The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is one of eight federally funded National Primate Research Centers in the United States and has been affiliated with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) since 1998. The center is located on 350 acres (1.4 km2) of land west of Portland, Oregon, in Hillsboro. Originally known as the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center (ORPRC), it was the first of the original seven primate centers established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research center is administered and funded by the National Center for Research Resources, receiving $11 million in federal grants annually.
The center maintains a colony of 4,200 non-human primates (consisting of rhesus monkeys, Japanese macaques, vervets, baboons and cynomolgus macaques), cared for by 12 veterinarians and 100 full-time technicians. Living conditions at the facility are inspected bi-annually by the USDA in unannounced visits. Animal rights groups, such as In Defense of Animals and PETA, have stridently criticized what they characterize as cruel conditions there.
The primates are used in pure and applied biomedical research into fertility control, early embryo development, obesity, brain development and degeneration, and newly emerging viruses, especially AIDS-related agents. Research projects at the facility have produced some notable findings, such as the first successful cloning of primate embryos and extraction of stem cells, which was named the number one scientific achievement of 2007 by Time.
Read more about Oregon National Primate Research Center: History, Animal Care Oversight, Research, Investigation By Animal Rights Groups
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