Dr. Kevin L. Wingerd is the acting Medical Research, Development and Acquisition Director for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense. Since he assumed the role in 2022, he now oversees a dynamic portfolio that extends from early science and technology through advanced development to acquisition of medical countermeasures products for chemical and biological defense.

Dr. Wingerd served as the Chief Technology Officer at the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO CBRND) Joint Project Manager for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Medical (JPM CBRN Medical), headquartered at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Since he assumed the role in 2018, he provided oversight of a high functioning team of Department of Defense (DOD) Civilians and support Contractors with varied expertise in chemistry manufacturing and controls, non-clinical, and clinical development for medical countermeasures.

Dr. Wingerd’s support of CBRN Medical’s RAIDR (Rapid Acquisition and Investigation of Drugs for Repurposing) repurposing efforts led to the acquisition and availability of medicine, equipment, and scarce COVID-19 testing supplies. He facilitated advanced development, manufacturing, and acquisition of medical solutions such as vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, and provided the U.S. military forces and the nation with safe, effective, and innovative medical solutions to enhance the nation's biodefense response. Dr. Wingerd was also instrumental in the creation and development of CBRN Medical’s VAMP (Vaccine Acceleration by Modular Progression) effort. VAMP is a vaccine development platform that facilitates rapid delivery of safe and effective vaccines to the Warfighter by building on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, where investment in vaccine development against threat families (i.e. mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-1) led to a significantly decreased development timeline for a safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Leveraging interagency, industry, and academia partnership, VAMP will continue to build the Warfighter's bio-armor to protect against biological threat families. For these efforts, Dr Wingerd was recognized as the Science and Technology Professional of the Year, 2021 Army Acquisition Executive’s Excellence in Leadership award, the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award in 2021, and the Defense Acquisition Workforce Award for Science and Technology Management.

Beginning in April 2014, Dr. Wingerd supported the JPM CBRN Medical as the manufacturing lead for the Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program. In this role, he assisted the vaccine managers with manufacturing, technology transfer, scale-up, process development, validation, good manufacturing practice (GMP) operations, and product development expertise. He collaborated with integrated product development teams of scientists, acquisition professionals, and regulatory support for the approval and fielding of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medical countermeasures for the warfighter.

In 2005, Dr. Wingerd was hired by the BioPort Corporation (later known as Emergent BioSolutions), eventually becoming the Senior Director of Process and Analytical Development.

Dr. Wingerd graduated with honors from Trinity International University with a bachelor’s degree in Biology (PreMed) and a minor in Chemistry. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Wingerd was a postdoctoral fellow with the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). During his time at the UCSB, he published eight peer-reviewed journal articles.