Professor Turi King is Reader in Genetics and Archaeology at the University of Leicester, where her work combines genetics with archaeology, history and geography. Her PhD research in genetics at Leicester on a Wellcome Trust Prize Studentship resulted in an award-winning thesis examined the link between British hereditary surnames and the Y chromosome. She has continues her work on the Y chromosome and surnames, and leads a project examining the genetic legacy of the Vikings in the north of England.  

She is best known for her work in cracking one of the biggest forensic DNA cases in history during the exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England. As well as leading the international research team involved in the DNA identification work of his remains, she is also leading the project carrying out the whole genome sequencing of Richard III. Her latest book, Why Genetics Matters: 12 Key Cases, will be published by Doubleday.