Dr. Mzyk to Use Quantum Sensors to Track Cancer Cell Metabolism
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Dr. Aldona Mzyk has been awarded a £2 million Future Leaders Fellowship to utilize quantum sensors for tracking immune cell metabolism during cancer treatment. Funded by UK Research and Innovation, the four-year project will be conducted at the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, part of the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University. Dr. Mzyk’s research focuses on understanding why immunotherapies succeed in some patients but not others, employing sensors capable of detecting changes on length scales thousands of times smaller than a human hair to probe magnetic signals from free radicals within living cells. This advancement aims to improve patient-tailored therapies and earlier disease diagnosis. Quantum Sensing for Cancer Diagnosis A £2 million, four-year project funded by UK Research and Innovation will utilize quantum sensors to investigate why cancer immunotherapies are ineffective for some patients. The research focuses on understanding metabolic changes within immune cells when they interact with tumors, specifically examining free radical production. These sensors, potentially as small as a single electron, can detect changes on length scales thousands of times smaller than a human hair, offering unprecedented precision in monitoring cellular behavior and potentially leading to tailored cancer therapies. The project aims to create an integrated platform combining quantum sensing with optical spectroscopy and microfluidics. This platform will be capable of tracking cellular metabolism in thousands of cells within seconds, addressing a key challenge in treating solid tumors like breast, lung, or bowel cancer – where current CAR-T cell therapies work in less than half of cases. Detecting these subtle changes is vital, as seventeen people worldwide die from cancer every minute. Quantum sensing is described as transforming medical diagnostics through its sensitivity, enabling detection down to the single molecule level, and facilitating earlier disease detection for improved treatment outcomes. Heriot-Watt University is heavily involved in this research, leading one quantum research hub and participating in others focused on sensing, imaging, and biomedical applications, aligning with the UK’s National Quantum Technology Programme and goals for the NHS.
Understanding Immune Cell Metabolism in Tumors A new £2 million research project aims to understand why immune cells sometimes fail when fighting cancer. The core issue lies in disruptions to immune cell metabolism caused by the tumor environment; current immunotherapies, like CAR-T cells, are only successful in less than half of solid tumor cases.
This research will focus on monitoring changes in free radical production—highly reactive molecules crucial to cell metabolism—within immune cells as they interact with cancer tissue, hoping to improve treatment efficacy. This project utilizes quantum sensors—devices capable of detecting changes on length scales thousands of times smaller than a human hair—to probe these metabolic changes. These sensors, as small as a single electron, will measure magnetic signals from free radicals with extraordinary precision. Researchers intend to combine quantum sensing with optical spectroscopy and microfluidics, creating a platform to track cellular metabolism in thousands of cells within seconds. The ultimate goal is to develop better, patient-tailored cancer therapies and tools for evaluating anti-cancer drugs.
This research aligns with the UK’s National Quantum Technology Programme and seeks to equip the NHS with ultra-sensitive quantum sensors. The sensitivity of these sensors—down to the single molecule level—promises earlier disease detection and, potentially, improved treatment outcomes, given that seventeen people worldwide die from cancer every minute. Every minute, seventeen people in the world die from cancer. We know that immune cell failure comes from changes in their metabolism when they interact with cancer cells. To improve immune cell performance, we need to understand how to control these metabolic changes by monitoring free radical production inside the cells, essentially spying on how they behave.Dr Aldona Mzyk Project Funding and Heriot-Watt University Involvement A £2 million, four-year Future Leaders Fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Aldona Mzyk to investigate cancer-immune cell interactions using quantum technology.
This research addresses the challenge of why immunotherapies, like CAR-T cells, are only successful in less than half of solid tumor cases. Dr. Mzyk will soon join the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt University to utilize quantum sensors—devices capable of detecting changes at scales thousands of times smaller than a human hair—to monitor free radical production within cells. The project aims to understand metabolic changes in immune cells when encountering cancer tissue, focusing on monitoring free radical production. This will be achieved through an integrated platform combining quantum sensing with optical spectroscopy and microfluidics, enabling the tracking of cellular metabolism in thousands of cells within seconds. The work aligns with the UK’s National Quantum Technology Programme, with a goal of providing the NHS with ultra-sensitive quantum sensors for improved diagnostics. Heriot-Watt University plays a significant role in UK quantum research, involved in four of five quantum research hubs funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Specifically, Heriot-Watt leads the Integrated Quantum Networks Hub and actively participates in research focusing on sensing, imaging, and biomedical applications.
Professor Cristian Bonato highlights the university’s development of quantum sensors achieving unprecedented precision for biomedical research. Source: https://www.hw.ac.uk/news/2025/scientists-to-spy-on-cancer-immune-cell-interactions-using-quantum-technology-breakthrough Tags: