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To her collection of numerous NIH merit awards for her efforts to promote symptom management and quality-of-life research in the field of palliative care, Ann O’Mara, Ph.D., can add one more accolade: winner of the John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award.
O’Mara, program director and head of palliative care research in the Division of Cancer Prevention, has made immense contributions to her field, through her research on end-of-life care and education of nurses and physicians about the treatment and management of pain. Her studies focus on quality-of-life issues facing patients with cancer and their families. O’Mara manages a portfolio of projects that focus on the more common morbidities associated with cancer and its treatment including pain, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, fatigue, sleep disturbances and psychosocial issues such as distress, anxiety and depression. Before running the palliative care research program at NCI, O’Mara was a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Office of Preventive Oncology in the Division of Cancer Prevention. She is also a certified Advanced Oncology Nurse and has been a member of the Journal of Clinical Oncology editorial board.
The prestigious John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award is given by the American Pain Society to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of pain—through public education, dissemination of information, public service, or other efforts to further knowledge about pain. The award is named after John Bonica, a leader in the development of the pain treatment movement, and his wife, Emma.
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