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One of eight national primate research centers funded by the NIH, Yerkes National Primate Research Center is dedicated
to advancing scientific understanding and to improving
human health and well-being. Supported by $42.6 million
in funding, Yerkes’ research program includes approximately
115 projects. Studies involve 3,400 nonhuman primates,
which provide a critical link between research with small laboratory animals and the clinical trials performed in humans. Approximately 1,150 of the animals are at the main center on the Emory campus and another 2,250 are at a 117-acre satellite facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In addition, the center has some 7,000 rodents in its research vivariums.
In addition to 331 staff members, Yerkes is home to
32 faculty scientists, 113 affiliate and 41 collaborative faculty,
and 74 research associates from Emory and other institutions. More than 150 graduate and undergraduate students participate in research and educational programs at Yerkes, including 52 postdoctoral fellows.
Yerkes is making landmark discoveries in microbiology
and immunology, neuroscience, psychobiology, and sensory-motor systems. One of the center’s primary goals, working with the Emory Vaccine Center, is to develop an AIDS vaccine to combat the global epidemic now affecting more than 42 million people.
Other significant research programs are seeking ways to increase understanding of progressive illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, unlock the secrets of memory, treat drug addiction, determine behavioral effects of hormone replacement therapy, address vision disorders, advance knowledge about the evolutionary links between biology and behavior, and interpret brain activity through imaging. Yerkes is the only U.S. primate center to have on-site MRI, PET, and cyclotron facilities.
Collaboration is key to Yerkes research. At the Living Links Center, scientists collaborate to study the animal roots of human social behaviors, such as cooperation, affiliation,
and reconciliation. Yerkes researchers who also are members of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) collaborate with scientists from the CBN’s consortium of eight Atlanta-based institutions in research and education.
Because of their similarity to humans in genetic makeup, behavior, and organ-system function, nonhuman
primates provide irreplaceable opportunities to better understand, prevent, and treat human disease.
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