Karen Bales steps in as interim director of California National Primate Research Center
California National Primate Center (CNPRC) announced Professor Karen Bales as interim director, marking the first time a woman has held this position in the center’s history. The previous director, Professor John Morrison, has stepped down after an eight-year tenure to assume the role of president-elect of [...]
Novel Vaccine is a Promising Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
A new vaccine designed to protect against oxycodone has demonstrated the ability to generate antibodies in the blood, preventing the drug from reaching the brain by trapping it in the bloodstream. The study, funded by the California National Primate Research Center’s Pilot Research Program at the University of [...]
Aged and unfazed: Older monkeys exhibit blunted nervous system response to arousing stimuli
Aged and unfazed: Older monkeys exhibit blunted nervous system response to arousing stimuli Aged rhesus macaques appear unfazed, at least when it comes to their autonomic nervous system (ANS), compared to their younger counterparts. In an experiment monitoring peripheral nervous system responses to mood-inducing videos, researchers [...]
Monkey Speed-Dating: The Power of First Impressions
Image of Coppery Titi Monkey. Photo by Kathy West. Monkey Speed-Dating: The Power of First Impressions Just how important are first impressions? Using a speed-dating model, student researcher Alexander Baxter, explored the significance of first impressions in humans and nonhuman primates. The work published in [...]
Male and Female Titi Monkeys Exhibit Different Biological and Behavioral Responses to Intranasal Oxytocin
Biological and Behavioral Responses to Intranasal Oxytocin A series of studies published by Dr. Karen Bales’ lab at the California National Primate Research Center revealed that chronic intranasal oxytocin (OT) produces sex-specific biological and behavioral responses in titi monkeys, a monogamous nonhuman primate. Karen Bales [...]
Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Offers Long-Term Protection Against Severe Disease
Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Offers Long-Term Protection Against Severe Disease Two-dose vaccines provide protection against lung disease in rhesus macaques one year after they were vaccinated as infants, a new study shows. The work, published in Science Translational Medicine Dec. 1, is a follow-up to a 2021 [...]
COVID-19 Virus Infects Neurons, Induces Inflammation in the Brain
Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the brain induces neuroinflammation and disruption of the olfactory cortex in rhesus macaques (Danielle Beckman, CNPRC) COVID-19 Virus Infects Neurons, Induces Inflammation in the Brain by Logan Savidge SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus, caused significant neuron damage and inflammation within [...]
Antibiotic Exposure During Infancy Remodels Immune Response to Respiratory Pathogens
Antibiotic Exposure During Infancy Remodels Immune Response to Respiratory Pathogens Infants are commonly exposed to and treated with antibiotics during the birthing process. However, new research in nonhuman primates may change the way doctors approach antibiotic treatment. A study conducted by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) [...]
‘Life of a Neuron’: A Collaboration Between Scientists and Artists
‘Life of a Neuron’: A Collaboration Between Scientists and Artists UC Davis Faculty Participating in D.C. Exhibition by Logan Savidge We tend to dichotomize the rational approach of scientific methodology and the creativity of artistic expression. However, the two are much more overlapping than we give [...]
COVID-19 In the lab: A conversation with an infectious disease researcher during an active pandemic
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the disease referred to as COVID-19, has swept across the world infecting millions of humans and tragically killing a significant proportion of those infected. COVID-19 has grown from an outbreak to an epidemic and finally a worldwide pandemic at a historic rate. To [...]
Detecting autistic-like traits in a general population of monkeys
Translational animal models are a necessary step to uncovering the biological basis of human disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which affects 1 in every 54 children in the United States. Kate Talbot, Ph.D. and her colleagues in the Neuroscience and Behavior Unit at the California National Research Primate [...]
Nonhuman primate study on early immune response to SARS-CoV-2 points to specific immune cells for vaccine development
A collection of infectious disease researchers at the California National Primate Research Center and the Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases observed early immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques. Their findings suggest vaccine developers should focus on promoting specialized immune cells called CD4 T follicular helper (Tfh) cells [...]
CNPRC Scientist Hartigan-O’Connor Awarded Funding to Optimize Vaccines for Most Susceptible Populations
Dennis Hartigan-O'Connor, M.D., Ph.D. As scientists rush to find a vaccine for COVID-19, CNPRC core scientist, Dennis Hartigan-O’Connor, M.D., Ph.D is working to optimize vaccine technologies to protect high-risk populations. The University of California Office of the President has awarded Hartigan-O’Connor, along with other scientists across UC [...]
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Fish Oil for the Heart
Collaborative efforts from Peter Havel, DVM, PhD with UC Davis and the California National Primate Research Center and Andrew Butler, PhD at the St. Louis School University of Medicine indicate that targeting a protein known as angiopoietin-like protein-3 or ANGPTL3 could be helpful for managing cardiovascular disease. Their results [...]
A monkey model of early Alzheimer’s Disease: Moving past complications with rodent models
Almost undoubtedly, you can think of five influential and loved women in your life. With those women in mind, consider that one in every five women and one in every ten American men at the age of 45 are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As the rates [...]
Researchers Make Major Strides Towards a Vaccine Against the Zika Virus
Although absent from recent news cycles, Zika virus (ZIKV) continues to be a public health emergency and international concern. A collaborative effort between Koen Van Rompay, core scientist with the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), Barney Graham (Vaccine Research Institute) and Ted Pierson (National Institute of Allergy and [...]
CNPRC Core Scientist, Dr. Hong Ji Announced as 2019-2020 Environmental Health Sciences Scholar
The UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences awarded California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) core scientist, Dr. Hong Ji their 2019-2020 scholar award. Her application to study epigenetics as the link between air pollutant exposures during development and long-term side effects on the lungs will significantly contribute to our knowledge [...]
CNPRC Scientists Abroad: Dr. Koen Van Rompay Lectures on Vector Borne Diseases in India
CNPRC core scientist, Dr. Koen Van Rompay was recently invited by the Indian University of Kannur to give a series of lectures. He travelled the state of Kerala hosted by local scientists and educators giving lectures focused on threatening vector borne diseases. Van Rompay took the opportunity to stress [...]
It Takes a Village to Tackle Zika
By Paul Luciw and Koen Van Rompay Emerging infectious pathogens present opportunities for nonhuman primate model building, transmission and pathogenesis research, and development of interventions by drawing on the expertise of several investigators at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) and collaborating affiliate scientists. Importantly, the previous multi-disciplinary [...]