Research Areas in The NSF QuBBE QLCI
Primary Research Directions
The Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (NSF QuBBE) will develop biocompatible quantum materials, establish protocols for sensing and imaging within cells, and demonstrate the utility of quantum measurement in biology. Biological problems demand new measurements with nanoscale resolution, single molecule sensitivity, and the ability to correlate dynamics in time and space. Measuring coherence and correlation across the hierarchical length- and time-scales relevant to biology is a grand challenge that frustrates our most powerful molecular tools, imaging techniques, and observational platforms. Quantum science enables measurements of unprecedented sensitivity and generates precisely the correlations required to measure dynamics in time and space. NSF QuBBE brings together researchers from material science, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine working side-by-side at every step to define and tackle these challenges.
Recent Publications
K.M. Xiang, H. Lampson, R.F. Hayward, A.G. York, M. Ingaramo, and A.E. Cohen, "Mechanism of Giant Magnetic Field Effect in Fluorescence of Mscarlet3, a Red Fluorescent Protein", bioRxiv 2025.2002. 2026.640351 (2025)
Q. Wang, R. D'Cunha, A. Mitra, Y. Alexeev, S.K. Gray, M. Otten, and L. Gagliardi, "Non-Unitary Variational Quantum Eigensolver with the Localized Active Space Method and Cost Mitigation", arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.13371 (2025)
S.H. Sohail, S. Sohoni, P.-C. Ting, L.R. Fantz, S.M. Abdulhadi, C. MacGregor-Chatwin, A. Hitchcock, C.N. Hunter, G.S. Engel, and S.C. Massey, "Functional Connectivity of Red Chlorophylls in Cyanobacterial Photosystem I Revealed by Fluence-Dependent Transient Absorption", The Journal of Physical Chemistry B (2025)
J. Shi, P. Li, S. Kim, and B. Tian, "Implantable Bioelectronic Devices for Photoelectrochemical and Electrochemical Modulation of Cells and Tissues", Nature Reviews Bioengineering (2025)
A.O. Schouten, and D.A. Mazziotti, "Exciton-Condensate-Like Energy Transport in Light-Harvesting Complex 2", PRX Energy 4 013004 (2025)
H. Park, M. Onizhuk, E. Lee, H. Lim, J. Lee, S. Oh, G. Galli, and H. Seo, "Quantum Decoherence of Nitrogen-Vacancy Spin Ensembles in a Nitrogen Spin Bath in Diamond under Dynamical Decoupling", arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.05404 (2025)
L. Otis, Y. Jin, V.W.-z. Yu, S. Chen, L. Gagliardi, and G. Galli, "Strongly Correlated States of Transition Metal Spin Defects: The Case of an Iron Impurity in Aluminum Nitride", The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 16 3092-3099 (2025)
B.C. Li, H. Cairney, Y. Jin, J. Park, S. Sohoni, L.T. Lloyd, Y. Liu, J.E. Jureller, Y.J. Ryu, and S. Chariton, "Connectivity-Dependent Exciton–Phonon Coupling in Cesium Bismuth Halide Quantum Dots", ACS nano 19 10359-10368 (2025)
H.Ó. Gestsson, C. Nation, J.S. Higgins, G.S. Engel, and A. Olaya-Castro, "Non-Perturbative Exciton Transfer Rate Analysis of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson Photosynthetic Complex under Reducing and Oxidizing Conditions", The Journal of Chemical Physics 162 (2025)
L.H. Delgado-Granados, T.J. Krogmeier, L.M. Sager-Smith, I. Avdic, Z. Hu, M. Sajjan, M. Abbasi, S.E. Smart, P. Narang, and S. Kais, "Quantum Algorithms and Applications for Open Quantum Systems", Chemical Reviews 125 1823-1839 (2025)
Our Funding
