PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: The major goal of this application is to improve and maintain the Caribbean Primate Research Center's (CPRC) unique research resources through support of operations, administration, veterinary care and research. The CPRC consists of four integrated facilities: (1) Cayo Santiago Biological Field Station (CSBFS), the most valuable of the CPRC research resources that holds a colony of free-ranging rhesus brought from India to Cayo Santiago (CS) in 1938.; (2) the Sabana Seca Field Station (SSFS), the CPRC's headquarters located 10 miles outside of San Juan that houses rhesus monkeys derived from Cayo Santiago colony in various outdoor configurations for biomedical and behavioral studies that are not feasible on free-ranging animals; (3) the Laboratory of Virology and Genetics (LVG), located on the Medical Sciences Campus (MSC), in San Juan which support several research initiatives using rhesus monkeys as a model; and (4) the Laboratory of Primate Morphology (LPM), which is also located on the MSC, and houses the CPRC skeletal collections, unique assemblages of nonhuman primate skeletons for genetic, developmental, pathological and anatomical research. As described in this proposal, CPRC is organized into four complementary and integrated divisions: Primate Resources, Virology and Genetics, Behavior and Neurosciences, and Primate Morphology. In 2020, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic added an additional stress to the already tenuous NHP supply by increasing the demand around the world. As a result, the National Primate Research Centers (NPRC), with the support of NIH/ORIPs, launched an initiative to establish the NHP Strategic Reserve (NSR). The CPRC served as a pioneer in support of the NSR in several ways. First, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPRC was able to immediately supply animals to aid COVID- 19 research in the continental US, resulting in numerous high-impact publications. Additionally, in collaboration with ORIP, underscoring the value of the NIH/ORIP-funded resources, and as a step in the NSR development, the CPRC proactively engaged in agreements with some NPRCs and supplied high quality animals to expand their breeding population, as well as to increase their genetic diversity. Funds are requested in this application to maintain CPRC basic infrastructure of Primate Resources, which are used to support numerous research projects locally, national and internationally. This grant will also allow CPRC to continue supporting the Translational Science Initiative (TSI) under the Applied Research Component. A major strength of this TSI is conducting multidisciplinary collaborative studies to establish and validate NHP models for preclinical translational projects related to different human diseases.

Narrative The major goal of this application is to maintain the CPRC as a relevant national and international research resource for the support of comparative studies in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.This proposal is seeking support to make available to the research community valuable conventional and SPF IO rhesus, and related resources. With continued NIH support, the CPRC will remain a significant national research resource and will be able to provide healthy Indian-origin rhesus monkeys of defined genetic and virological background to NIH-sponsored research programs.