DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL RESOURCES

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This is an application to develop and improve the animal resource of the Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center (CMCRC) of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Specifically, the application is to improve nonhuman primate obstetric, prenatal and neonatal care at the CMCRC. The expected outcome is to improve the reproductive health and performance of three breeding colonies of macaques (Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, M. arctoides) used in biomedical research and training. There are three additions to current programs proposed: 1) a high risk obstetric/prenatal ward for housing pregnant monkeys at high risk for poor pregnancy outcome; 2) a neonatal intensive care unit for orphans, newborns delivered by cesarean section, and infants rejected by their mothers; and 3) a nursery equipped to allow care, socialization, and surveillance of infants not requiring intensive care but-still requiring special care. These improvements will result in better survival of colony-born monkeys, thus supporting primate conservation. Additionally, the improvements sought will provide a source for training post-DVM fellows in nonhuman primate obstetrics, prenatal medicine and neonatology. Finally, the resource enhancements will facilitate development of a program in developmental psychobiology, with a particular focus on diseases of human relevance.