Under Darien's direction, CR magazine has published features on such timely issues as race and cancer research, how stress affects cancer, the screening debates, nanotechnology and profiles of survivors and scientists written by award-winning medical journalists, as well as insightful personal essays by survivors and advocates.
Darien was previously the editor-in-chief of MAMM, the country's only consumer magazine dedicated to women with breast and reproductive cancer.
Darien has addressed cancer survivors and scientists across the country and in Europe at many panels, workshops and conferences. Darien has served on the faculties of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop, American Society of Breast Disease Annual Symposium, Accelerating Anti-Cancer Agent Development and Validation Workshop and the Milan Breast Cancer Symposium. Darien is a member of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS). Darien serves on the NCI Director's Consumers Liaison Group. She also serves on the advisory board of the Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College and is an external advisor to the Breast Cancer SPORE at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has received several awards for her work, including: the Avon Foundation Media Leadership Award, the LYMPHAdvocate Award from the Cure for Lymphoma Foundation, and the Sisters' Network Media Leadership Award.
Prior to her diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1993, Darien was the executive director of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Darien was also deputy director of P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York City from 1984 to 1990. Darien is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.