Dr. Yan Liu
Welcome! I am a research associate in Prof. Donald T. Miller's group at the Indiana University School of Optometry. I completed my postdoctoral training with Prof. Changhuei Yang in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). I earned my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University under the mentorship of Prof. Lihong V. Wang, now a professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Caltech. Prior to that, I obtained my Bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University, where I was trained in Physics and Engineering.
Research interest
​​​I am interested in developing tools for biologists and clinicians. A key focus of my research is overcoming the optical diffusion limit that constrains the operating depth of optical techniques, enabling light focusing and high-resolution imaging deep within opaque biological tissues. To achieve this, we have developed optical phase conjugation-based advanced adaptive optics (wavefront shaping) techniques, including time-reversed ultrasonically encoded (TRUE) optical focusing and time-reversed adapted perturbation (TRAP) optical focusing. These approaches enable noninvasive, high-resolution optical imaging, manipulation (e.g. optogenetics, optical tweezers), and therapy deep within biological tissues.
​​
​Since September 2019, I have been advancing adaptive-optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) for noninvasive, longitudinal imaging of the living human retina at cellular resolution. This technology has the potential to transform ophthalmology by advancing our understanding of disease pathophysiology, enabling early diagnosis of diseases such as glaucoma, and improving treatment monitoring to accelerate clinical trials. These advancements will expedite the development of effective therapies, ultimately improving patient care.
​​​
Additionally, my research has encompassed photoacoustic imaging, acousto-optic imaging (ultrasound-modulated optical tomography), and fluorescence imaging.
​​​​
Broadly, I am passionate about understanding complex systems and developing innovative tools to study them. Please visit the "Publications", "Posters", and "Video presentations" pages to learn more about our work.
​​
News
2025 At the SPIE Photonics West 2025 conference, Yan presented our work on imaging photoreceptor somas and their loss in disease in the living human eye. This research was selected as one of the five finalists for the 2025 Pascal Rol Award for Best Paper in Ophthalmic Technologies. This nomination was chosen from a pool of 79 submissions by an international committee of 26 experts in ophthalmic technologies.
2024 At the ARVO 2024 conference, Yan presented our work on using adaptive optics OCT to image the photoreceptor somas and other cellular structures in the outer nuclei layer of living human retina, which won the POTY (Picture of the Year) prize given by Prof. Austin Roorda at University of California, Berkeley.
2023 At the SPIE Photonics West 2023 conference, Yan presented our work on ultrafast adaptive optics for imaging the living human retina, which won the highly competitive Pascal Rol Award for Best Paper in Ophthalmic Technologies.
