Physics, Quantum Research News

University of Waterloo summer research links quantum effects to neurons

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November 10, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

Mercury Ming, a fourth-year Psychology student at the University of Waterloo, investigated the link between magnesium isotopes and neuron function this summer through the Faculty of Science’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. Her work in Dr. Travis Craddock’s Quantum Neurobiology Lab focused on tubulin polymerization, a process critical for intracellular transport within neurons.

Previous research indicates that the rate of tubulin depolymerization exceeding repolymerization correlates with neuronal function loss in neurodegenerative diseases. Ming hopes this research will contribute to understanding these complex processes. The experience also strengthened Ming’s laboratory skills as she prepares for a healthcare career.

Magnesium Isotopes and Tubulin Polymerization in Neurons

Ming investigated the effect of magnesium isotopes on the polymerization of structural proteins in neurons within the Quantum Neurobiology Lab. The significance of tubulin dynamics extends to the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases; previous research establishes a correlation between accelerated tubulin depolymerization and the subsequent loss of neuronal function. Ming explained that when tubulin structure depolymerizes faster than it can repolymerize, it leads to cognitive and motor impairments observed in these conditions. Ming’s research experience was supported by the Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF), an initiative designed to expand undergraduate research opportunities.

The hands-on experience proved invaluable, bridging theoretical knowledge gained in coursework with practical application. “One of the most rewarding aspects was seeing the concepts I learned in class applied to real-world research,” Ming said, highlighting the benefit of the program in strengthening her wet lab skills and bolstering confidence in pursuing a healthcare career.

The Quantum Neurobiology Lab, situated within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, provided an environment for Ming to explore potential quantum effects within biological systems. The research emphasises the importance of structural proteins like tubulin in maintaining cellular function and offers a potential avenue for future therapeutic interventions targeting neurodegenerative disorders.

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Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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