From Kenya to Campus, HIV Researcher Honored

For nearly 15 years, Robert Bailey, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, has dedicated his life to understanding the benefits of male circumcision in Sub-Saharan Africa as a means to prevent the spread of HIV.

On Feb. 11, 2009, faculty members, students, family and friends gathered at the UIC Student Center West to honor Bailey and three other UIC professors whose personal research has been widely recognized. .

The UIC Researcher of the Year Award ceremony was the first of its kind for the university.

“You hear in the aggregate how well the university does,” said Larry Danziger, vice chancellor for research, “but I thought it would be nice to highlight the faculty for the important work that they do.”

UIC SPH Dean Paul Brandt-Rauf was pleased by Bailey’s award for research in clinical sciences. “What particularly appeals to me,” Brandt-Rauf explained, “is that Dr. Bailey’s research is applied to a real world public health problem. It has a sound base in science and a sound base in public health, but it’s not just theoretical; it has actually been demonstrated to the world to make a major difference. At the School of Public Health, these are the sorts of things we continue to strive towards.”

Through his research in Kisumu, Kenya, Bailey has been able to provide evidence that male circumcision results in at least a 51 percent reduction in the risk of contracting HIV. As a result, the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS announced in 2007 that male circumcision is a proven HIV prevention tool.

Bailey’s research was also recognized in 2007 by Time magazine and named the year’s number one medical breakthrough.

Besides his work related to circumcision and HIV, Bailey also works on several STD prevention projects, most recently collaborating with fellow UIC SPH epidemiologist, Supriya Mehta, to study the prevalence of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae (NG), the bacteria responsible for gonorrhea, in men and women in Kisumu. He also works closely with HEAL, Health and Empowerment for African Lives, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting community based organizations that work to assist people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Kisumu region.

Bailey has undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the global community and vast difference in the world, according to Leslie Stayner, director of the division of epidemiology at the UIC SPH and presenter of Bailey’s award. “I think it’s rare in epidemiology to be able to say that somebody’s research is literally going to save millions of lives.”

-- Karen Schmidt

Researcher of the Year: Robert Bailey, Ph.D.