Sharief Hendricks

Sharief Hendricks is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town and a Visiting Professor at Leeds Beckett University (UK). He is world leading expert on injury prevention and athlete welfare in sport, with over 170 publications and an h-index of 41 to date. He is three-time finalist for the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award (2020, 2021, 2022) and was granted the South African Sports Medicine Association Lifetime Membership award (at the age of 39). He holds a number national and international leadership roles which drive policy and practice in sport.

Sharief Hendricks has over 160 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 41, and has graduated over 50 postgraduate students (Honours, MSc and PhD) to date. He has been awarded the prestigious University of Cape Town Fellows Young Researcher Award (2019), a three- time finalist for the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award (2020,2021,2022) (an award for South Africa’s top scientist) and recently awarded the South African Sports Medicine Association Lifetime Membership award (at the age of 39). He holds a number of fellowships and editorial positions, and acts as a consultant for a number of sport governing bodies.

He is a Past President of the South African Sports Medicine Association. Sharief is also Chair of Research and Science for the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (SASCOC) and Lead Researcher for the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA). Sharief is also an Associate Editor for Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport and BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Science, and has been Social Media Editor for the European Journal of Sport Science for 8 years. Sharief’s primary research focus is improving player welfare and reducing the risk of injury while maximising performance in tackle-based sports such rugby. His other research interests include science communication and stakeholder engagement, which are reflected in two leading science communication websites—HealthScienceReviews.com (https://healthsciencereviews.com) and RugbyScientists.com (https://rugbyscien- tists.com).