Who We Are
Our team has a wealth of experience covering basic science research, medicine, health-care policy and medical education. We are polished, energetic advocates of the School of Medicine's educational, research and clinical enterprise.
Please take a look at our biographies and let us know how we can help you.
Becky Bach is a former park ranger and newspaper reporter who is thrilled to be part of the School of Medicine’s communications team. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California-Santa Cruz, a master’s degree in ecology from UC-Davis and is a Wesleyan University alum. She works in social media and media relations, and covers honors and awards, ophthalmology, health research and policy, diversity and most anything else.
Office: (650) 724-2454
retrout@stanford.edu
Michelle Brandt has written about medicine and health and worked in media relations at Stanford for more than 10 years. She oversees the school's social-media channels 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.
Office: (650) 723-0272
mbrandt@stanford.edu
Krista Conger, PhD '99, covers cancer, stem cells, dermatology and developmental biology for the office. She received her degree in cancer biology from Stanford. After completing the science writing program at the University of California-Santa Cruz, she joined the medical school's communication office full time in 2000. 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.
Office: (650) 725-5371
kristac@stanford.edu
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.
Office: (650) 725-5370
paul.costello@stanford.edu
Erin Digitale, PhD, earned her doctorate in nutrition at the University of California-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 UC-Santa Cruz and has been writing about pediatrics, nutrition and children's health policy for the School of Medicine since 2008.
Office: (650) 724-9175
digitale@stanford.edu
Jennie Dusheck covers biomedical data science, genetics, population health sciences, precision health, radiology, urology and obstetrics & gynecology. She has a BA from the University of California-Berkeley, and graduate degrees from UC-Davis and UC-Santa Cruz. She worked for several years in university labs and developed the protocol for a NASA Space Shuttle experiment on the embryological development of tadpoles in space. She co-authored three editions of an award-winning college textbook. She has been a science writer and editor for more than 25 years.
Office: (650) 725-5376
dusheck@stanford.edu
Margarita Gallardo manages the office's interactions with broadcast media. She also produces 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.
Office: (650) 723-7897
mjgallardo@stanford.edu
Bruce Goldman, MS, covers immunology, infectious disease, transplantation neurosciences, neurosurgery, molecular and cellular physiology, urology, structural biology and biochemistry. 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.
Office: (650) 725-2106
goldmanb@stanford.edu
Mark Hanlon leads production of video feature stories and documentaries as well as other specialized video content for distribution across Stanford Medicine platforms and media outlets worldwide. His work has appeared on most major broadcast networks and digitally in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek and elsewhere.
Office: (650) 384-5249
mhanlon@stanford.edu
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. She also oversees the web presence for the school's news and publications, and came to Stanford in 2000. 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.
Office: (650) 725-5375
susani@stanford.edu
Alison Peterson is the office's business manager. She started working at the university in 2007 at the Stanford Management Company. Long, long ago she graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in English. She enjoys cooking, gardening and spending time with her two kids and three grandkids.
Office: (650) 736-7572
alison.peterson@stanford.edu
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.
Office: (650) 725-8047
richter1@stanford.edu
John Sanford edits the Inside Stanford Medicine newspaper, and oversees the office's science writers. He joined Stanford in 2000 as a writer at the News Service, where he later became editor and associate director for print. He’s also been a writer and editor in the communications office of Stanford Health Care. Long ago, he was a newspaper reporter. He has a master’s degree in journalism from UC-Berkeley.
Office: (650) 723-8309
jsanford@stanford.edu
Rosanne Spector writes about all areas of medicine, but especially chemical and systems biology. She has reported on science and medicine for 20 years, most of that time at Stanford, where she edits Stanford Medicine magazine.
Office: (650) 725-5374
manishma@stanford.edu
@StanMedMag
Tracie White covers areas that include medical education, cardiovascular medicine, emergency medicine, otolaryngology and psychiatry. 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. She is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and the master's in journalism program at Northwestern University.
Office: (650) 723-4316
tracie.white@stanford.edu
Kathy Zonana, JD ’96, is the associate editor of Stanford Medicine magazine. She’s also a recovering lawyer who covers bioethics for the office. Her peripatetic career includes 13 years as a senior editor at Stanford magazine and two stints as an academic administrator for the university.
Office: (650) 725-3244
kathyz@stanford.edu