Contact Our Team

Information for Reporters and Editors

For expert sources, information on our press releases, or other immediate help, call 734-764-2220 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

For requests with non-urgent deadlines, send a message to MichMedmedia@med.umich.edu.

After business hours (from 5 to 11 p.m. and 7 to 8 a.m. ET), and from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays, members of the media may call the Michigan Medicine operators at 734-936-6267 and receive assistance with patient condition reports from the staff of M-LINE. Highly urgent matters may be escalated to a media team member.

  • For news-related updates on patients in our hospitals: First, read these guidelines for release of one-word patient conditions. Any further information release to the media, or visit to a patient, requires a signed consent from the patient or his/her legal representative, and must be arranged through our team.
  • Any visit by media to our facilities requires advance approval and an escort by a member of our team.

Our Team

Our main "beats" are listed below; click the name to e-mail the media team member you want to reach. For urgent inquiries, call 734-764-2220 and ask to speak with her or him. If you don't see the topic you need help with, call us!

    • Mary Masson, Director of Public Relations - UMHS leadership and administration
    • Ed Bottomley, Social Media Strategist
    • Nicole Fawcett, Cancer
    • Kara Gavin, Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI), General Medicine/Hospital Medicine, Psychiatry, Geriatrics, Family Medicine
    • Shantell Kirkendoll, Kellogg, Transplant, Infectious Disease, General Surgery
    • Kelly Malcom, Basic biomedical science research, health policy
    • Beata Mostafavi, Children’s Health/C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Women’s Health, Allergy
    • Haley Otman, Adult cardiovascular, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Dermatology
    • Jina Sawani, Gastroenterology/Digestive Diseases, Diabetes/Endocrinology, U-M Medical School, Nephrology, Urology, Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat), Pain, Anesthesia and Radiology
    • Kylie Urban, Musculoskeletal, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation, Emergency Medicine, Rheumatology
    • Jessica Webster Sendra, Cancer
    • Joe Hallisy, Videographer, Digital Arts Team
    • Bryan McCullough, Videographer/Photographer, Digital Arts Team

The Michigan Medicine media team is part of the Department of Communication.

 

Mary Masson Mary Masson is the director of public relations for the Department of Communication. She leads the team that handles traditional media relations, social media strategy and execution, storytelling, photography and video. She also manages emergency and crisis communication. Masson began working at UMHS in 2009 and previously was a reporter for the Detroit Free Press, the Indianapolis Star and the Flint Journal.
Nicole Fawcett Nicole Fawcett is the manager of cancer communication for the Rogel Cancer Center, overseeing media relations, marketing, web, internal communication, social media and publications for the center's research and clinical enterprises. She leads a team of four communicators who produce targeted, innovative communication to meet the Cancer Center's goals. Nicole joined the University of Michigan  in 2003. Prior to that, she was at the Detroit News and at a startup web-based community for people with disabilities.
Kara Gavin Kara Gavin is research and policy media relations manager at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), and a science and medical writer for the Michigan Medicine Dept. of Communication. With 25 years of experience in communicating about science, medicine and health policy at U-M and Brookhaven National Laboratory, she works to create compelling stories about discoveries made by the U-M Medical School's researchers in basic biomedical science and mental health, the findings and opinions of the 540 healthcare wonks at the U-M IHPI, and news about broader research-related issues.
Shantell Kirkendoll Shantell M. Kirkendoll is the senior communication representative for Michigan Medicine. She leverages social media and media relations to tell compelling stories about research and health care. She was a Knight Journalism Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and joined the University of Michigan in 2009. Prior to that she was a print journalist for 20 years.
Beata Mostafavi Beata Mostafavi covers communications for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital. She leads media relations and helps coordinate social media content related to children's and women's health topics. Prior to joining the the University of Michigan in 2012, she spent 10 years as a journalist.
Haley Otman Haley Otman covers communications for several departments at Michigan Medicine. A TV news producer turned healthcare communicator, Haley specializes in storytelling, media relations and social media surrounding clinical advances, new research and compelling patient stories.
Photo pending
 Jina Sawani handles communications for several departments across Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School, including gastroenterology/digestive diseases, diabetes/endocrinology, nephrology, otolaryngology and radiology. She's passionate about fostering a sense of unity and bridging gaps between cultures through the art of storytelling. Prior to joining U-M in 2017, she worked in public affairs and political communications in Washington, D.C., and Southeastern Michigan.
Jessica Webster Sendra Jessica Webster Sendra writes for the Rogel Cancer Center, coordinating social media and media relations while telling the stories of our amazing doctors, patients and researchers. Jessica has worked in public radio for 25 years. Prior to joining Michigan Medicine in 2017, she spent seven years as a print and digital journalist.
Kylie O'Brien Kylie Urban covers communications for several departments within Michigan Medicine. She works with researchers and faculty to highlight their latest medical research and discoveries, and holds a soft spot in her heart for telling the stories of inspiring patients. Kylie is a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Journalism and has worked in health care communications and public relations since 2011.
Joe Hallisy Joe Hallisy is an Emmy-award-winning videographer and editor. He has been with Michigan Medicine since 2010. Before that, Joe worked as a programming assistant at the Austin Film Festival and was a post production assistant on a few documentary short films.
Bryan McCullough Bryan McCullough is a photographer and award-winning filmmaker with a passion for capturing life's special moments. He has worked freelance on video projects for the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Institute for Social Research, and Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Bryan worked as assistant video manager for the U-M Women's Basketball team. He joined the Digital Arts team in February 2016.

 

 

Other Media Contacts at U-M:

Publications

Michigan Medicine Headlines (published daily for faculty and staff of Michigan Medicine)

Medicine at Michigan magazine (published by the Medical Development office)

Michigan News Global news portals:  Hindi | Chinese (Mandarin) | Spanish | Portuguese

University Record