Christoph Simon, University of Calgary

Research

Biophotons Cavity QED Entanglement Photons Plasmonics Quantum dots Quantum networks Rare-earth ion doped crystals

Latest papers

Verification of quantum biological predictions for weak magnetic field effects on superoxide in planarians.
PNAS nexus · 2026 · senior author
Exploring quantum active learning for materials design and discovery.
Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP · 2026
Revisiting Claims of Extracranial Biophoton Detection from the Human Brain.
The journal of physical chemistry letters · 2026 · senior author

All 37 publications

Latest funding

Diamond quantum photonic sensors
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$824,000
Quantum Information, Chemistry, Materials and Machine learning for Intermediate-scale Quantum Computing
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$497,600
ARAQNE: Alliance for Research and Applications of Quantum Network Entanglement
NSERC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$3,000,000

All 14 grants and awards

37 publications.

01

Verification of quantum biological predictions for weak magnetic field effects on superoxide in planarians.

Rishabh R, Vučković J, Zadeh-Haghighi H, Beane WS, Simon C

PNAS nexus2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag152 PMID: 42169768

02

Exploring quantum active learning for materials design and discovery.

Lourenço MP, Zadeh-Haghighi H, Hostaš J, Naseri M, Gaur D, Simon C, Salahub DR

Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP2026

DOI: 10.1039/d5cp04800a PMID: 41852349

03

Revisiting Claims of Extracranial Biophoton Detection from the Human Brain.

Salari V, Seshan V, Rishabh R, Oblak D, Simon C

The journal of physical chemistry letters2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c01258 PMID: 42460881

04

Tubulin polymerization dynamics are influenced by magnetic isotope effects consistent with the radical pair mechanism.

Zadeh-Haghighi H, Siguenza CR, Smith RP, Simon C, Craddock TJA

Science advances2026

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady8317 PMID: 41686898

05

Unwanted Couplings Can Induce Amplification in Quantum Memories despite Negligible Apparent Noise.

Kimiaee Asadi F, Kumar J, Ji J, Heshami K, Simon C

Physical review letters2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1103/pz34-47pw PMID: 40929210

06

The impact of ketamine and thiopental anesthesia on ultraweak photon emission and oxidative-nitrosative stress in rat brains.

Ghaffari MK, Sefati N, Esmaeilpour T, Salari V, Oblak D, Simon C

Frontiers in systems neuroscience2025Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2025.1502589 PMID: 40191280

07

Interplay of Light, Melatonin, and Circadian Genes in Skin Pigmentation Regulation.

Bertolesi GE, Debnath N, Heshami N, Bui R, Zadeh-Haghighi H, Simon C, McFarlane S

Pigment cell & melanoma research2025

DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.13220 PMID: 39825699

08

Quantum theory of a potential biological magnetic field sensor: Radical pair mechanism in flavin adenine dinucleotide biradicals.

Sotoodehfar A, Rishabh, Zadeh-Haghighi H, Simon C

Computational and structural biotechnology journal2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.11.032 PMID: 39697355

09

Verification of radical pair mechanism predictions for weak magnetic field effects on superoxide in planarians.

Rishabh, Vučković J, Zadeh-Haghighi H, Beane WS, Simon C

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1101/2024.11.20.624392 PMID: 39605635

10

Coarse graining and criticality in the human connectome.

Kora Y, Simon C

Physical review. E2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1103/physreve.109.044303 PMID: 38755874

Diamond quantum photonic sensors

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Barclay, Paul PE

Keywords: diamond; nanophotonics; optomechanics; quantum photonics; quantum sensing; spin qubits

$824,000

Quantum Information, Chemistry, Materials and Machine learning for Intermediate-scale Quantum Computing

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Gerolin, Augusto A

Keywords: density matrix functional theory; optimal transport; quantum information; quantum optimal transport; quantum reservoir computing; strongly correlated electron systems

$497,600

ARAQNE: Alliance for Research and Applications of Quantum Network Entanglement

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: LeBlanc, Lindsay Jane LJ

Keywords: distributed quantum computing; entanglement distribution; fiber-optics networks; quantum memory; quantum networking; quantum secure communications; quantum transduction; single-photon sources

$3,000,000

Qeyssat User INvestigation Team (QUINT)

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Jennewein, Thomas D

Keywords: entangled photon pairs; quantum communications; quantum entanglement; quantum ground station; quantum internet; quantum key distribution; quantum memories; quantum networks; satellite quantum communication; single photon devices

$3,000,000

Quantum Enhanced Sensing and Imaging (QuEnSI)

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Boyd, Robert RWB

Keywords: imaging; light-matter interactions; quantum imaging; quantum technologies; sensing

$3,000,000

Designing solid-state quantum sensors for brain imaging

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Simon, Christoph C

$98,000

Combined quantum transducer and memory on a hybrid solid-state platform

Co-investigatorNSERC2021Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Oblak, Daniel D

$100,000

Entanglement from the quantum internet to quantum neuroscience

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Simon, Christoph

Keywords: entanglement; quantum networks; spins; photons; cavity qed; plasmonics; quantum dots; rare-earth ion doped crystals; biophotons; spin chemistry

$300,000

Quantum phononic-photonic-spin networking devices_x000d_

Co-investigatorNSERC2018Strategic Projects - Group

Principal investigators: Barclay, Paul

$532,500

Quantum-secured communications for Canada (QSC2)

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Strategic Projects - Group

Principal investigators: Simon, Christoph

$628,400

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Physics and Astronomy
Chemistry
Mathematics ＆ Computer Science
Oncology
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Cell Biology and Anatomy

Co-authors at University of Calgary, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Daniel Oblak

Physics and Astronomy

4 shared papers, latest 2026

Dennis Salahub

Chemistry

2 shared papers, latest 2022

Paul Barclay

Physics and Astronomy

2 shared papers, latest 2018

Sarah McFarlane

Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Jack Tuszynski

Oncology

1 shared papers, latest 2018

Wilten Nicola

Cell Biology and Anatomy

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Daya Gaur

Mathematics ＆ Computer Science

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2021

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Biophotons Dear Professor Simon, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Verification of quantum biological predictions for weak magnetic field effects on superoxide in planarians." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Designing solid-state quantum sensors for brain imaging" (2021), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]