Develops ultrasensitive, amplification-free nucleic-acid biosensors and molecular barcodes for high-resolution, multiplexed biosensing and diagnostics, alongside targeted drug/mRNA delivery platforms.
Weingärtner's Magnetic Resonance Systems (Mars) Lab develops new MRI signal models and pulse sequences to non-invasively resolve the brain and heart microvasculature down to the capillary scale, using hydrogen nuclei as 'microscopic spies' on their surrounding tissue microstructure; the work is validated with in-vivo human studies (e.g., microvascular disease, cardiac imaging) and supported by an ERC Starting Grant. The lab is actively recruiting PhD students/postdocs to push quantitative MRI biomarkers into new disease areas.
Weinstein invented DNA microscopy, in which a specimen's own transcripts participate in a distributed, self-organizing DNA reaction network that is later decoded by sequencing into a spatial map of gene expression, entirely without lenses or optics; he has since extended this to volumetric, whole-organism 3D spatial transcriptomics in intact zebrafish embryos. Where NV-ensemble sensors push magnetic-field spatial resolution optically (DEER/NMR/T1 at pT/sqrt(Hz)), Weinstein's technique achieves spatial resolution of molecular identity through a chemical/sequencing route instead, representing a fundamentally different route to super-resolved spatial biology.
Christoph Westbrook co-heads the Quantum Gases group at LCF/IOGS. Research: (1) metastable helium (He*) BEC and ultracold atomic gases — atom optics, Bose-Hubbard physics, Anderson localization; (2) correlated atom pair production via four-wave mixing for quantum atom optics sensing; (3) atom laser and matter-wave interferometry. The group pioneered the He* BEC and uses correlated atom pairs for quantum sensing analogous to two-photon quantum optics.
Whitesides' group pioneered soft lithography and paper-based microfluidics, and has long applied these tools to low-cost point-of-care diagnostic biosensors for global health settings. Included as a borderline, not-preferred biosensing case: the sensing target (colorimetric/electrochemical assays) is compelling but device-fabrication-centric rather than a cutting-edge-sensitivity physical sensor.
Wickham builds DNA origami nanostructures — programmable, self-assembling scaffolds with nanometre-precision addressability — and uses them as molecular machines, drug-delivery vehicles and, most relevantly, as rulers and probes for single-molecule measurement. DNA origami is the standard platform for DNA-PAINT super-resolution and for positioning fluorophores, nanoparticles or spin labels at defined separations, and her group works on dynamic, reconfigurable devices that respond to biological triggers. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work — DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity — DNA origami is the leading candidate technology for positioning target molecules at a controlled standoff from a near-surface NV ensemble, which is the central geometric problem in pushing NV nanoscale NMR and DEER from pT/sqrt(Hz) ensembles down to single-molecule sensitivity. Genuinely complementary skill set for a quantum-sensing candidate.
Winpenny holds the Regius Chair in Chemistry at Manchester and is a world leader in molecular magnetism and molecular nanomagnets for quantum technologies. Research directions: (1) Molecular nanomagnets — synthesis of Cr7Ni 'horseshoe' rings and related cage clusters as prototype molecular qubits with long T2 times; (2) Multi-qubit molecular architectures — covalently linked molecular qubit pairs and arrays for quantum gate operations and distributed sensing; (3) Quantum error correction in molecules — designing molecular systems encoding logical qubits with error protection; (4) Quantum sensing applications — molecular spin systems as ultra-sensitive nanoscale magnetic sensors in the sub-nm regime. Leading the NPL M4Q Network and UK molecular qubit community.
Xu develops STORM and related single-molecule-localization super-resolution imaging methods, along with new fluorogenic and multiplexed labeling strategies, to visualize cellular ultrastructure at ~10-20 nm resolution. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.
Yakovlev develops label-free biomedical imaging: Brillouin micro-spectroscopy of cell/tissue viscoelasticity, impulsive stimulated Brillouin scattering, SERS and coherent-Raman diagnostics, and quantum-enhanced (photon-number-resolving, sub-shot-noise) optical imaging in collaboration with Agarwal/Scully. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work provides the biomedical, quantum-enhanced-imaging bridge for spin-sensor bio-applications.
Develops nanophotonic optical biosensors and spectral bioimaging techniques (metasurface/photonic-crystal based) for label-free, high-sensitivity molecular detection.