Notice Number: NOT-AG-16-083
Key Dates
Release Date: December 15, 2016
Response Date: January 16, 2017
None
Issued by
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Purpose
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to invite feedback, comments, and recommendations from members of scientific communities on the potential benefits, optimal directions, and efficient implementation of a new collaborative partnership between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The new collaboration would focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD) research.
Note: This RFI is issued for the express purposes of gathering information and planning and shall not be construed as a solicitation, grant or cooperative agreement, or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the NIH, the NIA or the VA to provide support for any ideas presented in response to it. The Government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the Government’s use of such information. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or from the Government’s use of such information.
Background
In 2015, NIA published research implementation milestones to advance AD and ADRD research towards the goal of an effective treatment by 2025 (https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/bypass-budget-fy2017). These milestones were intended to facilitate the identification of opportunities to coordinate and collaborate with other agencies funding AD and ADRD research. After NIH-NIA, the VA is the second leading public funding agency of AD and ADRD research and is uniquely positioned to support research on AD and ADRD in veterans. Formalizing a research partnership and collaborative process between NIA and the VA would provide an important opportunity to align strategic priorities and efforts while leveraging critical resources.
The following areas are particularly important for potential research collaborations relevant to AD and ADRD:
(1) Basic mechanisms and pathogenesis of AD and ADRD;
(2) Genetic and population studies;
(3) Diagnosis and disease monitoring;
(4) Translational and clinical research;
(5) Care and caregiver research.
In addition to these broad areas, there are other potential research and research-related topics appropriate for this new collaboration. These include promoting the sharing of research resources, using technology to monitor AD and ADRD progression and to provide care. Finally, this new collaboration also seeks to encourage research on health disparities, recruitment and retention of diverse study participants, and to support the development of new and early investigators.
NIA and VA anticipate that this new collaboration will enhance veteran-focused AD and ADRD research by bridging knowledge, experience, and resources of the various researchers supported by the two agencies.
Information Requested
NIA and the VA would welcome any information and/or recommendations that may help them to anticipate and better understand the needs, possible and optimal approaches, benefits, barriers, and challenges that such a partnership might engender. NIA and the VA will consider all responses as the agencies define and establish the priorities for this new collaboration and structure their formal implementation.
Responses are limited to two pages or less and should address the following areas:
- Insights on current organizational assets, strengths, and resources that would facilitate coordination and collaboration between NIA and the VA on AD and ADRD research (e.g., electronic medical records (EMR), biorepositories, co-location of VA and NIA AD Centers)
- How the VA and NIH might leverage assets, strengths, and resources to support opportunities to collaborate and coordinate AD and ADRD research
- Current organizational barriers and challenges that prevent coordination and collaboration (between NIA and the VA) on AD and ADRD research
- Suggestions for addressing or mitigating current barriers and challenges preventing effective research collaboration (between NIA and the VA) on AD and ADRD research
- AD and ADRD research questions and/or topics that could be addressed through a collaborative research partnership between the VA and NIH
- Other issues or concerns that could be considered and addressed in a collaborative research partnership between the VA and NIH on AD and ADRD research
How to Submit a Response
Responses to this RFI are voluntary. Please do not include any proprietary, classified, confidential, trade secret, or sensitive information in your response. The responses will be reviewed by NIH staff. Individual feedback will not be provided to any responder.
NIH-NIA and the VA will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion. NIH-NIA and the VA reserve the right to use any submitted information on public NIH websites, in reports, in summaries of the state of the science, in any possible resultant solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), and/or in the development of future funding opportunity announcements (FOAs).
All responses are confidential. Any identifiers (e.g., names, institutions, e-mail addresses, etc.) will be removed when responses are compiled. The anonymized results will be shared internally with NIH and VA staff members and advising members of the scientific working groups convened by the two agencies.
A reminder: Responses are limited to two (2) pages and should be headlined with the Notice number, NOT-AG-16-083.
All responses to this RFI should be sent via email to Charlene Liggins at: ligginsc@mail.nih.gov.
Respondents will receive an e-mail confirmation acknowledging receipt of their submissions.
Responses must be received by 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time zone) on January 16, 2017.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Charlene Liggins, MPH, MPA
National Institute on Aging
Telephone: 301-496-9350
Email: ligginsc@mail.nih.gov
and Human Services (HHS)
