Charlotte Deane
Executive Chair, EPSRC; UKRI Senior Responsible Owner for Quantum
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · UK Research and Innovation
Photo: Lhaypa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Active Hub
Q-BIOMED: UK Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub
A national research hub that develops quantum sensors for earlier diagnosis of disease. UCL and the University of Cambridge lead it.
Project data last updated 11 October 2026
About this project
Q-BIOMED is one of five quantum technology research hubs announced in July 2024. It was formally launched at The Shard in London in December 2024. UCL and the University of Cambridge lead it, with Oxford, Warwick, Heriot-Watt and Cardiff as academic partners. At its launch in December 2024 the co-directors were Professor Rachel McKendry (UCL) and Professor Mete Atatüre (Cambridge). The hub now lists Professor John Morton (UCL), Professor Mete Atatüre and Professor Molly Stevens as co-directors.
The hub works on quantum sensors that can detect cells, molecules and processes in the body. Its projects include quantum magnetic field sensors for Alzheimer's and heart disease, and fast, low-cost blood tests for infection and cancer using nanodiamond sensors. Industry, NHS, charity and patient groups also take part.
Who leads it
-
John Morton
Co-Director and Principal Investigator, Q-BIOMED Hub; Founder and CTO, Quantum Motion
Q-BIOMED · Quantum Motion · University College London
Mete Atatüre
Co-Director, Q-BIOMED Hub
Q-BIOMED · University of Cambridge
Photo: Eceogguz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Molly Stevens
Co-Director, Q-BIOMED Hub
Q-BIOMED
Photo: Andrew Lih (User:Fuzheado), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lead organisation
University College London
University · London
Leads the Q-BIOMED quantum biomedical sensing hub and the UCL quantum institute; its researchers co-founded Phasecraft and Quantum Motion.
Partners (9)
University of Cambridge
University · Cambridge
University of Oxford
University · Oxford
University of Warwick
University · Coventry
Heriot-Watt University
University · Edinburgh
Cardiff University
University · Cardiff
AstraZeneca
Company · Cambridge
Element Six
Company · Didcot
NIQS Tech
Start-up · Leeds
NPL
Research organisation · Teddington
Funders
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Funder · Swindon
UK Research and Innovation
Funder · Swindon
National Institute for Health and Care Research
Funder · London
In the news
Quantum Zeitgeist articles about Q-BIOMED, then ones naming its lead or partners.
Quantum and Healthcare Fields Connect for Collaboration, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
Q-BIOMED Connect 2026 united quantum researchers, clinicians & industry to discuss translating technologies into clinical impact.
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
UK Funds Quantum Internet Hubs for Cybersecurity, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
The UK is investing £106 million in five Quantum Technology Hubs to develop innovative systems for critical infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, and improved indoor and underwater navigation. The hubs will harness quantum properties to provide unparalleled power and capacity for analysis at a molecu
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Vlatko Vedral, The Oxford Physicist Who Put a Number on Entanglement, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
Vlatko Vedral is Professor of Quantum Information Science at the University of Oxford, a Serbian-born physicist who has spent three decades asking what entanglement is and what it can do. Entanglement is the link that lets two particles share one quantum state. As a PhD student in London he helped f
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Researchers Map Routes to Encode Classical Data on Qubits, read on Quantum Zeitgeist
From bits to qubits, converting classical information now accounts for circuit size, depth and resource needs previously overlooked in theoretical designs. This comprehensive survey moves beyond abstract concepts to examine techniques applicable to real-world datasets like sparse matrices and Boolea
Image © Quantum Zeitgeist
Sources
- Q-BIOMED: Partners (qbiomed.org)
- Q-BIOMED: Our team (qbiomed.org)
- UCL News: Quantum research hub for healthcare is launched (December 2024) (ucl.ac.uk)
- University of Warwick: University of Warwick powers quantum innovations in healthcare (warwick.ac.uk)
- Q-BIOMED: Residencies and secondments (grant EP/Z533191/1) (qbiomed.org)
- University of Cambridge: Five hubs launched to ensure UK benefits from quantum future (26 July 2024) (cam.ac.uk)
- NIQS Tech: NIQS named latest Q-BIOMED partner (November 2025) (niqstech.com)
- Quantum Zeitgeist: Q-BIOMED Secures £902K to Expand Healthcare Quantum Sensing (31 May 2026) (quantumzeitgeist.com)
- Quantum Zeitgeist: Quantum and Healthcare Fields Connect for Collaboration (8 October 2026) (quantumzeitgeist.com)
- Quantum Zeitgeist: UK Funds Quantum Tech Hubs With $220M (29 July 2024) (quantumzeitgeist.com)
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