Conference Agenda

Location: Calvert Ballroom at The Hotel at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Wednesday, April 8

8:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 AM
Welcoming Remarks
  • Darryl Pines (President, University of Maryland)
  • Pat O’Shea (Vice President for Research, University of Maryland)
  • Amitabh Varshney (Dean, CMNS, University of Maryland)
  • Welcome from NSF, David B. Berkowitz, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), NSF
9:20 AM
Session 1: Nexus of Quantum Technology and Biology
Chair: Peter Maurer (University of Chicago, PME)
  • 9:20 AM: Workshop Aims — Wolfgang Losert (University of Maryland, Physics; IPST)
  • 9:30 AM: Quantum – from Science to Impact — Gretchen Campbell (University of Maryland, Quantum Research & Education)
  • 10:00 AM: Cancer: The Problem of Rapid, Early, Inexpensive Diagnosis — Arnold Levine (Princeton University)
  • 10:30 AM: Measuring Life at the Quantum Limit: Quantum Sensing for Biology and Health — Lincoln Carr (Colorado School of Mines, Physics / Quantum Engineering)
11:00 AM
Break
11:20 AM
Session 2: Quantum in Biology
Chair: Wolfgang Losert (University of Maryland, Physics; IPST)
  • 11:20 AM: Quantum metrology enhanced by effective time reversal — Nicole Yunger Halpern (NIST / QuICS / JQI)
  • 11:40 AM: Quantum Control, Hyperpolarisation & Signal Processing for Quantum Sensing in the Life Sciences — Martin Plenio (Ulm University)
  • 12:00 PM: Qubits at room temperature — Peter Maurer (University of Chicago, PME)
  • 12:20 PM: Mechanism of magnetic field effect in mScarlet3 — Katherine Xiang (Harvard University)
  • 12:40 PM: Roundtable Discussions
1:00–2:00 PM
Lunch & Roundtable Discussions on Biological & Medical Opportunities

Attendees are encouraged to move between tables; each table has a discussion leader and student scribe.

  • Tracking Molecular Interactions (Molecular Biophysics) — Don Lamb, LMU Munich (Chemistry)
  • Cell Signaling — José Onuchic, Rice University
  • Clinical Imaging — Michele Dougherty, Mayo Clinic
  • Mechanical information processing in cells (Intracellular Mechanics) — Maria Mukhina, University of Maryland (Physics)
  • Immune System and Cancer — Arnold Levine, Princeton University
  • Aging — Kan Cao, University of Maryland
  • Diagnostic Needs to Advance Orthopaedic Clinical Care — Catherine Kuo, University of Maryland
  • Oncology — Ken Pienta, Johns Hopkins University
  • Continuous monitoring in biology and medicine — Aditya Rajagopal, Caltech
  • BRAIN Initiative: Quantum opportunities for NeuroAI — Grace Hwang, National Institutes of Health
  • Quantum enhanced imaging - Geetha Senthil (NCATS) and Afrouz Anderson (NIBIB)
  • Sensing chronic pain — Timothy Meeker, Morgan State University
2:00 PM
Session 3: Quantum Biosensors
Chair: Warwick Bowen (Director, ARC Centre for Quantum Biotechnology, University of Queensland, Australia)
  • 2:10 PM: Quantum sensor data fusion in the life sciences — Prineha Narang (UCLA, Physical Sciences; ECE)
  • 2:20 PM: Quantum Diamond NMR Microscopy for Biochemical Analysis — John Blanchard (University of Maryland, QTC / IREAP)
  • 2:40 PM: Excitation of high-order multiple quantum coherences in NMR of rotating solids - Rob Tycko (NIH)
  • 3:00 PM: Early Detection of Neural Network Stress by Monolayer Quantum Materials — Cheng Gong (University of Maryland)
3:20 PM
Roundtable Discussions
3:40 PM
Break
4:00 PM
Session 4: Health
Chair: Krastan Blagoev (National Science Foundation, Physics of Living Systems)
  • 4:00 PM: The Physics of Cancer Metabolism — José Onuchic (Rice University)
  • 4:20 PM: Challenges in Diagnosing Musculoskeletal Disorders and Diseases — Catherine Kuo (University of Maryland)
  • 4:40 PM: Solving an Unsolved Biomedical Problem with First-Principles Physics: Measuring True Non-invasive, Continuous Blood Pressure — Aditya Rajagopal, Caltech
  • 5:00 PM: Exploring Quantum Computing and Sensing in Healthcare: Clinical Use Cases in Neurology and Radiation Oncology — Miko Wieczorek (Mayo Clinic Florida) and Michele Dougherty (Mayo Clinic)
5:20 PM
Roundtable Discussions
5:40 PM
Poster session and buffet

Thursday, April 9

8:15 AM
Breakfast
9:00 AM
Session 5: Quantum Phenomena
Chair: Nicole Yunger Halpern (NIST / QuICS / JQI)
  • 9:00 AM: Organizing Quantum Biology — Clarice Aiello (Quantum Biology Institute)
  • 9:20 AM: Collective quantum phenomena at room temperature — Peter Littlewood (University of Chicago, Physics; James Franck Institute)
  • 9:40 AM: Questions and Approaches in Molecular Single Molecule Biophysics — Don Lamb (LMU Munich, Chemistry)
  • 10:00 AM: Nuclear Spin Filtering at Neuronal Synapses: Evidence for Quantum Processing in the Brain — Zoya Leonenko (University of Waterloo)
10:20 AM
Roundtable Discussions
10:40 AM
Break
11:00 AM
Session 6: Quantum Biosensors 2
Chair: Avik Dutt (University of Maryland)
  • 11:00 AM: Sensing based on entangled two-photon absorption — George Schatz (Northwestern University)
  • 11:20 AM: UMD Quantum Biosensing Testbed — John T. Fourkas (University of Maryland, Chemistry & Biochemistry; IPST)
  • 11:40 AM: A laser breathalyzer for medical diagnostics — Qizhong Liang (JILA / University of Colorado Boulder)
  • 12:00 PM: Sensing for Medical Oncology — Alex Pearson (University of Chicago Medicine)
12:20 PM
Roundtable Discussions
12:40–2:00 PM
Lunch & Roundtable Discussions on Biological & Medical Opportunities

Attendees are encouraged to move between tables; each table has a discussion leader, funder, and student scribe.

  • Medical Oncology — Alex Pearson, University of Chicago Medicine
  • Tracking Molecular Interactions (Molecular Biophysics) — Don Lamb, LMU Munich (Chemistry)
  • Cell Signaling — José Onuchic, Rice University
  • Clinical Imaging — Michele Dougherty, Mayo Clinic
  • Mechanical information processing in cells (Intracellular Mechanics) — Maria Mukhina, University of Maryland (Physics)
  • Immune System and Cancer — Arnold Levine, Princeton University
  • Oncology — Ken Pienta, Johns Hopkins University
  • BRAIN Initiative: Quantum opportunities for NeuroAI — Grace Hwang, National Institutes of Health
  • BRAIN Initiative: Technology Focus Areas — Joe Monaco, National Institutes of Health
  • Quantum enhanced imaging - Geetha Senthil (NCATS) and Afrouz Anderson (NIBIB)
  • Sensing chronic pain — Timothy Meeker, Morgan State University
2:00 PM
Session 7: Spin-Based Quantum Biosensors
Chair: Ronald L. Walsworth (Director, Quantum Technology Center, University of Maryland)
  • 2:00 PM: NV Ensemble Magnetic Field Imaging via Laser Raster Scanning — Alexander Huck (Technical University of Denmark)
  • 2:20 PM: Bringing multiplexed ultrasensitive diagnostics to near-patient use with quantum sensing — Colin Connolly (Quantum Diamond Technologies Inc. (QDTI))
  • 2:40 PM: Nanodiamonds and microwave excitation to dialogue with astrocytes — Andrea Candini (CNR-ISOF, Italy)
  • 3:00 PM: Quantum Magnetometers for Biosensing Applications — Birol Ozturk (Morgan State University, Physics)
3:20 PM
Roundtable Discussions
3:40 PM
Break
4:00 PM
Funders Panel
Moderator: Krastan Blagoev (National Science Foundation, Physics of Living Systems)
  • Geetha Senthil, National Institutes of Health (NCATS)
  • Robert Lambeth, Army Research Laboratory
  • Wilson Francisco, National Science Foundation
  • Grace Hwang, National Institutes of Health
6:00 PM
Conference Dinner

Friday, April 10

8:15 AM
Breakfast
9:00 AM
Session 8: Quantum Sensing
Chair: Don Lamb (LMU Munich, Chemistry)
  • 9:00 AM: Engineered Proteins for Quantum Sensing and Actuation in Cells — Yun Chen (Johns Hopkins University)
  • 9:20 AM: Bionic Proteins: Where Biological Modeling Meets Material Innovation - Ivan Coluzza (Rice Univ.)
  • 9:40 AM: Modeling Structural Ensembles Of Genomes - Vinicius Contessoto (Rice)
  • 10:00 AM: Flavin Receptors as "Biological Qubits" for Signal Transduction from light to action — Songi Han (Northwestern University, Chemistry)
10:20 AM
Roundtable Discussions
10:40 AM
Break
11:00 AM
Session 9: Quantum Centers & Tech. Transfer
Chair: Gretchen Campbell (University of Maryland, Quantum Research & Education)
  • 11:00 AM: Quantum Biotechnology in Australia — Warwick Bowen (Director, ARC Centre for Quantum Biotechnology, University of Queensland, Australia)
  • 11:30 AM: Quantum Biotechnology — Moving Things Forward — Ronald L. Walsworth (Director, Quantum Technology Center, University of Maryland)
12:00 PM
Roundtable Discussions
12:20 PM
End of conference
1:00–4:00 PM
Advisory Board Working Session