RTI International's Don Bailey Elected National Fragile X Foundation Board President
Posted: 11-01-2007 : RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Don Bailey, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow at RTI International, has been elected president of the Board of Directors for the National Fragile X Foundation.

Bailey will serve a three-year term beginning in January.

Bailey is internationally known as an expert on young children with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on their families and the role of early intervention. For the past 15 years, he has studied children and families with fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability.

Currently, he directs several projects funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on various aspects of fragile X and broader issues surrounding the ethical, legal, and social consequences of genetic discoveries and the disclosure of genetic information to families, especially through newborn screening.

Bailey joined RTI in November 2005 and collaborates on the Consortium for Molecular Epidemiology, Genomics, Environment, and Health (MEGEH), a team of interdisciplinary scientists working to unlock the mysteries of cell activity, genetic coding and human disease.

Before coming to RTI, Bailey was W. R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and from 1992 to 2006 was director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. He retains an appointment as research professor at UNC-CH.

Bailey has authored or co-authored more than 170 publications. He received the 2004 Rosen Award for Outstanding Research in Fragile X Syndrome from the National Fragile X Foundation, and the 2006 Career Research Scientist Award from the Academy on Mental Retardation.

The National Fragile X Foundation unites the fragile X community to enrich lives through educational and emotional support, promote public and professional awareness, and advance research toward improved treatments and a cure for fragile X. The foundation sponsors a biennial conference for parents and professionals, maintains a comprehensive Web site that provides current and objective information about fragile X, and funds research to better understand fragile X and develop effective treatments.

Prior to becoming president, Bailey served as co-chair of the foundation's Scientific and Clinical Advisory Committee, advising the foundation on the interpretation of scientific findings and overseeing the review of scientific and clinical grant applications.

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