Development of a Longitudinal Strategic Plan for Research and Education at The Cayo Santiago Field Station, Puerto Rico

University Of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan PR

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support the creation of a ten-year strategic master plan for the Cayo Santiago Field Station (CSFS), an off-campus facility for research and education of the University of Puerto Rico that has served the scientific community for over 75 years. CSFS provides a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) for research projects focused on behavior, cognition, demography, life history, physiology and genetics. A new building has been recently acquired and offers the ideal space to develop adequate biological field station facilities, including the development of a housing unit, laboratory area, meeting space, and computer lab that can support the research currently done at CSFS and expand the community outreach program. Funding will allow a group of researchers and professionals from relevant backgrounds to perform a site-visit and offer advice needed to determine the extent of renovations necessary. In summary this is the ideal time to gear our efforts in conjunction with other professionals toward the improvement of the field station. This project will help direct efforts towards developing state-of-the-art infrastructure and laboratory settings for the improvement of the CSFS, which will enhance CSFS?s ability to forge ahead in its mission of providing an invaluable service to educational and research communities, including the advancement of underrepresented groups within science. As the only minority U.S. institution of higher education that hosts a primate center, the CSFS represents a unique place to increase diversity in science by supporting local Puerto Rican students and researchers. The proposed planning activity consists of the formation of an Advisory Committee that will help design a master plan following a two-day meeting at CSFS with three specific aims: i) to determine the potential for growth of research at CSFS and to establish the technological, communication, and facility renovations that would be necessary to accomplish such a goal, ii) to create a plan to develop an academic program for undergraduate teaching and training, and iii) to initiate the development of an outreach program for school students and the general public and to determine how best to integrate community outreach with on-going research and teaching. For more information about the field station, please visit the Caribbean Primate Research Center webpage for Cayo Santiago at http://cprc.rcm.upr.edu/?q=cayodesc.