Research news
Wisconsin Partnership Program announces new research awards through Collaborative Health Sciences Program
10/30/2019
The Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health has announced awards to three interdisciplinary research projects to address significant and diverse health and healthcare issues through its Collaborative Health Sci...
Binge drinking costs Wisconsin $4 billion annually
10/28/2019
A new study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute reveals the financial magnitude of adult binge drinking in Wisconsin.
Study: Higher social media engagement with marijuana marketing linked to higher rates of use
10/22/2019
One in three youth in states with legal recreational marijuana (cannabis) engage with marijuana brands on social media.
Wisconsin's First Prevention Research Center to focus on mother-baby health
10/18/2019
Wisconsin’s first Prevention Research Center is coming to UW-Madison thanks to a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
UW researchers use stem cells to develop in vitro vocal folds
10/04/2019
Researchers at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have created an in vitro 3-D model of human vocal fold tissue (called mucosa) that could improve our understanding and treatment of disorders affecting the human voice.
Biostatistics and Medical Informatics Department tapped for $11.8 million national coordinating center
10/02/2019
A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and his team have been chosen to lead the nation’s coordinating center for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet).
Michael Newton named chair of biostatistics and medical informatics
10/01/2019
A leader in the use of statistical computing and inference in areas including genomics, molecular biology and cancer, Michael Newton, PhD, has been named chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics at the University of Wiscons...
Remembering Heidi Dvinge: scientist, colleague, mentor and friend
09/25/2019
Heidi Dvinge, PhD, assistant professor of Biomolecular Chemistry and a member of the Carbone Cancer Center, passed away on September 20, 2019. With great sorrow over the loss of a brilliant young scientist, colleague, mentor and friend, we honor h...
Disparities between racial, ethnic mortality rates expand in U.S. for certain age groups
09/24/2019
After years of improving mortality rates in the United States, rates have increased, and between certain racial and ethnic groups the gap is widening depending on age.
Affordable Care Act slashed the uninsured rate among people with diabetes
09/23/2019
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided health insurance for an estimated 1.9 million people with diabetes, according to a newly published study.
'Clamp' regulates message transfer between mammal neurons
09/10/2019
A fundamental question in nerve biology brings to mind a race car at the starting line: The engine is revving, but the brake is on. The system is ready to go, but under tight control.
Electronic records pin broad set of health risks on genetic premutation
08/21/2019
It was long believed the FMR1 premutation — an excessive number of trinucleotide repeats in the FMR1 gene — had no direct effect on the people who carry it. Until recently, the only recognized effect on the carriers of the flawed gene was the risk...
Single protein plays important dual shipping role in the brain
08/15/2019
Just as a packaging breakdown can hamstring delivery of cables, switches and connectors to a house under construction, removing a protein from neurons can block the “shipment” of proteins to developing axons.
Changing a single molecule in the brain can alleviate anxiety
08/15/2019
A new study shows, for the first time in primates, that altering one particular molecule in a specific brain region can change “dispositional anxiety,” the tendency to perceive many situations as threatening. The finding provides hope ...
Study finds major surgery is associated with minor cognitive decline
08/08/2019
A new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has revealed that major surgery is associated with only a minor decline in cognitive ability.
UW launches nation's first cell therapy trial for kidney transplant patients
08/06/2019
For the first time in the United States, a research team will test a personalized cell therapy to treat a common and serious complication facing kidney transplant patients.
Lessons of conventional imaging let scientists see around corners
08/05/2019
Along with flying and invisibility, high on the list of every child’s aspirational superpowers is the ability to see through or around walls or other visual obstacles.
Fear of more dangerous second Zika, dengue infections unfounded in monkeys
08/05/2019
An initial infection with dengue virus did not prime monkeys for an especially virulent infection of Zika virus, according to a study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Nor did a bout with Zika make a follow-on dengue infection more...
Wisconsin rule limiting full-contact practice in high school football cuts concussion rate by more than half
07/30/2019
The rate of sport-related concussions during high school football practice in Wisconsin decreased by 57 percent following a rule change limiting the amount and duration of full-contact activities during practice, according to a new study by resear...
Thanks to science, parasite can have sex in mice, not just cats
07/29/2019
Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled parasite perhaps best known for its ability to trick mice into taking potentially fatal risks around cats and, in humans, as a serious threat to fetal health, has given up a long-held secret of its reproduction.
Simultaneous infection by two viruses the key to studying rare lymphoma
07/29/2019
New research has found that a rare blood cancer can be simulated in the lab only by simultaneously infecting white blood cells with two viruses typically found in the tumors.
Can a sleep device give deep-space explorers a good night's rest?
07/24/2019
The Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness (WISC) will be one of two sites for testing a device that might improve sleep and thus waking performance for people on long space voyages.
Investigation into fungal infection reveals genetic vulnerability in Hmong
07/15/2019
Ten years ago, in Marathon County, Wisconsin, 55 people were sickened by an uncommon fungal infection called blastomycosis. Thirty patients were hospitalized. Two people died.
Jonathan Engle earns Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
07/15/2019
Jonathan Engle, PhD, assistant professor of medical physics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, is one of four promising young UW-Madison researchers named a winner of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scient...
Researchers probe cell division defects to gain insight into cancer
07/08/2019
From bugs to plants to animals, for all living things to grow they must create more cells.
Study: risk-based breast cancer screenings lack predictive value
06/17/2019
Starting breast-cancer screenings based on personal risk factors instead of age in women 40-49 years of age may significantly delay the detection of some early-stage breast cancers while also decreasing the number of false-positive mammograms and ...
UW study provides potential treatment strategy for aggressive lymphoma
06/12/2019
A research team at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center has found a new tumor-causing mechanism that contributes to the development of the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Darcie Moore, Zachary Morris receive 2019 Shaw Scientist Awards
06/04/2019
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health assistant professor of neuroscience Darcie Moore, PhD, and assistant professor of human oncology Zachary Morris, MD, PhD, are recipients of 2019 Shaw Scientist Awards from the Greater Mi...
Study: 'Protective' headgear does not prevent sport-related concussions in soccer players
05/20/2019
The use of protective headgear among high school soccer players does not result in fewer or less severe sport-related concussions compared to players who wear no headgear at all, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wiscons...
Researchers reveal the pioneering role of Zelda in zygotic gene activation
05/17/2019
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have developed a novel strategy to address the role of vital proteins during early embryonic development.
Biomolecular chemistry researcher David Brow develops improved method for tracking molecular signals in living cells
05/16/2019
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has established a new approach to understanding how protein and RNA molecules in a cell cooperate to direct the proper expression of genes.
'Bad guy' fibrocytes could help rebuild damaged tissue
05/13/2019
Welham’s group was already studying the role fibrocytes play in wound healing. Fibrocytes are seen as “bad actors” that lead to scarring. In the monocyte family of blood cells, they arise from the bone marrow and are usually foun...
UW researchers receive $15 million from NIH for Alzheimer's research
05/09/2019
The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will establish, among other activities, a first-of-its-kind research program into improving the care of Alzheimer’s patients and reducing caregiver stress through a $15 million grant fr...
Researchers identify genes associated with facial beauty
05/06/2019
Researchers have discovered that an individual’s sex determines where in the genome are genes that affect perceived facial attractiveness.
Aaron Struck wins award for research to better predict seizures
05/03/2019
Epilepsy physician and researcher Aaron Struck, MD, won the INFORMS Analytics Society Innovative Applications in Analytics Award (IAAA) for research in how to better predict seizures in patients with critical illness.
University of Wisconsin-led study identifies why some colds cause asthma attacks in children
04/19/2019
Upper respiratory infections remain one of the most common triggers of asthma attacks in children, but not every cold leads to a dangerous worsening of symptoms, even among children with severe asthma. The reasons for this have mostly gone unanswe...
Study shows disparities in contraceptive care for sexual-minority women
04/10/2019
Young sexual-minority women frequently encounter stigma or misinformation in health care settings that can compromise their ability to get the contraception they need, according to a new study from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at th...
Carbone Cancer Center members take new leadership roles
04/09/2019
Four members of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center have been named to new leadership roles.
Amy Kind receives award for geriatric research
03/27/2019
Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, has been given a prestigious award by the American Geriatrics Society.
Personalized in vitro model enables drug screening for kidney cancer
03/25/2019
One way to treat the most common type of kidney cancer is to use anti-angiogenic drugs to cut off the blood supply to the tumors, but patients respond differently to the drugs, and choosing the wrong one can make the cancer grow faster.