SUMMARY The increased demand for nonhuman primates (NHPs) for biomedical research, driven in part by the extensive use of species such as rhesus macaques for preclinical development of vaccines and therapeutic interventions, including SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, has put increasing strain on associated infrastructure for NHP housing and research. This situation is particularly acute at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) and its sister organization, the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), both components of their host institution, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). To begin to address this issue, OHSU funded the construction and outfitting of a new NHP housing facility (Surge Building) that provides flex space for ~400 NHPs, and which is slated for occupancy in mid-2022. This additional space will significantly benefit multiple NIH-funded HIV/AIDS research projects by freeing up NHP research space in other buildings that was being used for housing of animals not on research protocols. An important need for the new facility is appropriate innovative, flexible caging that can enhance animal wellbeing through increased opportunity for social housing and enrichment. This contributes to the validity of research results through minimization of stress-related variability as a result of complex and enriched environments that will help reduce stress and the development of abnormal behaviors. A related need is custom-designed caging for NHP newborns and infants, in particular those animals involved in research protocols requiring daily administration of antiretroviral therapy (ART). To this end, this proposal has one specific aim: Acquisition of innovative modular adult and newborn/infant NHP housing to enhance animal management, increase environmental enrichment options, and improve animal wellbeing in support of more robust research findings.

NARRATIVE The goal of this supplement is to procure specialized caging for adult and infant nonhuman primate research subjects that promotes social development and animal welfare, aspects of which are particularly crucial for nonhuman primate infants. The infant caging requested is of particular utility in the administration of antiretroviral therapy to simian immunodeficiency virus-infected animals.