Lisa Matisoo-Smith

Lisa Matisoo-Smith
Lisa Matisoo-Smith in 2011
Born1963 (age 62–63)
EducationUniversity of Auckland
Scientific career
Fieldsmolecular anthropology
WorkplacesUniversity of Otago
Thesis

Elizabeth Anne Matisoo-Smith[1] (born 1963) is a molecular anthropologist and Professor at the University of Otago.[2] As at 2018, she is Head of the Department of Anatomy.

Biography

Matisoo-Smith was born in Hawai‘i in 1963. Her father Andres Matisoo was born in Estonia. He moved with his family to the United States, where he later met Lisa's American mother Julie. Matisoo-Smith also lived in Japan and California, following her father's naval postings. She is married to New Zealander Brent Smith.[3]

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 the University of Auckland in 1996.[4]

Matisoo-Smith's research focuses on using DNA to map human migration, especially in the Pacific.[5] She is a principal investigator on National Geographic's Genographic project.[6] 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.[7][8]

She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of New Zealand.[9] 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.[10] In 2018, she was awarded the society's Mason Durie Medal for social science, recognising her research into Polynesian migration across the Pacific.[1][11] In 2022 she was appointed a distinguished professor at the University of Otago.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "2018 Mason Durie Medal: Reshaping our understanding of the last great human migration". Royal Society of New Zealand. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith". www.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Lisa Matisoo-Smith: From Africa to Aotearoa". E-Tangata – A Māori and Pasifika Sunday magazine. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "A family of small differences". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "National Geographic's Genographic Project Unveils Ancient Origins of New Zealanders". National Geographic Partners Press Room. 27 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "From Africa to Aotearoa". www.africatoaotearoa.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Lisa Matisoo-Smith: Africa to Aotearoa". Radio New Zealand. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Royal Society Te Apārangi – 2013 New Fellows". royalsociety.org.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Lisa Matisoo-Smith". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Using DNA to study human migrations a winner". Radio New Zealand. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Lewis, John (2 November 2022). "Five professors named 'distinguished chairs'". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
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