News

New study to help illuminate issues for aging autistic adults

A new study from researchers at the Waisman Center and The Ohio State University will investigate aging in autistic adults. The study is led by Lauren Bishop, PhD, MSW, Waisman investigator and associate professor in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, and Brittany Hand, PhD, OTR/L, associate professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University. As part of the study the researchers will develop an algorithm to identify what health conditions may impact older autistic adults. The algorithm will also be used to identify autistic individuals at higher risk of early mortality.

How Waisman researchers are advancing knowledge of speech and language in Individuals with IDDs

People say between 150 and 200 words a minute on average during a casual conversation.

Drawn to art: Waisman celebrates artists of all abilities with unique collection

Lang likes to draw buildings and geometric shapes. Most of his drawings focus on interior spaces or places that have meaning to him like different places he has lived, a favorite restaurant, or exteriors of his home.

John Svaren joins research office leadership team

John Svaren, professor of Comparative Biosciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Waisman Center IDD Models Core, has been named the interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Biological Sciences.

The community boards that unite us: A circle of friends, visitors, and constituent advisors

A place such as the Waisman Center needs help to not only function at its highest level but to also ensure the needs of the community it serves are being met. This requires constant feedback, assistance, and support from various community partners.

A parent-mediated physical activity intervention helps autistic kids acquire fundamental motor skills

Autistic children show lower physical activity and fundamental motor skills such as running, jumping, or throwing compared to non-autistic children.

The beginnings and evolution of brain imaging at the Waisman Center

The development of brain imaging techniques has helped us understand emotion, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases in ways we could not before.

Bridging the Gap: How WB is Helping to Translate Research from Bench to Bedside

By Emily Leclerc, Waisman Science Writer One of Carl Ross’s favorite stories is actually an account of one of his failures. In the early 2000s Ross, the former managing director of Waisman Biomanufacturing (WB), was …

Two UW-Madison Sophomore Research Fellowship Recipients Coming to the Waisman Center to Complete Their Projects

Two UW-Madison undergraduate students who were awarded Sophomore Research Fellowships will be completing their research projects under Waisman Center advisors.

Compartiendo el conocimiento: capacitación comunitaria y asistencia técnica de UCEDD para líderes en la comunidad

English Por: Charlene N. Rivera Bonet Héctor Portillo se mudó a Wisconsin en el 2003 en busca de mejores opciones de atención médica para su hijo, quien tiene autismo. Después de más de una década …

Sharing the expertise: UCEDD’s community training and technical assistance for leaders in the community

After more than a decade of navigating the health care system, he took it upon himself to help Latino families with kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) find resources and supports, and navigate the healthcare system.

The Waisman Center’s signature research project looks deeply at the connections between autism and ADHD

Josh loves coming to the Waisman Center. He has told his mom Julia several times that he particularly enjoys the two-day visits because he gets to spend more time at the center. His brain is special so it is cool that the scientists want to study it, he tells Julia.

Nancy Saevang recognized among Wisconsin’s Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2023

Nancy is director of the Waisman Early Childhood Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, leading a staff of 17 caring for about 100 children aged 12 months to eight years.

Artificial intelligence: A real tool for advancing research on intellectual and developmental disabilities and beyond

AI collects big data and uses computer algorithms to search patterns that are present in your daily life.

New research expands understanding of impact of rapamycin on fragile X syndrome

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common heritable form of intellectual and developmental disability. It is also the most common single genetic contributor to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The large scope of research on fragile X syndrome at the Waisman Center

Research studies at the Waisman Center cover both basic science and behavioral research on FXS, starting with the individual, up to the family unit, from childhood, and into old age.

Research beyond Waisman Center: Discoveries that have spun into products

Multiple discoveries born from the minds and hard work of Waisman Center investigators have left the nest to become successful companies or products that have had a significant impact in the world through translational research.

Waisman and PKU: A legacy of being at the forefront of research and care

In 1972, Nancy Reyzer had only been home in Chicago a couple of days with her newborn son, John, when she received an unexpected and alarming phone call from her son’s doctor. The doctor said that her son may have a condition called phenylketonuria and that they needed to come into the clinic immediately.

Waisman investigator one of 12 to receive a Kellett Mid-Career Award

Xinyu Zhao, PhD, Waisman investigator and professor of neuroscience, was recently awarded a Kellett Mid-Career Award, among 11 others, by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education.

Boys with fragile X syndrome + autism spectrum disorder and autistic boys show high rates of word omission during conversations

A recent study shows that boys with fragile X syndrome and co-occurring ASD (fragile X + ASD), and autistic boys have similar patterns of linguistic errors and omit more words in conversations compared to non-autistic boys.

Leading by Example: A Spotlight on Each of Waisman’s Directors

The Waisman Center has a long history of excellent and remarkable leadership. Each director of the center has played a pivotal role in advancing Waisman's research, service, training, and outreach efforts. This article highlights the Waisman Center's directors, both past and present, that have allowed the center to proudly follow its mission of advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Low-Phe Life: Animated series helps families with PKU learn and laugh

At a recent screening of the video series “The Low-Phe Life”, Logan Schrimpf’s favorite video was the one where the raccoons messed up the family’s supply of PKU formula. It was the episode titled, The Trip, in the six-part animated video series by Kurt Sensenbrenner.

UW researchers will trial gene editing therapy to treat blindness

Seth Pollak: A career dedicated to understanding child emotion

The fun decals on the colorful walls and the cheerful environment gives it away, the third floor of the Waisman Center is dedicated to children. This space is where Seth Pollak, PhD, has spent most of his career studying child emotion, and how early life experiences shape the brain during development.

New machine learning algorithm improves estimation and integration of single-cell data

Like a game of Wheel of Fortune, where you have to fill in missing letters to guess the hidden phrase, analyzing data sometimes requires estimating missing data points by relying on available information in order to get the full picture of what’s being studied.

The Little Listeners Project: studying language development in toddlers with autism

Even through cute but unintelligible babbles, infants are hard at work learning how to become successful communicators.

We need to know STAT: Mechanisms behind GFAP accumulation in Alexander disease involve transcription factor STAT3.

The hallmarks of Alexander disease, aggregation of misfolded GFAP proteins and dysregulation of brain cells called astrocytes, may be stopped and reversed in rodent models with the inactivation of the transcription factor STAT3.

SALT & PEPPER: Seasoned tools to better understand speech and language disorders

We might know salt and pepper as the dynamic duo of seasonings that adds flavor to foods, but in the language and speech research world, the duo has a different meaning.

Innovative Preschool Education and Care for Kids with Disabilities at the Waisman Center

From the soft murmur of voices in the center’s 10 specialty clinics to the loud and steady hum of the MRI on the first floor, the Waisman Center is full of sounds.

Waisman’s Early Childhood Program selects a new director

Nancy Saevang was recently selected as the new director of Waisman’s Early Childhood Program (WECP). Most recently, Saevang served as the WECP’s associate director and interim director.

Building bridges between disciplines: Marsha Mailick’s interdisciplinary research and leadership at the Waisman Center

Multiple angles of vision all focused on a common question is what attracted Marsha Mailick, PhD, emeritus vice chancellor for research and graduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to the Waisman Center more than 35 years ago.

Centro Hispano middle school students visit the Waisman Center

A group of middle school students from Centro Hispano of Dane County visited the Waisman Center for a tour of the scientific laboratories and meeting with a career panel consisting of experts in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Transitioning Together helps adolescents with autism and their families gear up for adulthood

The Transitioning Together curriculum is adaptable to different settings, including clinical settings and school settings. Because of its unique design and positive impacts, it has been adopted in 11 states outside of Wisconsin, and Canada.

Bill L. Kreamer is a 2023 Academic Staff Excellence Award Winner

This year's award winners includes Bill L. Kreamer, Facilities and Equipment Specialist, Waisman Biomanufacturing at the Waisman Center.

Waisman investigator is only steps away from creating a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease

When Su-Chun Zhang, MD, PhD, picked up the phone to answer a call in 2001, he could barely understand the man speaking on the other line. “I could not hear his voice clearly,” says Zhang, a Waisman investigator and professor of neuroscience and neurology. It turns out that the man, who was calling from Texas, was on a ventilator which was garbling his voice.