Lisa_Matisoo-Smith

Lisa Matisoo-Smith

Lisa Matisoo-Smith

New Zealand biological anthropologist

Lisa Matisoo-Smith (born 1963) is a molecular anthropologist and Professor at the University of Otago.[1] As at 2018, she is Head of the Department of Anatomy.

Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...

Biography

Born in Hawai‘i in 1963, Matisoo-Smith also lived in Japan and California, following her father's naval postings.[2]

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.[3]

Matisoo-Smith's research focuses on using DNA to map human migration, especially in the Pacific.[4] She is a principal investigator on National Geographic's Genographic project.[5] 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.[6][7]

She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of New Zealand.[8] In 2017, Matisoo-Smith was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[9]

In 2018, she was awarded the society's Mason Durie Medal for social science, recognising her research into Polynesian migration across the Pacific.[10] In 2022 she was appointed a distinguished professor at the University of Otago.[11]

References

  1. [1]
    "Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Lisa Matisoo-Smith: From Africa to Aotearoa". E-Tangata – A Māori and Pasifika Sunday magazine. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. [3]
    Matisoo-Smith, Lisa (1996). No hea te kiore : MtDNA variation in Rattus exulans : a model for human colonisation and contact in prehistoric Polynesia (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/597.
  4. [4]
    "A family of small differences". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  5. [5]
    Room, National Geographic Press (27 August 2014). "National Geographic's Genographic Project Unveils Ancient Origins of New Zealanders". National Geographic Partners Press Room. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  6. [6]
    "From Africa to Aotearoa". www.africatoaotearoa.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Lisa Matisoo-Smith: Africa to Aotearoa". Radio New Zealand. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Royal Society Te Apārangi – 2013 New Fellows". royalsociety.org.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  9. [9]
    "Lisa Matisoo-Smith". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. [10]
    "Using DNA to study human migrations a winner". Radio New Zealand. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  11. [11]
    Lewis, John (2 November 2022). "Five professors named 'distinguished chairs'". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
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