Caribbean Primate Research Center

The Caribbean Primate Research Center (CPRC) is a research, training and education unit of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Medical Sciences Campus (MSC). The CPRC is supported by a core grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), and the UPR. The CPRC has vast experience in the establishment and maintenance of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) breeding colonies. The greatest strength of the CPRC is in conducting multidisciplinary, collaborative studies on the entire life cycle of rhesus monkeys as a biological model for humans. The animal care program of the CPRC is in full compliance with the directives established by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The program is monitored by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of the UPR-MSC and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) of the USDA. Since 1992, the CPRC has been fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC).

For over 30 years the CPRC has been providing an invaluable service to the national and international scientific community by providing Indian-origin rhesus macaques with known backgrounds, and of the same genetic pool, for use in studies of numerous diseases that afflict humans. The origins of the CPRC can be traced to the founding of the Cayo Santiago rhesus monkey colony in 1938. The colony was established to provide a field site for behavioral investigations and to supply rhesus monkeys for biomedical research and anatomical studies at stateside laboratories. When the NIH Laboratory of Perinatal Physiology (LPP) opened in San Juan in 1956, Cayo Santiago became the Primate Ecology Section of the LPP and the daily census and longitudinal demographic database began in last. When the LPP closed in 1970, the CPRC was formally established under the UPR School of Medicine and new headquarters for the primate center were constructed on a forested tract of federal land in Sabana Seca. The geographical location of the CPRC facilities is shown below.

1. Cayo Santiago (CS), CS is a field research site located on an island approximately 1 km off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. CS is operated and managed specifically to maintain free-ranging rhesus monkeys under semi-natural conditions for behavioral research and noninvasive biomedical research. It is the oldest continuously maintained colony of its kind in the world and has served as an international research resource in primate behavior and biology for 65 years. All monkeys on CS are direct descendants of the original 409 monkeys imported from India and released onto the island in 1938. The identity, birth date, sex, matriline, parity of females, and date of death (if applicable) are known for every animal, which has lived on the island since 1957.
   
   
2. Sabana Seca (SSFS) , the SSFS is the administrative headquarters and base of operations of the CPRC. Several outdoor pens and corrals are used to house Cayo Santiago-derived rhesus monkeys into conventional and SPF breeding programs. Research at the SSFS focuses on behavior, reproduction, biomedicine issues, aging, endocrinology, virology, and genetics.
   
   
3. Laboratory for Primate Morphology and Genetics (LPMG), The LPMG is located on the Medical Sciences Campus, houses the CPRC skeletal collections, including a unique collection of complete specimens of Macaca mulatta, many of which are derived from Cayo Santiago and are accompanied by data on identity, age, sex, matriline, etc. This collection is highly suitable for research on the genetic basis of phenotypic variation, morphological integration, postnatal skeletal development, and skeletal pathology.
   
   
4. Virology Laboratory (VL), The VL is located at the School of Medicine of the MSC. Scientists at the VL conduct research on recombinant DNA vaccines using rhesus macaques, and perform viral tests for Herpes B virus (HBV), Simian T-Lymphotropic virus (STLV) and Simian immunodeficiency Virus (SIV).
   
   

These four integrated facilities provide a unique, unparalleled national and international research resource, where behavioral and biomedical investigators can study rhesus monkeys with known backgrounds and of the same genetic pool throughout their entire lifespans as well as post-mortem, using complete skeletons and/or fixed soft tissues. Investigations conducted at the CPRC have made significant contributions to our current knowledge of primate behavior, demography, husbandry, aging, reproductive biology, population and basic genetics, physical anthropology, anatomy, parasitology and pathology. Recent studies have focused on the genetic and neurobiochemical basis of behavior, socioendocrinology, male and female reproductive strategies, characterization of the rhesus genome, vocal communication, cognition, functional anatomy, sperm morphology, reproductive biology, fecal steroid analyses, endocrinology, naturally-occurring diseases of aging, osteopathy, vaccine development and testing, and experimentation with new medical devices.

Access to the CPRC is limited to staff, scientists, students and official visitors. Written proof of a negative PPD skin test for tuberculosis or negative chest radiograph within the past six months or prior vaccination with BCG must be presented to conduct research or training at CS or SSFS. The CPRC provides an ideal research resource for studies of demography, epidemiology and naturally-occurring diseases (both hereditary and acquired), virology and parasitology, population and basic genetics, maternal and infant behavior, male and female life histories, neurobiology of communication, reproductive biology, growth and development, socioendocrinology and neuroendocrinology, and functional morphology and skeletal pathology. Multidisciplinary approaches with a large number of investigators have helped to maintain the CPRC at the forefront of both biomedical and behavioral research using nonhuman primates.

This web site is supported by the 5P40RR003640 grant from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and by the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Grant (G12 RR03051) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.