Groundbreaking Meeting of Minds at Northwell Health’s Quantum Biology Forum Unlocks New Understanding of Life’s Fundamental Principles

Gathering at United Therapeutics headquarters in Silver Spring, MD catalyzes interdisciplinary collaboration, highlighting quantum mechanics’ role in health and disease

MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What if healing wasn’t just about chemistry, but about the very energy and light within our bodies? This groundbreaking question guided Northwell Health’s Quantum Biology Forum, a seminal first meeting of minds held April 13-14 at United Therapeutics headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Supported by Martine Rothblatt, PhD, CEO of United Therapeutics, and Northwell’s Lance B. Becker, MD, this unique event brought together over 120 pioneering scientists, industry leaders and innovators from around the globe to explore how quantum mechanics influences biological processes and promises a revolution in medicine.

“This isn’t science fiction; it’s the biological physics of life,” said Dr. Becker, program director of Northwell’s Quantum Biology Forum, professor in the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and Chair of Emergency Medicine at Northwell. “We’re moving beyond traditional views of the body as a mere chemical machine. This forum has shown that understanding the role of energy, light and quantum effects within our cells holds the key to unlocking new cures and enhancing wellness in ways we’ve only begun to imagine.”

The forum highlighted that the body’s own intricate energy systems and its interaction with light play a far more fundamental role in health and disease than previously understood. Instead of solely focusing on molecular interactions, quantum biology delves into how phenomena like electron transfer, energy coherence and bioelectric fields drive life itself, offering novel targets for intervention in ailments ranging from Alzheimer’s disease and cancer to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and more.

A compelling example of this paradigm shift was the discussion on mitochondria transplantation, an emerging field being led by Dr. Becker and his lab at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes. Traditionally seen as simple cellular powerhouses, new insights reveal mitochondria’s complex, quantum-informed role in cellular energy. This understanding has propelled mitochondria transplantation into clinical use for conditions like heart disease, brain diseases and cardiac arrest, directly showcasing how leveraging the body’s inherent energy mechanisms can lead to tangible healing.

“This Forum, brought to life by the leadership of Drs. Becker and Rothblatt, marks a special moment in medical science. This wasn’t merely a meeting of minds; it was a call for collaboration, compelling scientists to move beyond traditional views of biology,” said John D’Angelo, MD, president and CEO of Northwell. “This work charts a course to better understand how life works at its core, ultimately leading to improved treatments and cures.”

The forum attracted a distinguished array of experts, including Geoffrey Guy, founder and chairman of the Guy Foundation, who gave a foundational overview of his pioneering leadership in the field; Martin Picard, PhD, from Columbia University; and Douglas Wallace, PhD, from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who discussed the current state of mitochondrial transplantation. Praveen Arany, PhD, from the University at Buffalo, spoke about the new field of photo-biomodulation, in addition to Carolyn McMakin, a pioneer and developer of Frequency-Specific Microcurrent (FSM) Therapy, among others. In addition, Stephen Wolfram, PhD, founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, delivered a special keynote titled “A Computational View of Biological Reality.”

For more information about the forum, click here.

About Northwell Health

Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 106,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine. Through the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn.