Improved technique illuminates fragile X protein
Researchers at the Waisman Center made a significant step in understanding the function of a specific protein, FMR1, whose absence causes fragile X syndrome, or FXS. Waisman investigators Xinyu Zhao, PhD, and Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD, with research associate Meng Li, published their paper “Identification of FMR1-regulated molecular networks in human neurodevelopment” in the March issue of the journal Genome Research.
April 9, 2020
Task force offers tools allowing patients on ventilators to communicate
For a patient suffering from a life-threatening illness like COVID-19, communication means everything. If that person is on a ventilator and no visitors are allowed in the room, doctors and nurses must rely on tools …
April 2, 2020Five language outcome measures evaluated for intellectual disabilities studies
A multi-university team of researchers found that expressive language sampling (ELS) can be useful in measuring outcomes in clinical trials targeting fragile X syndrome (FXS). According to their study, ELS, a set of procedures for collecting and analyzing spoken language in natural verbal interactions, yielded five language-related outcome measures that may be useful for treatment studies in intellectual disabilities, especially FXS.
March 25, 2020
Thoughts of Gratitude: Scott Kornstedt
Shortly after Raegan was born to Scott and his wife Carrie, she was diagnosed with phenylketonuria, or PKU — a rare metabolic disorder that prevents her from properly metabolizing phenylalanine, a common amino acid that exists in most proteins. PKU is a rare disorder that affects approximately 16,000 people in the U.S. It is one of 47 disorders for which newborns in Wisconsin are screened. If left untreated, it can cause intellectual disabilities, seizures, among other health-related issues.
March 16, 2020Newly identified cellular trash removal program helps create new neurons
New research by University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists reveals how a cellular filament helps neural stem cells clear damaged and clumped proteins, an important step in eventually producing new neurons.
March 3, 2020Routine test reveals rare diseases
“The newborn screening is most likely the first test of your child’s life,” says Mei Baker, MD, co-director of the Newborn Screening Laboratory at the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene and a Waisman Center affiliate investigator.
February 26, 2020Catherine Kanter Named Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year
“I then found in speech-language pathology a wonderful marriage of my love for language and communication and helping individuals with disabilities, and came to UW-Madison to complete my graduate degree,” says Kanter, who has worked as a full-time speech-language pathologist, or SLP, at the Waisman Center since June 2018.
February 24, 2020
Navigating a Brighter Future for Youth with Disabilities and Their Families
Helping youth with disabilities pursue post-high school employment and education opportunities can mean piecing together services from a broad range of agencies and organizations. This can be a challenge for anyone, but for low-income families, …
January 7, 2020New Researcher Uses Machine Learning to Decode Genomic Information
Recent advances in genome sciences — the study of an organism’s complete set of DNA — present a golden opportunity to identify the genetic causes and underlying mechanisms of intellectual and developmental disabilities. These discoveries …
January 7, 2020
Mancheski Foundation Funds Next-Gen Research on Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s
A gift from the Mancheski Foundation continues to provide integral support to doctoral student Matthew Zammit as he furthers his research on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down syndrome. Zammit is beginning …
December 19, 2019Major Lifetime Gift Establishes Scholarly Society
It’s been seven years since Dick Morse, MD, a UW alum and retired child psychiatrist, and his lifelong partner, Lawrence M. Connor, MSW, a retired social worker, established an $11 million (now worth an estimated $17 million) planned estate gift for the Morse Society — a multidisciplinary graduate fellowship program at the Waisman Center.
December 19, 2019Low genetic risk for ADHD may protect against negative life experiences
A recent study shows that people at low genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not only less likely to have the disorder, they also have better than expected economic, health and behavioral outcomes in later life.
December 16, 2019Clinical trial for Ebola vaccine developed at UW–Madison underway in Japan
As of this week, a phase one clinical trial to test a potential new Ebola vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is underway in Japan. Fifteen healthy young men* will receive two doses of the experimental vaccine. If the first group tolerates the vaccine, an additional group of up to 20 volunteers will receive a higher dose of the vaccine.
December 13, 2019UW-Madison brain scan studies seek to pinpoint signs of Alzheimer’s
Waisman Center investigator Brad Christian and Waisman Center affiliates Sterling Johnson and Barbara Bendlin were featured in a Nov. 26 Wisconsin State Journal article this week about Alzheimer’s research. The article is a part of a series on Alzheimer’s called “Fading away: Wisconsin’s dementia crisis,” which chronicles the doubling rate of dementia patients in Wisconsin.
November 29, 2019Time-to-degree improves again, setting record
Undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are taking less time to complete their degrees, setting a record on a key measure of student success. The average time-to-degree for 2018-19 bachelor’s degree recipients was 3.96 elapsed calendar years, the lowest since the university began actively tracking the measure in the 1980s and the first time the number has dropped below four years, according to the university’s Office of Academic Planning and Institutional Research.
November 5, 2019In Wisconsin, 3 in 5 people with Down syndrome diagnosed with dementia by age 55
Not so many years ago, people with Down syndrome rarely survived to middle age. Many died young due to heart problems associated with the congenital condition. Today, advances in treatment have allowed them to live longer, healthier lives.
October 28, 2019Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD, becomes UCEDD director
Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD, a longtime Waisman Center investigator, began her appointment as the director of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) on Oct. 14. She succeeds Bill MacLean, PhD, who retired …
October 20, 2019Whole Exome Sequencing Illuminates Genetic Condition
If you ask David Seamans what his favorite thing to do is, he’ll pause thoughtfully for a moment before responding, “Everything.” He really does mean everything
October 18, 201921st century medicine helps Amish deal with rare, inherited illnesses
There is no car in the driveway, neither phone nor electricity in the house. Handmade clothes dry on the line. It’s fall 2018, and La Farge physician James DeLine has brought us to talk with Barbara and Daniel Hochstetler, part of the large Amish population in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region.
October 18, 2019New funding for Down syndrome research and biobank
The Waisman Center is one of 25 recipients to receive funding through a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant that focuses on advancing research on Down syndrome. The grant is part of the NIH Investigation …
October 9, 2019Joan Ershler, PhD, longtime Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP) director retires
After 27 years as the director of the Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP), Joan Ershler, PhD, retired in early September 2019. The WECP is a model inclusive early childhood program with a developmentally diverse enrollment serving …
September 30, 2019- More News posts
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.