Center News - Washington National Primate Research Center

The Cost of Extremist Attacks on Scientific Research

One tool extremist groups use to disrupt scientific research is to misuse government transparency laws, like the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or local public records laws. This is done to exploit public access in a dishonest attempt to misrepresent research so extremists can generate controversy and use that to fuel their fundraising efforts—all while wasting taxpayer money and distracting from the important work being done. These tactics are an abuse of the system that is meant to promote openness, not stifle science.

One of the latest efforts to undermine the scientific community came in the form of 775 FOIA requests filed with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in the first half of 2024, according to a report by Americans for Medical Progress (AMP). While the specific facilities targeted by these requests ranged from zoos to aquariums to agricultural operations, the issue is clear: extremists are weaponizing public records laws to create false narratives and fuel outrage.

At the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC), we are no strangers to this tactic. Since January of 2024 alone, we’ve received 23 public records requests (PRRs)—most of them from extremist groups. These groups take advantage of Washington state’s open records laws to request a wide range of documents – using the information not to better understand research, but to manipulate it, creating fodder for protests and fundraising campaigns.

Let me be clear: WaNPRC is committed to openness. We are overseen by an animal care and use committee that supports animal welfare and ensures we comply with federal regulations. All animal projects are reviewed and approved before they can begin. And we provide detailed reports on everything from our research protocols to any errors that may arise and how we address them. But there’s an obvious and troubling pattern to extremists’ requests: They consume valuable time and resources—time that could be better spent advancing science—while giving extremists ammunition that they use to misrepresent our work.

One telling example of these fishing expeditions came when a recent PRR requested every photo taken inside WaNPRC over a two-year period. Our staff painstakingly gathered over 700 images, because it’s the law, and because we have nothing to hide. But the reality is, these kinds of requests aren’t in the public interest. They’re nothing more than a tool for extremists to craft misleading narratives that misrepresent the work we do.

Take, for example, our tissue distribution program, which supports the 3Rs. Following humane euthanasia, this program serves as a vital resource, providing tissues to support multiple projects. The tissues from one animal can be used to answer questions regarding many different scientific questions. We strive to replace animal testing with alternative methods whenever possible, reduce the number of animals needed, and refine our techniques to minimize animal stress.

Without context, however, photos of these procedures can be easily misrepresented. For example, a photo of an animal technician holding a surgical instrument, or steadying an animal, could appear disturbing if viewed without context. So might a dentist photographed holding a needle or forceps, or a brain surgeon holding a drill. The fact is our work aims to improve both animal welfare and human health. But extremists don’t share this perspective. Instead, they use images out of context to generate shock value and rally their supporters—often for fundraising purposes.

This abuse of FOIA and public records laws doesn’t just waste time; it also wastes taxpayer money. Responding to these fishing expeditions requires significant staff time, and there’s often little to show for it other than more misinformation. And while these extremist groups claim to be working for the welfare of animals, their actions have the opposite effect: they disrupt scientific research, mislead the public, and hinder the development of life-saving treatments for both animals and people. They also make it harder to recruit the very people who take care of animals at the high standards of care we uphold.

One recent victory in defending scientific research against extremist misinformation came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which rejected a petition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to list long-tailed macaques, also known as Cynomolgus macaque (LTM) under the Endangered Species Act.

In a decision issued in October, the USFWS found that PETA’s petition “did not present credible information to support impacts to LTM populations or the species as a whole.” This decision is a victory not just for scientific research but for the integrity of the system that allows for public input and transparency. The USFWS saw through PETA’s petition and understood that extremist groups are often more interested in promoting political agendas than in advancing genuine animal welfare or scientific progress. You can read the USFWS findings here and see for yourself.

Support Science, Not Extremism

At WaNPRC, we support openness. We believe in the public’s right to know how taxpayer dollars are spent and the importance of open government. It’s also clear that some extremist groups are abusing these laws to advance their own agendas, not to protect animals or promote scientific progress.

These groups create controversy where none exists, misrepresent our work, and ultimately do more harm than good. Their attacks do not stop science, but they do waste time, money, and resources that could be better spent advancing human health and animal welfare.

As long as fundraising remains their primary goal, these attacks will continue. But the more the public and policymakers recognize these tactics for what they are—misguided, costly, and ultimately counterproductive—the sooner we can create an environment where we can all work together toward common goals.

WaNPRC Highlights at NHP AIDS Conference

The 41^st Annual symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS is under way in New Orleans this week, and the Washington National Primate Research center is well-represented by both speakers and attendees.

The WaNPRC contingent consists of session speakers, poster presenters and attendees. “This meeting is the only one of its kind in the world,” said Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, Interim Director of Research at WaNPRC. “The symposium includes research presentations on HIV, HIV-like viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, Zika, Valley Fever and others that nonhuman primates serve as a close model to human infection that can be used in nonhuman primates to model AIDS, With 38 million people currently estimated to be living with HIV worldwide, the need to develop better treatments and interventions to prevent and/or cure HIV infection remains critical.”

Dr. Chris Peterson, a WaNPRC Affiliate with the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, is presenting on research targeting an HIV-like virus in macaques with (chimeric antigen receptor) CAR-T cells that are specific for a viral protein. “A major challenge to cure HIV is that antiretroviral therapy suppresses the virus to the point that it is essentially invisible to the immune system, but is not curative,” Dr. Peterson said. “What we’re trying to do here is extend how long our CAR T-cells work in the body, so that they more time to locate these rare, infected target cells, leading to a cure.”

Also presenting is Professor Donald Sodora, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Global Health, on the impacts of an HIV-like virus on the liver of nonhuman primates.

WaNPRC was important in establishing the symposium which began as a way for all seven NPRCs to meet and discuss research on the AIDS pandemic using nonhuman primates. At the time, primates were the only animal model that could be infected with a virus that was similar to HIV and develop AIDS symptoms.

“Back then, the NPRCs had been around for about 10-15 years, and were mostly focused on neurosciences,” said WaNPRC Director Dr. Deb Fuller. “But several scientists in infectious diseases at WaNPRC and others at Tulane first showed that old world monkeys (rhesus macaques at Tulane and pigtails at WaNPRC) could be infected with SIV. This launched a huge influx of funding from the NIH into the NPRCs to lead research in NHPs on AIDS and to this date, NIAID is still a major contributor to the P51 and U42 center grants that each NPRC is funded under to support their robust AIDS research programs.”

and has become a meeting place for a large number of scientists and Early-Stage Investigators, many of whom will give their first presentations.

One WaNPRC presenter is Orlando Cervantes, a graduate student in the Adams Waldorf Laboratory. He’ll be sharing his findings on how pandemic influenza infections during the third trimester of pregnancy damage the placenta by provoking a strong immune response.

“Scientists and doctors still don’t fully grasp the ways influenza infection can lead to stillbirth or preterm birth in pregnant women,” said Orlando. “By better understanding the placenta’s response to a maternal influenza infection, we can get clues on how that can compromise placental integrity and hurt the developing fetus. I’m very excited to share these findings because they can encourage other scientists to begin using NHP models to study the interaction between pregnancy and other illnesses/infections.”

The symposium follows on the heels of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network Early Stage Investigator conference, which also took place at the same location. The conference aimed at early-stage investigators (ESIs) specializing in translational HIV research in non-human primates (NHPs) and clinical HIV and TB research is set to offer participants valuable opportunities for professional growth. Attendees will gain insights into their potential contributions to the field and receive support in achieving key career milestones. Previous participants have reported that the event enhanced their skills and knowledge, while also providing a platform for building new collaborations.

Several WaNPRC researchers will have posters at the meeting including Director Deborah Fuller, Associate Director of Research Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, and Dr. Charlotte Hotchkiss, D.V.M, Ph.D. As well as the following:

Megan O’Connor – HIV/COVID-19 and/or HIV/ZIKV co-infection
Chris Peterson – HIV
Serena deBanco – HIV (scholarship recipient)
Megan Fredericks – Valley Fever

The symposium concludes October 25.

New Light Helps Reset Your Internal Clock: “Thank a Monkey”

As we move deeper into fall and the hours of daylight dwindle, a trio of researchers from the same family has worked together to create new technology that helps humans improve our health and our moods by managing our circadian rhythms. And they say we can thank research monkeys for it.

In new research from professors Jay and Maureen Neitz of the UW Department of Ophthalmology, and their youngest daughter Alex (who was a graduate research assistant at UW and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California San Diego) helped show that, an LED light that emits alternating wavelengths of orange and blue light helped boost melatonin levels in a group of study participants, shifting their “internal clocks” to align how our body’s supposed to act during different times of day.

The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms, show that the alternating wavelengths can influence circadian rhythms, an effective approach to counteract seasonal affective disorder (SAD), among other maladies.

A host of health and mood problems are attributed to out-of-sync circadian rhythms, Jay Neitz says. The result is “social jet lag” that occurs during seasonal changes and a lack of exposure to natural light, not to mention night jobs and international travel.

“In extreme cases what this being not synchronized has been linked to diabetes and cancer and all sorts of problems,” he said. “At the very least, people just aren’t at their best. They don’t feel great because their internal clock isn’t set right. Theirs’s huge interest in this kind of thing.”

The Neitzes designed an experiment using light that alternated between short- and long-wavelength components that advanced the circadian phase by an average of almost an hour and a half.

And it’s led to the development of products that produce these alternating blue/orange wavelengths. Called “TUO Circadian Smart Products,” the line consists of an LED lightbulb and various lamps, which can be managed by a smartphone app.

All this from the trio who mesh work and life and always have.

“There’s a lot of talk about work life balance,” said Jay. “Our work and lives have just been one thing. We work all the time, and we have two daughters. Our younger daughter, Alex, started working in our lab as a child.”

“It wasn’t like this started in grad school it was a gradual process,” Alex said. “In grad school I was interested in circadian rhythms, and I went to grad school immediately after undergrad.”

Like mother, like daughter. Maureen and Alex are both molecular biologists who wound up interested in studying vision and the nonhuman primate model.

Jay credits NHP research stemming from a grant that helped Maureen obtain an electron microscope that enabled researchers to build a complete look at the retina that was the foundation for research that led to the Tho light. So none of it would have happened without NHP research.

“There are things about the way our eyes work and how they communicate with the central parts of our brain that are unique to primates,” Jay said, recalling contributions of WaNPRC’s Tissue Distribution Program. “Because of that we got preservation of microdetails of all cells in the retina that could never be gotten from a human. We believe what we’re seeing in the NHP model is exactly like what happens in a human. There’s just no other example like this.”

New Director Outlines Vision for WaNPRC

Dr Deborah Fuller

In a world that is constantly changing, I wanted my first Director’s blog post to serve as a way of addressing change for WaNPRC and the people and primates we serve. I’d like all our readers to know what to expect as WaNPRC embarks on its next chapter.

First, a note of thanks to all past directors of the center. They have led the center as researchers here made multiple discoveries that have had a historic impact on global human health. I’ve had the pleasure of working with several of them, and I’m honored to now take my place at the helm.

Having spent the last 14 years working at the Center and having co-founded a biomedical technology company I bring a combination of science and business savvy to this role. And while I applaud our previous leadership, I have a lofty vision of my own I hope to achieve.

I want to make WaNPRC the top primate research center in the U.S., and the top institute in the world for nonhuman primate research. Sounds ambitious, but I have a six-pronged plan to get us there.

Affirm our identity

Build and expand our identity through interdisciplinary consortia and collaborations

Enhance communications between research units and between researchers & veterinary staff

Implement strategies for long-term sustainability

Support a 3Rs culture: Respect, Restraint, Responsibility

Increase our visibility

I’m not sure people are aware of just how important WaNPRC is to research in gene therapy, infectious disease, neuroscience and global conservation. Just in the last year, we supported 126 grants totaling $118 million in funding. We have more than 150 employees, and we support nearly the same number of collaborating scientists nationwide. And we are the only NPRC that breeds pigtail macaques, the best NHP model for a wide range of vital areas of research that has led to breakthroughs. For example, the pigtail macaque is the closest species to model pregnant women, and research in this model at WaNPRC led to the first insights into how Zika virus and other infectious disease cause fetal injury and is paving the way toward new innovations to protect women from sexually transmitted diseases.

Our research has also revealed new insights into the causes of neurological, genetic, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, and we are turning these discoveries into cures for people living with AIDS, spinal injuries, cancer, color blindness, blood disorders and cardiovascular disease. We are also at the forefront in developing new vaccines and immunotherapies for malaria, HIV, influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and Valley Fever, a fungal disease that is rapidly spreading due to climate change.

Our outstanding animal behaviorists and veterinary teams are critical to the success of this research. Their ability to innovate and refine new techniques has improved our research, animal breeding and care. We are also the only NPRC with a worldwide primate conservation and education program that has gained international recognition for its cutting-edge work in understanding nonhuman primates in the natural habitat and their interface with humans.

I believe that the most innovative ideas occur at the intersection of different disciplines. My aim is to build on our track record and provide our outstanding faculty with new opportunities to collaborate to bridge scientific discipline, combine our research strengths and spur innovation. To that end, I announced last month a $150,000 funding opportunity that will require a collaboration between two or more researchers working in distinct research disciplines. Stay tuned for an announcement about this opportunity in November, concurrent with our annual P51 pilot project initiative.

While this is going on, we’re also already working on a shift in culture that improves collaboration between our researchers and animal care teams to benefit both animals and the research they support. The tight job market has affected WaNPRC the same way it has other industries. You’ll be seeing a more aggressive recruiting campaign and new opportunities for our veterinary teams to lead and collaborate with our researchers in projects aimed at developing novel veterinary procedures and new concepts to enhance our animal behavior, breeding and care,

In the longer term, you’ll see us landing opportunities to improve our financial outlook by seeking partnerships and funding sources that improve revenue and increase efficiency while reducing our costs. Seattle is a growing hub for biotechnology and in parallel, we are expanding our portfolio of translational research studies and capabilities to support a growing need for preclinical research in nonhuman primates that provide a critical bridge to close the gap between biomedical breakthroughs at the bench and human clinical trials. For example, research at our primate center is helping HDT Bio, Orlance, Inc., Sana Biotechnology and Umoja Biopharma advance their novel innovations for new vaccines, stem cell, and cancer therapies to human clinical trials.

There’s also something we’re going to stop doing: We’re not going to shrink from the opportunity to tout the successes we have. We’re constantly bombarded by misinformation and lies put out by animal rights extremists. But we’re not going to let them tell our story, and we’re not going to let bullying and threats affect our work. So, expect to see more in this spot about the research we do and how we’re improving human health and animal welfare at the same time.

Come visit this site every month. You’re going to hear from me and other leaders at WaNPRC about all these topics as we work to bring to life that ambitious vision.

It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to lead WaNPRC in these efforts. I am looking forward to seeing the progress we make towards these goals.

Increased Support for NHP Neuroscience Research “Critical” to Advance Human Health

Increasing investment and support for neuroscience research involving monkeys is critical to realize our hope for advancing human health and reducing suffering for millions of people confronting diseases like Alzheimer’s, bipolar dis- order, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia. So argues Dr. Michele A. Basso, core scientist in the Neuroscience unit of the Washington National Primate Center.

Portrait of Dr Basso — Dr Michele A. Basso is a core scientist in the Neuroscience Unit of WaNPRC

Basso and partners with the Simian Collective penned an urgent commentary in the Journal of Neuroscience this month, framing the nonhuman primate neuroscience as one of “peril or possibilities.”

In the piece, Basso notes that the cost to the United State to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders at more than $1 trillion annually. And that monkeys will be necessary for the discovery, development, and testing of treatments because monkeys share traits with humans that other testing animals lack.

A big hurdle to progress is a shortage of monkeys for research, highlighted in a 2023 report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The shortage, and subsequent high costs, prevents scientists from advancing treatments.

“To ensure a sustainable resource of non- human primates for biomedical research, including and especially in neuroscience, the US must engage in domestic capacity building,” Basso argues.

And while new approach methods are pursued, she writes, “developing treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative diseases, and the many neuropsychiatric illnesses, will all ultimately require an understanding of the brains of primates and perhaps the immune system, which, like the brain, is significantly more like humans in monkeys than in rodents.”

Read the full text in the Journal of Neuroscience. Explore the Neuroscience unit at WaNPRC.

WaNPRC’s Dr Kyes Receives ASPs Highest Honor

portrait of Randy, arms crossed in a green shirt. — Dr. Randall Kyes

Dr Randy Kyes, chief of WaNPRC’s Global Conservation, Education and Outreach core has been awarded the 2024 Distinguished Primatologist Award by the American Society of Primatologists (ASP). The award was announced at the 46th annual ASP conference in Mexico.

The Distinguished Primatologist Award recognizes a primatologist who has had an outstanding career and has made significant contributions to the field. It is the highest honor that the Society bestows.

Dr Kyes joins 27 other exceptional primatologists who have won this award since 1989.  He also is now the third University of Washington scientist to receive the honor, along with fellow UW scientists Orville Smith (1996), professor emeritus of Physiology and Biophysics and former Director of the WaNPRC; and Gene Sackett (2004), professor emeritus of Psychology and Core Scientist at WaNPRC.

Four people attach a wildlife camera to a tree. They are all crouching at the trunk of a tree. Dr Kyes is pointing to something out of field. — Dr Kyes is the chief of the Global Conservation, Education and Outreach core at WaNPRC. In this photo from 2019, he works with students in the annual outreach education program at the Tangkoko Nature Reserve in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

“It’s truly an honor to receive the ASP Distinguished Primatologists Award,” Dr. Kyes said. “ASP holds a special place in my heart.  I have grown up with the ASP. I have served many roles in the Society over the years, and the members are my academic family.  Needless to say, I have great respect for the ASP and all those who have made, and continue to make, this such a special scientific society. 

“I also want to add that although I have been named the 2024 recipient of this award, at the risk of sounding clichéd, I share this award with my many, many colleagues around the world with whom I’ve had the great honor and privilege to collaborate with for the past 35-plus years.  They all deserve special recognition as our work is truly a collaborative effort.  Thank you all.”

Congratulations to Dr Kyes!

You can read more about his and his colleague’s work at Global Conservation, Education & Outreach.

Neuroscience Unit’s New Discoveries: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Brain

WaNPRC’s Neuroscience unit has contributed four noteworthy advances in science in recent months, including a new discovery about color vision, advancements in how primate brains differentiate objects, and even how our brains help us chew and swallow food.

New findings from the lab of Core Scientist Dennis Dacey, PhD, are unraveling the complex circuitry of the human retina, where vision starts. His lab’s results suggest new pathways for color vision and emphasize the need for complete wiring diagrams of the human central nervous system.

Dacey mapped, cell-by-cell, the physical pathway that color signals travel through the retina. Before Dacey’s discovery, it was thought there were two color pathways: a red/green path, and a blue/yellow path. Dacey found that some cells carry both at same time.

“They’re re-writing the book on the retina,” said unit chief Greg Horwitz, PhD, praising Dacey, who is the most senior member of the unit. “The part of the retina that Dennis is focused on is the part that resolves fine details. And it’s the part that fails in macular degeneration. It is usually thought of as a high-resolution version of the rest of the retina, but Dennis’s work is showing it’s actually highly specialized.”

Horwitz himself also recently published a paper with Research Associate Professor Robi Soetedjo, PhD, announcing new findings about how specific cells in the brain control certain eye movements known as saccades

Horwitz and Soetedjo used a laser to stimulate Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of a monkey at the precise moment of saccade. They found that if the monkey looked in one direction, the saccade slowed. If the monkey looked the other direction, saccade went beyond the expected target, showing that they are not just two opposing functions

“It gives us a tool. If it works in eye movements, it might work for studying other cerebellar functions including movements of the arms or body,’ Horwitz said

Their findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience in February.

Four months later, Anitha Pasupathy, PhD, and her ShapeLAB team published a paper in the same journal, advancing our understanding of how neurons in a primate’s brain process objects that are part of a group.

Pasupathy’s lab showed primates a target image – let’s say a yellow triangle – and compared how neurons in the brain’s visual cortex responded when the triangle was surrounded by similar versus dissimilar objects. From these measurements, they discovered that the brain could differentiate the target object more readily when it stood out from the dissimilar objects.

“What that tells us is the brain has a way of suppressing activity of things that are similar,” Pasupathy said. “For efficiency, the brain may pool similar objects and encode them together. But that center yellow triangle is special when it’s surrounded by dissimilar objects, and maybe it’s something of interest to the visual system.”

She said the next step will be tests to see if monkeys can pick out objects they see, and whether that corresponds to what neurons are telling the researchers.

Fritzie Arce-McShane, PhD, published a paper in Nature Communications (and recent pre-preprints here and one on age-related changes here) furthering our understanding of how the brain drives the muscles involved in chewing and swallowing in ways that could lead to new interventions that could help patients having trouble with these vital functions due to aging or brain disease, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

“How the brain controls chewing and swallowing is very much understudied and the big challenge in studying this is tracking the position and shape of the tongue inside the mouth when we chew and swallow,” Arce-McShane said.

Using a combination of x-ray technology with sensors and machine learning-based analyses of brain signals, her studies have shown that when primates eat, there is robust information in the primary motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex that define the 3D direction of tongue movements, and also the tongue shape. “That hasn’t been shown before. The tongue’s shape has importance in positioning the food and preparing it for swallowing,” she said. Changes in the pattern of tongue movements have been observed with aging and Arce-McShane expects that these changes will also be reflected in the brain signals.

The Neuroscience unit at WaNPRC is dedicated to supporting state-of-the-art research in nonhuman primates both inside and outside the WaNPRC. Nonhuman primates have and continue to play a critical role in advancing our understanding of how the human brain works due to their close similarities in structure, physiology, and genetics to humans. Using nonhuman primates, the Neuroscience Unit at WaNPRC is at the cutting edge of advancing our understanding of the function of the human brain and developing new treatments for a wide range of neurological disfunctions. You can find more information on the Neurosciences Unit and the exciting research of its 23 core and affiliate faculty here.

Personal Legacy Meets Medical Breakthrough: WaNPRC Research Offers Hope for Heart Disease Patients

WaNPRC researchers have made a promising discovery in the fight against heart disease. Cardiologist and researcher Dr. Chuck Murry of WaNPRC’s Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine unit is leading an effort using special cells called heart muscle cardiomyocytes to address cardiac muscle damage.

Photo of Charles Murry, MD, PhD — Photo/Gavin Sisk, University of Washington

Dr Murry’s team has made a significant breakthrough in collaboration with Sana Biotechnology. They successfully changed induced pluripotent stem cell cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) in the lab and transplanted or “grafted” them into two rhesus monkeys with heart damage. These new cells survived and started integrating with the heart muscle cells responsible for contracting and pumping blood. This is a big deal because it means the body did not reject the new cells, which is a frequent problem with transplants.

This pursuit has been a personal one for Murry. His mother, Donna, passed away in 2014 after suffering multiple heart attacks. “She is the kind of person we would like to have helped,” he told the Seattle Times in 2014.

Another challenge with using these new heart cells is that they sometimes cause irregular heartbeats. The team has also found a way to fix this problem by making changes to the genetic makeup of the cells. Noninvasive PET imaging has shown that the transplanted iPSC-CMs remained stable and functional in the heart for periods of 6 and 12 months without suppressing the immune system. This persistence without rejection indicates that the cells integrated well with the heart tissue and continued to perform their intended functions over these extended periods.

These findings mark a significant step forward in the treatment of heart disease and bring hope to millions of patients. While human trials are still to come, this research lays the groundwork for a future where damaged hearts can be effectively repaired.

Dr Murry recently began his appointment as head of USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

First Authors: Yongshun Lin Noriko Sato, Sogun Hong, and Kenta Nakamura. Senior Authors: Charles Murry (pictured), Manfred Boehm, and Cynthia Dunbar. 

Cell Stem Cell | DOI: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38843830/

WaNPRC’s Orsborn Adds NSF CAREER Award to Study Neural Interfaces

Amy Orsborn, Neuro core scientist at WaNPRC and Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Bioengineering at the UW, was recently named a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. The award will support Orsborn’s research investigating how the brain and nervous system respond to using sensorimotor neural interfaces, which show promise for treating a wide range of neurological conditions, such as paralysis caused by spinal cord injury or stroke.

Orsborn’s work will help to lay a foundation for creating advanced computer algorithms in sensorimotor neural interfaces that can better adapt to the user. Her research is inspired by a fundamental challenge in neural engineering, where neural interfaces engage with the brain and nervous system in what is called a “closed loop” in which the user and the device influence each other. This closed loop has enormous therapeutic potential. Her aoLab will conduct experiments using two different types of neural interfaces: muscle/nervous system interfaces applied to humans on the surface of the skin, and brain-computer interfaces applied to the sensorimotor cortex of non-human primates. Comparing the results could help the team understand how the brain performs computations and how closed loop devices influence them.

The NSF selects award recipients who are faculty members at the beginning of their careers to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. The intent of the NSF CAREER program is to provide stable support, enabling awardees to develop not only as outstanding researchers but also as educators demonstrating commitment to teaching, learning and dissemination of knowledge.

Orsborn has been racking up accolades. She recently received the Ronald S. Howell distinguished faculty fellowship. The Electrical & Computer Engineering department has more on the story.

Exciting Collaborations

Ongoing studies with Umoja Biopharma, HDT Bio, and the Allen Institute

Nonhuman primate studies are crucial in biomedical research, particularly developing new therapies. The pigtail macaque monkeys at the Washington National Primate Research Center share a closer genetic and physiological resemblance to humans than other animal models. This similarity allows researchers to predict better how a therapy might behave in humans, offering valuable insights into potential efficacy and safety.

Such is the case with Umoja Biopharma’s VivoVec platform for chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy. In this in vivo study, the researchers observed the activation and expansion of CAR-T cells in the monkeys and their impact on target cells. The researchers, supported by the animal care and research staff at WaNPRC, compared the CAR-T cell expansion and persistence in monkeys with data from previous studies on ex vivo CAR-T therapies in similar primate models. This provided valuable insights into the platform’s potential advantages.

Overall, this public/private partnership is a critical bridge between preclinical research and clinical translation, providing essential data on the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of new therapies like Umoja’s VivoVec platform for CAR-T cell therapy.

A separate project led by HDT Bio Formulations Director, Dr. Amit Khandar, aims to assess the effectiveness of their LION™ delivery technology and self-replicating RNA (repRNA) vaccine platform against HIV-1. The focus is on inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), crucial for targeting the heavily masked envelope glycoprotein of the virus. In the R33 phase, the collaboration with UW’s Fuller Laboratory and the WaNPRC will evaluate immunogenicity and efficacy in nonhuman primates (NHPs), pivotal steps before potential clinical trials. This phase will provide essential data on protection against a SHIV challenge and guide decisions regarding human trials. Safety assessments, especially concerning mRNA-based vaccines, are emphasized, drawing from mouse models and NHPs to address concerns ensuring confidence in the vaccine’s safety profile. The ultimate goal is to advance toward clinical trials, leveraging promising results from NHP studies to inform future steps in vaccine development.

“Ultimately, it might be that a combination of nucleic acid platforms will be needed to achieve the “holy grail” that is efficacy in humans. The combination of safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in nonhuman primates will support the decision to enter clinical trials. If the data is promising, we have the manufacturing infrastructure to work with existing HIV clinical trial networks and enter phase I evaluation. – Dr. Amit Khandhar, HDT Bio

Scientists at the Allen Institute celebrate their global collaboration in mapping the hundreds of billions of cells in rodents, macaque monkeys, and human brains. They are mapping them by their type and function as part of the BRAIN Initiative® Cell Atlas Network, or BICAN, with financial support from NIH’s B.R.A.I.N. Initiative, or Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative.

The WaNPRC, by providing the Allen Institute’s NHP models, is helping to bridge the knowledge gap between rodent models and humans.

“The Allen Institute has made amazing progress characterizing the cell types that compose the mouse brain and connections among them. Extending these efforts to primates is a critical next step on the way to clinical application. This is being achieved via the symbiotic relationship they have with the WaNPRC.” – Dr. Gregory Horwitz, WaNPRC Neuroscience unit chief

This brain atlas lays the groundwork for mapping the entire mammalian brain and enhancing comprehension of puzzling brain disorders, such as those affecting the neurons responsible for motor function, like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).