The Morse Society, a group of Waisman graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, is getting a surprisingly early financial boost from its founders. Founded by Dick Morse, MD, a UW alum and retired child psychiatrist, and his lifelong partner, Lawrence M. Connor, MSW, a retired social worker, the Morse Society is focused on training and research in childhood mental health and developmental disabilities.
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Covering faces around kids won’t mask emotions
By Chris Barncard, UW Communications MADISON — The proliferation of face coverings to keep COVID-19 in check isn’t keeping kids from understanding facial expressions, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison psychologists. It’s …
Former Waisman Center director, Terrence “Terry” Dolan, dies at 80
Terrence “Terry” R. Dolan, PhD, former director of the Waisman Center passed away on December 11, 2020. He was 80 and is survived by his wife Mary Ann and their four grown children and their families.
Multiple gene edits and computer simulations could help treat rare genetic diseases
The lab of Kris Saha at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has developed an innovative combination of gene-editing tools and computational simulations that can be used to develop new strategies for editing genes associated with genetic disorders.
Holocaust survivor, geneticist, patient advocate remembered for inspiring others
A dedicated University of Wisconsin–Madison clinician, educator, advocate and researcher, Renata Laxova, professor emerita of medical genetics and pediatrics, passed away recently after a brief illness. She was 89.
New NIH-funded initiative will examine Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome
A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is part of a new multi-institution effort to better understand Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome. Adults with Down syndrome are at high risk for …
Remembering Ludell Swenson
A peek into a collection of newspaper clippings about Ludell Swenson reveals the life of an extraordinarily accomplished person: marathoner, competitive tournament bowler, outspoken social services advocate. But what stands out the most is his …
New Innovator Award winner looking for unprecedented view of the brain
Congratulations to Aviad Hai, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and a Waisman affiliate, on being selected as a 2020 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award.
The sound beneath the waves
If you’ve ever seen a graphical representation of a sound, you are probably familiar with what it looks like: hundreds of steep, tightly packed peaks and valleys, all of different heights, moving above and below a common line of symmetry that cuts horizontally through the middle. “When a sound travels through the air, it basically sets the molecules around us in motion, using sound pressure to create sort of a wave,” says Waisman researcher Michaela Warnecke, PhD.
Stem cells can repair Parkinson’s-damaged circuits in mouse brains
The mature brain is infamously bad at repairing itself following damage like that caused by trauma or strokes, or from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Stem cells, which are endlessly adaptable, have offered the promise of better neural repair. But the brain’s precisely tuned complexity has stymied the development of clinical treatments.