Notice Number: NOT-RR-06-003

Key Dates
Release Date: July 19, 2006
Response Date: August 25, 2006

Issued by
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov)

Description

The number and complexity of evolving animal models for normal and pathological biology naturally occurring, induced, and genetically engineered are increasing much faster than our individual or collective ability to effectively access and use the new information to speed life-saving therapies to the clinic. There is, therefore, a critical need for an innovative information service to provide basic, translational, and clinical researchers with direct access to a full spectrum of relevant model systems. Realizing the full power of a model depends on:

• facilitating seamless exchange of resources and
• making integrated genetic, genomic, and phenotypic information available to promote knowledge discovery.

While this task requires the ability to combine disparate information into coherent, unified perspectives, it is also desirable to be able to recognize and preserve variations or distinctions in the nature of information gathered or created for myriad purposes by the original sources.
While it is important to have a coherent, structured, method for managing the models content, it is also important to be able to present views of the models that are appropriate for specific domains and user roles.

A recent NCRR-sponsored workshop explored approaches for developing a biology- or disease-centric resource that would enable researchers to find and to use animal models and other biological resources in ways not currently possible. The objectives were to identify the user community and its needs, and to determine the nature and characteristics of the envisioned resource to ensure that it will evolve in concert with the science and technology.

The NCRR seeks to obtain information on existing animal model resources and the informatics platforms that are used to support them. The supplied information will be used in planning for development of a comprehensive electronic catalog of animal model resources and their associated data and access methods. The information will also be used for planning of research resource development.

Information Requested

Investigators developing and maintaining animal model resources relevant to biomedical research are invited to provide the NCRR with the following information about their resource(s):

• Organizational & Business
• Developer name(s) and sponsoring organization
• Source of financial support
• Licensing information and requirements
• Costs associated with access or use
• Name of the animal model resource
• Functional Capabilities
• Brief description of function and scope
• Tasks users seek to perform and types of problems addressed using the resource
• Intended users (e.g., genomic scientists, veterinarians)
• Animal models (species and strains) covered
• Means by which users may access the resource (e.g., downloads, browsing web site)
• Data and Content
• Distribution and dissemination of data (if different from above)
• Description of data schema and organization of information
• Nature and type of data contents, especially diseases and normal and pathological conditions covered or represented
• Source of data contents
• Terminologies, ontologies, etc. used for indexing, annotation, curation
• Technical and Architecture
• Development platform and architecture
• Routine maintenance and update schedule
• Technical pre-requisites for use (e.g., must run on a specific operating system, use specific data bases, etc.) Include any minimum hardware configuration constraints here
• Interoperability with other bio-informatic tools and software (describe the nature of interoperabity, such as use of APIs, XML, etc.)
• Availability of application programming interfaces (APIs) for resource users, the functions that are provided via the APIs, the data returned and any major limitations on API use (e.g., additional licensing, dependencies, specific technical requirements)
• Availability and description of other standard informatics interfaces

Questions about the information requested should be directed to the individual named below.

Responses

Please submit responses of no more than 10 pages by email or letter no later than August 25, 2006 to:

Carol A. Bean, Ph.D.
Division of Biomedical Technology
National Center for Research Resources
National Institutes of Health
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 972
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4874*
*Overnight / Courier deliveries use 20817
Phone: (301) 435-0755
Email: cabean@mail.nih.gov

This Request for Information is for information and planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation for applications or as an obligation on the part of the government. The government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the government's use of that information. Receipt of responses will not be acknowledged, nor will respondents be notified of the government's assessment of the information received. No basis for claims against the government shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or the government's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent announcement. Responses will be held in a confidential manner. Any proprietary information should be so marked.