News Archives - Washington National Primate Research Center

WaNPRC’s Global Conservation, Education and Outreach Unit Marks 25 Years of Field Training in Tangkoko 

For over two decades, the annual Field Course in Conservation Biology & Global Health at Tangkoko Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been shaping generations of conservationists. This year, the course marked a significant milestone— its 25th anniversary— reinforcing the importance of long-term collaboration in global conservation efforts. 

Led by Randy Kyes (research professor in psychology and chief of the GCEO unit at UW’s WaNPRC) along with dedicated partners from the Faculty of Animal Science (Fapet) at Sam Ratulangi University (UNSRAT) and the Primate Research Center (PSSP) at IPB University (IPB), this field course has offered hands-on training to local university students and professionals for years, equipping them with the skills to understand and protect biodiversity. Historically, it stands alongside another long-running program in Indonesia— the 30th-anniversary field course on Tinjil Island, Banten, Java, conducted in partnership with PSSP-IPB in 2022. 

Three black macaques grooming in green foliage — Three critically endangered Sulawesi black macaques (Macaca nigra) bonding during ritual grooming in Indonesia’s Tangkoko Nature Reserve

Beyond fieldwork and research, the program has fostered lasting connections with local communities. Since 2001, the annual outreach education program has brought conservation awareness to elementary school children from Batu Putih, a village bordering the reserve. Guided by field course participants, the children learn about Sulawesi black macaques, participate in an art contest promoting conservation, and enjoy a reception to celebrate their efforts. 

group photo of outreach activity participants, teachers and elementary school children wearing red uniforms in Indonesia — Dr Kyes seated with elementary school children from Batu Putih and field course participants at the reception following outreach activities Photo: courtesy RCKyes 2025

The program’s impact extends far beyond its immediate goals. Over time, many of these schoolchildren have returned to participate in the field course as young adults, eager to continue their conservation journey. To date, 30 former outreach students have joined the field course, some pursuing university degrees in conservation, others working with NGOs or leading ecotourism efforts in Tangkoko. 

This initiative thrives because of the dedicated participation and support of our many collaborators notes Randy, including Fapet-UNSRAT, PSSP-IPB, the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) and the Center for Global Field Study (CGFS) at the University of Washington (UW), Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam, Department of Forestry (SULUT), Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas at UW, One Earth Institute, Selamatkan Yaki, and the community of Batu Putih. “It’s difficult to express how gratifying it is to witness firsthand the growth and success of our field course alumni and outreach participants. Listening to their words of appreciation for the opportunity to have participated in this field training program is the validation of our years of effort,” Kyes shared.

As Randy and his collaborators celebrate this milestone, they’re looking forward to many more years of educating, inspiring, and working together to protect the fragile ecosystems of Indonesia. The WaNPRC’s GCEO outreach and field course alumni are continuing to play key roles in shaping the future of conservation in the region.

Learn more about Kyes, his field work, and the Global Conservation, Education and Outreach unit:

Mapping Safer Roads for Nepalese Wildlife

Every year, in Nepal’s Banke National Park, hundreds of wild animals are killed trying to cross a single stretch of road. This road, just under 60 miles long, cuts through the heart of the park. From April 2015 to March 2024, scientists including WaNPRC’s Randy Kyes, Unit Chief of the Global Conservation Education and Outreach core, closely monitored this road and recorded 488 collisions between vehicles and wildlife. Most of the victims were mammals, including rare or endangered animals like golden monitor lizards, leopard cats, and four-horned antelope. These incidents aren’t just tragic for the animals; they also pose serious safety risks for drivers and come at a steep economic cost.

The researchers didn’t stop at counting the accidents. They wanted to understand where and why they were happening. Using maps, field surveys, and computer models, they identified three major danger zones on that road. These hotspots were responsible for more than 60% of all wildlife collisions. They also learned that accidents happened more often in the autumn, when animals are more active after the rainy season. And they discovered that curvy roads and sections far from human settlements saw the most accidents, while areas that ran through denser forests or had straighter paths tended to be safer for both animals and people.

Kyes and the other scientists published a paper in Nature summarizing their findings in a call to action. The study shows that with the right measures, like building wildlife overpasses, putting up warning signs, lowering speed limits in key areas, and educating the public — these deadly accidents can be reduced, both protecting wildlife and making roads safer for everyone. The work done in Banke National Park offers a roadmap for how science and conservation can work together to create safer spaces for nature and humans alike.

New Clues to COVID in Vulnerable Patients

WaNPRC Core Scientist Megan O’Connor just published her latest research in Frontiers in Immunology exploring what happens when there are co-infections of HIV and COVID-19 in rhesus macaques. The implications are important for future Covid treatments for people with weakened immune systems.

O’Connor, who is also an Asst. Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington, found that monkeys with SIV (a virus similar to HIV in humans) who were co-infected with COVID-19 had COVID longer, had a weaker immune response, and underwent changes to their gut and lung microbiomes. And that these responses were different from monkeys with COVID who were otherwise healthy.

“This work is very exciting because it shows that studying monkeys can help us ask important questions and track responses that are hard to study directly with people with COVID-19,” she said.

Her study found that the COVID-19 virus stayed in the nose and throat of SIV-infected monkeys longer than it usually does in healthy monkeys. And that the SIV-infected monkeys didn’t make as many antibodies and immune cells to fight Covid-19. Their immune systems didn’t sound the alarm properly. And the mix of bacteria in the SIV-infected monkeys’ throats and gut changed temporarily during the COVID-19 infection. What’s more, the COVID-19 virus started to evolve while inside the SIV-infected monkeys.

The monkeys experienced mild COVID symptoms and their lungs didn’t show much damage.

Many of the outcomes in SIV-COVID-19 co-infected monkeys are similar to what is seen with COVID-19 in individuals that have weakened immune systems, including people living with HIV, those with cancer, and the elderly. This research may help doctors understand why people with HIV, and other people with a, might be contagious with COVID for a longer time, not respond to vaccines as well and be at higher risk for re-infection and complications.

This might help scientists create and test new vaccines and treatments specifically for people with weakened immune systems. It might also help them understand “long COVID” since some of the same problems happen in both conditions.

Dr O’Connor and her team are currently studying whether monkeys with SIV that have already fought off COVID-19 are protected against a secondary exposure to COVID-19.

WaNPRC Director Featured for Biomedical Research Awareness Day 4/17

Unlocking Prevention: How Vaccine Research in Animals Saves People and Animals.

WaNPRC director Dr Deborah Fuller is the featured speaker for Biomedical Research Awareness Day, an annual international outreach program by Americans for Medical Progress.

Imagine a world without vaccines. No protection from Polio, no flu shots to prevent seasonal outbreaks, and no defense against emerging disease like COVID-19. Vaccines have saved millions of lives and were made possible only through vital animal research.
This talk will focus on how animals, including rodents and nonhuman primates, are essential to our goal to develop new vaccines that an prevent future epidemics and pandemics caused by infectious diseases. Dr Fuller will talk about the emergence of Valley Fever a serous fungal disease that is rapidly spreading due to climate change and how one small colony of nonhuman primates in the Southwest United States may hold the key to developing a vaccine that can protect humans and their pets.

Join the webinar Thursday, April 17, 9-10am PT. Find out more and register here.

Dr Duran-Struuck Joins Core Faculty

WaNPRC Director Dr. Deborah Fuller today welcomed Dr Raimon Duran-Struuck as a core faculty member of the Washington National Primate Research Center. Dr Duran-Struuck is the Chair and a Professor in the UW Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM).

A passionate advocate for research animals, Dr Duran-Struuck says he’s inspired by the professionalism and care of people in research and the quality of our work with nonhuman primates. He says he’s “very excited” to contribute to advancing human and animal health.

“I’ve been working with NHPs for a long time, and I’ve always thought NHPs are an extremely valuable model to leverage our discoveries for safety and efficacy,” he said. “At end of the day what I tell my residents is that what we do here is to enhance discoveries. Think of a child w leukemia or a patient who depends on our discoveries. To me, that translates to being a small part of a big team that hopefully will be part of a big discovery.”

As an experienced lab animal veterinarian, researcher and instructor to medical students, Dr Duran-Struuck specializes in lab animal medicine and transplant immunology. He has published studies about immunotherapies for transplant rejection and Graft Versus Host Disease, which is a complication that can result from transplants of stem cells to treat blood disorders.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Raimon on board,” said Director Deborah Fuller. “He brings a unique and highly impactful research program in transplant immunology that will further broaden the expertise of our world-renowned Gene Therapy and Regenerative Unit. As chair of DCM, Raimon also plays a crucial role in supporting all non-NHP animal research at UW and I very much value his expertise and efforts to support our common goals.”

Dr Duran-Struuck received his BS is biochemistry from Tufts University before earning his DVM there. He received his PhD in Immunology from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Prior to joining DCM, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and a Director of Regulatory Affairs for University Lab Animal Resources at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he held research, clinical, and teaching positions at the Transplantation Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Harvard University Department of Surgery, Tufts University, and Columbia University Medical Center.

Discoveries Drive Pandemic Preparedness and Economic Stability

Scientists and our public health infrastructure are critical for pandemic preparedness. Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease with devastating effects on fetal brain development, continues to present a significant public health threat with far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy and society. The virus gained global attention during the 2015-2018 epidemic, which was found to cause severe birth defects and disrupted birth rates and economies, across the Americas.

WaNPRC Associate Director of Research Kristina Adams Waldorf has been pivotal in identifying the threats posed by the Zika virus, and her findings are a perfect example of why research is essential to protect the U.S. public health and our economy. Dr Adams Waldorf’s research conclusively proved that Zika virus caused fetal brain injury, which reduced alternate theories and focused public health efforts.

Although the Zika virus epidemic began in Brazil, it wasn’t long before cases began spreading in Florida and Texas. This is why studying viruses in faraway places that can travel in the blood of an infected person and jump into mosquito populations in the U.S. is so important.

In early 2016, the news about Zika virus had reached mainstream newspapers in the U.S. Then, in the summer of 2016, the virus was found to be spreading locally in areas of Miami. Seemingly overnight, key voting populations and economic drivers in Florida were galvanized to support the scientific research for Zika virus.

“I was being contacted by real estate developers in Florida, who were seeing the value for housing cratering in areas of Miami near the Zika virus outbreak,” Adams Waldorf said. “Grandparents in Florida began donating to my research program, because their adult children were canceling visits to Florida based on fear of acquiring Zika virus.”

This fear was sufficient to cripple real estate and tourism in Florida, creating a crisis directly linking the virus with economic disruptions. A part of the economy that employs more than a million people and accounts for more than a billion dollars in economic activity had officials deeply worried. A decline in birth rates and an increase in medication abortion in Central and South America reflected the same worries of many American women and young families, who were trying to get pregnant.

The Zika virus outbreak also led to one extremely unusual incident in which the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency approached Dr. Adams Waldorf about the threat of bioterrorism from Zika.

“The CIA was concerned at the time that bad actors might be intentionally spreading Zika virus in the U.S. to create social and economic havoc in Florida and Texas,” Adams Waldorf said. “But this threat isn’t a complex international spy mystery. It’s about sick people getting on planes. This is why studying viruses that cause fetal birth defects is so important for our national security. They might seem unimportant and faraway, but they are literally in our backyard.”

The Adams Waldorf Lab is now studying the ways that fetal brain injury from Zika and other viruses can be detected during a pregnancy, which was a flash point for women who wanted to get pregnant or were currently pregnant during the Zika epidemic. Reassuring pregnant women that their pregnancies were healthy would have gone a long way to bolstering public health during this epidemic.

Government officials chose to spray areas of Miami, where Zika virus infected mosquitoes had been identified to eliminate the danger that it posed to Florida citizens. Fortunately, Zika virus was eliminated in Florida through these efforts, but the risk remains for a new epidemic.

Zika virus is now present in mosquitos and other animals throughout South and Central America, Dr. Adams Waldorf said. Once there are enough children in these populations that lack Zika virus immunity, because they weren’t alive or didn’t get infected in the 2015-2018 epidemic, there may be a new Zika virus epidemic.

The Adams Waldorf Laboratory is also identifying other viruses that could wreak havoc on public health and the economy. For example, the Oropouche virus is spread by midges and mosquitos and can be passed from a pregnant woman to their fetus. Oropouche has been associated with birth defects and stillbirths, similar to Zika. But the overall risk is still unknown and needs further study.

Studying birth defects caused by viruses is central to both public health and national security. But that can’t happen without researchers doing the basic science that will give public policymakers the information they need to make informed decisions.

Grant to Study Colored Light for Pain Management

Jim Kuchenbecker and Jay Neitz are part of a collaborative team that has been awarded a highly competitive, nearly $8 million grant provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The grant will fund groundbreaking research titled: “Neural Mechanisms of Colored Light-Driven Analgesia.” The group’s research explores the use of colored light to modulate pain pathways in the brain. This work represents an innovative approach to managing pain without the use of opioids, contributing to a vital area of research aimed at addressing the ongoing opioid crisis. The project is set to span five years. It will involve a multidisciplinary team of investigators, including Jay Neitz, PhD, vision neuroscientist, and Jim Kuchenbecker, PhD, bioengineer, and vision scientist at the University of Washington and two other institutions, Norman Taylor, MD, PhD at the University of Utah and Matt Mauck at the University of North Carolina. This grant, a part of the NIH HEAL Initiative, supports collaborative approaches to generate new mechanistic knowledge to improve pain management.

In clinical studies, colored light has been shown to be more effective in ameliorating pain than white light when compared at equal brightness. This implicates color-opponent circuitry in the primate retina in the neural mechanism of light-driven analgesia. Because of the unique mechanisms responsible for carrying color information in humans shared only by other primates, nonhuman primate research has been essential color research. During the last century, it was assumed that the neurons in the retina carrying color information were involved in conscious color perception, mediating the sensations of red, green, blue, and yellow. However, in 2005, Dennis Dacey and colleagues at the University of Washington discovered that retinal ganglion cells involved in non-image-forming visual capacities, including synchronizing our internal biological clock to the external day, are color-opponent making them sunrise-sunset detectors sensitive to the change in the color of the sky from blue to orange when the sun is at the horizon.

Since then, Kuchenbecher, Neitz, and their colleagues in the UW Department of Ophthalmology have discovered that multiple types of neurons in the primate retina carry color information integrating environmental light cues and relaying them to various brain centers. Their influence extends far beyond circadian entrainment, encompassing sleep, mood, cognition, metabolism, and overall health. Understanding these diverse roles has significant implications for therapies targeting light exposure to improve health and well-being. These include influencing pain perception and sensitivity. This may make sense in terms of primate evolution when being able to endure pain may have been critical to survival. After the sun goes down, an injured primate ancestor exposed to the elements in the great outdoors is subject to many life-threatening hazards, including hypothermia, starvation, or being killed by predators. Seeing the color of the sunset might indicate to an injured primate ancestor that getting back to safety is more important than focusing on the pain they are experiencing. Signals from color-sensitive ganglion cells may communicate with ascending pain centers to ameliorate pain until the animal is safe at home. The proposed research will illuminate the underlying mechanisms and has the promise to provide new strategies for controlling pain using light.

Do You Need a Measles Booster?

WaNPRC Director Dr Deborah Fuller spoke with Everyday Health about the efficacy of MMR vaccines and whether or not adults need a booster.

The current measles outbreak that has killed at least two people so far in Texas and New Mexico were in unvaccinated people, one child, one adult. The Centers for Disease Control says the two-dose regimen of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is 97% effective against measles.

“Most people who have received two doses of the MMR vaccine do not need a measles booster shot, but some specific individuals may benefit,” Dr Fuller said, adding that it’s vital to know your vaccination and health history, and whether you may benefit from an MMR vaccine booster if you’re in a vulnerable group, such as people who only had one does of the MMR vaccine or who were vaccinated when a less effective vaccine was used.

The CDC says measles does not have an antiviral treatment, and vaccines are the best defense against infection.

New Paper: HIV May Increase Risk of Prolonged Zika Infections

A new paper co-authored by three WaNPRC researchers in Frontiers in Immunology indicates that people with HIV may be at greater risk for prolonged Zika virus (ZIKV) infections, and that people vulnerable to mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika would benefit from protections like vaccines.

The paper, “Persistent innate immune dysfunction and ZIKV replication in the gastrointestinal tract during SIV infection in pigtail macaques,” suggests that people living with HIV may be at greater risk for prolonged Zika virus infections and that the virus stayed in the body longer.

Dr. Megan O’Connor, Director Deb Fuller and former WaNPRC researcher and current affiliate Dr. Michael Gale contributed to the paper. The study looked at nonhuman primates (NHPs) co-infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and Zika, the disease involved in a well-known outbreak in the Americas in 2015-2016 that infected tens of thousands of people and caused symptoms ranging from a rash and fever to microencephaly in babies (an abnormally small head), and even death. In the study NHPs had a harder time fighting off Zika, and the Zika virus stayed in their body longer, especially in places like the gut.

They wrote: “Collectively, these findings uniquely suggest that untreated SIV infection may promote inflammatory cellular innate responses and create a state of persistent immune activation that contributes to prolonged ZIKV viremia and persistence in the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, these results suggest that people living with HIV and other immunocompromised individuals could be at higher risk for prolonged ZIKV infection, potentially extending the window of ZIKV transmission. These insights highlight the importance of including people living with HIV in strategies for deploying vaccines and treatments against ZIKV.”

In other words, this indicates that people living with HIV, who have weaker immune systems, might have a harder time fighting off Zika, and it could stay in their bodies for a longer time. The researchers said this means public health officials need to make sure such people get treatments, such as vaccines, to help them fight off Zika more effectively.

You can read the entire paper, here.

Dr. Fuller was appointed director of WaNPRC in late last year.

Dr O’Connor was appointed in February to the University of Washington faculty as Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. She is a Core Scientist in the WaNPRC Infectious Disease and Translational Medicine Unit and focuses on HIV viral co-infections with the goal of improving treatment and vaccine strategies for people living with HIV and other immunocompromised people.

Director for Research Lands Zika Papers in The Lancet

WaNPRC’s Interim Assoc. Director for Research, Kristina Adams Waldorf collaborated on a four-part series with other researchers in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Microbe. The series identified key research priorities needed to detect and mitigate the threat of future mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreaks.

Dr Adams Waldorf is a leading researcher on Zika virus, which emerged in the Americas in 2015 and resulted in a devastating epidemic of infants born with small heads (microcephaly) and other severe congenital malformations.

The four manuscripts focus on: Zika research priorities for preparedness and response, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, non-human primate models of Zika virus, and sharing of specimens and data to accelerate Zika research and development.

In the paper in which she was the senior author, the role of NHP models in research and developing zika countermeasures, she notes that Zika virus remains a threat to global pregnancies, is now endemic in 92 countries, and can be found in mosquitos in another 60 countries.

Dr Adams Waldorf writes that developing therapeutics against Zika requires nonhuman primate research to mirror the physiology of human pregnancies. NHP pregnancy is “remarkably similar to human pregnancy” she writes, from the interface between the fetus and mother to the fetal development.

“NHPs have emerged as the gold standard model for understanding the pathogenesis of ZIKV infection in humans and human pregnancy. Accelerating research and discovery on ZIKV will continue to rely on the availability of diverse non-pregnant and pregnant NHP models that can address different aspects of viral pathophysiology,” she writes.

Another paper in the series notes that there are no licensed Zika vaccines or monoclonal antibodies currently available, which means world’s populations, particularly those who may become pregnant, are unprotected from Zika transmission, infection, and disease.

Dr Adams-Waldorf’s paper can be found here: Role of non-human primate models in accelerating research and developing countermeasures against Zika virus infection published in The Lancet Microbe. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(24)00298-2/fulltext

The other papers are:

Zika virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies: a priority agenda for research and development: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00750-3/fulltext

Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(24)00794-1/fulltext

Specimen and data sharing to advance research and development on Zika virus: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(24)00325-2/fulltext