Collaborative Research on Mood Disorders and Reward-Processing

INTRODUCTION This is a pre-solicitation non-competitive (notice of intent) synopsis to award a contract without providing for full or open competition. THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order to Dr. Narun Pornpattananangkul on a sole source basis for the following: (a) the development of decision-making tasks that allow us to study reward-processing during fMRI and M/EEG in children with vs. without mood disorders and (b) an implementation of computational modeling to capture different aspects of reward-processing. MBDU requires that the consultant has developed well-validated procedures for evaluating reward-processing in children that are highly congruent with the research question and data acquired by the program. These are questions that examine relationships between reward-processing and mood disorders. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541690 with a Size Standard of $16.5 Million. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021-02 dated November 23, 2020. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1 (b) (1), Soliciting from a single source and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13'Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6'Competition Requirements. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT Mood Brain and Development Unit (MBDU) is a laboratory designed to conduct brain imaging studies in children. Such research requires diverse expertise in computational modeling and cognitive neuroscience across various modalities, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG). MBDU requires collaborative efforts to enhance the impact of research performed on site at the NIMH. In the past, work with Dr. Narun Pornpattananangkul has facilitated the impact of research at MBDU by creating pipelines for analyzing large amount of neuroimaging data and by incorporating computational models into the analyses at different modalities (fMRI, MEG and EEG). Both MBDU and Dr. Pornpattananangkul are interested in the neural-computational mechanisms, such as reward processing, that may help explain symptoms in mood disorders, such as anhedonia and low-mood. MBDU requires a leading authority who can capture different aspects of reward processing in mood disorders with computational models at different modalities (fMRI, MEG, EEG). MBDU requires that the consultant has developed well-validated procedures for evaluating reward-processing in children that are highly congruent with the research question and data acquired by Dr. Stringaris. These are questions that examine relationships between reward-processing and mood disorders. The overall goal of collaboration with the contractor is to delineate aspects of brain function that relate to both normal and pathological processing during decision-making of reward-related stimuli. MBDU and the contractor have used similar protocols in research in both brain imaging and behavioral studies. MBDU seeks a consultant to provide the following: (a) the continued development of decision-making tasks that allow us to study reward-processing during fMRI and M/EEG in children with vs. without mood disorders and (b) an implementation of computational modeling to capture different aspects of reward-processing. The contractor has a leading role in all these projects including overseeing the technical work of research fellows, data analysis, and writing of scientific reports. The purpose of this acquisition is to acquire a contractor to oversee the dissemination of these methods to other collaborating laboratories. Specific Requirements: The contractor shall assess and analyze data from the aforementioned projects and shall assist in manuscript preparation and publication. The contractor also will provide materials to collaborators so that they might complete studies of reward-processing and mood disorders. The contractor will perform these duties in collaboration with existing members of the Intramural Research Program. The contractor will also oversee training of NIMH-IRP staff on the newly implemented research procedures. The contractor will prepare and maintain materials that arise from this research in a format that can be easily shared with other scientists. The contractor will also work with the NIMH preparing manuscripts that present the results from this work; the contactor will perform these duties by applying a range of tools with which the contractor possesses expertise. The contractor should understand data analytic procedures, using computer languages, such as R, Matlab and Python. The contractor should understand how to use ePrime to interpret results from experiments and design studies that extend these results. Importantly, the contractor should have evidence (e.g. papers, pre-prints, conference abstracts) of work on the following: a) large datasets (e.g. ABCD) b) work in neuroimaging (e.g. rsMRI) c) work that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the - curse of multidimensionality and how to use modern machine learning applications to resolve it (e.g. regularized regression). d) evidence ability to use advanced statistical inference (e.g. permutation-based regression) or cross-validation. e) have done computational modeling, in particular theory-based approaches, such as reinforcement learning models. f) have a publications in psychology and or psychiatry, especially in the field of mood and anxiety disorders. Level of Effort: During the period of performance from date of award, the contractor shall provide approximately 5 hours per week, not to exceed 267 labor hours per year. The Contractor shall visit MBDU on the NIH campus between one and two times during each of the contract years at no additional expense to the government. PUBLICATION AND PUBLICITY The Contractor shall assist the MBDU staff in writing and preparing for publication the data produced in the performance of the statement of work. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance will consist of a base year with one one-year option. Proposed Base Year: 02/21/2021 - 02/20/2022 Proposed Option Year One: 02/21/2022 - 02/20/2023 The intended source is: Dr. Narun Pornpattananangkul 135b Chapman St. Wakari, Dunedin, 9010 New Zealand CLOSING STATEMENT Dr. Narun Pornpattananangkul is the only vendor that NIMH is aware of that has a background in psychology or medicine with a published track record of research relevant to clinical phenotypes (e.g. depression, anxiety, anhedonia, aging, and development). His extensive experience in computational modeling neuroeconomic models of behavior (decision making, reinforcement learning); ability to fit Bayesian models of behavior; in depth knowledge of neuroimaging (fMRI, rsMRI) data analysis; prior knowledge of electrophysiology (EEG, MEG) data analysis; evidenced by publications in scientific journals (first-authored three (3) scientific papers in the last five years). Dr. Narun Pornpattananangkul has facilitated the impact of research by creating pipelines for analyzing large amount of neuroimaging data and by incorporating computational models into the analyses at different modalities (fMRI, MEG and EEG). THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, if any interested party believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a capability statement, proposal or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. The statement of capabilities and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the NIMH to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be received in the contract office by 3:00 PM EDT, on December 9, 2020. All responses and questions must be in writing and emailed to Michelle Cecilia, Contracting Specialist via electronic mail at michelle.cecilia@nih.gov and valerie.whipple@nih.gov . Fax responses will not be accepted. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. No collect calls will be accepted. In order to receive an award, Contractors must be registered and have valid, current Entity record, including current Representation and Certifications, in the System for Award Management (SAM) through SAM.gov. .