OHSU board votes to negotiate with NIH and possibly transform its primate center into an animal sanctuary

The Oregon Health and Science University board of directors unanimously passed a resolution authorizing negotiations with the National Institutes of Health that could end all experiments on monkeys and shift the federally funded Oregon National Primate Research Center into a sanctuary.

The vote came as the NIH looks to transition at least one of seven national primate research centers, which are hosted by universities and research centers, into an animal sanctuary. The agency is seeking to move away from animal testing in biomedical research in favor of alternative methods like computer models and artificial intelligence.

The centers have been a flashpoint in the ongoing controversy over animal welfare and the use of non-human primates in federally funded research. Animal rights groups have accused the Oregon center of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act and urged successive administrations to reduce government reliance on animal testing.