Meet Josh, the newest addition to our collection of Science Cheerleaders. Josh is an elite rugby hooker!
While researching genetics in yeast and humans at Washington University in St. Louis for his PhD, Josh played many positions for the St. Louis Bombers rugby club in the US Super League and the West All-Star team. Following his degree in biology (with a minor in history and an accidental one in chemistry) at Duke and before graduate school, Josh spent a season in Bath playing rugby for Avon Rugby Football Club.
Josh is currently a career development fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge (aka, the place where they figured out DNA) studying how alternative splicing of mRNAs is regulated by protein-RNA interactions. In his spare time, he writes the Rugbyologist blog, where he discusses whatever catches his interest from a science perspective with the same attitude that earned him the nickname “Hard Hittin’ Witten” on the rugby pitch. To make up for being a jerk, all the revenue from the rugbyologist is donated to Doctors Without Borders .
Among his many other adventures, he was once made to disappear by David Copperfield in front of a packed theater – twice (Copperfield also tied his shoe – once), modeled hats on Bob Evans place mats, and rode Shamu.