The Emory National Primate Research Center (ENPRPC) has improved human and animal health worldwide for over 85 years, maintaining one of the largest research funding bases within the network of the seven NIH-supported National Primate Research Centers. The ENPRC grounds its research in scientific integrity, expert knowledge, respect for colleagues, an open exchange of ideas, and compassionate animal care of the highest quality. Since 1984, the ENPRC has been fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC International). Following best practices in animal research and all regulations and guidelines established by the NIH and U.S. Department of Agriculture, ENPRC facilities have aided scientists in advancing vaccine development for infectious and noninfectious diseases, study chronic neurologic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and epilepsy, as well as helped to define the neurobiology and genetics of psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and drug addiction.
Laboratory
ENPRC's scientific research involves 1,000 nonhuman primates (NHPs) located at its 25-acre Main Center on Emory’s campus and another 2,500 NHPs at its Field Station in Lawrenceville, GA. The center also houses approximately 4,000 rodents in its research vivaria at the Main Center.
Clinical
The Division of Pathology at the ENPRC provides clinical services to animals involved in research conducted by internal and collaborating researchers. In addition to its veterinary, behavior management, and colony management units, the Division includes a clinical pathology laboratory, necropsy and pathology facilities, histology and electron microscopy laboratories and an immunology laboratory.
Other
The ENPRC is a key component of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center (WHSC), which leads research, education, and administrative activities involving biomedical science at Emory University. Being part of WHSC includes access to all the facilities and core resources available to Emory School of Medicine, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Rollins School of Public Health, Winship Cancer Institute, and Emory Healthcare. ENPRC thus benefits from access to more than 40 support cores, the expertise of over 4,000 faculty, and research training programs for over 6,000 students and trainees.
The Emory Vaccine Center (EVC)
The EVC has made fundamental advances in immunology, virology, and vaccine research into some of the world’s most threatening diseases. This 75,000-square-foot research space plus additional laboratories on the Emory University campus fosters a deeper understanding of the complexities of infectious diseases, cancer biology and vaccine development. Dr. Rafi Ahmed, an internationally renowned scientist in viral pathogenesis and immunity and one of the world’s leading experts on T-cell memory, leads the EVC. Dr. Ahmed has been instrumental in shaping EVC’s research agenda that encompasses a continuum of basic, clinical, and translational science. The EVC’s affiliation with the Emory National Primate Research Center (ENPRC) also supports research at the forefront of immunology strategy and vaccine development. The Hope Clinic, located near Emory Decatur Hospital, serves as the EVC’s clinical arm, directing all current on-site clinical vaccine trials. As one of eight participating national sites in the NIAID’s prestigious Vaccine Trials Evaluation Units (VTEUs), the Clinic plays a vital role in advancing the most promising pre-clinical vaccine research into human clinical trials.
Nonhuman Primate DNA Bank
This ENPRC-sponsored resource to all investigators offers DNA samples from related and unrelated animals within more than 10 species, including Chinese, Japanese and Indian rhesus macaques, pig-tailed macaques, baboons, chimpanzees, marmosets and sooty mangabeys.
Genomics Core
Since 2011, the GenCore has been a service provider for NHP scientists at the Emory NPRC and other Primate Centers across the US that need access to high-throughput genomic technology. The GenCore is a self-sufficient facility located at Emory NPRC, housing all capital equipment necessary for contemporary functional genomics. It was the first academic unit in the state of Georgia to house an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and later, an Illumina NovaSeq X Plus. Currently supporting a staff of 10 full-time employees and completing more than 200 sequencing projects per year, the GenCore has grown into one of the largest and most utilized cores on the Emory Campus. In addition to service work, the GenCore performs highly regarded primary research: primary achievements include publishing the first assembly of the Indian Rhesus macaque genome using NGS; publishing the first de novo genome sequence assembly of the Indian rhesus macaque using long-read (PacBio) technology; and conducting the first de novo genome sequence assembly of the sooty mangabey. Academically, GenCore has become a nationally recognized resource for conducting non-human primate genomics research.
Services offered at the GenCore involve the applications of Illumina short-read sequencing or PacBio long-read sequencing and include DNA and bulk RNA library preparation and sequencing (amplicons, small genomes, conventional RNA-seq, blood mRNA seq, Total RNA-seq, miRNA-seq, immune repertoire sequencing), single-cell sequencing (gene expression, immune cell profiling, feature barcoding, chromatin accessibility), and spatial transcriptomics. Standard and custom bioinformatics services are also offered, covering anything from pre-processing data for analysis to generating figures and providing manuscript support.
Imaging Center
The ENPRC Imaging Center, a specialized division of the ENPRC, is a premier research facility dedicated to advancing the development of in vivo imaging technologies. The Core’s primarily focuses on 1) the development and use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), positron emission tomography (PET), and computed tomography (CT) technologies. The Core uses these techniques for non-invasive, longitudinal studies of anatomy, physiology, function, and biochemical processes in non-human primates and rodents.
Biomarkers Core
With more than 40 years of experience providing hormone assays for researchers at Emory University and other institutions, Biomarkers Core offers a range of technologies, including liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, ELISA, automated enzyme immunoassays and chemiluminescent immunoassays to quantify hormones and other biochemicals in a variety of biomatrices. The laboratory currently provides determinations for more than 120 compounds validated for non-human primates, humans, and some other mammalian species, offering the specialized expertise necessary to obtain high-quality data for basic, preclinical, and translational research.
Tetrameter Core (TCF)
The NIH Tetramer Core Facility (TCF) at Emory University was established in 1999 for the production and distribution to the research community of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) tetramers and related reagents for the detection of T-cell responses to viruses, bacteria, parasites, tumors, auto-antigens, and other antigens. Reagents are provided to qualified investigators at no cost, except for shipping and handling fees and in cases where the investigator is asked to provide the TCF with peptide or other appropriate ligands.