MODIFICATION
A -- Defense Sciences Research and Technology
- Notice Date
- 10/7/2004
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA04-12
- Response Due
- 2/2/2005
- Archive Date
- 2/17/2005
- Description
- RESTORATIVE INJURY REPAIR, SOL BAA04-12, Addendum 8, DUE January 21, 2005, POC: DR. JOSEPH BIELITZKI, DARPA/DSO, Ph: (703) 696-5278, Email: baa04-12@darpa.mil, URL: www.darpa.mil/dso. Website Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/. The Defense Sciences Office is seeking innovative and aggressive proposals to better understand and affect the mechanisms of tissue healing following damage. The vision for the Restorative Injury Repair (RIR) Program is to fully restore functionality of complex tissue after damage or loss due to traumatic injury in the battlefield. These injuries include both kinetic (i.e., fragmentation and penetration wounds) as well as other destructive injuries (chemical and thermal burns, musculoskeletal injuries, etc.). This vision for RIR contrasts sharply with current biological reactions to injury, which are dominated by fibrosis (scarring) and reduced or lost performance. DARPA sees restoration of structure and function as critical needs. The program seeks to extend tissue injury research beyond ?single factor? therapies and develop a comprehensive approach addressing, but not limited to, an understanding of the overall systemic response at all levels to tissue wounding; damage and healing; the complexity of the wound environment; cellular involvement; exploitation of scaffolds/extracellular matrices; the importance of nutrition, energy balance, and substrate utilization; the role of inflammatory and immune pathways; and morphogenesis leading to full functional restoration. This will be an extremely aggressive, milestone-driven program, with a 24-month Phase 1 effort focused on defining the wound environment and generating a blastema in a non-regenerating animal. This will be followed by a 24-month Phase 2 effort, culminating in the restoration of a functional multi-tissue type structure in a non-regenerating animal. Phase 1 will be divided into two, 12-month periods, with a specific 12-month milestone that must be reached in order to progress to the second year. To accomplish this Phase 1 effort, it is expected that interdisciplinary teams will be required to first define the critical factors (e.g., cellular debris, microflora, inflammatory mediators, cellular energy budgets, artificial scaffolds) proximate to the wound site and systemic that decrease fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis by 20 percent and establish a population of blastema-like cells (defined by at least three characteristic markers) at the wound site. These pluripotent cells may arise from local stem cells, migrating stem cells, or dedifferentiation. Demonstration of these objectives will lead to controlled blastema formation at sites of tissue damage or loss in animals where regeneration is atypical. Approaches should rapidly lead to the development of new therapies or interventions that re-establish the developmental program that persists through morphogenic commitment. Specific technical challenges may include: 1) assessing the contribution of microflora, inflammatory mediators, clotting factors, apoptosis, necrosis, basement membranes/extracellular matrix, rapid epithelialization, etc., to the early events in wound closure and healing; 2) comparing and contrasting scarring vs. regenerative healing at the molecular level; 3) exploring age-related differences in regenerative ability; 4) defining possible checkpoints driven by cellular energy budgets and material availability; 5) testing the ability of exogenous scaffolds to improve the quality, quantity, and speed of healing; 6) establishing the mechanism of cellular transdifferentiation in the wound environment; 7) controlled recruitment of pluripotent cells; 8) determining the contribution of proteolytic remodeling of the near- and mid-term wound site to healing; 9) quantifying the extracellular and intracellular chemical gradients that regulate appropriate gene expression; and 10) understanding the causal relationships between cells and their environment that lead to stable blastema formation. Mathematic and computer modeling should be included when appropriate. Investigator teams should include a skill set capable of addressing the described technical challenges leading to Phase 1 milestones in a single integrated proposal. Consideration will be given to proposals that consider one or more of these challenges in the absence of an integrated team, provided they are willing to be integrated with others who have accepted the challenge of meeting the specific milestone. Phase 2 proposals will be requested at a later date. TEAMING: Progress in the RIR program will depend on the formation of well-managed interdisciplinary efforts that draw on expertise from such areas as regeneration, developmental biology, pattern formation, wound healing, tissue engineering, bioinformatics, systems biology, functional genomics, cell biology and reprogramming, stem cell biology, cellular trafficking, immunology, and inflammation. Members of interdisciplinary teams with established records will be required to work collaboratively and collectively maintain sharp focus toward achieving the Phase 1 objectives. SUBMISSION OF WHITE PAPERS: We invite white papers (10 pages or less) in response to this announcement. The white paper should be organized as follows: 1) An Executive Summary. 2) The idea. Which area(s) of emphasis are you addressing? 3) The approach. How will you address these areas? Briefly define the research plan you intend to follow. What are the research challenges, and how will they be addressed? What is unique or revolutionary about your approach? What additional capabilities do you envision will be enabled by your ideas? How do you plan to demonstrate the success of the research effort within the 12-month period of funding, and the following 12 months, as appropriate? Every white paper must describe specific, quantitative milestone(s) that need to be achieved in order to demonstrate progress in reaching the ultimate goals of the program. 4) The cost. What is your cost estimate for resources required for the proposed time line? 5) The Management Plan. A brief description of the technical expertise of the principal investigator and the key team members must be provided, along with a management plan describing how different disciplines represented on the team will be integrated to ultimately generate a proof-of-concept to be completed within the 12- and 24-month windows. Proposers should attempt to address the breadth of the research problem as described with imbedded metrics for achieving both Phase 1 goals. An aggressive and timely solution to the problem should emerge through each step of Phase 1 and into Phase 2. White papers sent in response to this addendum are due at DARPA no later than 1600 hours EST November 19, 2004. Proposers submitting white papers will be notified within 15 business days of that date if a full proposal will be requested. To facilitate the submission process, a website has been established, http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/. Not withstanding the disposition of white papers, DARPA will accept full proposals for this addendum. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS: Each proposal should: 1) explicitly address tests, demonstrations, and other research activities planned in the area(s) of interest described above; 2) include at least two specific and quantitative scientific and/or technical objectives for each scientific/technical area of interest addressed in the proposal that clearly demonstrate the research is on track for meeting the ultimate program goal; 3) include clearly delineated intellectual property arrangements and transition paths; and 4) include identification and assessment of critical scientific and/or technical barriers to the program objective and plausible approaches to develop solutions or overcome their limiting effects. Upon award, specific deliverables and appropriate level demonstrations of the science and/or technology elements will be required periodically, and a final demonstration of the deliverable system is required at the end of the program. Given the breadth of the areas of interest, it is anticipated that only comprehensive and fully integrated team efforts addressing the entire challenge problems will be funded; therefore, bidder teaming is highly encouraged. Proposed Phase 1 efforts should not exceed 24 months. If proposals include use of Government facilities, offerors will be expected to conclude commercial services arrangements with the providing Government facility. If multiple awards are made, down-selection may occur annually based on technical progress and achievements. Proposals with cost share should clearly identify the specific tasks to be cost shared in the technical proposal and separately break out the corresponding costs in the cost proposal. The number of awards will be dependent on the suitability of proposals received and availability of funds. Full proposals shall consist of two volumes: technical and cost. The technical and cost volumes shall conform to the guidelines in DARPA (DSO) BAA 04-12 of February 2, 2004. To receive consideration under this addendum, PROPOSALS ARE DUE AT DARPA NO LATER THAN 1600 EST January 21, 2005, at the address shown below. Proposals received after that date, will be considered under the Open BAA only. A website http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/ has been established to facilitate the submission of full proposals electronically. This site will allow the filling in of contact information and the uploading of a full proposal created with the requirements listed in this addendum and in accordance with the original BAA04-12 published. Note: if the website is not used, please use the U.S. mail system to the address listed below or the BAA e-mail account. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS: Evaluation of the proposals will be in accordance with BAA04-12. For complete details on writing a full proposal, please see original FEDBIZOPS solicitation, BAA04-12, http://www.darpa.mil/baa/baa04-12P1.htm. Address for Submission of Unclassified White Papers or Full Proposals: DARPA/DSO, ATTN: BAA04-12 Addendum 8, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. E-Mail: baa04-12@darpa.mil GENERAL INFORMATION: In all correspondence, reference BAA04-12, Addendum 8. Technical Point of Contact: Dr. Joseph Bielitzki, DARPA/DSO; Phone :( 703) 696-5278; Fax: (703) 741-0024, Email jbielitzki@darpa.mil. Original Point of Contact: Brett Giroir, Deputy Director, Defense Sciences Office, Phone (571) 218-4224, Fax (571) 218-4553, Email bgiroir@darpa.mil.
- Record
- SN00691326-W 20041009/041007212306 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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