Newly funded research to study astrocyte dysfunction in Rett syndrome
The lab of Waisman Center director, Qiang Chang, PhD, professor of medical genetics and neurology, has received $1 million in funding from the Department of Defense to study the dysfunction of astrocytes, a key brain cell that supports neurons, in Rett syndrome.
April 17, 2025
CDC reports rising autism rates with Wisconsin notably higher than the national average
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among 8-year-old children in the U.S. has increased to 1 in 31 in 2022, up from 1 in 36 in 2020, according to a recently published report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
April 15, 2025
Statewide Success: Managing Threatening Confrontations Training Enhances Disability Support for Thousands
It focuses on teaching proactive and positive strategies for supporting individuals with disabilities through a broad range of behaviors and escalation levels.
April 8, 2025
Change Ahead: Creating a Road Map to Help Families Navigate the Transition to Adulthood for Individuals with an Intellectual and Developmental Disability
The road to adulthood can be rough terrain. It consists of uncharted territory and many changes.
April 2, 2025
Tim Markle Receives 2025 Merle McPherson Family Leadership Award for Tireless Advocacy
Tim Markle, MA/CS, outreach manager of the Waisman Center’s Children’s Resource Center – South (CRC) and director of the Youth Health Transition Initiative (YHTI), recently received the 2025 Merle McPherson Family Leadership Award for exemplary contributions to further family/professional collaboration within state Title V programs and the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP).
March 31, 2025
Improved Assessment Protocols Identify Cerebral Palsy Earlier
Research from the Pediatric Neuromodulation Lab of Bernadette Gillick, PhD, MSPT, PT, at the Waisman Center showcases that evidence-based assessments for cerebral palsy (CP) are helping to improve diagnostic timelines and access to therapies and interventions.
March 26, 2025
New Insights into Language Development: The Role of Joint Attention in Kids with Down Syndrome and Autism
Attention is a key component of learning. Think of how hard it is to learn someone’s name if all you can think about is the eyelash on their cheek. The same can be said for language learning.
March 25, 2025
National Doctors Day is March 30, 2025
Learn more about National Doctor’s Day here. Learn more about the many Waisman Center physicians who provide care as clinicians, who are researchers, or both. Melisa Carrasco McCaul, MD, PhD Pelin Cengiz, MD Peter Ferrazzano, …
March 24, 2025
Pediatric Brain Care Clinic’s multidisciplinary staff addresses acquired brain injuries from a wide range of causes
Every Thursday afternoon, the Pediatric Brain Care Clinic is open in the Waisman Center to see pediatric patients with acquired brain injuries, many recently discharged from time spent in the American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH).
March 18, 2025
A Family’s Committment to Down Syndrome Research at the Waisman Center Spans Four Decades and Counting
When Heather Huismann was in middle school she called the police on her teacher. “He was not teaching me very well,” Heather says.
March 17, 2025
Decisiones de crianza que valen la pena considerar según la ciencia del desarrollo
English Version Por Charlene N. Rivera-Bonet Este artículo es un resumen de un ensayo escrito por Seth Pollak, PhD, y Megan Gunnar, PhD, para la revista Daedelus. Puede ser difícil – y abrumador – tomar …
March 6, 2025Caregiving decisions worth dwelling on according to developmental science
A common – and actually important – question caregivers ask is when is the right time to introduce children to a specific experience – foods, activities, languages, motor skills, germs, and more.
March 6, 2025
Child’s rare condition diagnosed after 14 years of searching
Imagine how it would feel to have a child born seemingly healthy, but then he struggles to grow, walk, learn or talk – and no one can figure out why.
February 28, 2025
New Waisman Center investigator Bobby Gibbs will research strategies for optimizing acoustic information
Bobby Gibbs, PhD...new assistant professor in communication sciences and disorders is establishing his research lab to study how strategies for optimizing acoustic information are affected by differences in the way neurons represent auditory information, such as neural degeneration and cochlear implants usage.
February 24, 2025
What research has revealed about Down syndrome’s influence on brain development
A new review paper published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience from Bhattacharyya, associate professor of cell and regenerative biology, pulls together what is currently known about DS’s impact on brain development.
February 13, 2025
New AI framework reveals cooperative work behind oligodendrocyte function
Our brain is big on team work makes the dream work. Not only brain cells, but even smaller units that make up a cell work in cooperation to make the brain work properly.
February 12, 2025
Waisman in Partnership with Forest County Potawatomi Community Receives Grant to Help Break Down Barriers for Indigenous Populations Accessing Autism Services
The Community Impact Grant Program, which is a part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program, recently awarded the Forest County Potawatomi Community and academic partner Lily Wagner, PhD, BCBA, director of the Waisman Center’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic and clinical psychologist, a $500,000 grant to start developing strategies to improve access to early autism diagnosis and intervention for indigenous populations.
January 31, 2025
Leading by Example: Brooke Mortensen, NP
Brooke Mortensen, NP, always wanted to be a nurse. “I’ve always enjoyed science but I also love human interaction and connection. I feel that nursing really embodies those two spirits equally,”
January 29, 2025
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
Autism through Midlife and into Older Age
Autistic adults may face changes in their autism symptoms, behavioral functioning, and health as they age, with some improving and some worsening, a new study shows. This insight may help autistic individuals and their families prepare and plan for the future.
December 13, 2024
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- More News posts
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.