Franzika L.M. Turel was born in Berlin on 10 January 1924. Although her father, active in left wing politics, fled Germany in 1933, Turel and her mother remained in Berlin until she finished high school in 1942. By the end of that year they moved to Zurich. Turel enrolled at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and earned a PhD in 1952. She was awarded a National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral fellowship at the Prairie Regional Laboratory in Saskatoon, and began research into the physiology of plant rusts. Turel is best known for her work developing techniques for growing rust fungi independent of a host. Turel joined the faculty of the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan in 1961. Initially a laboratory supervisor, Turel was promoted to Associate Professor. She retired in 1991.