National news release

J. Stanley Bailey Recognized as Outstanding Senior Research Scientist for 2002

BELTSVILLE, Md., Feb. 12—Joseph Stanley Bailey, a microbiology in the Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Athens, Ga., has been named one of three ARS “Outstanding Senior Research Scientists of 2002.” ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Bailey is being honored for leadership, productivity and outstanding accomplishments in the area of microbiological methods, pathogen control and technology transfer. He will receive a plaque at an awards ceremony Feb. 12 at the agency’s Henry A. Wallace Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center. He also will receive a cash award and additional research funding.

Bailey’s research findings about poultry operations are documented in more than 450 scientific publications. His early work on control of Salmonella in chickens is reflected in regulations of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service regarding chlorination of poultry evisceration equipment. Among his many scientific contributions, Bailey was the first person in the United States to isolate and identify the virulent microorganism Listeria moncytogenes from poultry products.

“Many of these individual accomplishments would make Dr. Bailey a worthy candidate for any award, but collectively they demonstrate a career of remarkable achievements,” said Edward B. Knipling, acting ARS administrator.

Bailey and a co-worker identified the hatchery as probably the most critical Salmonella control point in chicken production. They developed a cost-effective, simple method to disinfect hatching cabinets. As a result of these and other research efforts, the level of Salmonella contamination in commercial hatcheries has been reduced from more than 75 percent in 1990 to less than 25 percent today. Bailey has led or participated in seven Cooperative Research and Development Agreements that have resulted in seven U.S. patents, six of which are commercially licensed.

His extensive knowledge and scientific authority have led to many positions of leadership, including being named a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, chairman of the Food Microbiology Division of the American Society for Microbiology, and secretary of the Microbiological Methods Committee of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Bailey was also appointed adjunct professor and member of the graduate faculty in the Poultry Science Department at the University of Georgia.

Bailey received a Technology Transfer Award from ARS in 1997 for his skills in moving his research findings from the laboratory to the marketplace, and he also has been honored by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for his technology transfer activities.

Bailey earned a bachelor of science degree in environmental health science at the University of Georgia in 1974, and went on to earn a master’s degree in food science in 1978 and a doctorate in poultry science in 1989 at the same university.