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This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only.
Background and Objectives:
The proposed project will examine age-associated changes in gene expression and chromatin structure in primary human cell subsets isolated from peripheral blood. The goal for 2019/2020 is to carry out the analysis for 30 donors spanning the age-range from 20-80 years. Cytapheresis samples will be fractionated by a combination of magnetic bead purification and flow cytometry into 10 cell subsets. RNA isolated from each cell subset and total peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) will be sequenced to identify age-associated changes and develop algorithms to de-convolute data from PBMC. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and DNase I hypersensitivity analysis will be carried out using antibodies directed against specific histone modifications and ATAC protocol, respectively. For these studies we will use only PBMC samples and the most abundant cell subsets to start with. Purified RNA and DNA from ChIP samples will be provided to the JHMI Deep Sequencing and Microarray Core for Hi-Seq analysis.
Additionally, we will carry out ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq studies to investigate the role of the transcription factor NF-kB in inflammatory gene expression during aging and immune activation.
The contractor will carry out sequencing library preparation as well as deep sequencing using Illumina NexSeq. The contractor will provide the government with FASTQ files of the data for computational analyses at NIA.
Project Requirements:
The contractor will prepare Illumina sequencing libraries from RNA, ChIP-Seq and ATAC-Seq experimental samples. Samples will be provided by the government and the contractor will carry out deep sequencing using Illumina NexSeq. Sequencing will entail either single-end reads of 75 bp length that will target approximately 400 million reads total or paired-end 75 bp reads targeting approximately 400 million reads total. FAST Q files of the data will be provided to the government for the further analyses.
Anticipated Period of Performance:
The anticipated period of performance is one year from the date of award. The estimated time frame of award is on/about September 2019.
Capability Statement:
Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Small businesses must also provide their Company Name, DUNS number, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information.
Interested small businesses are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.
All capability statements sent in response to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted to Scott Bredow, Contracting Officer, via email at [email protected] before the closing date and time of this announcement. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.
Disclaimer and Important Notes:
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The solicitation release date is pending.
Confidentiality:
No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).