Roarke Horstmeyer

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Roarke Horstmeyer is an assistant professor within Duke's Biomedical Engineering Department. He develops microscopes, cameras and computer algorithms for a wide range of applications, from forming 3D reconstructions of organisms to detecting neural activity deep within tissue. His areas of interest include optics, signal processing, optimization and neuroscience. Most recently, Dr. Horstmeyer was a guest professor at the University of Erlangen in Germany and an Einstein postdoctoral fellow at Charitè Medical School in Berlin. Prior to his time in Germany, Dr. Horstmeyer earned a PhD from Caltech’s electrical engineering department in 2016, a master of science degree from the MIT Media Lab in 2011, and a bachelors degree in physics and Japanese from Duke University in 2006.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Contact Information

Education

  • B.S. Duke University, 2006
  • Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 2016
  • Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), 2022

Research Interests

Computational optics, machine learning, and designing new algorithms for image processing. A main focus is to improve how we capture and use images of microscopic phenomena within a range of biomedical contexts. In general, I like to create new optical devices that can improve the utility of the information that we can gather about the world around us.

Courses Taught

  • ISS 796T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 795T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 396T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 395T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
  • EGR 101L: Engineering Design and Communication
  • BME 793: Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 789: Internship in Biomedical Engineering
  • BME 548L: Machine Learning and Imaging (GE, IM)
  • BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Wang, Jiacheng, Kira L. Heikes, Yufei Wu, Anne Belle Briggs, Kevin Li, Nadia Eliora Suriato, Srihas Surapaneni, Roarke Horstmeyer, Michel Bagnat, and Akankshi Munjal. “Hydrostatic pressure shapes and canalizes semicircular canal morphology to ensure vestibular function.,” July 23, 2026. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.22.740136.
  • Wu, M. M., L. Kreiss, M. A. Wayne, M. B. Robinson, C. Bruschini, E. Charbon, and R. Horstmeyer. “Autocorrelation Bias in Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy Observable via SPAD Arrays.” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 32, no. 4 (July 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTQE.2025.3637165.
  • Deb, Diptodip, Gert-Jan Both, Eric Bezzam, Amit Kohli, Siqi Yang, Amey Chaware, Cédric Allier, et al. “Chromatix: a differentiable, GPU-accelerated wave-optics library.” Nature Methods 23, no. 7 (July 2026): 1388–98. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-026-03121-x.
  • Gustafson, Kathryn E., Neeru Sarin, Jocelyn He, Gui-Shuang Ying, Vincent Tai, Katrina P. Winter, C Michael Cotten, Cynthia A. Toth, and BabySTEPS Group. “Very Preterm Infant Retinal Microanatomy at 36 Weeks' Postmenstrual Age and 2-Year Neurodevelopment.” JAMA Ophthalmol 144, no. 7 (July 1, 2026): 637–46. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2026.1782.
  • Cherkkil, Arun, Zoey Viavattine, Vamsy Kota, Kapil Saxena, Daniel Surinach, Ibrahim Oladepo, Jill Juneau, et al. “CortexCAM: A Camera Array Microscope for Cortex-Wide Cellular Imaging in Freely Locomoting Mice.” Res Sq, June 2, 2026. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9005693/v1.