Marc Salit has been tapped to spearhead the development and expansion of MITRE’s synthetic biology work as a MITRE Fellow.

As part of his appointment, Salit will lead MITRE’s new Open BioFoundry which will leverage synthetic biology to develop tools and applied capabilities in engineering biological systems, MITRE said Monday.

Charles Clancy, senior vice president and general manager of MITRE Labs and chief futurist, said, “Marc brings significant experience and leadership overseeing important synthetic biology work, and we are thrilled to have him on board to help develop one of the most impactful technologies for the future.”

Salit currently serves as an adjunct professor at Stanford University, where he directs the Joint Initiative for Metrology in Biology, which is a collaboration Salit established between Stanford, industry partners and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop standards and tools for cultivating bioeconomy products.

The new MITRE Fellow also previously served as senior staff scientist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Prior to his time at Stanford, Salit spent nearly three decades at NIST, where he led the institute’s genome scale measurements and multiplexed biomolecular science groups.

As a MITRE Fellow, Salit’s work will focus on leveraging synthetic biology to improve remote sensing and detection, among other critical sponsor problems.

Additionally, MITRE has named synthetic biology expert Pam Silver, Ph.D. as a member of its Labs Advisory Committee.

Karen Mumford, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) small business programs office, took on a new role as head of contracting activity at DIA, according to her LinkedIn account.

In her more recent position, she led efforts to increase acquisition opportunities for small, disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled and HUBZone companies.

The nearly 13-year DIA veteran also oversaw the agency’s 8(a), mentor-protege and subcontracting management programs.

Mumford previously served as chief of the DIA’s resource management office and supervisory contracting officer. She joined the agency in 2009 from BAE Systems’ U.S. subsidiary, where she worked for three years and managed contracts in a senior role.

Erin Hayes, who most recently oversaw the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity authority program, has been named director of DHS Cyber Talent Management System (CTMS) operations.

She will oversee a federal personnel system designed to help the department hire and retain professionals who can protect the country’s critical infrastructure from threats in the cyber domain.

DHS aims to attract personnel to join its Cybersecurity Service through CTMS’ simplified hiring processes, competitive compensation structures and career development opportunities.

Hayes joined DHS in March 2007 as a manager and worked at George Washington University as an adjunct faculty member from 1999 to 2016.

President Biden plans to nominate Shalanda Young, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, to become the permanent leader of the agency.

Young has been performing the responsibilities of OMB director on an acting basis since March when she was confirmed by the Senate as deputy director, the White House said Wednesday.

In her current role, she advises the Biden administration on the federal budget process and helps oversee the implementation of regulations and policies across the executive branch.

Young previously served as staff director of the House Appropriations Committee and a presidential management fellow at the National Institute of Health.

Biden also announced his intent to formally nominate Nani Coloretti, senior vice president at the Urban Institute, as OMB deputy director.

Coloretti has experience working for the federal government, having held senior positions at the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Treasury and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.