RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE BIOLOGY

Description

This NASA Research Announcement (NRA) solicits hypothesis-driven research proposals for both ground-based experiments and flight experiments in Space Biology (SB). This solicitation (NRA NNH11ZTT002N), entitled, "Research Opportunities in Space Biology," will be available on or about September 30, 2011. This solicitation will be found by opening the NASA Research Opportunities homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and then linking through the menu listings "Solicitations" to "Open Solicitations." Utilizing 21st century biological tools (e.g., genetic, proteomic, metabolomic), SB scientists will examine and discover underlying mechanisms of adaptation to changes resulting from the space flight environment (e.g., altered gravity, stress, radiation), and will determine cellular and organismal mechanisms that regulate and sustain growth, metabolism, reproduction and development. NASA intends to sponsor studies that will result in new basic knowledge that will provide a foundation on which other NASA researchers and engineers can build approaches and countermeasures to the problems confronting human exploration of space, or that translate into new biological tools or applications on Earth. All proposals must describe hypothesis-driven experiments that will answer basic questions about how cells, plants and animals respond to changes in gravity. This NRA will solicit proposals for ground-based SB research using cells, tissues, or whole animals that will enhance our understanding of the effects of gravity on the mammalian musculoskeletal system. Proposals for these ground-based experiments must demonstrate and describe a clear path to hypothesis-testing in space flight experiments on the ISS or other appropriate space flight platforms. This NRA also requests proposals for rapid turn-around flight research using plants or Petri dish-based biological systems that will utilize either the Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS) hardware residing on the International Space Station (ISS) or the Biological Research in Canisters – Petri Dish Fixation Unit (BRIC-PDFU) hardware on any of several potential flight platforms (based on science requirements and availabili ty). Applications for flight experiments must demonstrate, using ground-based and/or previous flight research results, that there is a high likelihood of successful completion of any proposed flight experiment. Proposals that require space flight equipment, facilities, or other resources not identified in the NRA will not be considered for selection. Proposals must be submitted electronically. Proposers can use either NSPIRES (see URL above) or Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov ) for proposal submission. All categories of U.S. institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this NRA. Principal Investigators (PIs) may collaborate with investigators from universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, state and local government laboratories and other countries. Every organization that intends to submit a proposal in response to this NRA must be registered with NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit the electronic proposal. Instructions on how to register in NSPIRES will be described in the NRA. Each electronic proposal system places requirements on the registration of principal investigators and other participants (e.g. co-investigators). Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) of interest to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information. Questions in regards to responding to this NRA may be addressed to the contacts referenced in the full solicitation document. This is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6.102 (d)(2). Notwithstanding the posting of this opportunity at FedBizOpps.gov, nspires.nasaprs.com, or Grants.gov, NASA reserves the right to determine the appropriate award instrument for each proposal selected pursuant to this announcement. Points of Contact Programmatic information for this NRA is available from: Dr. David Tomko Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division NASA Headquarters Phone: 202-358-2211 Email: dtomko@nasa.gov For information regarding the use of BRIC and ABRS hardware: Dr. Howard G. Levine NASA ISS and Spacecraft Processing Directorate Mail Code UB-C Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 Phone: 321-861-3502 Email: Howard.G.Levine@nasa.gov For information regarding ground research with cells or animals: Dr. Jacob Cohen ISS Utilization Office Ames Research Center, M/S 202-3 Moffett Field, CA 94035 Phone: (650) 417-1761 Email: Jacob.cohen-1@nasa.gov Additional NASA contracting information for this NRA is available from: Cassandra Williams Contract Specialist NASA Shared Services Center Email: cassandra.williams@nasa.gov Phone: (228) 813-6271

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