Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan

Professor Anusuya Chinsamy- Turan is a palaeobiologist, specialising in deciphering the biological signals recorded within the microscopic structure of the bones and teeth of extinct and extant vertebrates. She obtained her PhD in Palaeontology at the University of the Witwatersrand and later accepted a joint appointment with the SA Museum and the University of Cape Town. In 2002 she relocated full-time to UCT where she later served as Head of the Biological Sciences Department. Prof Chinsamy-Turan has received numerous accolades over the years including the NRF-DSI Distinguished Woman Scientist Award and the TWAS Sub-Saharan Africa Prize for the Public Understanding and Popularisation of Science. She served as President of the SA Women in Science and Engineering and is currently Honorary President of BirdLife SA and Ambassador for WWF. To date, she has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles in top ISI rated journals, two academic books, and four popular level books, as well as several book chapters in scholarly works. Her work regularly appears in local and international media, and she’s given numerous radio and television interviews.