Research News

Cleveland Clinic and IBM officially unveiled Monday the first deployment of an onsite private sector IBM-managed quantum computer in the United States. The IBM Quantum System One installed at Cleveland Clinic will be the first quantum computer in the world to be uniquely dedicated to healthcare research with an aim to help Cleveland Clinic accelerate biomedical discoveries.

The unveiling comes as a key milestone in Cleveland Clinic's and IBM's 10-year Discovery Accelerator partnership, announced in 2021, which is focused on advancing the pace of biomedical research through the use of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The system was unveiled at a formal event featuring leaders from IBM and Cleveland Clinic; Susan Monarez, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H); Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11); Lt. Governor of Ohio Jon Husted; and Mayor of Cleveland Justin M. Bibb.

Quantum computing is a rapidly emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that today's most powerful supercomputers cannot practically solve. The ability to tap into these new computational spaces could help researchers identify new medicines and treatments more quickly.

"This is a pivotal milestone in our innovative partnership with IBM, as we explore new ways to apply the power of quantum computing to healthcare," said Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., Cleveland Clinic CEO and President and Morton L. Mandel CEO Chair. "This technology holds tremendous promise in revolutionizing healthcare and expediting progress toward new cares, cures and solutions for patients. Quantum and other advanced computing technologies will help researchers tackle historic scientific bottlenecks and potentially find new treatments for patients with diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes."

"With the unveiling of IBM Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic, their team of world-class researchers can now explore and uncover new scientific advancements in biomedical research," said Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman and CEO. "By combining the power of quantum computing, artificial intelligence and other next-generation technologies with Cleveland Clinic's world-renowned leadership in healthcare and life sciences, we hope to ignite a new era of accelerated discovery."

In addition to quantum computing, the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator draws upon a variety of IBM's latest advancements in computing technologies, including high performance computing via the hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence. Researchers from both organizations are collaborating closely on a robust portfolio of projects with these advanced technologies to generate and analyze massive amounts of data to enhance research. 

The Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator has generated multiple projects that leverage the latest in quantum computing, AI and hybrid cloud to help expedite discoveries in biomedical research. These include:

Development of quantum computing pipelines to screen and optimize drugs targeted to specific proteins; Improvement of a quantum-enhanced prediction model for cardiovascular risk following non-cardiac surgery; and Application of artificial intelligence to search genome sequencing findings and large drug-target databases to find effective, existing drugs that could help patients with Alzheimer's and other diseases.

Click here to read more from the Cleveland Clinic Newsroom and see more photos and video from the event.

IBM Quantum System One was unveiled Monday at Cleveland Clinic's main campus in a ribbon cutting ceremony by (left to right): Ruoyi Zhou, Ph.D., director of the IBM Discovery Accelerator at Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic Chief Research Information Officer Lara Jehi, M.D. Congresswoman Shontel Brown; IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research Dario Gil, Ph.D.; IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn; Lt. Governor of Ohio Jon Husted; Cleveland Clinic Chief Research and Academic Officer Serpil Erzurum, M.D.; ARPA-H Deputy Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D.; Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D.; and Mayor of Cleveland Justin M. Bibb.