Modeling Immunity for Biodefense

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) supports research related to the basic understanding of microbiology and immunology leading to the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and medical diagnostics for the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of infectious and immune-mediated diseases. The NIAID, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT) has a requirement for the development and dissemination "user-friendly" mathematical/computational models for the study of human immunity to infection or vaccination (Modeling Immunity for Biodefense Program).

The scope of activities to be conducted under the Modeling Immunity for Biodefense Program must include: mathematical/computational model development and refinement; immunological experimentation for model development, testing, and validation; a bioinformatics component to manage immunological data for the contract and support model development and dissemination to the broader research community; and a educational component that consists of summer school programs and symposia for the broader research community to promote the use of mathematical and computational modeling in studies of immune responses. Each contract will be composed of a multi-disciplinary, interactive team of investigators with appropriate expertise to enhance and apply existing models or to develop novel mathematical models of host immune responses. At a minimum, each contract shall include immunologists, bioinformaticians, and scientists with expertise in mathematical modeling (e.g., mathematicians, physicists, engineers, statisticians). Additional expertise/disciplines, such as infectious disease, microbiology, systems biology, and epidemiology shall be included as dictated by the scope of the project. Contracts issued in response to this solicitation must include NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases, which includes NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogens and their toxins (listed at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/research/topics/emerging/list.htm; NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogens are group III). Additional studies may include other pathogens of relevance to human infectious disease. The inclusion of NIAID Emerging/Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases/NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogens must comprise at least 30% of the total proposed pathogens if other pathogens are included. Other pathogens of particular interest include pathogens in which vaccines are currently available (licensed), or in clinical trial, and do not afford complete protection in the human population (e.g., Plasmodium sp., Mycobacterium tuberculosis [non-MDR or XDR, since MDR and XDR TB are NIAID Category C Priority Pathogens], hepatitis B virus, Streptococcus pneumonia, and varicella zoster). Mathematical Model validation (see component 2 below) must be conducted with at least one NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Disease or NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogen/Toxin.

All proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: scientific and technical approaches to address the mandatory components described above; innovation; expertise and qualifications of the scientific and technical personnel, including the principal investigator and the project manager; the project management plan; and facilities, equipment, and other available resources.

It is anticipated that one or more cost reimbursement, completion type contracts will be awarded for a five-year base period of performance beginning on or about September 24, 2010 utilizing special contracting methods, FAR Subpart 17.1-Multi-year Contracting.

The NIAID estimates that the average annual total cost (direct and indirect costs combined) is $2 million per contract. However, it is anticipated that the total cost for the award(s) may vary depending upon the scope of the project and the technical objectives of the award(s). The length of time for which funding is requested should be consistent with the nature and complexity of the proposed research. In no event shall the base period of performance proposed by an offeror exceed five years.

All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the Agency. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) will be available electronically on/about August 19, 2009, and may be accessed through FedBizOpps http://www.fedbizopps.gov/. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted.