The NIA Nonhuman Primate (NHP) Core Facility maintains a colony of rhesus macaques at the National Institutes of Health Animal Center. Established in 2012, the Core's mission is to offer research services supporting multi-disciplinary translational aging projects. Working with investigators, we develop experimental protocols to evaluate various aspects of NHP aging. We provide all supportive care for the research animals, complete all regulatory requirements, conduct in vivo experiments, and collect and organize study data.
The NIA IRP's 30 years of NHP research experience has made us experts at collecting a wide range of physiological and behavioral data. Our current colony consists of approximately 115 male and female rhesus monkeys, aged 3-30 years, available for short-term intervention studies and experiments to evaluate putative biomarkers of aging. Along with routine biobanking, all of our animals are evaluated longitudinally to assess changes in physical and functional dimensions that occur with aging. Thus, we maintain an extensive biorepository and database of historical data available upon request for collaborative projects.
Ultrasound, Echocardiogram (2D & 3D imaging), Doppler, EKG, Digital Radiography, Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), Endoscopy, Flouroscopy