Kristi Cooper

Kristi Cooper supports the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in executing strategic procurement initiatives aligned with its mission to advance biomedical research in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep disorders. Though her official title is not publicly listed, her procurement activities center on acquiring analytical laboratory instrumentation, specialized research services, and biologic data infrastructure critical to precision medicine and single-cell genomics initiatives. She manages complex acquisitions under FAR Part 15, ensuring compliance with federal research funding mandates while facilitating access to cutting-edge scientific capabilities through competitive and transparent contracting processes. Cooper maintains longstanding relationships with key research and service providers including the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, TDA Research, Inc., and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. These partnerships reflect a preference for academic medical centers and specialized small businesses capable of delivering high-complexity research support, instrument maintenance, and data management solutions. Her contracting patterns suggest a focus on collaborative, performance-based agreements that integrate institutional research capacity with federal scientific priorities. Her procurement portfolio demonstrates a strong emphasis on open competition, with 83.3% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions, while 16.7% are structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This balance indicates a commitment to broad market access while intentionally creating pathways for qualified small businesses to contribute to NHLBI’s scientific mission. Her primary NAICS focus includes 541611 for administrative and management consulting services supporting research operations, 334516 for analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing, and 611430 for professional and management development training. These categories underscore her expertise in procuring high-precision scientific equipment, research workflow optimization services, and workforce development programs essential to sustaining NHLBI’s innovation ecosystem.