After receiving his PhD, Qumsiyeh worked on mechanisms of gene amplification as a research fellow with
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital from 1987 to 1989. He joined
Memphis State University's Department of Biology as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in 1988 where he taught a course on Embryology before departing in 1993. In collaboration with
D. P. Suttle, he rejoined St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a consultant with the Department of Pharmacology from 1989 to 1991. In 1990 he became a research associate at the Mammals Section of the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History where he worked for nine years while also serving as the Cytogenetics Laboratory Director, Department Head, and Interim Director for the
T. C. Thompson Children's Hospital (1991–1994). From 1995 to 1999 he served as the Director of Cytogenetics Services and Associate Clinical Professor with the Departments of Pathology, Pediatrics, OB/GYN, and Genetics at
Duke University Medical Center. Then he joined Yale University as the Director of Cytogenetics Services and Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Genetics from 1999 to 2004. Qumsiyeh became a member of the
Yale Cancer Center during this time. After 2004 he became director of
SiParadigm Inc.'s Cytogenetics Services where the laboratory conducted testing for breast and hematologic cancer research. Returning to Palestine in 2008, Qumsiyeh became a part-time professor and thesis advisor at Bethlehem University while also teaching Advanced Molecular biology as an adjunct professor with Birzeit University. In 2014 he founded the Palestine Museum of Natural History and Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability with Bethlehem University using $250,000 in funding donated by him and his wife. He serves as director of both institutions and has focused their programs on outreach, empowerment, and education efforts with great success.
Palestine Museum of Natural History and Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability PMNH'S school programs work with students at mixed and single gender schools to develop environmental clubs which plant gardens and recycle while also promoting entrepreneurship projects that give back to their communities. Emphasizing a philosophy of respect, PMNH'S volunteers, staff, and participants are encouraged to respect themselves, others, and the environment by creating and maintaining a healthy sustainable environment for all living things. Working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the Environmental Quality Authority, PMNH is developing new ways to educate and empower women to create a healthier environment that increases local
productivity via
ecotourism,
permaculture, and home-based projects. PMNH's staff also worked with the Ministry of Women's Affairs to start an educational empowerment program for women in rural communities. The institutions' efforts have attracted volunteers locally and internationally. Volunteers and grant funding have enabled PMNH to develop educational modules for youth and adults to help them protect endangered ecosystems. Employing interactive and experiential approaches to learning, the museum organises exhibits, nature-oriented field trips, and botanical and community gardens. Qumsiyeh leads an ongoing project funded by the
Darwin Initiative to benefit over 200 farmers, and oversaw another project funded by the
British Council which employed researchers and volunteers for gathering, preserving, and using aspects of cultural heritage to meet sustainability goals.
Activism In the early 2000s Qumsiyeh became more active in political and social causes, particularly Palestinian rights. He has been interviewed by
The Washington Post,
The New York Times, and
The Boston Globe, as well the
CNBC and
ABC news networks. Since 2003 he has served as Vice President of the
Middle East Crisis Committee and in 2000 he cofounded
al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, where he was national treasurer and media coordinator until 2004. While living in North Carolina, he was the Media Coordinator for the
Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, and from 2003 until 2008 he was the Media Coordinator for the
Palestinian American Congress' Connecticut chapter. Additionally, he co-founded the
Academics for Justice and
Boycott Israeli Goods campaigns. From 2005 until 2007 he was a steering committee member of the
US Campaign to End the Occupation and the
Association for One Democratic State in Israel/Palestine. In the course of his activism Qumsiyeh was arrested in May 2010 and 2011 in
Al-Walaja. He has lectured and presented on human rights around the world such as: the
NATO Defense College,
St. Edward's University, the
Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival,
SOAS,
Boston College, the
Palestinian American Council, the
Rhodes Forum,
Brown University, the
Munich Rachel Carson Center,
Leipzig University Institute of Oriental Studies, Yale University's
Calhoun College, and many others. Past lecture topics range from human rights, Palestinian resistance and empowerment, the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle, and the one state solution. == Recognition ==