Орегонский национальный центр приматологических исследований: история и достижения.

The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is one of seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers in the United States and has been affiliated with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) since 1998. The center is located on of land in Hillsboro, Oregon. Originally known as the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center (ORPRC), it was the first of the original seven primate centers established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research center is administered and funded by the National Center for Research Resources, receiving $11 million in federal grants annually. The center maintains a colony of 4,200 non human primates (consisting of rhesus monkeys, Japanese macaques, vervets, baboons and cynomolgus macaques), cared for by 12 veterinarians and 100 full time technicians. Living conditions at the facility are inspected bi annually by the USDA in unannounced visits. Animal rights activists have criticized the practice. The primates are used in pure and applied biomedical research into fertility control, early embryo development, obesity, brain development and degeneration, and newly emerging viruses, especially AIDS related agents. Research projects at the facility have produced some notable findings, such as the first successful cloning of primate embryos and extraction of stem cells, which was named the number one scientific achievement of 2007 by Time.

Construction of the facility began in 1961 after a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. It was built on in Washington County and opened in 1962. By 1976 the campus housed 18 different species and 2,100 total animals while employing 225 people. This breakthrough was named the number one scientific achievement of the year by Time magazine. In 2011, the center cloned chimeric monkeys using stem cells from six different monkeys, also a first.

Researchers have identified factors that prevent the repair of brain damage caused by multiple sclerosis, complications of premature birth, and other diseases; as well as a key gene that impacts the timing of puberty and can shorten the time span for reproduction.

Recent publications have suggested that a component of the immune system damaged by AIDS might be replaceable, and have indicated a way to detect intra amniotic infections in non human primates, which may result in the development of a test for infections that cause premature birth in humans.

Findings in the area of obesity research include the role of the hormone leptin in causing/preventing obesity, how leptin resistance occurs and can be reversed, how a high fat diet during pregnancy affects the foetus, how the natural hormone PYY can cause limited weight loss, and how reduced caloric intake may slow aging and weakening of the immune system.

In June 2013, 21 macaques were injured and 6 macaques were killed or were euthanized when fighting broke out among a group of 260 macaques who were being housed together. Staff believed that fighting broke out due to loud noises from construction near the macaques' housing. In February 2014, two animals suffered burns from an electric heating pad which was used during a procedure. The burns on one animal were so bad that the animal required surgery.

In March 2015, the USDA reported that staff did not follow appropriate protocols when injecting a macaque with an experimental substance, which resulted in lesions to the macaque's skin. The staff made several breaches of protocol by giving the macaque six injections rather than the approved single injection, not shaving the injection site, and not notifying veterinary staff and the IACUC within the required 72 hours after the injection. In January 2016, the USDA reported that during 2015 an animal died after being entrapped in a chain in its enclosure. The chain was part of an enrichment device with an obsolete design. In February 2017, the USDA reported that a baboon broke its hand, which has likely due to a heavy guillotine door. The USDA also made note of excessive cobwebs and dust in some of the animal areas, which create both health risks and fire risks. In February 2018, the USDA reported a primate's tail was caught in a gap between two enclosures which resulted in a degloving injury and for which the staff then amputated the tail. In May 2018, a young primate was trapped in PVC pipes of a resting perch. The primate was treated by veterinarians but was later euthanized after its condition deteriorated.

In January 2020, a juvenile macaque was trapped under a steel trough drain cover after a technician had not properly secured the cover. In August 2020, two macaques were killed when a technician accidentally put their cage, with the macaques inside, into an automatic cage washer. In October 2020, two macaques managed to escape from their cages and injured five other macaques, who were in their cages.

The center receives unannounced bi annual inspections by the United States Department of Agriculture. It has been accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International since 1975. As required by the Animal Welfare Act, the center also maintains an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; each IACUC must consist of at least one veterinarian with training in laboratory animal science and expertise in the species under consideration, at least one practicing research scientist, and at least one person not affiliated with the institution to represent community interests in proper care and use of animals.

In 2000, animal rights activist Matt Rossell posed as a laboratory technician and later released video footage he had taken from inside the center. He accused them of violating federal laws and ignoring signs of distress among the rhesus monkeys housed there. "OHSU responded that Rossell's motives were suspect and his videotapes misleading." The USDA concluded that the allegations were unfounded. In 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a complaint with the federal government after one of their members obtained a job at the primate center for day to day animal care and was able to take video and photos. A center spokesman said the behavior of the monkeys seen in the footage was attributable to the infiltrator entering into and creating an unfamiliar environment for the animals.