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
T.-X. Zheng, M.I. Bakti Utama, X. Gao, M. Kar, X. Yu, S. Kang, H. Cai, T. Ruan, D. Ovetsky, U. Zvi, G. Lao, Y.-X. Wang, O. Raz, S. Chitransh, G.T. Smith, L.R. Weiss, M.H. Czyz, S. Yang, A.J. Fairhall, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, D.D. Awschalom, A.P. Alivisatos, R.H. Goldsmith, G.C. Schatz, M.C. Hersam, and P.C. Maurer, "A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit", arXiv:2601.19976 (2026)
K.R. Pradeep, P. Acharyya, P. Nandi, T.S. Ie, B.C. Li, D.J. Gosztola, G.S. Engel, R.D. Schaller, and M.G. Kanatzidis, "Ultrafast Carrier Self-Trapping Driven by Strong Exciton-Phonon Coupling in 2d Ma(3)Bi(2)I(6)Cl(3) Perovskite", J Am Chem Soc (2026)
S. Lee, S. Chakraborty, S. Kim, A. Ali, K. Mitra, M. Zajac, A. Brown, D. Pincus, and Y. Krishnan, "Organelles Harbour Ph Gradients", bioRxiv 2025.2012.2012.694065 (2025)
D. Kim, J. Kim, N.E. Lopez, A. Krupinski, H.C. Fry, R.D. Schaller, and J.S. Anderson, "Click-Functionalizable Tetrathiafulvalene Tetrathiolate Diradicaloids as Modular Nir-Ii Fluorophores", ChemRxiv 2026 (2026)
J.A.L. Howard, B. Ambrose, M.A.S. Abdelhamid, L. Frame, A. Alevropoulos-Borrill, A. Ejaz, L. Dresser, M. Dienerowitz, S.D. Quinn, A.H. Squires, A. Noy, T.D. Craggs, and M.C. Leake, "The Transitional Kinetics between Open and Closed Rep Structures Can Be Tuned by Salt Via Two Intermediate States", Nucleic Acids Res 54 gkaf1483 (2026)
U. Zvi, S. Mundhra, D. Ovetsky, Q. Chen, A.R. Jones, S. Wang, M. Roman, M. Ferro, K. Odunsi, M.C. Garassino, M.E. Flatte', M. Swartz, D.R. Candido, A. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Probing Cellular Activity Via Charge-Sensitive Quantum Nanoprobes", Advanced Materials e05107 (2025)
U. Zvi, S. Mundhra, D. Ovetsky, Q. Chen, A.R. Jones, S. Wang, M. Roman, M. Ferro, K. Odunsi, M.C. Garassino, M.E. Flatte', M. Swartz, D.R. Candido, A. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Probing Cellular Activity Via Charge-Sensitive Quantum Nanoprobes", arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.20816 (2025)
U. Zvi, D.R. Candido, A.M. Weiss, A.R. Jones, L. Chen, I. Golovina, X. Yu, S. Wang, D.V. Talapin, M.E. Flatte, A.P. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Engineering Spin Coherence in Core-Shell Diamond Nanocrystals", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122 e2422542122 (2025)
J. Zhang, P. Li, J. Yue, L. Meng, W. Li, C. Yang, S. Kim, Z. Cheng, A. Kamath, S. Siahrostami, and B. Tian, "Gold-Modified Nanoporous Silicon for Photoelectrochemical Regulation of Intracellular Condensates", Nat Nanotechnol 20 835-844 (2025)
C. Zeledon, B. Pingault, J.C. Marcks, M. Onizhuk, Y. Tsaturyan, Y.-x. Wang, B.S. Soloway, H. Abe, M. Ghezellou, J. Ul-Hassan, T. Ohshima, N.T. Son, F.J. Heremans, G. Galli, C.P. Anderson, and D.D. Awschalom, "Minute-Long Quantum Coherence Enabled by Electrical Depletion of Magnetic Noise", arXiv:2504.13164 (2025)
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