Laureates cohort #1
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Discover the projects selected as part of the first cohort of the REACH-UPPA call, a programme designed to support research and innovation initiatives carried out at the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA).
This first selection highlights ambitious, multidisciplinary projects that showcase the diversity of expertise and research dynamics at UPPA. Discover the awardees and their projects.
- PhD from the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (2023)
- 2023–2026: Stockholm University – Department of Zoology
- Research project: Parasite-mediated sexual selection in the context of climate change
- Research theme: Adapting coastal, forest and mountain ecosystems to make them more resilient
Project summary:
Objective: To study the impact of parasitic infections on sexual selection and the long-term viability of wild brown trout populations in the context of climate change.
- In particular, the project will analyse host–parasite interactions, which remain less studied than abiotic factors such as temperature. The research will focus on the parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, for which brown trout is the primary host.
- It will determine how infection influences intra- and intersexual selection, as well as the evolutionary dynamics and fitness of offspring in trout populations.
- PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (2026)
- Research project: Development of a physics- and data-driven framework to discover constitutive laws for geomaterials from in-operando X-ray tomography experiments
- Research theme: Reconciling development, a safe environment and biodiversity preservation
Project summary:
Objective: To develop a method for discovering new constitutive laws for geomaterials (soils, rocks, sands and concrete) from detailed experimental data obtained through X-ray tomography under real-world, in-operando conditions.
The project addresses the limitations of conventional models in materials mechanics, which in particular struggle to predict strain localisation. The project will therefore leverage the microscopic information provided by imaging techniques to better understand and model the mechanical behaviour of geomaterials.
The methodology will combine:
- an experimental database bringing together microscopic measurements and full-field strain data;
- thermodynamics-informed machine learning techniques;
- the development of interpretable, physics-based constitutive laws.
- PhD from the University of Cyprus (2025)
- 2025–2026: FEMTO-ST Institute, Université de technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM)
- Research project: Development of a digital twin for a French smart community integrating hybrid renewable energy sources
- Research theme: Questioning boundaries and rising to the challenge of differences
Project summary:
Objective: To develop a digital twin of the French energy network in order to better manage and anticipate changes in the energy system.
The digital twin will integrate both conventional energy sources (gas and hydropower) and renewable energy sources, at both large scale (wind and photovoltaic power) and household level. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region will serve as the primary study area.
The project will also integrate artificial intelligence tools to:
- forecast changes in energy production and consumption;
- rapidly detect anomalies;
- perform diagnostics;
- anticipate maintenance needs.
- PhD from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) (2023)
- Erwin Schrödinger Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southampton (abroad phase, 2024–2025) / Graz University of Technology (return phase, 2026–present)
- Research project: Cross-kingdom communication between plants and microorganisms: deciphering the role of microbiome (M) genes in improving plant health
- Research theme: Reconciling development, a safe environment and biodiversity preservation
Project summary:
Objective: To reduce pesticide use and sustainably strengthen crop protection by harnessing plants’ natural defence mechanisms and their interactions with the microbiome.
The project focuses on plant-parasitic nematodes, which are responsible for significant agricultural losses, and investigates the role of M genes involved in the assembly and functioning of the plant microbiome. The objective is to determine how these genes can promote the recruitment of beneficial microorganisms and enhance plant resistance to pathogens.
Rice and the nematode Meloidogyne graminicola will be used as model organisms. Experiments and computational analyses will be conducted to investigate M gene activity throughout rice development and their contribution to plant defence.
- PhD from the University of Florence and Siena (2024)
- Research Fellow, University of Florence (May 2024 – March 2025); Research Fellow, Ragusa Foundation for the Humanities, New York (April – September 2025)
- Research project: Paper Borders: Migration Control, Consular Practices and the Construction of the “Undesirable” Figure in Interwar Argentina (1919–1939)
- Research theme: Representing and shaping the territories of the future
Project summary:
Objective: To study the practical management of migration in Argentina during the interwar period (1919–1939), focusing on the role of administrative authorities and consulates in the control, classification and documentation of migrants. The research will examine relations between Argentina, Italy and Spain, particularly in the context of Italian anti-fascist exiles and refugees linked to the Spanish Civil War.
The objective is to understand how administrative and consular officials constructed “paper borders”, i.e. the gap between official legal rules and their actual implementation. In particular, the project seeks to show how often discretionary and variable decisions influenced the selection of migrants and shaped the boundaries between social inclusion and exclusion.
The research will draw primarily on administrative and consular archives and digital databases accessible in the three countries under study.