UW System Regents, officials tour Waisman Center

UW–Madison’s Waisman Center is known for its groundbreaking work helping people with developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative disorders. On Thursday, Dec. 10, several members of the UW System Board of Regents and the system president and his leadership team had the chance to tour the building and meet many of the people who help the center carry on its work.

Tracing a path towards neuronal cell death in Alexander disease

A fruit fly model of a rare, neurodegenerative disease is helping researchers trace the series of steps that lead to neuronal cell death. Damage to astrocytes – star-shaped cells found in the brain and spinal cord – is found in many neurodegenerative conditions, but it’s been unclear exactly what role astrocyte dysfunction plays in the development of disease.

Waisman Center partners on new multi-site NIH initiative to find Alzheimer’s biomarkers in Down syndrome

Brad Christian, PhD, Waisman investigator and associate professor of medical physics and psychiatry, is part of a new National Institutes of Health initiative to identify biomarkers and track the progression of Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome.