FACILITIES OF RESEARCH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY

Release Date:  March 6, 2002

NOTICE: NOT-NS-02-011

RFP AVAILABLE:  BAA/RFP-NIH-NINDS-02-09

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
 (http://www.ninds.nih.gov)

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National 
Institutes of Health, announces the availability of a Broad Agency 
Announcement/Request for Proposals (BAA/RFP) to establish training and 
research facilities that would support the study of rodent models of spinal 
cord injury (SCI).  The NINDS is the lead governmental agency for the funding 
of research on SCI, and proposes to establish national Facilities of Research 
Excellence in SCI (FOR-SCI) that will train new researchers on best practices 
in the field of SCI, including the standards of current research methodology, 
analytical protocols and functional outcome evaluations.  Under this BAA, 
these facilities will provide, in the same location, resources, capabilities 
and expertise in SCI research.  These will include the ability to work with 
multiple standard models of injury in rats and/or mice, and the facilities and 
personnel for expert handling, care and the medical management of animals with 
SCI.  They will have dedicated facilities and expertise for conducting 
surgery, including microsurgery such as transplants and grafts, and for 
cellular analyses ranging from neuroanatomy and histology to electrophysiology 
and other cutting-edge technologies.  These facilities will also provide 
training for individuals from graduate students to faculty, both within and 
outside of the organization, to promote consistency of procedures and 
practices across laboratories.  A facility/center should also be able to 
provide training on the assessment of standard outcome measures and to 
participate in the development of new and relevant means of evaluating 
recovery from spinal cord dysfunction.  Another role of the support shall be 
to review and replicate novel treatments for SCI, and to compare the efficacy 
of different treatments in a standardized environment with a minimum of 
variability in surgery, animal care, outcome evaluation and cellular analyses.  
Finally, these sites could be the nuclei/nexus for collaborative studies on 
SCI.  It is anticipated that one or two cost-reimbursement type contracts will 
be made for a period of five years in September 2002.  

This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP).  THIS SOLICITATION WILL BE 
AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY ONLY.  BAA/Request for Proposal (BAA/RFP) No. NIH-
NINDS-02-09 will be available electronically and may be accessed through the 
FedBizOpps (URL: http://www.fedbizopps.gov) or through the NINDS website 
at the following URL address:  
(http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/funding_announcements/RFP_all.htm) 
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.

Inquiries may be directed to:

Laurie A. Leonard, Contracting Officer
Contracts Management Branch
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH
NeuroScience Center, Suite 3287
6001 Executive Boulevard, MSC 9531
Bethesda, Maryland  20892
301-496-1813
E-Mail:  LL44S@NIH.GOV

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NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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