Job group: Research Associate/ Scientific Project Manager

Work: part-time

Caring responsibilities: two children, aged 2 and 6 years old.

Theme: Caring responsibilities, work-life balance, equality

My name is Gayle Overend, and I arrived at the University of Glasgow in September 2000 and haven’t left since(!). I consider myself incredibly lucky to have completed my genetics degree and Ph.D. at the University, and to have found gainful employment ever since. The campus (and the world) has changed a lot in those 22 years, but to me the Uni still feels the same – people of all ages and from every corner of the globe coming together to learn, to teach, and to figure out how the world works, together.

My formative research years were spent with Profs. Shireen Davies and Julian Dow, and a wonderful bunch of Ph.D. students and research staff in the ‘fly lab’. I spent much of that time trying to figure out how to write papers like Julian, present data like Kevin O’Dell, and maintain the drive and energy of Shireen. I moved back to human genetics in 2015, studying myotonic dystrophy in the lab of Prof. Darren Monckton. My time with Darren has been incredibly rewarding; he has cultivated a research team which is not only brilliant and dedicated, but always supportive and kind. I have also had the chance to meet myotonic dystrophy patients on many occasions, as he has a close relationship with the community. There are few things that bring your research into focus like meeting patients and family members who live with the disease every day. I currently work part-time in a project administration role, which fits very well with my family responsibilities.

During my time in Darren’s lab, I got married and had two children. Although Darren’s support was absolute and unwavering, both pregnancies highlighted the difficulties faced by RAs on short-term or fixed-term contracts. As such, when I returned from my second pregnancy, I became involved with the Athena SWAN maternity/paternity/family working group. In the past two years we have focused on improving the maternity information available to line managers, and to staff members at any stage of their pregnancy journey.

I have seen a positive shift in the University’s approach to caring for its staff over the last two decades. Although I would hope the University always accepted diversity, I think in recent years they have tried to welcome diversity. Projects to understand the everyday factors which affect staff – whether it be having caring responsibilities, the menopause, neurodiversity, or disability – are all having a positive impact. And I hope I get to enjoy that progress for another 22 years…….

First published: 23 August 2021

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