Welcome to the Pégard Lab Our Laboratory develops advanced optical instrumentation for applications in biology, neuroscience, and medicine. Our research strategy moves away from traditional microscopy and the reconstruction of visual images. Instead, we are interested in task-based optics and optical instruments that utilize light to interact with biological samples, to measure or manipulate their properties. Our primary research is in neurosciences where we explore technologies that monitor and manipulate neural activity using optogenetics, and calcium or voltage reporters.Our team offers interdisciplinary research opportunities at the intersection between optics, biology, and computer science and we welcome applications from motivated students and researchers at all levels. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
Recent Highlights

2023 08/15 Congratulations Dr. Hossein Eybposh ! First Ph.D. student graduating from the lab.
02/20 Nicolas Pégard presents DeepCGH at the 2023 Nemonic Workshop in Santa Barbara.
 02/15  Nicolas Pégard receives the Alfred P. Sloan fellowship in Neurosciences.
 02/14 Hossein Eybposh receives a Ph.D. research achievement award from the BME department.
 02/08 The Pégard Lab visits HHMI Janelia Farms for a workshop on voltage imaging (Kavli grant).

2022 11/01 Prof Pégard receives a Kavli Innovation Grant award.
10/01 Vince and Hoss's review paper is selected for the cover of Neurophotonics.
 08/03 Prof. Pégard presents a poster at the annual Beckman Symposium in Irvine, CA.
 07/26 Maria Magdalena Ortiz receives the HHMI's Gilliam fellowship.
07/22 Prof. Pégard hosts Sculpted Light in the Brain 2022 at Boston University in Boston.

2021 12/14 Prof. Pégard and collaborators receive UNC Neurospark research award.
11/01 Maria Magdalena Ortiz joins the lab.
 06/12 Prof. Pégard receives a 2021 Beckman Young Investigator Award.
06/12 Hossein Eybposh receives the OSA's Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant.

2020 08/25 Hossein Eybposh's paper on DeepCGH was published in Optics Express.
 06/12 Hossein Eybposh receives Student Paper Award at the OSA Biophotonics Congress.
 02/23 Vincent Curtis receives the Royster Fellowship.
 02/05 Mathew Atisa receives 1st poster prize at the Duke Research Computing Symposium.
 02/01 Ph.D. Student Vincent Curtis joins the lab.

2019 05/01 Prof. Pégard hosts Sculpted Light in the Brain 2019 at the Royal Society in London.
05/01 Dr. Nick Caira Joins the lab.
 01/01 Ph.D. Student Hossein Eybposh joins the lab.
 01/01 The Computational Biophotonics Lab is up and running.

2018 02/01 Prof. Pégard receives a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award at the Scientific Interface.