SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
- Notice Date
- 4/8/2014
- 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, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD, Office of Acquisitions, 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7902
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7902
- Solicitation Number
- NHLBI-HV-15-02
- Archive Date
- 5/8/2014
- Point of Contact
- Roxane Burkett, Phone: 301-594-4588, Mark Brady, Phone: (301)-435-0376
- E-Mail Address
-
burkettr@mail.nih.gov, mark.brady@nih.gov
(burkettr@mail.nih.gov, mark.brady@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Division of Cardiovascular Sciences of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), is conducting a market survey to assess the availability and potential technical capability of small business firms to perform for the renewal of the program entitled "The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis". The applicable NAICS Code is 541712 and the size standard is 500 employees. It is anticipated that one award will be made in August 2015 for a period of five years. The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) is a study of the correlates, predictors, and progression of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) (disease detected non-invasively before it has produced clinical signs and symptoms) in a diverse population-based sample of men and women aged 45-84 who had no evidence of clinical CVD at baseline (www.mesa-nhlbi.org). Six thousand eight hundred fourteen (6,814) participants were recruited from six Field Centers during 2000-2002 (Forsyth County, NC; Northern Manhattan and the Bronx, NY; Baltimore City and Baltimore County, MD; St. Paul, MN; Chicago, IL; and Los Angeles County, CA). The ethnic composition of the recruited cohort was 38% white, 28% African American, 22% Hispanic, and 12% Chinese. The goal of this acquisition is to maximize use of data and samples amassed in MESA over a 15-year period to address new questions about the development of clinical CVD. The scientific objectives are to (1) enhance statistical power to perform analyses of predictors of clinical events, particularly in informative subgroups; (2) study the progression of subclinical to clinical CVD; and (3) identify new risk factors or interactions among factors that inform disease pathophysiology. The operational goals are to (1) support continued cohort follow-up and data collection on clinical events; (2) continue to foster scientific collaborations; and (3) conduct a limited clinical examination of the MESA participants as a platform for ancillary study examination components. A limited clinical examination will be included in the statement of work as a separate Task Area in this contract. The NHLBI will determine later whether to award this specific Task Area. For instance, it may decide not to fund a clinical examination if no ancillary study grant application that proposes to fund a new exam component in the cohorts is successfully funded by an NIH Institute or Center. If the NHLBI does decide to award this Task Area, the Contractor shall be expected to work closely with ancillary study investigators and to coordinate exam components from multiple funding sources. The important overall technical requirements associated with the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis include the following: • Provide appropriate senior personnel with expertise in epidemiology, clinical cardiovascular disease, longitudinal studies management, statistics, bioinformatics, and administrative management • Conduct regular follow-up contact of participants via mail and to retain staff at the MESA Field Centers to follow up with non-responders via phone calls or other methods. • Investigate participants' self-reported clinical events by collecting supporting medical records, death certificates, and other relevant materials; perform centralized abstraction data from such records required for events ascertainment; and conduct expert review and classification thereof. • Perform administrative, operational, and technical duties to support productive collaboration among the study personnel, outside researchers collaborating with MESA, and the NHLBI Project Office. • Establish and maintain study databases, including updating the databases with data from newly ascertained events and ancillary studies both for internal use and for posting on BioLINCC (https://biolincc.nhlbi.nih.gov) and other NIH databases, such as dbGaP (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gap), as appropriate. • Establish and manage a biological specimen repository. • Coordinate and participate collaboratively in study committees to provide a transparent committee process, open access to study documents, clear policies for access to data and materials, and an approval process for proposed manuscripts and ancillary studies that is fair and balanced. (See Section IV below for details of the various study committees.) • Arrange for and manage annual meetings of an NHLBI-appointed Observational Studies Monitoring Board (OSMB) as directed by the NHLBI Project Office. • Conduct a re-examination of MESA participants. [Note: This is a separate Task Area for which NHLBI will determine later whether to award.] • Design and implement appropriate quality assurance and quality control programs. • Conduct data analyses and prepare scientific publications and presentations. • Prepare and submit technical and financial reports. • Perform activities related to study closeout as directed by the NHLBI Project Office. • Work cooperatively with all study investigators and staff, the NHLBI Project Office, and any subcontractors and consultants in all relevant aspects of the study. Small business firms that have demonstrated experience in performing the tasks as articulated above are invited to submit capability statements. Capability statements must provide evidence of ability to perform and experience in performing the tasks described above and will be reviewed based on the following: (1) the professional qualifications of scientific and technical personnel in accordance with the above requirements; (2) demonstrated capacity of individuals, administrative structure, and the institutional support to perform the functions of a multi-functional center for a collaborative epidemiology study, including protocol development, operational and scientific coordination, information processing, maintenance of a well curated repository of data and biospecimens; high retention in annual follow-up contacts of study participants for clinical events identification; conduct of a multi-site clinic examination, and implementation of a system to ensure appropriate data sharing and biospecimen sharing; (3) facilities and equipment available to perform the required tasks; (4) evidence of the ability to assess and monitor quality control for data acquisition; (5) evidence of ability to analyze data from longitudinal epidemiologic studies and publish results in peer reviewed journals, and a proven track record of collaboration with other research programs; (6) demonstrated ability to effectively manage both administrative and financial aspects of a contract to promote and support an integrated data collection effort; (7) the small business status of the firm under NAICS Code 541712. Evaluation of the capability statements shall be based on the technical capabilities listed above. Each technical point (criterion) will be weighted equally. Capability statements submitted in response to this notice that do not provide sufficient information for review will not be considered. This is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP), and responses should NOT include budgetary information. The Government intends to negotiate one contract for the period of five years with an approximate award date of August 15, 2015. Firms responding to this notice shall provide capability statements (original and three copies) no later than 04:00 pm EST on the fifteenth (15th) calendar day from the date of this announcement to the address shown above. Your submission shall include the name and telephone number of a point of contact. Please reference this notice number. Electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted and shall be sent to Mark Brady, Contract Specialist, (email: Mark.Brady@nih.gov) and Roxane Burkett, Contracting Officer (email: Roxane.Burkett@nih.gov).
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- SN03332711-W 20140410/140409021756-f267d3e9f972d81e275a4384045991c1 (fbodaily.com)
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