Editorial Team

The Editorial Team works with its Medical Review Board and experienced medical writers to provide Health Union's Community Team with reliable, easy-to-understand information about a host of chronic health conditions. Our goal is to provide you and your loved ones with evidence-based health information you can use.

Heather Morse, Director, Editorial Team

Heather has focused her career on editing, writing, and all things content creation. She is driven to deliver accessible medical information that educates, cultivates understanding, and empowers patients and caregivers. With more than 2 decades of experience, Heather has a proven track record of leveraging editorial strategy to meet business goals.

Sara Henneberger, Production Editor

Sara is a communications professional with experience in editorial management, content development, production, and marketing. She has worked in higher education, public health, and media. As part of Health Union’s Editorial Team, she strives to provide clear, accurate information that supports and empowers people in their healthcare decisions.

Sarah Hudgens, Medical Editor

Sarah has worked as an editor in the medical advertising and scholarly publishing industries for many years. Through close reading, research, and problem-solving, she enjoys helping writers craft clear and useful content for readers seeking knowledge about health topics. Ultimately, she hopes to empower people to make educated decisions about their healthcare.

Jessica Johns Pool, Senior Medical Writer

Jessica has been writing consumer-facing healthcare content for over 20 years. She's developed websites, patient education materials, annual reports, social media messages, newsletters, and more for large hospital systems, physician practices, and pharmaceutical companies.

Jordan Reed, Medical Writer

Jordan has over a decade of experience creating compelling and unique content for both businesses and publications. She enjoys breaking down complex health topics so that they are more approachable and digestible for a consumer audience. Previously she was a senior editor with New York-Presbyterian and helped launch their award-winning content platform.

Deborah Stein, Senior Medical Editor

Deborah is a board-certified Editor in the Life Sciences with over a decade of experience translating complex material for various audiences. She is passionate about clear communication and loves working collaboratively with authors and designers to create a positive experience for the reader while upholding editorial standards.

Professional medical writers

T. DeLene Beeland, MS

DeLene is a medical and science writer with a master of science degree in interdisciplinary ecology. DeLene enjoys distilling complex information into articles that empower non-experts, patients, and their caregivers with vetted information. She enjoys using her writing to support the growth of accessible online communities where patients can explore and learn.

Daniel Casciato

Daniel is a full-time freelance writer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He currently lives in South Bend, IN, with his wife and daughter. He has written for Cleveland Clinic, Southwest Airlines, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, EMS World, Managed Healthcare Executive, Healthcare Business Today, and Western PA Healthcare News, covering a variety of healthcare topics including patient advocacy, emergency medicine, food and nutrition, and fitness and exercise.

Lizzette Cruz, MS, RN

Lizzette has more than 8 years of experience in cardiovascular clinical research. She started as a research nurse and now oversees a cardiology clinical research program. Her current role includes administrative and operational oversight of clinical trial start-up, regulatory, conduct, and quality management. Lizzette is also a nurse writer who specializes in health and wellness writing.

Juliette Daily, PhD

Juliette has a PhD in applied mathematics. While working on her thesis on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes, she learned the importance of communicating scientific research to the general public, where it can often have the greatest impact. She is excited to carry this mentality over to writing for Health Union.

Allyson Ellis

Allyson completed a BA in religion with an English concentration from Luther College, followed by a master of divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology. She wrote extensively for both degrees, continuing to apply those skills while leading United Methodist congregations. She joined Heath Union as a moderator and freelancer in 2017. Her particular interests include grief and life transitions and navigating daily life with chronic illness.

Katharine Henn

Katharine has a bachelor's degree in neuroscience and chemistry, and is currently working toward her PhD in Neuroscience at UC Berkeley. Though she loves hands-on experiments, she also has a passion for scientific communication, especially writing and teaching. She enjoys discussing science with people of all backgrounds and perspectives. As someone who lives with an autoimmune condition, she aims to provide clear, concise information that is both accessible and empowering to patients.

Casey Hribar, MD, MBA

Casey earned her MD, MBA, and bachelor's degree in biology and interpersonal and organizational communications from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has worked in laboratory research and at UNC Hospitals, as well as spent time in France studying biochemistry at the University of Joseph Fourier. Casey has also given academic presentations and has several publications in peer-reviewed, scientific journals, and popular consumer resources.

Alyson Powell Key

Alyson is a health and technology writer. She has more than a decade of experience writing content and leading content strategy for universities, nonprofits, and privately owned companies. Before transitioning to her current role, Alyson was a television news journalist in the Midwest and South.

Cara King, MPH

Cara has been working in healthcare since 1996. Her background in pharmacy, master’s degree in public health, and more recent move to oncology research gives her a unique set of communication skills. Cara regularly found herself moving complex information between healthcare professionals and patients, helping patients understand the benefits and limitations of the current healthcare systems, and keeping patient-focused advocacy at the forefront of her work.

Brooke Morton

Brooke is a freelance health writer with more than a decade of experience. She has covered a variety of topics, from endometriosis to breast cancer. She is passionate about community and believes that connecting people with like-minded support can be immeasurably healing in dealing with chronic illnesses.

Katie Murphy, MSN

Katie is a registered nurse with experience in both acute and chronic disease management. Before becoming a nurse, Katie was a respiratory therapist. Katie has a passion for making health topics easily understood in a non-intimidating way. She has worked in health content development and editing for years and enjoys supporting those with chronic disease.

Molly O’Brien

Molly has covered health, technology, environmental, crime, sports, social justice, lifestyle, transportation, and political news as a journalist. Living with chronic migraine, Molly knows the importance of a supportive community. She aims to bring compassion and empathy to Health Union while providing solid, credible information and good journalism.

Jessica Gullett Rubino, PhD

Jessica is a published scientist with an extensive medical background. Before earning her doctorate in biochemistry, she was an emergency medical technician in rural Texas. She has also worked in hospitals and healthcare clinics. Her formal education, research experience, and life experience helped her understand that good communication is key to connection and informed choices. She loves breaking down complex science into digestible pieces so that science is accessible to all.

Kate Searle

Kate has been working in writing, editing, and marketing for over 20 years, specializing for many years in health and clinical communications. She has a degree in communications and is currently working her way through a biochemistry course at Harvard University (via edX). She’s starting a biology degree in 2023.

Leah Steinberg

Leah is a medical student at the University of New England’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is passionate about patient advocacy and hopes to pursue the OB/GYN field. She is currently involved in research regarding barriers in accessing medical care and reproductive health. She is excited to be a part of the Health Union team because she believes that education leads to empowerment and autonomy.

Sarah Venugopal

Sarah is a freelance medical writer based in the United Kingdom. Sarah has over 10 years of experience working as a health content writer, specializing in rare diseases and cancer. She previously worked as an online global community manager and content producer. Sarah worked with families affected by rare diseases, helping them to connect with others, understand more about their condition, and access clinical trials.

Matt Zajac, PhD

Matt graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from The College of New Jersey and a PhD in chemical biology from the University of Chicago. While he loves conducting experiments in the lab, Matt also has always had a passion for scientific communication, especially through teaching and writing. He hopes to use his career to combine these interests and help make complicated scientific or medical topics more approachable for the general public.