Mary Smith, Contract Specialist

Mary Smith serves as a Contract Specialist within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), supporting the agency’s mission to accelerate biomedical research against infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. She manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions for high-containment research services, diagnostic development, and laboratory infrastructure projects, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and strategic priorities in public health preparedness. Her work directly enables the acquisition of critical medical countermeasures and biosafety-enhancing technologies essential for responding to emerging biological threats. Smith maintains a consistent procurement relationship with Quality Biological, Inc., a key vendor providing specialized biological materials and research reagents, and GENOMIC LABS LTD, a provider of advanced genomic sequencing and analytical services. These partnerships reflect her focus on procuring high-integrity, biosecure, and scientifically rigorous products and services required for high-containment research environments. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical specificity, regulatory compliance, and continuity of supply for mission-critical biological materials. Smith’s acquisition portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, reflecting NIAID’s operational need for specialized, pre-qualified vendors with proven expertise in biosafety level 3 and 4 environments. While small business participation is not a primary contracting mechanism in her portfolio, this reflects the highly technical nature of the requirements rather than a lack of commitment to socioeconomic goals; the agency prioritizes capability and compliance over socioeconomic set-asides in this domain. Her primary focus is on NAICS 541715—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she procures advanced laboratory services, pathogen characterization tools, diagnostic assay development, and biocontainment infrastructure support. Her expertise lies in acquiring complex, science-driven R&D services that demand deep technical vetting and adherence to federal biosafety and biosecurity standards.