Samson Shifaraw

Samson Shifaraw serves as a key procurement professional within the National Institutes of Health, supporting the strategic acquisition of advanced biomedical research infrastructure and technical services critical to the agency’s mission of advancing scientific discovery. He manages complex contracting actions for high-precision laboratory instrumentation, biotechnology reagents, and specialized computational tools that enable hypothesis-driven research and clinical translation. His work directly facilitates the procurement of mission-critical equipment and services that underpin NIH’s leadership in life sciences innovation, with a focus on ensuring timely, compliant, and technically sound contract awards. Shifaraw maintains consistent working relationships with leading contractors including Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., Kelly Services, Inc., Fors Marsh Group LLC, PPD Development LP, and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. These partnerships span a range of service categories—from clinical trial support and laboratory operations to facility construction and analytical instrumentation maintenance—reflecting a diversified vendor ecosystem aligned with NIH’s multidisciplinary research needs. His contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and long-term vendor reliability. While the majority of his acquisitions are unrestricted (84.9%), he actively supports small business participation through Total Small Business Set-Asides (15.1%), demonstrating a deliberate commitment to socioeconomic contracting under FAR 19.5. He routinely structures opportunities to enable qualified small businesses to compete for high-value technical contracts without reliance on 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB-specific set-asides. His procurement focus centers on NAICS 334516 (analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing), 325414 (biological product manufacturing), and 325411 (medicinal and botanical manufacturing), with additional emphasis on testing laboratories (541380) and precision equipment maintenance (811210). This reflects deep expertise in procuring cutting-edge research tools, biosafety-compliant reagents, and specialized technical services essential to modern biomedical science.