Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Conversion of CO2/H2O to Polyethylene through Cascade Electro-reduction–Polymerisation Catalysis (CO2Polymerisation)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Slovenia
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-11-01
End date: 2022-11-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 162040.32
EU funding (EUR): 162040.32
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The global production of polyethylene is over 100 million tones annually. Carbon dioxide is a major cause of global warming but at the same time, it is also an abundant feedstock for hydrocarbon energy fuels. Electrochemical reduction of CO2 into valuable chemical feedstocks such as polyethylene is a highly enticing challenge for simultaneous settling of energy and environmental issues. Currently, CO2 conversion to polyethylene occurs through an indirect two-step process including CO2 catalytic conversions to ethylene (CO2 hydrogenation) and ethylene to polyethylene (ethylene polymerization) using two different catalysts, separately. The novelty of my research is constructing a bifunctional catalyst for CO2 direct conversion to polyethylene through a cascade of electro-reduction–polymerization catalysis in the presence of water. So far, a catalyst that sequentially transforms CO2 into polyethylene has not yet been presented. Manifold catalysts have been demonstrated as potential candidates for CO2 polymerization to polyethylene. The state-of-the-art catalysts as constituents of the proposed bifunctional catalyst would be Copper and Palladium. Cu is responsible for binding *CO intermediates and converting them into C2H4 and Pd is highlighted for ethylene polymerization after Ziegler-type and metallocene-type catalysts. Using computational software packages, I will develop a multiscale and multiphysics model of direct CO2 electrochemical reduction to polyethylene over Cu-Pd bifunctional catalyst to predict the intermediates and products. To achieve this goal, I will carry out a quantum chemical analysis of the reaction pathway, a microkinetic model of the reaction dynamics, and a continuum model for mass transport of all species through the electrolyte. In parallel, computational achievements will be executed experimentally to produce a creative bifunctional catalyst from merging two different catalysts for the CO2 cascade transformation to polyethylene directly.

Keywords: carbon dioxide,polyethylene,electrochemical reduction,bifunctional catalyst,polymerization,continuum model,density functional theory,reaction mechanism,microkinetic model,multiscale modeling
Wavefront shaping system for nonlinear fiber-based microscopy and endoscopy (WAVESCOPE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Systems and communication engineering
Panel description: Electrical, electronic, communication, optical and systems engineering
Countries involved: Italy,Italy,France
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2019-PoC, 2019)
Start date: 2019-10-01
End date: 2021-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 105000.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

The WAVESCOPE project is about exploiting a novel optical concept recently introduced by the PI in the domain of medical imaging. This concept deals with the frontier research topic in the photonics, i.e. the self-control of the spatial quality of optical beams in multimode nonlinear optical fibers. The WAVESCOPE technology is poised to enable a breakthrough in the clinical domain, providing for the first time ever the stable delivery of high power and strongly focused optical beams with multimode optical fibers into the demanding domain of intraoperative imaging. In the state-of-the-art multimode nonlinear optical devices, propagation in multimode fibers is hampered by randomization of light beams, leading to beam scrambling after short lengths of fiber. This makes the use of multimode fibers unviable for real-time imaging, because of the necessary lengthy pre- and post-processing of the optical signal. Our approach is to exploit the intensity dependent refractive index of fibers to recover the spatial beam quality of a multimode wave. In the project we shall develop a new multimode fiber based device for scanning 3D samples with micrometer resolution by using ultrashort high peak power optical pulses, whereby fiber nonlinearity provides an environmentally robust compensation of temporal and spatial dispersion, thus preventing information spreading in time domain, and beam quality loss in the spatial domain. WAVESCOPE technology has applications in many industry fields: here we will demonstrate the proof-of-principle generation of high-resolution optical images in optical microscopy/endoscopy, thereby resolving an uncovered need on the introduction of the intraoperative pathologic assessment in oncology through the in-situ optical biopsy.

Keywords: optical fibers,kerr effect,nonlinear optics,optical solitons,multiphoton imaging,nonlinear microscopy,intraoperative pathology assessment,marker free microscopy,real time surgical margin assessment
Ultrasonic technology for bioprocess enhancement (USONIPRO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Biotechnology
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Poland
Call: Dedicated support to biotechnology SMEs closing the gap from lab to market (H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017, 2016)
Start date: 2016-06-01
End date: 2016-10-31
Duration (months): 5.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

BBH Biotech Polska was created with a thought of using sound waves to enhance and control microbial metabolism. After 3 years of research the team created a company and focused on using sound waves as a stimulating factor in enhancing alcohol production. From the day the company was established, its strategy and long term aim was to adjust its technology of sonic fermentation enhancement to recombinant proteins, fine chemicals and drug production. The biggest problem in recombinant protein production using microbial expression systems is that a part of produced proteins are being stuck in the periplasmic space while being transported outside the cell. Treating such loaded microorganisms with adjusted sound waves can destabilize the inner membrane and outer wall in order to reclaim those proteins. This innovative procedure allows the molecules to escape the periplasmic space to the cultivation medium without destroying the cell, which was so far the biggest obstacle. Currently there are only few available methods that solve this problem, and BBH Biotech Polska is the only company developing such solution in a form of technology which is highly effective and after Phase 1 – ready to enter the market. Users of this technology will be companies producing human and animal pharmaceutical proteins with microbial expression systems. Such pharmaceuticals are expensive products, which means that an increase in production even by little, e.g. 3 – 7%, is enough to give that company an annual increase in revenue form 30 even up to 80 million dollars Our technology increases production yield from a single cultivation from 30% to 90%, depending on the protein and the expression system. Such boost to productivity will not only hasten the growth of the market, but also decrease the cost of producing e.g. insulin or platelet factors. The corresponding drugs that use them as an active compound for diabetics or patients suffering from blood clotting disorders will also cheapen.

Keywords: biopharmaceuticals,animal healthcare,biotechnology,microbiology,soundwaves,ultrasounds,production enhancement
Mucosal Tolerance and Allergic Predisposition: Does it all start in the gut? (ALLERGUT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy
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 immunological tools and approaches, including therapies
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-07-01
End date: 2023-12-31
Duration (months): 78.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498175.0
EU funding (EUR): 1498175.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Currently, more than 30% of all Europeans suffer from one or more allergic disorder but treatment is still mostly symptomatic due to a lack of understanding the underlying causality. Allergies are caused by type 2 immune responses triggered by recognition of harmless antigens. Both genetic and environmental factors have been proposed to favour allergic predisposition and both factors have a huge impact on the symbiotic microbiota and the intestinal immune system. Recently we and others showed that the transcription factor ROR(γt) seems to play a key role in mucosal tolerance in the gut and also regulates intestinal type 2 immune responses. Based on these results I postulate two major events in the gut for the development of an allergy in the lifetime of an individual: First, a failure to establish mucosal tolerance or anergy constitutes a necessity for the outbreak of allergic symptoms and allergic disease. Second, a certain ‘core’ microbiome or pathway of the intestinal microbiota predispose certain individuals for the later development of allergic disorders. Therefore, I will address the following aims: 1) Influence of ROR(γt) on mucosal tolerance induction and allergic disorders 2) Elucidate the T cell receptor repertoire of intestinal Th2 and ROR(γt)+ Tregs and assess the role of alternative NFκB pathway for induction of mucosal tolerance 3) Identification of ‘core’ microbiome signatures or metabolic pathways that favour allergic predisposition ALLERGUT will provide ground-breaking knowledge on molecular mechanisms of the failure of mucosal tolerance in the gut and will prove if the resident ROR(γt)+ T(reg) cells can function as a mechanistic starting point for molecular intervention strategies on the background of the hygiene hypothesis. The vision of ALLERGUT is to diagnose mucosal disbalance, prevent and treat allergic disorders even before outbreak and thereby promote Public Health initiative for better living.

Keywords: allergic disorders
Future Trust Services for Trustworthy Global Transactions (FutureTrust)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Austria,Germany,Germany,Spain,South Africa,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Belgium,Belgium,Serbia,Türkiye,Georgia,United Kingdom,Luxembourg,Portugal,United Kingdom
Call: Trust eServices (H2020-DS-2015-1, 2015)
Start date: 2016-06-01
End date: 2019-08-31
Duration (months): 39.0
Total project cost (EUR): 7554330.61
EU funding (EUR): 6338948.16
Participants: 23
Project status: CLOSED

Against the background of the regulation 2014/910/EU on electronic identification (eID) and trusted services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS), the FutureTrust project aims at supporting the practical implementation of the regulation in Europe and beyond. For this purpose the FutureTrust project will address the need for globally interoperable solutions through 1) basic research with respect to the foundations of trust and trustworthiness, with the aim of developing new, widely compatible trust models or improving existing models, 2) actively driving the standardisation process, and 3) providing Open Source software components and trustworthy services as a functional base for fast adoption of standards and solutions. FutureTrust will demonstrate positive business cases for the reliance on electronic signatures, sealing services, and long-term authenticity of data and documents, all with a focus on accountability, transparency and usability. For a subset of use cases, carefully selected for relevance and visibility, the FutureTrust consortium will devise real world pilot applications for the public and private sector with a focus on legally significant global electronic transactions in between EU member states and with non-EU countries. The FutureTrust project will in particular develop a comprehensive Open Source validation service as well as a scalable preservation service for electronic signatures and will provide components for the eID-based application for qualified certificates across borders, and for the trustworthy creation of remote signatures and seals in a mobile environment. Furthermore, the FutureTrust project will extend and generalize existing trust management concepts to build a “Global Trust List”, which allows to maintain trust anchors and metadata for trust services and eID related services around the globe.
Extending the range of the glassy state: Exploring structure and property limits in metallic glasses (ExtendGlass)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced 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: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2015-AdG, 2015)
Start date: 2016-10-01
End date: 2023-10-31
Duration (months): 85.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2434090.0
EU funding (EUR): 2434090.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Metallic glasses (MGs), among the most actively studied metallic materials, have attractive mechanical properties (high elastic limit) but show work-softening and lack ductility. Recent work suggests the as-cast state of MGs can be much altered by thermomechanical treatments: rejuvenation (to higher energy) offers improved plasticity (perhaps even desirable work-hardening); relaxation (to lower energy) offers access to ultrastable states. Work of the PI has just shown that even simple thermal cycling can induce rejuvenation comparable with that from heavy plastic deformation, while elastic stress cycling can accelerate annealing. The research aims to extend the range of glassy states and to explore the consequences of unusual states, particularly for mechanical properties and for phase stability/crystallization. One possible limit to rejuvenation is the onset of fast crystallization. This regime will be studied for its relevance to crystallization of melts of low glass-forming ability, of interest to fill a gap in existing crystal-growth theory and for application in phase-change memory. Nine work-packages address these and further issues: exploitation of inhomogeneity in MGs to improve properties and enable processing, e.g. to permit stress relief without accompanying undesirable embrittlement; probing the maximum extent of anisotropy in MGs and the links between anisotropic structure and flow. Complementing the many mechanical and structural studies, molecular-dynamics simulations will be used to identify local events relating to rejuvenation/relaxation, to characterize (at atomic level) the anisotropy induced by anelastic strain and viscoplastic flow, to characterize the processes at the solid/liquid interface in pure-metal systems to understand crystal-growth mechanisms, especially why growth of ccp metals is so fast (and glass-forming ability very low). From preliminary results, it is expected that properties can be widened much beyond those of as-cast MGs.

Keywords: glasses
Point of care medical device enabling patient self-assessment for acne diagnosis support. (ScanZ)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Theme: Treating and managing disease
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Serbia
Call: Clinical research for the validation of biomarkers and/or diagnostic medical devices (H2020-SMEINST-1-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2015-05-31
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

mySkin aims to offer a medically certified skin imaging point of care device for acne diagnosis support, ScanZ. The product is available in two forms: a consumer electronic version for patients to perform a self-analysis and track the health of their skin away outside the clinic; a premium version for use by health care professionals (doctors/nurses) to speed up the assessment and support diagnosis. ScanZ is easy-to-use handheld device and connects to the users smart device enabling instant viewing and real-time info sharing between the patient and the doctor, replacing follow ups. The device also remotely connects with the data server for data of images creating a large catalogue of clinical traces, enabling big data analytics of acne. The ScanZ tool is able to understand what is happening under the skin and take measurements, in the sebaceous glands and the various layers of the epidermis. It is self-learning and gets to know the user over time, improving its recommendations and predictions the more it is used. For patients ScanZ means they can save time by not having to attend follow up vistis yet get the same service, and for doctors it means they can concentrate on patients with more severe problems and reduce the waiting list time. ScanZ has reached TRL 7 and now requires funding to get it medically certified allowing it to be used by doctors support their diagnosis. ScanZ project is proposed by a Serbian SME, mySkin, specialised on skin diagnostic tools

Keywords: point of care,acne,medical diagnostic device,skin care,self analysis tool
Turning BacTERia into factories of BIOdegradable PLASTICS (BterBioPlastics)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Spreading excellence and widening participation
Programme: Widening participation and spreading excellence
Theme: Other Widening
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Countries involved: Portugal
Call: Widening Fellowships (H2020-WF-01-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-05-01
End date: 2021-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 147815.04
EU funding (EUR): 147815.04
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Plastics are littering our environment, contributing to health problems and it is urgent to find sustainable alternatives. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural (not synthetic) and non-toxic polyesters and can be derived from bacterial fermentation. However, the amount produced is low for the demand, costs for production are high and non-competitive when compared to plastics from crude oil. Therefore, it is urgent to overcome this limiting factor by increasing the production of biodegradable bioplastics. This proposal is promising and can impact our everyday life through innovative ways to increase production and versatility of bio-based degradable plastics. Herein, I propose to improve the production of different kinds of PHAs through two chassis: Sinorhizobium meliloti, and Pseudomonas putida, both recognized as safe (GRAS status) and able to grow in fermenters. First, I aim to use the gained knowledge during my PhD training in small RNA regulators (sRNAs) in S. meliloti, as well as the expertise of my host group in RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression and RNases, to improve the production of one kind of PHA in the first chassis. Second, I will implement transcriptome analysis of P. putida and generate synthetic sRNAs as an innovative vector for the control of key enzymes involved in PHA production in the second chassis. Finally, pilot fermentations and metabolic modulation strategies will upscale and upgrade the bioplastics accumulated in both organisms (collaborating with world experts in bioplastics: short-stay and secondment) and connect us to the non-academic sector. This multidisciplinary project will be broadly advertised to different audiences. I will acquire new knowledge, transferrable skills, training and collaborations. This will prompt my career to international levels in synthetic biology and domestication of microbes as bio-alternative for relevant industrial purposes. In the end, I will be prepared to become an independent scientist.

Keywords: bioplastics,biodegradable,synthetic biology,molecular biology,biochemistry,bioinformatics,biotechnology,bioengineering
Bridging Biobanking and Biomedical Research across Europe and Africa (B3Africa)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Research Infrastructures
Theme: Research infrastructures
Destination: Support and infrastructures
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Austria,Uganda,South Africa,Sweden,Sweden,France,Kenya,Nigeria
Call: International cooperation for research infrastructures (H2020-INFRASUPP-2014-2, 2014)
Start date: 2015-07-01
End date: 2018-09-30
Duration (months): 39.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2035250.0
EU funding (EUR): 2001250.0
Participants: 11
Project status: CLOSED

B3Africa - Bridging Biobanking and Biomedical Research across Europe and Africa will dramatically improve and facilitate the development of better predictive, preventive and personalized healthcare worldwide. The rapidly evolving African biobanks are an invaluable resource: The African population has the greatest genomic diversity on the planet and represents an incredible resource of information to advance biomedical research. B3Africa aims to implement a cooperation platform and technical informatics framework for biobank integration between Africa and Europe. The collaboration harmonizes the ethical and legal framework, biobank data representation and bioinformatics pipelines for sharing data and knowledge among biobanks and allowing access for researchers from both continents. Main actors from the relevant initiatives including Human Heredity and Health in Africa project (H3Africa), European Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources research infrastructure (BBMRI-ERIC) and LMIC Biobank and Cohort Network (BCNet) collaborate in B3Africa to address the following objectives: • Defining an ethical and regulatory framework for biobank data sharing between Europe and Africa • Defining data models for representing biobank and research data based on existing best practices, standards and ontologies • Designing an informatics platform using existing open-source software (with eBioKit and BiBBox as essential modules) integrating workflows for biobank applications • Implementation of an education and training system for information and capacity building • Validating the B3Africa concept with existing biobanks from both continents B3Africa will provide the critical mass to maximise efficiency in biomedical research, supports defragmentation through integration and allows efficient leverage of existing biobanks and e-infrastructures in Europe and Africa. The technical informatics framework will be designed for easy upscaling and integration with other research infrastructures.

Keywords: biobanks,bioinformatics