Request for Information (RFI): Research Resources for the Environmental Health Sciences


Notice Number: NOT-ES-12-001

Key Dates

Release Date: October 21, 2011
Response Date: December 1, 2011

Issued by

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Purpose

The NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training is seeking input on existing technological resources that can facilitate research in the environmental health sciences, but that are not widely available due to infrastructure requirements or other technical issues which limit distribution. This request for information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a funding opportunity or grant program.  Input from all interested parties is welcome, including the lay public, environmental health researchers, technology developers, and others.  Please respond on-line at the Research Resources Request for Information webpage (http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/conferences/dert/resources-rfi/) or by sending to the contact below by December 1, 2011.

Background

Recent decades have seen a rapid emergence of new technologies and approaches to advance biomedical research. Many of these technologies have been widely adopted by the research community and have become standard research techniques available in individual labs or in Core facilities available at most institutions conducting biomedical and environmental health research. Other technologies are less amenable to widespread adoption due to high infrastructure costs, the need for a highly specialized workforce or, by nature, are not amenable to distributed adoption (such as databases). This Request for Information seeks input from the environmental health sciences (EHS) research community, as well as the technology development community about such resources that can be delivered to the EHS research community through a centralized research resource award. Such resources could include, but are not limited to:

  • High throughput screening systems and libraries of environmental chemicals
  • Unique 'omics' and systems modeling capabilities beyond those typically available at research institutions including capabilities in multi-scale analysis
  • Advanced imaging capabilities for measuring in vivo or in vitro responses to environmental factors
  • Tools or centralized capacity for personal exposure assessment or biomonitoring including wearable sensor systems as well as point-of-use or laboratory based analytical systems
  • Unique and highly complex animal model systems such as large scale recombinant-inbred mouse models or centralized, semi-automated animal screening facilities
  • Broadly applicable databases for the environmental health sciences
Information Requested:

The NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training is requesting information on the opportunities for establishing centralized Research Resources making useful technologies available to the broader scientific community.  Information is requested on either 1) your needs for research resources not currently accessible to your institution and research program and/or 2) your unique capabilities that could benefit researchers in the broader environmental health research field. Responses to any or all of the questions below are invited from interested individuals and groups, including researchers, developers, and the public. Input on the items below will be used as a resource by the NIEHS and is for planning purposes only. Comment on each item is optional.

1) Identify and describe high priority, existing, technologies, infrastructure, or research capacities unavailable to your research, and not widely available to the research community, that would enhance your ongoing or proposed research effort.

2) Identify and describe existing technologies, infrastructure or research capacity currently available in your laboratory or institution which would be appropriate and advantageous to the EHS research community as a centralized research resource.

3) Describe how NIEHS might facilitate the delivery of these research resources to the EHS research community.

How to Submit a Response:

Comments may be submitted through any of three means:

Comments will be accepted through December 1, 2011.  

This Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The NIH does not intend to award a grant or contract to pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the NIH’s use of such information.  Respondents will not be notified of the NIH evaluation of the information received.  No basis for claims against the NIH shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or the NIH’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent announcement.  Responses will be held confidential.  Proprietary information should not be sent.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

David M Balshaw, PhD
Program Director
Center for Risk and Integrated Sciences
Division of Extramural Research and Training
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
530 Davis Dr. Suite 3088, MD K3-04
Morrisville, NC 27560
Telephone: (919)541-2448
Email: Balshaw@nih.gov