Conference Agenda

Location: 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
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
  • 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 3: Quantum Biosensors
Chair: Warwick Bowen (University of Queensland, ARC Centre for Quantum Biotechnology)
  • 2:00 PM: Topic TBD — 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: Quantum Biomechanics — Vladislav Yakovlev (Texas A&M University)
  • 3:00 PM: Topic TBD — Qizhong Liang (JILA / University of Colorado Boulder)
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: Advancing Brain-Computer Interfaces to Improve Health with Quantum Technologies — 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: AFOSR Quantum Biosensing Testbed — John T. Fourkas (University of Maryland, Chemistry & Biochemistry; IPST)
  • 11:40 AM: Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease Risk by Monolayer Quantum Materials — Cheng Gong (University of Maryland)
  • 12:00 PM: Topic TBD — 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 (University of Maryland, QTC; Physics & ECE)
  • 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)
  • Quantum Biomedical Innovation and Technologies — Geetha Senthil (National Institutes of Health (NCATS))
  • Robert Lambeth (Army Research Laboratory)
  • Wilson Francisco (NSF)
  • TBA
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: Topic TBD — David Awschalom (University of Chicago, PME; Argonne National Laboratory)
  • 11:20 AM: Quantum-enhanced and Quantum-limited biological imaging technologies — Warwick Bowen (University of Queensland, ARC Centre for Quantum Biotechnology)
  • 11:40 AM: Quantum Technology Center — Ronald L. Walsworth (University of Maryland, QTC; Physics & ECE)
12:00 PM
Roundtable Discussions
12:20 PM
End of conference
1:00–4:00 PM
Advisory Board Working Session