Dr. Bailey completed her PhD degree and post-doctoral training at Purdue University before beginning her research and teaching academic career at the University of Florida. Over the course of >30 years, Dr. Bailey conducted human metabolic studies to determine how much of this vitamin is required to maintain optimal status as assessed by biomarkers for individuals of all ages including pregnant women and the elderly. Dr. Bailey has served on a large number of advisory panels including the FDA Folic Acid Advisory Committee whose recommendation led to folic acid fortification of the US and Canadian food supply. She also served as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee that revised the dietary intake recommendations for folate and other B vitamins. Her long-standing collaboration with the Centers of Disease Control has enabled her to contribute to global efforts to assess folate status as a basis for folic acid fortification programs to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Dr. Bailey chaired the NIH Biomarkers for Nutrition and Development (BOND) Folate Panel. She served as chair of an international Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-supported initiative through Nutrition International and the Micronutrient Forum to develop an evidence-based “roadmap” delineating how to best prevent neural tube defects with folic acid interventions globally. In addition to her extensive research journal publications and book chapters, Dr. Bailey has edited two editions of the book “Folate in Health and Disease”.