Milwaukee — 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.
To learn more about the Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience, visit mcw.edu/departments/wisconsin-institute-of-neuroscience-wins.
NOTE: Dr. Kurpad and other WINS leaders are available for media interviews. Please email the Medical College of Wisconsin press office at [email protected] to schedule.
About the Medical College of Wisconsin
With a history dating back to 1893, The Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research, and community engagement. More than 1,400 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Central Wisconsin in. MCW’s School of Pharmacy opened in 2017. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In the last 10 years, faculty received more than $1.5 billion in external support for research, teaching, training, and related purposes. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,100 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,600 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 2.8 million patients annually.
About Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin supporting a shared mission of patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Our health network operates eastern Wisconsin's only academic medical center and adult Level I Trauma Center at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, an internationally recognized training and research center engaged in thousands of clinical trials and studies. The Froedtert & MCW health network, which includes 10 hospital locations, more than 2,300 physicians and more than 45 health centers and clinics, draws patients from throughout the Midwest and the nation. In our most recent fiscal year, outpatient visits were more than 1.6 million, inpatient admissions to our hospitals exceeded 57,500 and visits to our network physicians totaled more than 1.28 million.
In addition to Froedtert Hospital, the network includes Froedtert Bluemound Rehabilitation Hospital, Froedtert Holy Family Memorial Hospital, Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital, Froedtert West Bend Hospital and Froedtert Community Hospital with locations in Mequon, New Berlin, Oak Creek and Pewaukee. The health network represents the collaboration of Wisconsin’s largest multispecialty physician practice with two community-based physician groups. In 2017, an existing affiliation with the former United Hospital System was expanded to include what is now known as Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital and related clinics in the network. In 2024, Froedtert Health and ThedaCare became one organization, making it possible for the health network to enhance access to care for more people in Wisconsin.
About Children’s Wisconsin
Children’s Wisconsin is the region’s only independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. The hospital, with locations in Milwaukee and Neenah, Wisconsin, is recognized as one of the leading pediatric health care centers in the United States. Children’s Wisconsin provides primary care, specialty care, urgent care, emergency care, mental and behavioral health care, community health services, foster and adoption services, child and family counseling, child advocacy services and family resource centers. In 2022, Children’s Wisconsin invested more than $171 million in the community to improve the health status of children through medical care, advocacy, education and pediatric medical research. Children’s Wisconsin achieves its mission in part through donations from individuals, corporations and foundations and is proud to be a member of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
About the Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience
The Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS) is a partnership between Children’s Wisconsin, the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center. Its goal is to advance neurosciences through world-class clinical care, unique clinical trials, groundbreaking research and innovative education. WINS is led by Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, Ph.D. A Sanford J. Larson professor, Dr. Kurpad is Medical Director of the Neuroscience Service Line at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Contact
Colleen McDonald, Medical College of Wisconsin
Sr. Consultant – Earned Media
414-801-3146 | [email protected]