The National Biomedical Research Institute (NBRI) has maintained a colony of aged rhesus macaques for over 35 years. The majority of this colony is composed of retired breeders who are research-naive. As part of the breeding colony, this population has pedigree data determined by genetic analysis going back nine generations.
This unique research resource is an essential component of the NBRI's focus on lifespan research, starting with the fetus in gestation to the geriatric adult. Research programs using the aged rhesus population range across all four of the NBRI research units and include studies in:
- Cognition
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Immune senescence
- Ophthalmology and age-related retinal disorders
- Menopause
- Respiratory biology and age-related respiratory disorders