On November 26, the Optical Society of America (OPTICA) officially announced the 2026 Class of Fellows, with 121 distinguished experts and scholars from around the world selected for this honor. Dr. Chengbo Liu, Research Professor at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Science and Technology Systems, has been elected as an OPTICA Fellow in recognition of his outstanding contributions to multicontrast and multimodal photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging.

Founded in 1916, OPTICA is one of the most influential academic organizations in the global optics and photonics community, dedicated to advancing optical science and its applications across diverse disciplines. Fellowship is the highest level of recognition conferred by OPTICA, honoring members who have made significant contributions to the advancement of optics. The selection process is highly rigorous, and the annual number of elected Fellows worldwide is extremely limited. Dr. Liu’s election reflects the international optics community’s recognition of his impactful research in photoacoustic molecular imaging and highlights his strong global influence in the field.

Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the development of photoacoustic molecular imaging technologies and instrumentation, as well as their clinical and industrial translation. He proposed the theoretical framework for zero-background targeted photoacoustic molecular imaging and developed cross-scale imaging systems spanning microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic regimes, enabling applications in fundamental neuroscience research and translational imaging of human peripheral vasculature. He currently serves as an Editorial Board Member of Photoacoustics, Associate Editor of Biophotonics Discovery, Assistant Director of the National Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Science and Technology Systems, and Director of the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging. He has led major projects including the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Excellent Young Scientist Fund, and key projects under the National Key Research and Development Program. Dr. Liu has published over 120 SCI-indexed papers, including more than 80 as corresponding author in journals such as Science Advances, Nature Communications, and PNAS.

OPTICA announcement: https://www.optica.org/about/newsroom/news_releases/2025/optica_announces_2026_fellows_class/