University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: 2015

Evjue Foundation awards grants to Waisman Center Clinics and Discovery Garden

Two Waisman Center programs will benefit from The Evjue Foundation grants. The Waisman Center Clinics are the recipient of $11,500 to enhance exam rooms to minimize light and sound issues to better serve individuals with disabilities; and $20,000 is designated for improvements to the Discovery Garden, the fully-accessible outdoor learning and play space adjacent to …

Expert: Editing stem cell genes will “revolutionize” biomedical research

Applying a dramatically improved method for “editing” genes to human stem cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist and Waisman Center investigator Su-Chun Zhang has shown a new way to silence genes in stem cells and their progeny at any stage of development.

Ninth annual Fashion Show for All Abilities recap

Between wardrobe fittings, hours of coaching, makeup artists, and the moment that first shoe hits the runway, Chantel Brown watched her dream become a reality. Friday, May 29, 2015 marked the ninth annual Fashion Show for All Abilities where 73 models strut their stuff for this community awareness event.

Kindness in the classroom

What if teaching young children compassion and kindness made them better students as well as better people? Researchers with the UW’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center recently tested that hypothesis with preschool students in the Madison Metropolitan School District, after years of work developing a curriculum designed to help children develop both kindness and self-regulation skills.

Ruth Munz receives Excellence in Early Education Award

Ruth Munz, a university associate in the Waisman Early Childhood Program, received the Excellence in Early Education Award last month after nomination from her co-workers. She was honored at Jazzin, the annual fundraiser for campus childcare and acknowledgement of exceptional early education teachers and leaders on campus.

Fragile X proteins involved in proper neuron development

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited intellectual disability and the greatest single genetic contributor to autism. Unlocking the mechanisms behind fragile X could make important revelations about the brain.

Greenberg to fill research leadership post

Norman Drinkwater, a UW-Madison professor of oncology, and Jan Greenberg, a UW-Madison professor of social work, have been named associate vice chancellors in the Office of Research and Graduate Education. Greenberg will lead the area of social studies while Drinkwater will lead the biological sciences.

Questions for Maureen Durkin: Understanding autism’s rise

Waisman Center investigator, Maureen Durkin, PhD, DrPH, professor of population health sciences and pediatrics, was featured by the Simons Foundation Autism Reseach Initiative (SFARI) in a Q&A article about the rising prevalence of autism.

Vision research month

June is Vision Research Awareness Month and the Waisman Center is home to a comprehensive vision research program led by David Gamm, MD, PhD. Gamm, a Waisman Center investigator, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute, studies human retinal development and potential therapies for retinal degenerative diseases.

2015 Spring Benefit Concert raises more than $25,000

The Friends of the Waisman Center held its 20th annual benefit concert on Friday, May 1. This was a milestone event celebrating not only the 20th concert, but also the 40th anniversary of the Friends of the Waisman Center.