History & Facts

History
Waisman Center research programs originated in the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Memorial Laboratories, which opened in the early 1960s in an addition to the Orthopedic Children's Hospital. The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation contributed a $225,000 grant for the laboratories, which were named in honor of President John F. Kennedy's brother, who was killed in World War II. Harry A. Waisman directed the laboratories, which included Professors Ron Geison, Theo Gerritsen, George Kerr, John O'Brien, and Frank Siegel–all from the Department of Pediatrics–as well as a number of post-doctoral fellows and technicians. These scientists focused on the biochemistry of mental retardation. The Waisman Center is one of 15 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers (IDDRCs) in the United States.

These centers were established at major universities at the recommendation of a presidential panel during the Kennedy Administration. This panel called for the establishment of broad-based, multi-disciplinary centers to further the understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. UW-Madison was chosen as one of the early sites because of its outstanding research in the neurosciences and clinical capabilities related to developmental disabilities. Scientists from the Kennedy Laboratories moved to the new labs on the upper floors of the Waisman Center when it opened in 1973.

Since then, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has provided support for Waisman Center core research facilities. Today, Waisman Center scientists conduct extensive biomedical and behavioral studies aimed at advancing our knowledge about human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Facts:

The Waisman Center is one of 15 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers and one of 67 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

Since it opened in 1973, the Waisman Center has provided clinical services and supports to more than 100,000 people of all ages.

More than three million people have visited the Waisman Center's Family Village--an award-winning Internet site and one of the first web resources designed for families and people affected by disability.

More than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students have trained in Waisman Center programs since the Center opened in 1973.
Research programs at the Waisman Center focus on every stage of human development—from conception through early childhood and adolescence, into adulthood and old age.

The Waisman Center's Early Childhood program (WECP) serves children from birth to age five, reserving one third of its enrollment for children with disabilities. No other early childhood program in Dane County provides a fully inclusive program for so many children with special needs.

Since 2001, Waisman researchers have compiled more than 11,000 hours of data using state-of-the-art brain imaging technologies that provides insight and clues to conditions like autism and Alzheimer's disease.