The Oregon Health &Science University and its Institute, the Oregon National Primate Research Center requests funds to provide clinical experience and didactic education to veterinarians interested in pursuing a career in nonhuman primate (NHP) medicine. NHPs are a critical part of biomedical research that deals with human disease such as AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, among others. High quality veterinary care and oversight of research projects using NHPs is central for the success of the research projects and the humane care of the animals involved. The participant residents involved in this program will work primarily in the Division of Animal Resources Clinical Medicine Unit which has a large caseload of animals admitted to the hospital or treated as outpatients. Some of these animals will be attached to research projects and therefore this will require interaction between researchers and the participant residents. Beyond clinical medicine experience, the residents will be assigned to work within the Pathology Unit to better understand disease processes and potential effects on research protocols. Additionally, the residents will rotate through the Surgical Services Unit headed by an NHP surgical specialist and will be introduced to specialized surgical procedures, intra-operative monitoring and post-surgical care. Through the management of clinical cases with a behavioral aspect, organized educational programs and job shadowing of specific projects participant residents will also work with the Behavioral Science Unit in order to tie together the importance of psychological well being of NHPs with general health. Formal rotations with NHP Resources and Operations will provide a full understanding of husbandry services necessary to promote research and with the Genetics Resource &Informatics Program (GRIP) will provide exposure to the integration of genetics management for the health of the breeding colonies. Classroom sessions will include lectures on NHP clinical medicine, animal welfare regulations, ethics, Good Laboratory Practices, and animal care and use guidelines among other topics. Residents will also be responsible for presenting at least one clinical case per week at clinical veterinary rounds and a clinical topic at monthly veterinary rounds. Additional resources include weekly AFIP slide conferences and pathology rounds, bimonthly American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine boards study group and weekly presentations from visiting scientists and work in progress seminars by ONPRC scientists. Two, one-month long externships will broaden the resident's experience in clinical primatology and with other NHP management strategies.
| Ferrecchia, Christie E; Ducore, Rebecca M; Colgin, Lois M A et al. (2015) Spontaneous nocardial brain abscess in a juvenile rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). J Med Primatol 44:45-8 |
| Ferrecchia, Christie E; Colgin, Lois M A; Andrews, Kirk R et al. (2012) An outbreak of tularemia in a colony of outdoor-housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Comp Med 62:316-21 |
