Appointments

2022-present
Postdoctoral Research Associate
California Institute of Technology
Principal Investigator: Dr. Changhuei Yang

Education

2017-2022
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Dean’s Select Fellowship, Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, Outstanding Graduate
Research Advisor: Dr. Matthew D. Lew
Thesis Title: Multi-dimensional single-molecule nanoscopy: fundamental limits and novel approaches

2015-2017
M.S. in Electrical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Research Advisor: Dr. Matthew D. Lew
Thesis Title: Measuring molecular orientation and rotational mobility using a Tri-spot point spread function

2013
Exchange Student
University of Cambridge

2010-2014
B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Research Advisor: Dr. Chengnian Long
Thesis Title: Modeling and numerical simulation of decoding power and energy efficiency

Teaching

Fall 2018
Teaching Assistant at Washington University in St. Louis
Course: ESE 105, Introduction to Electrical and Systems Engineering
Give lectures on MATLAB coding, linear systems, circuits and imaging systems

Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020
Grader at Washington University in St. Louis
Course: ESE 582, Fundamentals and Applications of Modern Optical Imaging
Grade homework, design problem set for exam

Mentoring

Fall 2022
Paulina Naydenkov
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program

Spring 2023
Victoria Fay
M.S. in Microengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Swiss Photonics Prize 2023
Current Position: Doctoral Program in Photonics at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Press

2024/09
Observing soil bacterial ecosystems, Science

2024/08
New Technology Images Microbes in 3D, The Caltech Weekly

2024/01
Single-molecule orientation-localization microscopy: 6D images of cells with nanoscale resolution, Wiley Analytical Science Magazine

2022/12
Telescope-inspired microscope sees molecules in 6D, The Source

2022/11
Seeing in the Soil: An Underground Optics System Takes Root, Caltech Magazine

2022/05
Outstanding graduates: Oumeng Zhang, class 2022, McKelvey School of Engineering

2022/05
Lew lab sheds new light on cell membranes, The Source

2019/08 New, fundamental limit to ‘seeing and believing’ in imaging, The Source

Publications

Journal Articles

[18] O. Zhang, H. Zhou, B. Y. Feng, E. M. Larsson, R. E. Alcalde, S. Yin, C. Deng, and C. Yang, “Single-shot volumetric fluorescence imaging with neural fields,” Advanced Photonics 7(2), 026001 (2025).

[17] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Single-molecule orientation-localization microscopy: applications and approaches,” Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics 57, e17 (2024).

[16] E. Bruggeman, O. Zhang, L. Needham, M. Körbel, S. Daly, M. Cheetham, R. Peters, T. Wu, A. S. Klymchenko, S. J. Davis, E. K. Paluch, D. Klenerman, M. D. Lew, K. O’Holleran, and S. F. Lee, “POLCAM: instant molecular orientation microscopy for the life sciences,” Nature Methods 21, 1873 (2024).

[15] H. Zhou, S. Lin, M. Watson, C. T. Bernadt, O. Zhang, R. Govindan, R. J. Cote, and C. Yang, “Length-scale study in deep learning prediction for non-small cell lung cancer brain metastasis,” Scientific Reports 14(1), 22328 (2024).

[14] O. Zhang, R. E. Alcalde, H. Zhou, S. Yin, D. K. Newman, and C. Yang, “Investigating 3D microbial community dynamics of the rhizosphere using quantitative phase and fluorescence microscopy,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121(33), e2403122121 (2024).

[13] S. Yin, R. Cao, M. Liang, C. Shen, H. Zhou, O. Zhang, and C. Yang, “Can deep neural networks work with amplitude and phase input of defocused images?,” Optics Express, 32(14), 25036 (2024).

[12] O. Zhang, N. Dahlquist, Z. Leete, M. Xu, D. Schneider, and C. Yang, “Long-term imaging of three-dimensional hyphal development using the ePetri dish,” Biomedical Optics Express, 15(7), 429 (2024).

[11] W. Zhou, C. L. O’Neill, T. Ding, O. Zhang, J. S. Rudra, and M. D. Lew, “Resolving the nanoscale structure of $\beta$-sheet peptide self-assemblies using single-molecule orientation–localization microscopy,” ACS Nano 18(12), 8798 (2024).

[10] V. Fay, O. Zhang, R. Cao, and C. Yang, “Improving planar optode lifetime: encapsulation and optical release of pH-sensing optodes and assessment of their lifetime in situ,” Journal of Soils and Sediments 24(1), 289 (2024).

[9] O. Zhang, Z. Guo, Y. He, T. Wu, M. D. Vahey, and M. D. Lew, “Six-dimensional single-molecule imaging with isotropic resolution using a multi-view reflector microscope,” Nature Photonics 17(2), 179 (2023).

[8] O. Zhang, W. Zhou, J. Lu, T. Wu, and M. D. Lew, “Resolving the 3D rotational and translational dynamics of single molecules using radially and azimuthally polarized fluorescence,” Nano Letters 22(3), 1024 (2022).

[7] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Single-molecule orientation localization microscopy II: a performance comparison,” Journal of the Optical Society of America A 38(2), 288 (2021).

[6] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Single-molecule orientation localization microscopy I: fundamental limits,” Journal of the Optical Society of America A 38(2), 277 (2021).

[5] J. Lu, H. Mazidi, T. Ding, O. Zhang, and M. D. Lew, “Single-molecule 3D orientation imaging reveals nanoscale compositional heterogeneity in lipid membranes,” Angewandte Chemie International Edition 59(40), 17572 (2020).

[4] T. Ding, T. Wu, H. Mazidi, O. Zhang, and M. D. Lew, “Single-molecule orientation localization microscopy for resolving structural heterogeneities between amyloid fibrils,” Optica 7(6), 602 (2020).

[3] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Quantum limits for precisely estimating the orientation and wobble of dipole emitters,” Physical Review Research 2(3), 033114 (2020).

[2] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Fundamental limits on measuring the rotational constraint of single molecules using fluorescence microscopy,” Physical Review Letters 122(19), 198301 (2019).

[1] O. Zhang, J. Lu, T. Ding, and M. D. Lew, “Imaging the three-dimensional orientation and rotational mobility of fluorescent emitters using the Tri-spot point spread function,” Applied Physics Letters 113(3), 031103 (2018).

Conference Papers (Peer Reviewed)

[1] H. Mazidi, E. S. King, O. Zhang, A. Nehorai, and M. D. Lew, “Dense super-resolution imaging of molecular orientation via joint sparse basis deconvolution and spatial pooling,” 2019 IEEE 16th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2019), 325 (2019).

Patents

[3] O. Zhang and N. Dahlquist, “Method for three-dimensional imaging of microorganism using the ePetri dish,” United States Provisional Patent Application (2024).

[2] M. D. Lew and O. Zhang, “Multi-view reflector (MVR) microscope for imaging the 3D position and 3D orientation of dipole-like emitters,” US Patent 18254448 (2024).

[1] O. Zhang and M. D. Lew, “Systems and methods for performing optical imaging using a tri-spot point spread function (PSF),” US Patent 10761419 (2020).

Oral Presentations

[7] (Invited) “Six-dimensional nanoscopy for visualizing amyloid-membrane interactions,” ARVO 2024 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 2024.

[6] “Complex-field and fluorescence microscopy using aperture scanning technique (CFAST) for studying rhizosphere organisms,” SPIE Photonics West BiOS, San Francisco, CA, January 2024.

[5] “Measuring Single-molecule Orientations Using A Radially And Azimuthally Polarized Epifluorescence Microscope,” Focus on Microscopy, online, March 2021.

[4] “Quantifying fundamental limits for measuring the three-dimensional orientation of dipole emitters,” Single-Molecule Sensors and nanoSystems International Conference (S3IC), online, November 2020.

[3] “Fundamental quantum bounds on the precision and accuracy of measuring molecular orientation,” 2020 IEEE 17th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI), online, April 2020.

[2] “Measuring rotational dynamics with high accuracy and precision using a Tri-spot point spread function,” OSA Biophotonics Congress, Tucson, AZ, April 2019.

[1] “Measuring 3D molecular orientation and rotational mobility using a Tri-spot point spread function,” SPIE Photonics West BiOS, San Francisco, CA, January 2018.

Posters

[3] “Computational imaging for studying plant roots and rhizobacteria,” Gordon Research Conference: Optics and Photonics in Medicine and Biology, Lewiston, ME, July 2024.

[2] “Mapping the chemical composition and nanoscale structure of lipid membranes using polarized fluorescence from single molecules,” 66th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, February 2022.

[1] “Fundamental limits of measuring single-molecule rotational mobility,” SPIE Photonics West BiOS, San Francisco, CA, January 2019.

Peer Reviews

(4) Journal of the Optical Society of America A
(2) Physical Review Letters
(2) Optics Express
(2) Optics Letters
(2) eLife
(1) Nature Communications
(1) Optica
(1) Biomedical Optics Express
(1) Physical Review Research
(1) AIP Advances
(1) Communications Biology
(1) IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging
(1) IEEE Photonics Journal
(1) The Journal of Chemical Physics