Curmi is a structural and single-molecule biophysicist whose most-cited work is on the light-harvesting antenna proteins of cryptophyte algae, where he and collaborators reported long-lived electronic coherence at ambient temperature — one of the founding results of the quantum-biology field and still one of its most argued-over. His group determines the structures of these antenna complexes and engineers them, and separately works on protein-based molecular motors and on single-molecule fluorescence and FRET measurements of conformational dynamics. 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 — Curmi supplies the biological systems in which quantum coherence is actually claimed to matter; a pT/sqrt(Hz)-class spin sensor capable of watching radical-pair or exciton dynamics in situ would be aimed at exactly the questions his structures raise. Preferred attribute present: genuine quantum-biology substrate rather than a quantum-flavoured metaphor.
Dai's lab pioneered second-near-infrared-window (NIR-II/SWIR) fluorescent nanomaterial probes -- including carbon nanotube and rare-earth-based emitters -- that dramatically reduce tissue scattering and autofluorescence, enabling deep-tissue in vivo optical imaging at spatial resolution unattainable with visible-light fluorophores.
Simone De Liberato's Quantum Theory and Technology group explores quantum electrodynamics in semiconductor systems. Research: (1) ultrastrong and deep-strong light-matter coupling in polariton and circuit QED systems; (2) mid-infrared polariton physics with potential sensing applications; (3) virtual photon condensation and vacuum fluctuations in quantum materials; (4) positronium density measurements using polaritonic effects. Relevant to quantum sensing via strong coupling platforms.
De Nijs leads the Physics for Sustainable Chemistry group, studying light-matter interactions at molecular length-scales using plasmonic nanocavities, with applications spanning single-molecule SERS sensing, in-situ electrochemical monitoring, and plasmon-driven photocatalysis for green chemistry (e.g. plastics degradation).
Defienne leads the Quantum Imaging Paris group at INSP, using spatial correlations and Hong-Ou-Mandel-type interference between entangled photon pairs to build microscopes that see through scattering media and correct optical aberrations without a spatial light modulator. His ERC-funded CORAMI project develops correlation-based adaptive optics as a universal add-on module for existing microscopes, targeting deeper (>1 mm), higher-contrast in-vivo imaging for neuroscientists, dermatologists, and ophthalmologists.
Deisseroth co-invented optogenetics (light-gated ion channels for millisecond-scale neural control) and CLARITY-type hydrogel tissue-clearing methods that render intact brains optically transparent for whole-organ, cellular-resolution light-sheet and confocal imaging, together forming a foundational toolkit for causal, high-resolution circuit neuroscience.
Cees Dekker (Distinguished University Professor, BioNanoscience/Kavli) pioneered solid-state nanopores and single-molecule biophysics. Research: (1) solid-state nanopores for protein sensing and sequencing — detecting individual protein molecules by current blockade; (2) DNA loop extrusion by condensin and cohesin at the single-molecule level; (3) chromatin structure and chromosome organisation with bacteria-on-chip; (4) synthetic cell construction from the bottom up; (5) diagnostic nanopores for neglected diseases. NanoFront 51M€ NWO program leader; 2019 Nature paper on real-time DNA loop extrusion imaging.
Nynke Dekker (Full Professor, BioNanoscience) leads single-molecule biophysics of DNA replication and topology. Research: (1) single-molecule force-fluorescence microscopy — integrated optical tweezers and fluorescence for real-time imaging of replication machinery; (2) DNA topology — supercoiling, gyrase, topoisomerase dynamics with magnetic tweezers; (3) DNA/RNA-processing molecular motors. EMBO member; KNAW member. 2024 integrated force-fluorescence toolbox published.
Dhiman holds the professorship for Physical Chemistry of Supramolecular Systems at JGU and is affiliated with the Max Planck Graduate Center. Her group uses single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SMLM/PAINT-type methods) to watch synthetic supramolecular polymers assemble, exchange monomers and age in real time -- i.e. applying the biological super-resolution toolkit to non-biological self-assembling matter, and toward bioinspired/adaptive systems that behave like living materials. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this is a technique-driven inclusion: the emphasis is squarely on pushing spatial and temporal resolution of dye-based imaging past the ensemble limit, and it is a newer group where a postdoc would have room to shape the direction.
Dickinson's group develops advanced optical microscopy methods for biological and biomedical imaging. Research directions: (1) STORM super-resolution microscopy — stochastic optical reconstruction for nanoscale imaging of biological structures at ~20 nm lateral resolution; imaging cytoskeletal dynamics, cellular organelles, and pathological structures; (2) Optical coherence tomography (OCT) — depth-resolved, label-free imaging for biomedical diagnostics (retinal, cardiovascular tissues); (3) Laser speckle imaging — blood flow and perfusion measurements in tissues; (4) Multiphoton microscopy — second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon for collagen structure imaging in connective tissues and cancer. Part of the Manchester Photon Science Institute biophotonics theme.