Tayaria Smith

Tayaria Smith serves as the Program Point of Contact for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, playing a critical role in aligning procurement activities with the agency’s public health mission. She facilitates the acquisition of scientific, diagnostic, and laboratory infrastructure essential to disease surveillance, outbreak response, and national preparedness. Her responsibilities include coordinating requirements development, evaluating vendor capabilities, and ensuring contract awards support CDC’s strategic priorities in infectious disease control and environmental health. She typically handles complex, science-driven procurements involving advanced diagnostics, analytical instrumentation, and technical consulting services, bridging program needs with federal contracting protocols. Smith maintains consistent working relationships with leading biopharmaceutical and medical distribution entities, including Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, GlaxoSmithKline LLC, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi Pasteur Inc., and McKesson Specialty Distribution LLC. These partnerships center on the procurement of vaccines, in-vitro diagnostic substances, and specialized distribution networks critical to national immunization and emergency response efforts. Her engagement with these contractors reflects a focus on high-reliability, large-scale supply chain solutions that meet stringent regulatory and biosafety standards. Her contracting patterns show a strong preference for open competition, with 94.3% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions. Small business participation is present but limited, with only 4.1% allocated to total small business set-asides and 1.6% to 8(a) competed contracts, indicating a primary emphasis on technical capability and scale over socioeconomic preferences. Smith’s procurement focus is concentrated in NAICS 325413 (in-vitro diagnostic substance manufacturing), 541990 (professional scientific services), and 334516 (analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing). She regularly acquires laboratory diagnostics, research-grade instrumentation, and technical consulting services supporting genomic sequencing, pathogen detection, and real-time data analytics—core competencies in CDC’s mission to safeguard public health through scientific innovation.