The Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) maintains one of the most comprehensive nonhuman primate archival data management systems in the world. The nonhuman primate archive contains one of the largest databases for captive pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina). The WaNPRC system maintains over 66 years of data on more than 19,000 pigtail macaques housed under the control of the WaNPRC during some or all of their lives, including; a single pedigree of over 10 generations and including 17,000+ animals, and clinical, husbandry, behavioral, genetic, pathology, and breeding information for all animals. This database comprises an invaluable research tool and represents a major investment by the WaNPRC in information technology for the collection, storage, and retrieval of this information. All data collected with support from the P51 Base Grant remains the property of the WaNPRC.
Archive Data Available to Researchers
The WaNPRC encourages the use of the nonhuman primate archive system as a research resource and makes this data available to qualified researchers. The WaNPRC requires that this archival information be used in compliance with the mission statement of the Center and only for appropriate research purposes. Research projects must meet requirements for animal care and use, proper experimental and analytical design, and compatibility with the mission and goals of the Center and of its funding entity, the National Institutes of Health. In addition, since proper retrieval of data from such a complex system can be difficult, proper guidance in the design of retrievals as well as prioritization of work effort is necessary. A considerable amount of data can be obtained from readily-available but frequently little-known existing reporting options and knowledge of Division of Animal Resources procedures and history are frequently required to properly interpret data sets. For these reasons, the WaNPRC asks that all research data requests be submitted through the Director’s Office. These queries are complex and take significant manpower on the part of the Information Technology Services work unit, so we have established this policy to make sure that the query is necessary, prioritized appropriately, and performed correctly, all of which requires the input of WaNPRC personnel.
Requests for nonhuman primate research data from the WaNPRC ARMS data system should include contact information for the requester and funding agencies supporting the use of the data (if appropriate). Requests also should include a one- to two-page description of the (1) context and justification for the use of the data, (2) hypotheses to be tested, (3) the planned analytical approach, including a detailed description of the required data elements, and (4) publication plans. Requests should be submitted on the appropriate WaNPRC Request for Use of Archival Data form. Guidance in accessing the archival research data is available through the WaNPRC Director’s Office. Written requests for data access, including the form, should be directed to the WaNPRC Director’s Office.
Processing Requests for Nonhuman Primate Archival Data
Upon submission of a written request for archival data to the Director’s Office, as described above, requests will be reviewed by the Director and the Associate Director for Animal Resources, who may call upon WaNPRC staff for an ad hoc review. Ad hoc reviews might encompass data, research design, statistical, or IT expertise to evaluate the validity and manpower requirements involved in the proposed study. The proposal and opinions from all parties will then be submitted to the Research Advisory Committee for final review and recommendation to the Director. The Director will designate a WaNPRC contact person for the project who will be responsible for informing the requester of the decision, assisting with the retrieval of data, or working with the requester to modify their request. Every effort will be made to complete this process, from submitting material to the Director, to informing the requester of the RAC decision in a maximum of four weeks. The WaNPRC and its funding sources must be acknowledged in any publications: the Director’s Office can provide appropriate information. An example of appropriate language is provided below:
“This project was supported by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) and the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through Grant Number OD010425.”