The ability to alter or correct genetic information will revolutionize treatment of a range of human diseases. This approach has broad interest to multiple NIH Institutes and Centers as well as the greater research community. Of primary concern is ensuring safe and efficient editing, which represents the greatest barrier to human clinical use. The NIH Center for Somatic Cell Genome Editing (CSGE) in Nonhuman Primates will serve the research community by ensuring essential nonhuman primate models are available across the lifespan to advance the field and contribute to the translation of somatic cell genome editing for the treatment of human diseases. The Center evolved from the NIH Nonhuman Primate Testing Center for Evaluation of Somatic Cell Genome Editing Tools where studies are limited to investigators that are funded in the Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Consortium (Phase I). With the new CSGE, collaborative opportunities for investigators are broadened through a competitive application process for study conduct, the ability to leverage the capabilities in the program for new NIH grant applications, and to perform investigations utilizing the Center on a fee-for-service basis through funded grants.

The CSGE provides state-of-the-art capabilities for investigators to conduct high-quality, robust, and innovative collaborative translational research studies.

The CSGE has extensive expertise, including a focus on in utero therapies and models across the lifespan; a broad array of established techniques, tools, assays, and methodologies specific to somatic cell genome editing and key techniques for evaluating safety and efficiency; nonhuman primates across age groups of sufficient quantity and quality; and support for informatics, database management and sharing, as well as biostatistics to ensure all studies are well designed and essential NIH data sharing requirements are met.

In addition to extensive outreach, the Center provides training to investigators and their staff, and develops new techniques and technologies each year that are shared with the greater research community.