One of Over 100 Clinical Site Teams Nationwide, SUNY Optometry is the Only Team to Earn This Prestigious Honor in 2024
The Team Earned Perfect Patient Quality Score of 1.0, According to Nationally Recognized Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG)
New York, NY — The SUNY College of Optometry today announced that their clinical research site team was awarded the 2024 Performance & Quality Award by the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) for achieving a perfect patient quality score. Among more than 100 clinical sites across the United States and Canada, SUNY Optometry was the only site to receive this prestigious honor.
The award highlights the team’s exceptional performance during the 2024 calendar year, in which they performed two randomized controlled trials sponsored by PEDIG: ATS22 (Amblyopia Treatment Study) and IXT7 (Intermittent Exotropia Study). Patients from both studies completed their required visits within the designated time windows and the site consistently delivered outstanding data quality, and both factors contributed to the team receiving a perfect quality index score of 1.0.
“This award not only reflects the hard work and precision of our research team, but it also further solidifies SUNY Optometry’s position at the forefront of clinical excellence in pediatric eye care,” said Dr. Marilyn Vricella, Site Principal Investigator and lead on the awarded studies. “We are honored to receive this recognition and are excited to continue furthering PEDIG’s mission of improving pediatric vision health through high-quality, collaborative research.”
The research team includes:
Dr. Marilyn Vricella, OD, FAAO, FOVDR, who served as the team’s site Principal Investigator. Dr. Vricella is an Associate Clinical Professor in the pediatric eye care clinic of SUNY Optometry’s University Eye Center.
Dr. Deborah Amster, OD, FAAO, FOVDR, an Associate Clinical Professor in pediatric eye care clinic at SUNY Optometry’s University Eye Center.
Dr. Shelby Johnson, OD, MPH, FAAO, an Associate Clinical Professor for SUNY Optometry and Section Chief of Pediatrics in the University Eye Center.
Dr. Daniella Rutner, OD, MS, MBA, FAAO, FOVDR, FNAP, an Associate Clinical Professor for SUNY Optometry and Chief of Vision Rehabilitation in the University Eye Center.
Dr. Jingyun Wang, PhD, FAAO, an Associate Professor at the SUNY College of Optometry.
This is the second time SUNY Optometry has received the PEDIG Performance & Quality Award, having been previously honored in 2017. The site was also named PEDIG Site of the Month on three separate occasions: September 2017, September 2018, and May 2021.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 2025
Media Contact: Dawn Rigney
communications@sunyopt.edu 212-938-5600
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About SUNY Optometry
Founded in 1971 and located in New York City, the State University of New York College of Optometry is a leader in education, research, and patient care, offering the Doctor of Optometry degree as well as MS and PhD degrees in vision science. The College conducts a robust program of basic, translational and clinical research and has 65 affiliated clinical training sites as well as an on-site clinic, the University Eye Center. SUNY Optometry is regionally accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; its four-year professional degree program and residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association. All classrooms, research facilities and the University Eye Center, which is one of the largest optometric outpatient facilities in the nation, are located on 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan. To learn more about SUNY Optometry, visit www.sunyopt.edu.
About The Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG)
The Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) is a multicenter clinical research network dedicated to studying strabismus, amblyopia, and other childhood eye disorders. Established in 1997, PEDIG is funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). More than 100 research sites and over 300 pediatric ophthalmologists and optometrists across the U.S. and Canada participate in PEDIG-sponsored studies to advance evidence-based treatment for pediatric eye diseases.