Michelle Cecilia

Michelle Cecilia serves as a key procurement lead within the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, where she manages complex scientific and technical acquisitions aligned with NIDA’s mission to advance research on substance use disorders. She oversees the acquisition of high-precision analytical instruments and specialized laboratory equipment critical to neurobiological and behavioral research, ensuring that procurement processes support cutting-edge scientific innovation. Her work bridges the gap between research requirements and federal contracting compliance, facilitating timely delivery of mission-critical technologies to academic and clinical research partners across the country. Michelle maintains strong, long-standing relationships with leading research institutions including The McLean Hospital Corporation, the University of Maryland Baltimore, the University of Miami, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. These partnerships are primarily performance-based, involving cooperative agreements and research support contracts that enable the deployment of advanced instrumentation for drug abuse studies. Her contracting approach emphasizes scientific rigor, technical specifications, and compliance with NIH grant and procurement policies, fostering collaborative, mission-aligned vendor relationships. Michelle’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on accessing the broadest possible pool of technical expertise and high-performance equipment manufacturers, prioritizing scientific capability over socioeconomic classifications. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through set-asides, her acquisitions remain accessible to all qualified vendors meeting stringent technical requirements. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), accounting for 80% of her portfolio, with additional activity in NAICS 811210 (Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance). She procures mass spectrometers, neuroimaging systems, biosensors, and laboratory automation tools essential for preclinical and translational research in addiction science. Her expertise centers on the technical evaluation of analytical instrumentation and the lifecycle management of high-value scientific equipment.