Tulane National Primate Research Center

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Description (provided by applicant): This application requests funding for the Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) for the five-year period beginning May 1, 2008 through April 30, 2013. Funds will be used to support the administration, operations, veterinary resources, scientific research resources and education and training mission of the Center. Additional funds to support pilot research projects and colony-health-related research resource projects are also requested. For nearly three decades the main focus of the TNPRC research program has been infectious disease. This will continue. In addition, a significant program in gene therapy that is tightly linked to the Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane has developed over the last five years. The major areas of funding for the infectious disease program are currently AIDS, Lyme disease and biodefense-related agents; there are also areas under development, such as tuberculosis. These are multidisciplinary studies involving investigators in multiple Divisions at the TNPRC and collaborators outside the Center. The studies cover the spectrum from transmission and pathogenesis to development of vaccine strategies and chemotherapeutic treatments. The gene therapy program provides an important link to the rest of the University, allows for novel approaches to the treatment of many types of disease and imparts additional diversity to our research program. The period since the last submission of the TNPRC base grant has been a time of significant growth and improvement at the Center. Total sponsored funding has increased dramatically and individual, investigator initiated awards now exceed total awards at the time of the last base grant submission. We are currently at the beginning of a major expansion of our facilities in support of the growing research program. The total construction budget for current projects is in excess of $50M and will add approximately 80,000sf to the facility. The expansion is funded by numerous NIH construction awards (C06, UC6) and private funds. Of particular note is the Regional Biosafety Laboratory. This is a BSL-3 facility that will focus on biodefense and emerging infections in support of the NIH biodefense research agenda. Based on the progress in the last five years we are very optimistic about the future. Strengths on which we can capitalize include significant funded renovation and expansion projects, a research focus (infectious diseases and gene therapy) that matches NIH and national priorities, faculty appointments, strong and diverse research resources, a talented and dedicated staff, excellent interactions and collaborations with area universities and an outstanding relationship with our host institution and state and federal legislators.