Professional Consulting Services

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR A PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. It is the intent of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to negotiate and award a contract on a sole source, noncompetitive basis to Dr. Zhennan Lai, 2 Boat House Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-4230 to prepare and analyze samples from Sj'gren's patients using micro array technologies. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), The Molecular Physiology and Therapeutics Branch (MPTB), Division of Intramural Research (DIR) has a need for the services of an expert who can perform microarray technology as well as novel technology to follow changes in gene expression. This expertise is necessary in order to expand upon NIDCR's current studies in patients suffering from Sj'gren's Syndrome. Primary Sj'gren's Syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by exocrine gland dysfunction primarily involving the salivary and lacrimal gland. The histological hallmark of Sj'gren's Syndrome is a periductal inflammatory infiltrate. The conventional explanation of salivary gland dysfunction assumes a casual relationship between this chronic inflammatory process and decreased saliva production. However, most patients have preserved salivary gland tissue and in overall the correlation between the focus score on SG biopsy (a measure of inflammation) and saliva production is limited. NIDCR plans to identify salivary gland abnormalities that may predispose to Salivary Gland dysfunction in Sj'gren's Syndrome patients. To explore if the striking female predominance of SS can be explained by intrinsic differences in salivary glands, the gene expression profiles of health men and women will be compared as well as mouse models of the disease. This approach may identify abnormalities that are either intrinsic to the salivary gland (male to female and to normal SS comparison) or are important in the chronic inflammatory process (normal looking ells vs. cells from infiltrate). These studies are covered under protocols 84-D-0056, 94-D-0018 and 99-D-0070. The specific tasks to be performed in Molecular Physiology and Therapeutics Branch lab space on the NIH Campus in Building 10. The period of performance is October 1st, 2009 to September 30, 2010. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competition Requirements. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 541990 and the Size Standard is $7.0M. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed purchase order based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Comments to this announcement, referencing synopsis number NHLBI-PB-DE-2009-329-JKS may be submitted by mail to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Office of Acquisitions, Procurement Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Suite 6136A, Bethesda, MD 20892-7902, Attention: Jennifer Schlegel, by fax transmission to (301) 480-3432 or by email to schlegeljk@nhlbi.nih.gov