Howard University Receives $550,000 Grant for the Quantum Biology Laboratory

Howard University has announced that the Quantum Biology Laboratory (QBL) has received a major $550,000 grant from the Guy Foundation (GF) that will be used over the course of the next two years. This is the first time the United Kingdom-based Guy Foundation has awarded a grant to an institution outside the UK and the third scientific research project supported by the Guy Foundation since it was established 2 years ago in 2018.

The grant will support the Quantum Biology Laboratory in exploring fundamental questions at the nexus of quantum theory, electrodynamics, and biosystems. It will be under the direction of QBL Principal Investigator and Founding Director Philip Kurian (Ph.D. ’13).

“This is a landmark moment for the QBL, and for Howard,” said Kurian, a theoretical physicist. “It demonstrates our University’s institutional commitment to research in the quantum sciences, particularly quantum biology.”

The QBL’s work extends beyond fundamental science. “Oxidative stress, an important factor in the progression and severity of chronic degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer, may modulate or disrupt ultrafast signaling processes in the cell through molecular emission of packets of light. Study of these light-enabled signaling pathways will provide insights into mechanisms behind the mystery of human conscious processing,” said Kurian.

“Awarding this grant to Dr. Kurian was an important step in fulfilling the Foundation’s aims of bringing together leading scientists interested in quantum biology from around the world, which would ensure that this field of science finally reaches a critical mass and fulfills its destiny of answering some of the deepest questions about life itself,” said Guy Foundation Founder and Chairman, Geoffrey Guy.

“The Quantum Biology Lab is a wonderful example of what happens when researchers are free to collaborate and to think within and beyond their specific disciplines. As a research professor in the Graduate School, Dr. Kurian continues to bring exciting projects to Howard while also sharing with the world research that is informed by Howard’s uniqueness. I look forward to seeing how this award will continue to advance groundbreaking research Dr. Kurian and his team will initiate at Howard,” said Dana A. Williams, interim dean of the Graduate School at Howard University.