Jessica Coleman, Contract Specialist

Jessica Coleman supports the procurement mission of the ASPR BARDA Division of Contracts Management & Acquisition within the Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on the acquisition of biomedical countermeasures to address biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats. She manages complex research and development contracts aligned with national preparedness priorities, ensuring timely delivery of medical countermeasures through agile contracting strategies. Her work bridges scientific innovation and operational readiness, overseeing the acquisition of advanced biotechnological solutions from early-stage development through scalable manufacturing. She operates within a high-stakes, time-sensitive environment where rapid response capabilities are critical to public health security. Coleman collaborates with a diverse ecosystem of contractors, including biotechnology firms, contract research organizations, and specialized manufacturing entities engaged in vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic development. While specific vendor names are not publicly disclosed, her procurement patterns reflect consistent engagement with entities possessing advanced biosafety infrastructure, GMP compliance, and regulatory experience with FDA pathways such as BLA and EUA. She fosters long-term partnerships with vendors capable of scaling production under public health emergency conditions, emphasizing technical capability, supply chain resilience, and regulatory agility. Her contracting approach prioritizes equitable access to opportunity, with half of all acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a strong institutional commitment to small business participation. She routinely utilizes small business set-asides to empower innovative firms, particularly those with niche expertise in biologics development, without relying on specific socioeconomic categories like 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB as primary filters, instead favoring broad small business eligibility to maximize innovation capacity. Coleman’s portfolio is exclusively focused on NAICS 541714—Research and Development in Biotechnology—encompassing the design, testing, and production of medical countermeasures such as monoclonal antibodies, mRNA platforms, antivirals, and diagnostic assays. Her technical expertise lies in translational biotechnology, regulatory science, and accelerated development pathways, ensuring procurements align with BARDA’s mission to advance next-generation preparedness solutions.