Definitive Contract 75N95026C00004

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a definitive cost-no-fee contract to the University of Miami's Office of Research Administration in the School of Medicine to establish and operate the NIH Neurobiobank Brain and Tissue Repository (NBB) collection site in South Miami, Florida. Under this $26.6 million contract through October 31, 2030, the University of Miami will actively acquire, receive, process, store, curate, preserve, and distribute central nervous system (CNS) and related tissue specimens for neurological, psychiatric, and neurodevelopmental disorder research. The contract was awarded without set-aside designation through full and open competition following the pre-solicitation notice (75N95024R00124) issued by NIDA in coordination with the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institute on Aging, and the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience.

As a collection site within the larger NIH Neurobiobank initiative, the University of Miami is expected to acquire post-mortem human brain tissue from deceased donors representing diverse populations, age ranges, and individuals with and without known neurological disorders. The contractor must acquire at least 70 donors annually with capacity to process up to 150 unique donors per year, maintaining detailed inventory documentation through the NIH NeuroBioBank Portal and adhering to tissue-sharing protocols established by the NIH. This five-year contract with potential option periods anticipates total donor acquisition ranging from 350 to 1,000 specimens by completion, supporting the broader NIH research mission to increase availability of human brain tissue for advancing understanding of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.