Funding-Bacterial and
Viral Bioforensics Research and Development;
December 17, 2009
Agency
The
Department of Homeland Security
Description
The
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) states that DHS S&T will
"support basic and applied homeland security research to promote
revolutionary changes in technologies; advance the development, testing and
evaluation, and deployment of critical homeland security technologies; and
accelerate the prototyping and deployment of technologies that would address
homeland security vulnerabilities." Pursuant to this mission the Chemical
Biological Division (CBD) seeks technologies to prevent and defend against a
chemical and biological attack. In addition, the division is charged with
pursuing research to improve response and restoration, conduct threat risk
assessments, and invest in bioforensics research and
development. The focus of this BAA is in the area of bioforensics
research.
The
threat of terrorist or criminal use of pathogenic organisms and their toxins
remains of great concern in the United States. There are vulnerabilities and
needs to perform microbial forensic analyses for attribution purposes in a
rigorous scientific manner. As part of the effort to deter biological terrorism
and strengthen the law enforcement response to such an act, Homeland Security
Presidential Directive (HSPD) 10, "Biodefense
for the 21st Century" established a dedicated central microbial forensic
laboratory known as the National Bioforensics Analysis
Center (NBFAC), as part of the Department of Homeland Security to provide bioforensics analysis of evidence associated with the
event. The NBFAC operates in partnership with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), the lead investigative agency in acts of terrorism. This
BAA seeks research in the following technical focus areas (TFAs) to support the
missions of the NBFAC and FBI for evidentiary analysis and interpretation of
results to support a criminal investigation. The ultimate goal of this joint
mission is the capture, indictment, and prosecution of the perpetrator(s) of
the biocrime or terrorist attack.
The
NBFAC has instituted a robust, operational molecular biology program with
enhanced capabilities to conduct genomic analysis of biological threat agents.
The Bioforensics Research and Development Program
supports NBFAC operational threat agent identification and characterization
through research investments in basic microbial research and next generation
technologies to include molecular biology and genotyping techniques and assays
to better understand the origin, evolutionary history, production method and
dissemination mechanism associated with the malicious use of biological agents.
Pursuant to this mission the Bioforensics Program
seeks technologies to achieve the following goals:
• Develop novel techniques to culture fastidious bacterial threat agents (BTAs)
from complex environmental samples
• Develop methods to improve dry collection and extraction of forensic samples
• Determine the maturity of ultra-high throughput next generation sequencing
technologies in finding rare variants in forensic bacterial samples
• Determine the dynamics of mobile elements in bacterial select agents
• Develop forensic genotyping methods for select agent viruses
• Develop novel applications of orthogonal methods to genetic characterization
of BTA signatures and their sample matrices
SEE
ATTACHED BAA FOR TASKS AND FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS
Announcement
Number: BAA09-19
Closing
Date: Dec 17, 2009 4:30
pm Eastern
Link
to Full Announcement
Contact
Information
Shelby
Buford Jr.,
Contracting
Officer
Phone:
202-254-5781
Jina Yu,
Contract
Specialist
Phone:
202.254.2274