Washington National Primate Research Center

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The Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) is a federally-funded biomedical research facility located on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. The WaNPRC is one of seven National Primate Research Centers established by the National Institutes of Health in the 1960s [1] The Washington primate center opened in 1961 and as of 2020, housed over 900 primates. [1] The center is affiliated with the University of Washington Schools of Medicine, Public Health, affiliated research centers and the University of Washington Medical Center. [2] It employs over 150 scientists and staff. [1]

Contents

Administration

The Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington serves as the headquarters for the WaNPRC. The current director of the WaNPRC is Dr. Michele A. Basso, Professor in Biostructure and Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. [3] In addition to leading the center, Dr. Basso is also a neuroscientist who conducts research seeking fundamental mechanisms underlying neurological diseases with a special interest in Parkinson's disease and dystonia. [4]

Research Facilities and Staff

In addition to its facilities on the University of Washington's Seattle campus, the WaNPRC 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 many of whom are also University of Washington faculty members. Core scientists at the center represent a variety of university departments. These include bioengineering, biological structure, electrical engineering, global health, immunology, laboratory medicine, medical genetics, microbiology, obstetrics & gynecology, oncology, pathology, pharmaceutics, physiology & biophysics, and psychology. Over 400 affiliate scientists also conduct research at the center. [2] Collectively, these individuals conduct biomedical research in a wide variety of areas including: [2]

Breeding colonies

Macaques are the most common type of non-human primates used at the WaNPRC. Sunda pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina).jpg
Macaques are the most common type of non-human primates used at the WaNPRC.

The WaNPRC breeds monkeys in their Seattle facility and maintains an off-site breeding colony near Mesa, Arizona. This “specific pathogen free” breeding colony of pigtail macaques was established in 2013. [2] This is an Indoor/outdoor facility housing compound with support facilities located on 21 acres of Tribal Land belonging to the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community. [2] 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. [5] [6]

Oversight, Events, Issues and Responses  

Animal studies at the center are regulated by a variety of agencies and organizations. The WaNPRC is inspected at least annually by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.  Studies are covered by regulations required by the National Institutes of Health and the primate center is accredited by AAALAC international, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs. The primate center also self-reports to the NIH Office of Animal Laboratory Welfare when unexpected incidents that impact animals occur. Below is a list of incidents at the center, including incidents that led to animal deaths, along with responses by the USDA (citations, fines) and university responses.  

1990s

Between 1990 and 1995, approximately eighteen primates died from dehydration at the center's facility in Medical Lake, WA. According to a news story in the Seattle Times, between 1990 and  1994, death rates of animals from non-experimental causes at the Medical Lake breeding facility were twice the rate from simple aging. [7] According to that same article, at one point one working veterinarian was responsible for the care of 1,500 primates. In 1996 the Medical Lake station closed. Primates living at the facility were moved to Louisiana, Oregon, and Seattle.

2000s

2010s

2020s

2021 Investigations by The Arizona Republic

Investigations

In October 2021, Rob O'Dell of 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. [22] 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. [23] 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. [24] 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. [25] 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. [26] [27]

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. [28] [29] 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. [30] [31] 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. [32] [33]

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. [34] [33] In his letter, Booker referenced revelations from the 2021 investigations by the Arizona Republic and the 2022 PETA lawsuit.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "About NPRCs". NPRC. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "About the Center". Washington National Primate Research Center. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  3. ↑ "Message from the Director". Washington National Primate Research Center. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  4. ↑ "MICHELE A BASSO, PhD". Biological Structure. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  5. ↑ Sowa, Tom (23 July 1996). "Primate Center To Close Amid Employees' Pride, Frustration". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Dietrich, Bill (4 February 1996). "A High-Stakes Battle Over Animal Testing". The Seattle Times . Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "A High-Stakes Battle Over Animal Testing | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  8. ↑ Vedder, Tracy (2008-02-26). "UW investigated for unauthorized monkey surgeries". KOMO. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  9. ↑ staff, Seattle Times (2011-10-18). "UW fined in primate death". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  10. ↑ Aaron Rhyner (August 1, 2014). "USDA Inspection Report 41151451590704". USDA.
  11. ↑ Marcy Rosendale (July 14, 2015). "USDA Inspection Report 12160935300793". USDA.
  12. 1 2 Sandi Doughton (March 14, 2017). "Another research monkey dies at UW; it got no water for several days". The Seattle Times .
  13. ↑ Diane Forbes (April 4, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568191317". USDA.
  14. ↑ Diane Forbes (January 25, 2017). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082568076822". USDA.
  15. ↑ Diane Forbes (November 15, 2018). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569328955". USDA.
  16. ↑ "'This is pure negligence,' says activist after UW lab monkey dies, dogs subjected to pain". KOMO-TV . January 11, 2019.
  17. ↑ Sandi Doughton (September 20, 2018). "Research monkey strangles to death at new UW animal lab". The Seattle Times .
  18. 1 2 Diane Forbes (June 4, 2019). "USDA Inspection Report 2016082569505833". USDA.
  19. 1 2 Forbes, Diane (26 January 2021). "USDA Inspection Report 2016090000603507". USDA . Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  20. 1 2 Sismour, Naomi (12 August 2021). "USDA Inspection Report 2016090000684994". USDA . Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  21. ↑ "UW admits to causing brain damage to monkey during testing in primate lab". Kiro 7 . 26 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ Sikora, Colleen (21 December 2021). "Monkey breeding facility north of Mesa under federal investigation". 12 News. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  27. ↑ "Report: NIH probing UW primate center in Arizona". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "PETA Sues UW Over Primate Center, Animal Oversight Records". PETA . 30 December 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  29. ↑ Briscoe, Kienan (4 February 2022). "UW Primate Center destroys public records while investigated by Feds". Lynnwood Times. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  30. ↑ Zhou, Amanda (13 October 2022). "UW ordered to pay PETA $540K in lawsuit over primate research". The Seattle Times . Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  31. ↑ "King County Court orders UW to pay PETA $540,000 in open records suit". KOMO News . 13 October 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. 1 2 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.
  34. ↑ Booker, Cory (6 October 2022). "UW Primate Center Funding" (PDF). Letter to Xavier Becerra. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
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