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

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

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

Biography

Born in

Hawai‘i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in 1963, Matisoo-Smith also lived in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, 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 The Genographic Project, launched on 13 April 2005 by the National Geographic Society and IBM, was a genetic anthropological study (sales discontinued on 31 May 2019) that aimed to map historical human migrations patterns by collecting and ...

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 ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She is a

Fellow of The Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. In 2018, she was awarded the 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