Jimmy O'Hara

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Jimmy O'Hara

Word weaver and editorial professional focused on science journalism. Seeking opportunities to cover the climate crisis, Earth & space science, LGBTQIA+ activism, and environmental justice.

Science

View all science coverage.

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ASCO Daily News • 6th September 2023

Dr. Sarah Nyagabona on Accelerating Local Solutions and Advancing Global Research 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: Dr. Pedro Isaacsson Velho on Improving 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.

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ASCO Daily News • 24th August 2023

Dr. Dionisia Quiroga on Leveraging Surgery to Mitigate Lymphedema and Improve Pain Management for Patients

For patients with breast cancer, the effects of lymphedema can have a profound impact on quality of life. While sufficient research exists on the localized inflammation caused by lymphedema, few studies have explored how this condition affects the body as a whole. Even fewer—if any—have looked at how lymphedema-correcting surgeries could help. It’s a problem that Dionisia Quiroga, DO, PhD, hopes to solve.

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Conquer Cancer • 21st June 2023

Dr. Deborah Marshall on Improving Radiation Treatment and Sexual Health Outcomes in Female and Gender-Diverse Patients

Of the many challenges attached to pelvic cancer, sexual health outcomes often prove especially difficult following radiation treatment. While numerous studies explain the impacts of post-radiation on male sexual function, similar research is scarce for female and gender-diverse patients. It’s a gap that Dr. Marshall hopes to bridge.

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ASCO Connection • 18th May 2023

Dr. Chrisann Kyi Pursues Early-Phase Development of Targeted Immunotherapies for Patients With Gynecologic Cancers

A mother with cervical cancer has tried every standard treatment available to her, but her cancer continues to recur. She wants to live long enough to see her daughter graduate from high school. Despite having an immune system exhausted from standard chemotherapy, she takes a leap of faith...

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ASCO Daily News • 10th May 2023

Dr. Matthew Painschab Works to Mitigate Treatment-Related Infections for Patients in Malawi

For patients undergoing chemotherapy for blood cancers, the risk of developing fever and infections is not only heightened but even more lethal. In places like Malawi, where many people live more than four hours from the nearest oncology clinic, that risk can be particularly virulent.

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Conquer Cancer • 18th April 2023

Dr. Jithma Abeykoon on Advancing Treatment Approaches for Patients with Rare Blood Cancers

One of the most challenging parts of Dr. Jithma Abeykoon's job is the moment when he realizes that, despite all his best efforts, he's run out of treatment options for his patients. He thought he'd reached such a point when treating Anya Magnuson, a young woman and aspiring photographer diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Erdheim-Chester disease.

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ASCO Connection • 9th March 2023

Mapping the Global Reach of Donor-Funded Research

Since 1984, ASCO and Conquer Cancer have provided more than 2,600 grants and awards to researchers domestically and internationally, with 80 countries represented by recipients. Meet a few of many investigators around the globe whose vital work is accelerating research for patients with cancer.

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ASCO Connection • 9th March 2023

Dr. Luis Rojas Puentes on Leveraging Immunity to Help Treat Patients With HPV and Lung Cancer

In Colombia, lung cancer is among the most frequent types of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in patients with male sex characteristics. Here, patients often present with additional diseases that are linked to lung cancer diagnoses, including human papillomavirus (HPV). Despite the harmful effects and negative reputation of HPV, the infection could help doctors more effectively guide the course of care for patients with certain types of lung cancers.

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ASCO Connection • 9th March 2023

Conquer Cancer Grant Recipients Bring Research IDEAs to LIFe

An eager group of oncologists from around the world enters the ASCO Annual Meeting for the first time. The oncologists—recipients of the International Development and Education Award (IDEA) from ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation—belong to this global community of the brightest minds in cancer research. Each of them shares a vision to advance research and care for patients in their home country.

Podcasts

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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 25+ research spotlights on CONQUER.ORG
Produce monthly Your Stories: Conquering Cancer podcast
Managed 20-page, multi-story feature in ASCO Connection (March 2023)

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

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.