Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates
Encyclopedia
The Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) was a New York University
research facility founded in 1965 by Edward Goldsmith and Jan Moor-Jankowski
. The Tuxedo
, New York
-based outfit was a prominent vendor of primate
s and primate parts in the New York metropolitan area
. These were used by area scientists for transplantation
and virus
research.
The facility was the subject of a documentary
produced by National Geographic featured Jane Goodall
. The award-winning episode, Chimp Rescue, was broadcast in 1998, shortly after the closure of the facility. The documentary chronicled James Mahoney's efforts to save approximately one hundred primates prior to the closure of the facility.
One of the likely contributing factors to the demise of LEMSIP was the revision of the caging requirements prescribed by the USDA. The upgrades would have cost the university at least US$2 million. As a result, custody of several specimen were passed on to the Frederick Coulston Foundation.
Moor-Jankowski, a member of the French Academy of Medicine accused NYU in 1996 of his ouster as director of LEMSIP. He alleged that this act was retaliation for his blowing the whistle on former NYU primate addiction researcher Ron Wood.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
research facility founded in 1965 by Edward Goldsmith and Jan Moor-Jankowski
Jan Moor-Jankowski
Jan Moor-Jankowski was a Polish-born American primatologist and a fighter for Polish independence against Nazi Germany. Dr...
. The Tuxedo
Tuxedo, New York
Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,334. The town is in the southeastern part of the county. NY Route 17 and the New York State Thruway pass through the town...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based outfit was a prominent vendor of primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s and primate parts in the New York metropolitan area
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. These were used by area scientists for transplantation
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
and virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
research.
The facility was the subject of a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
produced by National Geographic featured Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
. The award-winning episode, Chimp Rescue, was broadcast in 1998, shortly after the closure of the facility. The documentary chronicled James Mahoney's efforts to save approximately one hundred primates prior to the closure of the facility.
One of the likely contributing factors to the demise of LEMSIP was the revision of the caging requirements prescribed by the USDA. The upgrades would have cost the university at least US$2 million. As a result, custody of several specimen were passed on to the Frederick Coulston Foundation.
Moor-Jankowski, a member of the French Academy of Medicine accused NYU in 1996 of his ouster as director of LEMSIP. He alleged that this act was retaliation for his blowing the whistle on former NYU primate addiction researcher Ron Wood.
External links
- Commensurating the closure of Coulston
- Animal Advocates Protest Plans for a Primate Lab, New York Times excerpt
- NYU / LEMSIP timeline by Satya magazine (archived link)