RCN: Instrumentation for Quantum Biology (I-QuBio)

About This Grant

The high efficiency of energy transfer during photosynthesis in certain algae that live in low life settings is believed to be due to quantum effects. This is just on example of possible quantum effects in biology. The tantalizing possibility that subtle quantum effects may influence and optimize biological processes presents both an exciting frontier and an extreme challenge to the research community as they seek to understand mechanisms that govern life processes. This project addresses the experimental bottleneck that exists in unambiguously proving, or refuting, hypotheses about quantum effects in living systems. The Instrumentation for Quantum Biology Research Coordination Network (I-QuBio RCN) will bring together a diverse community of scientists from around the world to collaborate on method development for the field known as “Quantum Biology”. Quantum Biology is a frontier scientific effort, requiring a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers who can communicate across scientific boundaries. Through hybrid in-person/online workshops and training schools, this network will provide quantum biology practitioners with community to discuss and advance the experimental infrastructure required to advance the field within the near future. The I-QUB RCN will increase the connectivity of the nascent community on Quantum Biology across several axes: geography; cross-disciplinarity; integration between experiment and theory; research across different scales ranging from molecules to whole organisms; and career stages, with an emphasis in training and integrating a young workforce of Quantum Biology researchers. The aim is to enable better measurement, through the tools of quantum mechanics and apply them to precision measurement of biological phenomena. The goal is to utilize the exquisite control that biology provides to develop quantum-enhanced probes that are compatible with biological imaging. This project is supported by the Molecular Biophysics Cluster of the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division in the Directorate for Biological Sciences 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.