Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
When Jonathan Soucy, PhD, was a child, he learned that a congenital cataract would keep him from fulfilling his dream of becoming an astronaut. Decades later, that same childhood experience has come full circle. Now, as a new Waisman Center investigator and assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UW–Madison, Soucy is working to understand the …
Chenfeng He, PhD, research scientist at the Waisman Center, was recently awarded a Young Investigator Grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF). The one-year grant is intended to support early-career researchers in continuing to develop their own lines of research. He, a scientist in the lab of Waisman investigator Daifeng Wang, PhD, will …
The two-day event will take place at the Waisman Center on Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6.
Research funding that supports early-stage ideas plays a critical role in advancing scientific discovery. A new National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded to Waisman investigator André Sousa, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at the UW–Madison, demonstrates how strategic seed funding can lay the groundwork for transformative research. Sousa recently received a five-year multimillion-dollar grant …
Training the next generation of researchers, clinicians, professionals, and advocates is central to the Waisman Center’s mission of improving the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. A key part of that effort is the Wisconsin Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (WI LEND) program, housed within the Waisman’s University Center for Excellence …
Implementing care that affirms the dignity and inherent worth of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions in a clinical setting, which recognizes neurodevelopmental differences as a natural variation of the human experience rather than a condition to be fixed, has the potential to improve healthcare experiences and outcomes for individuals who have neurodevelopmental conditions, including those with autism.
At a Glance: A map of early brain development that captures its major drivers and their dynamics through time has been developed by Waisman Center investigators. Compiling different brain regions across three different species including humans, the new blueprint can identify the upstream regulators of brain development, evolution, and disorder risk, revealing how highly complex …
The human genome has many short tandem repeats, yet the normal functions of these repeats are unclear.
Two well-established measures of how well a child is understood by others, previously believed to capture the same thing, are not well correlated in typically developing children when accounting for age, a new Waisman Center study shows.
The FDA approved Zanvastro, the first drug to treat Alexander Disease, a breakthrough that wouldn’t have been possible without research at the Waisman Center. By Addison Dama for The Daily Cardinal October 8, 2026 | 2:00am CDT The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zanvastro, the first injectable treatment for Alexander Disease, on Sept. 3. …
