SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Clinical Neuropsychology clinical research data analysis
- Notice Date
- 8/19/2010
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- NOI-1722667
- Archive Date
- 9/13/2010
- Point of Contact
- Liem T Nguyen, Phone: 3014358780
- E-Mail Address
-
ln18x@nih.gov
(ln18x@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Acquisitions, Station Support Simplified Acquisitions Branch on behalf of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) intends to negotiate on a non-competitive basis with Dr. Valerie Voon, 93 Vanbrugh Ct. Wincott St., London, for professional service in data and statistical analysis of fMRI data. This acquisition is being processed under FAR Part 12 - Acquisition for Commercial Items and will be made pursuant to the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and FAR 13.501(a)(1) to use Simplified Acquisition Procedure for commercial items. The North American Industry Classification System Code is 541990 and the size standard is $7.0M. The Clinical Neuroscience Program of the Division of Intramural Research, NINDS requires clinical neuropsychology evaluation of patients for the conduct of intramural research and as part of the clinical care provided to patients participating in intramural studies. The NIH, NINDS Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Human Motor Control Section (HMCS), engages in a wide scope of collaborations and consultations with clinicians and neuroscientists focusing on movement disorders. The HMCS has focused on two particular patient groups: psychogenic movement disorders (PMD, i.e. movement symptoms without a known neurological or medical cause also known as motor conversion disorder) and psychiatric aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), in particular, the impulse control disorders (ICDs) such as pathological gambling and compulsive shopping. From 2004 to 2009, the HMCS conducted multiple functional neuroimaging and cognitive studies focusing on these disorders using paradigms focusing on affective processing, motor control and decision making. The studies have thus far resulted in four publications (Neuron, Brain, Neurology and Psychopharmacology), and two publications under review (Neurology, JNNP). However, there is still a large amount of data that needs analysis with numerous related papers in progress that cannot be completed until these services are done. The data sets of the following studies have been collected and are in varying stages of data analysis and/or manuscript progression including 4 fMRI studies, 1 voxel based morphometry study, 1 neuropsychological behavioural studies and 1 neuropsychiatric measures study: (i) PMD vs. healthy controls: affective stop signal fMRI task; (ii) PMD vs. healthy controls: voxel based morphometry study of grey matter volume; (iii) ICDs in PD vs. PD controls vs healthy controls: risk taking and the influence of loss fMRI study; (iv) ICDs in PD vs. PD controls vs healthy controls: exploration under loss and prefrontal connectivity fMRI study; (v) healthy volunteers: risk taking under novelty fMRI study; (vi) PMD vs healthy controls: general neuropsychological assessment testing for attention, set shifting, working memory, visuospatial, short term memory, response conflict and motor response inhibition; (vii) PMD vs healthy controls: neuropsychiatric measures testing for premorbid trauma/stressors, personality, quality of life, depression, anxiety. It is essential that NINDS contracts with a neuropsychologist that has knowledge of the program, the protocols, and the data that was produced. The contractor must have comprehensive knowledge of the fMRI, and the inherent decision making paradigms (along with computational modeling) to systemically deconstruct the mechanisms underlying the impulse control behaviors. To successfully perform this requirement, the contractor is required to have the expertise and experience beyond that of the usual clinician or neuroscientist including: 1. Expertise and experience in the design and analysis of fMRI paradigms focusing on affective neuroscience, decision making and motor control using SPM, 2. Expertise and experience in general cognitive behavioural paradigms and neuropsychiatric data sets, 3. Expertise and experience in the patient population of PMD and neuropsychiatric aspects of Parkinson's disease. Under the proposed contract work, the contractor is expected to provide eight (8) primary data manuscripts aimed at the following journals in the same respective order as described above: (i) Neuron, (ii) Brain, (iii) Annals of Neurology, (iv) Neuropsychopharmacology, (v) Journal of Neuroscience; (vi) Brain; (vii) JNNP; (viii) Neuron or Annals of Neurology (pending completion of data collection). These manuscripts will also contribute to 2 or more review papers, one of which is a book chapter and the other, an invited review of ‘Milestones in psychogenic movement disorders' for the 25th anniversary special issue publication of the Movement Disorders Journal. Dr. Voon, the proposed contractor, has specific knowledge of the studies that have taken place and are ongoing, and experience sorting through and categorizing the associated data. She has already submitted and published highly regarded papers in world renowned journals on this specific subject and relating to this collaborative research. Dr. Voon is currently working with a HMCS clinical fellow and conducting a behavioral study on action binding and agency in PMD patients. This study is being conducted as a multicenter study with the secondary center at the Institute of Neurology, Queen's Square, at University College London. Dr. Voon is also a co-investigator in the multicenter study focusing on PMD and non-epileptic seizures investigating fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging, genetic and cortisol measures with NINDS, NIMH and Brown University. She originally established the collaboration and wrote the ethics protocol. The analyses of these data sets requires the analyses of (i) cognitive tasks focusing on affective neuroscience (including interactions between affect/arousal and motor function) and decision making (risk, novelty seeking and associative learning) and including general cognitive measures; (ii) data and statistical analysis with Statistical Parametric Modelling including the use of psychophysiological interaction connectivity analysis; (iii) reinforcement learning computational modelling to apply a reinforcement learning model in Matlab to a probabilistic learning task; (iv) neuropsychiatric measures evaluating the influence of personality, trauma/stressors, depression and anxiety; (v) integration of the study outcomes to the construction of a biopsychosocial explanatory model underlying the disorders of PMD and ICDs in PD. Dr. Voon is uniquely qualified as a psychiatrist and cognitive neuroscientist to provide these needed services. She has been the Deputy Clinical Director of the Behavioral and Clinical Neurosciences Institute at the University of Cambridge since January 2010. She has more than 7 years experience in design, data analysis, and manuscript preparation of fMRI studies focusing on decision making, affective processing and motor control using SPM. In the studies mentioned above, she designed and implemented the fMRI studies and tasks on risk taking, novelty and risk taking and affective response inhibition, the voxel based morphometry study, and selected and implemented the relevant general cognitive paradigms and neuropsychiatric data for these studies. Her studies have focused on the population of PMD and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. As a psychiatrist, she set up the consultation service to the Movement Disorders Centre at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network in Canada which she ran from 2002 to 2004. From 2004 to 2009, she worked as a clinical fellow in the Human Motor Control Section focusing on studies in the population with PMD and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. Since January 2006, she has been enrolled in a PhD at the University College London, United Kingdom focusing on the mechanisms underlying the impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. She has an international reputation in this field with multiple publications and speaker invitations. She has the unique ability to analyze and integrate these data sets to develop a biopsychosocial mechanistic model of these disorders. It is determined that Dr. Voon is the best known source to successfully perform the requirement. There is no other expert available in the field with the knowledge and expertise needed, as she has gained this through collaborative efforts with our organization. No other source will satisfy the agency's requirement. The period of performance of this acquisition is for five (5) months from the date of award. Place of performance is in London, England. This may alter between office and clinical setting at the University College London. No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, interested party who can meet the above requirement may submit a statement of capabilities on or before 5:00 PM local time August 29, 2010 to Liem T Nguyen, ln18x@nih.gov. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the government to determine if the party can perform the requirement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered in and have valid certifications in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), www.ccr.gov and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) www.orca.bpn.gov. Please reference announcement number NOI-1722667 on all correspondence.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-2/NOI-1722667/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: University College London, United Kingdom
- Record
- SN02247405-W 20100821/100819235954-48e6cf6221a527787df15758d6af7b58 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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