Staff Award for Excellence - Gail Quaderer

Gail Quaderer

Research Administrator Senior - Division of Rheumatology

Nominator, Matt Rollins -  "Gail handles her role in the Division adeptly while making our faculty feel comfortable. Her prowess, ownership, and partnership enable our faculty to be more competitive and productive." 

Work Performance

Gail was working on a PAF with Dr. Rory Marks. Pfizer was the sponsor of this grant opportunity. Pfizer's submission requirements included use of an online portal to submit the application.

Gail routed the PAF for review. The Division approved the PAF, and its next review was at the Department of Internal Medicine level. It was at this time, well before the PAF reached ORSP for submission, that Gail's foresight and willingness to ensure a smooth submission prompted her to check Pfizer's online proposal portal.

Gail discovered the portal locked. She immediately informed Dr. Marks' team of the issue and called Pfizer. Pfizer informed her that the online portal was blocked for the entire University due to a delinquent report associated with a grant in another unit. Pfizer stated the design of the block was indeed meant to be organization wide.

The delinquent report was submitted by the other unit and the block was lifted. I don't know how many Pfizer applications across the University were submitted on or near that due date. But I do know every single one was in jeopardy of being blocked, and they probably never knew it. Damage averted, thanks to Gail.

Dr. Jason Knight, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, provided the following: "Gail is kind, efficient, and wise. Gail is 100% reliable. I trust her more than anyone else I work. Even though Gail supports dozens of faculty members, she makes me feel like I am the only one. Gail is better at her job than I am at mine. Really, better than anyone else I interact with at the University of Michigan. In what can sometimes seem like a system designed to push against me—of emails not responded to and voicemails not returned, of ever-changing regulations, of rising expectations and less money to achieve them—Gail is an uncommon force moving in the opposite direction."

Leadership

Gail serves on the inaugural DEI IMPOWER Council as the Co-Lead for the Division. She keeps our Division up to date on Council activities by presenting at our monthly admin team meetings. In this role, Gail has demonstrated a willingness to step into the fray, helping to make Michigan a better place to be. She has taken this on voluntarily - without compensation and without a reduction in her normal duties. Her passion about this endeavor shines. Gail cares about our world and is actively working to do something about it.

Customer Service

Dr. David Fox, Professor of Internal Medicine, stated, "When I was asked to submit a proposal to the NIH (NCI – NexT program) on five days’ notice, Gail swung into action immediately – over the weekend we assembled an 87-page document. This was sandwiched between 2 R01 applications 1 month apart, career development awards for my post-doc, Mikel, the progress report for the ACE center, and numerous projects for the other research groups in Rheumatology. Gail has a get-it-done approach and also an eye for detail and quality. The best pre-award person I have worked with, by far, in >35 years at the University of Michigan. She deserves the recognition."

Dr. Michelle Kahlenberg, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, says, "She doesn’t shy away from complicated projects. Her first submission in her new position with the massive Clinical Autoimmune Center of Excellence application. She handled it with poise and thoroughness."

Dr. Eliza Tsou, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, provided the following. "Gail takes it upon herself to provide exceptional support and service to faculty. It is a pleasure to work with her on grants. She makes grueling grant preparation process more enjoyable. She proactively reaches out in the planning phase and supports faculties with checklists and application guidelines as needed. She provides assistance in all administrative aspects of grant submissions so that we can focus on putting the science together. She goes extra miles when it comes to organization and formatting of documents. She checks for errors and points out possible mistakes in the grant documents, which is very impressive. Gail’s skills do not end with her office work. She also projects a warm, cheerful attitude to the staff and faculties in the Division. I have seen her handle difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact. I believe Gail’s skills, knowledge, willingness to help others, and dedication to our Division make her our Staff Award for Excellence nominee."

Process Improvement

Gail has assisted Judy Carrillo teach an introduction to grants class to Internal Medicine faculty. This education of faculty facilitates the process of grant proposal submission in the Department and the University.

When starting a PAF, Gail works with collaborating internal and external units on their respective budget pieces, reaching concurrence prior to routing the PAF. We believe this is a best practice.

Using a checklist that originated from her predecessor, Gail modifies the checklist for each PAF to customize it consistent with the respective grant announcement. We believe this is a best practice.