We are the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Learn about our vision to save vision.

Team Overview

The University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences team of over 250 professionals works tirelessly at delivering exemplary eye care clinical services, providing outstanding educational learner experiences, and performing relevant, innovative research to address critical concerns in vision debilitating diseases. We became a division of the University of Wisconsin hospital in the 1920’s, and a formal department of the University of Wisconsin medical school in 1970. Our ophthalmologists, researchers, optometrists, opticians, administrative staff, technicians, nurse practitioners, and orthoptists are committed to you, and expert in their respective arenas. Our local to global collaborative efforts are of high impact, and far-reaching. Please join us in saving sight for all.

Faculty

Michael M. Altaweel, MD

Professor, Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship Director

Barbara A. Blodi, MD

Matthew D. Davis Professor, Wisconsin Reading Center Medical Director

Yasmin S. Bradfield, MD

John W. Doolittle Pediatric Ophthalmology Professor

Curtis R. Brandt, PhD

UW Medical Foundation Professor; Vice Chair of Research

Jonathan S. Chang, MD

Associate Professor; Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship Assistant Director

Yanjun (Judy) Chen, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Neuro-ophthalmology Service Chief

Amitha Domalpally, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Wisconsin Reading Center Research Director

David M. Gamm, MD, PhD

Professor, Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute

Shaoqin (Sarah) Gong, PhD

Vilas Distinguished Professor, Advancing Vision Science Chair Professor, and RRF Edwin and Dorothy Gamewell Professor

shaoqingong@wisc.edu

(608) 316-4311

Justin L. Gottlieb, MD

Professor, Retina Service Chief

Gregg A. Heatley, MD, MMM

Professor, Director of Quality and Improvement

Paul L. Kaufman, MD

Ernst H. Bárány Professor of Ocular Pharmacology, Department Chair Emeritus

Daniel W. Knoch, MD

Professor, Vice Chair of Education and Faculty Development, Director of Medical Student Education

Yao Liu, MD, MS

Assistant Professor, Director of Teleophthalmology, Glaucoma Service Chief, Glaucoma Fellowship Director

Mark J. Lucarelli, MD, FACS

Richard K. Dortzbach Professor of Ophthalmic Facial Plastic Surgery, Oculoplastic and Reconstructive Surgery Service Chief, UW Health University Station Eye Clinic Medical Director

Colleen M. McDowell, PhD

William and Phyllis Huffman Research Professor

Alexander R. Miranda, MD

Assistant Professor, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Service Chief, Director of Informatics

Mihai Mititelu, MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Clinical Eye Research Unit Medical Director

Anna C. Momont, MD

Assistant Professor, Associate Residency Director

Sanbrita Mondal, OD

Clinical Adjunct Assistant Professor, Chief of the Vision Rehabilitation Clinic

Sarah M. Nehls, MD

Professor, Cornea and Anterior Segment Service Chief

Robert W. Nickells, PhD

Frederick A. Davis Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Professor

Heather Potter, MD

Professor, Ophthalmic Pathology Service Chief

Melanie Schmitt, MD

Assistant Professor, John W. and Helen Doolittle Professor

Nader Sheibani, PhD

Professor, Retina Research Foundation Alice R. McPherson Research Chair

Kimberly E. Stepien, MD

Professor, Co-Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, John W. and Helen Doolittle Professor

John E. Temprano, MD

Associate Professor, Comprehensive Ophthalmology Service Chief

Andrew T. Thliveris, MD, PhD

Professor, Vice Chair of Resident Education, Veterans Affairs Hospital Service Chief

Terri L. Young, MD, MBA, FARVO

Chair, Peter A. Duehr Professor of Ophthalmology, Pediatrics and Medical Genetics

Administrative Staff

Vaqar Adhami, PhD

Multi-Functional Research Administrator

vmadhami@wisc.edu

(608) 263-3901

Angie M. Adler

Study Coordinator and Regulatory Specialist

amadler1@wisc.edu

(608) 265-7557

Hannah Baker, MA

Senior Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program Manager

hannah.baker@wisc.edu

(608) 263-4157

James M. Baliker

Senior Information Processing Consultant

baliker@episense.wisc.edu

(608) 890-0334

Karo Barsamian

Online Content Editor

kbarsamian@wisc.edu

(608) 265-3436

Jessica Benton

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Coordinator

jlbenton2@wisc.edu

Kelly Boyd

CERU Study Coordinator

kmboyd@wisc.edu

(608) 265-4589

Linda Callow, CPA, MBA

Chief Administrative Officer

lrcallow@wisc.edu

(608) 262-8070

Reade Carrathers

Financial Specialist

carrathers@wisc.edu

(608) 890-4559

Apryl Conner

Administrative Specialist - Research

alconner@wisc.edu

Darla Coullard

Study Coordinator, ERG specialist

coullard@wisc.edu

Tony S. Fairbanks

Inform Process Consultant

tony.fairbanks@wisc.edu

(608) 263-5703

Ellie Frazier, MA

Marketing Specialist

ellie.frazier@wisc.edu

(608) 262-2110

Christopher J. Geier

Director of Information Technology

cjgeier@wisc.edu

(608) 263-6641

Stephany Georgeson

Honorary Associate, Fellow

Ann Heimerl

Administrative Support Assistant - Retina, Optometry

amheimerl@wisc.edu

(608) 890-3945

Alexander W. Katz

Research Specialist

awkatz@wisc.edu

(608) 262-5751

Audra Keith

Administrative Support Assistant - Retina

amkeith@wisc.edu

(608) 263-9338

Michele Kempfer

Interim Executive Assistant to the Chair & Administrative Support Supervisor

michele.kempfer@wisc.edu

(608) 262-9092

Charlene Kim, PhD

Associate Scientist

ckim@wisc.edu

(608) 263-9466

Aaron W. Kolb

Assistant Researcher

awkolb@wisc.edu

(608) 262-8055

Amol D. Kulkarni, MD

Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor

Amanda Lacy

Administrative Support Assistant - Oculoplastics

allacy@wisc.edu

(608) 263-4823

Sarah Lamartina

Research Specialist

smlamart@wisc.edu

(608) 265-8046

Tanya Lamontagne

UW Health Optical Operations

Inna V. Larsen

Multi-Functional Research Administrator, Vision Core & T32 Administrator

ivlarsen@wisc.edu

(608) 265-2572

Allie Lippitt

Administrative Support Assistant - Glaucoma, Neuro-Ophthalmology

alippitt@wisc.edu

(608) 263-1481

Zhe (Jason) Liu

Associate Researcher

zliu252@wisc.edu

(608) 265-3719

Cheryl Nagel, LPN

Ophthalmology Clinic Manager, UW Health Clinics

cnagel@uwhealth.org

Lisa Nelson, CPC

Coding Coordinator

lnelson5@uwhealth.org

(608) 720-3231

Brittany Nelson

Administrative Support Assistant - Cornea and Retina

bnnelson2@wisc.edu

(608) 262-2515

Adam J. Paulsen

Associate Researcher

ajpaulsen@wisc.edu

(608) 263-4603

Dave Perez

IT Specialist

drperez2@wisc.edu

(608) 262-3214

Jennie R. Perry-Raymond

Clinical Eye Research Unit Administrator

jrperry@wisc.edu

(608) 265-4659

Patricia Peterman

Administrative Support Assistant - Pediatric Ophthalmology

plpeterman@wisc.edu

(608) 263-6429

Amy Pikalek, MA

Communications & Marketing Manager

ajpikalek@wisc.edu

David A. Pillath

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Coordinator

dapillath@wisc.edu

(608) 263-1481

Susan Powers, RN, BSN, CNOR

Ophthalmology Clinic Manager, UW Health Eye Clinic - Rockford

Jenniffer Priebe

Administrative Support Assistant - Research

priebe2@wisc.edu

(608) 265-6546

Jenny Pulvermacher

Administrative Support Assistant - Comprehensive

japulver@wisc.edu

(608) 263-1480

Kristen Rogers

Financial Specialist

knrogers@wisc.edu

(608) 262-7274

Tetyana Schneider, PhD

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program Administrator

tetyana.schneider@wisc.edu

(608) 262-5066

Steven Shen

Pre-residency Ocular Imaging/Ocular Pathology Fellow

sshen224@wisc.edu

Christopher M. Smith

Study Coordinator and Photographer

cmsmith37@wisc.edu

(608) 263-7169

Karon M. Szyszkiewicz

Administrative Specialist - Retina

kszyszkiewic@wisc.edu

(608) 262-1334

Christina Thomas-Virnig, PhD

Director of DOVS Translational Research

clthoma1@wisc.edu

(608) 265-3483

Jesse Ward

Ocular Disease Evaluator

jward5@wisc.edu

Justin Yonkie

Medical Coding Specialist

jyonkie@uwhealth.org

(608) 720-6514

Paul Zellmer, MHA

Director of UW Health Ambulatory Operations

Training and Education

We are proud to provide an exceptional educational program with translational, multidisciplinary collaborations at its core. Our mission of improving vision-related quality of life includes a commitment to transmitting and applying knowledge. The department’s clinical and research faculty are highly regarded experts in their fields, as well as talented educators with a passion for creating and sharing knowledge. Our educational programs are designed to reach YOU—friends of the department, professional learners, clinical and research professionals and patients.

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Recent Publications

Our program has been cited as the top academic ophthalmology department in publication productivity per faculty member out of all ophthalmology departments in the US and #5 overall in publication output.

Retinoblastoma in transgenic mice: models of hereditary retinoblastoma.

Apr 01 2023

  PubMed ID: 10416793 Author(s): Mills MD, Windle JJ, Albert DM. Retinoblastoma in transgenic mice: models of hereditary retinoblastoma. Surv Ophthalmol. 1999 May-Jun;43(6):508-18. Review. PMID 10416793 Journal: Survey Of Ophthalmology, Volume 43, Issue 6, 1999…

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Conjunctival mast cells in ocular allergic disease.

Apr 01 2023

PubMed ID: 11424871 Author(s): Graziano FM, Stahl JL, Cook EB, Barney NP. Conjunctival mast cells in ocular allergic disease. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2001 May-Jun;22(3):121-6. Review. PMID 11424871 Journal: Allergy And Asthma Proceedings, Volume 22, Issue…

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Intrinsic survival mechanisms for retinal ganglion cells.

Apr 01 2023

PubMed ID: 10230600 Author(s): Levin LA. Intrinsic survival mechanisms for retinal ganglion cells. Eur J Ophthalmol. 1999 Jan-Mar;9 Suppl 1:S12-6. Review. PMID 10230600 Journal: European Journal Of Ophthalmology, Volume 9 Suppl 1, 1999 Retinal ganglion…

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