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The Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) is a federally-funded biomedical research facility located on the University of Washington's Seattle campus. The WaNPRC is part of a network of seven National Primate Research Centers which conduct biomedical research on primates. The center opened in 1961, and as of 2020, houses over 500 primates.[1]

Administration

The Washington National Primate Research Center is the only National Primate Research Center which has a permanent, all female leadership team.<ref=url=https://twitter.com/NPRCnews/status/1641446802363924483/photo/1

Research Facilities and Staff

The WaNPRC is headquartered in the Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center on the University of Washington's Seattle campus. In addition, the center leases facilities in the South Lake Union and Belltown neighborhoods of Seattle. Research at the center is conducted by a group of core staff scientists, as well as over 400 affiliate scientists.[2] The current director of the WaNPRC is Dr. Michele Basso.[3] Dr. Basso's appointment at the WaNPRC was criticized due to allegations of animal welfare violations while she was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, which at one point resulted in her premature suspension from conducting research,and drew public criticism of the University for their treatment of Dr.Basso.[4][5]

Breeding colonies

Macaques are the most common type of non-human primates used at the WaNPRC.

The WaNPRC operates an off-site colony in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Mesa, Arizona for pig-tailed macaques.[6][7]

From 1966 through 1996, UW operated a Primate Field Station in Medical Lake, WA, in a former maximum-security prison building at Eastern State Hospital.[8][9] During the 1990s, the center was actively involving in using primates for testing for AIDS research, and in 1994 received $12.5 million in AIDS-related research funding. However, the station had several controversies due to poor treatment of the animals, and in 1995 it had to pay a $20,000 fine to the USDA. In 1996 the station closed, and primates were moved to Louisiana, Oregon, and Seattle. Allegations of animal violations at the Arizona facility surfaced in 2022, but were proven to be false and misleading. [10] The Department of Health & Human Services Public Health Service National Institutes Of Health Senior Animal Welfare Program Specialist, Jacquelyn Tubbs, DVM, DACLAM wrote she "was pleased to report that the WaNPRC AZ is a commendable animal facility and site visitors did not identify any significant deficiencies with respect to the provisions of the PHS Policy.".[11]

Research areas using experimental methods and procedures

The WaNPRC is involved in a variety of scientific research in the areas of Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Infectious Disease and Translational Medicine, Neuroscience, and Global Conservation and Outreach. The research conducted uses experimental methods and surgical procedures on non-human primates.<ref=url=https://wanprc.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/Brochures/WaNPRC/WaNPRC-Booklet/4-5/

Neurological Research

The WaNPRC performs various studies on primates' brains, which often require surgical procedures, including implanting electrodes into their brains. These studies are performed to study devastating diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

A 2017 study examined the effects of fetuses not getting enough oxygen to the brain (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy) so that the discoveries could be applied to helping infants who were deprived from oxygen. This study involved four macaques. While still fetuses, researchers deprived the macaques of oxygen by surgically clamping their umbilical cords for 18 minutes. The macaques were then delivered earlier than normal by cesarean section, after which they had to be resuscitated. Researchers then monitored the macaques using various techniques, including implanting electrodes into their scalps. For the first three days of their lives, researchers deprived the macaques of oxygen by restricting their oxygen input to 8% for three minutes up to eight times daily. The macaques were kept alive for eight days, during which time some macaques developed seizures. At eight days of age, the macaques were euthanized and their bodies were further studied. Additionally, researchers compared these results to two "control" macaques who were euthanized immediately after birth.[12]

A 2018 study examined the lateral intraparietal cortex of macaques' brains. The macaques in the study had electrodes surgically implanted in their brains, and researchers recorded the macaques' neurons while the macaques performed a task in which they visually tracked objects.[13]

A 2019 study examined stimulating the outer layer of macaques' brains (with beta stimulation). Stimulation was delivered by surgically opening the macaques skulls (via a craniotomy) and inserting electrodes into the macaques' brains.[14]

A 2019 study involved devising a method to induce strokes on monkeys to further treatments for human stroke victims. Two male macaques were used in this study. The macaques's skulls were opened using a craniotomy to expose the brain. The macaques were then intravenously injected with a special chemical which destroys tissue when exposed to light. Light was then shone on part of the macaques' brains which activated the chemical and destroyed some of the brain tissue, thereby inducing a stroke.[15]

Eye and vision experiments

A 2018 study examined amblyopia (commonly called "lazy eye") in macaques. To give young macaques amblyopia, researchers surgically cut retinal muscles of some macaques, and made other macaques wear special contact lenses for 6-7 months which induced amblyopia.[16]

A 2018 study examined how primate retina perceive color. The study involved removing the eyes of anesthetized monkeys and cutting out several parts of the eyes so they could be studied. These efforts further the research done to improve therapies for visually impaired humans. [17]

Pregnancy experiments

A 2015 study examined uterine overdistension, which is when the uterus is larger than normal due to amniotic fluid or a large baby. Researchers simulated uterine overdistension by implanting balloons inside the uteri of six pregnant macaques. Researchers found that the balloons caused three of the six macaques to have preterm labor. This research is important to understand the impact of this overdistension on human deliveries. The baby macaques were delivered by cesarean section and euthanized.[18]

Lab incidents and reporting

Throughout its history, the WaNPRC has self reported lab incidents and breaches of protocol, some of which have resulted in the deaths of various primates. Some of these incidents have resulted in fines and citations by the USDA.

1990s

During the 1990s, UW's facility in Medical Lake, WA was at the center of several controversies. From 1990 to 1995, it was noted that some primates died from thirst and dehydration. From 1990 through 1994, death rates of animals from non-experimental causes at the Medical Lake breeding facility were twice the rates from simple aging. [19]

2000s

In 2008, the NIH revealed that researchers at UW had performed several unauthorized surgeries on monkeys. The investigation revealed that five UW researchers had performed 41 unauthorized surgeries on 14 monkeys.[20] Komo news also reported that as required, IACUC's Nona Phillips reported the violations with a phone call to UW Compliance Officer Sue Clausen. The university's IACUC closed the case on Dr. Fuchs with a letter of reprimand. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) .

In 2009, a primate starved to death in UW's captivity, which resulted in a USDA fine of $10,893, and discipline action against three workers and one supervisor by the university. Nona Phillips, director of UW’s Office of Animal Welfare, said the incident was “extremely upsetting.” Oversight and training procedures were updated to address the incident.[21]

2010s

From May to June 2013, there were three separate incidents of young macaques being attacked and killed by adult macaques, which is behavior that also occurs in the wild. On May 2, a 1-month old macaque was severely injured shortly after it and its mother were introduced to a group of other macaques. The infant was then humanely euthanized due to the severity of the injuries. On May 30, a 6-month old macaque was attacked by the adult male in its group and died from those injuries. On June 12, a 9-month old macaque was attacked by an adult male and had to be humanely euthanized.[22]

In July 2015, a self reported incident to the UW Office of Animal Welfare and subsequent report to the USDA revealed that the center's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) had approved three protocols that contained incomplete descriptions of activities using animals. Processes were put into place to prevent further incidents of incomplete descriptions being approved, team members retrained to understand what is on the protocol, which included adding detail to protocols on size and length of incisions, or size and weight of implants.[23]

On December 12, 2016, a primate died under anesthesia during an MRI-related procedure. It was revealed that anesthetic monitoring records were not kept during the surgery, which prompted a review that revealed that anesthetic methods for MRI procedures were partially incomplete over the last year.[24]

On January 17, 2017, an 8-year-old female pigtail macaque died of dehydration as the result of the water line in its cage being disconnected for two to three days. This incident was partially the result of the WaNPRC not having cleaned or sanitized the macaque's cage for 17 days prior to the incident. If the cage had been cleaned every two weeks, as is required, it is believed that the disconnected water line would have been discovered, and the death would not have happened.[25][26]

In April 2018, a pigtail macaque accidentally strangled itself using a chain adjacent to its cage. The USDA reported that the chain was not installed properly. The macaque's social partner witnessed the death.[27][28][29]

In 2019, a primate died during surgery due to the fact that it had not been fasted prior to surgery. As a result, the animal vomited and choked to death.[30]

In 2019, a drug vial was found to be diluted, which resulted in a primate possibly receiving less than the recommended dose of analgesic. This may have resulted in the animal experiencing pain during surgery. As a result, the employee responsible for the incident was fired. Additionally, an inspection discovered that a controlled drug cabinet had been left open and unattended with a key in the lock.[30]

2020s

In January 2021, the USDA reported that a macaque had been left in a trapping run for 12 hours, without access to food or water. This incident was due to a mistake by the staff and resulted in the macaque being dehydrated.[31]

In January 2021, the USDA reported that a macaque broke the locks between two cages and escaped into a room, which resulted in injuries to seven primates.[31]

In August 2021, the USDA reported that the temperature in a room containing 14 macaques was left irregularly high over the course of several days. Although there was an alarm to alert of high temperatures, it did not work and the facility manager said he did not know when it stopped working.[32]

In August 2021, the USDA reported that a building containing over 200 macaques had a significant amount of rodent feces in the ceiling lights and on the floor in many locations.[32]

In 2023, the WaNPRC admitted that they caused brain damage to a monkey while inserting a recording device into the monkey's brain.[33]

2021 Investigations by The Arizona Republic

Investigations

In October 2021, Rob O'Dell of the The Arizona Republic published four reports based on a seven-month investigation into the WaNPRC's Arizona breeding facility. The investigations revealed several issues with the lab, including high rates of valley fever among macaques, chemically-tainted water supplies, administrational problems at the center including a sexual harassment scandal, and the center having broken laws in transporting the macaques.

The first report from The Arizona Republic revealed that monkeys had been getting sick and dying from valley fever at high rates.[7] The University of Washington said that at least 47 monkeys had died of valley fever over the past eight years. Experts from the University of Arizona and University of Washington said that when studying viruses such as HIV, experimenting on monkeys infected with valley fever can bias or ruin the results. The investigation also revealed that the center has had high mortality rates due to valley fever, and had to kill 18 monkeys in the fourth quarter of 2014 because of valley fever. Furthermore, mortality rates for infants was even higher, and was over 40% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The second investigation by The Arizona Republic revealed that the monkeys' water supply at the breeding facility in Arizona, which comes from groundwater wells at the site, had been contaminated with lead, perchlorate, and other chemicals.[34] These chemicals had been leached into the water from nearby defense contractor Nammo. Perchlorate affects hormone production and can cause improper brain development in infants.

The third investigation by The Arizona Republic revealed several administrational problems at the WaNPRC, including a sexual harassment scandal. [35] Many of the problems were brought to attention by a 2018 review by the center's National Scientific Advisory Board (NSAB). The NSAB review said that the center was inadequately staffed, and had four different associate directors in eight years. Furthermore, it said that the center's Seattle campus did not have enough veterinary staff. The NSAB also claimed the center had low morale, partly due to a sexual harassment scandal involving Michael Katze, a division chief at the WaNPRC who was fired for harassing two of his employees. Katze's offenses included giving one employee money and gifts in exchange for sex, touching another employee, watching pornography at work, and frequently using profanity. The NSAB's report resulted in the National Institutes of Health restricting spending on some grant until the center responded to the NSAB's concerns. The Arizona Republic report also described how the center also recently hired Michele A. Basso as its new director, whose research had been suspended at the University of Wisconsin in 2009 due to poor methodology. More specifically, the University of Wisconsin's All Campus Animal Care and Use Committee said that Basso was uncooperative with veterinary staff, and often followed poor procedure, for example by inserting unsterilized materials into brain tissue, and having difficulties with some procedures. However, Basso denied wrongdoing and was supported by many of the University of Wisconsin's faculty. The Arizona Republic report also discussed financial problems at the center.

The fourth investigation by The Arizona Republic revealed that UW had failed to notify the Washington Department of Agriculture that several of its primates being transported from its breeding facility in Arizona to their lab in Washington had valley fever, which has been rampant in the breeding facility.[36] Additionally, UW had broken several laws as it failed to provide both certificates of veterinary inspection as well as entry permits for many of the primates being transported. Furthermore, it was revealed that UW hadn't obtained entry permits for transported primates since 2014.

Response

In December 2021, the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) started an investigation of UW's breeding facility in Arizona as a result of The Arizona Republic investigations and a complaint filed by PETA.[37][38]

In 2022, Rob O'Dell's reporting won the Ann Cottrell Free Animal Reporting Award from the National Press Club.

PETA Public Records Lawsuit

In 2020, PETA filed a public records lawsuit against the University of Washington, alleging that the university refused to turn over records at the WaNPRC.[39] [40] During the court proceedings, the former director of the lab and experimenters testified under oath that they routinely deleted data from the lab. In 2022, the King County Superior Court ruled in favor of PETA, and ordered UW to pay nearly $540,000 to PETA.[41][42] The court concluded that the university failed to perform a sufficient search for records, and consistently destroyed evidence which made it impossible for the school to comply with public records law.

Prominent Criticism

In August 2022, five members of the United States Congress wrote a letter to the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Lawrence A. Tabak, asking for an explanation as to why the WaNPRC was recently awarded a $65 million grant despite "serious ethical concerns and noncompliance issues" at the center.[43][44]

In October 2022, New Jersey senator Cory Booker wrote a letter to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, asking him to investigate why the WaNPRC's base operational funding grant was renewed, despite multiple issues with the center, including failure to maintain biosecurity, repeated animal welfare violations, financial issues, and failure to comply with state and federal laws.[45][44] In his letter, Booker referenced revelations from the 2021 investigations by the Arizona Republic and the 2022 PETA lawsuit.

See also

References

  1. ^ "USDA Annual Report of Research Facility No. 0180-DOA-AN". USDA. April 2, 2020.
  2. ^ "Facts about the WaNPRC". Washington National Primate Research Center. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. ^ "WaNPRC Announces Appointment of New Director". Washington National Primate Research Center. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Panel Wrong to Halt Researchers Work". The Badger Herald. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. ^ Johnson, Kayla (30 November 2012). "Primate Researcher Rights Violated says Faculty Report". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Washington National Primate Research Center – Breeding Colony Management and Genetics Program". Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ a b O'Dell, Rob (5 October 2021). "Sickness and death at Mesa-area monkey farm threaten primate center viability". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  8. ^ Sowa, Tom (23 July 1996). "Primate Center To Close Amid Employees' Pride, Frustration". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  9. ^ Dietrich, Bill (4 February 1996). "A High-Stakes Battle Over Animal Testing". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  10. ^ https://wanprc.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Response_SIGNED-Compliance-Case-University-of-Washington.pdf
  11. ^ https://oaw.uw.edu/olaw_inspection_report_08-30-2022/
  12. ^ McAdams, Ryan M; McPherson, Ronald J; Kapur, Raj P; Juul, Sandra E (2017). "Focal brain injury associated with a model of severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in nonhuman primates". Developmental Neuroscience. 39 (1–4): 107–123. doi:10.1159/000456658. PMC 5519439. PMID 28343228.
  13. ^ Shushruth, S.; Mazurek, Mark; Shadlen, Michael N. (2018-06-13). "Comparison of Decision-Related Signals in Sensory and Motor Preparatory Responses of Neurons in Area LIP". The Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (28). Society for Neuroscience: 6350–6365. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0668-18.2018. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 6041788. PMID 29899029.
  14. ^ Zanos, Stavros; Rembado, Irene; Chen, Daofen; Fetz, Eberhard E. (2018). "Phase-Locked Stimulation during Cortical Beta Oscillations Produces Bidirectional Synaptic Plasticity in Awake Monkeys". Current Biology. 28 (16). Elsevier BV: 2515–2526.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.009. ISSN 0960-9822. PMC 6108550. PMID 30100342.
  15. ^ Khateeb, Karam; Yao, Zhaojie; Kharazia, Viktor N.; Burunova, Evelena P.; Song, Shaozhen; Wang, Ruikang; Yazdan-Shahmorad, Azadeh (2019). "A Practical Method for Creating Targeted Focal Ischemic Stroke in the Cortex of Nonhuman Primates". Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. IEEE. doi:10.1109/embc.2019.8857741. PMC 8523301.
  16. ^ Pham, Amelie; Carrasco, Marisa; Kiorpes, Lynne (2018-03-23). "Endogenous attention improves perception in amblyopic macaques". Journal of Vision. 18 (3). Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO): 11. doi:10.1167/18.3.11. ISSN 1534-7362. PMC 5868757. PMID 29677324.
  17. ^ Wool, Lauren E.; Crook, Joanna D.; Troy, John B.; Packer, Orin S.; Zaidi, Qasim; Dacey, Dennis M. (2018-01-05). "Nonselective Wiring Accounts for Red-Green Opponency in Midget Ganglion Cells of the Primate Retina". The Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (6). Society for Neuroscience: 1520–1540. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1688-17.2017. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 5815352. PMID 29305531.
  18. ^ Adams Waldorf, Kristina M.; Singh, Natasha; Mohan, Aarthi R.; Young, Roger C.; Ngo, Lisa; Das, Ananya; Tsai, Jesse; Bansal, Aasthaa; Paolella, Louis; Herbert, Bronwen R.; Sooranna, Suren R.; Gough, G. Michael; Astley, Cliff; Vogel, Keith; Baldessari, Audrey E.; Bammler, Theodor K.; MacDonald, James; Gravett, Michael G.; Rajagopal, Lakshmi; Johnson, Mark R. (2015). "Uterine overdistention induces preterm labor mediated by inflammation: observations in pregnant women and nonhuman primates". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 213 (6). Elsevier BV: 830.e1–830.e19. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2015.08.028. ISSN 0002-9378. PMC 4679421. PMID 26284599.
  19. ^ https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/jul/23/primate-center-to-close-amid-employees-pride/
  20. ^ Tracy Vedder (February 26, 2008). "'UW investigated for unauthorized monkey surgeries". KOMO-TV.
  21. ^ Sandi Doughton (January 10, 2010). "UW monkey starved to death in lab last year". The Seattle Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  22. ^ Aaron Rhyner (August 1, 2014). "USDA Inspection Report 41151451590704". USDA.
  23. ^ https://oaw.uw.edu/usda-inspection-reports/
  24. ^ Diane Forbes (April 4, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568191317". USDA.
  25. ^ Diane Forbes (January 25, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568076822". USDA.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference no_water was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Diane Forbes (November 15, 2018). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569328955". USDA.
  28. ^ "'This is pure negligence,' says activist after UW lab monkey dies, dogs subjected to pain". KOMO-TV. January 11, 2019.
  29. ^ Sandi Doughton (September 20, 2018). "Research monkey strangles to death at new UW animal lab". The Seattle Times.
  30. ^ a b Diane Forbes (June 4, 2019). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569505833". USDA.
  31. ^ a b Forbes, Diane (26 January 2021). "USDA Inspection Report 2016090000603507". USDA. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  32. ^ a b Sismour, Naomi (12 August 2021). "USDA Inspection Report 2016090000684994". USDA. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  33. ^ "UW admits to causing brain damage to monkey during testing in primate lab". Kiro 7. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  34. ^ O'Dell, Rob (5 October 2021). "Chemical runoff from missile manufacturer taints Arizona monkey colony's water supply". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  35. ^ O'Dell, Rob (5 October 2021). "On top of monkey farm woes, primate center faces financial problems and a sex scandal". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  36. ^ O'Dell, Rob (5 October 2021). "Primate center broke interstate transport laws. Negligence led to 5 monkey deaths". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  37. ^ Sikora, Colleen (21 December 2021). "Monkey breeding facility north of Mesa under federal investigation". 12 News. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  38. ^ "Report: NIH probing UW primate center in Arizona". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  39. ^ "PETA Sues UW Over Primate Center, Animal Oversight Records". PETA. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  40. ^ Briscoe, Kienan (4 February 2022). "UW Primate Center destroys public records while investigated by Feds". Lynnwood Times. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  41. ^ Zhou, Amanda (13 October 2022). "UW ordered to pay PETA $540K in lawsuit over primate research". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  42. ^ "King County Court orders UW to pay PETA $540,000 in open records suit". KOMO News. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  43. ^ Titus, Dina; Fitzpatrick, Brian; Takano, Mark; Dean, Madeleine; Roybal-Allard, Lucille (29 August 2022). "Letter to Acting Director Lawrence Tabak on Funding for Harmful Primate Research" (PDF). Letter to Lawrence A. Tabak. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  44. ^ a b O'Dell, Rob (10 October 2021). "Sen. Cory Booker calls for federal government to investigate monkey farm near Mesa". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  45. ^ Booker, Cory (6 October 2022). "UW Primate Center Funding" (PDF). Letter to Xavier Becerra. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
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