Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

SIUE's Kohn and Multi-institutional Team Study Primate Health and Life Expectancy

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Luci Kohn, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences, has joined a multi-institutional team of distinguished researchers to study the Rhesus Monkey colony at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico to advance translational research in human diseases.


News provided by

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

May 29, 2020, 04:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

SIUE’s Luci Kohn, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
SIUE’s Luci Kohn, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., May 29, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta) colony at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico is one of the world's most useful primate resources in biomedical and anthropological research. Established in 1938, the colony provides a unique opportunity to study health history, and genetic and environmental effects on bone and tooth development, aging, and pathology.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Luci Kohn, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences, has joined a multi-institutional team of distinguished researchers to study this colony in order to advance translational research in human diseases. The team is led by principal investigator Qian Wang, PhD (Texas A&M), and includes Kohn, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, PhD (The Ohio State University), and Qiang Zhao (Mercer University).

“This skeletal collection, coupled with the depth and detail of family and demographic data for each individual, provides a unique opportunity to assess skeletal and dental characteristics over time, as well as family and environmental differences in health, longevity, and age-related conditions."

Post this

The group has been awarded $791,363 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct a four-year integrated study of effects of family, environment and age-related information on skeletal data. The Cayo Santiago colony is the source of a rare skeletal collection containing at least eight generations of information about individual monkey's sex, age and pedigree.

"Our primary objective is to develop and use this integrated assessment of the effects of environment and family lineage on the development and health within the colony's Rhesus Monkeys," Kohn said. "Our team brings together expertise in biology, anthropology, biomedical sciences and computer sciences. My research on skeletal morphology, quantitative genetics and evolution contribute to the foundations of this project."

Details such as bone dimensions, bone density, tooth eruption, body mass, and observable disease conditions will be cataloged and added to the previously available details of sex, birth and death dates, parentage, and social rank for each monkey. Once reliable colony history and environmental history are reconstructed, patterns of variation in development and health will be studied in a contextualized manner to reveal environmental and familial influences.

The team will accomplish this task by conducting an original family-based osteo-oral health and pathology study to reconstruct health status within the skeletal collection. After these patterns are revealed, the team hopes to provide a non-human primate model to be used in anthropological and biomedical studies for studying human adaptability and fragility under varied living conditions.

The skeletal collection will serve as a model for the team to study multiple health conditions that have been caused by the familial and environmental influences. Among the conditions to be studied are age-related diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, two of the most devastating conditions of our aging human population.

"Cayo Santiago, sometimes referred to as "Monkey Island" has been continuously inhabited by rhesus macaques since 1938," Kohn explained. "The colony was established with 409 macaques, and approximately 1,700 monkeys currently live on the island. It is managed by the Caribbean Primate Research Center (CPRC), and island residents are provisioned with food and fresh water."

According to Kohn, detailed data on island residents has been recorded since approximately 1955. Monkeys are free-ranging on the island and form their own family and social groups. Once residents die of natural causes, their skeletal material is incorporated into the CPRC museum collection.

"This skeletal collection, coupled with the depth and detail of family and demographic data for each individual, provides a unique opportunity to assess skeletal and dental characteristics over time, as well as family and environmental differences in health, longevity, and age-related conditions," Kohn noted. "At least four major hurricanes, including Maria in 2017, have struck the island since the colony was established. The effects of major hurricanes on rhesus monkey development will be assessed. Questions of development and aging are related to the human condition, which cannot be equally assessed in human populations."

The team's studies will incorporate undergraduate students interested in careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and biomedical research.

"Students will be integrated into all phases of these studies, providing unique scientific and cultural experiences," Kohn concluded. "Students will help in data collection in Puerto Rico, data analysis at our home institutions and dissemination of results at professional meetings."

By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUE's Graduate School fulfills the region's demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate school offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, nursing and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue master's degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in the Schools of Education (EdD) and Nursing (DNP). The School of Engineering and the Department of Historical Studies feature cooperative doctoral programs (PhD), and the College of Arts and Sciences features an Environmental Resources and Policy cooperative PhD.

SOURCE Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.