Pre-clinical Research: Behavioral Assessment
Updated
Special Notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Due Oct 30, 2026, 9:00 AM (UTC-4), 4 days left.
| Title as posted | AN41--Pre-clinical Research: Behavioral Assessment |
|---|---|
| Solicitation number | 36C24127Q0035 |
| Agency | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Office | 241-Network Contract Office 01 (36C241) |
| Notice type | Special Notice |
| Set-aside | None |
| Trade (NAICS) | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715) |
| Product or service code | AN41 |
| Posted | Oct 25, 2026 |
| Response deadline | Oct 30, 2026, 9:00 AM (UTC-4) (4 days left) |
| Add the deadline to | Google Calendar · Apple / Outlook (.ics) |
Bid documents (1)
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Description
This is a Special Notice of intent to award to an affiliate vendor. This is not a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to negotiate a requirement of Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research services for the White River Junction Healthcare System, VT.
The applicable NAICS code is 541715. The PSC/FSC is AN41. The authority for this action is FAR 13.106-1(b): Soliciting from a single source and fulfills FAR Part 5.101(a) posting requirements.
This is a Pre-Solicitation notice synopsizing a potential RFQ solicitation to satisfy the requirements of FAR 5.201 and 5.203. All interested parties should register via SAM.gov interested vendors list. It is the responsibility of the offeror to monitor and download amendments from SAM.gov Contract Opportunities, which may be issued to this solicitation.
In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, FAR 2.101, and VAAR 802.101, prospective firms must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov), and in VetCert (Veteran Small Business Certification (sba.gov)) databases prior to award. ((Note: In accordance with Public Law 109-461, 38 USC 8127, and NDAA 2021, all vendors claiming Small Business status in accordance with the Veteran's First Contracting Program must be VERIFIED by the Small Business Administration (SBA)).
Also, to qualify for a VA contract, vendor must be vendorized by completing Form 10091 at URL cep.fsc.va.gov/ . Interested persons may contact the Contracting Specialist via email at [email protected] regarding this procurement. The determination to conduct a competitive procurement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Contracting Officer PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT Personalized Interventions for Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) INTRODUCTION: The mission of VA s National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) is to advance the clinical care and social welfare of America's Veterans and others who have experienced trauma, or who suffer from PTSD, through research, education, and training in the science, diagnosis, and treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders.
We generate, collate, synthesize, disseminate, and promote implementation of the best information about PTSD. SCOPE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD are significant problems for Veterans and can lead to neuropsychiatric symptoms that pose extensive quality of life burdens on affected individuals. These conditions share similar pathology, and thus, there is a growing interest in developing treatments that target shared mechanisms.
Disrupted communication between brain regions is one mechanism thought to perpetuate symptomatology. To guide personalized interventions, there is a critical need to define neural signatures that are associated with behavioral domains of impairment and response to treatment. Using models, the current project will evaluate neural signatures and behavioral deficits following exposure to neurotrauma or psychological trauma.
Targeted treatment (brain stimulation, pharmacotherapy, or combination) will then be administered to improve outcomes. The proposed work supports ongoing collaborative research conducted by investigators at the White River Junction VA. Key activities to be performed include:
- Define behavioral deficits,
- Define neural signatures, and
- Define treatment outcomes.
Period and place of performance: This contract anticipates service utilization that will occur over the course of five years. The place of performance will be at both the White River Junction VA Healthcare System (WRJ-VAHS) and the contractor location, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital for itself and on behalf of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic (MHMH/DHC). Approximately 25% of the work will be performed at the WRJ-VAHS, and the other 75% of work will be performed in Dr. Wilder Doucette s laboratory at MHMH/DHC.
The contract location is located within a 30-minute drive of the WRJ facility to ease transportation of the subjects. It has been determined that transportation can be feasibility performed, due to shared veterinary resource agreement between locations. Project management and staffing: Wilder Doucette, MD, PhD (Project Lead).
Dr. Doucette is a Research Affiliate (WOC) at the WRJ-VAHS and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Program Director of the Psychiatry Residency Research Track at the Geisel School of Medicine. His research focuses on the systems-level neural activity underpinnings of behavior and how neuromodulation-based treatments alter this activity and improve dysfunction. His research-informed, part-time clinical practice focuses on interventional and addiction psychiatry, and he has extensive experience with pre-clinical models of neuropsychiatric deficits.
Dr. Doucette has experience with pre-clinical interventions, including brain stimulation and targeted pharmacotherapy, and using assays to define neurobehavioral deficits in clinically relevant models of psychiatric illness. Dr. Doucette will be responsible for overseeing the behavioral assessments, treatment, and brain activity recording for the current project. Dr. Doucette will be involved in data analyses, interpretation of findings and helping to prepare results for dissemination and publication.
Elise Bragg, BS, RLATG, Senior Research Associate (WOC). Mrs. Bragg is Dr. Doucette s Lab Manager at MHMH/DHC. She has extensive pre-clinical experience, including neuromodulation and performing neurobehavioral assessments in subjects, and holds a Registered Laboratory Technologist (RLATG) designation by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).
Mrs. Bragg will be responsible for the stress induction, behavioral assays, treatment, and electrophysiologic measures proposed in the current study and overseeing the preparation of study subjects for surgery. TBD, graduate Student(s). Dr. Doucette s lab is a training site for various undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, as well as post
The description continues in the official notice.
Contracting contact
- Ophelia Wilson · Contract Specialist · [email protected] · Email Only
As published on the official notice. Ask questions in writing and before any questions deadline the notice sets.
Is your business small enough?
For NAICS 541715, a business counts as small if it has no more than 11 employees (SBA size standard, with exceptions in the notes). This notice is not set aside, but the size decides your small business status on it. SBA table, current as of Oct 15, 2026.
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About the buyer
The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded $84.6 billion in contracts in the last 12 months; its biggest suppliers were Optum Public Sector Solutions, Inc., Mckesson Corporation and Triwest Healthcare Alliance Corp. See what VA is buying now.
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