This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. I. Overview and Objectives The Animal Services Division is composed of 5 units (Veterinary Services, Colony Management, Pathology Services, Compliance and Training, and Behavioral Management) that are dedicated to maintaining the health of the nonhuman primate (NHP) colonies of the WNPRC;supporting the scientific mission of the Center, ensuring regulatory compliance, and training personnel to work safely with NHP and their tissues. Each of the five units performs their own individual duties but also act in synergy to fulfill the specific aims of the division. Furthermore, the individual units interact with the other divisions to fulfill the goals of the entire Center. A. Veterinary Services Unit The Veterinary Services Unit of the WNPRC employs seven veterinarians and eight veterinary technicians. The principal objective of the unit is to provide consistent and excellent care to the NHP colonies housed at the WNPRC. To achieve this objective, the unit has created and implemented a collection of policies that guide the provision of veterinary care at the WNPRC. These policies, which encompass pertinent topics such as quarantine, preventative medicine, and clinical/surgical care, are based on the most contemporary techniques available to NHP veterinarians. The second major objective of the unit is to provide support for the investigators performing research at the WNPRC. The primary way in which the unit supports the investigators is by ensuring a consistent supply of healthy NHP is available for utilization in experimental studies. The veterinary staff also assists investigators by meeting with them prior to an experiment to discuss and plan for each proposed grant and study, by helping compose IACUC protocols, by performing procedures beyond the skill level of the investigators, and by providing clinical care for the NHP assigned to research projects. The final objective of the unit is to provide training for personnel working with NHP at the WNPRC and at other institutions. Through didactic and applied instruction, the unit provides training to veterinary and veterinary technical students, visiting veterinarians and veterinary technicians, WNPRC and visiting investigators, and scientific support staff. The Veterinary Services Unit works closely with the other units of the Animal Services Division as well other divisions of the WNPRC. This collaboration ensures the most complete and effective care of our animals and benefits the Veterinary Services unit as well the other individual units and divisions of the WNPRC. B. Colony Management Unit The Colony Management Unit employs a colony manager, 4 supervisors, 30 full-time and 1 part-time animal research technicians, 2 macaque and 1 marmoset breeding coordinator, 2 colony records assistants, and several student assistants. The Colony Management Unit is one of the most crucial components of the WNPRC infrastructure as it supports the entire animal husbandry program of the Center. The daily tasks performed by the Colony Management Unit include: + Provision of food to the nonhuman primate colonies + Sanitization of the nonhuman primates caging, rooms, equipment, and the remainder of the animal barrier facilities + Maintenance of all records related to HVAC and sanitization processes + Monitoring and minor maintenance of automatic cage washers and autoclaves In addition to their husbandry duties, the personnel of the Colony Management Unit perform pivotal tasks for the Veterinary Services, Behavioral Management, Compliances &Training, Pathology Services, Purchasing, and the Centralized Protocol Implementation Units of the Center. These tasks include, but are not limited to the following: + Documentation and communication of daily health reports on the nonhuman primate colonies + Maintenance of colony records + Collection of behavioral and scientific data + Administration of medical and experimental treatments + Provision of environmental enrichment objects and documentation of this provision + Collection of blood and other tissue samples for experimental and clinical purposes + Completion of inventory tasks for the Purchasing Unit for all sanitization supplies, chemicals, and personal protective equipment + In collaboration with the Training Coordinator: o Provision of training to all personnel and any outside colleagues who may come in contact with nonhuman primates at the WNPRC o Provision of continuing education opportunities in the form of mini-lectures and involvement in the American Association for Laboratory Animals Science lectures and certification programs Finally, in cooperation with the Senior Management Team, the Colony Manager maintains the NHP breeding colonies of the Center and ensures that a sufficient supply of healthy, genetically characterized diverse animals are available to core, collaborative, and outside investigators. C. Colony Records Subunit One full-time and one part-time assistant staff this subunit of Colony Management. The subunit's staff is responsible for the daily entry of all data related to the nonhuman primate colony including clinical procedures, animal location transfers, treatments, research procedures, surgical procedures, sample collections, and health observations. Colony Records staff also assure the quality control of data entries, train new staff on how to use the Animal Records Database, and perform database queries. The subunit is appropriately situated in the Colony Management unit to foster frequent communication among personnel performing the work being documented. The unit works closely with the Information Technology and System Services Unit of the WNPRC to continuously improve the Internet-based version of the Colony Records Database and to facilitate and simplify the data entry and retrieval process. D. Behavioral Management Unit The Behavioral management Unit employs a coordinator, two full-time assistants and on student. The Behavioral Management staff utilizes a combination of environmental enrichment, behavior modification, and positive reinforcement, in attempt to promote a diverse array of species typical behaviors in the captive NHP, increase each animal's control and utilization of their environment, and decrease the occurrence of stereotypical and self-injurious behavior. The Environmental Enrichment Plan remains unchanged from last year. This plan consists of the following components: + Social companionship + Foraging + Food enrichment + Human to non-human interaction + Structural enrichment + Manipulanda + Additional sensory stimulation Each component of the enrichment plan has been designed to work in unison with the other components to create a comfortable and psychologically challenging environment for the NHP. E. Compliance and Training Unit The Compliance and Training Unit employs a Compliance Coordinator, a Training Coordinator, and a part-time Training Assistant. Compliance and Training is a multi-dimensional unit with a variety of responsibilities. The primary objectives of the unit are to train all personnel at the WNPRC who may come in contact with NHP or their tissue;to ensure that the WNPRC facilities and personnel remain compliant with all animal welfare regulations;to assist investigators in the development of IACUC protocols;and to guide the Occupational Health and Safety Program of the Center. Since its inception in 2005, the unit has worked in collaboration with the various divisions and investigators of the WNPRC to standardize training and promote a center-wide atmosphere of regulatory compliance and safety. F. Pathology Services Unit The Pathology Services Unit employs two part-time Veterinary Pathologists, a full-time Hematologist, and two full-time research assistants. The unit is currently engaged in a nationwide search for another veterinary pathologist. The Pathology Services unit has been an integral part of the WNPRC since it's inception. Pathology services has two main functions 1) to support nonhuman primate colony health and the clinical veterinary staff by providing rapid diagnoses of disease and 2) to support all research projects at the WNPRC that involve terminal procedures, surgical biopsies and/or clinical pathology. Complete gross necropsies are performed on all animals, whether they are euthanized for clinical reasons, die spontaneously, or are euthanized for experimental purposes. Tissues from these animals receive complete histopathological examinations, except when the examination of a specific tissue is incompatible with experimental protocols. A comprehensive tissue library of rhesus macaque, cynomolgus macaque, and common marmoset tissues is maintained for both retrospective and prospective studies. In response to increasingly complex requests for NHP samples from investigators (WNPRC, UW, and non-UW researchers), Pathology and CPI expanded and renamed the tissue distribution program to Nonhuman Primate Biological Materials Distribution (NHPBMD). Tissues collected under this program provide samples to researchers from animals that are available, but not requested on any specific UW research protocols. This program combines procedures for collection of both ante-mortem and/or postmortem samples for research purposes. By coordinating our efforts, we have increased customer service while reducing any redundant efforts. Future plans include providing a web-based application process for the NHPBMD program. G. Allocation of Resource Access The Animal Services Division works closely with the Centralized Protocol Implementation Unit and the WNPRC Executive Committee to review all requests for access to the Center's nonhuman primate colonies. Equitable decisions are made by these three entities to ensure that all PIs have access to the nonhuman primates they require for their IACUC-approved experimental protocols. Pathology Services notifies investigators of the resource via the Primate Center website, scientific meetings, and through the nonhuman primate biological materials distribution program. To date, no requests have been denied. All core WNPRC labs use Pathology Services at some point in their projects, and numerous campus affiliates avail of this service. In addition, since March 1, 2009, 16 investigators from non-host institutions received tissues from Macaca mulatta, Macaca fasicularis, and Callithrix jacchus. H. Dissemination The Associate Director of Animal Services strives to ensure that important information discovered or developed by the division is disseminated to the greater scientific community through publication in peer-reviewed journals and at national meetings. We request that projects utilizing any divisional services acknowledge the service in manuscripts and presentations. Animal Services personnel also lecture regularly on nonhuman primate topics to WNPRC staff, and to veterinary residents and students on campus. I. Progress and Highlights Veterinary Services - In 2009, the Veterinary Services Unit fulfilled their three main objectives (animal care, research support, and training) admirably. The unit was pivotal in the success of site visits performed by the USDA, OLAW, and two commercial pharmaceutical companies. The unit also provided training for 25 vet tech students, 16 vet students, and 2 veterinary personnel from facilities outside of the WNPRC. In addition, Veterinary Services personnel are active in the NCRR laboratory animal residency training consortium. The surgical subunit of Veterinary Services provided support for 242 surgical and imaging procedures. Members of the Veterinary Services Unit also presented lectures at three national meetings in 2009. PUBLICATIONS: Li Q, Estes JD, Schlievert PM, Duan L, Brosnahan AJ, Southern PJ, Reilly CS, Peterson ML, Schultz-Darken N, Brunner KG, Nephew KR, Pambuccian S, Lifson JD, Carlis JV, Haase AT. Nature. Glycerol monolaurate prevents mucosal SIV transmission. 2009 Apr 23;458(7241):1034-8. Colman RJ, Anderson RM, Johnson SC, Kastman EK, Kosmatka KJ, Beasley TM, Allison DB, Cruzen C, Simmons HA, Kemnitz JW, Weindruch R. Caloric restriction delays disease onset and mortality in rhesus monkeys. Science. 2009 Jul 10;325(5937):201-4. Lin PL, Rodgers M, Smith L, Bigbee M, Myers A, Bigbee C, Chiosea I, Capuano SV, Fuhrman C, Klein E, Flynn JL. Quantitative comparison of active and latent tuberculosis in the cynomolgus macaque model. Infect Immun. 2009 Oct;77(10):4631-42. Cruzen C, Colman RJ. Effects of caloric restriction on cardiovascular aging in non-human primates and humans. Clin Geriatr Med. 2009 Nov;25(4):733-43 Bonaldo MC, Martins MA, Rudersdorf R, Mudd PA, Sacha JB, Piaskowski SM, Costa Neves PC, Veloso de Santana MG, Vojnov L, Capuano S 3rd, Rakasz EG, Wilson NA, Fulkerson J, Sadoff JC, Watkins DI, Galler R. Recombinant yellow fever vaccine virus 17D expressing SIVmac239 Gag induces SIV-specific CD8+T Cell responses in rhesus macaques J Virol. 2010 Jan 20. Lin PL, Myers A, Smith L, Bigbee C, Bigbee M, Fuhrman C, Grieser H, Chiosea I, Voitenek NN, Capuano SV, Klein E, Flynn JL. Tumor necrosis factor neutralization results in disseminated disease in acute and latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with normal granuloma structure in a cynomolgus macaque model. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Feb;62(2):340-50. Colony Management ?, the unit expanded in size to meet the ever-increasing animal husbandry needs of the WNPRC. Since March of 2009, the unit cleaned greater than 400,000 cages, administered 19,000 treatments, and collected 5,968 blood samples. The Colony manager is an active participant in the NCRR Breeding Colony Management Consortium. The Colony Records subunit participated in the initial steps of a complete overhaul of the Animal Records Database that will be completed in 2011. Behavioral Management - The Behavioral Management Unit continues to develop their overall program from simply providing environmental enrichment and pairing animals to generating true academic output that is relevant to the field of nonhuman primate behavior. In 2009, the unit has expanded its environmental enrichment program for marmosets, standardized the behavioral assessment program, incorporated more behavioral data into the colony records database, provided approximately 100,000 enrichment opportunities for the colony, participated in the NCRR Behavioral Management Consortium, and presented data at the annual meet of the American Society of Primatologists. Compliance and Training - The Compliance and Training Unit continued to focus on the improvement of laboratory and biosafety training, general safety training, appropriate responses to emergency situations, and hands on training for research staff with husbandry and animal handling duties. . In 2009, the Compliance Coordinator began work on a comprehensive compliance database that is designed to track all compliance and training requirements, including annual SOP review, annual training requirements, and tb testing for all personnel. It also tracks research requirements for certain groups of individuals such as vaccinations, radiation safety training, titer checks, physical exams, fit testing, etc. The unit provided training regarding occupational health information for 390 people working with NHPs. The individuals trained were from a variety of occupational backgrounds including media, custodial staff, maintenance personnel, vendors, police officers, national/international visitors, students and new employees. The unit also worked with University Police to revamp the Emergency Response Plan (now called the Occupant Emergency Plan) and provide training to 159 employees. Additionally, the unit performed 55 protocol pre-reviews for investigators in 2009, provided GLP training for personnel, and assisted in the completion of two GLP studies. Pathology Services - The unit has continued to function smoothly during 2009. Unit members have participated in and rotationally hosted the monthly virtual slide conference for Primate Pathology. The unit continues to maintain, expand, and distribute samples for the NIH Aged Nonhuman Primate Tissue Bank. In 2009 Pathology Unit members provided training in specialized NHP necropsy procedures to campus pathologists, investigators, multiple consultations on NHP cases. Unit members also provided preparatory training for the American College of Veterinary Pathologists certifying examination. Two unit members were accepted into masters programs. PUBLICATIONS: 1. Colman, R.J., Anderson, R.M., Johnson, S.C., Kastman, E.K., Kosmataka, K.J., Beasley, T.M., Allison, D.B., Cruzen, C., Simmons, H.A., Kemnitz, J.W., and Weindruch, R. Caloric Restriction Delays Disease Onset and Mortality in Rhesus Monkeys. Science. 35: 201-204 (2009). 2. Daniel Schenkman, Anibal Armien, Roy Pool Jr., James M. Williams, Ronald D. Schultz, Jorge O. Galante, """"""""Systemic Proteoglycan Deposition Is Not a Characteristic of Equine Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD)"""""""". Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2009;29(10):748-752).
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