Chris Houchens, PhD, is the Director of the Division of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Countermeasures within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His primary role is building and managing a diverse product portfolio focused on the advanced research, development and procurement of novel vaccines, prophylactics, therapeutics, diagnostics and devices as medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. In this role, Dr. Houchens conducts outreach with industry to identify new partnership opportunities and participates in numerous interagency working groups across the US government with the goal of strengthening the ability and capacity of the United States to rapidly respond to naturally occurring and intentionally engineered threats to public health.