Postdoc Spotlight: Bailey Flynn

September 19, 2025

Bailey Flynn is a postdoc in public policy from Tolland, Connecticut. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, and her research focuses on the factors that make it difficult for everyone to benefit from the U.S. health care system. She is a recipient of a Postdoc Achievement Award for Excellence in Community Engagement as part of Cornell’s celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025.

What is your area of research, scholarship, or work and why is it important?

I study the problems, such as limited access or high costs, that make it difficult for everyone to benefit from the U.S. health care system. I also partner with affected communities to research alternative solutions to these problems through policy and organizing. This work is especially important in a moment when the U.S. is undergoing a wave of social safety net retraction that leaves many groups more vulnerable than ever to health risks.

What are the broader implications of this research, scholarship, or work?

Identifying promising community-led health solutions that improve health outcomes for vulnerable groups can inspire larger changes. Through these case studies, we can better understand how to design a large-scale health care system that is resilient and grounded in the needs of patients who most need services. My hope is that this research can be valuable to policymakers, community organizers, researchers, and practitioners alike.  

What does receiving a Postdoc Achievement Award mean to you?

It is all too common to see community engagement and public scholarship undervalued in the academy. I feel really grateful to be at an institution that provides recognition for that work, and to have the labor that my collaborators and I have put in be recognized.

What hobbies or activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

I have recently taken up pottery and love it! I also love to write fiction, read across all genres, and swim outdoors.

Why did you choose Cornell?

The project I was hired onto was such a perfect fit for my own values and priorities as a scholar. It was an opportunity to come to an excellent institution to do work that I believe in and am excited to sit down with every day.

What is next for you?

Wrapping up our current grant-funded project and launching my own study of decentralized community health systems.

Do you have any advice for current graduate students?

Follow what you feel excited about—it will keep you in the work and bring you to the people who get it.