Allain (PPSM) designs luminescent and mechanofluorochromic molecular materials and lanthanide/organic probes acting as optical stress and environment sensors, including solid-state and time-resolved luminescence readouts. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is complemented by stimuli-responsive molecular luminescent sensors.

Poul Martin Bendix (Associate Professor, BendixLab/NBI) investigates physical properties of living cells using advanced optical techniques. Research: (1) optical tweezers for mechanosensing — GPCR mechanosensing with picoNewton force resolution, membrane curvature sensing by proteins (annexins, BAR-domain proteins); (2) thermoplasmonics — gold nanoparticle laser heating for controlled membrane microsurgery, cell fusion, and plasma membrane repair; (3) single-molecule biophysics — DNA-protein interactions using 4-trap optical tweezers (LUMICKS C-Trap) with STED imaging; (4) filopodia dynamics — twist and rotation of actin filaments; (5) Brillouin microscopy for cell mechanics; (6) COBM center management. GPCRmec consortium (Novo Nordisk). 2026 BPS Annual Meeting featured.

Bowen leads the CQSE 'Spins and Qubits' theme at Manchester, focusing on organometallic molecular spin qubits for quantum sensing and computing. Research directions: (1) Organometallic La(II) and other rare-earth molecular qudits — designing molecules with multiple accessible spin states (qudits) for encoding quantum information and sensing; (2) Pulsed EPR characterization — Hahn echo, ESEEM, ENDOR at X/W/Q-band to measure coherence times and hyperfine couplings; (3) Integration of molecular qubits into devices — surface deposition and nanoscale addressing; (4) Multi-spin sensing — using exchange-coupled spin pairs as differential sensors of magnetic field gradients. Closely collaborates with Tuna and Winpenny.

Goldys was Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics and now leads a nanoscale biophotonics group in Biomedical Engineering. The programme is about extracting diagnostic information from very weak optical signals inside cells and tissue: luminescent and upconverting nanoparticle probes with long lifetimes that allow time-gated, background-free detection; hyperspectral unmixing of native cellular autofluorescence (NADH, FAD, porphyrins) as a completely label-free readout of cell state, which she has pushed toward clinical use in reproductive medicine and cancer; and nanoparticle-mediated therapy. 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 — time-gated luminescence and NV relaxometry are two solutions to the same problem — how to read a faint, specific signal out of an autofluorescent, optically hostile biological background — and her clinical translation experience is exactly the missing capability in most quantum-biosensing groups. Preferred attribute present: advanced/label-based imaging with a genuine human-application pathway.