SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Microvascular Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
- Notice Date
- 3/20/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch (Pittsburgh), Post Office Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15236-0070
- ZIP Code
- 15236-0070
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-CDC-NIOSH(DM)-SBSS-12-002
- Archive Date
- 4/2/2012
- Point of Contact
- Diane J Meeder, Phone: (412)386-4412
- E-Mail Address
-
DMeeder@cdc.gov
(DMeeder@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), is seeking information on a potential requirement for "Microvascular Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)." The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the NAICS code 541712 for the potential acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Draft - Brief of the Statement of Work (SOW). Background and Need The contractor will provide the management, coordination, and implementation for a research project that supports the mission of NIOSH by advancing occupational health using existing data and collecting additional data from police officers. Police officers have higher rates of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality than the general US population. This disparity may be related to the higher levels of stress exposures inherent in police work. Research has been conducted on associations between occupational stressors and cardiovascular disease involving the larger blood vessels (macrovascular), but investigations at the arteriolar (microvascular) level (e.g., renal and retinal arterioles) have been far more limited. It is possible that exposure to occupational stressors may initially lead to adverse microvascular changes prior to any detectable adverse macrovascular abnormalities. It is also possible that different biological mechanisms may be involved in adverse microvascular as opposed to macrovascular outcomes associated with occupational stress exposures. However, to the best of our knowledge, no published studies examining the associations between occupational stressors and microvascular subclinical CVD exist. Reliable standardized measures are now available for assessing damage to these microvessels. Cystatin C, a cysteine protease inhibitor, is an excellent marker of early renal microvascular damage. It has been shown to be positively associated with arterial elasticity, myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke. Retinal microvascular changes have been shown to be associated with chronic hypertension and clinical cardiovascular disease outcomes. Retinal arteriolar narrowing is also known to be associated with subclinical markers of cardiovascular disease such as increased carotid artery intima-media thickness. This study will be the first to investigate the associations between occupational stressors and microvascular pathology of the retina and kidneys. The information obtained from this study could lead to new knowledge about whether occupational stressors are associated with microvascular cardiovascular disease. The focus on microvascular measures of subclinical cardiovascular disease represents an innovative aspect of this study that has the potential to make unique contributions to the field. Given the high prevalence of clinical cardiovascular disease among police officers (31.5% in one study), any decrease in occupational cardiovascular disease risk factors could have a substantial public health impact. This study will contribute to workers' health by demonstrating the utility of microvascular subclinical cardiovascular disease as a potential screening tool in identifying possible consequences of occupational stress. Study results may lead to development and implementation of effective policies to reduce work stressors and ultimately improve health. Project Objectives The objectives of the project are to manage, coordinate, and integrate these new measurements into an existing follow-up examination where possible, to select and train personnel to perform retinal photography and phlebotomy, and to prepare and ship the retinal photographs and blood specimens to their respective Reading Center and laboratory. Performance of these objectives will allow investigators to research the following hypotheses: (1) Are occupational stressors associated with microvascular subclinical cardiovascular disease in: • Renal vessels (assessed by Cystatin C, a biomarker of early renal damage)? • Retinal vessels (assessed by retinal photography to determine arteriolar narrowing)? (2) Do markers of inflammation (e.g., C-reactive protein), insulin resistance (assessed by resistin), or vitamin D mediate or modify the association between occupational stressors and microvascular subclinical cardiovascular disease? Anticipated period of performance. Approximately four (4) years. Other important considerations. Utilization of police officers from Buffalo NY who have already participated in the BCOPS study to take part in these new examinations of retinal photography and blood analyses. Capability statement /information sought. Respondents who believe that they possess the expertise and experience to meet the government's needs in the SOW are invited to submit technical and management capabilities addressing those requirements. These may include but are not limited to: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. Respondent must indicate in your capability statement : Organization name, Address, DUNS number, Business size Classification (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code of 541712 size standard which is 500. Points of contact, Email, Telephone number, Address of the location where testing is to be conducted. Quality Assurance Program Page Limitation : No more than five (5) pages, 8 ½ x 11, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, with 1" margins. Response Due Date: Submit information above to Diane J Meeder, Contract Specialist, CDC, NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh PA 15236, DMeeder@cdc.gov. Reference: HHS-CDC-NIOSH(DM)-SBSS-12-002. Responses are due no later than 3:00pm, March 30, 2012 Eastern Time. Any information received by the government will not be returned. Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
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