Long-time science writer Steve Benowitz has worked for a range of universities, organizations and publications for decades. He spent the last dozen years at the National Institutes of Health, writing about research in cancer, genomics and rare diseases, among other topics, and managing media relations. Prior to that, he was a science writer at several academic institutions, including The Ohio State University, Penn State University and Thomas Jefferson University, and served as Director of Communications for the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego.

As a journalist and freelance writer, he’s had bylines at Science News, The Scientist, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Bulletin. He has degrees in biology and journalism from Penn State University.

Lisa works closely with the associate vice president and manages day-to-day operations for the entire communications team. Lisa has been with the university for 21 years. She loves spending time with family, enjoying the outdoors and re-creating favorite dishes she discovers while traveling.

Stephanie Doster has been part of the University of Arizona’s research enterprise since 2005, when she moved to Tucson. Trained as a journalist, Stephanie was a newspaper reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Times-Picayune, leaving New Orleans for Arizona two months before Hurricane Katrina. The thrill of her newspaper career was slicing through the air as a passenger in an F-16 with an Air Force Thunderbird pilot. 

At UArizona, she has been part of the marketing and communications community across campus and has served on a number of committees and working groups. She was a writer, editor, and manager at the Institute of the Environment, an associate director of research communications, and director of research communications in Research, Innovation and Impact. 

Part of the ICDI executive team since October 2022, she oversees all aspects of the institute’s marketing, communications, and engagement. She also directs marketing and communications for the Space4 Center. In a previous life, she spoke Russian and a tiny bit of Turkmen as a Peace Corps volunteer living on the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan.

Gawain supports the Health Sciences Office of Communications internal communications website, Health Sciences Connect, through the coordination, writing and editing of weekly honor and award stories highlighting faculty and staff successes from all Health Sciences colleges and centers. He also curates photos and writes copy for photo galleries, along with writing feature stories focusing on faculty and staff. Prior to joining Health Sciences Communications, Douglas worked as a designer, art director and senior manager at the Arizona Daily Star, the Tucson Citizen and Learning A-Z, an educational technology company. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona, where he was an adjunct professor in the School of Journalism for 15 years. He earned a master’s degree in art and design from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Paul manages website development, digital communications and graphic design for the Health Sciences Office of Communications. Originally from Chicago, Paul worked as a freelance designer before relocating to Tucson in 2005. He soon joined the Biocommunications team at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Paul utilizes his vast experience to elevate the digital presence and communication efforts of the Health Sciences.

Lesley works to elevate the University of Arizona Health Sciences brand through strategic social media management and media relations, ensuring that messaging aligns with strategic priorities and engages target audiences. She has more than 20 years of experience in private and nonprofit sectors, and she has contributed her expertise to foundations, hospitals and the architectural and engineering industries.

Stacy leads a team of brand content writers, media relations professionals and social media specialists and oversees external communications. She is responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies that drive awareness, engagement and support of the University of Arizona Health Sciences as a leading academic medical center. She also creates and manages integrated marketing plans to advance strategic initiatives and other education, research and outreach activities.

Erica serves as manager of video content, working to produce, edit and oversee the video production process from conception through completion for internal, external and general marketing material. She has an undergraduate degree in multimedia journalism and media arts from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in human relations from Northern Arizona University. Erica has worked at the University of Arizona Health Sciences since starting as a student worker with Biocommunications in 2007 and worked her way up to senior videographer before transitioning to the Office of Communications in 2019.

Katy brings over a decade of experience in strategic communications at the University of Arizona. Most recently, she was senior writer and editor with the College of Engineering’s marketing communications team, where she covered everything from the Cancer Engineering Initiative to biomedical innovations and health-focused student projects.

Before that, she supported university-wide philanthropy and alumni engagement efforts as a writer and editor for the University of Arizona Foundation.

Katy is excited to help share the impactful work happening across Health Sciences in ways that are clear, compelling and meaningful.

Daniel is a videographer and motion graphic animator. He has a broad background working with companies in the nuclear energy, cancer treatment, meal kit and rock climbing industries. 

Phil, a graduate of the University of Arizona, worked for 17 years as a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and then for eight years as real-time editor at KGUN-TV. He has written four books and blogs about entertainment at becauseitoldyouso.com. He is married with four children. In his role at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, he writes news releases and brand stories and coordinates media requests.

Xinyu came to the University of Arizona in 2002 to pursue her MFA degree in Visual Communications and has been part of the UA community ever since. She served as a senior graphic designer at the University Alumni Association for 15 years before joining the Health Sciences Communications team. In her leisure time, Xinyu is a fine artist who has exhibited her work in Tucson, Phoenix, and New York City.