Project Grant R35GM164237
- This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program provides $480,000 to the University of Southern California (USC) to develop novel nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques using quantum sensing technology. Specifically, the USC research team led by Susumu Takahashi is creating new approaches to high-field NMR spectroscopy that leverage nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to dramatically...
- The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of New Mexico $404,464 on August 1, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to develop computational methods for characterizing nucleic acids and DNA nanotechnology toward therapeutic design. The research team at UNM will combine quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, and machine learning to predict electronic structure properties—electron densities, energies, and forces—of...
- The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded Arizona State University $363,365 on July 1, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to advance spin-based quantum sensors for single-cell analysis. The research will develop optically addressable spin-qubit magnetometers to detect biological magnetic fields at the nanoscale, focusing on improving sensor coherence and biocompatibility to enable label-free detection of cellular activities...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Physics awarded the University of New Mexico $600,000 on August 15, 2026, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to establish the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I) Theory Hub, a national center for theoretical quantum information science research and workforce development. The hub will conduct collaborative research in four complementary areas: quantum algorithms and computing architectures; characterization and control...
- This $1,634,839 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Program (CFDA 47.049) aims to revolutionize live-cell imaging by developing nanodiamond quantum sensors with exceptional sensitivity. The research, titled "QUSEC-TAQS: Nanodiamond Quantum Sensing for Four-Dimensional Live-Cell Imaging", will integrate nanodiamond quantum sensors with advanced light-sheet microscopy to achieve high spatiotemporal resolution and low...
- The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of New Mexico $370,940 on August 22, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to develop high-throughput free energy computational methods for small molecule, peptide, and protein design in drug discovery and optimization. The project integrates enhanced sampling methods with multisite lambda dynamics (MSLD) to create MSLD++, a framework intended to overcome computational...
- This $649,960 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) supports the University of Nevada, Reno's acquisition of a 500 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer console and probes. This state-of-the-art NMR instrumentation will enhance multi-disciplinary research in areas such as the chemistry of biological interactions, materials science, quantum information science, and sustainability. The upgraded NMR...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Physics awarded the University of New Mexico $550,000 on August 15, 2026, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to demonstrate high-fidelity measurements for optical quantum states comprising superpositions of coherent states using photon counting and coherent optical processing. The project seeks to develop optimized binary projectors onto continuous-variable non-Gaussian states and efficient measurement techniques for...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences awarded the University of New Mexico $600,620 on June 1, 2026, under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to investigate protein-RNA binding dynamics using advanced spectroscopy and computational modeling. The research maps protein-RNA recognition and binding across multiple timescales—from microsecond conformational motions to binding/unbinding dynamics occurring over hundreds of seconds—with unprecedented...
- The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded Northwestern University $153,560 on February 1, 2027, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to develop hyperpolarization of biological water using nanodiamonds by resonance matching. The project aims to enhance nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging sensitivity by using nitrogen vacancy centers in nanodiamonds to achieve 10- to 100-fold hyperpolarization of surrounding water and...
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of New Mexico $2.358 million on August 15, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to develop nuclear magnetic resonance microscopy using diamond quantum sensors. The award funds research in Acosta's lab to advance microscale NMR spectroscopy by leveraging nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond as quantum sensors. NMR spectroscopy is widely used in chemistry, biology, and pharmaceutical metabolomics research but suffers from poor signal-to-noise ratios at small sample volumes. Conventional approaches using miniature inductive coils introduce magnetic susceptibility discontinuities that degrade spectral resolution. The project will develop a non-inductive detector using diamond quantum sensors to meet demanding requirements for spatial resolution, spectral resolution, and sensitivity needed for molecular analysis at the micrometer (sub-nanoliter) scale. Diamond quantum sensors offer exquisite environmental sensitivity while maintaining immunity to optical and spin instability through protection from the diamond host matrix. Research spans device engineering, quantum optics, and spin physics with the goal of enabling biochemistry applications through highly sensitive analytical techniques. The University of New Mexico's Office of Sponsored Projects serves as the recipient. Performance occurs in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The award runs from August 15, 2026, through July 31, 2030.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $2.4m | 8/5/26 |