Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Understanding intestinal intercellular communication using Light Induced Synchronized Protein Secretion (GRIPP)

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 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 202125.12
EU funding (EUR): 202125.12
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Intercellular communication between epithelial intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and their niche Paneth cells is essential for intestinal homeostasis. It deteriorates with age promoting disease onset such as inflammation and cancer. Thus, understanding age-associated alterations in stem-niche cell communication is crucial for developing interventions to optimize tissue function in later years. To communicate, Paneth cells secrete ligands instructing proliferation and differentiation of ISCs. ISCs receive these ligands via the respective receptors on their plasma membrane. While the signaling pathways of their communication are comprehensively described, the secretory membrane transport from the inside of the cell towards the cell surface of the ligands and receptors are only poorly understood. This project will identify how ISCs and their niche cells direct the secretory transport of receptor and ligand proteins for efficient intercellular communication at the cell surface and how directed secretion functions as an intestinal homeostasis regulator. First, I will establish a novel optogenetic tool in intestinal organoids enabling spatiotemporal resolved tracing of synchronized signal secretion in ISCs and niche Paneth cells using live imaging. Second, I will reroute directed secretory transport by addition of GPI-anchors, targeted signaling motif and gene removal. In combination with transcriptomics, I will study the effects of disturbed secretion on intestinal homeostasis. Third, I will unveil alterations in directed secretory transport with age and age-related dysfunctions. The proposed project will elucidate how directed secretory transport between ISCs and their neighboring niche cells determines stem cell function for tissue homeostasis. Overall, it holds the potential to uncover age-related changes in directed signal secretion, opening new avenues for treatments improving age-associated intestinal dysfunction.

Keywords: tissue homeostasis,ageing,stem cell niche,organoids,cell cell communication,secretory membrane transport,optogenetics
Support to SET Plan Implementation Working Group and European Technology and Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy (SEETIP Ocean)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Climate, Energy and Mobility
Theme: Energy
Destination: Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Belgium,Spain,Ireland,Portugal,Italy,France,United Kingdom
Call: Support to the activities of the ETIPs and technology areas of the SET Plan (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02, 2021)
Start date: 2022-08-01
End date: 2025-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 788254.25
EU funding (EUR): 788254.0
Participants: 9
Project status: SIGNED

SEETIP Ocean’s mission is to enhance cooperation and collaboration amongst stakeholders both inside and outside of the European ocean energy sector. This mission is broken down into 6 objectives: 1. Maximise European scientific excellence in ocean energy 2. Make sustainability and the Just Transition an integral part of ocean energy’s development 3. Build a deeper understanding of how ocean energy can optimally fit into the wider energy, industrial & infrastructure systems and planning systems, and help realise this integration 4. Empower the SET Plan Ocean Energy Implementation Working Group and other public authorities by monitoring, analysing and reporting annual commentary on the sector’s progress 5. Reinforce and expand the ocean energy network through strong outreach actions 6. Continue the work of ETIP Ocean and SET Plan Ocean Energy IWG after the project ends Ocean energy can power European society and economic life with electricity that is renewable, dependable and in harmony with local communities and environments. To reach this potential, sectoral stakeholders must collaborate, share knowledge and avoid duplication of efforts. SEETIP Ocean will do this by supporting the activities of both the European Technology & Innovation Platform for ocean energy (ETIP Ocean) and the SET Plan Ocean Energy Implementation Working Group. The project’s objectives will be achieved through coordination actions bringing individuals and organisations together to exchange knowledge, create new knowledge and build more and deeper connections. Widespread knowledge-sharing will be facilitated via webinars and workshops. Based on these exchanges, SEETIP Ocean will publish accessible studies and reports that will be widely disseminated across and beyond the ocean energy sector. The SET Plan Ocean Energy IWG’s work will be supported with annual updated information on sector’s progress and policy and funding support. Up-to-date and accurate data will inform the IWG’s decision-making.

Keywords: ocean energy,etip ocean,set plan
Unravelling the chemical-physical principles of life through minimal synthetic cellularity (MinSynCell)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Panel description: For all organisms : Molecular biology , biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics , synthetic and chemical biology, drug design, innovative methods and modelling
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2022-COG, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2028-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999167.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999167.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

A grand challenge in bottom-up synthetic biology is to design and construct synthetic cells with life-like properties from a minimal number of parts. Achieving this goal would be a major engineering feat and enable an understanding of how living systems work from the perspective of physical chemistry. Towards this, we have exploited bottom-up approaches and generated new insights into the impact of compartmentalization on the thermodynamics and kinetics of incorporated enzyme reactions. Our findings that dynamic coacervation can ignite dormant enzyme reactions provides the conceptual framework for our plan to build sustained out-of-equilibrium synthetic cellular systems. In MinSyn, the aims are to: 1) Define how molecular reaction networks are tuned by compartmentalization. 2) Build minimal synthetic compartments with self-sustained, out-of-equilibrium behaviour. 3) Utilize communication to coordinate reaction networks within populations of cells. Together, these objectives test our overarching hypothesis that sustained out-of-equilibrium systems can be established by interconnecting three features: molecular reaction networks, compartmentalization and communication. Key to this endeavour is our unique combination of chemical, biochemical and biophysical tools for quantitative characterization of synthetic cellular systems. We are primed to address the major engineering challenge of building sustained out-of-equilibrium synthetic cellular systems and to tackle a central problem in biological sciences: “How do biological cells and tissues sustain life from collections of non-living molecules?” Our interdisciplinary approach will provide novel tools to the community and represents a unique multidisciplinary approach that will ultimately define the chemico-physico parameters of life. This can lead to unprecedented opportunities to rationally engineer molecular systems which may supersede biological capabilities.

Keywords: bottom up synthetic biology,cell free expression systems,coacervates,synthetic cells
Cogo - all ride in one app. Cogo gathers electric shared bikes, scooters, cars and mopeds from 250 mobility operators in more than 700 cities, and is now ready to launch the full-service platform. (Cogo)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Innovative Europe
Programme: European innovation ecosystems
Theme: Elevating the scalability potential of European business
Destination: Elevating the scalability potential of European business
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Denmark
Call: Women TechEU (HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02, 2022)
Start date: 2023-07-01
End date: 2024-06-30
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 107142.86
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Bibi Blomqvist co-founder and COO of Cogo ApS. Cogo is an app that gathers shared rides for frictionless mobility and a better tomorrow. In Cogo you can find more than 250 mobility operators of shared bikes, scooters, cars and mopeds and can be used in more than 700 cities worldwide. I founded Cogo back in March 2020 during the pandemic, with two old colleagues from the management group of momondo, later KAYAK part of Booking Holdings. We founded Cogo with a mission to move people away from short private car trips and on to shared mobility, to help create more sustainable cities. My driver for starting Cogo is that traffic in our cities and the derived CO2 emissions are one of the biggest challenges we need to solve in our lifetime. The industry of shared mobility has come to a stage where the complexity and fragmentation is ready for an aggregator level to reach the full potential shared mobility can offer. To create a successful aggregator that has the perfect combination of best user content, product users love and the right business model is my niche expertise. During this programme we launch and roll-out Cogo full-service platform where users can start, stop, pay and manage all trips across multiple shared mobility operators within the Cogo app. Cogo is currently pre-revenue and will with the launch of the full-service platform start to generate revenue. This project will set-up and execute on a clear strategic and technical roll-out playbook from launch in our home market to roll-out throughout Europe. We will set-up and establish the technical platform to scale quickly yet controlled with Cogo Console for multi-partner operational control including a well-thought through complex revenue management system and strategy to maximise shared mobility utilisation while building a solid revenue foundation. The activities the Women TechEU programme will support outside fast forwarded product development and market expansion are business model validation.

Keywords: maas,shared mobility,green tech,deep tech
POROus media: Life and dEath of their wAves and Flames (POROLEAF)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and Processes Engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2023-STG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499942.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499942.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Turbulent combustion of fossil fuel remains an important source of energy creation and propulsion worldwide, generating pollutant emissions endangering both human health and climate. A major factor inhibiting the mitigation of emissions pertains to combustion instabilities, i.e.: large pressure oscillations resulting from a coupling between unsteady combustion and pressure waves. Carrying out the combustion within porous inert media holds great promise for lean combustion, owing notably to a strong heat recirculation effect occurring inside them. Despite the recognition that porous materials are natural wave absorbers, very little has been studied so far regarding the potential synergy between combustion instabilities and porous media. POROLEAF aims to pioneer the field of research residing at the intersection between the disciplines of waves, turbulent combustion, and porous media. A new set of scientific challenges will be introduced, related to the complex flow physics involved in porous media combustion, as well as the difficulty of accessing the physical fields within the pore matrix. To tackle these challenges, I will build on the skills developed during my thesis in the characterization of porous media microstructure, as well as recent advances in 3D printing technology for heat resistant materials, to create porous samples allowing optical access. This will pioneer the way for a new set of state-of-the-art experiments. I aim to leverage decades of previous work in combustion instabilities and focus on the new behaviors introduced by porous media. In particular, the effects of turbulence, entropy, vaporization, and flame dynamics will need to be re-evaluated in light of porous media interactions. The improved knowledge of these principles will enable unprecedented understanding of the influence of porous media properties on the nonlinear flame response. This will directly assist in the design of cleaner and more stable combustion processes.

Keywords: porous media,combustion instabilities,waves,flames
Anticancer Chaotropic PVA Micelles with DNA-motif-mediated Targeting (ChaoPVA)

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: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023 (HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01, 2023)
Start date: 2024-04-01
End date: 2026-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165312.96
EU funding (EUR): 165312.96
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In this project, I propose an innovative nanoscale therapeutic system for the optimized delivery of ellipticine (Elli), as a proof of concept, to cancer cells. Utilizing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)—a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer—we will form micelles that encapsulate Elli within their hydrophobic core. To overcome challenges associated with cellular uptake and nanoparticle´s trafficking, we will functionalize the surface of the micelles with boron clusters to endow the nanocarrier with chaotropic activity, thereby facilitating enhanced membrane translocation. Further, we will integrate DNA motifs, specifically pyramid-shaped linkages (L-Py), into the boron cluster framework through coordination bonds. This modification is anticipated to permit selective targeting of cancer cells, thereby maximizing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissues. The therapeutic efficacy of the resulting complex, formulated as Elli@APVA/n(L-Py)‒[B12Br12-n]2-, will be comprehensively evaluated using both in vitro 3D cell culture models and in vivo mimicking approaches, including 3D bioprinting. Overall, this project will allow me to carry out a 2-year project independently, growing towards a mature, professional, and independent researcher in the drug delivery field, reinforcing my expertise on advanced characterization of nanoparticle-cell interactions.

Keywords: nanomedicine hydrogel materials therapeutic polymers drug delivery active targeting
Analogue Icy Moon Simulations (AIMS)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Universe Sciences
Panel description: Astro -physics/ -chemistry/ -biology; solar system; planetary systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; space sciences; astronomical instrumentation and data
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2024-COG, 2024)
Start date: 2025-07-01
End date: 2030-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1996096.0
EU funding (EUR): 1996096.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Icy moons with subsurface oceans in the outer solar are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Among these bodies, the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a high astrobiological potential. From south polar fissures in its icy crust, Enceladus expels previously dissolved and suspended subsurface ocean material into space in the form of ice grains and plume gas. Until 2017, before the end of the space mission, mass spectrometers aboard the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft orbiting Saturn sampled and analyzed Enceladus subsurface material during several flybys. The analysis of Cassini’s mass spectrometer data obtained from the plume material suggested a diverse inventory of chemical species of biological interest. With AIMS, I will explore the habitability of Enceladus’ subsurface ocean by simulating the geochemical aqueous synthesis and alteration of chemical species under subsurface geophysical conditions relevant to Enceladus. The proposed simulations will thus track the chemical evolution of species during their ascent through the ocean from the moon’s hydrothermally-active rocky core in order to further constrain interpretations and provide new insights into Cassini data and also provide additional feedback and guidance for future space missions to Enceladus. The AIMS-research would be accomplished with two interrelated but operationally independent experiments: (i) hydrothermal (HT) reactor & (ii) ocean-evolution (OE) reactor, to simulate subsurface geo-chemical and -physical processes in the core, ocean and icy vent. This will advance our understanding of synthesis, degradation, alteration, and evolution of organic, inorganic and also biogenic material before it would incorporate into ice grains or plume gas. The results from AIMS research could be used to further constraint subsurface geophysicochemical models to explore the habitability of Enceladus and also to extrapolate to future missions towards other icy moons.

Keywords: icy moons,enceladus,europa,habitability,subsurface ocean,hydrothermal chemistry,space missions,extraterrestrial life,cassini space mission,europa clipper space mission,ice grains,organic compounds,biosignatures
Sustainable exploration and biodiscovery of novel products and processes from extreme aquatic microbiomes to expedite the circular bioeconomy (XTREAM)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Programme: Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Theme: Bio-Environment
Destination: Other Bio-environnement destinations
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Norway,Spain,Germany,Netherlands,United Kingdom,Iceland,Ireland
Call: Targeting aquatic extremophiles for sourcing novel enzymes, drugs, metabolites and chemicals (HORIZON-CL6-2024-CIRCBIO-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4499618.75
EU funding (EUR): 4499618.75
Participants: 14
Project status: SIGNED

Microorganisms thriving in extreme environments are a largely untapped reservoir of enzymes, chemicals, and pharmaceutical compounds. Their unique metabolic pathways and regulatory mechanisms enable them to survive under harsh conditions and represent invaluable resources to produce innovative bio-products, offering solutions to address challenges that conventional model organisms cannot. However, extremophile microorganisms remain remarkably underutilized as providers of bio-based solutions. Sampling extreme environments, screening, identifying and isolating the pertinent microbes is cumbersome, costly and imposes a significant environmental footprint, resulting in low yields, elevated costs, and extended times to market. Developing innovative methodologies is imperative to surmount these barriers in the study of extremophile microbiomes, and to leverage their capabilities for ecological and economic benefits. XTREAM will unlock the potential of aquatic extremophiles for the discovery of enzymes, drugs, metabolites and chemicals by interdisciplinarily developing innovative tools to facilitate rapid, efficient and sustainable exploration of extreme microbiomes, heralding a new era in the industrial application of extremophiles. The expected results of XTREAM include discovering microbes, enzymes, resistance genes and biosynthetic clusters, with a hybrid workflow of in silico and microfluidics-based discovery, resulting in the commercialization of e.g. ≥200 enzymes for biocatalysis and biorefining, 3 new solutions for antifouling, increasing the revenue of our industrial partners by ca. 10%. XTREAM assembles 5 leading European SMEs, 4 academic teams and 4 RTOs that have pioneered approaches in functional metagenomics, extremophiles, microfluidics, microbial ecology, and synthetic biology. Diverse XTREAM partners (from synthetic biology to ingredients) at different stages in the research-to-market process provides a unique opportunity for broad value creation.

Keywords: extremophiles,biodiscovery,enzymes,metabolites,biogenics,remote sensing,deep sea sponges,polar,microalgae,microbiome,omics,machine learning ai,rri,metabolic modelling,microfluidics
An In-depth Look at Nanoplastics and Antibiotic Resistance (NPLAMR)

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: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-11-01
End date: 2027-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194074.56
EU funding (EUR): 194074.56
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and plastic pollution are among the top ten emerging global challenges identified by the United Nations Environment Programme, posing significant threats to environmental health. Recent studies suggest that nanoplastics (NPs) can penetrate bacterial cells and potentially enhance horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. However, the mechanisms by which NPs invade bacteria, and the potential for reversing this process, remain unclear. Therefore, the NPLAMR project aims to identify the types of NPs that most contribute to the emergence and spread of ARGs, determine the size threshold of NPs capable of penetrating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and elucidate the mechanisms of NPs invasion and their roles in the propagation of AMR. The project will qualitatively detect NPs in environmental samples and quantitatively assess key NP types, ARG classes, and mobile genetic elements that facilitate the spread of ARGs. Through culture experiments, NPLAMR will determine the size threshold of NPs capable of invading antibiotic-degrading bacteria and evaluate potential hazards by analyzing changes in the resistome, mobilome, and metabolome of these bacteria. Finally, microcosm experiments will co-culture NPs with environmental microbial communities, isolate invaded microbes, and assess their HGT rates to determine which antibiotic-resistant bacteria are most affected by NPs. The cutting-edge metagenomics and bioinformatics facilities at ICRA (the host), along with its specialized expertise, will enable the fellow to become a leading expert in microbial ecology. The project will present its findings in an accessible way to raise public awareness about plastic waste and AMR, thereby increasing attention to environmental health. It will also offer scientific support for developing strategies and policies to address AMR and NPs pollution.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance,plastic pollution,horizontal gene transfer,environmental settings