Biography

Zijian Deng, Ph.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Radiation Oncology’s Division of Medical Physics & Engineering. As a key researcher with a background in biomedical optics, Dr. Deng is responsible for two important research investigations: the development of a bioluminescence tomography (BLT)-guided system for pre-clinical radiation research and establishing in vivo cell tracking techniques using optical methods to support researchers for their translational studies.

Dr. Deng earned his doctoral degree in natural science from Peking University in China. During this period, he devoted himself to the field of photoacoustic imaging (PAI) where he developed several innovative PAI systems for anatomical and functional imaging. To improve PAI contrast, he further accessed novel nanoparticles for in vivo tumor imaging.

As a member of the Biomedical Imaging and Radiation Technology Lab (BIRTLab), Dr. Deng works closely with Ken Kang-Hsin Wang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and leader of the BIRTLab, and has made great advances in the field of optical tomography for pre-clinical radiotherapy guidance. He first developed a high-throughput image-guided method for tumor localization using BLT-reconstructed center of mass and demonstrated it in an orthotopic glioblastoma model.

Now as an Instructor, Dr. Deng is further advancing this BLT technique to quantify tumor growth and treatment assessment for orthotopic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. He also works with Benjamin Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and leader of the Chen Lab, to develop animal model and 3D optical methods for in vivo cell tracking. These innovative technologies would support scientific communities to facilitate the development of therapeutic intervention for cancer treatment.

Research Interest
  • Biomedical optics
  • In vivo cell tracking
  • Optical tomography-guided radiation therapy

Publications
Characterization of a commercial bioluminescence tomography-guided system for pre-clinical radiation research
Xu X, Deng Z, Sforza D, Tong Z, Tseng YP, Newman C, Reinhart M, Tsouchlos P, Devling T, Dehghani H, Iordachita I, Wong JW, Wang KK Medical physics 2023 Oct 50 6433-6453
Mobile bioluminescence tomography-guided system for pre-clinical radiotherapy research
Deng Z, Xu X, Iordachita I, Dehghani H, Zhang B, Wong JW, Wang KK Biomedical Optics Express 2022 Sep 13 4970-4989
Quantitative molecular bioluminescence tomography
Bentley A, Xu X, Deng Z, Rowe JE, Kang-Hsin Wang K, Dehghani H Journal of biomedical optics 2022 Jun 27
Ultra-sensitive single pixel bioluminescence tomography for in vivo cell tracking
Tong Z, Deng Z, Wang KK Optics InfoBase Conference Papers 2022
Bioluminescence tomography system for in vivo irradiation guidance
Deng Z, Xu X, Iordachita I, Dehghani H, Zhang B, Wong JW, Wang KK Optics InfoBase Conference Papers 2022
Bioluminescence tomography system for in vivo irradiation guidance
Deng Z, Xu X, Iordachita I, Dehghani H, Zhang B, Wong JW, Wang KK 2022
Ultra-sensitive single pixel bioluminescence tomography for in vivo cell tracking
Tong Z, Deng Z, Wang KK 2022
Quantitative Bioluminescence Tomography for In Vivo Volumetric-Guided Radiotherapy
Deng Z, Xu X, Dehghani H, Sforza DM, Iordachita I, Lim M, Wong JW, Wang KK 2022 701-731
Quantitative Bioluminescence Tomography-Guided Conformal Irradiation for Preclinical Radiation Research
Xu X, Deng Z, Dehghani H, Iordachita I, Lim M, Wong JW, Wang KK International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 2021 Dec 111 1310-1321
Simultaneous diffuse optical and bioluminescence tomography to improve source localization
Bentley A, Xu X, Deng Z, Rowe JE, Wang KK, Dehghani H 2021