By Jay Rappaport, PhD
At the Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC), our mission is to improve human and animal health through basic and applied biomedical research. For more than 60 years, our researchers have advanced critical knowledge in infectious diseases and associated chronic illnesses. This work has been made possible through consistent support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The TNPRC is one of only seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers in the United States and the only one with a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL). Our campus spans 500 acres and is home to rhesus macaques, 300 staff members and 40 faculty scientists. These resources position us as a leader in the field of biomedical research, which often serves as a critical final step before clinical trials in humans.
The TNPRC has been funded by the NIH since the center first opened in 1964. NIH grants and contracts support critical infrastructure and drive research collaborations with key partners across academia, government and private industry, both nationally and internationally. This investment allows us to develop disease models, advance therapies, preventions and diagnostics and respond quickly to public health crises.
More than half of our research is focused on HIV/AIDS and our contributions have helped pave the way for advancements including medication that reduces HIV transmission by up to 99%.
We are also leaders in tick-transmitted Lyme disease, a debilitating condition on the rise in the United States. Our researchers developed the canine diagnostic test currently used worldwide and are now collaborating with biotech companies to develop more sensitive human diagnostic tests and evaluate vaccine candidates.
The future of the research we conduct depends on continued NIH investment. Proposed NIH funding cuts, particularly to indirect research cost coverage, would severely limit our ability to run our facility, train the next generation of scientists, and develop life-saving advances. The infrastructure of the NPRCs has taken more than six decades to establish, and the expertise and skills of our faculty and staff are national treasures that must not be lost.
