Dr. Ronald Klein is a distinguished ophthalmic epidemiologist and leading authority in the study of diabetes-related eye diseases. He currently serves as Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and is affiliated with the McPherson Eye Research Institute. After earning his MD from New York University School of Medicine and his MPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he completed his ophthalmology residency at the prestigious Bascom Palmer Eye Institute before establishing his career at the University of Wisconsin. His clinical expertise focuses on diabetic retinopathy and age-related eye diseases, with decades of experience translating epidemiological findings into improved patient care.
Dr. Klein's groundbreaking Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy (WESDR), initiated in 1979, represents one of the longest-running and most influential population-based studies of diabetic complications in the world. His research has established critical risk factors for diabetic retinopathy progression including poor glycemic control hypertension and duration of diabetes fundamentally changing clinical management guidelines for diabetic eye disease. His highly cited work on the global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration published in The Lancet Global Health in 2014 has become the definitive reference for disease burden estimates worldwide with nearly 5000 citations. With over 1000 peer-reviewed publications to his name his epidemiological findings have directly informed clinical practice and public health strategies to prevent vision loss in diabetic and aging populations.
As co-director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Ocular Epidemiology Reading Center Dr. Klein has established standardized protocols for grading ocular photographs that are now used in epidemiological studies worldwide ensuring methodological consistency across international research efforts. His leadership of the Beaver Dam Eye Study since 1988 has generated foundational knowledge about age-related eye diseases that continues to guide both clinical practice and research directions in ophthalmology. Collaborating closely with his wife and scientific partner Dr. Barbara Klein he has trained generations of ophthalmic epidemiologists who now lead research programs at institutions across the globe. His current work continues to advance our understanding of genetic and environmental factors influencing eye disease progression maintaining his position at the forefront of vision research as he leads new phases of longitudinal studies that promise to further transform approaches to preventing blindness.
