Lisa Matisoo-Smith | |
|---|---|
 Lisa Matisoo-Smith in 2011 | |
| Born | 1963 (age 60–61) |
| 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, or kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, 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 Rutherford Medal is the most prestigious award offered by the Royal Society of New Zealand, consisting of a medal and prize of $100,000. It is awarded at the request of the New Zealand Government to recognize exceptional contributions to the advancement and promotion of public awareness, knowledge and understanding in addition to eminent research or technological practice by a person or group in any field of science, mathematics, social science, or technology. It is funded by the New Zealand government and awarded annually.
The Royal Society Te Apārangi is a not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. These fundings are provided on behalf of the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Sir Albert William Liley was a New Zealand medical practitioner, renowned for developing techniques to improve the health of foetuses in utero.
The Wairau Bar, or Te Pokohiwi, is a 19-hectare (47-acre) gravel bar formed where the Wairau River meets the sea in Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, north-eastern South Island, New Zealand. It is an important archaeological site, settled by explorers from East Polynesia who arrived in New Zealand about 1280. It is one of the earliest known human settlements in New Zealand. At the time of the occupation it is believed to have been a low scrub-covered island 2 to 3 metres high, 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) long and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) wide.
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.
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 has been Vice-Chancellor and President of Cardiff University since September 2023, having previously been provost at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Dame Carolyn Waugh Burns is a New Zealand ecologist specialising in lakes. She is an emeritus professor at the University of Otago.
Hallie Ruth 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. 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.
Poia Rewi is a professor and the former 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 time, in isolation the Polynesian settlers developed a distinct Māori culture.
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.
Atholl John Anderson is a New Zealand archaeologist who has worked extensively in New Zealand and the Pacific. His work is notable for its syntheses of history, biology, ethnography and archaeological evidence. He made a major contribution to the evidence given by the iwi (tribe) Ngāi Tahu to the Waitangi Tribunal.
Roma Mere Roberts is a New Zealand biologist who is interested in cross-cultural understanding and the interface between mātauranga Māori and other knowledge systems. In 2003 Roberts was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and science.
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