At the Forefront - UChicago Medicine

Media Requests & Press Releases

UChicago Medicine News Office

The News Office connects journalists with experts in healthcare and biomedical research from the UChicago Medicine health system and the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division. That includes sources from the University of Chicago Medical Center, Comer Children’s Hospital, Ingalls Memorial Hospital and UChicago Medicine Crown Point, as well as the Pritzker School of Medicine.

Media relations leadership:

Lorna Wong, Executive Director, Executive and System Communications

Angela Wells O'Connor, Assistant Director, Communications
Focus: Urban and community health

Cassandra Belek, PR Manager
Focus: University of Chicago Medical Center

Kat Carlton, Senior Communications Specialist
Focus: UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial, UChicago Medicine Crown Point

Grace Niewijk, Senior Science Writer
Focus: Medical and biomedical research (Biological Sciences Division)

For media relations assistance:

Our media relations team is available Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central Time. Send inquiries to news@uchicagomedicine.org or call 773-702-0025.

After hours and holidays:

For urgent inquiries that require immediate attention, you may call 773-702-1000 and ask to page Public Affairs.

Hospital access:

Working journalists and TV crews on hospital property must be escorted by a media relations representative. Please note certain streets on the Hyde Park medical campus are private property and cannot be used for live shots or standups. (Contact the media relations office to find out what streets are public.)

Patient condition updates:

Protecting the privacy and safety of our patients and their families is our highest priority. In accordance with HIPAA regulations, we are limited in the patient information we can share without explicit written consent from the patient or their authorized representative.

  • We are able to release only one-word conditions for patients involved in an incident of public record, provided the patient has not opted out of directory information. (For additional information, visit the American Hospital Association’s HIPAA Privacy Regulations Overview.)
  • We will respond to requests during normal business hours.
  • Journalists must provide a patient’s first and last name.
  • Information beyond a one-word status requires written authorization from the patient or legal representative.
  • As a general rule, we do not provide condition updates on children and do not report or confirm a patient’s death.

Press Releases

We publish our press releases on The Forefront, UChicago Medicine's health and science news platform.

Browse our press releases by year:

2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Archived Releases

News releases related to biology and medicine are posted online on the date of their embargo. Our releases are accessible to qualified journalists on EurekAlert!, an online news resource sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Newswise, a press release distribution service. We will share embargoed news releases and manuscripts on request.