Rate My Professor Daniel Kattnig

Daniel R. Kattnig is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter, where he is also affiliated with the Living Systems Institute. His research focuses on the theoretical description and experimental assessment of the effects of weak magnetic fields on chemical reaction yields, particularly in biological systems. The Kattnig group investigates quantum spin dynamics in radical pairs, with applications to animal magnetoreception, such as the avian magnetic compass mediated by cryptochrome flavoproteins. Key areas include the role of inter-radical motion, quantum Zeno effects, chirality-induced spin selectivity, and radiofrequency field influences on radical pair mechanisms. This work elucidates how geomagnetic fields and low-frequency electromagnetic fields can modulate reaction outcomes through coherent spin evolution and relaxation processes.

Kattnig's contributions have been published in leading journals, including 'Magnetosensitivity of tightly bound radical pairs in cryptochrome is enabled by the quantum Zeno effect' (Nature Communications, 2024), 'Weak Radiofrequency Field Effects on Biological Systems Mediated through the Radical Pair Mechanism' (Chemical Reviews, 2025), 'Chirality-bolstered quantum Zeno effect enhances radical pair-based magnetoreception' (AVS Quantum Science, 2025), 'Electron hopping in cryptochrome: Implications for radical pair magnetoreception and the role of the fourth tryptophan' (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2025), 'Spin Relaxation Does Not Preclude Magnetic Field Effects on Lipid Autoxidation' (ACS Central Science, 2026), and 'Quantum Zeno Effect Permits Magnetosensitivity in Lipid Peroxidation despite Fluctuating Inter-Radical Coupling' (JACS Au, 2026). He leads the Theory of Magnetosensitivity research group and has received grants from EPSRC ('The quantum avian compass probed on the single molecule level', £200,889, 2022-2024), BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, and Google Academic Research Awards. His expertise spans physical chemistry, spin chemistry, electron transfer, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, advancing quantum biology and biomagnetism.