Waisman Intersections
Welcome to Waisman Intersections. Through this quarterly newsletter we hope you will get to know us better and see how innovative research and compassionate clinical services intersect at the Waisman Center. You will also meet a few of the individuals whose generous support helps us pave the way for discovery and hope.
To automatically receive the Intersections newsletter by email, send a message to newsletter@waisman.wisc.edu.
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2021, Issue 1
Individualized brain cell grafts reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys
Grafting neurons grown from monkeys’ own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported today.
A stimulating environment: Waisman Center acquires neuromodulation lab for infants and children
The adaptability of children with disabilities has inspired Bernadette Gillick, PhD, MSPT, PT for the majority of her career.
Waisman CP Clinic strikes a balance
Twins Sebastian and Charlotte Sundly are quite the contrasting pair, yet they balance one another out perfectly in some interesting and unexpected ways.
Former 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…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2020, Issue 1
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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…
Waisman 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…
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.
Running 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.
Thoughts of Gratitude: Scott Kornstedt
Shortly after Raegan was born to Scott and his wife Carrie, she was diagnosed with phenylketonuria, or PKU — a rare metabolic disorder that prevents her from properly metabolizing phenylalanine, a common…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2018, Issue 2
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Meet the new director: Qiang Chang, PhD
A cutting-edge scientist and a family chef as well as a former professional chess player…meet Qiang Chang, the next director of the Waisman Center! Qiang Chang, a professor of medical genetics and…
Down Syndrome Clinic helps Jackie Cleveland keep dancing
Brown eyes afire and colorful skirt awhirl, Jackie Cleveland has been dancing since she could walk. Now in sixth-grade, Jackie, who has Down syndrome, performs at Native American pow wows across the…
Study offers first look at how children with cerebral palsy develop language skills
A new study of children with cerebral palsy could help ease the speech and language challenges many of these children face as they get older.
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2018, Issue 1
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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…
NBC15 highlights Rett syndrome and Waisman Center research
NBC15’s Morning Show and reporter Kalie Greenberg shared a story about Laurel Cooper, a 9-year-old girl who has Rett syndrome, and her family. Rett syndrome is a rare, non-inherited neurological disorder that…
Thoughts of Gratitude: Marijo Bunbury
Marijo Bunbury loves a challenge, especially when she’s passionate about the outcome. Luckily for the Waisman Center, in 1994 someone told Bunbury that a congested events calendar would make it impossible to…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2017, Issue 3
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Articles
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…
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…
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…
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…
Know 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.…
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.
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…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2017, Issue 2
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Articles
Researchers 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…
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…
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…
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 &…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2017, Issue 1
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Articles
Why do children with autism often have language delays?
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, often have significant delays with expanding their vocabularies and other language skills compared to typically developing children. Yet, “we know very little about [language]…
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…
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.…
$1.25 million legacy gift will support brain injury research at the Waisman Center
A new legacy gift will help researchers and clinicians at the Waisman Center continue to search for ways to benefit individuals and families whose lives have been impacted by brain injuries and…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2016, Issue 2
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Articles
When the words did not come
Luke Holzem sped from door to door, his orange t-shirt transforming him into a bright blur of 6-year-old energy. His grey-green eyes sparkled and he looked expectantly at his mother, Shannon. The…
Summer research: From Appleton to Madison
This summer, three students from Lawrence University exchanged the Fox River for Lake Mendota and became temporary Badgers. They were part of a pilot program designed to provide Lawrence undergraduates the opportunity…
Experimental drug cancels effect from key intellectual disability gene in mice
A University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher who studies the most common genetic intellectual disability has used an experimental drug to reverse—in mice—damage from the mutation that causes the syndrome.
A rare gift: Family endows professorship in memory of children
In their photographs, Jenni and Kyle Geurkink look like happy, healthy children. Jenni has a captivating smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Kyle is a sturdy toddler who loves brooms, mops…
Intersections Newsletter | Volume 2016, Issue 1
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Articles
Positivity and inclusion go a long way to help individuals with autism spectrum disorders
A positive emotional climate at home and inclusive educational experiences while at school can have long-lasting beneficial effects for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a recent study by researchers…
Following newborns, so they may thrive
Jaden Cassidy is three years old and a whirlwind of energy. He bursts into the exam room, jumps on the exam table, flings off his jacket and cowboys boots and whirls around…
First serotonin neurons made from human stem cells
Su-Chun Zhang, a pioneer in developing neurons from stem cells at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has created a specialized nerve cell that makes serotonin, a signaling chemical with a broad role in…
Thoughts of Gratitude: David Busta
As basketball season gathers steam (go Badgers!), one small town in northern Wisconsin will be buzzing with excitement about a different basketball tournament on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.