Progress made toward treatment for rare, fatal neurological disease
After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center reported promising results in the lab and in animal models that could set the stage for developing a treatment for Alexander disease, a rare and usually fatal neurological disease with no known cure.
December 19, 20172017 year in review
We’re delighted to share a video highlighting many of the strides we have made over the past year. Your generous and thoughtful contributions help us continue to pioneer research and expand clinical services that benefit …
December 12, 2017
After decades of service, Waisman clinician Tina Iyama-Kurtycz retires in December
Iyama-Kurtycz’s journey from an 8-year-old with a dream to a skilled clinician took her to medical school at the University of Michigan and a residency at the University of Kansas. “While at Kansas, I met a pediatrician who was taking care of children with disabilities and I realized that’s what I wanted to do,” says Iyama-Kurtycz.
December 6, 2017Waisman Center director search advances as interim leadership is named
“Dr. Messing has been an outstanding director of this center since his appointment in 2015. He is both a superb scientist and has been a strong leader across this center’s multifaceted mission,” says Norman Drinkwater, UW–Madison associate vice chancellor for research in biological sciences.
December 5, 2017
Childhood stress and life risks
Adults who lived high-stress childhoods have trouble reading the signs that a loss or punishment is looming, leaving themselves in situations that risk avoidable health and financial problems and legal trouble.
December 5, 2017
Video game improves balance in youth with autism
“We think this video game-based training could be a unique way to help individuals with ASD who have challenges with their balance address these issues,” says Travers, an investigator at UW–Madison’s Waisman Center and an assistant professor of kinesiology.
November 22, 2017A decade after stem cell feat, research ramps up
A decade after scientists announced the development of induced pluripotent stem cells, Waisman investigators, including Su-Chun Zhang and David Gamm, continue to use these cells to research and develop potential therapies for several disorders and conditions, such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and macular degeneration.
November 20, 2017New faculty focus: Sriram Boothalingam
How did you get into your field of research? After I learned that the inner ear can produce sounds on its own and that the brain controls what we hear, I was hooked!
November 14, 2017
Mining the cerebellum for its role in speech
“We found that the folks with cerebellar damage responded to these unpredictable changes to a larger extent than those without any damage,” says Parrell. “It was totally unexpected.”
November 8, 2017
Autism prevalence and socioeconomic status: What’s the connection?
Children living in neighborhoods where incomes are low and fewer adults have bachelor’s degrees are less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder compared to kids from more affluent neighborhoods. The finding is part …
October 13, 2017A child’s death brings ‘trauma that doesn’t go away’
A recent story in the New York Times discusses the trauma that parents experience after the death of a child. In particular, elderly parents who lose a child are vulnerable both emotionally and pragmatically. Waisman …
October 9, 2017
Waisman Biomanufacturing to be part of UW-Madison partnership in $20 million cell-based therapy center
Waisman Biomanufacturing and Waisman affiliate investigators Randolph Ashton and Krishanu Saha will be part of a new engineering research center that will develop transformative tools and technologies for the consistent, scalable and low-cost production of …
September 13, 2017New faculty focus: Lauren Bishop-Fitzpatrick
A Q&A with new Waisman Center investigator Lauren Bishop-Fitzpatrick. How did you get into your field of research? Like many people who pursue social work degrees, I always knew that I wanted to spend my career …
September 6, 2017
WSJ: With autism diagnoses on the rise, parents sort through treatment options
As rates of autism diagnoses rise across the country, children with autism and their parents also have increasing options for therapy and treatments. The Wisconsin State Journal highlights the Waisman Center Autism Treatment Programs, and …
September 5, 2017
Waisman Biomanufacturing has new managing director
Carl Ross has been selected to serve as managing director of Waisman Biomanufacturing. His appointment started July 1, following more than a year as its interim director. Located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Waisman Center, …
August 31, 2017
The chatter within our cells
Waisman Center investigator Luigi Puglielli had trouble with only one class in medical school: biochemistry. Yet today he uses biochemical approaches to study some of the vital molecular mechanisms that regulate brain physiology and pathology …
August 3, 2017
SOFT Conference in Madison, WI
When Leila Adamson was born, doctors weren’t sure that she would live for even 63 seconds. More than 63 months later, in July 2017, she will be in Madison, Wisconsin, along with her parents, Kari …
July 18, 2017Madison County girl hopes to help unlock cure of rare disease
Waisman Center Director, Albee Messing, is collaborating with researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to better understand the progression of Alexander disease, a rare and fatal neurological disorder with no known cure. In …
July 12, 2017Know Your Madisonian: Albee Messing focuses on Alexander disease
Waisman Center Director, Albee Messing, VMD, PhD, was recently featured in the Know Your Madisonian column by David Wahlberg in the Wisconsin State Journal. To read the full interview, please click here. David Wahlberg, Wisconsin …
July 7, 2017
Biochemical Genetics Clinic helps children live healthier, happier lives
Sam Thompson is two-and-a-half years old and a super-charged giver of hugs.His green eyes sparkle as he first embraces his physician, Jessica Scott Schwoerer, and then his dietitian, Nikki Drilias. Then it’s a quick, laughter-filled …
July 6, 2017
Machine learning can detect a genetic disorder from speech recordings
How much information can we extract from a five-minute recording of someone talking? Enough to tell whether that individual may be genetically predisposed to some health complications, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s …
June 12, 2017
There are many ways to Whirl
10-year-old Lauren Tierney had only walked a mile a few times before. Yet here she was, on a cool October morning, at the starting line for the Waisman Whirl Run Walk & Roll for All …
June 5, 2017
Where do children’s emotions come from?
Waisman Center investigator Seth Pollak’s research was recently highlighted in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology magazine. You can read the full story here.
June 1, 2017
New clues to healthy bones for those with PKU
Certain kinds of foods prescribed to manage the rare metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) could contribute to skeletal fragility seen in many PKU patients, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers. Led by …
May 16, 2017Better understanding a devastating neurological disease
Waisman Center investigator John Svaren collaborated with Ian Duncan, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and others on a study that offers new insight into a rare human disease, called H-ABC, …
April 24, 2017
Thirty years of Community TIES
On Friday, April 21, 2017, the Community TIES program at the Waisman Center will be celebrating 30 years of helping Dane County children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities live with their families and in …
April 18, 2017Genetics and stress interact to shape human health and well-being
This is a story of nature and nurture. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center have shown one way in which human genetics and chronic stress interact to shape health and well-being later in …
April 17, 2017Foods made with special whey protein help PKU patients
Research led by Waisman Center investigator Denise Ney has shown that food products made from a specific protein found in whey can safely be part of a more palatable diet for individuals diagnosed with phenylketonuria …
April 17, 2017
Badger Football Spring Game to boost WECP scholarship fund
There will be screaming and yelling and cheering…lots of cheering. As the Wisconsin Badgers football team takes the field at Camp Randall Stadium for their annual Spring Game on April 21, there will be thousands …
April 14, 2017
How chronic stress in early childhood shapes the brain
Waisman Center investigator Seth Pollak was recently interviewed by the BOLD Blog on Learning and Development. In the interview, Pollak discusses how chronic stress in early childhood shapes the brain. You can read the full …
April 12, 2017Researchers gain insight into day-to-day lives of parents raising children with autism
Like all parents, couples who have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) share the ups and downs of parenting. A new study by Waisman Center researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison looks at the …
March 20, 2017Researchers make headway toward understanding Alexander disease
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have made a surprising and potentially crucial discovery about Alexander disease, a rare and fatal neurological disorder with no known cure. Using a mouse model for this disease, which …
March 15, 2017How is early childhood adversity linked to behavioral problems?
Children who face severe adversity, such as physical abuse, early in life often develop behavioral and emotional problems. But the underlying psychological mechanisms that link early adversity with negative outcomes have remained unclear. A new …
March 9, 2017
Treating the trauma of brain injuries
One Wednesday in September, 15-year-old Tristan Thurman went to soccer practice at his high school. The team had just lost a game the day before because the other team had scored goals heading the ball, …
February 14, 2017
Badger Football + Waisman Center = Great things!
The Waisman Center is proud to partner with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Department for the Wisconsin football team’s annual Spring Game to be held on Friday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Camp Randall …
February 7, 2017Am I a stem cell? How do I know?
Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the ability to become almost any kind of specialized cells in our bodies. Given this extraordinary potential, how does a stem cell keep from having an identity crisis? …
January 19, 2017Fractions of neuroscience
Waisman researcher Edward Hubbard likes to tell a story about burgers. In the early 1980s, A&W Restaurants introduced a new burger that had a third of a pound of beef. This burger was supposed to …
January 5, 2017- More 2017 posts
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.