Turi Emma King (born 31 December 1969) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

professor of

Public engagement Public engagement or public participation is a term that has recently been used to describe "the practice of involving members of the public in the agenda-setting, decision-making, and policy-forming activities of organizations/institutions respons ...

and

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

. She is best known for her work in "cracking one of the biggest forensic DNA cases in history" during the

exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England The remains of Richard III, the last English king killed in battle, were discovered within the site of the former Grey Friars Priory in Leicester, England, in September 2012. Following extensive anthropological and genetic testing, the remai ...

. She is also known for featuring with

Stacey Dooley Stacey Jaclyn Dooley (born 9 March 1987) is an English television presenter, journalist, and media personality. She came to prominence in 2008 when she appeared as a participant on '' Blood, Sweat and T-shirts''. Since then, she has made socia ...

on the BBC Two genealogy series '' DNA Family Secrets'' which was recommissioned for a second series in 2021.

Education and early life

King was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, England, as the eldest of three children born to Alan King, an engineer, and Daphne King, a housewife. She moved to Canada at an early age and was brought up in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. She studied at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

and worked on archaeological sites in Canada, Greece, and England, before moving to the

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

to read Archaeology and Anthropology. There she was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree. She won a scholarship to study for a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in

Molecular Genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

at the

, gaining a First with Distinction. In 2000 she started her doctoral research as a

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

Prize Student at the University of Leicester, specialising in genetic genealogy and "in tracing migration patterns by using genetics." Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of

DNA fingerprinting DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...

, was on her PhD supervisory panel. Her award-winning thesis on the relationship between British surnames and Y-chromosomal haplotypes was published in 2007, and eventually formed the basis of the book ''Surnames, DNA and Family History'', which she co-authored with David Hey and George Redmonds.

Career and research

King's research initially centred around genetics, genetic genealogy, forensics and surnames, and using aspects of human DNA such as the

Y chromosome The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...

to track past human migrations. Her work has included tracing "the signal of the Viking migration to the north of England", resulting in her appearance in Michael Wood's '' The Great British Story – A People's History'' on BBC Two, and in ''

Michael Wood's Story of England ''Michael Wood's Story of England'' is a six-part BBC documentary series written and presented by Michael Wood and airing from 22 September 2010. It tells the story of one place, the Leicestershire village of Kibworth, throughout the whole of En ...

''. Her research themes involve combinations of molecular genetics with history, forensics, archaeology, geography, and genetic genealogy. It was this background that made her ideally placed to lead the

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts of ...

involved during the

, confirming the identity of remains discovered underneath a Leicester car park through the use of DNA from living relatives. In March 2021 she presented the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

documentary "Genetics and the longer arm of the law".

Public speaking and consultancy

As Professor of

Public Engagement Public engagement or public participation is a term that has recently been used to describe "the practice of involving members of the public in the agenda-setting, decision-making, and policy-forming activities of organizations/institutions respons ...

, King regularly undertakes public speaking at universities, schools and public events such as the

Cheltenham Science Festival Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year. The 2018 Cheltenham Science Festival (6–11 June) ...

, the Moscow Science Festival, a Congressional Breakfast on Capitol Hill, the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Science and Technology Festival, and the Queen's Lecture in Berlin. She guest-presented the Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures in Japan in 2019 stepping in for

Alice Roberts Alice May Roberts (born 19 May 1973) is an English biological anthropologist, biologist, television presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been Professor of the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She was President ...

. She advises on numerous television programmes and provides genetic expertise to authors such as Patricia Cornwell,

Philippe Sands Philippe Joseph Sands, KC (born 17 October 1960) is a British and French writer and lawyer a11 King's Bench Walkand Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. A specialist in ...

, Edward Glover, and David McKie. King has also appeared in a number of television and radio documentaries as an expert in genetic genealogy, forensics, and/or ancient DNA.

TV, video and radio appearances

King has appeared in numerous television and radio documentaries, programmes and videos as well as advising on television and radio productions such as BBC's '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' * Presented the BBC Radio 4 documentary
Genetics and the longer arm of the law
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''The Life Scientific''
as DNA Detective Turi King * ''Britain's Lost Battlefields with Rob Bell'' * ''Richard III: The King in the Car Park'' * ''Britain's Secret Treasures'' * ''Richard III: Solving a 500 Year Old Cold Case'' (TEDx Leicester) * ''Richard III – The DNA Analysis & Conclusion'' (University of Leicester) * ''Richard III: The Resolution of A 500-Year-Old Cold Case'' (Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Lecture, UBC)

''DNA Family Secrets''

'' DNA Family Secrets'' is a television series which began airing on BBC Two in March 2021. Presented by

and King, it uses the latest DNA technology to solve family mysteries around ancestry, missing relatives and genetic disease. It is made by the production company Minnow Films and was recommissioned for a second series in 2021. The series has received good reviews both from inside the scientific community and from the general public. Elpida Fragouli writing for BioNews wrote "The concept of ''DNA Family Secrets'' is unusual, and one would argue educational for the general public. Professor King, an expert in determining genealogy through DNA testing, is a good communicator and demonstrates true empathy towards the individuals that sit down with her." Stuart Jeffries of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' praised the series called it "a touching, timely portrait of mixed-race Britain" saying the "show doesn’t need celebrities to gild it's drama." Sara Wallis of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' gave it a positive review writing that "it makes for gripping TV", "emotional, with fascinating DNA facts" with results delivered by King with "wonderful empathy". Paul Whitelaw of '' The Courier'' described it as a "poignant genealogy series" and said, "Dooley is good choice of host, she’s likeable and empathetic but the star of the show is Professor Turi King, who explains the science and gently guides the contributors through the entire process. She radiates kindness."

Selected bibliography

Sources: * * * * * * *

Current projects

The following is a list of projects King is either heading or has been involved with: * The King's DNA: whole genome sequencing of Richard III * What's in a Name? Applying Patrilineal Surnames to Forensics, Population History, and Genetic Epidemiology * HALOGEN (History, Archaeology, Linguistics, Onomastics, and GENetics) * The Irish Surnames Project * The

Mary Jane Kelly Mary Jane Kelly ( – 9 November 1888), also known as Marie Jeanette Kelly, Fair Emma, Ginger, Dark Mary and Black Mary, is widely believed to have been the final victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who murdered ...

Project, dedicated to confirming the identity of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

's final confirmed victim.

Awards and honours

In 2016, King was appointed an honorary

fellow 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 ...

of the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

in recognition of her contribution to public engagement in science. She gave the J. B. S. Haldane prize lecture of

The Genetics Society The Genetics Society is a British learned society. It was founded by William Bateson and Edith Rebecca Saunders in 1919 and celebrated its centenary year in 2019. It is therefore one of the oldest learned societies devoted to genetics. Its membe ...

in 2018, at the Royal Institution, London. She is the current president of the

Galton Institute The Adelphi Genetics Forum is a non-profit learned society based in the United Kingdom. Its aims are "to promote the public understanding of human heredity and to facilitate informed debate about the ethical issues raised by advances in reproductive ...

as of the Summer of 2020 as announced in the ''Galton Review''.

Personal life

King is married. It can be assumed that she has a good relationship with her father, as she relayed a secret message to him during the 2013 press conference announcing the findings concerning Richard III's remains; though sworn to secrecy by the University on the findings until the announcement, when she went onstage, King wore "a particular strand of pearls" to let her father watching from Vancouver immediately know that the DNA had been a match.

External links

Turi King
-official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Turi Emma Living people Canadian geneticists Canadian archaeologists Canadian women geneticists Canadian women archaeologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century British women scientists University of British Columbia alumni Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 21st-century Canadian women writers Academics of the University of Leicester 1969 births