QLCI: Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (QUBBE)

Quantum sensors promise new ways to examine the living world. The NSF Quantum sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (QuBBE) Quantum Leap Challenge Institute develops quantum sensors that can reveal biological structure, dynamics, metabolism, and communication in ways that are difficult or impossible with current measurement tools. Quantum sensing is also a promising near-term application of quantum technology because it exploits the coupling to a noisy environment that frustrates quantum computing and communication. In biosensing, environmental coupling is not just noise; it creates distinct signals that report how cells communicate, how immune cells respond to disease, and how metabolism changes in cancer and other conditions. By bringing together scientists from quantum physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, engineering, and medicine, NSF QuBBE seeks to create new quantum sensing platforms for discovery while training the next generation of workers in quantum science and technology. Advances within NSF QuBBE will ultimately lead to new tools for biomedical research and clinical settings, including measurements that help physicians monitor disease processes more directly. The project serves the national interest by promoting the progress of science, advancing future biomedical measurement capabilities, supporting the growth of the U.S. quantum workforce, and expanding access to quantum science education through programs for students and teachers. NSF QuBBE will develop new quantum probes, sensing protocols, and imaging methods that exploit quantum coherence, entanglement, and spin-based sensing to extract information from complex biological systems. The Institute is organized around four integrated thrusts: development of novel quantum nanoprobes for biological sensing; entanglement and squeezed sensing; in vivo measurement with quantum sensors; and acceleration of quantum biosensing adoption across biology and medicine. Research activities include engineering genetically expressible protein-based qubits, advancing nanodiamond and other spin-based sensors for measurements of immune activity within cells, developing high-field quantum-enabled NMR/MRI approaches for metabolomics, and creating biological testbeds that benchmark quantum sensors against important biomedical questions. These efforts will support sensing applications in cell signaling, immune-cell activation, cancer metabolism, neural and metabolic monitoring, and other challenging areas where existing technologies cannot easily provide nanoscale, chemically specific, or real-time information. The scientific thrusts are linked and supported by cross-cutting programs in translation to bioscience, theory and computation, workforce development, and industrial partnership. Through the Quantum Academy and Quantum Institute, QuBBE also provides hands-on research experiences, teacher training, curriculum development, and pathways into quantum careers, helping ensure that advances in quantum biosensing are accompanied by a diverse and well-prepared workforce. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.