Notes from the Quantum Realm

On average, a new drug can take nearly two decades to move from a researcher’s discovery to a patient’s bedside. Cleveland Clinic’s quantum computing program exists, in large part, to change that — by tackling the laborious work of modeling proteins, simulating molecules and designing clinical trials in ways classical computers simply cannot.

Since the IBM Quantum System One arrived on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in 2023, the program has moved quickly from promise to progress. The system recently received a significant upgrade: a new, more powerful quantum chip and a first-of-its-kind direct connection to Cleveland Clinic’s high-performance computing system.

Advancing research

Cleveland Clinic’s quantum computing research has produced a growing body of peer-reviewed work in high-impact journals, including a notable study in which researchers applied quantum and classical methods to predict how proteins fold into the structures that determine their function in the body. The hybrid framework outperformed both a traditional physics-based method and a leading AI tool in early testing. It was validated by accurately modeling a fragment of a Zika virus protein.

A different research team has developed a hybrid approach that combines the power of the IBM Quantum System One with the error-correction capabilities of a supercomputer to simulate how molecules behave — a task too complex for even the most advanced classical computers alone. The method was successfully tested on two molecules, correctly predicting their relative stability using fewer qubits than a fully quantum approach would require.

The research portfolio spans several disease areas, too. Quantum and AI-enabled approaches are being explored in cancer immunotherapy design and early lung cancer detection. Separately, researchers are investigating quantum machine learning as a tool for predicting antibiotic resistance, which is an important front in the fight against drug-resistant infections.

Cultivating talent

Of course, scientific breakthroughs require more than machines. To this end, Cleveland Clinic has established educational partnerships with Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Cleveland State University and Miami University to develop a new generation of quantum computing-literate researchers.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Cleveland Clinic have launched a postdoctoral fellowship exchange program that will support up to 12 researchers in a three-year program split between Cleveland Clinic and Denmark. They’ll work at the intersection of quantum computing, AI and clinical medicine.

For early-stage companies, Cleveland Clinic runs the Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program. It offers hands-on access to the IBM Quantum System One alongside guidance from Cleveland Clinic’s own researchers.

Embracing innovation

Cleveland Clinic’s annual Cleveland Discovery and Innovation Forum brings together leaders from science, technology, government and industry. This year’s event — themed “Next-Gen Biomedical Discovery for Better Health: AI and Quantum” — is set for June 15 at the InterContinental Hotel on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.

The forum reflects Cleveland Clinic’s goal of establishing its hometown and its home state as a center of quantum-health innovation by attracting venture interest, spurring regional economic growth and shaping how an entire industry develops.

“We’re applying quantum computing to the most difficult bottlenecks in medicine, and we’re doing it in ways that are usable today, not decades from now,” says Lara Jehi, MD, Chief Research Information Officer at Cleveland Clinic. She holds the Sondra J. and Stephen R. Hardis Endowed Chair for Research and Technology.

“This technology is not only important to the future of research,” Dr. Jehi says. “It’s important to the patients we see every day.”