On Jan. 11, 2001, Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) researchers reported the production of the world’s first genetically modified nonhuman primate as an important step toward designing and perfecting new treatments for human genetic disorders.

The baby rhesus monkey, dubbed ANDi (backwards for inserted DNA), was born in early October and carries an extra gene that was slipped into his mother’s egg prior to fertilization. Such engineering may ultimately point the way to improved gene therapy treatments for human diseases.

This research was conducted by Anthony Chan, Ph.D., a staff scientist at Oregon Regional Primate Research Center and colleagues. The study results were published in Science.