For the Media

We connect journalists with experts, studies and stories to help you inform and engage the public.

Media inquiries

General inquiries:
Phone: 314-286-0100
Fax: 314-286-0199

Tamara Bhandari, Senior Medical Science Writer

^{tbhandari@wustl.edu | 314-286-0122}
Tamara covers pathology & immunology, medical microbiology, infectious diseases, cell biology, neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery and radiology. She holds a double bachelor’s degree in molecular biophysics & biochemistry and in sociology from Yale University, a master’s in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in biomedical science from the University of California, San Diego. Tamara worked in research labs for about a decade before switching to science writing. She joined WashU Medicine Marketing & Communications in 2016. She has received two Robert G. Fenley writing awards from the American Association of Medical Colleges. In 2020, she won a bronze for “Mind’s quality control center found in long-ignored brain area” and in 2022 a silver for “Mice with hallucination-like behaviors reveal insight into psychotic illness.”
Stories by Tamara Bhandari »

---

Jim Dryden, Director of Broadcast and Podcasts

^{jdryden@wustl.edu | 314-286-0110}
Jim covers psychiatry and neuroscience, orthopedics, diabetes, obesity and nutrition. He has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Stories by Jim Dryden »

---

Elizabethe Holland Durando, Director of Medical News

^{elizabethe.durando@wustl.edu | 314-286-0119}
Elizabethe oversees School of Medicine content in the Record, and covers public and global health and various other topics. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University.
Stories by Elizabethe Holland Durando »

---

Huy Mach, Video Producer & Storyteller

^314-604-4726
Huy uses visual storytelling in his coverage of medical education, patient care, and research. He was part of a team of photographers at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography in 2015. He has a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from Western Kentucky University.
Stories by Huy Mach »

---

Judy Martin Finch, Director of Media Relations

^{martinju@wustl.edu | 314-286-0105 (o) | 314-750-4213 (m)}
Judy covers physical therapy and occupational therapy. She has a bachelor’s degree in radio/TV broadcasting from William Woods University
Stories by Judy Martin Finch »

---

Kanna Rook, Associate Director of Strategic Communication, Siteman Cancer Center

^{kanna@wustl.edu | 636-866-4884}

Kanna covers Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She has nearly 15 years’ experience in public relations, with a bachelor’s degree in communication from Truman State University.

---

Kristina Sauerwein, Senior Medical Science Writer

^{k.sauerwein@wustl.edu | 314-747-7921}
Kristina covers pediatrics, surgery and student life. She has a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism and a minor in sociology from Syracuse University.
Stories by Kristina Sauerwein »

---

Julia Evangelou Strait, Senior Medical Science Writer

^{straitj@wustl.edu | 314-286-0141}
Julia covers the McDonnell Genome Institute, cardiology, developmental biology, radiation oncology and other cancer-related news. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Stories by Julia Evangelou Strait »

---

Diane Duke Williams, Associate Director of Media Relations

^{williamsdia@wustl.edu | 314-286-0111 (o) | 314-750-2318 (m)}
Diane covers obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine and the Institute for Public Health. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Stories by Diane Duke Williams »

---