WID News
Top headlines, campus news, and announcements featuring the work and opinions of the WID community.
McPherson Eye Research Institute is pleased to announce the 2024 Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Grant recipients
Piper Rawding, Postdoc in the Gong Lab won for her project “Optimizing non-viral vectors for retinal genome editing”
Aghdam Earns Science Literacy Award
Her article, Decoding Our Inner Universe: The Power of the Microbiome Network Alignment Algorithm was among the articles chosen for the honor.
Regenerative Landscapes: Exploring Wisconsin’s Ecosystems Through Art
Artists Sonya Sankaran and Richie Morales merge their unique styles to creatively highlight regenerative agriculture in the latest Science to Street Art mural at State Line Distillery.
UW-Madison unveils strategic vision to boost entrepreneurship
Newly appointed special advisor for the entrepreneurial initiative, Jon Eckhardt, will lead efforts to align key stakeholders and explore structures to support the design of a formal campus entrepreneurship platform.
New Insights Into Self-replicating Molecules
New research from the David Baum Lab at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery sheds light on how autocatalysis, a key process, played a role in the origins and evolution of life on Earth. The study introduces a new mathematical tool that makes it easier to identify Minimal Autocatalytic Sets (MASs) in Chemical Reaction Networks (CRNs), representing a big step forward in understanding this complex process.
Chance leads to breakthrough for UW researchers in fight against cancer
Dr. Krishanu Saha and Dr. Dan Cappabianca are featured on a news clip on Channel3000.
Postdoc Highlight: Combining computation and gene therapy for Alzheimer’s treatments
Postdoc Highlight: Kirstan Gimse has taken her passion for investigating neurodegenerative diseases and pushed it into a new area by working as a Genomic Sciences Training Program (GSTP) Postdoctoral trainee with Drs. Sushmita Roy and Krishanu Saha.
Unconventional paths and microbial communities
Unconventional paths and microbial communities - postdoc highlight of Margaret Thairu. “The overall goal of my current projects is to better understand microbial community function.”
Stephen Wright awarded prestigious George B. Dantzig Prize
Wright was chosen for his fundamental contributions to nonlinear optimization and for applying optimization techniques to such areas as control, compressed sensing, machine learning, and data science.
Researchers Develop Advanced Gene Editing Techniques to Boost T Cells in Cancer Treatment
A new study from the Krishanu Saha lab suggests using CRISPR technology to optimize natural immune responses by bioengineering and remodeling T cells. Using a multiplexing technique, the team addresses key challenges in current cancer therapies that could significantly improve treatment outcomes. “We have developed a new way to engineer immune cells to fight cancer more safely and effectively. Think of it as reprogramming the body’s own soldiers (T cells) to recognize and attack cancer cells,” says Cappabianca.
Call for Artists: Spirits of Renewal – The Artistic Alchemy of Women in Distilling and Regenerative Agriculture
Science to Street Art is pleased to announce that the Call for Mural Artists is now open until July 7th. The themes for the murals are Regenerative Agriculture, Chemistry of Distilling, and Women in Distilling. They are offering a compensation of $20,000.
Ponto Awarded American Family Insurance Research Funding
Kevin Ponto and Ross Tredinnick have received funding to develop a method for detecting vehicular hail damage using consumer device sensors, enabling remote and asynchronous documentation without in-person assessments.
Stephen Wright Awarded a Hilldale Professorship
Stephen Wright, a Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Fellow and Computer Science professor, has been awarded a Hilldale Professorship for his pioneering work in continuous optimization and machine learning.
Seeking Applications for Art and Science Collaborations
The Marie Christine Kohler Fellows @ WID program, hosted by the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at UW–Madison, is currently open for application submissions. This unique fellowship fosters interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together graduate students in the arts and sciences. Participants will work in pairs to develop and showcase a art-science …
Melissa Schoenlein recognized for excellence with 2023-24 Teaching Assistant Awards
The Capstone Teaching Award recognizes dissertators at the end of their graduate program with an outstanding teaching record over the course of their UW–Madison tenure, WID is proud to have our own Melissa Schoenlein be one of the honored recipients.
Welcome New Discovery Fellow Emile Gluck-Thaler
Emile Gluck-Thaler joined the UW–Madison faculty in September 2023 as an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology.
Wright named to 2024 class of National Academy of Engineering
Discovery Fellow, Stephen Wright was cited for theory and design of optimization algorithms and their application in signal processing and machine learning. Inauguration in to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional distinctions in the field.
Pours & Prose – A Celebration of Wine and Wine People
Pours and Prose is an exclusive, interactive wine tasting and appreciation event with WID Writer in Residence Michelle Wildgen. This event will be on February 23, 2024 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM and held at the beautiful Discovery Building. Get your tickets now!
Through undergraduate research, engineer predicts the path, impact of viral mutations
Schwab joined the lab of John Yin, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. That decision led Schwab to a three-year research career that has culminated in the publication of a new paper in the journal Virus Evolution.
Stem cell technology developed at UW–Madison leads to new understanding of Autism risks
Technology developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to grow “rosettes” of brain and spinal tissue gives scientists new ways to study the growing human brain, including a recent study of how genetic mutations linked to autism affect early stages of human brain development. “This technology gives us access to an embryonic model of human central nervous system development that we would otherwise not have access to,” says Randolph Ashton, WID researcher.
2 NWTC students found a new antibiotic in soil at Pamperin Park
Two Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) students made a groundbreaking discovery of a new antibiotic in the soil at Pamperin Park in Howard, WI. This research is part of the Tiny Earth project, a global network of instructors and students committed to uncovering novel antibiotics from soil microorganisms.
Tiny Earth Winter Symposium at Lambeau Field offers giant perspective on antibiotic discovery
Students from areas across the state and nation will present their findings at the Tiny Earth in Titletown research symposium in the Lambeau Field Atrium on Monday, December 11, 2023. The event will showcase the collaborative and innovative efforts of students across the state, working together to mitigate the global public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. ““It’s a great opportunity to showcase the value of partnerships to mitigate large problems to a wide audience,” says UW-Green Bay Biology Prof. Brian Merkel, teacher of the course at UW-Green Bay and chair of the event.
Artificial Imagination: Exploring the Convergence of Arts and AI
Division of the Arts Director Chris Walker helms this year’s installment of the popular “Big Ideas for Busy People” event “Am AI Art Too? – How AI is Transforming the Creative Process.” Walker will explore how rapid technological advancements have propelled art and creative expression into new territory on Tuesday night, October 17.
L. lactis: The Unsung Hero of Wisconsin’s World-Famous Cheese
CaSP is bringing awareness a hardworking microbe Lactococcus lactis, which is the bacterium used to make cheese. Join policymakers, scientists, dairy, and industry leaders for a night showcasing Wisconsin’s overlooked hero and hear why Wisconsin should designate L. lactis as its official state microbe on October 24, at 5:00 PM at the Discovery Building. This event is free and open to the public.
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