Jimmy O'Hara

Word weaver and editorial professional focused on science writing and content development. Seeking opportunities to cover a range of topics, including the climate crisis, biomedical research, psychological sciences, regenerative systems, and environmental justice.

Science

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ASCO Connection • 4th September 2024

Improving Capacity for Pediatric Radiotherapy: Training Oncologists in Mexico

Finding that sweet spot between successfully targeting lymphoma and ensuring that patients and survivors can enjoy their lives is what Dr. Raymond Mailhot hopes to achieve through global oncology research.

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ASCO Connection • 25th July 2024

Evaluating the Efficacy of Supportive Care Tools for Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Compared to patients with other types of cancers, those with multiple myeloma face a drastically lowered quality of life—a reality made harder by the feelings of hopelessness and despair that can accompany an incurable diagnosis.

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ASCO Connection • 5th June 2024

Diversifying Data and Addressing Disparities for Older Hispanic and Latino Patients

From language barriers to a lack of insurance, limited health care access, and financial hardships, older Hispanic and Latino patients face an onslaught of obstacles when it comes to navigating cancer care. Without diverse, insightful, nuanced health care data about Hispanic and Latino patients, particularly in older adults, providing better resources and improved outcomes becomes even more difficult. This is exactly the problem that Fernando Diaz, MD, hopes to address.

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ASCO Daily News • 8th May 2024

First-Time Research Funding for a Rare Type of Kidney Cancer Opens the Door to New Trials

Patients with rare and aggressive kidney cancers—like renal medullary carcinoma (RMC)—have long faced limited treatment options and poor survival rates. Pavlos Msaouel, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has long aimed to resolve this problem through clinical and translational research.

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ASCO Connection • 12th March 2024

Dr. Kamal Menghrajani on Advancing Leukemia Research and Participating in the Biden Cancer Moonshot

An endowed grant from Conquer Cancer provided Dr. Menghrajani with protected research time in the lab. It also inspired her to pursue leadership and public service opportunities in cancer care.

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ASCO Connection • 12th March 2024

Impact Stories: Empowering Innovation and Delivering Meaningful Results in Cancer Care

To accelerate scientific breakthroughs, enhance health equity, and improve patient outcomes for all, Conquer Cancer supports some of the most promising oncology research and programs around the world. This includes supporting efforts that advance not only research, but also continuing education for oncology providers and promotion of the highest-quality, equitable patient care.

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ASCO Connection • 20th December 2023

Addressing Cancer Disparities for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Patients Through Machine Learning

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities have some of the lowest rates of inclusion in clinical trials and cancer research. The resulting lack of NHPI cancer data leads to poorer health outcomes and fewer supportive resources for patients from these populations.

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ASCO Connection • 3rd November 2023

Targeting Tumor-Protective Proteins to Improve Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer

It’s infamous as a “silent disease,” with symptoms that rarely make themselves known until too late. But one Conquer Cancer-funded researcher may have found a way to improve the odds, even for patients with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer.

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ASCO Daily News • 11th October 2023

Trial Data Sharing Promotes Research Transparency and Fulfills a Promise to Patients

Patient participation in clinical trials is vital to advancing cancer research, yet few adult patients enroll in these studies. Those who do enroll give substantial time to clinical trials and take experimental drugs that may come with serious side effects, knowing their research involvement could help improve care for future patients.

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ASCO Daily News • 6th September 2023

Accelerating Local Solutions for Patients With HIV and Breast Cancer

In Tanzania, where HIV infection and breast cancer are major concerns, it’s becoming increasingly critical to research the intersection of these two diseases. This is precisely the research focus of Sarah Nyagabona, MD, MMed. She works to better understand how HIV infection affects the health-seeking behaviors of patients with breast cancer.

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ASCO Connection • 29th August 2023

From the U.S. to Brazil: Enhancing Immunotherapy for Advanced Prostate Cancers

Prostate cancer is the fourth most diagnosed cancer worldwide. While the standard treatment—androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)—targets prostate cancer even in its advanced stages, most patients rapidly develop resistance to ADT and often experience side effects like fatigue, anemia, bone loss, and erectile dysfunction.

Podcasts

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Conquer Cancer • 20th August 2024

Three Months at a Time: Your Stories Podcast

For Dr. Justin Grunewald, advocating for better rare cancer treatments is profoundly personal. In 2019, his wife—Gabe Grunewald, a professional distance runner—passed away after a decade of enduring multiple cancers, including adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of the disease.

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Conquer Cancer • 16th July 2024

Skin Cancer 101: Spotting the Ugly Duckling: Your Stories Podcast

One day, you’re looking in the mirror when suddenly you notice it: a strange-looking mole. Naturally, you start to wonder: Could it be cancer? How can I tell? What do I do if it is? Thankfully, after decades of advancements in skin cancer research and care, these kinds of questions have answers. And yet, despite these milestones, there are many research breakthroughs that have yet to be made when it comes to skin cancer treatment.

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Your Stories Podcast • 18th June 2024

Bringing Better Cancer Care Back Home: Your Stories Podcast

All too often, the health data gathered about Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) patients is categorized too broadly, resulting in ethnic and geographic differences among these populations being overlooked. Having experienced firsthand the impact of these disparities on his own family, Dr. Kekoa Taparra dedicates his career to addressing the various challenges prevalent in NHPI cancer care.

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Your Stories Podcast • 21st May 2024

Why Hasn't Cancer Been Cured?: Your Stories Podcast

It's easy to confuse the idea of curing a disease with that of eradicating it. There are misconceptions about what it means to cure cancer, driven by a variety of historical and sociocultural factors. Dr. Otis Brawley, a former chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, joins this episode of the Your Stories podcast to help set reasonable expectations around what the possibilities are for treating, managing, and conquering cancer.

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Your Stories Podcast • 16th April 2024

Stopping the Stigma: Your Stories Podcast

Esophageal cancer. Testicular cancer. Lung cancer. Cervical cancer. Colon cancer. What do each of these diseases have in common? They’re all heavily stigmatized. Some are associated with portions of the anatomy typically considered private. Others are linked to causes that result in blame and criticism directed at the patient. In any case, patients with stigmatized diseases face challenges that go beyond care.

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Your Stories Podcast • 19th March 2024

A Collaborative Approach to an Uncommon Cancer: Your Stories Podcast

Shock. Fear. Uncertainty. Isolation. These are just a few of the many emotions that patients may feel upon receiving any cancer diagnosis, let alone an ultra-rare form of the disease. Katie Coleman is no stranger to this experience or any of the feelings attached to it. At 29, she was diagnosed with metastatic oncocytoma, an extremely rare kidney tumor.

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Your Stories Podcast • 20th February 2024

The Woman Whose Cells Lived On: Your Stories Podcast

Until just 10 years ago, few people knew of the late Henrietta Lacks, let alone the lasting impact her cells would have on medicine and healthcare, including cancer research. Before Lacks passed away from cervical cancer at age 31, her biological materials were harvested for decades of research without her knowledge or consent.

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Your Stories Podcast • 16th January 2024

"So Much to Do": Your Stories Podcast

Today, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa is a globally recognized neurosurgeon. Making that happen, however, took a lot of sacrifice and perseverance. The eldest of six children, a young Alfredo sold food at gas stations to help support his family. But he wanted to dream bigger: At 19, he left his native Mexico in hopes of a better future.

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Your Stories Podcast • 19th December 2023

A Boulder Approach to Conquering Cancer: Your Stories Podcast

Favia Dubyk has many titles: athlete, professional climber, reality show participant, competitor, physician, and cancer survivor. But when she was diagnosed with cancer during medical school, Favia’s robust athletic life was put on pause. Going through surgical treatment and chemotherapy was taxing on Favia’s health, making even just daily tasks a challenge.

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Your Stories Podcast • 21st November 2023

Co-Survivors, Part 2: Your Stories Podcast

The keynote speaker and advocacy professional behind the internet moniker “Lady Glaucomflecken” – Kristin Flanary – has been more than a caregiver to Dr. Will Flanary, her spouse and partner-in-comedy “Dr. Glaucomflecken.” She is also his co-survivor. Kristin supported Will through testicular cancer twice and was his lifeline during a sudden cardiac arrest.

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Your Stories Podcast • 17th October 2023

Thinking Pink and Beyond: Your Stories Podcast

Today, the conversation around breast cancer has reached a level of nearly unrivaled ubiquity, thanks in large part to a huge collective of philanthropists, advocates, physicians, scientists and patients around the world who, more than 30 years ago, decided it was time—perhaps even long past time—for a change.

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Your Stories Podcast • 15th August 2023

The More You Know: Your Stories Podcast

Unless you're a trained scientist, most cancer jargon might not make much sense. Enter Cancer.Net, the patient information website of ASCO and Conquer Cancer, with its commitment to helping patients and families access the knowledge and resources they need as they navigate their cancer journey. Host and cancer survivor Brenda Brody is joined by Dr. Jyoti Patel, a clinical oncologist and the editor-in-chief of Cancer.Net, discuss why providing lay cancer information is critical to raising awareness and support for research.

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Your Stories Podcast • 20th June 2023

Spreading the News About Colorectal Cancer Research: Your Stories Podcast

NBC journalist Craig Melvin’s 43-year-old brother, Lawrence Meadows, passed away from colorectal cancer in 2020. Since then, Craig has made it his mission to increase public awareness and raise support for colorectal cancer research. Along with two-time Conquer Cancer grant recipient and colorectal oncologist Dr. Kimmie Ng, Craig joins this episode of Your Stories to emphasize the critical role donors play in advancing colorectal cancer research.

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Your Stories Podcast • 20th January 2023

"It's Treatable": Your Stories Podcast

Lillian Kreppel had to advocate for herself and seek a second opinion before receiving a delayed diagnosis: HPV-related stage II anal cancer. Now a survivor, Lillian leads the HPV Cancers Alliance, an advocacy organization she co-founded to help improve HPV education for patients, providers, and the public. She shares key lessons for patients navigating screening and treatment, debunks stigmas and myths surrounding HPV, and highlights the importance of patient advocacy and donor-funded research.

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Your Stories Podcast • 18th November 2022

Just Keep Swimming: Your Stories Podcast

When Liz Beisel’s late father, Ted Beisel, passed away in 2021 from pancreatic cancer, she partnered with Swim Across America to help fund a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award. Dr. Peter Yu, an early-career oncologist and pancreatic cancer researcher, received this grant in 2022. This helped launch his promising research project to improve treatment and care for patients with pancreatic cancer.

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Your Stories Podcast • 21st October 2022

The DESTINY of Breast Cancer Care: Your Stories Podcast

Dr. Shanu Modi led DESTINY-Breast04, a groundbreaking study that resulted in FDA approval of a promising treatment for nearly 50% of all patients with metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Modi discusses the importance of patient participation in clinical trials, the necessity of donor-funded research, and the bright future of breast cancer care.

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Your Stories Podcast • 16th September 2022

Learning How Language Saves Lives: Your Stories Podcast

Before Dr. Jenny Ruiz became a pediatric oncologist, her first experience with kids and cancer came when a younger cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. Dr. Ruiz became a translator for her family, most of whom speak Spanish as a first language; her cousin’s doctor spoke English. This showed her how life-threatening language barriers can be when patients and families with limited English proficiency must navigate cancer care.

Experience

Science:

Regular contributor to ASCO Connection magazine
Published bylines in ASCO Daily News and Cancer.Net
Originated 35+ research spotlights on CONQUER.ORG
Produce monthly Your Stories: Conquering Cancer podcast
Managed two 20-page, multi-story features in ASCO Connection

Music:

Press Pass for Sol Fest Music & Arts Festival (May 2022)
Press Pass for Sound Haven Festival (July 2022)
Covered feature story on Astronox Music & Arts Gathering
Crafted musician profiles for ENiGMA Dubz, Vandull, etc.
Led coverage of podcast series by American Grime Records

More About Me

Music

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Background Noise • 25th July 2022

Astronox Music & Arts Gathering: Reflections On The Impressive 2021 Event and A Promising Look Forward to 2022

Tucked away within the Texas drylands an hour west of Austin, the second edition of Astronox unfolded its festive wings. Since its inception in 2019, the multi-day gathering provides an imaginative space for communities drawn to the niche realms of downtempo, world, glitch hop, psydub and psybient. Nick Sumbles, the festival’s founder, strives to showcase the narrative-driven side of electronica.

Background Noise • 23rd May 2022

Sol Fest Launches Successful, Meaningful First-Year Memorial Event In Loving Celebration of Life

Stacie Parsons could spend lifetimes writing about her late son, Quentin ‘Sol’ Rupp. He was her everything. Stacie recalls Quentin – the individual after whom the inaugural Sol Fest is named – imagined death like a light going out, a seamless parting of ways with the body in this cosmos where love, like matter and energy, is never truly gone.

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Background Noise • 20th March 2022

Artist Profile: ENiGMA Dubz

A 14-year-old cello student, James Vine aka ENiGMA Dubz, is walking home from his classical performance when his relationship with music is forever changed. He pauses outside a pulsating nightclub at city center, admiring the bone-rattling bass. In an instant, the seeds of ENiGMA Dubz take root as James’ lifelong love for music sprouts in a hundred new directions.

Background Noise • 12th October 2021

Sound Haven 2021 Marks Pivotal Inflection Point for U.S. Bass Music Scene

The third Sound Haven platformed a plethora of multifaceted audiovisual artists on a major scale. Read onward to revisit highlights from the four-day event and learn about Sacred Hive founder Jered Ardry’s promising vision for the festival’s future.

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Background Noise • 4th April 2021

Artist Profile: Vandull

It’s a stormy night outside. The clock strikes 1:00 A.M. in a dimly-lit function beneath the bustling grounds of Nottingham, U.K. Soundsystem bass pulses through the dark depths of this dubstep dungeon. Rap vocalists complement each artist’s set, threading a human touch throughout hour-long strings of full-throttle tunes. Up next is the event headliner. The emcee? Vandull.

Testimonials

"Jimmy delivers on every level—a triple-threat writer, editor, and content strategist. He consistently takes a highly scientific, somewhat abstract topic and finds the beating human heart at its center, conveyed in concise, highly readable prose. He has sound editorial judgment and an innate understanding of audience and tone, and he is utterly reliable on deadlines. Importantly, he has been a champion for inclusive language long before it became a topic of mainstream discussion. Having Jimmy as a collaborator means that, in a professional environment with significant resource constraints and endless moving parts, I can be confident that the aspects he manages will come in on time and at an exceptional standard of quality."

— Virginia Anderson
Associate Director, ASCO Connection magazine, American Society of Clinical Oncology

"I had the pleasure of supervising and mentoring Jimmy early in his career, when he was instrumental in helping with a major overhaul of our institutional website. Jimmy was consistently an enthusiastic and diligent reporter and copywriter who brought creative and innovative ideas to the table and told compelling stories. He always comported himself with professionalism and held himself to the highest standards. The growth mindset that he brought to our projects particularly impressed me. On the basis of these qualities and his excellent work, I promoted him into a managerial role in which he guided, facilitated, and directed newer and less experienced interns as they undertook a wide range of communications and marketing duties. I couldn't have been more happy with his leadership. I recommend Jimmy for any job, especially those in which he can use his writing, reporting, and organizational leadership skills."

— Dr. Richard Todd Stafford
Director of Communications, Honors College, George Mason University

"I've had the pleasure of working with Jimmy for several years at ASCO where we collaborate on researcher spotlight articles for ASCO Daily News. Jimmy's copy is consistently pristine and engaging. He weaves eloquent narratives that effortlessly highlight the importance of the researchers' work. Jimmy does a great job translating scientific medical jargon into plain language that meets the needs of both lay people and clinicians. Jimmy has excellent journalistic instincts and natural talent. I highly recommend him for any writing position."

— Faith Hayden
Editorial Director, ASCO Daily News, American Society of Clinical Oncology

"Jimmy is a writer with a fresh voice, always working to understand the audience and craft a thoughtful, compelling story. He’s an equally thorough editor. I loved the enthusiasm and creativity he consistently brought to our team."

— Patra Wroten
Specialist in creative writing, brand development, and strategic communications

"I'm delighted to wholeheartedly endorse Jimmy, my previous Communications & Editorial Lead at Background Noise Agency. Jimmy's exceptional skills in crafting beautiful descriptions, meticulous proofreading, and invaluable training have been instrumental in shaping our editorial presence and upholding our high standards. His contributions are immeasurable, and his presence on our team is truly irreplaceable. Jimmy is a prized hire who has left an indelible mark on our success."

— Sarah Styles
Owner of Background Noise Agency