PEDIG Research Network

You can make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of the best way to treat important eye conditions in children by referring potentially eligible children and/or becoming a Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) investigator! Visit go.osu.edu/PEDIG to learn more about PEDIG. Visit go.osu.edu/PEDIGsites to find a participating PEDIG site near you!

PEDIG is a collaborative research network dedicated to improving vision in children. Funded by the National Institutes of Health through the National Eye Institute, PEDIG is made up of more than 100 clinical sites in the U.S. and Canada. Over 400 pediatric ophthalmologists and pediatric optometrists within PEDIG are dedicated to conducting investigator-initiated clinical research on childhood eye conditions, including strabismus, amblyopia, and other disorders. PEDIG is an open network where any pediatric eye care professional (ophthalmologist or optometrist) meeting the investigator criteria and clinical site requirements may participate. As such, PEDIG clinical sites are found in a variety of locations, from rural communities to large-scale universities. This openness increases access to research and a more diverse representation of children in federally funded studies. 

Since its inception in 1997, PEDIG has published more than 140 manuscripts and conducted over 45 randomized clinical trials or prospective observational studies on childhood eye conditions such as amblyopia, strabismus, nasolacrimal duct obstruction, refractive error including myopia and hyperopia, retinopathy of prematurity, pediatric optic neuritis, and pediatric cataract. PEDIG studies have raised the clinical practice standard of pediatric eye care and have become the foundation of the contemporary eye care of a child.

The Ohio State University College of Optometry clinical site has been active in PEDIG since the first Amblyopia Treatment Study, with investigators participating in 56 papers on childhood eye condition such as amblyopia, intermittent exotropia, myopia, hyperopia, and convergence insufficiency. Thank you to all who have referred potentially eligible patients! 

PEDIG studies currently recruiting are:

1. A randomized trial comparing the effectiveness of simultaneous versus sequential patching for amblyopia in children ages 3 to <13 years (ATS22);
2. A randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of a new binocular virtual reality therapy (Luminopia) versus patching for children with amblyopia ages 4 to 7 years (ATS23);
3. A randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of two new binocular virtual reality therapies (Luminopia and Vivid Vision) as compared to glasses alone for children with amblyopia ages 8 to 12 years (ATS24), and
4. A randomized trial evaluating 3 months of observation versus full-time patching for children with intermittent exotropia ages 3 to 8 years (IXT7). 

Ohio State’s PEDIG investigators and coordinators included:

Erica Shelton (OD/MS’18), Andrew Toole (OD’97, MS’00, PhD’08), Ann Morrison (OD’14, MS’16, PhD’21), Nancy Stevens, Doug Widmer (OD’11, MS’16), Marjean Kulp (OD’91, MS’92), Steven Manning (OD’18, MS’20), Marielle Reidy (OD/MS’19), Michelle Buckland (OD’06, MS’08), Jeff Walline (OD, MS’98, PhD’02), Freda Dallas, Curt Fritts-Davis (OD/MS’23), Heather Anderson, OD, PhD, Jenny Fogt (OD’99, MS), Abby Witmer (OD’23), Michael Earley (OD/MS’88, PhD’92), Mark Bullimore, OD, PhD, Ann Hickson (OD’01, MS’03), Melanie Ackerman Hemmer (OD’02, MS’04), Catherine McDaniel (OD/MS’08), Anna Schlesselman (OD/MS’07), H. Annie Lewis (OD’09, MS’11), Tamara Oechslin (OD/MS’11, PhD’16), Taylor McGann (OD’17), Emmanuel Owusu (PhD’18), Maureen Plaumann (PhD’22) and Tracy Kitts. 

The Ohio State University College of Optometry is one of seven PEDIG sites in Ohio.