Lisa Matisoo-Smith (born 1963) is a molecular anthropologist and Professor at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

. As at 2018, she is Head of the Department of Anatomy.

Biography

Born in

Hawai‘i Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, t ...

in 1963, Matisoo-Smith also lived in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, following her father's naval postings. She completed her doctoral thesis ''No hea te kiore : MtDNA variation in Rattus exulans : a model for human colonisation and contact in prehistoric Polynesia'' at University of Auckland in 1996. Matisoo-Smith's research focuses on using DNA to map human migration, especially in the Pacific. She is a principal investigator on National Geographic's Genographic project. As part of that project, she is the lead researcher for ''From Africa to Aotearoa'', which is looking specifically at human migration to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She is a

Fellow of The Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. In 2017, Matisoo-Smith was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "

150 women in 150 words The "150 women in 150 words" project was undertaken by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and published during their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2017. The aim of the project was "celebrating women's contributions to expanding knowledge in New Z ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. In 2018, she was awarded the Royal Society Te Apārangi, society's Mason Durie Medal for social science, recognising her research into Polynesian migration across the Pacific. In 2022 she was appointed a distinguished professor at the University of Otago.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matisoo-Smith, Lisa 1963 births Living people American geneticists American emigrants to New Zealand Academic staff of the University of Otago New Zealand women academics Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand New Zealand scientists University of Auckland alumni James Cook Research Fellows