Services related to differentiating motoneurons for the Bronx VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs, James J Peters VA Medical Center R&D Service intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Dignity Health, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 for services supporting a VA-funded project aimed to elucidate the biological basis of ALS, which could ultimately suggest targets for the development of novel drug therapies. Among other experiments, the work involves the use of motoneurons differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) derived from ALS patients followed by molecular assays that employ these motoneurons. These studies cannot be performed in the James J Peters VA Medical Center (JJPVAMC, Bronx, NY), as they require expertise that is lacking in this facility. Six ALS- and six control hiPSC-derived motoneuron lines will be differentiated during the first year of the project. These differentiated motoneurons will be used for 24 molecular assays. The contractor is required to have a proven track record of studying the pathophysiology of ALS using motoneurons differentiated from hiPSC, as well as perform research of RNA-editing and ADAR using ALS patient-derived hiPSC and motoneurons. This equipment will be utilized for research studies at the Bronx VA which require the performance of RNA isolation, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and sequencing library constructions for next generation sequencing (RNA-seq and ChIP-seq). This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirement may submit a capability statement to the contracting office no later than Monday, June 25, 2018, 4:00, EST. Interest/capability statements may be sent to Elaine DiBucci at elaine.dibucci@va.gov. No telephone responses will be accepted. A determination not to compete the proposed requirement based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.