Category: Research

Down syndrome poster fair and research symposium will honor the Dewey family

The two-day event will take place at the Waisman Center on Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6.

Ann Dewey Catalyst Fund helps launch major NIH grant to advance Down syndrome research

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 …

A dynamic map of early brain development captures major drivers of neurogenesis

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 …

New screening platform accelerates search for Rett syndrome treatments and reveals new disease mechanisms

At a Glance: Developing treatments for rare genetic disorders, such as Rett syndrome, is notoriously difficult, often requiring years of research and significant financial investment. Researchers at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a new drug screening platform for Rett syndrome that could help accelerate the search for potential therapies while uncovering new …

‘We built a brain roadmap for each person’: New AI-driven tools help decode Alzheimer’s disease at the cellular level

Identifying the cells connected with Alzheimer’s symptoms could result in new treatments for the disease. By Emily Leclerc and Charlene N. Rivera-Bonet Alzheimer’s disease is complex, presenting and progressing in so many different ways in individual patients that it’s difficult for scientists to study. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed AI-driven bioinformatics …

Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with differences in early brain development

The study highlights associations between neighborhood disadvantage and an MRI measure of myelin maturation, a marker of brain development, across infancy and childhood.

RNA-binding protein identified as key regulator of brain development

A new Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison study has identified a critical regulator of this early process of cell fate called FXR1, a protein that binds RNA to regulate the abundance of key genes.

Waisman investigators receive NIH funding to optimize the use of brain organoids in research

A newly funded project will combine the expertise of four Waisman Center investigators to develop advanced machine learning methods for studying brain organoids, three-dimensional cell clusters grown from stem cells that closely mimic key aspects of human brain development.

Lawrence University senior takes on language development research at Waisman

Giang Pham, a rising senior from Lawrence University in Appleton, is spending her second summer doing research at the Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison as part of an internship program established and supported by the late John Mielke, MD, a former member of the Waisman Board of Visitors and Appleton native, and his wife Sally. …

Students are the lifeblood of science: How students contribute to and shape research

Science is not static. It constantly grows through curiosity, experimentation, and the continuous pursuit of new knowledge. Every question asked, every experiment conducted, and every discovery made build upon what came before it—moving science forward step by step. Students play a critical role in that process. They are not passive learners observing from the sidelines, but active contributors to research.