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Waisman Center Expansion Project: Dedication Ceremony: September 4 Symposium: September 5
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| Dedication Event Schedule, September 4 |
| 4:00 - 5:00 pm | - Program/Ceremony |
| 5:00 - 5:45 pm | - Tours |
| 5:00 pm | - Reception |
| Speakers |
| Terrence R. Dolan | Director (on leave), Waisman Center |
| Tammy Baldwin | US Congresswoman |
| Felix de la Cruz | MRDD Branch, NICHD, National Institutes of Health |
| Philip Edward Albert | Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce |
| John Wiley | Chancellor, UW-Madison |
| Martin Cadwallader | Dean, Graduate School |
| Marsha Mailick Seltzer | Acting Director, Waisman Center |
| Expansion Project |
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Overview For almost 30 years, the Center has been recognized as a focal point at the UW-Madison for multi-disciplinary research on developmental disabilities, and a clinical resource for people with disabilities and their families. The largest center on campus, with over 500 faculty and staff from over 26 departments, the Center is located within a network of academic research and clinical resources, across from the UW Hospitals and Clinics, and close to the new College of Pharmacy building. A recent major expansion deepened our mission and added new dimensions to our foci. The Waisman Center now provides an ideal setting for world-class translational biomedical research on human development. New research programs and state-of-the-art research laboratories and clinical manufacturing facilities have strengthened the Center's research mission, and promise to bridge the gap between discovery and development in biomedical research at the UW-Madison.
Stem Cell Research Program Interest in stem cell biology has exploded over the last few years due to the remarkable potential they hold as a source of tissue for in vitro studies, and repairing damaged tissues following disease or trauma. Simultaneously, breakthrough research on the human brain has shown that that brain tissue may be far more "plastic" than we ever imagined. The Waisman Center's new Stem Cell Research Program is committed to exploring the potential of stem cells in the context of this new image of the human brain, with the ultimate goal of developing innovative approaches to treating neurological disease. Our new program involves research on multiple scientific tracks in tandem, including research involving neural stem cells derived from several different sources, such as fetal tissue and embryonic stem cells. Our new scientists are collaborating with our growing program in gene therapy research exploring the potential of combining stem cell and gene therapy to repair and recover function in diseases as diverse as Parkinson's disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological and developmental disorders.
Gene Therapy Research Program Research on gene therapy continues to progress rapidly, maintaining its promise as an effective treatment paradigm for curing human disease. Gene therapy, which alters genetic make-up of target cells by inserting a healthy copy of a gene(s), promises to achieve greater specificity, potency, and versatility than has been possible with previous modes of pharmacological therapy that simply alter the phenotype of the cell. An important objective of the Waisman Center's Gene Therapy Research Program is to understand the fundamental molecular and cellular processes that hold the key to enhancing the efficiency of gene transfer. The Waisman Center is home to Dr. Wolff, whose breakthrough discovery that RNA and DNA expression vectors--termed "naked DNA"--can be expressed within muscle cells following direct injection into muscle tissue, significantly advanced gene therapy and vaccine research. More recent research led by the Wolff research group has demonstrated that distribution of non-viral vectors through the vascular system holds even greater promise. In particular this work has demonstrated that a vector can be delivered to a significant percentage of the muscle cells in an entire limb via a single injection. Current efforts at the Waisman Center involve adaptations of these techniques in efforts to transfer gene vectors into CNS tissues. Viral vector approaches will also be a focus of this growing program.
Waisman Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility The Waisman Clinical BioManufacturing Facility (WCBF) is the newest, most versatile clinical manufacturing facility in Wisconsin. The WCBF will operate in compliance with the US Food & Drug Administration's current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) guidelines to manufacture gene- and cell-based therapeutics for UW-Madison researchers and collaborators undertaking Phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials. With new cleanroom facilities, highly-sophisticated mechanical and control systems, and state-of-the-art bioprocessing equipment, the WCBF is capable of manufacturing almost any biologic, and can also provide formulation and filling of small molecule therapeutics. The WCBF's industry-trained staff offer expertise in process development, cGMP manufacturing, quality assurance/quality control, and project management. The WCBF is interested in pursuing partnerships with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including contract manufacturing services.
W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior, directed by Dr. Richard J. Davidson, Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, is housed in 17,000 square f eet of space in the Waisman Center's new tower addition. The program consists of a core group of scientists who conduct independent research on brain development, structure, and function, and the facility is a major resource to the campus. The Keck Laboratory provides the sophisticated imaging technology and image analysis expertise to researchers in biomedical and behavioral sciences. Researchers have access to a 3T magnetic resonance scanner (MRI) for both functional and structural brain imaging studies; a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, which detects the distribution of radiotracers that can label different neurochemical and receptor systems in the brain; a tandem accelerator for the production of short half-life radiotracers that are used for PET imaging; and an electrophysiological testing laboratory equipped with a high-density 256 channel system, which records brain electrical activity and can provide information on the timing of neural activity. The availability of these three imaging technologies in a single setting, along with the guidance and support of three full-time physicists makes the Waisman Center a novel environment for brain imaging research.
Waisman Early Childhood Program The Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP) is a model program for meeting the needs of a developmentally diverse group of young children, ranging from one to seven years of age. Approximately one third of the children in this program have a special educational need because of a developmental delay or disability, while the other two-thirds are developing typically. The WECP provides a supportive, enriching environment for over 80 children that fosters each child's social-emotional, cognitive, language and physical development. With an underlying philosophy of providing many kinds of play experiences for young children and supporting each child's progress at his or her own level of development, the WECP maintains small class size and low student to teacher ratio. The program draws on the expertise of UW researchers, educators, and clinicians at the Waisman Center and across campus and offers training in many disciplines to qualified university students. Housed in newly remodeled facilities at the Waisman Center, the WECP features spacious classrooms, therapy/evaluation rooms, a library, a gymnasium, and a 1-1/2 acre landscaped playground called the "Discovery Garden." In addition to the preschool and training programs, the WECP is also a community resource, providing outreach workshops to early childhood professionals.
Waisman Early Intervention Program The goal of the Waisman Early Intervention Program is to enhance the health, development and well being of young children with special needs and their families in a manner that is respectful of, and responsive to, diverse family needs. Program staff accomplish this goal by working with numerous local, state, and national agencies, as well as family partners. One element of the Early Intervention Program is direct services. In the Bridges for Families Program, for example, staff make home and community visits where they work with families who have infants and toddlers with disabilities age 3 or younger. Many types of interventions take place around the family's routines and activities, which not only promote the development of the child, but also focus on providing supports and strategies to parents and caregivers. Another element of the Early Intervention Program involves leadership and outreach training related to early intervention. Staff conduct annual workshops for more than 1,000 early intervention professionals and parents, provide on-site technical assistance for Birth to 3 Programs throughout the state of Wisconsin, and share information about best practices in early intervention through newsletters and a web site. A third key element of the Waisman Early Intervention Program is student training. Undergraduate and graduate students from nine disciplines participate on interdisciplinary teams where they learn about young children with disabilities and their families. One unique aspect of their training pairs students with a family mentor who helps them learn about having a child with a disability from the family's perspective. All of the elements in the Early Intervention Program interact to improve the lives of young children with disabilities.
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Telephone: (608) 263-5776 or (608) 263-5910 ~ TDD: (608) 263-0802 FAX: (608) 263-0529 ~ webmaster@waisman.wisc.edu ~ www.waisman.wisc.edu |