Laboratory primates: Their lives in and after research

Wewrite this commentary as 2 animal lovers who run a nonhuman primate (NHP) laboratory. Steve Helms Tillery is a principal investigator (PI), and Rachele McAndrew is the Laboratory Coordinator for all of the primate labs at Arizona State University. Rachele was always an animal lover and grew up with many different pets ranging frommice to dogs. Even as a child, she dreamed of working with animals in some form. She entered college in pre-veterinary studies. Though plans changed, she did not give up on a career with animals. Instead, she ended up with a different focus, workingwith research animals. Steve grew up in a different environment. He did not have animals in his home, but he always loved being around animals of any kind. He was fascinated by their behaviors and their perception of the world, and enjoyed the casual bond that he was able to develop with domestic animals from rodents and dogs to horses and cows. And yet we both grew up to be active participants in animal research. To the outsider it may appear as if we turned our backs on early leanings toward animals: Rachele in particular gave up on her life goal of helping animals as a veterinarian. Indeed, we are both often asked how we can do what we do if we love animals. Steve feels no need to apologize for what he does: his work is part of an enterprise which contributes dramatic changes to health care and human health, and he understands that healthy primates provide the best data. Rachele amplifies that by pointing out that her love of animals is a crucial part of her job: it is important in this field to care for and provide routine veterinary care for the research animals. At times, laboratory animals receive evenmore care and attention than the average pet. However, it is clear to us that the general public does not understand the whole story regarding animal research. They may hear or read about the newest scientific breakthroughs with the help of research with animals, but in many cases the public perception of animal research is colored by the claims of animal activists who frequently foment an environment of controversy regarding animal research. The result is often negative. Public attacks on scientists can result in bad press for the researcher. This can lead to public antipathy toward animal scientists, who are often represented in popular media as unlikeable and untrustworthy. It is of little surprise that the average researcher does not feel comfortable discussing the day to day routine of their laboratory. Therefore we think it is important that the public gain another perspective regarding animal research, one directly from people like ourselves who carry out research. This editorial is one component of a larger effort to reach out to the scientific and broader communities about research with NHPs. Our goals includemaking positive changes in the way nonhuman primates are handled in research and raising a discussion regarding end-of-study decisions for these intelligent and social animals. We agree withmajor advocacy groups that it is important to clearly and publicly define whywework with animals in research. There are a number of online resources providing this information. The National Association for Biomedical Research, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and Americans for Medical Progress, to name a few, have information on their websites that delve into this topic. The advances in science and medicine that are dependent upon animal research have been substantial. Before any new medication is released in the market it must first be tested for efficacy and potential risks. We would not have medicines such as antibiotics, drugs to combat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer, to name a few, without thorough testing and research with lab animals including side effects, efficacy, and proper dosing. Animals are vital in the development of vaccines, learning about infectious diseases, behavior, cognition, development, genetics, and the brain. Fundamentally, any visit to a doctor is informed by animal research. This article, however, will mainly focus onmonkeys in biomedical research, as those are the animals with whomwe work on a daily basis. In particular, we will describe the laboratory lives of 2 of our animals. The first is Tiberius, a 5 y old rhesus macaque and the second is River, a 3 y old rhesus macaque. Before we get into details on those 2 animals, we think it important to note that this field is highly regulated bymultiple agencies. Monkeys are considered a USDA regulated species, so researchers must follow the detailed statutes in the