The Marmoset Research Group of the Americas (MaRGA) is an organization designed to bring together primatologists, biomedical researchers and veterinarians with an interest in marmosets and tamarins. The three National Primate Research Centers that maintain marmosets (Southwest, New England and Wisconsin) have joined together in this effort to promote the improved use of marmosets in biomedical research.

The formation of MaRGA was initiated in 2002 following a seminar on marmoset husbandry and management presented at the national AALAS meeting. We are interested in the development of stronger ties among those with research, veterinary and animal management interests in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). MaRGA is modeled after the European Marmoset Research Group and like the EMRG we want to provide a forum for bringing together people from a wide variety of disciplines and types of institutions to improve the understanding of marmoset biology, and in turn, the quality of research conducted using marmosets. The integration and coordination of efforts by those in both North and South America is necessary to support the expanding use of these primates in research.

Membership is open to all interested in the management and research use of marmosets. Click here to access the membership form.

MaRGA will hold its first meeting June 13-14, 2004, in Madison, Wisconsin. The theme of the meeting, Marmosets in Life Span Research, will be introduced by keynote speaker Dr. Steve Austad, an international figure in the field of aging research. The 2-day meeting will include four half-day sessions focused on nutrition, clinical care and pathology, physiology and immunology, and behavior and neuroscience. Other invited speakers include Craig Ferris (University of Massachusetts), Claude Genain (University of California, San Francisco) and Michael Power (Department of Zoological Research, the National Zoo). For further information on this meeting, contact Dr. Suzette Tardif at stardif@sfbr.org.

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