOS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2014-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 182666.89
EU funding (EUR): 182666.89
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Quantum correlations in complex systems (QUACOCOS) constitute a key element of modern quantum information theory. This interdisciplinary field combines many concepts and tools from various mathematical and physical areas of research, ranging from complexity theory to quantum mechanics of large systems. Quantum correlations and entanglement are at the heart of many of the possible applications of quantum information theory. They provide the potential for unconditionally secure quantum cryptography and communication, are required for measurement based quantum computation and are involved in most of the famous quantum algorithms outperforming all classical equivalents. Furthermore these correlations are also fundamental to the physics of large and complex systems. Their role in condensed matter systems, such as e.g. phase transitions, is undoubted, in ionization procedures of quantum gases is commonly accepted and their potential involvement in complex biological systems, such as e.g. DNA and light harvesting complexes, is still subject to a controversial debate. This project aims at first developing the mathematical tools required for a thorough analysis of quantum correlations and entanglement in complex systems. These shall then be used to address many open questions in the physics of large complex systems and investigate potential applications thereof in quantum information science. The results are expected to shed light on the actual role entanglement and correlations play in biological systems, condensed matter systems and quantum algorithms.

Keywords: mathematical physics,quantum mechanics
Testing for “porous” genomic boundaries between habitat specialist populations of the spinner dolphin (DOLPHIN ECOLOGY)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-02
End date: 2015-01-01
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 270145.8
EU funding (EUR): 270145.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) contains six groups (ecotypes) that exhibit striking differences in morphology, ecology, and mating system, but little genetic differentiation at neutral loci. This pattern raises questions regarding the evolutionary mechanisms which could allow dramatic phenotypic divergence in the presence of high or recent gene flow. A lack of correspondence between genotype and phenotype is generally attributed to “porous” genomic boundaries, in which neutral genetic loci move freely between phenotypic groups, but loci under selection do not. However, few studies have directly tested for the presence of porous genomic boundaries because techniques for identifying loci under selection have been expensive and time-consuming until only recently. We propose to use recently developed next-generation sequencing technologies to simultaneously identify and genotype thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome for five spinner dolphin ecotypes to test for the presence of porous genomic boundaries between ecotypes. Adaptive loci will be identified based on their behavior as statistical outliers compared to the majority of the genome, and the function of these loci will be evaluated through mapping onto available mammalian genomes. Both adaptive and neutral variation will be compared with variation in phenotype and ecology to evaluate the relationships between these factors. We expect this study to provide insight into the genetic and ecological factors driving the evolution of phenotypic differentiation in the spinner dolphin, and to aid in the conservation of this species by revealing adaptive genetic variation and environmental parameters that are influential to the health of the species. Finally, this project will promote long-term research collaborations between the U.K., the U.S., and several Pacific Island nations.

Keywords: population biology,nature conservation,molecular evolution,molecular ecology,behavioral ecology,cetacean,natural selection
Genetic epidemiological investigation into the association between endometriosis and cutaneous melanoma (MELENDO2)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-08-01
End date: 2015-12-28
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 268555.2
EU funding (EUR): 268555.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Earlier work, including that led by the fellow during her PhD, suggests a higher melanoma risk in women with endometriosis, a prevalent and potentially debilitating disease with unknown aetiology. A genetic link has been speculated as pigmentary traits consistently associated with melanoma were also found to be associated with endometriosis risk. The present project will expand upon this intriguing but sparse scientific inquiry. The proposed research will combine cutting-edge genetics and genomics with traditional epidemiology to investigate the genetic overlap between endometriosis and melanoma in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) I & II, 2 prospective cohorts of 122,000 and 116,000 US nurses, respectively; and the “Etude Epidemiologique aupres de femmes de l’Education Nationale” (E3N), a prospective cohort involving 100,000 French women from the National Education System. The project will involve an outgoing phase of 24 months at the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital & Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, where analyses involving the NHS I & II cohorts will be performed; and a return phase of 12 months with the “Nutrition, Hormones and Women’s Health” Team of the Inserm U1018 Research Centre in Villejuif, France, where data from the E3N cohort will be analysed. This training experience will offer the fellow a unique opportunity to acquire new skills by learning emerging genetic epidemiology techniques while collaborating with one of the leading institutions in the field. The project will highly benefit the European community by providing the candidate with expertise in state-of-the-art methodologies in a fast evolving and important area of research, and by significantly contributing to increase the available knowledge on the aetiology of melanoma and endometriosis, two major health burdens in Europe.

Keywords: endometriosis,epidemiology,genetics,melanoma
The Set Theory of Semantic Theories of Truth (STSTT)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-07-01
End date: 2014-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209033.4
EU funding (EUR): 209033.4
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

This project will draw from techniques in contemporary descriptive set theory to develop more powerful tools for the analysis and application of semantic theories of truth. In particular, we shall use Gödel's constructible hierarchy to answer open question pertaining to revision theoretic truth definitions. More broadly, we shall develop a network of infinitary tableau systems for semantic theories of truth, drawing on techniques from descriptive set theory and mathematical proof theory. This work will provide the foundation for semantic theories that aim to talk about their own semantic concepts. Moreover, it will provide simple techniques for the production of consistency proofs for contemporary research into logics of truth.

Keywords: philosophy,logic
FISHING FOR MARKERS OF EFFLUENT EXPOSURE USING METABOLOMICS (FISHMETABOLOME)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-06-01
End date: 2014-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209033.4
EU funding (EUR): 209033.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Fish populations are declining in inland waters in many parts of Europe due, in part, to the impact of aquatic pollutants on fish health. In many aquatic environments fish are exposed to effluents from wastewater treatment works (WwTW), and these can contain complex mixtures of chemicals arising from human waste. The impact of many of these contaminants and their mixtures on fish health is unknown and remains to be investigated. With future pressures on water resources resulting in less dilution of WwTW effluents in some river catchments, there is a urgent need to develop monitoring tools to assess effluent exposure and its effects on fish health.The objectives of this project are to investigate how the (bio)chemical profiles change in fish blood as a result of exposure to WwTW effluents, and to identify key (bio)chemical signatures that could be used to monitor exposure to wastewater effluents. To do this, the fellow will use the exciting omics-based technique of metabolomics. This involves the holistic mass spectrometry profiling of as many of the biochemicals as possible in the blood and, in the context of this project, will also involve profiling of chemical contaminants and their metabolites also present in the samples. Fish will be exposed to WwTW effluents and the (bio)chemicals in their blood samples profiled to identify markers of effluent exposure and effect. The work will result in an array of candidate (bio)chemicals which can then be evaluated in future projects for biomonitoring of fish health in European rivers. The results will be of wide interest to the government regulatory bodies, environment protection groups, water and waste industries and the wider public in Europe. The project will bring Dr David to work with Professor Hill, and allow him to benefit from a number of scientific and complementary training activities which will prepare the fellow for an independent research career in environmental science.

Keywords: fish,metabolomic profiling,ecotoxicogenomic,biomarker,wastewater effluent,mass spectrometry,biomonitoring,ecotoxicology,water quality.
Integrated signalling networks in muscle stem cells: cell fate regulation by heparan sulfates (SATCELLOMICS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-11-01
End date: 2014-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 270145.8
EU funding (EUR): 270145.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Skeletal muscle stem cells (satellite cells - SCs), are undifferentiated progenitors that reside mitotically quiescent in a specialized anatomical niche between the plasma membrane of muscle fibres and the basal lamina: the SC niche. SCs can remain quiescent for long periods of time, but in response to injury become rapidly activated, proliferate and then undergo terminal differentiation. The molecular mechanisms that coordinate the multiple signals involved in regulation of SC fate decisions are still largely unknown. Many of these mechanisms reside within the SC niche, possibly integrated by highly plastic components of the niche such as heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). HS is a glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide containing variably sulfated disaccharide sequences and is present on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix associated with core proteins to form HSPGs. These are key components of stem cell niches where they play important roles in regulating signalling events that control cell fate decisions. Here I will undertake advanced training-through-research in key post-genomic technologies (particularly glycomics, quantitative affinity proteomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics) to underpin a systems biology approach to explore the role played by the SC niche in regulating SC fate decisions. The specific focus of the research project will be molecular mechanisms that are coordinated and integrated by HS and associated with two specific SC states: proliferation and differentiation. I will define the HS profiles, the set of proteins that interact with HS (HS-interactome) and whole transcriptomes in each state. I will then use bioinformatics tools to generate signalling network models to predict the molecular mechanisms involved in HS-coordinated integration of cell fate signals. Lastly, I will validate bioinformatics predictions by examining HS-dependence of candidate molecular mechanisms associated with SC fate transition.

Keywords: stem cells,skeletal muscle,satellite cells,heparan sulfate,proteomics,transcriptome,glycomics,bioinformatics
Understanding factors affecting durability of crop resistance genes (DURABLE RESISTANCE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2014-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 278807.4
EU funding (EUR): 278807.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In response to threats to global food security from population increase and climate change, there is an urgent need to develop UK crops that suffer less losses from diseases and produce sustainable yields, despite withdrawal of fungicides (EU legislation) and the need to mitigate climate change from agriculture (UK government targets). Thus, there is a need to develop strategies for deployment of crop resistance that is easily identified by breeders (ideally mediated by specific resistance (R) genes) and not easily rendered ineffective by rapid changes in pathogen populations (durable) or changes in the environment (stable). There is evidence that combining R gene and background (quantitative) resistance may make the resistance more durable. Availability of data sets relating to factors affecting durability of R genes over successive cropping seasons and new genomic information about the crop host and pathogen makes Brassica napus (oilseed rape)/ Leptosphaeria maculans (phoma stem canker) an ideal model system with which to develop a scheme for deriving criteria for selection and deployment of crop resistance. The work proposed in this project will involve 3 tasks. Task 1. Factors influencing durability of R genes in winter oilseed rape cropping considering data on the effect of background quantitative resistance on durability of R gene resistance and data on fitness costs of virulence Task 2. Understanding interactions between host and pathogen gene products in relation to durability/environmental stability of R genes using modeling and experimental approaches Task 3. Develop scheme to describe the factors affecting the durability of R genes and identify generic principles by understanding factors affecting the durability of R gene resistance, which can be applied to a wide range of crop-disease systems.

Keywords: natural sciences
Uncovering the Role of Notch Modifiers in the Generation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in the Embryo (FRINGEHE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 168896.4
EU funding (EUR): 168896.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC)-based therapies are becoming a great expectation for the cure of several disorders that require HSCs for treatment. However, the incapacity to generate and maintain fully potent transplantable HSCs in vitro is still nowadays one of the main limitations for their wide application in cellular therapies. The study of the molecular mechanisms underlying HSC ontogeny in embryos is thus of crucial importance in order to elucidate the genetic networks that control the emergence and expansion of these cells. HSCs are first and possibly entirely formed in arterial-endothelium during embryonic life, a process dependent on Notch-signalling. However, the molecular events regulating these signals are mainly unknown. Fringe-glycosyltransferases are Notch modifiers contributing to the differential response of Notch to distinct ligands. It is hypothesized that the cross-talk between Notch and its cognate ligands in the arterial endothelium compartment is primarily a consequence of Fringe-mediated modification and the driving-force towards endothelium-HSC transition. This project aims the elucidation of the role Fringe as modulators of Notch-signalling towards specification of HSC identity at mid-gestation mouse embryos, an issue that has not been addressed so far. This work will be initiated with the identification of the Fringe involved on HSC emergence and with the study on how the modulation of their expression is correlated with Notch-ligand responsiveness and formation of hematopoietic precursors in vitro. The results obtained in this part of the project will be the basis of further in vivo experiments, using Fringe knock-in and knock-out animal models. The execution of this proposal should provide relevant clues on important biological questions involving stemness and cell differentiation. Moreover, it will pave the way for the development of new and more robust strategies to produce and expand HSCs a crucial issue for regenerative medicine.

Keywords: developmental biology,embryonic hematopoiesis,notch signalling,stem cell biology
Comparative systems-level studies of animal appendage morphogenesis (ANAMORPH)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231547.2
EU funding (EUR): 231547.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding the transition from molecular to cellular patterns and then to elaborate biological forms remains a major challenge in developmental biology. Recent advances in biological imaging enable to study the complex mechanisms that control tissue and organ morphogenesis. I will focus on animal appendages that develop particular shapes and sizes to suit the lifestyle of the organisms. Among animal models, the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis offers a unique capacity for microscopic live imaging and tracking of all cells of developing appendages continuously from early specification up to late differentiation. Parhyale embryos undergo direct development from fertilized eggs into miniature adults, they are transparent and amenable to all sorts of embryological and functional genetic manipulations. Importantly, each Parhyale embryo develops a variety of specialized appendages along the anterior-posterior body axis that differ in size, shape and pattern. I will study how morphogenetic mechanisms are deployed differentially in these neighboring growing appendages to produce their morphological differences. Transgenic embryos expressing fluorescent tracers will be recorded with Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy in vivo throughout appendage development. Using these time-lapse recordings, I will first generate and compare the cell lineages of serially homologous appendages to identify patterns that account for their morphological differences. I will then quantify the cell behaviors that contribute to appendage growth and form, including rates and patterns of cell division and cell death and orientation of cell divisions. Finally, I will investigate at single-cell resolution how the Hox regulatory genes guide distinct cell behaviors to control appendage morphogenesis. This line of research will elucidate how dynamic patterns of gene activity control dynamic cell behaviors during development to generate the diversity of appendage and organ forms observed in nature.

Keywords: animal embryology,molecular genetics,functional biology,microscopy,appendage morphogenesis,hox genes,selective plane illumination microscopy,bioimaging,biological image analysis.