Himla Soodyall

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Himladevi Soodyall , mostly Himla Soodyall , (* 1963 in Durban ) is a South African geneticist .

Life

Soodyall was born in 1963 in Durban, South Africa, and attended Gandhi-Desai High School there. She then obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Durban-Westville . In 1986 she moved to Johannesburg to take up a master's degree in biotechnology at Witwatersrand University , which she successfully completed. In 1987 she joined the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR). In 1993 she received her PhD in Human Population and Evolutionary Genetics from Witwatersrand University.

She subsequently won a scholarship from the US National Institutes of Health and then spent four years at Pennsylvania State University , where she did post-doctoral studies. In 1996 she returned to South Africa and got her own laboratory at SAIMR, where she carried out research for the human genetics department. The focus of her research was to use microbiological investigations to study the genome of people living today and to draw conclusions about the history of human evolution. She has received several awards for her work and in 2001 was appointed director of the Institute Human Genomic Diversity and Disease Research Unit at Witwatersrand University. In 2003 she also joined the Academy of Science South Africa (ASSAf).

In 2005 she was selected to be the director of studies in Sub-Saharan Africa for the international The Genographic Project . The National Geographic Society's five-year project aimed to map the history of human migration by collecting and analyzing DNA samples from indigenous people from countries on all five continents. With her work, Soodyall was able to produce groundbreaking insights into human evolution in sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the DNA samples she collected represent the oldest genetic material recorded to date from living people. Following the study, she continued her work as a researcher and associate professor at the Witwatersrand University. In 2011 she was elected to the ASSAf Council and in 2014 she was appointed Secretary General. In this role, she strategically developed the academy and advocated the promotion of young scientists. In 2018 she took up the position as CEO of ASSAf.

Awards and honors

  • 1999 President's Award, NRF and Vice-Chancellor Research Award at her university.
  • 2005 Order of Mapungubwe in bronze for outstanding contributions in the field of natural sciences.
  • 2012 Gabriel Ward Lasker Prize for the best study paper Mitochondrial DNA Variation in the Khoe-San, Human Biology .
  • 2017 rating as one of the ten most visible scientists in South Africa, Center for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University.
  • 2017 Inclusion in the book Legends of South African Science , ASSAf.

Works

  • Chapter Reflections and Prospects for Anthropological Genetics in South Africa , In: Genetic Nature / Culture: Anthropology and Science beyond the Two-Culture Divide , Alan H. Goodman, Deborah Heath and M. Susan Lindee (Eds.), University of California Press, 2003, ISBN 9780520237933 .
  • A Walk in the Garden of Eden. Genetic trails into our African past , HSRC Press, 2003, ISBN 0796920214 .
  • The Prehistory of Africa: Tracing the Lineage of Modern Man , Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2006, ISBN 1868422461 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Himladevi Soodyall. In: The Presidency. Republic of South Africa. accessed on October 18, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b ASSAf appoints Professor Himla Soodyall executive officer , Marleny Arnoldi, In: Engineering News , October 29, 2018, accessed October 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ Tracing the origins of humankind , Janine Erasmus, In: Brand South Africa , May 20, 2008, accessed October 18, 2019.
  4. ↑ Professor Himla Soodyall. Biography , In: The Interacademy Partnership , accessed October 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b c World-renowned Geneticist to Lead ASSAf , ASSAf website, October 30, 2018, accessed October 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ Legends of South African Science , ASSAf, May 2017, accessed October 18, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Soodyall, Himla
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Soodyall, Himladevi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African geneticist
DATE OF BIRTH 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Durban