SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The 5-year renewal for Grant P51 RR00163-45 requests funding for programs that support biomedical research at the ONPRC. The application reflects a significant expansion in animal resources and research service cores that is required to support the growth in research programs (external grant funding has doubled during the past 5 years) and to greatly expand the Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) Indian-derived Rhesus Breeding Colony. The aims of this application are to: 1) provide the infrastructure support necessary to conduct advanced biomedical research for which nonhuman primates (NHPs) are used to accelerate progress in understanding human diseases, leading to better health; 2) enhance the Center's resources (scientific expertise, laboratories, animal services, research service cores and equipment) so as to serve as a regional, national and international resource; 3) increase the availability of defined NHPs for biomedical research through support of our programs to expand the SPF Indian-derived Rhesus macaque breeding program that produces animals free of viruses such as herpes B and with defined parentage and genotype; and 4) expand research programs utilizing NHPs in genetics, infectious diseases and vaccine development, aging, neuroscience and women's health. To accomplish these aims, support is requested in four broad areas. Administration and Center Operations provide the administrative and service support that is required for all aspects of the ONPRC. Units include the Director's Office, Business Services, Facilities and Property, and Information Technology and Engineering. Research Infrastructure encompasses the service units that provide the most technologically advanced research support, such as Animal Resources (Business and Research Coordination, Clinical Medicine, NHP Resources, Operations, Pathology Services, Psychological Well Being and Surgery Services), Research Service Cores (Assisted Reproductive Technology, Electrophysiology, Endocrine Services, Flow Cytometry, Imaging and Morphology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Monoclonal Antibody, Research Library, and Virology) and Special Resources Programs (Alternative NHP Species, Genetics Resource and Informatics, Aging NHPs and Rhesus Breeding). Scientific Resources includes support for the three research divisions that house ONPRC scientists: the Divisions of Pathobiology and Immunology, Neuroscience, and Reproductive Sciences. Funding is also requested for 4 resource-related research projects and the pilot project program. Improvement and Modernization includes funds for equipment and alterations and renovations. The funds requested will provide support for the research infrastructure that is required to conduct the most advanced biomedical research using NHPs as models of human health and disease, and to meet the needs of new emerging areas of research in which the NHP model is critical, such as functional genomics and biodefense initiatives.