[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 74 (Monday, April 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19183-19184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9757]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Cancer Institute: Opportunity for a Cooperative Research
and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the Research and Development of
Software for Managing Distributed Knowledgebases Consisting of Large
Numbers of Objects of Diverse Categories Spanning Administrative,
Scientific and Other Knowledge Domains
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, PHS, DHHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Cancer Institute seeks a Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) with a software company with demonstrated
excellence in the development and deployment of software applications
for the enterprise and individuals. NCI has recently developed a
powerful but user-friendly computer-based system which enables its
users to create, use and share a knowledge base of information
consisting of diverse objects related to each other by semantically
meaningful links. This system, provisionally called ``KBTool'', can be
considered a new class of software application since it is sufficiently
different from existing applications. The system provides a knowledge
base that is seamless, allowing individuals to store information on a
virtually unlimited range of objects and concepts. In addition, dense
and informative links between many types of concepts are constructed.
The system is extensible so that it is suited for use in distributed
systems in which information is shared between users and stored at
different physical locations. Because of the power of the system and
its relevance to many domains of knowledge and types of applications,
the NCI is seeking a commercial partner for its continued development
and deployment. The software was originally created to organize and
link vast quantities of scientific data; however, NCI predicts that
KBTool's functionality will be applicable to a wide variety of fields.
The Collaborator must have a demonstrated record of success in
privately producing and marketing information resources.
DATES: Interested parties should notify this office in writing of their
interest in filing a formal proposal no later than June 18, 1999. They
will then have an additional thirty (30) days to submit a formal
proposal.
ADDRESSES: Inquiries and proposals regarding this opportunity should be
addressed to Holly S. Symonds, Ph.D. (Tel. #301-496-0477, FAX #301-402-
2117), Technology Development and Commercialization Branch, National
Cancer Institute, 6120 Executive Blvd., Suite 450, Rockville, MD 20852.
Inquiries directed to obtaining patent license(s) needed for
participation in the CRADA opportunity may be addressed to John Fahner-
Vihtelic, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health,
6011 Executive Blvd., Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852, (Tel. 301-496-
7735, ext. 270; FAX 301-402-0220).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement (CRADA) is the anticipated joint agreement to be entered into
by the NCI pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 and
Executive Order 12591 of April 10, 1987 as amended by the National
Technology Transfer Advancement Act of 1995. The NCI is looking for a
CRADA partner to collaborate in the development of the properties of
the KBTool data management system. The expected duration of the CRADA
would be from one (1) to five (5) years.
KBTool is a data management system and process for efficiently
storing and retrieving data. The Experimental Immunology Branch of the
NCI has designed KBTool to combine maximum data management flexibility
and stability into unified knowledgebase applications. As a result, it
has a diverse functionality which can replace users' fragmented world
of specialized applications such as contact manager, administrative
database, bookmark keeper, and fact finder. Some unique features of
this software-based invention are: (1) ability to handle any number of
conceptually distinct categories of items (such as people, events,
institutions, tasks, concepts, processes, document types); (2) tools
for creating relationships between any two or more objects, with the
ability to categorize types of relationships and decide which
categories they apply to; (3) use of parent-child relationship as a
singularly important relationship to organize, view and navigate
information; (4) flexibility in adding diverse categories of objects
and relationships, while maintaining a simple underlying data structure
and programming environment; (5) ability to view complex relationships
in flexible and informative ways; (6) tools for managing names which
are indispensable for finding the relevant objects; and (7) efficient
ways to search information and filter retrievals to limit to relevant
information.
The prototype implementation of KBTool is already a highly
functional system. For example, it manages information on more than
50,000 ``concepts''. These concepts are classified into more than 200
distinct categories. The 10 most highly represented categories are
biased towards biological and software knowledge domains: genes,
transcripts, proteins, protein spots; humans, institutions, journals,
scientific publications, visuals, software applications, and scientific
methods. However, its diversity is reflected in categories such as
tasks, events, equipment, accounts, documents, areas of expertise and
geographical locations. It has more than 50,000 links between these
items; each of which conveys not simply the existence of a
relationship, but the character of that relationship. This data is
distributed into multiple linked databases. The most remarkable feature
of the design of the data engine and knowledge representation is its
simplicity and generality.
KBTool was designed to allow the maintenance of a ``fabric'' of
information regarding biological systems. It's current implementation
can be viewed as the first in a sequence of many steps towards a
``virtual cell'', which allows modeling of the enormous complexity of a
human cell. Having taken this first step, NCI would like to solidify
the prototype and subsequent steps in the process. Because of the
myriad of components in a biological cell, KBTool had to be designed
with
[[Page 19184]]
great flexibility. As a result, it has matured into an approach which
is unusually broad in its cope, and its ability to create a fabric of
information out of very disparate data types.
The described methods are the subject of a patent application, USPA
SN 09/203,037 filed November 30, 1998 by the Government.
Under the present proposal, the goal of the CRADA will be to
enhance the development in one or more of the following areas:
1. Client Software Development
The prototype client software, KBTool is written in Microsoft
Visual Basic 6.0 running under Windows operating systems. Planned
evolution includes steps such as the following:
(a) flexible interfaces for information viewing and update via the
WWW;
(b) rewriting parts of the application in C++ and Java;
(c) porting to other operating systems (or re-writing in portable
code);
(d) enhanced graphical interfaces to view and manipulate the
thought objects in a graphical way; and
(e) development of specific enhancement for use for specific tasks
such as workflow management, document and library management,
simulation of biological processes, expert systems.
2. Database Engine/Server Development
The prototype knowledge base is stored in a standard relational
database manipulated primarily via SQL. In the long run, the
application will likely benefit from using a database engine optimized
for it. This would likely include speed improvements, and ability to
handle validation and integrity issues at the level of the engine
rather than the client software.
3. Content Development
The design of this system is well adapted to many different kinds
of content. Such content can be added by a range of strategies: human
input, automated transfer from existing information resources, and
combinations thereof. NCI seeks collaborative partner for optimizing
input in areas related to cancer which encompasses many aspects of
biology. For example, NCI seeks sophisticated textual analysis tools to
facilitate harvest information from existing sources such as MEDLINE.
Party Contributions
The role of the NCI includes the following:
(1) Provide staff, expertise and materials for the further
development of the KBTool system;
(2) Evaluate the work product of the Collaborator to ensure
progress toward meeting the CRADA goals;
(3) Provide work space and equipment for production and testing of
any components or improvements of the KBTool system.
The role of the successful Collaborator will include the following:
(1) Provide funding, if and as necessary, in support of the
development of the KBTool system;
(2) Provide expertise and assistance in the extension of KBTool in
areas outlined above and in the production and market of any products
resulting from CRADA;
(3) Provide expertise and materials to aid in the development of
the KBTool system during this CRADA collaboration; and
(4) Provide, assist, or advise the NCI in quality assurance
testing, operator training, and user support for any products resulting
from this CRADA.
Selection Criteria
Proposals submitted for consideration should fully address each of
the qualifications shown below. The importance of individual criteria
will differ between the three areas for a proposed CRADA: client
software development, database engine/server development, and content
development. Please address the criteria that relate to the area(s) in
which your proposal will contribute.
(1) Expertise:
A. Demonstrated expertise in the creation of important new
approaches in software design, database design, data visualization, and
data mining, or expert systems.
B. Demonstrated expertise in software engineering, data
warehousing, data visualization, textual analysis;
C. Demonstrated ability to secure national and international
marketing and distribution of software;
D. Demonstrated expertise in overseeing all aspects of product
development;
E. Demonstrated expertise in serving and supporting a significant
client base;
F. Familiarity with application of knowledgebase techniques to
biomedical fields.
(2) Demonstrated experience in the software industry with regards
to:
A. Producing, marketing and supporting knowledgebase and related
applications;
B. Indications of high levels of satisfaction by software experts
and users of knowledgebase products; and
C. The range of products and services it produces.
(3) Physical Resources:
A. An established headquarters with offices, space and equipment;
B. Access to the organization during business hours by telephone,
mail, email, the Internet, and other evolving technologies; and
C. Sufficient financial and technological resources to support, at
a minimum, the then current activities of the CRADA to meet the needs
of the NCI.
(4) Other:
A. The willingness to accept the legal provisions and language of
the CRADA with only minor modifications, if any. These provisions
govern the distribution of patent rights to CRADA inventions.
Generally, the rights of ownership are retained by the organization
that is the employer of the inventor, with (1) the grant of a license
for research and other Government purposes to the Government when the
CRADA Collaborator's employee is the sole inventor, or
(2) the grant of an option to elect an exclusive or nonexclusive
license to the CRADA Collaborator when the Government employee is the
sole inventor.
B. The willingness to cooperate with National Cancer Institute in
the timely publication of research results.
C. The level of financial support the CRADA Collaborator will
provide for CRADA-related Government activities.
D. The willingness to commit best effort and demonstrated resources
to the research and development of this technology, as outlined in the
CRADA Collaborator's proposal.
Dated: April 8, 1999.
Kathleen Sybert,
Chief, Technology Development and Commercialization Branch, National
Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 99-9757 Filed 4-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M