NEW CTX Veterinary Support Services for Zebrafish Vivarium

The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, Texas, is seeking veterinary support services for its zebrafish vivarium core facility located in Research Building 205. The service requires a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with specialized experience in zebrafish laboratory animal science and medicine to serve as the Attending Veterinarian and active member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The contractor will be responsible for conducting semi-annual program and facility reviews, pre-approving animal research protocols, developing and maintaining IACUC standard operating procedures, ensuring compliance with VA Directive 1200.07, OLAW, and AAALAC standards, and providing training to VA researchers. Services are to be performed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time, excluding federal holidays, with availability for urgent veterinary issues. The position requires direct on-site presence at the Temple facility, with no access to sensitive patient or protected health information. The solicitation, identified as 36C25726Q0510 and posted on April 29, 2026, is a sources-sought notice issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 17 in San Antonio, Texas, under NAICS code 541940 for laboratory animal science services. Responses are due by May 8, 2026, and must be submitted via email to the designated contracting specialists. Respondents must provide their Unique Entity Identifier, certify their business size under the $10 million revenue threshold for small businesses, and declare any applicable socioeconomic status such as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, or HUBZone status. Affirmative responses related to SDVOSB or VOSB status require compliance with VA Clause 852.219-75 regarding subcontracting limitations. The anticipated contract would include a base year from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, with three optional one-year extensions through 2030. No pricing, CLINs, or contract value estimates are provided as this is a pre-solicitation market research action, and a draft Statement of Work is referenced for context. The procurement will later transition to a formal solicitation with defined evaluation criteria, and all contract administration details will be established at that time.