Listening through the lens of culture: How acoustic environments shape language development
The influence of culture on an individual’s everyday life, behavior, and values is as ubiquitous as the air we breathe.
January 15, 2025
A therapeutic trot: How horses can help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
“In the wild, horses’ hearts sync up. That's how in the herd, if one notices a mountain lion, a horse a mile away notices it too, and they all start running together. They sync their heartbeats to each other.
January 8, 2025
Hearing loss and cognition both play a role in speech recognition for young adults with Down syndrome
For young adults with Down syndrome, understanding speech is not only related to hearing abilities, but it may also be impacted by cognition.
December 4, 2024
NIH establishes $20 million program to study Down syndrome from birth to adulthood
Researchers at the Waisman Center are included in a recently launched a new long-term study to observe and track health data of people with Down syndrome from birth to adulthood
October 24, 2024
Sigan Hartley, research team receive $9 million National Institutes of Health grant to study Down syndrome
Sigan Hartley, 100 Women Distinguished Chair in Human Ecology and Human Development & Family Studies professor, and a team of researchers have received a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
October 24, 2024
Memory impairment after severe traumatic brain injury in adolescents related to size and connectivity changes in the hippocampus and beyond.
Memory impairment as a result of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been associated solely with the hippocampus, the brain’s learning and memory center. However, new research published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior, reveals that the hippocampus is not acting alone.
October 9, 2024
UW-Madison’s Cool Science Image Contest: Waisman Winners
Matt Zammit, PhD, Waisman scientist in the Brain Imaging Core, and affiliate investigator Erik Dent, PhD, are both winners of UW-Madison’s Cool Science Image Contest.
October 4, 2024
Planning ahead: The Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning Project facilitates access to resources for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities to plan for adulthood
A big part about turning 18 is planning ahead and setting yourself up for success in adulthood. Whether that be what to study, where to go to college, or deciding to start in the workforce …
September 26, 2024
Taking out the trash: New study finds clearing specific cell “trash” is possible and may be target for future treatments of neurodegenerative diseases
Cells make a lot of trash. Probably more than you’d think. So, cells have a trash disposal system that efficiently cleans up and recycles any waste that is produced. But when there are issues with the disposal system and trash builds up in the cell, that can lead to disease. This has led researchers to consider the trash disposal system as a target for potential disease treatments and therapies.
September 17, 2024
Behind the scenes of research participation at the Waisman Center: Infant Learning Lab
The lab focuses on studying how infants and young children learn language, learn the meaning of words, find patterns in language and track the properties of speech.
September 11, 2024
The Waisman Center welcomes new associate director for finance and administration Steve Marshall
The Waisman Center welcomes Steve Marshall, MS, MSPH, as the new associate director for finance and administration.
August 26, 2024
Building a better understanding of genetic repeats and their role in fragile X syndrome
Genetic repeats—a sequence or segment of DNA that is repeated over and over in a row—is a typical part of the genome. However, when there is an atypical number of repeats in the DNA sequence, it can lead to impaired gene function and be the cause of more than 50 expansion conditions including fragile X syndrome (FXS).
August 19, 2024
Friends of the Waisman Center Annual Awards
The Friends of the Waisman Center present seven awards each year to Waisman students, staff, and and family volunteers.
August 16, 2024
WECP Announces New Director
The Waisman Early Childhood Program recently announced that Teresa Hoveland will become the next director of the program. Hoveland is assuming the leadership role after Nancy Saevang, the current director, steps down at the end of August.
August 16, 2024
Renowned Waisman Investigator Su-Chun Zhang Retires
After more than two decades at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin and several first-in-the-world stem cell scientific breakthroughs, Su-Chun Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of neuroscience and neurology, is retiring. He came to the Waisman …
August 15, 2024
Waisman Center investigators receive Kellett Fellowship and Romnes Award
Thirty-two UW–Madison faculty have been awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research for 2024-25. The awardees span the four research divisions on campus: arts and humanities, physical sciences, social sciences and …
August 8, 2024
Waisman Center IDDRC funds three pilot projects on novel Down syndrome research
Three Waisman Center investigators and affiliates were awarded an internal grant to support Down syndrome research in its early stages. The funds were made possible through the Ann Dewey Down Syndrome Catalyst Fund at the Waisman Center.
August 1, 2024
Waisman welcomes new Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic director
After an extensive national search, the Waisman Center is delighted to welcome Lily Wagner, PhD, BCBA, as the new director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic.
July 30, 2024
Research seeks strategies to optimize dual language learning in bilingual children
Bilingual children can be flexible in the ways they learn two languages simultaneously.
July 24, 2024
Estudio busca estrategias para optimizar el aprendizaje de idiomas en niños bilingües
English Los niños bilingües pueden ser flexibles en la forma en la que aprenden dos idiomas simultáneamente. Aunque el ritmo de aprendizaje puede diferir entre estrategias, los niños pueden aprender palabras nuevas tanto en inglés …
July 24, 2024
Fulbright takes Waisman worldwide: Three Waisman researchers awarded Fulbrights to expand research on a global scale
One Waisman Center investigator and two graduate students awarded Fulbright scholarships
July 16, 2024
Connecting Families: Waisman network helps families with special needs through peer support
Caring for someone with a disability is not a singular experience. It differs widely across families with different disabilities presenting their own joys and challenges. Creating spaces where families of individuals with disabilities can come together and share their experiences can be an important comfort and support while navigating life.
June 28, 2024
The rippling effect of sharing knowledge: How Project ECHO is helping create better access to resources and supports for individuals with disabilities
Accessing services, resources, and knowledgeable physicians can be a challenge for the disability community. It is often the case that the resources and information needed to properly care for individuals with disabilities is not widespread, leaving many families lacking access or needing to travel far distances.
June 28, 2024
¡A movernos!: La actividad física puede ser desafiante, pero muy beneficiosa para las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo; algunas modificaciones pueden ayudar
Dicen que el movimiento es medicina y si bien la actividad física tiene tantos beneficios para todos, ¿qué haces cuando moverte es un desafío? Para algunos el desafío es el tiempo, para otros la motivación, pero para las personas con discapacidades intelectuales y del desarrollo (IDD, por sus siglas en inglés) existen muchas barreras que pueden hacer que la actividad física sea un poco más difícil de lograr.
June 27, 2024Let’s get moving: physical activity can be challenging but highly beneficial for individuals with developmental disabilities, a few modifications may help
Español By Charlene N. Rivera-Bonet | Waisman Science Writer The researchers interviewed for this story use identity-first language in alignment with the preferences of many of those in the autistic community. This story reflects that preference. …
June 26, 2024
Physician, educator, mentor: After three decades at Waisman, Wargowski Retires
Wargowski, after three decades of providing exceptional patient care to hundreds of patients in the Medical Genetics Clinics at Waisman, is retiring at the end of June.
June 25, 2024
14 Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship Recipients at Waisman
14 undergraduate students from the labs of Waisman Center investigators and affiliates were awarded the Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship, which includes a stipend for students and for their research advisors. Students will have the opportunity …
June 19, 2024
Kathleen Kastner Selected for 2024 SMPH Dean’s Teaching Award
Kathleen Kastner, MD, associate professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation Medicine, and developmental behavioral pediatrician in the Waisman Center's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic and Newborn Follow-Up Clinic, was selected for a 2024 University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Dean’s Teaching Award.
June 19, 2024
Organoids are becoming more popular in research, consistency in their use is needed for more accurate results
To the naked eye, they look like tiny blobs free floating in a pink liquid. Under a light microscope, they look similar. But organoids, a 3-D mini version of an organ grown in a lab, may contain invaluable information about how the human brain develops.
June 11, 2024
Early feeding challenges predict later feeding challenge’s type and severity in autistic children
Feeding challenges seen in an autistic child’s first few years can help predict the type and severity of feeding challenges the child may experience later on.
June 3, 2024
Meredith Vitaioli named new director of the Children’s Resource Center-South
The Children’s Resource Center-South (CRC) named Meredith Vitaioli as their new director in April.
May 16, 2024
Mentor award winners guide undergraduate learning
The nominations for this year’s recipients read like a textbook of great mentoring practices – meeting students where they’re at, getting to know them as scholars and individuals, and guiding their learning with just the right mix of challenge and support.
May 10, 2024
After three decades of diverse service in genetics practice and regional outreach, David Wargowski will retire
From his arrival at the Department of Pediatrics in 1990 and for the next 30-plus years, David Wargowski, MD, professor in the Division of Genetics and Metabolism, has served tirelessly, addressing genetically based diseases and health conditions of the region’s children.
April 26, 2024
John Svaren honored with Vilas professorship
Professor of Comparative Biosciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Waisman Center investigator, John Svaren, PhD, is a recipient of a Vilas Distinguished Professorship.
April 25, 2024
At UW-Madison, autistic students navigate personal, classroom obstacles
There are 99 UW-Madison students on the autism spectrum, according to the McBurney Disability Resource Center’s 2022-23 annual report.
April 23, 2024- More News posts
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.