SPH Welcomes Bethany Bray as Interim Assistant Dean for Research
Meeting Bethany Bray
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Bethany C. Bray has been appointed Interim Assistant Dean for Research (ADR) in the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health (SPH), effective Friday, January 16. Dr. Bray is a Senior Research Scientist in the Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) and a Research Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at UIC.
“Dr. Bray brings a rare combination of deep methodological expertise, a broad portfolio of funded research, and a proven record of mentoring and unit leadership that will strengthen our research enterprise across departments,” said Dean Wayne Giles.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Bray has held key research leadership roles at UIC, including Associate Director for Scientific & Infrastructure Development at IHRP, Director of Evaluation & Tracking for the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), and Director of the Methods and Analysis Core at the Institute for Research on Addictions. She previously served on the faculty at Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Her work focuses on developing and applying innovative statistical methods to address health disparities and advance equity in areas such as LGBTQ+, substance use/misuse, addictive behaviors, and HIV/AIDS.
Methodologically, Dr. Bray is internationally recognized for contributions to latent class analysis (and extensions such as latent transition and multilevel latent class analysis), including widely used resources, software tools, and workshops. Her publications span methodological and public health journals and reflect a sustained commitment to advancing rigorous, equity‑oriented methods that improve how we model heterogeneity, evaluate interventions, and translate findings into practice and policy.
Dr. Bray’s research has been supported by a wide range of funders. Her current and prior support includes multiple National Institutes of Health awards—most notably NIH/NIDA center grants for which she serves/served as MPI/PI (U24) and PD (P50); NIH/NIDA and NIH/NIMHD R‑series awards (including roles as Subcontract PI and Co‑Investigator); and leadership in the NIH/NCATS UL1/UM1 Clinical and Translational Science Award at UIC. Beyond NIH, her portfolio spans the National Science Foundation, SAMHSA, the Alcohol Beverage Medical Research Foundation, and the National/International Center for Responsible Gaming, among other sources. This breadth underscores her ability to build and sustain complex, interdisciplinary, and translational research programs.
Equally important, Dr. Bray is a committed mentor to early‑career investigators and faculty. She is the recipient of the Society for Prevention Research’s Mentoring Award (Friend of the Early Career Preventionist Network), and she has served as advisor or co‑sponsor on multiple NIH training and career development mechanisms (e.g., F31, K01, K99), chaired and served on numerous graduate committees, and formally mentored UIC early‑career faculty across the health sciences. Her mentoring has helped trainees and junior colleagues secure grants, publish, and advance along academic career paths.