Joann Rodgers
410-955-8659
e-mail: jrodgers@jhmi.edu

Joann Ellison Rodgers is Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs for Johns Hopkins Medicine. For 18 years, she was a reporter, then national science correspondent for the Hearst Newspapers, winning a Lasker Award for Medical Journalism. She is president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, former president of the National Association of Science Writers, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology at the Hopkins School of Public Health, a freelance writer and author of six books. Among these are The Academics' Guide to Media Relations (Foundation for American Communications, 1994) and Psychosurgery: Damaging the Brain to Save the Mind (Harper-Collins, 1992). Her latest Book, SEX: A Natural History, (Henry Holt, Times Books) was published in Jan. 2002.

Gary Stephenson
phone: 410-955-5384
pager: (410) 283-4991
e-mail: gstephenson@jhmi.edu

An award-winning former medical and science journalist, Gary M. Stephenson, M.S., joined Hopkins in 1996 as Associate Director for Media Relations after serving in a similar position at the University of Maryland at College Park. Stephenson's news beats at Hopkins are "the business of medicine" and the areas of re-engineering, outcomes research, clinical practice guidelines, and corporate communications.   Beats Covered: Bioethics Bioterrorism Business of Medicine Emergency medicine CEPAR Complementary Medicine Health Care Policy (with Christy) Labor Relations Managed Care Nursing (Hospital) Pharmacy Radiology Security Space Medicine Technology Licensing SOM Women’s Board

Christen Brownlee
(410) 955-7832
email: cbrownlee@jhmi.edu

Christen L. Brownlee, a science writer and editor by training, joined the media relations staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Division of Media Relations and Public Affairs in August 2007.

Before joining the Hopkins team, Brownlee’s most recent position was at National Geographic, where she served as an editor to a startup science and social studies magazine for middle school students. She has previously worked as a reporter for the weekly magazine Science News, where she wrote about basic biology, and as a science writer for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She has contributed freelance work to a variety of media outlets, including popular press magazines, scientific journals, health websites, and children’s publications.

Brownlee holds a masters degree from New York University’s Science and Environmental Reporting Program.

Beats Covered

• Allergy/Clinical Immunology/Asthma
• Biotechnology
• Endocrinology/ Diabetes
• General Internal Medicine
• Geriatrics/Gerontology
• Gynecology/Obstetrics/Repro. Endo.
• Health Care Policy (with Gary)
• Hematology
• Neurology
• Urology

 Kim Hoppe
410-516-4934
e-mail: khoppe1@jhmi.edu

Kim Hoppe is the Associate Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Prior to joining Hopkins, in June 2004, Kim was the media relations manager for an international franchising company headquartered near Washington D.C. Before that, she spent nearly 10 years as a senior newsroom producer, medical news producer, and newscast producer at the Baltimore CBS and ABC television affiliates. During that time, Kim received an Emmy award nomination for television production. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Kim earned her bachelor of arts in journalism. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Beats Covered

• Johns Hopkins Childrens' Center
• Pediatrics

Audrey Huang
410-614-5105
ahuang18@jhmi.edu

Audrey M. Huang, M.A., Ph.D., is the Director of Basic Science Research Communications. A science writer and molecular geneticist by training, she joined the media relations staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2006.

Most recently, Huang was a science writer and communications officer at the Genetics and Public Policy Center, part of the Berman Bioethics Institute at Hopkins, located in Washington, DC. As a freelance editor and writer, Huang has written for the National Institutes of Health, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and the Ontario Genomics Institute. She holds a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University where she currently teaches a graduate course in grant writing.

She has extensive research experience in developmental biology, molecular and cell biology and genetics, having studied the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle cell development at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and mammalian embryonic development at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Huang studied chromosome structure in fruitflies and yeast during her postdoctoral training at the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Embryology. She holds a Ph.D. in genetics and a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

Beats covered:

• Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences (IBBS)
• Institute for Cell Engineering
• The McKusick/Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine
• Biological Chemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Comparative Medicine
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology (Basic and Clinical)
• Physiology
• Functional Anatomy and Evolution

John Lazarou
410-502-8902
e-mail: jlazaro1@jhmi.edu

John M. Lazarou, a former journalist and public radio talk show host joined the media relations staff at Hopkins in January 2002. Lazarou comes to Hopkins after two years at a local public relations agency, where he practiced media relations. His areas of responsibility include dentistry, dermatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, plastic surgery, women's health and the Weight Management Center. Prior to relocating to Maryland, Lazarou was the media relations representative for Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey. Before entering public relations, he worked as a newspaper reporter and feature writer in New Hampshire as well as a journalist and a talk show host for public radio stations in the New York and New Jersey area. He received his bachelor of arts in communications from Temple University and holds a master of arts in liberal studies from Fordham University.

Beats Covered

• Dentistry
• Dermatology
• Ob/Gyn Clinical Services
• Ophthalmology
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Plastic Surgery
• Weight Management Center
• Women’s Health

David March
410-955-1534
e-mail: dmarch1@jhmi.edu

David B. March, a science writer and former public relations agency consultant, joined the media relations staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Corporate Communications in May 2004.  March comes to Hopkins from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he practiced media relations for Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center.

March’s areas of responsibility at Hopkins include cardiology/cardiac surgery, HIV/AIDS, infection/infectious disease, otolaryngology, pulmonary and pathology.

Prior to joining the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, March was a media relations consultant for Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia, Canada. 

March received his bachelor of sciences degree in biology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and holds a master of health administration degree from the University of Ottawa.

Beats Covered

• AIDS/HIV
• Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery
• Hospital Epidemiology
• Infection/Infectious Diseases
• Otolaryngology
• Pathology
• Pulmonary

Katerina Pesheva
410-516-4996
epeshev1@jhmi.edu

As a senior media relations representative, Katerina is responsible for reporting on faculty research and assisting media in developing stories about basic science and clinical research. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Katerina worked at the University of Missouri-Columbia as a research assistant and a health writer for a federal project designed to improve media coverage of arthritis and rheumatologic diseases. Prior to that, she worked as a medical and general-assignment reporter for two newspapers in St. Louis. Katerina has a master’s degree in Journalism and Strategic Communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and a bachelor’s from Truman State University.

Beats Covered

• Johns Hopkins Childrens' Center
• Pediatrics

Beth Simpkins
410-955-4288
e-mail: bsimpkins@jhmi.edu

Beth Simpkins joined the Office of Communications and Public Affairs in September 1996. Beth maintains the Johns Hopkins Medicine Media web site, addresses the information technology needs of the department, coordinates mass e-mail communication pieces including the Business of Medicine e-newsletter and responds to media inquiries. She is also the assistant producer of the Johns Hopkins HealthNewsfeed radio service.

Beth holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations from the University of Florida.

Elizabeth Tracey
410-955-2877
e-mail: etracey@jhmi.edu

Elizabeth Tracey, MS, brings more than 15 years of broadcast and print medical journalism experience to the position of Director of the Johns Hopkins HealthNewsfeed radio service, a daily one-minute objective medical news program broadcast throughout the United States and internationally via Voice of America.  This free service, now in its 17th year, highlights medical information of interest to the general public.

More information about Health Newsfeed. 

Eric A. Vohr
410-955-8665
e-mail: evohr1@jhmi.edu

Eric A. Vohr, a former newspaper editor and professor of journalism, joined the media relations staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Corporate Communications in September 2005.

Before joining the Hopkins media team, Vohr was teaching journalism and English composition at Goucher, Loyola and Villa Julie colleges. Prior to that, Vohr worked as the city editor at the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Md. He has also worked as the night editor at the Bennington Banner Newspaper in Bennington, Vt. and as a reporter/editor for the Cambodia Daily Newspaper in Phnom Penh. Vohr has written freelance articles for a number of outdoor sports publications including Ski Magazine, Adventure Cycling Magazine, National Ski Areas Association Magazine and The Washington Post. He also writes a weekly health/fitness column and an automotive column.

Vohr received his bachelors of arts degree in creative writing at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. He is currently enrolled in the masters in creative writing program at The Johns Hopkins University.

• Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine/Pain Medicine
• Comprehensive Transplant Center
• Gastroenterology (Basic and Clinical)
• Medical Education
• Nephrology
• Neurosurgery
• Orthopedic Surgery/Sports Medicine
• Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
• Rheumatology
• Surgery, Department of

Vanessa Wasta
410-955-1287
e-mail: wastava@jhmi.edu

Senior Media Relations Representative, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

Vanessa Wasta joined the Public Affairs Office for the Kimmel Cancer Center in September 1998. She holds a bachelor of science in biology and a master of business administration with a concentration in marketing. Previously, she worked in the Marketing and Public Relations Office for the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Beats Covered
Cancer/Oncology
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center