We have initiated the "Innovative Evaluation and Promotion of Evidence-Based Enrichment" (IEPEE) program as a new outreach activity aimed at enhancing our environmental enrichment program for nonhuman primates while providing undergraduate students with research opportunities. These efforts augment the outstanding facility-wide environmental enrichment program at the WFUPC by using scientific approaches to explore new methods, tools, and relationships that provide objective evidence of improvements in animals’ well-being.

The IEPEE program works to build research teams that collaborate to design creative new enrichment strategies, collect data on their effectiveness in increasing animals' well-being, and promote the use of those evidence-based strategies and devices. Students participating in this program further their understanding of primate behavior and laboratory animal science. They gain in-depth and hands-on learning experiences with all aspects of research methods and design, and have opportunities to disseminate their findings through research reports and presentations. As a result of these activities, the IEPEE program promotes effective enrichment for nonhuman primates and scientific training opportunities for students that will pursue careers in basic science, human, and animal medicine.

Undergraduate students from Wake Forest University and Salem College are currently participating. Students from Clemson University, Guilford College, the University of Maryland, North Carolina Central University, Forsyth Technical College, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and Wake Forest University have participated in previous nonhuman primate environmental enrichment efforts.

For more information, contact Dr. Allyson Bennett.