Jamie Kortanek’s poster, Quality of Life in Autistic Children: The Impact of ADHD Trait Prominence, Functional Performance, and Reporter, won second place at the OT Summit of Scholars conference & first place poster at the Graduate Student Banquet for UW’s Kinesiology Department. The participant data sample included Brainy Movement and & UW-LINK participants. The results …
Monica Duran passed her initial prelims for the PhD portion of her MD-PhD program. She submitted the grant for this work in early March. She plans to look at brain correlates of the arousal network, such as sleep, attention and sensory function.
Emily Skaletski successfully defended her dissertation on Monday, April 14 at the Waisman Center. Following graduation, she will continue her research career at Northwestern University with a Community Living & Participation Fellowship, funded by NIDILRR, which is an integrated postdoctoral fellowship within the Center for Education in Health Sciences. She will be mentored by Lucy …
At the 2025 Gatlinburg Conference, Monica Duran and Olivia Surgent received two of six trainee awards of excellence. Monica received the David Zeaman Graduate Student Award, and Olivia was honored with the Theodore Tjossem Postdoctoral Award. The conference was held in San Diego in early April.
With the Waisman Center turning 50 years old this year, a Scientific Symposium was held that featured researchers from inside and outside of the Waisman community. Our very own Dr. Brittany Travers gave a talk about her and Dr. Olivia Surgent’s work on the brainstem and grip strength in autistic individuals. We’re always so proud …
Earlier this month we said farewell to our beloved Dr. Olivia Surgent, who received her PhD this past December. Olivia will be working as a T32 Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California – Davis MIND Institute with Dr. Christine Wu Nordahl. Her research will focus on the interrelationships between sensory features, anxiety, and the …
This fall, we are welcoming a new MD-PhD student to our lab, Monica Duran! Originally from Puerto Rico, she moved to Madison, WI in 2020 for the start of the MD-PhD program at UW. She’s completed 3 years of medical school and is now starting her PhD in the Neuroscience Training Program (NTP) and the …
After 8 months of learning at the University of Málaga and traveling, Brittany is back! Brittany taught classes at the university and learned all about new ways to measure movement of the body. While she will miss Malaga and the amazing people she met, she is so happy to be back, and we are so …
We might not be great at bowling, but our lab knows how to use those motor skills and make a good effort! In celebration of the end of the semester and all that we have accomplished together, Travers Lab enjoyed a bowling and billiards outing at The Sett at Union South. We love having the …
This week Olivia successfully defended her dissertation to her committee, earning her PhD! Her dissertation project focused on grip strength and its neural correlates in children with and without autism. Her work has been central to this lab, and we are in awe of her dedication and thoughtful approach to this important and relevant contribution …
