Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan

Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan is a palaeobiologist in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cape Town. She is a global expert on the microscopic structure of the bones of extinct and extant vertebrates. Her work has been recognized by several highly acclaimed awards: For example, in 1995 she received an NRF President Award, in 2005 she won the South African Woman of the Year Award, which acknowledges her contribution to science both in terms of research and science communication to the wider public. In 2005 she also won the "Distinguished Women Scientist Award" from the South African Department of Science and Technology, and in 2012 she was awarded the NRF Transformation Award. In 2013 she was awarded The World Academy of Science’s (TWAS), sub-saharan prize for the Popularisation of Science. Professor Chinsamy-Turan has published extensively - both in international scientific journals (including 4 publications in Nature and 1 in Nature Communications) as well as in the popular press. She is former President of the Association of South African Women in Science and Engineering (SA WISE), former Deputy President of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and she has also served as Director of Iziko Museums Natural History Collections (which includes the SA Museum). Prof. Chinsamy-Turan currently Chairs the Advisory Boards of Scifest Africa, the biggest science festival in Africa and she is a member of the Advisory Board the Cape Town Science Centre, and in addition she is Chair of the Romer-Simpson Prize Committee of the US-based Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology, and serves as a board member for the Jurassic Foundation (US). She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of South African, the University of Cape Town and The Word Academy of Sciences. Her academic book, The Microstructure of Dinosaur Bone - Deciphering Biology Through Fine Scale Techniques was published by Johns Hopkins University Press, USA in 2005) and her popular level book for children entitled, "Famous Dinosaurs of Africa" was published by Struik, SA in 2008). Her latest academic book is entitled, "The Forerunners of Mammals: Radiation. Histology. Biology" (2012, Indiana University Press, USA), and her recent popular level book is “Fossils for Africa”, published in 2014 by Cambridge University Press.
More info here.