National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Contracts Operations Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6100, MSC 7902, Bethesda, MD 20892

R -- PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES SOL NHLBI-PS-2000-568 DUE 021500 POC Deborah Coulter, Purchasing Agent, (301) 435-0368 Fax (301) 480-3345 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Leo A Whitehair, 707 Wilson Ave., Rockville, MD 20850, to provide Professional Services to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), in the management, development and evaluation of the laboratory Animal Sciences Program of Comparative Medicine. Dr. Leo Whitehair is a former Health Scientist Administrator with NCRR and was associated with the NCRR (and its predecessor, the Division of Research Grants) Comparative Medicine (CM) area for more than 20 years, about half of which were spent as Area Director. Prior to this, he served as consultant to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Health Lung and Blood Institute, the National Academy of Sciences and the Food and Drug Administration, for studies, review panels, and various committees and activities dealing with animal models, research animal facilities, highly specialized animal breeding projects, and research animal resource committees. Due to Mr. Whitehair, knowledge and expertise, this contract was necessitated by the recent retirement of a key professional staff member in the Comparative Medicine area and the resulting loss of comprehensive program knowledge and operating acumen. Ultimately, Dr. Whitehair's vast professional knowledge and experience will assist with the essential and necessary orientation of new staff and provide much needed assistance for program management in the interim. To award to any other source would not be advantageous to the government, and would result in a substantial increase of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. STATEMENT OF WORK:. BACKGROUND. The Comparative Medicine (CM) area of the NIH, National Center for Research Resources helps meet the needs of biomedical researchers for high quality, disease-free animals and specialized animal research facilities. The CM area -- through grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts -- supports regional primate research centers and their field stations, primate breeding and resource projects, development of both mammalian and nonmammalian animal models, postdoctoral training, and a variety of research projects. The CM area is composed of Regional Primate Research Centers, Laboratory Animal Sciences, Biological Models, AIDS Animal Models, and Research Manpower Development. The Laboratory Animal Sciences (LAS) program awards research and resource grants to improve the health and care of laboratory animals, determine the environmental requirements of various species, and establish special animal colonies for research. The program also awards grants to develop, characterize, and improve animal models of human disease, and to study and control diseases of laboratory animals. The full-time staff member who served as director the LAS left unexpectedly, and remaining CM staff members were able to share the load of program duties and responsibilities. The recent retirement of another staff-member has madeit impossible to continue this practice. While the recruitment process to replace the LAS program director has begun, experience suggests that it will take from four to six months to fill the position. After the new staff member is onboard, (s)he will require indoctrination in the history, operation and requirements of the program in order to become fully productive in the shortest possible time. The consultant will work closely with the CM Director to provide a wide variety of management support services to help ensure that assigned program areas receive appropriate management attention during an extended staff vacancy. SCOPE OF WORK. (1) Laboratory Animal Sciences Program (LAS). The Consultant will provide management advice and assistance to facilitate continuity in administration of the Laboratory Animal Sciences Program (LAS) of CM during the ongoing search for a new program director. Effective accomplishment of these duties will depend heavily on the Consultant's familiarity with the program, the program grantees, and effective working relationships and communications with current and potential applicants. The Consultant will provide or assist in providing liaison between the CM Director and program grantees and applicants, as well as other NIH and National organizations. The Consultant's experience and knowledge of the field are expected to be vital to this advisory role, particularly in keeping the CM Director apprised of new developments, emerging program requirements and significant events. (2) New Staff Orientation and Training. Once an individual is recruited to fill the program director position in LAS, the Consultant will assist in the orientation of this individual to his/her new role. This orientation will cover such topics as the background of the numerous grant mechanisms used in the LAS and CM programs, the extensive history of the LAS in CM, recent developments in the LAS and broader CM fields, as well as an introduction to the key people involved with the LAS program, within NCRR, NIH, the grantee community, and the scientific community at large. The LAS is a program of tremendous significance to the Nation's health and science arena, and, as a result, it is also highly controversial on a national level. The new program director will need this highly specialized orientation in order to assume program management in the most efficient and effective manner. (3) Rhesus Monkey Resources. The Consultant will provide advice and historical perspective to members of the CM staff on long-term programs that are in transition or raise particular problems. Many of these relate to thorny issues inherent in animal-based research, particularly those employing nonhuman primates. Examples of this include the situation at the Caribbean Primate Center that maintains substantial stocks of rhesus monkeys that are increasingly seen as critical in AIDS research. This primate center has experienced natural disasters and problems with staffing, yet its location within a minority institution and the importance of the resource require considerable effort to assure an outcome that will benefit the NIH and the Center. The result of this particular effort will help to provide stocks of rhesus monkeys for AIDS researchers and others requiring these animals. In a related area, the Consultant will also continue current work with the FDA on securing rhesus monkeys from their colony in Morgan Island, South Carolina, for distribution to the Regional Primate Research Centers for similar work. This is critical to priorities of the AIDS research community and has been highlighted by the Office of AIDS Research. The expected successful outcome will be development of a program to assure continued production and distribution of animals appropriate for an extremely important program in AIDS vaccine development. (4) Chimpanzee Resources. The Consultant will act as a liaison with key individuals, both inside and outside the government, who are important formal and informal resources in program development in CM. An area of critical importance relates to the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and the many issues and controversies surrounding such use. The Consultant will draw upon his historical knowledge of the field, his understanding of developing requirements, and his professional working relationships with those involved in the field to provide advice and guidance to the chimpanzee management plan. This includes consultation with the NCRR advisory group and with the staff of the existing chimpanzee colonies. DURATION OF PROJECT. This project will run for approximately six months. The Consultant will be required to coordinate his efforts with the Project Officer. Working hours are negotiable between the Consultant and the Project Officer. The acquisition is being conducted under simplified acquisition procedures and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code is 8742, and Size Standard is $5.0M. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this requirement. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct future competitive procurement. Responses to this announcement, referencing synopsis number NHLB-PS-2000-568 may be submitted to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Contracts Operations Branch, Procurement Section, Building RKL2, Room 6143, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-7902, Attention Deborah Coulter, Purchasing Agent. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the agency. Posted 01/28/00 (W-SN419856). (0028)

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