Lisa Matisoo-Smith | |
|---|---|
 Lisa Matisoo-Smith in November 2020 | |
| Born | 1963 (age 59–60) |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | molecular anthropology |
| Institutions | University of Otago |
| Thesis | |
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.
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]
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat, known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.
The Royal Society Te Apārangi is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities.
Sir Albert William Liley was a New Zealand medical practitioner, renowned for developing techniques to improve the health of foetuses in utero.
Scarlett's shearwater is an extinct species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. Its common name commemorates New Zealand palaeontologist Ron Scarlett, who recognised the bird's subfossil remains represented a distinct species.
Christine Coe Winterbourn is a New Zealand biochemist. She is a professor of pathology at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Her research in the biological chemistry of free radicals earned her the 2011 Rutherford Medal and the Marsden Medal, the top awards from each of New Zealand's two top science bodies.
Rebecca Katherine Priestley is a New Zealand academic, science historian, and writer. She is Professor in Science in Society at Victoria University of Wellington.
Wendy Larner is a New Zealand social scientist who has focussed on the interdisciplinary areas of globalisation, governance and gender. She is currently Provost at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. From the 1st of September 2023, she will be Vice-Chancellor and President of Cardiff University.
Barbara Lesley Brookes is a New Zealand historian and academic. She specialises in women's history and medical history. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2022.
Dame Carolyn Waugh Burns is a New Zealand ecologist specialising in lakes. She is an emeritus professor at the University of Otago.
Hallie R. Buckley is a New Zealand bioarchaeologist and professor at the University of Otago.
Jacinta Arianna Ruru is a New Zealand academic and the first Māori professor of law. She was born in Australia and is of Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Maniapoto descent. Her mother and both maternal grand parents were English and Australian. Ruru is currently a professor at the University of Otago.
Janet Margaret McLean is a New Zealand law academic. She is currently a full professor at the University of Auckland. Mcleans' interests include constitutional law, administrative law, legal method, comparative human rights law and common law theory. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Marsden grants are the main form of contestable funding for fundamental, 'blue skies' research in New Zealand. Grants are made in all areas of research, in both science and the humanities. The grants are made from the Marsden Fund, which was established by the New Zealand Government in 1994. The Fund is administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Most of the grants go to researchers at New Zealand universities, but some go to researchers at Crown Research Institutes and elsewhere.
Tracey Kathleen Dorothy McIntosh is a New Zealand sociology and criminology academic. She is of Māori descent and is currently a Professor of Indigenous Studies and Co-Head of Te Wānanga o Waipapa at the University of Auckland.
Poia Rewi is a professor and the head of Te Tumu: School of Maori, Pacific, and Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is known for his work in the areas of the revitalisation of the Māori language and whaikorero. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Jadranka Travaš-Sejdić is a New Zealand academic, and as of 2018 is a professor at the University of Auckland.
New Zealand's archaeology started in the early 1800s and was largely conducted by amateurs with little regard for meticulous study. However, starting slowly in the 1870s detailed research answered questions about human culture, that have international relevance and wide public interest.
Philippa Helen Gander is a New Zealand sleep researcher. In 2021, she was conferred with the title of emeritus professor by Massey University, where she had been inaugural director of the Sleep/Wake Research Centre until stepping down from that role in 2019.
The history of the Māori began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand, in a series of ocean migrations in canoes starting from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. Over several centuries of isolation, the Polynesian settlers formed a distinct culture that became known as the Māori.
Suzanne Georgina Pitama is a New Zealand academic, is Māori, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Whare descent and as of 2020 is a full professor at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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