Resources

The Yerkes Research Center is the oldest scientific institute dedicated to nonhuman primate research. With research goals ranging from an AIDS vaccine to improved treatment of visual deficits in children to a better understanding of peacemaking and conflict resolution in primate social groups, the Yerkes Research Center employs more than 400 faculty, staff and researchers dedicated to one of the most diverse programs of primate research in the world.

Locations

The Yerkes Research Center maintains two locations: a 25-acre main center on the campus of Emory University and a 117-acre field station in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The main center, which houses approximately 1,150 nonhuman primates and 5,000 rodents, contains most of the center's biomedical research laboratories. The field station, which houses approximately 2,250 nonhuman primates, specializes in behavioral studies of primate social groups. These facilities are available not only to Emory investigators but also to collaborating scientists around the world. For more information on the scientific resources Yerkes offers, please contact yerkes-resources@rmy.emory.edu.

Research Opportunities

As one of eight national primate research centers, Yerkes provides specialized scientific resources, expertise and training opportunities for work with nonhuman primates. Researchers interested in conducting work at the center must submit a research proposal. Yerkes staff is available to assist collaborating researchers with such research proposals, budgets and funding requests. For more information about conducting collaborative research at Yerkes, please contact Research Resources at yerkes-resources@rmy.emory.edu.

Animal Care

The Yerkes Research Center employs animal care staff who provide 24-hour care to the animals. These staff members include clinical veterinarians, veterinary technicians, a research nurse and animal care technicians. The Yerkes Research Center is fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), whose certification is regarded as the gold seal of approval for laboratory animal care.

Clinical Resources

The Division of Research Resources at the Yerkes Research Center provides a number of clinical services available to internal and collaborating researchers including a clinical pathology laboratory, necropsy and pathology facilities, histology and electron microscopy laboratories and an immunology laboratory. The division also offers assistance for new research proposal preparation and specimen requests. For more information, please contact Research Resources at yerkes-resources@rmy.emory.edu.

Yerkes Imaging Core

The Yerkes Imaging Core is a dynamic research resource located in the center's 92,000-square-foot neuroscience facility, which opened in 2004 to provide lab and imaging facilities for research use on a variety of human conditions including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and disorders of the sensory-motor systems. The Imaging Core primarily focuses on the development of in-vivo magnetic resonance technologies to study anatomy, physiology and function and is open to researchers who are interested in obtaining state-of-the-art images to answer research questions in neuroscience-related fields.

Yerkes Microarray and Biomarkers Cores

The Yerkes Research Center houses the Yerkes Microarray Core and Yerkes Biomarkers Core as research and educational services in the fields of functional genomics and bioinformatics. Research support services provided by the Yerkes Microarray Core include state-of-the-art design, production, processing and analysis of microarrays. The Yerkes Biomarkers Core provides researchers with technologies including radioimmunoassay, ELISA, bioassay and gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry as well as determination for more than 60 compounds validated for nonhuman primates, humans and other mammalian species.

Emory Vaccine Center

The Yerkes facility also houses the Emory Vaccine Center, one of the largest academic vaccine centers in the world. The Emory Vaccine Center, renowned for its expertise in cellular immunity and immune memory, strives to improve human health through fundamental and clinical research leading to the development of effective vaccines against infectious diseases of global importance. Established in 1996, the Emory Vaccine Center houses 17 faculty members who study AIDS, malaria and other global infectious disease threats.