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Jonathan Jarry

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Jonathan Jarry
Jonathan Jarry at CSICon 2019
NationalityCanadian
EducationB.Sc. Biochemistry McGill University (2003)
M.Sc., Molecular Biology Université de Montréal (2005)
OccupationScience communicator
Years activeSince 2015
EmployerOffice for Science and Society
Websitewww.jonathanjarry.com

Jonathan Jarry is a Canadian scientist and science communicator working in Montreal, at McGill University's Office for Science and Society (OSS). He is frequently quoted by news media on topics such as misinformation.

Education and scientific career

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Jarry developed an early interest in several paranormal topics such as ghosts and vampires as well as cryptozoology, but progressively abandoned those beliefs while studying biochemistry in university.[1][2]

Jarry has a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from McGill University and an M.Sc. in Molecular Biology from the Université de Montréal and three years of a PhD program.[1][3]

His work as a health researcher included muscular dystrophy research, low-vision rehabilitation and molecular diagnostic testing. His interest for forensic biology led him to work for a time at identifying the remains of American soldiers through mitochondrial DNA.[1][4][3][5]

Science communication

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Jarry joined McGill University's Office for Science and Society in 2017, where he is Science Communicator as of 2023.[6][7] Since 2021, the Canadian news magazine L'actualité publishes some of his texts written for OSS.[8] He makes a regular appearance on the noon program of the CTV Television Network's Montreal affiliate.[9]

Jarry has been frequently cited as an expert on misinformation by major media outlets, including the New York Times,[10][11] Time Magazine,[12] the Washington Post[13] and the Financial Times.[14] He contributes to the ScienceUpFirst education initiative as an expert resource.[6]

Since 2015, Jarry has been co-hosting the Body of Evidence podcast with cardiologist Christopher Labos, examining various health claims (such as vitamins curing cancer) through scientific lens.[15][16] The podcast, which uses humour to present discussions on medical issues between Jarry and Labos (and sometimes guests), won the Canada’s Favourite Blog for 2017 award from Science Borealis.[17][18] He also hosted the podcast Within Reason from 2013 to 2015.[19] On similar topics, Jarry previously wrote the Cracked Science blog for its two-year run.[20]

Jarry (right) with Joe Schwarcz, Ryan Armstrong, Timothy Caulfield and Carly Weeks at a 2019 event of the OSS.

Jarry's science education work was prominently featured by numerous media outlets in North America and Europe in July 2018, when a video he produced for the Office of Science and Society went viral, reaching 10 million views and was shared 130,000 times in two weeks. The 2-minute video titled "This NATURAL TRICK can CURE YOUR CANCER" adopted the tone and visual appearance of those promoting fake cures commonly seen on the Internet, claiming one Johan R. Tarjany (an anagram of Jarry's name) discovered a moss derivative that cures cancer, before revealing the information as false and inviting the watcher to think critically about health information. The video gained widespread attention and news coverage when relayed by people with a large online presence such as David Gorski, Susan Gerbic, Kavin Senapathy and comedian Scott Rogowsky.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Recognizing the influence of Timothy Caulfield, Jarry advocates for an approach to science communication that is compassionate and honest about the challenges and problems in science: "I believe that I've become more empathetic and compassionate over the years."[3] He sees science communication getting more difficult, requiring advanced knowledge or research, but is encouraged that experts speak to the media more frequently and skillfully.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Rawlings, Jenni; Pollen, Travis (24 January 2023). "What's the Deal With Complementary & Alternative Medicine?". Yoga Meets Movement Science (Podcast). Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b Chris Hughen (10 October 2022). "Episode 37 - Jonathan Jarry: Mechanism Masturbation and Scientific Communication". Adaptabilia (Podcast). Buzzsprout. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Hill, Adrienne; Saunders, Richard (5 March 2023). "The Skeptic Zone #752 - 5.March.2023". The Skeptic Zone (Podcast). Event occurs at 15:15. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Jonathan Jarry MSc - Science Communicator". McGill University. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Christy Harrison (3 June 2024). "Why You Probably Don't Have a Leaky Gut, and Other Wellness Misconceptions with Jonathan Jarry". Rethinking Wellness (Podcast). Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Who we are". ScienceUpFirst. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Jarry MSc - Science Communicator". Office for Science and Society. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Jonathan Jarry, M. Sc". L'Actualité (in French). Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  9. ^ "CTV News Montreal". CTV News Montreal.
  10. ^ Frenkel, Sheera (12 September 2023). "Where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Delivers His Fringe Views: Not on the Trail". New York Timess. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  11. ^ Raphael, Rina (26 July 2023). "How Fake Science Sells Wellness". New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  12. ^ Ducharme, Jamie (28 June 2023). "How Podcaster Andrew Huberman Got America to Care About Science". Time. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  13. ^ Amenabar, Teddy; O'Connor, Anahad (6 December 2022). "TikTok 'Liver King' touted raw organ meat diet. He also took steroids". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  14. ^ Marriott, Hannah (4 January 2023). "Saunas — so hot right now". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  15. ^ "About the body of evidence". Body of Evidence. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Introducing Jonathan Jarry, new OSS Associate (Youtube video). September 5, 2017.
  17. ^ Fisher, Alina (6 December 2017). "Body of Evidence: debunking medical myths". Science Borealis. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  18. ^ Hill, Adrienne (17 December 2023). Dr. Christopher Labos - Extended interview. 17th of December 2023. Skeptic Zone Podcast (Podcast).
  19. ^ Fisher, Alina (6 December 2017). "Body of Evidence: debunking medical myths". Science Borealis. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  20. ^ Jarry, Jonathan (August 20, 2018). "Goodbye And See You Soon!". Cracked Science. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  21. ^ D'Souza, Steven (July 15, 2018). "How a Canadian viral science video is teaching a lesson about online health hoaxes". CBC News. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  22. ^ Barrett, Brian (July 10, 2018). "How a 'cancer cure' video skewered bad science - and went viral itself". Wired. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  23. ^ Gerbic, Susan (July 11, 2018). "Dr. Tarjany and the Moss Cancer Cure: A Conversation with Jonathan Jarry". Skeptical Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  24. ^ "Scientist debunks health hoaxes with viral parody video". BBC News. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved Jul 20, 2018.
  25. ^ Jarry, Jonathan (July 4, 2018). "This NATURAL TRICK can CURE YOUR CANCER". McGill University. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  26. ^ Lévesque, Fanny (July 13, 2018). "Une vraie fausse nouvelle partagée au nom de la science". La Presse (in French). Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  27. ^ Van Der Kluft, Marine (July 20, 2018). "Comment une vidéo virale nous a fait croire à un remède miraculeux contre le cancer". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  28. ^ Robitzski, Dan (July 13, 2018). "This "Cancer Cure" Video Is Fake. That's The Point". Futurism. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  29. ^ "Wetenschapper waarschuwt met filmpje over 'wondermiddel tegen kanker': "Stel altijd vragen"". Gazet Van Antwerpen (in Dutch). July 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
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