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Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Medical College of Wisconsin Honored for Excellence in Inherited Retinal Disease Research

April 21, 2026

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Eye Institute team received three awards at the 2026 Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) Clinical Consortium Annual Study Group Meeting. Dr. Thomas B. Connor, Jr., professor of ophthalmology, and Phyllis Summerfelt, clinical research coordinator II, were awarded “2025 Best Overall Site Report Card” and “Most Protocol-Compliant Site on Earth.” Phyllis also won the award for “Best Protocol Questions.”

The FFB Clinical Consortium was created to help patients with rare inherited retinal disorders (IRDs), with a goal to accelerate treatment options. This is accomplished through the clinical and scientific excellence of the collaborators from participating centers.

The annual study group meeting was held March 14-16, 2026 in Dallas, TX. This year’s meeting marked the 10th anniversary of the FFB Clinical Consortium and welcomed 91 attendees representing FFB leadership, clinical and administrative staff, members of reading centers and collaborators and primary investigators and coordinators from 20 clinical centers that represented 11 countries.

This year’s milestone meeting also highlighted the impacts of 2025, where MCW was recognized as a top ten recruiting site for clinical studies, landing at number six overall. MCW has partnered with the FFB Clinical Consortium over the last ten years and have participated in several clinical studies including:

  • RUSH2A, a prospective, longitudinal natural history study of USH2A related retinal degeneration, and
  • UniRare, a registry and natural history study of retinal dystrophies associated with rare disease-causing genetic variants.

This exemplary work could not be accomplished without the efforts done by Dr. Connor’s inherited retinal disease clinic, the clinical research coordinators, genetic counselors and the staff and students of the Dennis P. Han, MD Advanced Ocular Imaging Program at MCW.

These honors serve as a fitting tribute to the Eye Institute's 50-year legacy of clinical excellence and our ongoing commitment to pioneering vision research.

Tagged: Award Ophthalmology Research - Translational

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