Post Date/ Solicitation Issue Date
Closing Response Date
Proposed Award Date
Project Title
Assessment of Environmental and Behavioral Rhythms on Youth Mood, Behavior, and Cognition
Contracting Office
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Contact Points
Primary Contract Specialist
Tam
Ngo
ngot@nih.gov
NAICS Code Number
541715
The general purpose is to implement the concepts and procedures from studies in the Division
of Intramural Research Programs (IRP) to translate the findings to youth mental health. The
major goals of the IRP collaboration would be to advance the primary research goals of our
research groups on mood disorders in order to identify links between mood disorders and their
underlying dimensional manifestations with objective measures of motor activity and sleep, and
mood reactivity and instability and broad outcomes including suicidal behavior, social and
educational impairment and onset of emotional and behavior disorders. Data from multiple
domains including symptoms, impairment, neuroimaging, reactivity, psychophysiology, motor
activity and sleep, cognitive function, and genetics that were collected in the first wave will be
used to identify profiles of risk and outcome.
Will also continue to consult on ongoing analyses in the
Motor Activity Research Consortium for Health (mMARCH) team that focus on individual and
environmental exposures and their effects on chronotype, circadian biomarkers, actigraphy,
sleep patterns, and mental health.
of Intramural Research Programs (IRP) to translate the findings to youth mental health. The
major goals of the IRP collaboration would be to advance the primary research goals of our
research groups on mood disorders in order to identify links between mood disorders and their
underlying dimensional manifestations with objective measures of motor activity and sleep, and
mood reactivity and instability and broad outcomes including suicidal behavior, social and
educational impairment and onset of emotional and behavior disorders. Data from multiple
domains including symptoms, impairment, neuroimaging, reactivity, psychophysiology, motor
activity and sleep, cognitive function, and genetics that were collected in the first wave will be
used to identify profiles of risk and outcome.
Will also continue to consult on ongoing analyses in the
Motor Activity Research Consortium for Health (mMARCH) team that focus on individual and
environmental exposures and their effects on chronotype, circadian biomarkers, actigraphy,
sleep patterns, and mental health.
Estimated Period of Performance
The period of period is 12 months from the date of award.
Delivery of Goods
Written Documentation: Dr. Vetter’s activities will be documented through a written final report. The contractor is required to provide a written report at the end of the contracting period. The report shall cover all work completed during the contract p
Set-Aside Status
Not Set Aside
Competition Status
Competitive
Rationale/ Salient Characteristics
The contractor shall:
Provide leadership and guidance for harmonization of environmental and behavioral
rhythm data collection across study sites and study teams of the Rhythms & Blues Study
protocols;
● Continue to train research coordinators on administration of light devices in the
Healthy Brain Network Youth Component of the Rhythms & Blues Study and the
Rhythms & Blues Study at the NIH Clinical Center study;
● Advise on environmental and behavioral rhythms data derivation across existing
protocols, including actigraphy processing, light sensor data processing, and sleep
pattern quantification;
● Continue to aid in EMA adjustments to allow for monitoring of light device procedures
and contextualization of continuous light exposure assessment for the Healthy Brain
Network Youth Component of the Rhythms & Blues Study and the Rhythms & Blues
Study at the NIH Clinical Center study;
● Advise on satellite and individual-level light exposure quantification in the mMARCH
data;
● Advise on human melatonin rhythm assessment protocol for the NIH Clinical Center
study;
● Aid with integration of novel sleep and circadian biomarker methods into the Rhythms &
Blues Study; and
● Implement the plans of light exposure and biomarker data analytic both with the Principal
Investigator in the development of publication strategies and priorities and supervise
project staff in the exploitation of the light, sleep, and circadian data as part of the
Rhythms & Blues as well as the Motor Activity Research Consortium for Health
(mMARCH) and manuscript preparation (literature review, peer-review response, general
public communication).
Provide leadership and guidance for harmonization of environmental and behavioral
rhythm data collection across study sites and study teams of the Rhythms & Blues Study
protocols;
● Continue to train research coordinators on administration of light devices in the
Healthy Brain Network Youth Component of the Rhythms & Blues Study and the
Rhythms & Blues Study at the NIH Clinical Center study;
● Advise on environmental and behavioral rhythms data derivation across existing
protocols, including actigraphy processing, light sensor data processing, and sleep
pattern quantification;
● Continue to aid in EMA adjustments to allow for monitoring of light device procedures
and contextualization of continuous light exposure assessment for the Healthy Brain
Network Youth Component of the Rhythms & Blues Study and the Rhythms & Blues
Study at the NIH Clinical Center study;
● Advise on satellite and individual-level light exposure quantification in the mMARCH
data;
● Advise on human melatonin rhythm assessment protocol for the NIH Clinical Center
study;
● Aid with integration of novel sleep and circadian biomarker methods into the Rhythms &
Blues Study; and
● Implement the plans of light exposure and biomarker data analytic both with the Principal
Investigator in the development of publication strategies and priorities and supervise
project staff in the exploitation of the light, sleep, and circadian data as part of the
Rhythms & Blues as well as the Motor Activity Research Consortium for Health
(mMARCH) and manuscript preparation (literature review, peer-review response, general
public communication).
Background/Description of Requirement
Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below:
The NIMH Family Study is focused on mood disorders and its chief goals are to identify their
diagnostic thresholds, subtypes, and boundaries with other disorders in order to identify the
genetic and environmental risk factors for these conditions. The major research questions focus
on the specificity of familial transmission of the mood disorder spectrum (i.e., symptoms,
symptom clusters, subtypes) and the role of comorbidity with anxiety disorders and migraine in
defining subtypes of mood disorders. Biologic factors underlying the major components of these
disorders are studied in order to identify the core components of these conditions and familial
endophenotypes that breed true in families, thereby more closely indexing the expression of
underlying genes.
Light exposure is a modifiable environmental exposure that has been associated with mental
health, cognition, and behavior, mediated in part through its impact on circadian function. This
award will include consultation to include gold standard melatonin rhythms assessments that
are considered key to understanding human circadian physiology. In addition, novel biomarker
approaches are now available to identify potential mediators such as circadian phase, and its
inclusion in the Rhythms & Blues Study will provide important biological insights into mediators
of the physiological effects of light on cognition, behavior, and mood. Successful biomarker
implementation will also be an essential proof of principle for scalability of future objective
circadian phenotyping in larger-scale studies. Light exposure prior to the Rhythms & Blues
Study at the NIH Clinical Center will be assessed with light sensors, also used in the Healthy
Brain Network Youth Component, and which have been integrated in the protocols in close
consultation with Dr. Vetter. Dr. Vetter will provide leadership and guidance to the research
teams across all study sites with regards to light device set-up, administration, and processing,
ensuring quality light exposure assessment. To contextualize environmental light exposure
assessments, the team will continue to adapt current Ecological Momentary Assessments
(EMAs) as necessary and will thus be included in this award.
Interested parties may identify in writing their interest and capability in response to this requirement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.
All responses must be received by closing date and must reference the announcement. Responses may be submitted electronically to the attention of the contract specialist. Fax responses will not be accepted.
All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.