Professor Turi King uses genetics in the fields of forensics, history, genealogy, and archaeology, and is best known for ‘cracking one of the biggest forensic DNA cases in history’ – the identification of the remains of King Richard III.
2023 was a particularly busy year for Turi as she co-presented a third series of the popular DNA Family Secrets alongside Stacey Dooley (BBC Two). She also co-presented Ancient Mysteries Unearthed (Sky History / Curiosity) with Louisiana homicide detective Rod Emery examining what forensic science could bring to bear on six unsolved, ancient murders and she appeared on The Black Death with Dan Snow (Channel 5).
Other credits include Unsolved Histories with Lucy Worsley (BBC Two), British as Folk (UKTV), The Gadget Show (Channel 5), Cold Case (ZDF Germany), Britain’s Lost Battlefields (Channel 5), Richard III: The King in the Car Park (Channel 4), Britain’s Secret Treasures (ITV), Crimewatch (BBC), The Story of England and The Great British Story – A People’s History.
Turi grew up in Canada and studied at the University of British Columbia as well as Archaeology and Anthropology at the University Cambridge and competed both her masters and her PhD at the world-famous Genetics Department at the University of Leicester.
Her ground-breaking work, linking genetics and our surnames had implications for both genealogy and forensics and led to her pivotal role in the exhumation and identification of King Richard III. She continues to work on several high profile forensic and archaeological cases worldwide.
Turi is an honorary fellow of the British Science Association in recognition of her contribution to public engagement in science.