A--Research and Development in Illicit Drug Demand Reduction and Support

NA Research and Development in Illicit Drug Demand Reduction and Support. The U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, Electronic Proving Ground, Counterdrug Office, Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-7110 in support of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Cou nterdrug Technology Assessment Center (CTAC) is soliciting proposals for innovative research and development projects to reduce the demand for illicit drugs and other substances of abuse. The intent of this Broad Area Announcement (BAA) is to identify appl ications of medical technologies that enhance our National capabilities to meet the strategic Demand Reduction goals of ONDCP (see web site: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov ). These initiatives will complement those of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (N IDA) (see web sire: www.nida.nih.gov ), in the improvement, installation, and use of the investigative tools and instruments, available for research scientists and engineers to explore and understand the underlying causes of substance abuse, dependence, a nd addiction on which to develop effective assessment, prevention, and treatment programs. Areas of Interest: This BAA focuses on science and technology-based initiatives that will contribute to the development and applications of technology to support: dr ug abuse prevention and treatment research, enhancement of our understanding of the effects of drugs on the body, understanding genetics based aspects of drug addiction and susceptibility, and using statistical data base methods for assessing and monitorin g drug addiction. Major areas of interest are: 1. Infrastructure for Research and Validation of Technology: a. Expansion of advanced neuroimaging research systems and facilities and training opportunities for research teams dedicated to studies of drug abu se. Included are high-resolution positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, ultra-high energy fields for the imaging of animals, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, brain scan image processing and interpretation, molecular chemistry and assay systems, and related noninvasive support technologies. Selected infrastructure research initiatives are to contribute to systems development and implementation to image the drug's metabolic and chemical processes, map brain reward circuitry, loc alize active areas of the brain, measurement of blood volume and flow associated with drug metabolism, and analysis of interactions with potential therapeutic medicines. b. Validation of infrastructure enhancement efforts toward contributing to the foundat ion for key research issues. Examples include research such as the curtailment of drug-induced adaptive behavior, pharmacological phenomena and neurochemical effects relating to sensitization and tolerance, impulsivity and risk-taking behavioral traits, cu e induced craving, significance of various motivational rewards, effects of sleep disturbance, and the effects and degree of genetic contributions to drug use and addiction. 2. Bioinformatics and Research Data: a. Information systems for relating gene expr ession and functional bioinformatics to positional information and the biochemical or functional pathway to identify correlation with the genetic predisposition to abused drugs, genomic variables associated with responses to drugs, and possible relationshi ps to known linkages with drug abuse; with the goal of understanding the entire complex chemistry and circuitry of the brain, and how this circuitry is altered under conditions of drug abuse. b. Enabling technologies, such as advanced microarray technology in support of gene expression measurements, structural protein studies, and the investigation of blood gene expression profiling and genomic patterns for diagnostic and therapeutic assessment of drug addiction. c. Technologies for visual imaging and other computationally intensive operations related to bioinformatics. This includes hardware and software tools that enhance drug research in the areas of imaging an d other instrumentation, improved sensors and detectors, faster and higher capacity information handling and computation, and new computation algorithms for data analysis and statistics. d. Statistics collection and analyses to compile data from selected nation-wide locations, diversionary programs, abuse severity data, outcome analysis, and other research resources for use by policy agencies treatment providers, prevention educators, and researchers, at all levels in the government. e. Studies to enhance the detection and measurement of illicit substances in body fluids, techniques for assessing and monitoring drug addiction and severity, and efforts that will assist understanding and detecting the use of drugs of abuse and performance-enhancing substances such as anabolic and androgenic steroids by athletes. SYNOPSIS/PROPOSALS: Offerors submitting full proposals shall obtain proposal submission Instructions entitled, Research and Development in Illicit Drug Demand Reduction and Support. The instructions provide further information on the submissions and proposal formats. The link URL is http://www.wsmr.army.mil/docpage/pages/sol_stat.htm .Proposals not meeting the format described in the proposal submission instructions may not be reviewed for further con sideration. BAA MILESTONES: Proposals may be submitted at any time prior to the closing date of 28 January 2003. Proposals will be selected on the basis of funds availability and the evaluation procedures described below. EVALUATION CRITERIA/PROCEDURES: P roposals will be selected through a formal procedure encompassing a technical/scientific and counterdrug decision review process. Proposers are advised that full proposals may be reviewed or evaluated by non-government personnel such as representatives fr om academia, Federal Research & Development Center, and consultants, each of whom will have accepted the terms and conditions of a non-disclosure agreement and an Organizational Conflict of Interest statement. All reviewed and evaluated proposals may not b e funded due to budgetary or program constraints. Proposals will be evaluated with respect to the following criteria: (1) Overall scientific and technical merit. -feasibility of proposed project; awareness of challenges; -awareness of past and on-going re search and related applications worldwide; -potential for advancement of scientific understanding of the National drug abuse problem; and -degree of creativity and innovation. (2) Potential contribution, relevance, and impact on the ONDCP's Goals and Objec tives, as they relate to Demand Reduction (web site, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov ). -understanding the importance of the challenges; and -understanding of the scientific basis and advance technology applications. (3) Capabilities and experience (including major subcontractors). -Qualifications and experience of the research/project team; -relevance of published peer-reviewed journal articles; -management plan and experience; and -plans for transition of system (or validation study) to meet ONDCP goals. (4) Cost and schedule reasonableness/risk. -costs relative to perceived benefits; -degree of cost-sharing;-project's plans and schedule; and -appropriateness of budget and level of efforts and description of details. OFFEROR INFORMATION: Numerous awards may r esult from this BAA and will depend upon the quality and merit of proposals received and available funding. There will be no formal Request for Proposals or other solicitation with regard to this BAA, nor does the issuance of this BAA obligate the U.S. Gov ernment to fund any proposals, nor to pay any proposal preparation costs. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal, which will be considered. Although no portion of this announcement is set aside for histor ically black colleges and universities (HBCU's) or minority institutions (MI's), proposals are invited from all sources. The administrative address for this B AA is: U.S. Army Robert Morris Acquisition Center, White Sands Contracting Division, ATTN: AMSSB-ACW, Counterdrug Office (Mr. Charles Fahs), Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-7110. Proposals may be submitted anytime during the open period of this announcement and s hall be unclassified. The Government reserves the right to select for award, all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. The Government may also only select specific tasks within a proposal for award. The Government furt her reserves the right to issue contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions.