Maureen Durkin

Professor of population health sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Maureen Durkin is professor and chair of population health sciences and Waisman Center investigator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. degrees in epidemiology from Columbia University. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of neurodevelopmental disabilities and childhood injuries, both globally and within the United States. She has collaborated in the development of cross-cultural methods for epidemiologic studies of developmental disabilities and methods for surveillance of childhood injuries and disabilities. She has also directed international studies on the prevalence and causes of neurodevelopmental disabilities in low-income countries. Durkin is currently a principal investigator in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network and other projects related to public health surveillance, epidemiology and care integration of autism and other developmental disabilities.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?

Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.

By Paul Middlebrooks
15 July 2026 | 1 min read
Soha Ashrafi photo collage art.

Making an impact through academic administration

As executive director of research at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology, Soha Ashrafi supports more than 300 scientists, students and staff members.

By Katie Moisse
15 July 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of birdsong, bird brain, and DNA.

This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

By Sidarta Ribeiro
14 July 2026 | 4 min read