Pin-Hao Cheng Receives Best Student Paper Award at the Optica Biophotonics Congress
The Department of Mechanical Engineering is proud to announce that Pin-Hao Cheng, a graduate student in the department, has been awarded the Optica Foundation Student Paper Award at the Optica Biophotonics Congress.
The Optica Foundation Student Paper Award recognizes the highest level of research excellence and presentation quality among the next generation of scientists. Selected through a rigorous review by the Technical Program Committee, this award is presented to the student whose work demonstrates exceptional value to the Biophotonics community and innovation in the field.
Cheng’s research presents Robotic-2p, a robotically actuated microscope designed for high-resolution two-photon imaging in freely locomoting mice. By bridging advanced robotics with neural imaging, the platform enables the observation of cellular-level brain activity during natural behaviors, overcoming the constraints of traditional head-fixed imaging and opening new doors for behavioral neuroscience.
His advisor, Professor Suhasa Kodandaramaiah, praised Cheng’s ability to unite multiple disciplines in pursuit of a genuinely novel scientific instrument:
“Pin-Hao is working on a truly interdisciplinary problem that brings in multiple disparate fields that have previously not interacted extensively. Advanced neural imaging two-photon laser scanning microscopes (2P-LSM) are typically benchtop devices that require the animal subjects to be restrained when imaging. Pin-Hao’s PhD thesis is working on developing a robotically actuated 2P microscope that can move with the animal subject. This is a very challenging project — how do you design a robotic system that can respond to the gentlest of touches from a 25g mouse, to move a microscope that is 600 times its weight. Pin-Hao has shown great collaborative skills to use his training in medical robotics, in consultation with Prof. Kowalewski, and worked with optical engineers and neuroscientists in Prof. Kerlin’s Lab at UMN’s Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) to build the first animal force actuated robotic microscope. He has previously been awarded the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the graduate school. This award from Optica is an apt recognition of a truly exciting and interdisciplinary research project.”
Reflecting on a project built through years of cross-disciplinary collaboration, Cheng shares what this recognition means to him and his team:
“Winning the Student Paper Award at the Optica Biophotonics Congress is a deeply rewarding milestone for me and the entire team. This project has always been about more than just hardware; it’s a collaborative effort to push the boundaries of how we study the brain. I am incredibly grateful to Prof. Suhasa Kodandaramaiah for his mentorship and to Prof. Aaron Kerlin in Neuroscience Department and Prof. Tim Kowalewski for their constant guidance and technical brilliance. This recognition belongs to all of us and underscores the impact of interdisciplinary engineering in solving complex biological challenges.”