Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Searching for understanding, and a cure: Rett syndrome is a rare non-inherited neurological disorder that mostly affects girls and causes severe deterioration in their ability to speak, walk, eat and even breathe easily. This disease is caused by variations in a gene called MECP2. Waisman Center investigator Qiang Chang uses human stem cell and animal …
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 raise funds (to support the center) through a golf benefit. Twenty-three “Friends of the Waisman Center Golf Benefits” – and more than $680,000 …
A whole-virus vaccine to confront Ebola, the rare but often fatal hemorrhagic disease that periodically erupts in sub-Saharan Africa, may soon be one step closer to the clinic. With the help of experts at Waisman Biomanufacturing, within the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center, UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka will lead a $3 …
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 mostly affects girls and causes severe deterioration in their ability to speak, eat, move and even breathe easily. Rett syndrome has no cure. …
Several Waisman Center investigators played key roles in crafting research proposals that were recently selected as ‘cluster hires’ by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. UW–Madison’s Cluster Hiring Initiative was launched in 1998 as an innovative partnership between the university, state and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). According to the UW–Madison Office of the Provost, the …
Newly published research led by Waisman Center clinician Megan Farley examines the experiences and mid-life social circumstances of 169 adults with autism spectrum disorder in Utah, including their employment status, relationships, community participation, and residential situations.
Laurel Cooper is 8 years old and full of sass and spunk. She finds it hilarious when her older sister, Annalise, gets into trouble. She loves music, and being in the thick of things. Cooper also has Rett syndrome, a rare, non-inherited neurological disorder that mostly affects girls and causes severe deterioration in their ability to speak, eat, move and even breathe easily. Rett syndrome has no cure.
After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center reported promising results in the lab and in animal models that could set the stage for developing a treatment for Alexander disease, a rare and usually fatal neurological disease with no known cure.
We’re delighted to share a video highlighting many of the strides we have made over the past year. Your generous and thoughtful contributions help us continue to pioneer research and expand clinical services that benefit individuals and families impacted by developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases. Together we are transforming lives and building brighter futures—without you, …
Iyama-Kurtycz’s journey from an 8-year-old with a dream to a skilled clinician took her to medical school at the University of Michigan and a residency at the University of Kansas. “While at Kansas, I met a pediatrician who was taking care of children with disabilities and I realized that’s what I wanted to do,” says Iyama-Kurtycz.
