Contract Management Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Neuroscience Center, Suite 3287, 6001 Executive Blvd., MSC 9531, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9531

A -- HIGH THROUGHPUT ANALYSIS OF GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM SOL RFP No. NIH-NINDS-00-05 DUE 032800 POC Contracting Officer, Laurie A. Leonard, 301/496-1813 WEB: Click here to download theRFP, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/cmb. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contracting Officer, ll44s@nih.gov. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health, is committed to research to promote the understanding of gene function in the nervous system. Once all the genes of the human genome have been sequenced, the next great challenge for biomedical research will be to unravel the functions of these genes. A crucial step in this process will be to analyze their spatial expression patterns, and to determine how these patterns change under different developmental and physiological conditions. In the past, analyses of gene expression patterns have been done on a gene-by-gene basis within individual laboratories. Such analyses generally focus on a small number of anatomical regions that are of particular interest to the investigator doing the analysis, and are of limited value to the community as a whole: that is, researchers wishing to know a gene's expression pattern in their own anatomical region of interest are forced to redo the analysis in their own laboratories. Thus, a general reference atlas of gene expression patterns in the nervous system would be of great value to the neuroscience community. Based on these considerations, the NINDS has decided to establish a public database of gene expression patterns for the nervous system. This project will involve screening probes for a large number (thousands) of gene products on a relatively limited number (10 to 20) of sections of the nervous system cut through standardized planes of section. Planes of section will be chosen to include the structures of most general interest to the neuroscience community (for example, cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and the spinal cord), so as to maximize the utility of the data for the greatest number of investigators. The resulting images of gene expression will be digitized and entered into a Web-accessible database. The initial phase of the project will focus on adult mice and mice at three stages of development (e.g., early and late embryonic and early postnatal). Later stages of the project will add data for mutant mice subject to specific experimental manipulations. No human studies are required. Personnel with established expertise in histological processing of nervous tissue to analyze gene expression patterns, mouse genetics, neuroanatomy, histology, and embryology will be needed to perform this research. It is anticipated that one award may be made for a period of three years (plus two options periods) in September 2000. This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP). THE SOLICITATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY ONLY. It will be available at this website (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/cmb) 15 or more calendar days after the issuance of this synopsis. OFFERORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ROUTINELY CHECKING THIS WEBSITE FOR ANY POSSIBLE SOLICITATION AMENDMENTS THAT MAY BE ISSUED. NO INDIVIDUAL NOTIFICATION OF ANY AMENDMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. Refer to numbered Note 26.**** Posted 01/10/00 (W-SN414562). (0010)

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