A decade after scientists announced the development of induced pluripotent stem cells, Waisman investigators, including Su-Chun Zhang and David Gamm, continue to use these cells to research and develop potential therapies for several disorders and conditions, such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and macular degeneration.
Stem Cells
Xinyu Zhao, PhD
Integrative Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveal Molecular Networks Defining Neuronal Maturation during Postnatal Neurogenesis Legend: Left: An illustration of coronal section of Nissl-stained adult mouse brain; Confocal images showing that most of DsRed+ (red) cells in DCX-dsRed …
Am I a stem cell? How do I know?
Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the ability to become almost any kind of specialized cells in our bodies. Given this extraordinary potential, how does a stem cell keep from having an identity crisis? …
Brain cells by the billions
Leaders of the University of Wisconsin–Madison lab that first transformed human stem cells into brain cells have started a company that produces and sells specialized neurons to drug researchers. BrainXell develops neurons from stem cells …
Lighting up the search for a therapy for fragile X syndrome
Waisman Center researchers Anita Bhattacharyya and Xinyu Zhao are looking to make stem cells glow. That glow will tell them that they have successfully turned on a gene that is usually turned off in individuals …
Xinyu Zhao, PhD
Title: MDM2 inhibition rescues neurogenic and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome Legend: Left: Models for FMRP regulation of the MDM2 and P53 pathway, which impacts adult neurogenesis and cognition. Right …
Masatoshi Suzuki, DVM, PhD
Title: Skeletal muscle cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells Legend: Suzuki lab recently initiated a new project to establish skeletal muscle progenitor/stem cells derived from human pluripotent sources. Our culture method can produce skeletal …
Cell transplant treats Parkinson’s in mice under control of designer drug
A University of Wisconsin—Madison neuroscientist has inserted a genetic switch into nerve cells so a patient can alter their activity by taking designer drugs that would not affect any other cell.
Experimental drug cancels effect from key intellectual disability gene in mice
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who studies the most common genetic intellectual disability has used an experimental drug to reverse—in mice—damage from the mutation that causes the syndrome.
Waisman researchers win an inaugural UW2020 award
An innovative project led by Waisman Center researchers Anita Bhattacharyya and Su-Chun Zhang is one of fourteen research initiatives that have been chosen for the first round of funding by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education for the UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative.