Robert Corno

Robert Corno serves as a Contracting Officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where he manages complex procurement actions supporting biomedical research and public health preparedness. His portfolio centers on securing research and development services critical to advancing medical countermeasures, diagnostic tools, and high-containment laboratory infrastructure. He plays a pivotal role in executing acquisitions aligned with NIAID’s mission to combat emerging infectious and immunologic threats, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while prioritizing scientific rigor and operational readiness. His work typically involves sole-source, competitive, and task-order contracts for specialized scientific and technical services. Corno maintains a focused contractor relationship with Quality Biological, Inc., a key provider of biological materials and research reagents, and GENOMIC LABS LTD, a specialist in genomic analysis and sequencing services. These partnerships reflect his reliance on vendors with proven expertise in biosafety-compliant product supply and advanced life sciences research support. His contracting approach emphasizes long-term reliability, regulatory adherence, and technical capability over volume, often selecting vendors with established track records in high-containment environments and federally funded research ecosystems. While the majority of his acquisitions—84.2%—are conducted without set-asides, Corno consistently allocates 15.8% of his portfolio to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured commitment to small business participation. He does not favor specific socioeconomic categories such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB, but rather prioritizes technical competence and capacity, with small business awards driven by capability alignment rather than socioeconomic targeting. His procurement focus is overwhelmingly centered on NAICS 541715 and 541712, reflecting deep specialization in physical, engineering, and life sciences R&D, particularly in virology, immunology, and diagnostic development. He also procures translation and interpretation services and security systems support for high-containment facilities, underscoring his domain expertise in end-to-end research infrastructure procurement for biosafety level 3 and 4 environments.