HIGH THROUGHPUT ANALYSIS OF GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Release Date: January 11, 2000
NOTICE: NS-00-004
RFP Available: NIH-NINDS-RFP-00-05
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National
Institutes of Health, is committed to research to promote the understanding of gene
function in the nervous system. Once all the genes of the human genome have been
sequenced, the next great challenge for biomedical research will be to unravel the
functions of these genes. A crucial step in this process will be to analyze their
spatial expression patterns, and to determine how these patterns change under
different developmental and physiological conditions. In the past, analyses of gene
expression patterns have been done on a gene-by-gene basis within individual
laboratories. Such analyses generally focus on a small number of anatomical regions
that are of particular interest to the investigator doing the analysis, and are of
limited value to the community as a whole: that is, researchers wishing to know a
gene’s expression pattern in their own anatomical region of interest are forced to
redo the analysis in their own laboratories. Thus, a general reference atlas of
gene expression patterns in the nervous system would be of great value to the
neuroscience community. Based on these considerations, the NINDS has decided to
establish a public database of gene expression patterns for the nervous system.
This project will involve screening probes for a large number (thousands) of gene
products on a relatively limited number (10 to 20) of sections of the nervous system
cut through standardized planes of section. Planes of section will be chosen to
include the structures of most general interest to the neuroscience community (for
example, cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and the spinal cord), so as to maximize
the utility of the data for the greatest number of investigators. The resulting
images of gene expression will be digitized and entered into a Web-accessible
database. The initial phase of the project will focus on adult mice and mice at
three stages of development (e.g., early and late embryonic and early postnatal).
Later stages of the project will add data for mutant mice subject to specific
experimental manipulations. No human studies are required.
Personnel with established expertise in histological processing of nervous tissue to
analyze gene expression patterns, mouse genetics, neuroanatomy, histology, and
embryology will be needed to perform this research.
It is anticipated that one award may be made for a period of three years (plus two
one-year option periods) in September 2000.
Request for Proposals (RFP) NIH-NINDS-00-05 will be AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY ONLY.
It will be available at this website
(http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/contracts_management_branch/index.htm)
15 or more calendar days after the issuance of this synopsis. OFFERORS ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ROUTINELY CHECKING THIS WEBSITE FOR ANY POSSIBLE SOLICITATION
AMENDMENTS THAT MAY BE ISSUED. NO INDIVIDUAL NOTIFICATION OF ANY AMENDMENTS
WILL BE PROVIDED. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall
be considered by the agency. Refer to numbered note 26.****
INQUIRIES
Inquiries may be directed to:
Laurie A. Leonard, Contracting Officer
Contracts Management Branch
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Neuroscience Center, Room 3287
6001 Executive Boulevard, MSC 9531
Bethesda, MD 20892-9531
Tel: (301) 496-1813
Fax: (301) 402-4225
Email: LL44S@nih.gov
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