[1] She was an undergraduate student at the University of the West Indies, where she majored in history.

She started as a master's student in public health at the University of Cambridge, and stayed there to complete her doctoral research.

[4] She moved to Johns Hopkins University as an associate professor of history.

In particular, she studies the lives of women and children, and how they are impacted by racial and gender stereotypes.

Whilst writing her first book, Contested Bodies: Pregnancy, Childrearing and Slavery in Jamaica, Turner became horrified by the high rates of infant mortality amongst Caribbean colonies.