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About the IDDRC
Scientific discovery is the mission of the Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research Center—discovering why child development goes awry, discovering ways to prevent developmental disabilities, discovering treatments and interventions—so that children and adults with disabilities can live, learn, work, and enjoy their lives with their families and friends in their own communities.
Established by Congress in 1963 as "centers of excellence" for research in mental retardation and developmental disabilities, IDDRCs
represent our nation's first sustained effort to prevent and treat developmental
disabilities through biomedical and behavioral research. Today, the Waisman
Center IDDRC is a dynamic, state-of-the-art research center with a long history
of accomplishments. Its outstanding physical facilities reflect continual
improvement and reinvestment, and its diverse scientific programs reflect
multidisciplinary research spanning the biological and behavioral sciences
relevant to Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities.
The IDDRC at the Waisman Center involves 51 investigators from 24 University of Wisconsin-Madison departments in 76 research projects. These projects are organized into three
Groups, each with a unifying theme:
- the Molecular and Genetic Sciences Group focuses on the developing nervous
system and the etiology and treatment of developmental disabilities and
neurodegenerative disorders;
- the Communication and Cognitive Sciences Group focuses on speech, language, communication, cognitive, and sensory processes in
children with disabilities and those who are typically developing;
- the Social and Affective Sciences Group focuses on affect and social interaction across the life span in
individuals with disabilities and typically developing individuals and their
families.
The Waisman Center is a
comprehensive, multidisciplinary, academic center at the UW-Madison,
devoted to the advancement of knowledge about human development,
developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases. The
Waisman Center supports investigators who conduct research in the
biological and behavioral sciences, trains scientists in fields
relevant to Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, trains clinicians in the delivery of clinical and
educational services for persons with developmental disabilities,
and conducts continuing education and technical assistance programs
on behalf of national, state, and local agencies and organizations.
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