Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Launch Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience

Milwaukee, Feb. 7, 2024 – Milwaukee is now home to one of the nation’s first institutes designed specifically to focus on the neurological needs of people from birth to old age. The Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS) is a partnership of Children’s Wisconsin, the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.

“WINS combines the strengths of all our partners to deliver complete, life span care for disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system,” said Shekar Kurpad, MD, PhD, founding director of WINS and Sanford J. Larson Professor. “Importantly, WINS also will further the groundbreaking research already underway here and increase educational opportunities so we can produce the next generation of neuroscientists.”

“This collaborative academic effort already has aligned our affiliated neuroscience and spine service lines, and will bring national exposure to the excellent treatment, clinical trials and research available right here in southeastern Wisconsin,” said Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, provost and executive vice president of MCW and The Julia A. Uihlein, MA, Dean of the School of Medicine.

Under Dr. Kurpad’s direction, WINS already has begun to deliver care enhancements.

BRAVE (Building Resilience through Action in Veterans and First Responders), the Midwest’s first program for treating mild traumatic brain injuries in military veterans and first responders, opened its doors in late 2023. A WINS initiative, BRAVE is an intense three-week outpatient program at the Froedtert & MCW Greenfield Highlands Health Center that provides specialized diagnostic and rehabilitation services designed specifically to help veterans and first responders overcome injuries like concussions.

The Center for Cervical Myelopathy, another recently founded WINS initiative, was created at MCW as one of the world’s first sites dedicated to research and treatment of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM). Despite being one of the most common causes of spinal cord injury, public awareness of DCM remains limited. The Center for Cervical Myelopathy aims to fill that void by providing patients, physicians and scientists with resources to advance understanding and treatment of this condition.

Learn more about the Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS)