News
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New Waisman Investigator brings focus to the connection between vision and the brain
When Jonathan Soucy, PhD, was a child, he learned that a congenital cataract would keep him from fulfilling his dream of becoming an astronaut. Decades later, that same childhood experience has come…
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Waisman research scientist awarded a Young Investigator Grant to study depression in Alzheimer’s disease
Chenfeng He, PhD, research scientist at the Waisman Center, was recently awarded a Young Investigator Grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF). The one-year grant is intended to support early-career…
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Down syndrome poster fair and research symposium will honor the Dewey family
The two-day event will take place at the Waisman Center on Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6.
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Ann Dewey Catalyst Fund helps launch major NIH grant to advance Down syndrome research
Research funding that supports early-stage ideas plays a critical role in advancing scientific discovery. A new National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded to Waisman investigator André Sousa, PhD, associate professor of…
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WI LEND secures five years of funding, expands training opportunities
Training the next generation of researchers, clinicians, professionals, and advocates is central to the Waisman Center’s mission of improving the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. A key part of…
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Practical ways health care providers can improve care for autistic individuals
Implementing care that affirms the dignity and inherent worth of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions in a clinical setting, which recognizes neurodevelopmental differences as a natural variation of the human experience rather than…
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A dynamic map of early brain development captures major drivers of neurogenesis
At a Glance: A map of early brain development that captures its major drivers and their dynamics through time has been developed by Waisman Center investigators. Compiling different brain regions across three…
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Gold standard test of child’s speech abilities may not capture the whole picture, new study reveals
Two well-established measures of how well a child is understood by others, previously believed to capture the same thing, are not well correlated in typically developing children when accounting for age, a…
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The research behind the first FDA-approved drug for Alexander Disease
The FDA approved Zanvastro, the first drug to treat Alexander Disease, a breakthrough that wouldn’t have been possible without research at the Waisman Center. By Addison Dama for The Daily Cardinal October…
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New screening platform accelerates search for Rett syndrome treatments and reveals new disease mechanisms
At a Glance: Developing treatments for rare genetic disorders, such as Rett syndrome, is notoriously difficult, often requiring years of research and significant financial investment. Researchers at the Waisman Center, University of…
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Remembering Dan Bier, former director of the Waisman Center University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
by Teresa Palumbo Dan Bier, former associate director of the Waisman Center and University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, passed away on October 3. He was 78. For more than four…
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Building the Waisman Center’s window to the world: Website manager Linda Rowley retires after more than 30 years of keeping the center online
Rowley, who managed the Waisman Center website for 30 years, retired this July, but not before ensuring the website was set up for its most recent update.
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‘We built a brain roadmap for each person’: New AI-driven tools help decode Alzheimer’s disease at the cellular level
Identifying the cells connected with Alzheimer’s symptoms could result in new treatments for the disease. By Emily Leclerc and Charlene N. Rivera-Bonet Alzheimer’s disease is complex, presenting and progressing in so many…
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Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with differences in early brain development
The study highlights associations between neighborhood disadvantage and an MRI measure of myelin maturation, a marker of brain development, across infancy and childhood.
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RNA-binding protein identified as key regulator of brain development
A new Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison study has identified a critical regulator of this early process of cell fate called FXR1, a protein that binds RNA to regulate the abundance of…
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Waisman Center launches program for autistic adults, targeting care gap after childhood
From The Daily Cardinal
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New drug shows promise for treating Down syndrome-related brain changes
Individuals with Down syndrome have differences in how their brains form that cause intellectual disability. Down syndrome or trisomy 21 is the most common genetic cause of intellectual and developmental disability and…
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Waisman investigators receive NIH funding to optimize the use of brain organoids in research
A newly funded project will combine the expertise of four Waisman Center investigators to develop advanced machine learning methods for studying brain organoids, three-dimensional cell clusters grown from stem cells that closely…
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Lawrence University senior takes on language development research at Waisman
Giang Pham, a rising senior from Lawrence University in Appleton, is spending her second summer doing research at the Waisman Center University of Wisconsin–Madison as part of an internship program established and…
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Puerto Rico to become a site for The Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium – Down syndrome
Puerto Rican families have started traveling to Wisconsin to be part of the research study, but the goal is to build the infrastructure to eventually conduct the studies on the island.
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Discovery opens new path toward restoring vision lost to blindness
At a Glance A newly discovered protein marker on the surface of a retinal cell could help pave the way for cell therapies that restore vision in people with currently incurable forms…
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Friends of the Waisman Center Annual Awards
On August 11, the Friends of the Waisman Center celebrated a remarkable group of students, staff, and volunteers whose dedication, achievements, and service have strengthened the Waisman community. During the annual awards…
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Waisman Center researcher receives WARF-funded award to advance next generation of brain organoid research
A University of Wisconsin–Madison interdisciplinary team led by Waisman Center investigator Xinyu Zhao, PhD, has received funding through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)-supported Igniting Interdisciplinary Innovation (I³) initiative to develop new methods for…
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Damage to the cerebellum impairs ability to adapt speech timing and pitch, two new studies show
Cerebellar damage may impair someone’s ability to adapt both the timing of speech and vocal pitch, new Waisman Center studies suggest, shedding light on the involvement of the cerebellum in speech motor…
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Pollak and Shutts awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Waisman Center investigators Seth Pollak and Kristin Shutts are among the forty-two UW–Madison faculty to be awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) for 2026-2027. Click here…
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New AI tool enhances cell segmentation with gene expression data
At a Glance: Understanding what a cell does starts with knowing exactly where it is. Now, a new AI-powered tool developed by researchers at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, is making…
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A springboard for scientific independence: Inside Waisman’s T32 Postdoctoral Training Program
At a Glance: Postdoctoral fellowships occupy an unusual space between being a graduate student and becoming an independent scholar. The postdoc stage is marked by a focus on refining research skills, expanding…
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A legacy of support: Connie Stevens retires after decades of advocacy for families of children with hearing differences
After more than two decades of advocacy, collaboration, and compassionate support for families of children with hearing differences, Connie Stevens, MA, retired at the end of June 2026. A veteran support parent…
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Students are the lifeblood of science: How students contribute to and shape research
Science is not static. It constantly grows through curiosity, experimentation, and the continuous pursuit of new knowledge. Every question asked, every experiment conducted, and every discovery made build upon what came before…
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Family-Led Academic Grand (FLAG) Rounds: Family stories as a tool for teaching patient and family-centered care to medical trainees
FLAG Rounds were developed by Coleman and Danielle Gerber to use family faculty, or family members of children with complex medical needs as lecturers, and storytelling as a strategy to develop the…
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Postdoc Excellence Awards highlight outstanding postdocs and faculty mentors
Link to the original article. The UW–Madison Postdoctoral Association recognized six postdocs and three faculty with Postdoc Excellence Awards to acknowledge their excellence in mentoring, teaching, and service. The association, a volunteer-led…
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Changes in walking patterns could be an important new screening tool for Alzheimer’s in individuals with Down syndrome
Individuals with Down syndrome have a 90% lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
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Typing, tapping, and eye-gaze tracking: Augmentative and alternative communication provides crucial access to communication when speech is out of reach
For many, talking is as easy as breathing. A few words to tell your friend that you are hungry and ready for lunch. A long rant to your partner about frustrations at…
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New book shares the experiences of individuals with disabilities through the COVID-19 pandemic using photos
The Pandemic Cancelled It, and They Never Brought It Back takes readers into the daily lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities during the COVID‑19 pandemic, using their own photographs and…
