Professor
CHAO ZHOU
Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Fellow, Optica (formerly Optical Society of America), International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), American Heart Association (AHA)
Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Tel: 314-935-1296
Email: chaozhou@wustl.edu
Office: Whitaker Hall, Room 390E
Education
Ph.D. Physics, University of Pennsylvania 2007
M.S. Physics, University of Pennsylvania 2003
B.S. Physics, Peking University 2001
Short Biography
Dr. Chao Zhou graduated from Peking University in China, obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received post-doctoral training from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining Washington University in St. Louis in 2019, he was an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering at Lehigh University. Dr. Zhou has extensive experience in biophotonics and contributed to the development and validation of novel imaging and light stimulation modalities for various biomedical applications. Research in his group has received sustained support from NIH, NSF, and various foundations. Dr. Zhou is an Editorial Board Member and Section lead in Bioengineering and Biotechnology for Communications Biology (Nature Publishing Group), an associate editor for Photonics Research, IEEE Photonics Journal and Medical Physics, and a fellow of Optica (formerly OSA), the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), American Heart Association (AHA), and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2011), the National Innovation Award (2017) from TechConnect World Innovation Conference and National Innovation Summit, the RPB Stein Innovation Award (2021) from the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation, and the Innovative Research Award (2021) from the Clayco Foundation.
Google Scholar (CV) ( Researcher ID )
Research Scientists
Education
Ph.D. Molecular Genetics, Institute of Gene Biology RAS (Moscow, Russia)
M.S. Biotechnology, Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (Moscow, Russia)
B.S. Agronomy and Pest Control, Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (Moscow, Russia)
Research Interest
Gene regulation, Optogenetics, Drug Discovery.
Hobby
Skiing, hiking, cooking, dog psychology.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Education
Ph.D. Physics, Washington University in ST. Louis; 2019-Present
B.S. Computer Science, University of Science and Technology of China; 2016-2019.
B.S. Physics, University of Science and Technology of China; 2014-2019.
Research Interest
OCT System Development, Disorder Systems
Hobby
Cooking, Xiang-Sheng, Piano
Education
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University; 2021-2024
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University; 2018-2021
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology; 2011-2016
Research Interest
Micro/Nano Fabrication, Microfluidics, MD, FEA Simulation, Image Processing, OCT, PIC
Hobby
Hiking, Cooking
Education
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India; 2023
Master of Technology, Laser Sc. And Applications, School of Physics, DAVV Indore, India; 2012
Bachelor of Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering, ICFAI University Dehradun, India; 2010
Research Interest
Optical instrumentation, Structural and functional imaging using OCT, Optical coherence elastography (OCE), Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI)
Hobby
Badminton, Cricket, Music
Education
Ph.D. Materials Science, Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon); 2017 – 2024
M.S. Materials Science, Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon); 2017 – 2020
B.S. Physics, Northwest University (Xi’an, China); 2011 – 2015
Research Interest
Micro/nano Fabrication, Surface Functionalization, Materials Characterization, Electro-optic Modulator, Photonic Integrated Circuit
Hobby
Musical, Stand-up Comedy, Half Marathons, Tennis
Education
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2018-2024
M.E. in Photonics Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 2015-2018
B.E. in Optoelectronics Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 2011-2015
Research Interest
Plasmonics, Photothermal effect, Multimodal nano-bio interface, Photonic integrated circuit, PIC-OCT
Hobby
Hiking, Cooking
Graduate Students
Education
Ph.D. Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2020-Present
B.S. Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; 2016-2020
Research Interest
OCT system development, Software engineering, Photonic devices
Hobby
Badminton, Melodica, Ancient mythology
Education
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2021-Present
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Business Administration, Tsinghua University; 2016-2020
Research Interest
Cardiovascular study, tissue engineering, optogenetics, iPSC, Drosophila, OCT
Hobby
Badminton, Art, Design
Education
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2022-present
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2018-2021
Research Interest
Cardiac optogenetics, Human tissue imaging
Hobby
Running, hiking, music
Education
Ph.D. Imaging Science, Washington University in St. Louis; 2022-Present
M.S. Electrical System and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2021-Present
M.S. Computer Science, Saint Louis University; 2019-2021
B.S. Computational Mathematics, University of Science and Technology of China; 2015-2019
Research Interest
Image Analysis, Deep Learning
Hobby
Board Games, Cooking
Education
Ph.D. Imaging Science, Washington University in St. Louis; 2022-Present
M.S. Electrical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2022-2024
B.A. Physics, Music, Skidmore College, 2017-2021
Research Interest
Optical imaging, Integrated photonics, Computational tools
Hobby
Music, Rock Climbing, Geoguessr
Education
Ph.D. Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2020-Present
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai; 2017-2020
B.S. Mechanical design, manufacture, and automation, Hunan University, Changsha; 2013-2017
Research Interest
Optical imaging system development, optics, signal processing
Hobby
Reading, running, cooking, music
Education
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2023-Present
M.S. Computer Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis 2023
M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Saint Louis University; 2021
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Princess Sumaya University for Technology 2015
Research Interest
Machine Learning for Medical Imaging, OCTA Images segmentation, OCT System Development, Deep Learning, AI-based Solutions for Healthcare, CNN
Hobby
Traveling, Exploring technology, Biking
Education
M.S. Imaging Science, Washington University in St. Louis; 2024-Present
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2020-2024
Research Interest
OCT imaging, photoacoustic imaging, image processing
Hobby
Chess, Netflix, and Factorio
Rotation Students
Education
Bachelor of Science in Physics, University of Calicut, Kerala, India, 2017-2020
Master of Science in Physics, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea, 2022-2024
Research Interest
OCT imaging
Hobby
Traveling, Working out, Cooking
Education
B.E. Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2020-2024
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, 2024-Present
Research Interest
Instrumentation, Optics, Optogenetics, Material Characterization
Hobby
Crochet, Puzzles, Reading, Arts and Crafts, Ukulele, Legos
Education
Ph.D. Imaging Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 2024-Present
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, 2020-2024
Research Interest
Biomedical imaging, Imaging system development
Hobby
Photography, Traveling
Education
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
B.S. of Physics and Biomedical engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Research Interest
Using OCT to understand basic biophysical phenomenon
Hobby
Playing strategy games (video or board game)
Technician
Education
M.D. Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University
B.S. Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University
Research Interest
OCT
Hobby
Fishing, Soccer
Undergraduate Students
Michael Gao
Email: g.gujia@wustl.edu
Education
B.S. Computer Science + Mathematics, Washington University in St. Louis; 2021 – Present
Research Interests
Computer Vision, Computational Imaging
Hobby
Acting, Reading, Belegarth
Raymond Hsin
Email: h.raymond@wustl.edu
Education
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; 2021 – Present
Research Interests
Biological models, Deep learning
Hobby
Tennis, Piano, Card games
Howard Hua
Email: h.howard@wustl.edu
Education
B.S. Computer Science + Mathematics, Washington University in St. Louis; 2023 – Present
Research Interests
FPGA, NLP
Hobby
Computer hardware, Chinese calligraphy, Origami
Anthony Huang
Email: anthonyhuang@wustl.edu
Education
B.S. Biology + Interactive Design, Washington University in St. Louis; 2024-present
Research Interests
OCT, Degenerative diseases
Hobby
Basketball, Football, Design, Photography, Guitar
High School Students
Vivian Wang
Education
John Burroughs High School; 2021 – Present
Research Interests
Imaging technology, general biomedical engineering
Hobby
Drawing, Writing, Tennis
Alumni
| Name | Time at Z-lab | Role at Z-lab | Placement |
| Jiawei Meng | 01/2024-01/2025 | Post Doc | |
| Joanna Chen | 2022-2024 | B.S. | |
| Jonathan Lin | 2023-2024 | M.S. | Research Assistant, Washington University in St. Louis |
| Xiangping Ouyang | 2022-2024 | M.S. | Ph.D., University of California, Davis |
| Kibeom Park | 10/2021-01/2024 | Post Doc | |
| Jiantao Zhu | 09/2021-05/2023 | M.S. | Research Assistant, Washington University in St. Louis |
| Yuxuan Wang | 09/2021-05/2023 | M.S. | Ph.D., University of Washington |
| Kaelyn Schloss | 09/2022-12/2022 | Rotation Ph.D. Student | Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis |
| Siming Yin | 09/2022-12/2022 | Rotation M.S. Student | M.S., Washington University in St. Louis |
| Yilin Li | 01/2022-12/2022 | M.S. | Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis |
| Cheng Xu | 01/2022-05/2022 | Rotation M.S. Student | M.S., Washington University in St. Louis |
| Matthew Fishman | 06/2020-12/2022 | M.S. | Machine Learning Engineer, nVenue |
| Yixuan Ming | 02/2021-02/2022 | Post Doc | Scientist, Spark Therapeutics, Inc. |
| Boyang Zhang | M.S. | ||
| Jing Men | 2014-2020 | Ph.D. | Optical System Engineer, Coluxa Inc. |
| Jason Jerwick | 2015-2020 | Ph.D. | Engineer, Applied Research Associates |
| Zhao Dong | 2016-2020 | Ph.D. | |
| Jingyun Zou | 2016-2018 | M.S. | Ph.D., The University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Zhiwen Yang | 01/2019-08/2019 | Visiting Student | Masters Student, Beihang University |
| Guoyan Liu | 11/2018-07/2019 | Visiting Scholar | Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University |
| Rhea Malhotra | High School Student | B.S., Stanford University | |
| Luisa Goepfert | 09/2015-12/2015 | Visiting Student | Radiation Protection Manager, ITM Isotopen Technologien München AG |
| Junchao Liu | Visiting Student | Computer Science, Wuhan University | |
| Yuanhao He | 09/2017-05/2018 | M.S. | Electrical & Computer Engineering, Lehigh University |
| Jason Syu | 09/2016-05/2018 | M.S. | Electrical & Computer Engineering, Lehigh University |
| Lian Duan | 09/2015-12/2018 | M.S. | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lehigh University |
| Yongyang Huang | 09/2013-05/2019 | Ph.D. | Research And Development Scientist, Nexcelom Bioscience |
| Mudabbir Badar | 08/2016-12/2018 | Postdoc | Senior Optical Engineer, Intuitive |
| Jinming Wang | 08/2017-02/2018 | Visiting Student | |
| Xiaofang Wang | 02/2017-02/2018 | Visiting Student | Department of Clinical Laboratory, the Third Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University |
| Tao Xu | 08/2016-01/2018 | Visiting Student | State Key Laboratory of Software Engineering, Wuhan University |
| Qiongyu Guo | 2016-2017 | Research Scientist | Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology |
| Ian Rubinoff | 01/2016-05/2017 | Undergraduate Student | Vision Imaging Engineer, Intuitive |
| Jia Rao | 01/2016-05/2017 | Undergraduate Student | Engineering Lead, HealthCrowd |
| Xialin Sang | 07/2017-10/2017 | Visiting Student | Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Hainan University |
| Penghe Wu | 08/2015-09/2017 | Ph.D. candidate | Bioengineering Program; Center for Photonics and Nanoelectronics, Lehigh University |
| Canyu Li | 08/2016-08/2017 | Visiting Scholar | Deputy Director, The 3rd Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China |
| Jinda Pan | 09/2016-06/2017 | Visiting Student | School of Precision Instrument and Optoelectronics Engineering, Tianjin University |
| Yuan Ning | 09/2016-06/2017 | Visiting Student | Software Engineer, Google |
| Dana McAllister | 09/2012-05/2014 | High school student | Undergraduate student at Stevens Institute of Technology |
| Luisa Geopfert | 09/2015-02/2016 | Exchange Student | Radiation Protection Manager, ITM Isotopen Technologien München AG |
| Nicole Pirozzi | 09/2012-05/2014 | B.S., Bioengineering | Scrum Master, BD |
| Katherine Vojir | 06/2012-09/2012 | B.S., Bioengineering | Biomaterials Research Engineer at DSM |
| Jonah Kohen | 06/2013-08/2013 | B.S., Computer Engineering | Embedded Software Engineer, Intuitive |
| Andre Sukernik | 12/2013-05/2015 | B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering | Electrical Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Fengqiang Li | 06/2012-08/2012 | M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering | Computer vision algorithm engineer, Apple |
| Charly Caredda | 06/2013-08-2013 | Visiting Student | Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 |
| Mingming Chen (Brain Chan) | 09/2015-09/2016 | Visiting Student | State Key Laboratory of Software Engineering, Wuhan University |
| Qing Xu | 07/2014-09/2014 | Visiting Scholar | |
| Yutao Ma | 06/2012-09/2012 | Visiting Scholar | Professor, School of Computer Science, Central China Normal University, China |
| Xianxu Zeng | 11/2013-10/2014 | Visiting Scholar | Director, Pathology Department, the 3rd Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China |
| Aneesh Alex | 11/2012-03/2015 | Post-doctoral Associate | GSK, Bioimaging Investigator |