National Primate Research Center to Expand Research at UC Davis

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Established in 1962, the California National Research Primate Center (CNRPC) is located on 300 acres on the western edge of the University of California Davis campus. One of the nation’s eight national primate research centers sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources, a division of the National Institute of Health (NIH), the CNRPC provides specialized research into a variety of health problems including AIDS, autism, asthma, Alzheimer's disease and aging. To accommodate increased research, specifically infectious diseases and stem cells, the center is planning a nearly $6 million expansion.

The project is known as the CNRPC 2007 Research Lab Renovation and calls for the addition of five new buildings (reference: Industrial Info’s Pharmaceutical Tracker). The largest of the buildings would be a 10,000 square-foot building to house virology and immunology research, including a Biosafety Level-3 laboratory (BSL-3) of just over 1,000 square feet. The other four buildings will be modular and approximately 1,500 square feet each, with two designated for research and the other two for administrative space. To support the project, utility upgrades valued at $2.5 million are planned and include telecommunications, natural gas, and domestic water mains.

The CNRPC continues to enhance its extensive security features through joint funding provided by UC Davis and the NIH. In addition to new fences, lighting, cameras and alarms, the center has also provided researchers with a safety training manual and video. Three additional security officers were recently hired to help assure the safety of employees, the animals and the research.

The center currently employs nearly 300, and is comprised of scientists, veterinarians, animal care technicians and specialists in pathology and animal husbandry, graduate and postdoctoral students and laboratory and administrative personnel. The CNPRC currently houses nearly 5,000 monkeys. The majority of the primates are rhesus macaques, with small populations of cynomolgus monkeys and South American titi monkeys. There are no plans to increase the current population as a result of the expansion.

In accordance with established protocols, a focused environmental impact report was made available for review and public comments were accepted through March 7, 2007. Published in October 2006, the report concluded that the project would not impose any significantly adverse environmental impacts.

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