Welcome to the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at UC Davis. As one of the seven National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) supported by the National Institutes of Health, we aim to be a valuable and trusted resource for the greater biomedical research community. Our mission is to help humans and animals live longer, healthier lives through scientific advances and discovery.
We support our mission by providing basic and translational research and scientific expertise using nonhuman primate models. Our mission is accomplished through four scientific units, diverse core services, and our multi-generational, pedigreed, and well-characterized nonhuman primate colonies.
Our top-tier research programs focus on current, emerging, and high-priority health. Through our mission, we seek to explore and discover key questions about aging such as Alzheimer’s, neurological functions such as autism, reproductive challenges, environmental challenges, emerging infectious diseases, and others. The research performed at the CNPRC has led to new drugs, therapies, and surgical procedures that benefit human and animal quality of life.
As a leader in primate research and health, our Center is dedicated to ensuring the well-being of our animals. Our contributions to biomedical research rely on scientific integrity, a commitment to innovative research, and just as important, a fundamental respect for life. Our animals are crucial to discovering more effective and accessible vaccines, treatments, and cures for various human and animal diseases. We recognize the ethical questions raised by animal research, which is why we provide humane and compassionate animal care while conserving our resources for only the most essential research endeavors.
As an organized research unit at UC Davis, we are uniquely positioned to leverage the expertise of our top-ranked School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Medicine. For more than 60 years, we’ve served as a trusted research resource and have collaborated with investigators on local, regional, and national levels.
Our History
The California National Primate Research Center began in 1962 as the National Center for Primate Biology. The National Institutes of Health developed this primate center to serve primarily as a breeding colony of healthy animals for research. The Center addressed conditions for housing and associated husbandry to ensure the healthiest of environments for the animals. Early in its history, the Center significantly advanced the quality of nonhuman primate research and nonhuman primate care. In 1972, the National Center for Primate Biology increased its collaboration with the Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine as well as other UC Davis schools and colleges. The Center continued to improve and evolve, and in 2002, it was renamed the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) to focus on the role it plays in providing resources on a national level for human health-related research.