Gabrielle Byars
Chief Executive Officer
Gabrielle Byars believes relationships and collaboration are integral – but often neglected – parts of achieving outcomes in clinical trials.
Over her 14 years of cross-industry experience in clinical research, Gabrielle has developed a wealth of valuable relationships and insights which she draws upon in her role with Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials (MASC Trials) as Chief Executive Officer.
Gabrielle’s career has taken her around the world and seen her work alongside some incredible people, including Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist and scientist at Yale University, who’s considered by many to be a seminal figure in evidence-based outcomes research.
“My time at Yale was incredibly illuminating, working on large multi-centre studies exploring risk factors and outcomes in patients presenting with heart attacks. This was quite early in my career, and I gained valuable experience, and a broader understanding of the intricacies of ethics approval processes in the US and international cohort studies,” Gabrielle says.
Gabrielle obtained a Master of Biomedical Science from Monash University, while based at Melbourne’s Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute. She has since worked on an early phase vaccine clinical trial in her role at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and in medical device research and development within industry.
Gabrielle joined MASC Trials in 2020 as a Clinical Research Associate and soon after was appointed Research Manager. She was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in early 2022. Throughout her time with MASC Trials she has worked closely with investigators and dedicated trial staff at institutions and organisations across Australia to ensure our ground-breaking trials are a success – something she finds immensely rewarding.
“Melanoma and skin cancer are truly terrible things; and sadly, too many people have firsthand experience of that. It’s inspiring to work with so many passionate, gifted people on these trials, which are helping to make a difference to the lives of so many,” she said
“A lot of what I do comes back to people; managing our team, and working closely with investigators, nurses, surgeons and other key stakeholders. With so many moving parts, having the operational structure in place to foster and nurture productive collaboration is integral, and I’m pleased to call upon my many years’ experience in the world of trials to do so,” she added.