The Wisconsin Reading Center (WRC) is a core retinal image reading lab within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The WRC, formerly known as the Fundus Photograph Reading Center, was founded on the enduring principles of intellectual honesty, quality, relevance, innovation, and staff satisfaction. Incepted in 1970 to support the seminal NIH funded trials of laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR), the WRC has broadened its scope to the evaluation of many retinal diseases, including dry AMD, atrophic AMD, neovascular AMD, DME, retinal vein occlusion, posterior uveitis, inherited retinal disease, AIDS-related ocular disease and cataract.
In addition, the graders are proficient at grading population-based studies as well as safety studies in order to monitor retinal toxicity. The reading center has experience grading a variety of imaging types including color fundus photography, autofluorescence imaging, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography, red reflex, slit lamp lens photographs, optic nerve head evaluations, adaptive optics, and all modes of ultrawide field imaging. Through its collaborations with NIH and NHANES, the WRC has developed the gold standard grading protocols for DR and AMD. These and other grading protocols have been employed in the successful completion of numerous Phase 3 trials for many indications. The WRC has been the reading center for over 300 clinical trials over the last decade.
Our Services
For early phase clinical trials, we offer a streamlined approach tailored to the needs of the study and sponsor.
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- Consultation on protocol design
- Project management
- Image analysis
- Certification and regulatory compliance
Experience
The WRC was the reading center for both AREDS and AREDS2 studies and developed and validated the AMD Severity Scale. The WRC also supports many NIH grants including DPPOS, EDIC, ACCORD, ADVISE, LSOCA, MUST, META MUST, SUN, SCORE2, CAREDS2, and the APGS (ARIS) trial for macular degeneration. WRC also serves as the reading center for the DRCR Retina Network since 2004. The WRC is currently participating in many trials involving novel modalities such as ultrawide field color and angiography, adaptive optics, and OCT angiography. About 100,000 images are graded annually in a spectrum of retinal diseases.
CRO and Sponsor
The WRC PM serves as the primary point of contact for the CRO and Sponsor. There will be ongoing, open communication throughout the life of the project. WRC will attend regular conference calls to review progress and discuss any issues. Initial discussions will center on study start up activities such as site selection and qualification, document generation which includes image acquisition procedures and grading criteria, and timelines. Meetings held towards the end of the study will focus on final updates of grading, updates on remaining visits, and study closeout procedures.
In addition to scheduled zoom/teams calls, the WPC PM will communicate via email with updates on study progress. Throughout the study, the CRO/Sponsor will have 24/7 access to an online dashboard to evaluate progress for both site certifications and visit submissions. The WRC PM or imaging staff will be the first point of contact for the investigative sites regarding the ocular imaging requirements of the protocol.
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Medical Director Barbara Blodi, MD, MALD
Early in her tenure as a UW faculty member, Dr. Blodi was the reading center PI for the seminal anti-VEGF trials for wet AMD (Marina and Anchor) and has recently published a conclusive study on macular atrophy in wet AMD (Ophthal Retina. 2023 Aug;7(8):661-671). In 2014, Dr. Blodi became the medical director of the WRC and has been involved in over 75 clinical trials including 9 NIH grants. Dr. Blodi serves on the Executive Committee of the DRCR Retina Network and has been the DRCR reading center PI for 11 trials. As a facilitator and impartial collaborator (she has no financial conflicts of interest), Dr. Blodi has been invited to participate in consensus groups such as CAM, the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, and the FDA Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Imaging (CCOI); she is currently the AAO Subspecialty Day program chair. This year, Dr. Blodi was awarded the Macular Society’s Lawrence J. Singerman Medal for outstanding contributions to the advancement of science through retinal clinical trials. Dr. Blodi’s knowledge of clinical trials provides a vital bridge between the retina research community and industry stakeholders, facilitating invaluable communication within the field.
Research Director Amitha Domalpally, MD, PhD
Dr. Domalpally is an ophthalmologist with a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the University of Wisconsin. As an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Dr. Domalpally is the Research Director of the Wisconsin Reading Center. Dr. Domalpally is at the forefront of retinal research involving novel imaging outcomes in multicenter retinal trials. One of her primary scientific interests has been in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Since 2007, Dr. Domalpally has published extensively with the National Eye Institute investigators on the Age Related Eye Disease Study2 (AREDS2). In the last 10 years, Dr. Domalpally has been first author on 4 AREDS2 papers, 3 of which focus on growth rate of geographic atrophy (GA). Many of Dr. Domalpally’s other publications focus on imaging precursors of dry AMD as well as comparing imaging modalities in GA progression. Dr. Domalpally has no financial conflicts of interest and serves as co-chair of the ARVO Retinal Program Committee. In addition, she is an editor of the ARVO journal, Translational Vision Science and Technology, and a frequent member of NEI Study Sections for grant reviews.
Active and Recent Grants
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Michael Altaweel, MD
- 07/01/26-06/30/31 NIH/UCLA
Researching OCT Biomarkers in UveitiS clinical Trials (ROBUST)
We will perform a secondary analysis of a combined longitudinal OCT imaging dataset from four NEI-funded uveitis randomized clinical trials (FAST, ADVISE, POINT, MERIT). We hypothesize that OCT imaging biomarkers of UME and ocular inflammation will identify patients at highest risk of vision loss. By aggregating datasets from these uveitis trials, we will tie these OCT imaging biomarkers to clinical outcomes in these trials and create a risk-stratification model to predict visual outcomes.
- UG1 EY028087 09/30/18-8/31/23 – National Institute of Health/National Eye Institute
Adalimimab vs. conventional Immunosuppression for uveitis (ADVISE) trial
The major goals of this project are to use a randomized, comparative effectiveness trial of adalimumav vs. conventional immunosuppression for the treatment of non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitides.
Barbara Blodi, MD, MALD
- 08/2025-06/2029 Jaeb Center for Health Research/Cystic Fibrosis Society
Studying the 21 Presence and development of CFRD and its Complications with Thoughtful Recruitment of 22 Multiethnic Minoritized (SPeCTRuM) groups
This multicenter cross-sectional study will include a diverse population of adolescents and adults with CF.
The overall Aim is to describe prevalence of diabetes microvascular complications and macrovascular surrogates in people with established CFRD.
The Wisconsin Reading Center is contracted for Grading of images for the SPECTRUM study
- U01DK094176 08/15/12-06/30/2027 – The George Washington University/NIH
Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC)
EDIC is a multi-center, longitudinal, observational study that focuses on nephropathy and macrovascular complications. Dr. Blodi’s team at the Wisconsin Reading Center monitors the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy among study participants, providing training and certification in optical coherence tomography (OCT) for other personnel working on the EDIC grant, as well as grading the OCT images and associated tasks.
- 75D301-25-D-00153 (Coinvestigator with Dr. Amitha Domalpally) 02/1/2025-08/30/2029 -NHANES-CDC
Grading of Retinal Images by the Wisconsin Reading Center for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a vital program that assesses the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States through comprehensive health exams and laboratory tests.
NHANES is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the only national health survey that includes health exams, laboratory tests, and dietary interviews for participants of all ages. The survey aims to monitor the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population and to collect data that can inform public health policy and programs
The Wisconsin Reading Center has a contract for image grading and analysis to establish the prevalence and severity of age-related ocular conditions.
- UG1EY023533 04/01/19-03/31/22 – Pennsylvania State University/NIH
The Study of Comparative Treatments for REtinal Vein Occlusion 2 [SCORE2] Long-term Follow up Study
The WRC provides the reading center component of the SCORE2 LTF trial including writing procedures and certification of imaging systems, project management, submission of images, grading of fundus photographs, OCT scans and fluorescein angiograms, data transfer to the coordinating center, quality control, and analysis of data derived from evaluation of fundus images, OCT and angiograms in conjunction with the study chair, co-chair and the coordinating center.
— A leader in ophthalmic image evaluation since 1970 —
Pre-Residency Fellowships
The Wisconsin Reading Center offers Pre-Residency Fellowships to provide hands-on training and experience in ophthalmology. Our fellowships prepare candidates for residency programs by offering exposure to clinical research and advanced imaging techniques.
Quick Reference Tutorials
All imaging technicians and equipment participating in any of our studies are required to be certified by the UW Wisconsin Reading Center for each specific study and each specific procedure within that study, prior to submitting study participant images.