Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Could understanding the ebb and flow of calcium in brain cells provide clues that help researchers develop a treatment for a devastating neurological disease? 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 is caused by variations in …
By Adityarup “Rup” Chakravorty New insights into the molecular machinations behind fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited intellectual disability, may help researchers develop potential therapies. Fragile X is a genetic condition that affects one in 4,000 males and one in 6,000 females. It’s linked to variations in the gene that makes a protein called …
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is used to insert replacement genes, and its role in genetic therapy trials is expanding quickly, says Carl Ross, managing director of Waisman Biomanufacturing. The AAV production reflects the Waisman lab’s growing importance in the biopharma business, as it’s the only facility on campus meeting FDA “good manufacturing practices” rules for large-scale manufacturing of biological therapies.
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. …
A decade after scientists announced the development of induced pluripotent stem cells, Waisman investigators, including Su-Chun Zhang and David Gamm, continue to use these cells to research and develop potential therapies for several disorders and conditions, such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and macular degeneration.
Waisman Biomanufacturing and Waisman affiliate investigators Randolph Ashton and Krishanu Saha will be part of a new engineering research center that will develop transformative tools and technologies for the consistent, scalable and low-cost production of high-quality living therapeutic cells. Such cells could be used in a broad range of life-saving medical therapies now emerging from …
Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the ability to become almost any kind of specialized cells in our bodies. Given this extraordinary potential, how does a stem cell keep from having an identity crisis? A recent study from Waisman Center researcher Xinyu Zhao’s lab shows how a gene called MBD1 plays an important role …
Leaders of the University of Wisconsin–Madison lab that first transformed human stem cells into brain cells have started a company that produces and sells specialized neurons to drug researchers. BrainXell develops neurons from stem cells in its Madison lab, then freezes them for shipment. Once thawed in the customer’s lab, the cells undergo a final …
What do Night Owl Support Systems, the Trace Center, the Center for Healthy Minds, and Stratatech all have in common? The Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Over the years, the Waisman Center has catalyzed the inception or growth of many unique programs. Several of these have developed into independent centers or companies with …
Waisman Center researchers Anita Bhattacharyya and Xinyu Zhao are looking to make stem cells glow. That glow will tell them that they have successfully turned on a gene that is usually turned off in individuals with fragile X syndrome. Turning on this gene – called FMR1 – could be an important way to treat this …
