Joseph S. Osmundson (born 1983) is an American biophysicist and writer. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Biology at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. Osmundson is the author of various books exploring bodies, queerness, race, and geography.

Education

Osmundson has a Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biophysics from the

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

. His 2012 dissertation was titled ''rRNA Promoters as Targets for Transcription Factors: Structural and Functional Studies of PhERI and CarD''. His doctoral advisor was Seth Darst.

Career

Osmundson's research on protein structure and function has been published in scientific journals such as '' Cell'' and ''

PNAS ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...

''. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Biology at

. Osmundson’s creative work on bodies,

queerness ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, race, and geography has appeared, among others, in ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'', ''Gawker'', ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

'', the ''Kenyon Review'', the ''Lambda Literary Review'', and the ''Feminist Wire'', where he is an associate editor. His 2016 book ''Capsid: A Love Song'' won the POZ Award for best HIV writing (fiction/poetry) and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and his second book, ''INSIDE/OUT'', was published in January 2018. With fellow queer writers Dennis Norris II,

Tommy Pico Tommy Pico (born December 13, 1983) is an indigenous ( Kumeyaay Nation) writer, poet, and podcast host. Early life Pico grew up on the Viejas Reservation of the Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, a Kumeyaay tribe near Sa ...

, and Fran Tirado, he co-hosts '' Food 4 Thot'', a podcast "at the intersection of queerness and brownness," with subject matters ranging "from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

to Borges, politics to peen sizes, Nietzsche to 90s R&B." Osmundson's third book, ''Virology'', was published in June 2022 by Norton. The essay collection focusses on "the social and scientific impact of viruses through the lens of queer theory, race, capitalism, and the legacy of HIV/AIDS activism". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "Osmundson writes with the disarming voice of that teacher who makes science cool, even radical." In 2022, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' included Osmundson on their Time100 Next list of emerging leaders, citing Osmundson as, "instrumental in guiding New York City’s nowiki/>monkeypox">monkeypox.html" ;"title="nowiki/>monkeypox">nowiki/>monkeypoxvaccine distribution, helping implement a program that brings shots to places where people meet for sex and pushing for more inclusive eligibility criteria."

Selected works

Books

* ''Capsid: A Love Song'' (Indolent Books, 2016), * ''INSIDE/OUT'' (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2018), * ''Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between'' (Norton, 2022),

References

External links