Professor Turi King – Academic Background

Professor Turi King studied Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and completed both her Masters and her PhD at the world-renowned Genetics Department within the University of Leicester.

Her award-winning PhD examined the relationship between the Y chromosome and British surnames combining forensic DNA techniques with genealogy and history.  The inventor of DNA fingerprinting Sir Alec Jeffreys was one of her PhD advisors and her work was the first large scale study of its kind.

In 2016, Turi was appointed an honorary fellow of the British Science Association in recognition of her contribution to public engagement in science.

Turi is also Professor of Public Engagement and Genetics at the University of Leicester and she is a Fellow of the Society of Biology, an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, a Member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Member of the International Society of Forensic Geneticists.

Professor Turi King in the Media

Professor Turi King has appeared in a number of television programmes. She featured in two documentaries on Richard III: The King in the Car Park and Richard III: the Unseen Story. She appeared in two of Michael Wood’s history series: The Story of England and Great British Story. Her latest work includes BBC’s Family Secrets and Ancient Murders Unearthed, shown on Sky History.

Professor Turi King has also features in a number of other TV programmes including BBC Two’s Unsolved Histories, UKTV British as Folk, Channel 5’s The Gadget Show and Britain’s Lost Battlefields, ITV’s Britain’s Secret Treasures, ZDF Germany’s Cold Case and BBC Crimewatch.

Professor Turi King Podcast and Radio

Professor Turi King presented Genetics and the Longer Arm of the Law, a BBC Radio 4 documentary, exploring the advances in forensic genetics in the last 30 years. She hosts her own podcast, discussing a range of topics relating to genetics and genealogy, as well as hosting podcasts for the University of Leicester and the National Institute of Health Research, interviewing researchers about their work.

Below: A brief look at the role of Turi in the high-profile case of Richard III

Professor Turi King Books and Academic Papers

In 2015, Professor Turi King co-authored the book Surnames, DNA and Family History, in which she looked at British names in the British Isles and across Europe, revealing how names often remain concentrated in the areas where they first became established centuries ago, looking at the ancient people of Britain.  Turi explores why it is that some names spread across the globe, while others die out.

Turi has written many academic papers, including many published in the journal Nature and she has been cited in over 2000 scientific papers.

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