Guanghan Meng, PhD

As one of the most optically accessible structures in humans, the eye provides crucial insights into various diseases, including myopia, glaucoma, and systemic conditions like neurodegenerative disorders. Our research utilizes interdisciplinary approaches to develop cutting-edge imaging methods for in vivo study of the eye and brain, which can be categorized into three primary areas:

Label-Free Imaging of Human Ocular Structures
Label-free modalities are ideal for clinical imaging as they do not require exogenous contrast agents, resulting in low chemical and phototoxicity. Our most recent effort involves the development of low-cost optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices to measure the axial eye length and track myopia progression in pediatric patients.

Fluorescence Microscopy for Small-Animal Retinal and Brain Imaging
Fluorescence microscopy offers high specificity and enables quantitative measurement of neurovascular functions in the eyes and brains of small animals. This approach is an indispensable component of our research to shed light on the pathology of ocular and brain diseases using animal disease models.

Machine Learning-Enhanced Multimodal Imaging
While fluorescence microscopy and label-free imaging excel in their respective applications, bridging preclinical and clinical studies remains a challenge. To address this, we employ artificial intelligence to enhance label-free imaging with the highly specific and quantitative fluorescence data collected from the same animals. This AI- empowered label-free technique can then be translated to humans, ultimately bridging the gap between preclinical and clinical settings.

Research Areas: Biomedical Optics, Clinical Science, Molecular and Cell Biology, Neuroscience & Neurobiology.