Applications Now Open: Join the QuantOmics Inaugural Cohort

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:00:00 +0000

QuantOmics is now accepting applications for its inaugural cohort of graduate trainees and postdoctoral fellows. This is a rare opportunity to join a nationally unique, interdisciplinary training program at the intersection of quantum biosensing, computational genomics, and artificial intelligence.

What You’ll Gain

As a QuantOmics trainee, you will:

Develop deep expertise across three interconnected domains — quantum sensing, genomics, and AI — building a skill set that no traditional graduate program can offer
Be supported by a Mentorship Trio consisting of your primary supervisor, a co-supervisor from a complementary stream and institution, and an industry advisor
Complete a mandatory mobility placement (6–8 weeks) in either an academic lab or industry R&D environment
Participate in the Multimodal-Omics Data Integration Bootcamp — a three-week hands-on intensive building complete sensor-to-insight pipelines
Access industry internship opportunities with partners including Epiloid Biotech, C2MI, Terry Fox Research Institute, Ontario Genomics, Klick Health, Alimentiv, and Novavax
Present your research at the QuantOmics Symposium with a concurrent job fair
Receive a QuantOmics supplement on top of your institutional stipend to support program activities and mobility

Who Should Apply?

We welcome applicants from a wide range of disciplines with no prior cross-domain experience required:

Background	Likely Entry Stream
Electrical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics	Stream 1 (Quantum Biosensing)
Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering	Stream 3 (AI Therapeutics)
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics	Stream 2 (Genomics)
Molecular Genetics, Genomic Medicine	Stream 2 (Genomics)
Health Sciences (with quantitative training)	Stream 2 or 3

How to Apply

Find your supervisor — Browse the research team and identify a faculty member whose research resonates with you. Email them directly to discuss potential supervision.
Apply to the university — Submit your application through the graduate admissions portal of your chosen partner institution.
Note your QuantOmics interest — Clearly state your interest in the QuantOmics CREATE program in your application.
Your supervisor nominates you — Once admitted, your supervisor nominates you to the QuantOmics Steering Committee for formal enrollment.

Partner institutions: Toronto Metropolitan University · McGill University · Queen’s University · Université Laval · University of Saskatchewan · University of Toronto

Our Commitment to Equity & Inclusion

QuantOmics is committed to building a diverse cohort. We actively recruit from communities underrepresented in STEM, including women and non-binary individuals in engineering and AI, Black and Indigenous researchers, and candidates from all geographic backgrounds across Canada.

Job ads use unbiased language and are circulated through targeted networks including the Black Professionals in Tech Network, Native Women’s Association of Canada, Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology, Women in Genomics, and Indigenous Student Services offices.

Questions?

Contact the QuantOmics Program Coordinator at n77khan@torontomu.ca or visit the Apply page for full details.

We look forward to welcoming our founding cohort of QuantOmics trainees.

QuantOmics Receives NSERC CREATE Funding to Train Canada's Quantum-Biomedical Leaders

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 09:00:00 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that the NSERC CREATE in AI-Driven Quantum Sensing and Genomics for Precision Therapeutics (QuantOmics) has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to establish Canada’s first integrated research and training pipeline bridging quantum nanotechnology, computational genomics, and artificial intelligence.

What is QuantOmics?

QuantOmics is designed to dismantle disciplinary and training silos that currently prevent Canada from fully realizing the potential of quantum-enabled precision medicine. Our program brings together a consortium of six research-intensive universities — Toronto Metropolitan University, McGill, Queen’s, Université Laval, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Toronto — along with a cross-sectoral network of eight industry and clinical partners.

Over six years, QuantOmics will train 93 highly qualified personnel (HQP), including 36 undergraduates, 36 Master’s students, 15 PhD candidates, and 6 Postdoctoral Fellows, producing 170 one-year training units.

The Vision

The next frontier in medicine lies in translating an individual’s unique genomic blueprint into personalized, life-saving therapeutics. Realizing this vision requires overcoming a fundamental measurement barrier: today’s biological assays lack the sensitivity to detect the ultra-low-abundance biomarkers that signal disease onset.

QuantOmics addresses this with an integrated three-stream research pipeline:

Stream 1 — Quantum Probe Design & Fabrication: Engineering biosensors capable of detecting biomarkers at the attomolar level
Stream 2 — Genomics Signal Integration: Converting quantum sensor data into high-fidelity multi-omic datasets
Stream 3 — AI-Powered Therapeutic Design: Building predictive models to guide rational therapeutic and vaccine design

A New Kind of Training

Every QuantOmics graduate trainee is supported by a “Translational Trajectory” Mentorship Trio — pairing them with a primary academic supervisor, a co-supervisor from a complementary stream at a different institution, and an industry advisor. This structure ensures trainees develop deep interdisciplinary literacy and strong professional networks from day one.

The program includes five specialized courses (three on-demand, one immersive bootcamp, and one responsible innovation seminar series), industry and academic mobility placements, annual team hackathons, and triennial national symposiums with concurrent job fairs.

Quote from the Program Director

“QuantOmics is not just a training program — it’s a paradigm shift in how we prepare the next generation of Canadian researchers. A QuantOmics graduate will speak the language of hardware engineers, molecular biologists, and AI developers simultaneously. That kind of integrative thinking is exactly what Canada needs to lead in the global quantum-biomedical economy.” — Dr. Naimul Khan, Program Director, QuantOmics

Applications Opening Soon

The QuantOmics program will begin accepting applications for its inaugural cohort. Prospective trainees at all levels — undergraduate, Master’s, PhD, and Postdoctoral — are encouraged to review the program details and reach out to faculty whose research aligns with their interests.

Applications are made through the standard graduate admissions process at any of the six partner universities, with supervisor nomination to the QuantOmics program.

Learn more about how to apply →

This research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

Announcement | QuantOmics