Phillip Babcock
January 14 was Phillip's 7th anniversary in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. As an academic personnel analyst, he handles the administration of recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retiring for faculty, including documentation, payroll, benefits, and managing payroll funding lines. According to his nominators, Phillip does this all in an "incredibly friendly and capable" way.

Says an appreciative Mark Pletcher, who joined the department as an assistant adjunct professor last July: "Phillip devoted as much time as I needed to understand the complex benefits structure at UCSF, and to make sure I had what I needed - for example, he helped my wife get proof of medical insurance so she could get prenatal care. His cheery attitude infuses our department with warmth and personality."

"This is my idea of what a university should be, particularly a medical school," says Phillip. "It's good community and university service. I like working with strong scientists doing really interesting work - it's enough to inspire you to get an MPH to get more involved. I'm particularly happy the department started the Institute for Global Health, bringing in scientists from around the world."

As for his Great People rewards, Phillip invested in a Simpsons DVD and movie tickets (he could recommend Lord of the Rings, The Cooler, and Bad Santa, "depending on your taste.")

Marie Gobidas
On a recent Friday, staff at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies gathered around a cake to celebrate "Mother Marie," administrative assistant Marie Gobidas. They read the numerous nomination letters that led to Marie being named one of this quarter's Great People, after which Marie felt "they'd have to widen the doorway to get my head out."

"Her administrative skills are excellent," offers associate adjunct professor Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH, "but it is her unending energy and support that makes our workplace a better place. She has helped research scientists, physicians, project directors, research assistants, and interns equally. She has become adept at new job duties, including assisting with human resources and the payroll and reimbursement maze. Since what we do here takes a village, I would say Marie is an elder - a wise and wonderful woman who contributes to the growth of all who are in it."

Responds Marie: "This is such an interesting place to work - such brilliant minds, people dealing with the long view - it's fascinating to me. But now I'm afraid I'll develop performance anxiety!"

Joy Grado
For 11 months, Joy Grado has been the administrator of the Alzheimer's and Memory Center, a free-standing clinic of the UCSF Fresno Medical Program. In that short time, she has "brought the Center and its goals to a new level," according to the team who nominated her for the award. Aging is her field, and she is a staunch advocate for seniors.

"With 6,000 people turning 65 each day in the US, this segment of society needs to be brought to the forefront," explains Grado. "In the next six years, 76 million baby boomers will fall into the system. They need to remain active participants, and we need to dispel myths about aging. We can still learn a lot from them.

"We're a small clinic with nine employees. We interact closely with patients and their families to come to grips with the diagnosis; we don't just send someone out the door. Alzheimer's is a family disease, so we have a family meeting, work with the primary care physician, suggest resources, and follow up. I have a great team - we have moved mountains this year taking the Center to a new level of quality care."

Tony Ling
Phlebotomist at the Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital, Tony Ling draws and processes the blood of HIV/AIDS patients - from first diagnosis to "salvage" patients who have already been through many medications and are no longer responding to treatment. Originally from Hong Kong, Tony began a career at UCSF in the AIDS program nearly 18 years ago, and has seen many changes in that time.

"When I first started, there were not many drugs to work with. As soon as you'd get to know someone…" says Tony, his voice trailing off. "It was depressing. But now we see people getting healthier and stronger."

Tony was singled out not only for his exceptional phlebotomy skills but also the way he "puts patients and staff at ease," according to Mary Payne, RN. "For years, Tony has done the work of lab supervisor, but he seldom gets credit for all that he does. He is always working hard, but cheerful and courteous to staff and patients. Whenever our labs need a special delivery to Virology at Gladstone, Tony jumps on his bike and rides over to make sure they arrive on time. He has a passion for science and technology, and is a repository for many obscure bits of facts and news in these fields."

Asked his reaction to being named Great People, Tony says, "In our line of work, we don't want to be remembered. They only remember you when you stick them and it hurts. So it is nice to know what we do is being appreciated."