Prof. Alice Roberts: TV presenter, author, and Professor of Public Engagement in Science, University of Birmingham
Professor Alice Roberts is a biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster. Having originally studied and practiced medicine, she then became a university lecturer, teaching clinical anatomy and undertaking research in biological anthropology. She is especially interested in the intersection between biology, archaeology and history, the impact of ancient genomics in archaeology, and the interaction between humans and the environment through time.
She is passionate about public engagement with university research and teaching. She has been Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012.
Alice has presented well over a hundred television programmes, on subjects ranging from biology and archaeology and history. Her television debut came as a human bone expert on Channel 4’s Time Team, in 2001. After presenting Coast on BBC2, she went on to write and present a range of BBC series, including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, Prehistoric Autopsy and the long-running archaeology series, Digging for Britain, as well as several Horizon programmes. She also presents Britain’s Most Historic Towns on Channel 4.
Alice has written ten popular science books, including The Incredible Human Journey, Evolution: The Human Story, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, Tamed: Ten species that changed our world, and Ancestors: The Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials. Her latest book, Buried: An alternative history of the first millennium in Britain, was published by Simon & Schuster in May 2022.
Alice has presented many radio programmes, including the environment strand Costing the Earth on Radio 4, and her own ten-part series about the history of anatomy: Bodies.
In 2020, Alice Roberts was awarded the Royal Society’s first David Attenborough Prize for Public Engagement.