Develops nanophotonic optical biosensors and spectral bioimaging techniques (metasurface/photonic-crystal based) for label-free, high-sensitivity molecular detection.

Zhang's lab develops two core optical technologies: spectroscopic single-molecule localization microscopy (sSMLM), which multiplexes emission-spectrum measurement with single-molecule localization to reach ~5 nm spatial resolution, and visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT), which exploits higher tissue contrast at visible wavelengths for micron-scale retinal and tumor-vasculature imaging in patients. Applications span cancer nanopathology and ophthalmology, including in-vivo human retinal oximetry.

Zheltikov integrates NV-diamond magnetometry into photonic-crystal fibers for high-resolution, fiber-delivered magnetic-field imaging and endoscopy, alongside ultrafast biophotonics (multiphoton deep-tissue imaging, SWIR probes) and quantum-light molecular spectroscopy. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work extends NV ensemble sensing into fiberized, in-vivo-compatible geometries.

Zhuang invented STORM super-resolution microscopy and MERFISH multiplexed spatial transcriptomics, and her lab continues to push single-molecule and multiplexed imaging techniques (e.g. a recent whole-olfactory-system map) to resolve cellular structures and RNA populations at nanometer-to-single-molecule resolution, well beyond the diffraction limit.