Himla soodyall biography of christopher

(b.02 07 1963) South African geneticist

Himla (Himladevi) Soodyall (b Durban, 1963^[1]) is a South African geneticist involved in finding some of the oldest human genetic lines, mainly focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa.^[2] Her work on DNA has pointed to southern Africa as the most likely geographic region of origin of the human species.^[1][3]

She is Director of the Human Genomic Diversity and Disease Research Laboratory, National Health Laboratory Service at the University of the Witwatersrand.^[4] She was awarded a Bronze Order of Mapungubwe in 2005 for her "Outstanding contributions in the field of science" in South Africa.

Education

Soodyall was born in Durban and educated at Gandhi-Desai High School before obtaining a BSc and BScHons at the University of Durban-Westville and an MSc in biotechnology from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Her PhD, on human population and evolutionary genetics, was obt