In a lab in Wollongong, researchers are combining neuroscience and quantum physics to tackle one of medicine’s most devastating conditions: motor neurone disease (MND) – a group of progressive neurological disorders that affects the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement, leading to weakness, paralysis, and respiratory failure.

Dr Dzung Do-Ha, based in the Ooi lab, is leading the research that uses quantum diamond sensing to peer into the workings of patient-derived neuronal cultures – a kind of ‘disease-in-a-dish’ model sometimes nicknamed ‘tiny brains in a dish” – to better understand motor neurone disease (MND). A neuroscientist by training, she’s now working at the cutting edge of quantum biotechnology.

Dzung’s background is in biology and neuroscience, but her current work sits at the intersection of life sciences and quantum technologies. Through QUBIC, she’s collaborating closely with Dr Dan McCloskey at the University of Melbourne, bringing together expertise in quantum sensing and neurobiology. This kind of cross-disciplinary research is central to QUBIC’s mission: to apply quantum tools to real-world biological problems.

Diamond voltage imaging microscopy (DVIM) is a technique that uses nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in lab grown diamonds to detect magnetic fields and voltage changes at extremely small scales. These sensors can pick up the faint electrical signals generated by neural activity in neuronal cultures, offering a non-invasive way to study how neurons behave and interact. This is especially valuable in MND research, where understanding early changes in neural function could lead to better diagnostics and treatments.

Using patient-derived iPSC neurons – mini ‘avatars’ of each person’s nervous system – provide a powerful model for studying disease in a controlled environment. By combining them with quantum sensors, Dzung’s team can observe neural dynamics with a level of detail that traditional methods can’t. This approach could help detect early changes in neural activity before symptoms appear, identify biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring, and provide a platform for testing potential therapies, all without needing to access human brain tissue.

This research is unfolding during the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025, a global initiative highlighting the growing impact of quantum technologies. Dzung’s work shows how quantum sensing is moving beyond physics labs and into applications that could transform healthcare. It’s a solid example of how quantum tools can help answer biological questions that were previously out of reach.

With QUBIC’s support and the collaboration between the Ooi and Simpson labs, Dzung’s research is part of a broader movement to bring quantum technologies into the life sciences. As QUBIC prepares to host the first International Conference on Quantum Technologies in the Life Sciences this November in Wollongong, her work showcases a model for how interdisciplinary science can drive innovation.

Dr Dzung Do-Ha is helping to build a future where quantum tools are part of everyday biomedical research. Her work on MND is not only advancing our understanding of the disease, it’s showing what’s possible when neuroscience and quantum physics come together to solve real-world problems.