Long before a tumour becomes visible on a scan, or symptoms sends a patient rushing to hospital, there are faint biological signals that something is wrong. These signals are so small that today’s medical tools often miss them.
This largely unseen frontier is where Temitope Adeniyi’s work is focused.
The Nigerian-born quantum scientist and researcher, based in the United States (US), has emerged as the only Nigerian on UNESCO’s list of 100 global honourees for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. She is being recognised for her work on quantum sensors designed to detect life-threatening diseases at their earliest, most treatable stages. As she puts it, her goal is “to detect diseases long before they become life-threatening”.
If successful, her research could reshape how illnesses such as cancer are diagnosed, influence the next generation of hospital diagnostic tools, and open new pathways for African participation in the fast-growing quantum technology industry. More broadly, it positions Nigeria and Africa within the advanced science and technology space that is expected to define the next century.
Qunatum computing’s impact is best understood through medicine. Many diseases, including cancers, begin at microscopic levels that conventional tools struggle to detect early. Adeniyi’s work aims to develop ultra-sensitive quantum sensors capable of picking up the faintest biological signals.
Unlike classical computers, which processes information using bits that are either 0 or 1, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in multiple states at once. This allows them to solve certain problems far faster than today’s most powerful computers, problems that could take classical machines thousands of years.
Beyond the UNESCO honour, Adeniyi received the Femtum leap award for rising quantum stars at the quantum innovation summit in Dubai in January 2024. She was also selected for the female science talents intensive track by the Falling Walls Foundation in Germany, a programme that chose just 20 scientists worldwide from 629 applicants.
Currently a research assistant at Cleveland state university, she helped develop the institution’s first-ever quantum computing course, which is now embedded in the curriculum. She has also co-developed and taught quantum machine learning courses, while introducing quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) concepts to high school students across the metropolitan district.
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From Osun state to the world
Adeniyi hails from Ijebu-Ijesa in Osun State. Born in Lagos and raised in Ibadan, Oyo State, she grew up in a home where learning was part of everyday life. Her father was a lecturer, while her mother ran a primary school. During school holidays, teaching younger pupils was not optional for the children but a routine for her.
“I have been teaching since I was a child,” she recalls. “My parents made learning a lifestyle.”
Ironically, science was not her first love. As a child, she was drawn to art and drawing and imagined a future as an artist. But after junior secondary school, she was placed in the science class, against her wishes, largely because her family noticed her strength in mathematics and analytical reasoning.
The real turning point came during a prolonged university strike, when her elder brother, then an engineering student at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), returned home. Over several months, he taught her science using stories and songs.
“That experience changed everything,” she says. “I fell in love with science, especially Physics.”
She went on to excel academically, finishing secondary school at just 14 and eventually studying Physics with Electronics at Osun state university. Despite warnings that physics graduates often “end up as teachers”, she stayed the course, driven by genuine passion.
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Falling into computing, and discovering quantum science
While pursuing a PhD in Physics at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), after her Masters degree, Adeniyi discovered computing. She learned programming languages such as Java and Python, explored AI, robotics and machine learning, and began searching for a field that could bring together her interests in physics, mathematics and computation.
That search led her to quantum computing. “Quantum computing blends physics, mathematics and computing,” Adeniyi explains. “For me, it was a perfect fit.”
She began studying the field independently through online courses, hackathons and summer schools, while continuing her PhD studies in Nigeria. A chance encounter on LinkedIn with a US-based academic looking for someone with experience in quantum computing, AI and teaching changed the trajectory of her career.
In January 2023, she relocated to the US in January 2023.
Breaking barriers in the United States
At Cleveland state university in Ohio, Adeniyi enrolled as a PhD student in Computer Science and began conducting advanced research in quantum computing. Like many African women in elite scientific spaces, she initially battled impostor syndrome.
“Being African and female made me doubt myself,” she admits.
Those doubts soon faded. Her extensive self-study meant she was not only keeping up but, in some areas, ahead. She worked as a research assistant, applying AI to fine-tune sensing devices, and gained early access to a quantum computer linked to healthcare research which is a rare opportunity.
Her research now focuses on developing quantum algorithms using AI, improving quantum systems such as sensors, and advancing quantum machine learning. She also applies AI to population health informatics in collaboration with a hospital.
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Building Africa’s quantum future
In 2024, Adeniyi joined forces with colleagues to revive and relaunch the African Quantum Consortium, which officially launched in January 2025. She now serves as programme lead.
The consortium brings together researchers, policymakers, students and innovators from across Africa to advance quantum science on the continent. It already has representation from 23 African countries, has awarded fellowships to more than 20 students, and is running a pan-African quantum hackathon with participants from 22 countries.
Through partnerships with global technology firms such as IBM, the initiative provides African talents with access to quantum resources and pathways into the global quantum industry.
“Our goal is to ensure Africa is not just a consumer of quantum technology, but an active contributor,” she says.
Looking homeward
Although she is unsure when she will return permanently to Nigeria, Adeniyi is clear about her long-term vision: to establish a world-class deep-tech research institute in Nigeria because according to her, “Accolades are not the end goal. I believe strongly in giving back,” she says.
“I want it to be the biggest deep-tech research institute in Africa; one that is equipped with quantum computers, robotics, space technology and resources that public universities currently lack, while working in partnership with them”, she says.
From a child who wanted to be an artist to a UNESCO-honoured quantum scientist, Temitope Adeniyi embodies a new generation of Nigerians in the diaspora, globally respected, locally rooted, and determined to ensure that Nigeria has a place in shaping the technologies of the future.
