MCHWS Bios

Gayle R. Byck, PhD, MPH

Gayle R. Byck, PhD, MPH has been Deputy Director since 2003 and senior research specialist at the MCHWS since 1999. Her responsibilities include policy analysis, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, grant and manuscript writing, budget preparation, strategic planning, and Center communications.

At the Center, Dr. Byck has conducted studies on access to dental care for low-income children in Illinois, safety net dental clinics in Illinois, the Wisconsin dentist workforce, and the evaluation of a dental workforce model developed by HRSA to forecast dental provider requirements for the SCHIP-eligible population. The first study looked at characteristics of dentists in Illinois, Medicaid-enrolled children’s dental utilization, and provider participation in the Medicaid program; this study has been of continuing use and interest to state oral health policy makers and oral health care professionals. Dr. Byck was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Rural Health Association Public Policy Forum in February 2001, discussing: Access to Oral Health Care for Medicaid Children in Illinois: A Focus on Rural Illinois. Recently, Dr. Byck completed the state of Illinois Genetic Needs Assessment for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Currently, Dr. Byck is working on the Development of The Illinois State Genetics Plan, a continuation of the needs assessment.

Dr. Byck received both her master’s and doctoral degrees in health policy and administration at the UIC School of Public Health. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Pediatrics, Journal of Rural Health, Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Journal of the American Dental Association, and Milbank Memorial Quarterly.