POST-DOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAM
IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH

Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• About the Program
• Training
• How to Apply
• About the Waisman Center
• Current Postdocs
• Program Faculty
• Advisory Committee
• Acknowledgements

 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Research began in 1995 with funding from NICHD and the Waisman Center.  The program provides multidisciplinary training in social, behavioral, and biobehavioral research on developmental disabilities.  The emphasis of the program is on understanding social, affective, communicative, and family processes as they relate to developmental disabilities.

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TRAINING

The program includes a set of experiences common to all fellows, but is individualized to meet the needs, interests, and professional goals of individual fellows. Each fellow completes a program of research training and a core curriculum. Research training includes: Planning and conducting independent research Collaborating with program faculty on research Participating in regular research meetings with mentors The core curriculum includes: Seminars on biobehavioral research, theory, and methods in developmental disabilities and human development Seminars on research design and data analysis Seminars on race, ethnicity, and culture Seminars on research ethics Seminars on professional development, including obtaining extramural research funding.

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HOW TO APPLY

Applicants should provide the following:

1. Application Form
   Online version
   MS Word Version
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Letters of Recommendation (3)
4. Dissertation - a summary or abstract
5. A Personal Statement
6. Publications / Papers (3)

SUBMIT MATERIALS TO:
Leonard Abbeduto
Waisman Center—Rm. 463
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705-2280

Email:abbeduto@waisman.wisc.edu
Fax: 608-263-7710

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ABOUT THE WAISMAN CENTER

The training program is located at the Waisman Center is fully integrated into its scientific activities.  The Waisman Center is home to one of the  original Intellectual  and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRC) funded by NICHD since 1973.  The IDDRC supports the research efforts of more than 50 behavioral and biomedical scientists from 25 academic departments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS

Current fellows and their graduate programs:

• Somer Bishop, Ph.D., University of Michigan
• Lizbeth Finestack, Ph.D., University of Kansas
• Sigan Hartley, Ph.D., University of Wyoming
• Monique Mills, Ph.D., University of Illinois

Previous fellows have gone on to faculty positions at Boston University, Penn State University, Portland State University, University of Georgia, University of Minnesota, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

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PROGRAM FACULTY

• Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D., Educational Psychology
  (Program Co-Director)
  Language and communication development in persons with developmental disabilities; families of persons with developmental disabilities; fragile X syndrome; Down syndrome.
• Marsha Mailick Seltzer, Ph.D. Social Work & Director of the Waisman Center (Program Co-Director)
  Families of persons with developmental disabilities, including autism; life course development of individuals and families.
• Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., Psychology and Psychiatry
  Cortical and subcortical substrates of emotion and affective disorders, including anxiety, depression, and autism.
• Maureen Durkin, Ph.D., Dr.PH., Population Health Sciences and Pediatrics
  Epidemiology of developmental disabilities including cross-cultural variation.
• Jan Edwards, Ph.D., Communicative Disorders
  Interactions between phonological & lexical acquisition
• H. Hill Goldsmith, Ph.D., Psychology
  Emotional development during infancy and early childhood; the nature of developmental transitions.
• Jan S. Greenberg, Ph.D., Social Work
  Family caregiving in later life; aging parents caring for an adult child with mental illness.
• Katherine Hustad, Ph.D., Communicative Disorders
  Cerebral palsy and augmentative communication
• Ruth Litovsky, Ph.D., Communicative Disorders
  Binaural hearing and speech development.
• Julie Poehlmann, Ph.D., Human Development and Family Studies
  Developmental psychopathology; social, emotional and cognitive development in high risk infants, young children, and their families.
• Seth D. Pollak, Ph.D., Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics
  Developmental psychopathology; neurophysiological mechanisms of emotional development; childhood affective disorders.
• Jenny Saffran, Ph.D., Psychology
  Infant learning of language and music
• Julie A. Washington, Ph.D., Communicative Disorders
  Language & Literacy Development in Diverse Populations
• Susan Ellis Weismer, Ph.D., Communicative Disorders
  Children with specific language impairment who have developmental delays in language but normal-range cognitive abilities.
• Whitney Witt, Ph.D., M.PH, Population Health Sciences
  Impact of acute, chronic and terminal illness on families
  
  

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE

• Jacob Burack, Ph.D., McGill University
• Guinevere Eden, Ph.D., Georgetown University
• Frank Floyd, Ph.D., Georgia State University
• Randi Hagerman, M.D., University of California Davis
• Catherine Lord, Ph.D., University of Michigan
• Bruce Tomblin, Ph.D., University of Iowa
• Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D., Boston University
• Yolanda Keller-Bell, Ph.D., University of Georgia
  
  

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This program is supported  by NICHD grant T32 HD07489, with additional funding from the Waisman Center & The Friends of the Waisman Center.