Delia O’Hara is an award-winning writer and journalist, a former longtime features reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Specialties include science, health care, profiles, education, history, culture and the arts for magazines and websites. She is presently a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the Association of Health Care Journalists. She is also a published short story writer.
Delia O’Hara
From this contributor
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis
Konstantinos “Kostas” Zarbalis talks about the upside of unexpected experimental results, and why he eats just one meal per day.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis
By
Delia O’Hara
10 February 2022 | 6 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Kristin Sohl
When pediatrician Kristin Sohl isn’t building programs to improve care for and research about autistic people, you can find her reading psychological thrillers or playing Pokémon Go.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Kristin Sohl
By
Delia O’Hara
13 January 2022 | 6 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Andrew Whitehouse
Andrew Whitehouse talks about his conservation efforts in the Australian Outback, what it’s like to be an identical twin and why he leaves work promptly at 5 p.m.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Andrew Whitehouse
By
Delia O’Hara
24 November 2021 | 7 min read
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Ethan Scott
Ethan Scott packs his lab with math, physics and computer science experts to decode sensory brain networks in zebrafish models of autism.
Beyond the bench: A conversation with Ethan Scott
By
Delia O’Hara
13 September 2021 | 9 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.
By
Jill Adams
14 April 2026 | 2 min read
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
By
Erin Calipari
14 April 2026 | 5 min read
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain
These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?
By
Juan Gallego
13 April 2026 | 8 min read