Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
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. …
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 …
by Teresa Palumbo Dan Bier, former associate director of the Waisman Center and University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, passed away on October 3. He was 78. For more than four decades, Dan worked to bridge research, services, training, and advocacy to improve the daily lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and …
