In-the-know via 'on-the-job doing'

General Article
January 16, 2003

Twenty-six-year veteran Deb Gayle manages budgets, navigates complex grants for transplant program

Deborah Gayle (second from left), program manager for Transplantation Biology, conducts a meeting of program staff, including (from left) Sue Carbonneau, Karen Carbonneau and Bonnie Larson. Photo by Todd McNaught

By JANIS SIEGEL

When Deborah Gayle came to Fred Hutchinson in 1976, she entered data on the swing shift for the Public Health Sciences Division, which was housed on the first floor of the center's original building on First Hill. Back then, the few survivors of early bone-marrow transplants represented the hope for the future.

Today - 27 years later - PHS resides in 12 floors of Met East/West and is poised for a 2004 move to what will become the largest building on the Day Campus.

Meanwhile, Gayle still works in a first-floor office, but in the four-year-old Thomas Building, home of the Clinical Research Division, which has spawned the largest transplant program in the world.

The program manager for Transplantation Biology, Gayle manages budgets and grants for that program's faculty. As the center has ballooned, so have her skills.

"Deb came on board as a data person, then became a program assistant, then office manager, and now takes care of all of our research grants and budgets and manages the Transplantation Biology administrative staff," said Dr. Rainer Storb, head of Transplantation Biology.

Storb hired Gayle in 1978 and has worked closely with her ever since.

"She's extremely loyal, and I find her extraordinarily dedicated," he said. "It's pretty common to find her at her desk on weekends. I respect and trust her totally. It's been a great working relationship."

That sense of trust and respect encouraged Gayle to take on increasingly responsible roles in the office through the years. She was willing to learn whatever needed to be done in a program that was growing larger and more complex.

'Allowed to move ahead'

"I didn't have on-the-job training as much as on-the-job doing," Gayle said. "That's one of the good things about the Hutch, in my experience, that a person who works hard and is trusted by their boss is allowed to take on more and more, and move ahead."

In 1977, Gayle transferred from the PHS data-entry position to Clinical Statistics, where she assisted with data abstraction from transplant patients' medical records. Storb hired her in December 1978 as program assistant for Long-Term Follow-Up.

"This was back when there weren't many transplant patients, and not many of them survived," she said. "Those who made it were marvelous treasures to the staff of the Clinical Research Division. Our program grew wildly because marrow transplantation started to become more successful."

Along with that growth came an increased need for administrative oversight.

"I've been doing what I'm currently doing for about 11 years," she said. "We're a good-sized program. The Transplantation Biology faculty operate research labs and clinical research trials. They bring in their own grant money as well as work on interrelated, large grants with a lot of human subjects and vertebrate animal activities.

"It's important that research activities are carried out in accordance with federal guidelines. The Institutional Review Office and the Office of Grant and Contract Administration help us with this."

Gayle serves as a liaison between the Transplantation Biology faculty and the Center's administrative offices.

"I'm the first line of managerial oversight the investigators get," she said. "They don't always have time to call Human Resources or the IRO, they come to me hoping I'll know the policy or that I can find out for them."

Gayle has become valuable to many who depend on her expertise to navigate a complex grant system.

"People call Deb with questions because she's in the know," said Sue Carbonneau, administrative coordinator who has worked closely with Gayle for the last seven years. "She knows the grant and budget process so well, and her work ethic is tremendous. It's important to her that the work gets done right and on time."

Storb agrees, citing Gayle's integrity.

"With budgeting and other regulatory issues, Deb is extremely above board and has high ethical standards," he said. "I have little patience dealing with these matters. I trust her judgment."

Bolstering such relationships is a part of Gayle's job.

'More time for their research'

"I try to keep organized on the administrative requirements the doctors need to fulfill, and help them so they will meet their deadlines," Gayle said. "That's the point of my being here, along with the other Transplantation Biology administrative support staff.

"We handle as much of the administrative stuff as possible, so that the doctors don't have to. The whole goal is to save them time so that they will have more time for their research and patient-care activities."

Gayle takes pride in the Transplantation Biology administrative staff, many of whom she hired.

"We have a great support staff," she said. "I give my co-workers high ratings. They've all worked hard to increase their skills. It doesn't happen overnight. They understand the pressures the faculty are under and do their best to provide assistance."

The atmosphere of mutual respect and trust that Gayle perceives in Transplantation Biology faculty and staff, plus a strong commitment to the center's mission, are big parts of her job satisfaction.

"Our faculty are dedicated, hard-working, smart people and it's gratifying to help them," she said. "I value the fact that they trust me, and there's been plenty of opportunity for growth. It's been fulfilling to help people who are doing a worthwhile thing."

Center News Table of Contents