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.
Awards and Honors
Grant 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.
Waisman Teacher Recognized with Staff Excellence Award
Academic staff members bring UW–Madison’s mission to life — they are gifted teachers, world-class researchers and dedicated administrators. None of that has changed with COVID-19. If anything, their creativity and dedication is more needed and …
Seth Pollak elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Six University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, including Waisman Center investigator and psychologist Seth Pollak, PhD. Pollak is the College of Letters & Science Distinguished Professor …
Catherine Kanter Named Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year
“I then found in speech-language pathology a wonderful marriage of my love for language and communication and helping individuals with disabilities, and came to UW-Madison to complete my graduate degree,” says Kanter, who has worked as a full-time speech-language pathologist, or SLP, at the Waisman Center since June 2018.
Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD, becomes UCEDD director
Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD, a longtime Waisman Center investigator, began her appointment as the director of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) on Oct. 14. She succeeds Bill MacLean, PhD, who retired …
Joan Ershler, PhD, longtime Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP) director retires
After 27 years as the director of the Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP), Joan Ershler, PhD, retired in early September 2019. The WECP is a model inclusive early childhood program with a developmentally diverse enrollment serving …
Ann Marie Lauritzen, MMSW, MEd, named Waisman Early Childhood Program director
On September 23, the Waisman Center welcomed Ann Marie Lauritzen, MMSW, M.Ed, as the new director of the Waisman Early Childhood Program. She succeeds Joan Ershler, PhD, who retired at the beginning of September after …
Waisman Center Launches New Fund to Advance Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Genomics Research
The Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, launched a new fund to support interdisciplinary research in the area of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) genomics.
Scientists seek to improve quality control for genome editing therapies in the eye
Waisman Center investigator David Gamm, MD, PhD, and affiliate Krishanu Saha, PhD, are part of a team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin- Madison who were recently granted a major award from the National …