Researchers in the US have launched an awareness campaign on billboards, buses across Oregon and social media, alerting the public to the impact that the closure of the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) could have on biomedical research, amid negotiations to transform the facility into an animal sanctuary. 

The campaign, funded through a GoFundMe page, was launched by the group Oregon Voices for Biomedical Research, a coalition of veterinarians, scientists, healthcare professionals and patients from Oregon. The group was formed after discussions to close the centre began between its host, the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funds ONPRC along with six other Primate Research Centers. The group argues that disinformation fuelled by anti-science politicians and activists in the US is threatening the ONPRC despite widespread scientific opposition, and with no consideration for the implications for science, animal welfare and the economy.  

The campaign directs viewers to a website providing information about research projects that could end if the centre is closed, including projects on endometriosis, foetal brain development, paediatric anaesthesia and inherited blindness, encouraging visitors to take action by contacting state representatives and decision-makers to express support for ONPRC. 

“Normally, a junior faculty would just need to focus on writing grants and publishing papers, and instead, I’m fighting for the right to still be a scientist,” said Rachel Wolters to The Transmitter, a researcher at ONPRC who studies paediatric diseases in monkeys, such as paediatric HIV infection, and the effects of inflammation on cognitive development.