NEOLAiA - Presentation of the winners of the NEOLAiA Research Collaboration Support Fund (4th call)

Introduction to the 11 new awardees funded by the 4th call of the ANR support fund

As part of the NEOLAiA European Alliance, the University of Tours continues to pursue its goal of developing scientific collaborations, thanks to the research collaboration support fund backed by the France 2030 plan!

This fourth, and penultimate call, has supported 11 projects led by researchers from the University of Tours. From scientific publications and international mobility to event organization and the preparation of European projects, these initiatives showcase the wealth of collaborations developed with the Alliance's partner universities.
 

The 11 winning projects of the 4th call (2026–2027)

• The ChildSafe-NEOLAiA project, focusing on the issue of violence against children—specifically intra-familial sexual abuse (incest)—in collaboration with the universities of Jaén, Örebro, Salerno, and Suceava. The ChildSafe-NEOLAiA project aims to address these issues by establishing a "Living Lab" in Tours that brings together researchers, civil society stakeholders, and field professionals, and by developing a proposal for a European research project - Project lead: Catherine Belzung, researcher-lecturer, iBrain
   
• Collaboration on a behavioral and neurophysiological study of sheep, in partnership with the University of Nicosia. Support from the ANR fund will enable mobility between Tours and Nicosia to establish a collaborative research program in translational cognitive neuroscience using sheep as a large animal model - Co-leads: Scott Love, Research Scientist (UMR PCR), and Elina Garcia (PCR)
   
• Support for doctoral mobility within the framework of a joint supervision arrangement with the University of Jaén. The thesis subject to the joint supervision agreement focuses on "Instrumentalists in New Spain (16th and 17th centuries) and their repertoire." It is supervised by Philippe Canguilhem (Tours) and Javier Marin Lopez (Jaén) - Project lead: Joaquin Sergio Cerrillo Becerra, PhD candidate, CESR.
   
• Research visit to the University of Salerno, focusing on data quality and data-centric artificial intelligence applied to health research - Project lead: Sajda Orellana, PhD candidate, LIFAT.
   
• Mobility period at Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania, to study the magnetic and plasmonic properties of non-equilibrium nanoalloys for advanced applications - Project lead: Marwa Lassoued, Research Engineer, GREMAN.
   
• Support for organizing the "Ethics, Humanism, and the Digital Age" Interdisciplinary Ethics Biennale in Tours, as well as for publishing a collective volume, in partnership with the University of Ostrava. Project co-leads: Jimmy Bordarie, Lecturer-Researcher (QUALISPSY), and Audrey Damiens, Associate Professor of Private Law (IRJI). [Following a change to the Biennale program, the funding was ultimately not accepted by the project team]
   
• Support for publishing a collective volume within the NEOLAiA network "Narrating (Hi)Stories on Decentring Europe." This volume aims to explore hybrid narrative forms that reflect the crises and upheavals that have shaped modern European identity. In collaboration with the universities of Bielefeld, Jaén, Örebro, Ostrava, and Suceava. Project co-leads: Anna Krykun, Lecturer-Researcher (ICD), and Cécile Chapon, Lecturer-Researcher (ICD).
   
• Support for the mobility of researchers from the University of Tours to attend the second international symposium of the "Narrating (Hi)Stories in Decentring Europe" research group, organized at the University of Nicosia. The symposium theme is: "Plurilingual Futures: Voices, Practices and Reimagining Europe." Project lead: Cécile Chapon, Lecturer-Researcher (ICD).
   
• Mobility to Bielefeld University to establish a research network dedicated to the history of gender within the NEOLAiA  Alliance, alongside participation in an international conference at Bielefeld University and to initiate discussions regarding the network's creation. Project lead: Ulrike Krampl, Lecturer-Researcher (CeTHiS)
   
• "Governing through Categories: Producing Otherness, Organizing Internment." This project entails organizing a series of academic workshops in Jaén, Salerno, and Tours to consolidate the INTERCOL network and prepare a future European funding application. Project co-leads: Francesco Correale, CNRS Research Engineer specializing in the analysis of historical and cultural sources, and Hélène Bertheleu, Associate Professor of Sociology (CITERES).
   
• Publication of the proceedings from the 2nd conference of the NEOLAiA Law Network (NLN). This project will enable the publication of the proceedings from the second conference of the NEOLAiA Law Network, bringing together researchers from seven of the Alliance's partner universities. Project lead: Colombine Madeleine, Associate Professor of Law, IRJI.