Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
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 will also improve diagnosis and potential treatments for these conditions. To advance science in this innovative field, the Waisman Center …
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disease caused by mutations in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene. Although altered interneuron development and function are clearly demonstrated in RTT mice, a particular mode of inhibition, tonic inhibition, has not been carefully examined.
A gift from the Mancheski Foundation continues to provide integral support to doctoral student Matthew Zammit as he furthers his research on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Zammit is beginning his fourth year as a doctoral student working in the laboratory of Bradley Christian, PhD, a Waisman investigator and professor …
It’s been seven years since Dick Morse, MD, a UW alum and retired child psychiatrist, and his lifelong partner, Lawrence M. Connor, MSW, a retired social worker, established an $11 million (now worth an estimated $17 million) planned estate gift for the Morse Society — a multidisciplinary graduate fellowship program at the Waisman Center.
2019 Year-in-Review
A recent study shows that people at low genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not only less likely to have the disorder, they also have better than expected economic, health and behavioral outcomes in later life.
As of this week, a phase one clinical trial to test a potential new Ebola vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is underway in Japan. Fifteen healthy young men* will receive two doses of the experimental vaccine. If the first group tolerates the vaccine, an additional group of up to 20 volunteers will receive a higher dose of the vaccine.
White matter microstructure, essential for efficient and coordinated transmission of neural communications, undergoes pronounced development during the first years of life, while deviations to this neurodevelopmental trajectory likely result in alterations of brain connectivity relevant to behavior. Hence, systematic evaluation of white matter microstructure in the normative brain is critical for a neuroscientific approach to both typical and atypical early behavioral development.
Waisman Center investigator Brad Christian and Waisman Center affiliates Sterling Johnson and Barbara Bendlin were featured in a Nov. 26 Wisconsin State Journal article this week about Alzheimer’s research. The article is a part of a series on Alzheimer’s called “Fading away: Wisconsin’s dementia crisis,” which chronicles the doubling rate of dementia patients in Wisconsin.
Mealtime is an important family routine commonly affected for families with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Limited research is available regarding strategies families incorporate to support mealtime engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency and characterize the purpose of Props used during mealtimes with children with ASD.
