Tulane National Primate Research Center AIDS SPF Breeding Colony Maintenance

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) is one of seven National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The Center is dedicated to providing the infrastructure and support for basic and applied research efforts to advance scientific knowledge and improve human and animal health and wellbeing. The TNPRC has one of the largest specific pathogen free (SPF) rhesus monkey breeding colonies in the United States. Over the past 5 years, this breeding colony produced between 595-957 infants annually and provided close to 2,000 animals for biomedical research programs, including those focused on AIDS. Award U42OD024282 funds the establishment and maintenance of the TNPRC SPF breeding colony to support AIDS research. The TNPRC AIDS research program is the largest at the Center, currently accounting for 61% of all grant funding and 67% of animals assigned to research at the TNPRC on an annual basis. The SPF breeding colony also provides rhesus macaques to affiliate investigators outside of the TNPRC for AIDS research. In 2022, 361 SPF rhesus macaques were requested for AIDS research by TNPRC and affiliate investigators. Of those, 312 have been allocated with the remainder awaiting assignment. Essentially all SPF rhesus monkeys utilized in AIDS research programs at the TNPRC are derived from the U42-supported TNPRC breeding colony. The TNPRC SPF program supports a variety of AIDS-related studies, including vaccine development, pre-exposure prophylaxis, microbicides, AIDS/TB coinfection, transmission pathogenesis, and cure research. Currently, there is high national demand for SPF macaques which requires the continued availability and enhancement of this resource. The proposed supplement to the U42 will be used to renovate an existing housing enclosure unit that has been decommissioned. The renovation will bring the facility to state-of-the-art status and incorporate additional measures to protect animals during inclement weather events. The housing enclosure renovation is within the scope of the of the parent award and does not overlap with any U42-funded projects. The benefits realized from this improvement will expand the TNPRC SPF rhesus macaque research infrastructure to assure these colonies are sustainable and able to provide high-quality research models well into the future.