Support EPC Today for a Healthier Tomorrow!

There are always unbudgeted, but important needs in research. This fund helps fill that gap by supporting high-priority and highly scored research projects for which federal funding is not available.

Private funding for the Director's Catalyst Fund is essential to help the Emory Primate Center make short-term, strategic investments in our researchers so they can conduct pilot research projects. Data from pilot projects helps our researchers submit stronger research applications for federal and philanthropic funding, design larger-scale research projects and secure longer-term research funding. During the last 10 years, every $1 invested in pilot projects at the Emory Primate Center resulted in more than $20 in funding for research focused on improving human lives.

In 2015, the Emory Primate Center established a translational research program called ERASE AIDS (Emory Research Alliance to Stop/Eradicate AIDS). This new program builds on the existing expertise of researchers at Emory to conduct transformative studies aimed at finding a cure for HIV infection. The goal of ERASE AIDS is to develop and optimize novel therapeutic approaches to cure AIDS using the nonhuman primate model. Individual donations will keep Emory Primate Center researchers on their path toward this important, worldwide health goal.

The Emory Primate Center is committed to developing novel treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Our researchers' efforts with noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are focused on primate models of human inherited diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. Emory Primate Center researchers are also studying the neural networks that play critical roles in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. With additional funding, we can expand these unique translational models in order to make significant contributions to the discovery of new, effective therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

The Emory Primate Center is uniquely positioned to better understand how genetics influence susceptibility to disease and response to treatment. To do this, center researchers have begun sequencing the full genome of each rhesus monkey in the EPC breeding colony. Because these animals can closely mimic human conditions, researchers plan to use the information gained to develop better treatments and even prevention strategies for human conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Private funding is certain to accelerate the pace of our genomics research and, ultimately, our discoveries.

Endowments provide the ability to attract well-established research teams, and they support the recruitment of junior scientists. Support for endowed chairs will allow the EPC to recruit the best researchers in immunology, translational neuroscience, genetics and other areas.

The groundbreaking discoveries being made at the EPC would not be possible without our dedication to the highest quality animal care and enrichment. This fund helps supplement our budget to provide additional species-specific enrichment food and toys for our animals. Because of such dedication to animal care and welfare, the EPC has maintained full accreditation from AAALAC International, the gold standard of laboratory animal care, since 1984.

The Jon C. Allen Undergraduate Research and Mentorship Endowment is named for a long-term Emory employee who devoted more than 20 years of service to the EPC, Emory Vaccine Center and Emory University School of Medicine. This competitive, 10-week, summer research opportunity is for rising college juniors or seniors who are from ethnic and racial backgrounds historically underrepresented in academic research, or who qualify under certain categories of first-generation scholars. EPC faculty who are leaders in HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease research will mentor and work side-by-side with accepted students. This endowment fund will help ensure diversity in science while helping prepare the next generation of scientists in memory of Jon and in the spirit of his generosity, kindness and support of others.

In 2015, the EPC established the Stuart Zola Graduate Fellowship in Neuroscience to honor the long-term leadership of previous director Stuart Zola, PhD, his successful career as a researcher and his unwavering commitment to supporting the training of neuroscientists. Donations to this fellowship will support the professional development of at least one neuroscience graduate student each year and will make a difference in the lives of those who will benefit from each fellow's research.

In 2020, the EPC established the Mike Kuhar Neuroscience Travel Award to honor the long-term service of EPC researcher Mike Kuhar, PhD, who spent more than five decades as a neuroscience and neuropharmacology researcher, and is one of the most cited scientists at Emory. The annual travel award will be given to an Emory neuroscience graduate student or postdoctoral fellow to support travel to present research findings, engage with mentors and/or pursue collaborative opportunities with research colleagues.

Part of the EPC mission is to provide educational opportunities for students and teachers. Current programs take researchers into the community and bring high school students and teachers into the center for hands-on experience and curriculum support. Funding is crucial to these outreach activities, which recipients have described as life changing