The winning Wyckoff attitude

General Article
September 18, 2003

25-year epidemiology veteran Jan Kikuchi wins T. Evans Wyckoff award

Jan Kikuchi, winner of this year's Wyckoff award and a data-operations manager in PHS, oversees a vast collection of frozen tissue specimens for epidemiology studies. Kikuchi received the award from Dr. Lee Hartwell, center president and director, during the annual employee barbecue. Photo by Todd McNaught

By BARBARA BERG

In the quarter century she has worked at Fred Hutchinson, Jan Kikuchi has entered millions of bits of information into the Public Health Sciences Division's databases, kept track of tens of thousands of frozen tissue specimens and trained and supervised dozens of data-entry employees.

But this is not just a story about time and effort-it's about an outstanding employee who applies a do-whatever-it-takes attitude to every detail of her work while finding time to organize a floor party, remember a coworker's birthday or lend a sympathetic ear to someone having a stressful day.

Those are among the characteristics that garnered Kikuchi, a data-operations manager in the PHS Division's epidemiology research unit, this year's T. Evans Wyckoff Esprit de Corps Award. She received the award at the annual employee barbecue on Sept. 12. The honor, named for the late founding member of the Board of Trustees, is given to a center staff member who, co-workers feel, exhibits dedication, outstanding team work, enthusiasm, the ability to get the job done and a commitment to the center and its mission.

Perfection plus

Kikuchi, or "Kooch," as she is known by close colleagues, says that it's all just part of the job. "I do what needs to be done," she said. "It's important to me to try to get the data as perfect as it can be, because these are important research studies. I don't like to see holes-even one piece of data among thousands can be critical."

That commitment to perfection is what helps the minds of investigators like Dr. Thomas Vaughan rest easy.

"Whatever Jan does, she does it right," he said. "And if not, she redoes it. She never says 'it can't be done.'

"Over the nearly 20 years that I've worked extensively with data sets that she has played a large role in producing, and with tissue specimens that she's organized, I have been amazed at the rarity with which data problems have emerged. I've become spoiled by the experience of working with her."

Colleague Janice Findley said that Kikuchi's reputation for prompt attention to seemingly impossible last-minute requests is legendary among the group, as is her willingness to come in on a weekend or evening if something needs to get done.

"If a principal investigator needs something, Jan will do everything she can to get it to them yesterday," said Findley, who has known Kikuchi since they were college students together and has worked alongside her as a data coordinator for 19 years. "She doesn't let any ball drop."

Berta Nicol-Blades, also a 25-year center veteran and longtime colleague, said that working with Kikuchi is a privilege and an honor.

"She's in huge demand by her coworkers, not only because she always knows the answers, but because the work she produces is so good."

Kikuchi said that growing up on a farm in the small community of Quincy, Washington, nurtured the work ethic for which she is known and admired.

"We had chores and summer jobs that included working on teams," she said. "We had to be dependable and responsible for the work we did."

Kikuchi's first job with the center in 1978-helping to collect data for a study on asbestos in drinking water-was also her first "real" job after college.

"I moved to Seattle with some friends after graduating from Pacific Lutheran College and answered an ad," she said. "I worked in an annex building on First Hill-that's where all of the big epidemiology programs first began."

Throughout many of the early pre-computer years, she remembers, data entry and organization meant keeping track of boxes and boxes of punchcards. "I've had to learn so many new things since I've been here," she said. "But that's what has been interesting about the job."

Team player

Kikuchi's many responsibilities within the research unit include developing and maintaining the software screens into which data-entry specialists enter data from epidemiological studies; supervising the data-entry and coding staff; and conducting quality-control checks of the databases. She's also played a vital role in devising organizational strategies for the vast numbers of blood samples, slides and tissue specimens collected from participants in PHS studies and manages requests from collaborating laboratories for these materials.

Many of the specimens are collected through international studies, such as the Shanghai Breast Self Exam Study, World Health Organization Study and the Bangkok Study, all led by Dr. David Thomas.

Cross-cultural camaraderie

"We've had samples shipped from all over the world," Kikuchi said. "I've gone to the airport to pick up specimens, had to track down packages tied up in customs-whatever it takes. These are important to the studies."

The international flavor of the research has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job, she said.

"Through these studies, we've had people from China come to work with us and we've established strong friendships and learned a lot from each other about the different cultures," she said.

Kikuchi said that the family-like camaraderie that's developed on the fourth floor of Metropolitan East is a big part of why she feels so devoted to her job. Many members of the unit have worked together for 15 or more years.

"We all have very specialized jobs, but we work together as a team," she said. "Every person is important."

Her care and concern for her colleagues is evident in many of the community-building events she has spearheaded as well as her one-on-one interactions with colleagues, Findley said.

"Jan's good humor is infectious," she said. "What touches everyone is how empty it feels on a day when she's not here. I'd say she is the 'soul' of our unit."

Kikuchi said it is the connections she has made with her colleagues that have sustained her all these years.

"People have so much life outside of their work," she said. "That's worth sharing and knowing about."

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