Kara Penny

Kara Penny supports the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in executing strategic procurement initiatives critical to advancing biomedical research in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep disorders. While her official title is not publicly designated, her role centers on managing complex acquisitions of analytical laboratory instrumentation, specialized research services, and biologic data infrastructure essential to NHLBI’s precision medicine and single-cell genomics priorities. She handles a diverse portfolio of contracts spanning equipment procurement, technical consulting, and clinical laboratory services, ensuring alignment with federal acquisition regulations and scientific mission objectives. Kara Penny maintains consistent working relationships with key institutional partners including the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, and TDA Research, Inc., reflecting a preference for academic medical centers and innovative small technology firms. These partnerships often involve long-term, performance-based agreements for specialized research support, instrument maintenance, and data analytics services. Her contracting patterns emphasize collaboration with entities possessing deep domain expertise in biologic specimen handling and translational research infrastructure. Her procurement approach is overwhelmingly non-set-aside, with approximately 90% of awards issued under open competition, indicating a focus on technical merit and capability over socioeconomic preferences. Nevertheless, she consistently allocates 10% of opportunities to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured but intentional commitment to small business participation without compromising scientific rigor. Her primary NAICS focus areas include 334516 for analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing, 811219 for other commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair, and 541990 for other professional, scientific, and technical services. These reflect her expertise in procuring high-precision research equipment, specialized maintenance services, and technical consulting critical to NHLBI’s cutting-edge scientific operations.