Research Interests

Ø  Biomedical Optical Imaging for Retina and Eye Research

Structural and functional imaging in health and disease eyes

using Optical Coherence Tomography, Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy, and Adaptive Optics

Ø  Instrumentation

Design and develop customized optical imaging instruments with engineering skills (Optical, Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Programming) for biomedical research

(A note for our international Master or Ph.D applicants: Please be aware that I'm currently only involved in Chinese-taught programs. To ensure you can successfully engage with the course material, we require all applicants to have Chinese language proficiency at HSK Level 4 (180 or above)). 

Employment

School of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology

12.2020-present       Professor

School of Medicine, University of California Davis (UCD)

07.2019-12.2020      Associate Project Scientist

06.2017-06.2019      Assistant Project Scientist

06.2013-05.2017      Postdoctoral Researcher

Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS)

01.2012-05.2013      Postdoctoral Researcher

Education

School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU)

09. 2007-09.2011     Ph.D. - Instrumentation Science and Technology

09. 2004-07.2007     Master - Measuring & Testing Technology and Instrument

09. 2000-07.2004     Bachelor - Measurement & Control Technology and Instrument

Selected Publications

 (Journal, ^#equal contribution, ^*Corresponding Author)

1. Y. Zhou, M. Zhou, B. Wang, X. Yin, J. Bai*, S. Wang, K. Neuhaus, B. Baumann, Y. Jian, P. Zhang*, "Development of a High-speed Swept-source OCT/OCTA/ORG System for Structural and Functional Imaging of the Living Mouse Retina," in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, https://doi: 10.1109/TIM.2025.3606015. 
   

2. Y. Ma, Y. Zhou, J. Song, X. Yin, B. Wang, M. Zhou, M. J. Ju, and P. Zhang*, "Dual-camera spectrometer with balanced detection for enhanced retinal OCT imaging in the living mouse eye," Opt. Lett. 50, 4514-4517 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.562050.
   

3. T. Song, Y. Wang, Y. Zhou, M. Zhou, Y. Ma, D. Ma, J. Qu*, J. Zhang*, P. Zhang*, "Real-time frame-registered resonant fluorescence scanning laser ophthalmoscopy for quantifying static and dynamic cellular properties in the mouse retina", Optics Letters, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.546343

4. P. Zhang, S. Manna, M. Goswami, R. J. Zawadzki, E.N. Pugh, Jr.*, ''A Narrowband 635 nm Autofluorescence Peak in Albino Mouse Eyes Found with Multi-modal Imaging Reveals the Presence of Protoporphyrin IX in the Choroid'', Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2025 Apr 1;66(4):29. https://doi: 10.1167/iovs.66.4.29.

5. P. Zhang, S. J. Karlen, G. P. Allina, and R. J. Zawadzki, "Whole retina light-evoked optoretinography (ORG) under different retina hydration levels: modeling of Bruch’s membrane ORGs," Biomed. Opt. Express 16, 1944-1959 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.551862. 

6. Y. Ma, R. Dong, T. Song, M. Zhou, J. Bai, S. Wang, B.A. Bell and P. Zhang*, "Evaluating the effects of three anesthetic regimens on retinal structure and function in the living mouse eye using a customized bimodal OCT/ORG system", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ad89cc

7. P. Zhang, O. Vafaeva, C. Dolf, Y. Ma, G. Wang, J. Cho, H. H. Chan, N. Marsh-Armstrong, and R. J. Zawadzki, "Evaluating the performance of OCT in assessing static and potential dynamic properties of the retinal ganglion cells and nerve fiber bundles in the living mouse eye," Biomed. Opt. Express, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.504637 

8. P. Zhang, D. J. Wahl, J. Mocci, E. B. Miller, S. Bonora, M. V. Sarunic, and R. J. Zawadzki, "Adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography (AO-SLO-OCT) system for in vivo mouse retina imaging," Biomed. Opt. Express, 2022; https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.473447

9. L. Zhang, R. Dong, R.J. Zawadzki, P. Zhang*, "Volumetric data analysis enabled spatially resolved optoretinogram to measure the functional signals in the living retina", J. Biophotonics, 2021; https://doi.org/10.1002/jbio.202100252

10. E. Pijewska, P. Zhang, M. Meina, R. K. Meleppat, M. Szkulmowski, and R. J. Zawadzki, "Extraction of phase-based optoretinograms (ORG) from serial B-scans acquired over tens of seconds by mouse retinal raster scanning OCT system," Biomed. Opt. Express, 2021; https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.439900

11. P. Zhang, B. Shibata, G. Peinado, R.J. Zawadzki, P. FitzGerald, E. N. Pugh Jr., "Measurement of Diurnal Variation in Rod Outer Segment Length In Vivo in Mice With the OCT Optoretinogram", Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), 2020; https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.61.3.9

12. E.B. Miller , P. Zhang, K. Ching, E.N. Pugh Jr., M.E. Burns. "In vivo imaging reveals transient microglia recruitment and functional recovery of photoreceptor signaling after injury". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. (PNAS), 2019; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903336116

13. P. Zhang, S.K. Manna, E.B. Miller, Y. Jian, R. K. Meleppat, M. V. Sarunic, E. N. Pugh, and R. J. Zawadzki, "Aperture Phase Modulation with Adaptive Optics: A Novel Approach for Speckle Reduction and Structure Extraction in Optical Coherence Tomography", Biomed. Opt. Express, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.10.000552

14. D.J. Wahl#, P. Zhang#, Jacopo Mocci, Martino Quintavalla, Riccardo Muradore, Yifan Jian, Stefano Bonora, Marinko V. Sarunic, and Robert J. Zawadzki, "Adaptive optics in the mouse eye: wavefront sensing based vs. image-guided aberration correction," Biomed. Opt. Express, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.10.004757

15. P. Zhang, E.B. Miller, S.K. Manna, R.K. Meleppat, E.N. Pugh, Jr., R.J. Zawadzki, "Temporal speckle-averaging of optical coherence tomography volumes for in-vivo cellular resolution neuronal and vascular retinal imaging", Neurophotonics, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.6.4.041105

16. P. Zhang, J. Mocci, D.J. Wahl, R.K. Meleppat, S.K. Manna, M. Quintavalla, R. Muradore, M.V. Sarunic, S. Bonora, E.N. Pugh Jr., R.J. Zawadzki, "Effect of a contact lens for in vivo mouse retinal imaging: effective focal length changes and monochromatic aberrations", Experimental Eye Research, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2018.03.027

17. P. Zhang, R.J. Zawadzki, M. Goswami, P.T. Nguyen, V. Yarov-Yarovoy, M.E. Burns, E.N. Pugh Jr., "In vivo optophysiology reveals that G-protein activation triggers osmotic swelling and increased light scattering of rod photoreceptors", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 2017; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620572114

18. P. Zhang, M. Goswami, R.J. Zawadzki, E.N. Pugh Jr., "The photosensitivity of rhodopsin bleaching and light-induced increases of fundus reflectance in mice measured in vivo with scanning laser ophthalmoscopy", Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), 2016; https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.16-19393

19. P. Zhang, Mayank Goswami, Azhar Zam, Edward N. Pugh, and Robert J. Zawadzki, "Effect of scanning beam size on the lateral resolution of mouse retinal imaging with SLO," Opt. Lett., 2015; https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.005830

20. P. Zhang, A. Zam, Y. Jian, X. Wang, Y. Li, K. S. Lam, M. E. Burns, M. V. Sarunic, E. N. Pugh, Jr., and R. J. Zawadzki, "In vivo wide-field multispectral scanning laser ophthalmoscopy–optical coherence tomography mouse retinal imager: longitudinal imaging of ganglion cells, microglia, and Müller glia, and mapping of the mouse retinal and choroidal vasculature", J. Biomed. Opt., 2015. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.20.12.126005

21. R. J. Zawadzki, P. Zhang, A. Zam, E. B. Miller, M. Goswami, X. Wang, R. S. Jonnal, S. H. Lee, D. Y. Kim, J. G. Flannery, J. S. Werner, M. E. Burns, and E. N. Pugh, "Adaptive-optics SLO imaging combined with widefield OCT and SLO enables precise 3D localization of fluorescent cells in the mouse retina," Biomed. Opt. Express, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.6.002191

Academic Service:

1. Member of COS - Chinese Optical Society

2. Member of CSOE - Chinese Society for Optical Engineering

3. Member of SPIE - The International Society for Optics and Photonics

4. Member of ARVO - The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

5. Member of IEEE  - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Attended Conferences

1. ARVO (Orlando, Denver, Seattle, Hawaii)                                             2014-2016, 2018, 2019

2. SPIE Photonic West, BiOS (San Francisco)                               2014-2016, 2018-2019, 2021

3. Focus on Microscopy (Singapore, Netherlands)                                                       2012, 2013

4. SPIE Europe Optical Metrology (Munich, Germany)                                                           2009