Covering faces around kids won’t mask emotions
By Chris Barncard, UW Communications MADISON — The proliferation of face coverings to keep COVID-19 in check isn’t keeping kids from understanding facial expressions, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison psychologists. It’s …
December 28, 2020Former Waisman Center Director, Terrence “Terry” Dolan, dies at 80
Terrence “Terry” R. Dolan, PhD, former director of the Waisman Center passed away on December 11, 2020. He was 80 and is survived by his wife Mary Ann and their four grown children and their …
December 28, 2020Multiple gene edits and computer simulations could help treat rare genetic diseases
The lab of Kris Saha at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has developed an innovative combination of gene-editing tools and computational simulations that can be used to develop new strategies for editing genes associated with genetic disorders.
December 14, 2020Holocaust survivor, geneticist, patient advocate remembered for inspiring others
A dedicated University of Wisconsin–Madison clinician, educator, advocate and researcher, Renata Laxova, professor emerita of medical genetics and pediatrics, passed away recently after a brief illness. She was 89.
December 14, 2020
New NIH-funded initiative will examine Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome
A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is part of a new multi-institution effort to better understand Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome. Adults with Down syndrome are at high risk for …
October 26, 2020
Remembering Ludell Swenson
A peek into a collection of newspaper clippings about Ludell Swenson reveals the life of an extraordinarily accomplished person: marathoner, competitive tournament bowler, outspoken social services advocate. But what stands out the most is his …
October 23, 2020New Innovator Award winner looking for unprecedented view of the brain
Congratulations to Aviad Hai, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and a Waisman affiliate, on being selected as a 2020 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award.
October 13, 2020The sound beneath the waves
If you’ve ever seen a graphical representation of a sound, you are probably familiar with what it looks like: hundreds of steep, tightly packed peaks and valleys, all of different heights, moving above and below a common line of symmetry that cuts horizontally through the middle. “When a sound travels through the air, it basically sets the molecules around us in motion, using sound pressure to create sort of a wave,” says Waisman researcher Michaela Warnecke, PhD.
October 13, 2020Stem cells can repair Parkinson’s-damaged circuits in mouse brains
The mature brain is infamously bad at repairing itself following damage like that caused by trauma or strokes, or from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Stem cells, which are endlessly adaptable, have offered the promise of better neural repair. But the brain’s precisely tuned complexity has stymied the development of clinical treatments.
September 29, 2020New initiative to study Parkinson disease
Su-Chun Zhang, MD, PhD, the Steenbock Professor in Behavioral and Neural Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Waisman Center investigator, is part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers selected by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative to receive $9 million over three years for the “Parkinson5D: Deconstructing Proximal Disease Mechanisms Across Cells, Space and Progression” or PD5D project.
September 21, 2020
Waisman Biomanufacturing partners with GigaGen to manufacture new COVID-19 drug
Waisman Biomanufacturing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will begin manufacturing a new drug to treat and prevent COVID-19, developed by California-based biotech company GigaGen. The drug, called GIGA-2050, uses a new approach similar to treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma, or blood products from people recovering (convalescing) from an infection. Waisman Biomanufacturing was created to facilitate just this sort of development and testing of new types of drugs.
September 9, 2020Inside Waisman: Meet Lindsay McCary
As a third year graduate student in school psychology at the University of South Carolina, Lindsay McCary, PhD, was looking for a new advisor to help her with her dissertation. At the time, Jane Roberts, PhD, had just joined the Department of Psychology and had some data available on younger children with the genetic disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). McCary was immediately fascinated by the new professor’s research because it integrated both behavioral and physiological data to examine an individual’s observable characteristics.
September 9, 2020Friends present staff, students and family awards
The Friends of the Waisman hosts this annual event for members of the Friends organization; community supporters of the Waisman Center; and Waisman Center faculty, staff, and students. The 2020 Awards were presented at a virtual meeting on August 18 2020.
September 4, 2020Running toward renewal: new study links physical activity with cognitive health
Research has shown voluntary running is an activity most commonly associated with the reversal of negative impacts of aging and neurodegeneration, but little is understood about why that is.
August 4, 2020UW researchers devise approach to treat rare, incurable form of blindness
Waisman Center investigator David Gamm, MD, PhD, and Waisman affiliate Kris Saha, PhD, have published a proof-of-concept method to correct Best disease – an inherited form of macular degeneration that causes blindness, and that is …
August 3, 2020Waisman Biomanufacturing partners with Heat Biologics to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine
Waisman Biomanufacturing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is partnering with Heat Biologics to produce a COVID-19 vaccine for phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. Phase 1 trials could begin in early 2021 and UW–Madison may be a trial site.
August 3, 2020
The ECHO Effect
Project ECHO (the mantra for which is “All teach, all learn”) uses video-conferencing technology to provide education and case consultation on best practice clinical services, training, and resources for individuals with specific healthcare needs that are difficult to meet locally. The Waisman Center ECHO platform will serve as a diagnostic and treatment training hub to share the center’s expertise on intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy, throughout the state and beyond.
July 28, 2020Research Core Revitalization Program funds upgrades to shared resources on campus
Projects from three research cores at the Waisman Center are among 17 UW core projects to receive grants from the Research Core Revitalization Program—an initiative with support from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for …
July 23, 2020
Balancing act: what motor function can tell us about autism
Can the way a person moves be a key identifier of autism? It’s a question that Waisman Center investigator Brittany Travers, PhD, is trying to answer. A new paper from Travers’ lab suggests that movement patterns of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may differ from those with typical development.
June 15, 2020
Serving During COVID-19: AAC Outreach Services
The Communication Development Program (CDP) is an outreach program of the Waisman Center UCEDD at University of Wisconsin, Madison. This program was developed over 30 years ago in partnership with the Dane County Department of …
May 12, 2020
The Social Brain: A Beautiful Mind
What images come to mind when you hear the phrase social brain? Do you think of children running around on a playground laughing together? Do you think of problem solving or imagine colorful brain scans? Do you think of autism? These are the questions that inspired a breadth of autism research that was recently evaluated by a team of Waisman scientists and compiled into a new literature review.
May 6, 2020Grant awarded for eye disease research
A big congratulations to researcher Kim Edwards and Waisman investigator David Gamm, MD, PhD, on winning the inaugural Randy Wheelock Research Award. Gamm is also an associate professor of ophthalmology and visual science as well as the director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute.
May 6, 2020For Caregivers Of Children With Autism, COVID-19 Conditions Can Present Extra Challenges
It’s hard to think of an aspect of life that hasn't changed since the novel coronavirus began spreading across the globe. Many aspects of life — from work, to school, to travel, shopping and socializing — are dramatically different than they were just a few months ago.
April 13, 2020
Task force offers tools allowing patients on ventilators to communicate
For a patient suffering from a life-threatening illness like COVID-19, communication means everything. If that person is on a ventilator and no visitors are allowed in the room, doctors and nurses must rely on tools …
April 2, 2020
Navigating a Brighter Future for Youth with Disabilities and Their Families
Helping youth with disabilities pursue post-high school employment and education opportunities can mean piecing together services from a broad range of agencies and organizations. This can be a challenge for anyone, but for low-income families, …
January 7, 2020New Researcher Uses Machine Learning to Decode Genomic Information
Recent advances in genome sciences — the study of an organism’s complete set of DNA — present a golden opportunity to identify the genetic causes and underlying mechanisms of intellectual and developmental disabilities. These discoveries …
January 7, 2020- More 2020 posts
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.