Current Award Recipients

H. Dele Davies, MD, MS, MHCM 

A renowned academic leader, researcher, professor and pediatrician, H. Dele Davies, MD, is dedicated to transforming health science education and driving positive change within the community and beyond. 

Dr. Davies serves as the interim chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, following the selection of Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, as president of the University of Nebraska System.   

In this role, Dr. Davies is responsible for all aspects of campus leadership, program quality and operations, including six colleges, a graduate studies program, two degree-granting institutes, the professional staff and faculty of more than 6,000, and 4,500 health professions students.   

Throughout his career, Dr. Davies has championed initiatives that inspire personal and professional growth, ensuring that students, faculty and staff are equipped with the tools and opportunities to excel. He is dedicated to fostering a welcoming and dynamic environment at UNMC where every individual is empowered to reach their full potential.  

Dr. Davies joined UNMC in 2012, initially appointed as vice chancellor. He was promoted in 2017 to senior vice chancellor, with expanded responsibilities and direct oversight of all UNMC colleges and a health sciences library. He has served as dean of graduate studies since joining UNMC.   

Prior to joining UNMC, Dr. Davies served as professor and chair of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Pediatrics and Human Development Department. Before that, he was director of the Child Health Research Unit at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Canada, and the Child Health Research Institute at the University of Calgary.  

As senior vice chancellor, Dr. Davies has overseen numerous initiatives and helped grow UNMC's rural health programs, pathway programs, community outreach and faculty development. Under his leadership, UNMC’s overall student enrollment has grown every year with multiple new professional degree programs added. As dean of graduate studies, Dr. Davies implemented key programs focused on student development and wellness and developed faculty as mentors and leaders.  

Dr. Davies has received numerous prestigious awards during his career for his research, teaching, mentorship, and community service. Since 2006, he has been recognized annually as a member of the Best Doctors of America, is a fellow of both the Infectious Diseases Society of America and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Medical Society, the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society.    

Dr. Davies has more than 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals related to his research on infectious diseases topics, several book chapters and other scholarly publications, and numerous presentations at national and international meetings.  

Dr. Davies earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of Toronto Dana Lana School of Public Health. Dr. Davies also holds a master’s degree in health care management from the Harvard School of Public Health.  

He is specialty-trained in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. 

Dr. Davies is a past fellow of the Academic Leadership Program, an extensive training program of the Big Ten Academic Alliance designed to help faculty leaders address the challenges of academic administration at major research universities. 

In 2023, Dr. Davies became a certified International Coach Federation coach. This yearlong, intensive training for academic medical leaders from the Spiro Coaching Institute focuses on enhancing essential skills needed to increase organizational and patient care impact.  

Dr. Davies' research interests lie in infectious diseases, especially perinatal infections caused by Group A and B streptococcus. His work was seminal in establishing the population-based rates, epidemiologic risk factors, serotypes and major virulence factors for Group A and B streptococcal infections in Canada, setting the stage for future introduction of effective vaccines.   

Dr. Davies has conducted research and developed health pipeline programs that have been supported by over $24 million in funding either as principal investigator, co-principal investigator or co-investigator from several agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.   

Dr. Davies was named as one of the top 2% researchers in his field based on citation metrics by a 2022 Stanford University Study. 

Dr. Davies has served on more than 180 committees, advisory boards, government or public health councils and organizations, such as: 

• Chair, Readiness and Resilience Working Group, National Biodefense Safety Board, advisory to the US Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

• Member, Advisory Committee to the National Institutes of Health, Deputy Director for Intramural Research. 

• Founding and Past Chair, Association of Academic Health Centers, Chief Academic Officers Executive Leadership Group. 
• Board Member, Council of Graduate Schools. 

Melanie Menning, MD ‘15, MPH ‘19 

Dr. Menning obtained her medical degree and Master of Public Health in Community Oriented Primary Care from UNMC. She completed her family medicine residency through UNMC's Urban Underserved track at OneWorld Community Health Center.

She currently serves as an associate professor and associate program director for the UNMC Department of Family Medicine and director of the IDEA-CTR Community Engagement and Outreach Core. She provides care at Nebraska Medicine and OneWorld Community Health Center.

She has a passion for immigrant and refugee health care and helping to close health disparity gaps through education, research, and clinical care. Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with her husband Paul and their daughter Ava, traveling and gardening.

Ted R. Mikuls, MD ‘95, MSPH 

Dr. Mikuls completed medical school and his internal medicine training at UNMC. He then completed his rheumatology fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Mikuls is the Stokes-Shackleford Professor of Rheumatology at UNMC and also serves as a staff physician and researcher at the VA Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System. 

Dr. Mikuls’ research interests are focused on disease epidemiology, pathogenesis and outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis and gout. He currently receives active research support from the NIH, VA, U.S. Department of Defense, and industry; and is director of the Professional Development Core for the NIGMS-funded Great Plains IDeA-CTR. He founded and has directed the national VA Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry (VARA) since its inception. During his career, Dr. Mikuls has mentored more than 70 trainees including medical and graduate students, residents, fellows, and early career faculty. He was recognized in 2024 with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award. 

Dr. Mikuls has held past leadership roles with both the ACR and Rheumatology Research Foundation, including previous service as Chair of both the ACR Practice Guidelines Subcommittee and the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Council. He currently serves on the Foundation’s Board of Directors.  

Desiray Bailey, MD ‘75

Dr. Desiray Bailey is a retired physician executive and board-certified anesthesiologist with more than three decades of leadership experience in hospital operations, medical staff governance, quality improvement, and in promoting access and opportunity for all people. In addition, she maintained a clinical practice until retirement. 
 
Dr. Bailey served at Group Health Cooperative (GHC) in Seattle, Washington, where she held progressively senior roles, including Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer for both the Central Hospital and the system-wide hospital network. In these roles, she led key initiatives such as transitioning accreditation from The Joint Commission to Det Norske Veritas (DNV), building robust physician performance management systems, and strengthening clinical integration across campuses. She also played a central role in drafting and implementing hospital medical staff bylaws, managing quality oversight, and enhancing communication between medical staff and system leadership. 

Dr. Bailey has a long-standing commitment to advancing access, opportunity, and fairness in healthcare. She was a founding board member of GHC’s LGBT and Allies Staff Resource Group and led initiatives that resulted in Group Health earning top scores from both the Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index and the Corporate Equality Index. She also co-authored survey work that assessed the patient experience of LGBTQ+ individuals within the system and successfully advocated for domestic partner health benefits in the 1990s, well before organizations around the country began to follow suit. 

Beyond her work at GHC, Dr. Bailey has held multiple community and national leadership roles. She served on the Board of Directors of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality (Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) for over a decade, including terms as President and Treasurer.  She was the first GLMA delegate to the American Medical Association House of Delegates and was GLMA’s representative to AMA’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Issues. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign and on advisory boards for the George Washington University LGBT Health Policy & Practice Program and the Healthcare Equality Index. Locally, she contributed her leadership expertise as a board member of the Waterford Homeowners Association and Seattle Unity Church. 

Dr. Bailey is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. 

Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Group Health Physicians Corporate Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2013 and multiple listings in Puget Sound Consumers’ Checkbook as one of the region’s top doctors.  

Now retired, Dr. Bailey remains a vocal advocate for fairness in healthcare and lends her leadership experience to organizations dedicated to justice, broad representation, and the well-being of all communities. She lives with her spouse, spending time in both Redmond, WA and Indian Wells, CA. She enjoys time with her two adult sons, daughter-in-law and grandson.