Bridging biomedicine and the media

Bruce Goldman

Science writer

Bruce Goldman, MS, covers immunology, infectious disease, transplantation neurosciences, neurosurgery, radiology, molecular and cellular physiology, urology, structural biology, BIO-X, biochemistry and bioinformatics. He also quacks quite loudly about economics from time to time and pens the odd obit. A recovering philosophy major from the University of Wisconsin, he has done his best to cover his tracks by obtaining yet another bachelor's degree, this time in engineering physics from the University of Colorado, and attending finishing school, in cell biology, at Harvard University.

Erin Digitale

Pediatrics writer

Erin Digitale, PhD, earned her doctorate in nutrition at the University of California at Davis, where she also learned how to knit and how to ride her bicycle all the way across campus with no hands. She holds a certificate in science writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz and has been writing about pediatrics, nutrition and children's health policy for the School of Medicine since 2008.

John Sanford

Managing Editor

John Sanford edits the Inside Stanford Medicine newspaper, and oversees the office's science writers.

Becky Bach

Media Relations/Digital Media Specialist

Becky Bach reports on significant honors and awards for faculty, staff and students. She also writes for the medical school's blog, Scope.

Michelle Brandt

Director of Digital Communications and Broadcast Media

Michelle Brandt has written about medicine and health and worked in media relations at Stanford for more than 10 years. Among the topics she covers are women's health, psychiatry and behavioral science and health research and policy. She works on various social-media projects and is an active member of the blogosphere, having written about parenthood on a personal blog since 2006 and co-founded the medical school's award-winning blog, Scope, in 2009. Michelle is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin's School of Journalism and remains a proud Badger.

Margarita Gallardo

Broadcast Media Manager

Margarita Gallardo works with the broadcast media, and edits 1:2:1, an award-winning podcast about advancements in health-care policy and biomedical research. Before joining Stanford in 2003, she worked in local television production. Margarita is an alumna of the University of San Francisco, where she studied communications and sociology.

Paul Costello

Chief Communications Officer

Paul Costello is the School of Medicine's chief communications officer. He hosts the award-winning podcast 1:2:1, a series of conversations about advances in health-care policy and biomedical research. He has a rich and varied professional background in communications having served in government in the White House, the Ohio Governor's office and the Mayor's office in Washington, D.C.; the private sector at Home Box Office and the Chicago retailer Marshall Field; and in academia as a vice president at the University of Hawaii System. The Chicago native holds an MSW from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is an avid cyclist and swimmer.

Ruthann Richter

Director of Media Relations

Ruthann Richter, MA '79, has been writing about medicine and health for more than 25 years. A graduate of the Stanford journalism program, she spent 12 years in daily journalism before embracing the world of academic medicine. She has a special interest in HIV/AIDS, global health and the workings of the brain. In 2004, she made her first trip to Africa with a documentary photographer - an experience that changed her view of the world and led to her award-winning book, Face to Face: Children of the AIDS Crisis in Africa.

Rosanne Spector

Stanford Medicine Editor

Rosanne Spector writes about all areas of medicine, but especially chemical and systems biology, medical libraries, and the history of medicine. She has reported on science and medicine for 20 years, most of that time at Stanford, where she edits Stanford Medicine magazine and operates a non-profit chocolate concession out of a drawer in her office.

Susan Ipaktchian

Director of Print & Web Communications

Susan Ipaktchian is the director of print and web communications, overseeing Stanford Medicine magazine, the Inside Stanford Medicine newspaper and the news releases for the School of Medicine. Additionally, she covers the Stanford Prevention Research Center, the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and faculty diversity issues.

She graduated with a degree in communications from Brigham Young University. Prior to joining Stanford, she was the media-relations coordinator for the Ames Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, and an editor and reporter for the Ogden Standard-Examiner.

Tracie White

Science Writer

Tracie White is a science writer who covers medical research and medical education. A recipient of numerous writing awards, she has 20 years experience as a newspaper reporter and feature writer specializing in narrative nonfiction writing and health care coverage. The research areas that she focuses on include cardiology, otolaryngology, community health and anesthesia. She is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and the master's in journalism program at Northwestern University.

Krista Conger

Science Writer

Krista Conger, PhD '99, received her degree in cancer biology from Stanford. After completing the science writing program at the University of California at Santa Cruz, she joined the medical school's communication office full time in 2000 to write about cancer, genetics, stem cells, dermatology and other fascinating stuff. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and a BELS-certified science editor. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, knitting and running while wrangling three kids, 13 chickens, a dog, a cat and a parakeet.