Professor Sharon Cox is the Head of Clinical Unit, Division of Paediatric Surgery, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, in Cape Town South Africa.

Her primary medical degree was obtained at the University of Cape Town in 1993. She specialised in general surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital, and then moved on to Red Cross Hospital where she completed Paediatric Surgical training in 2005. Dr Cox was promoted from Senior Specialist to Head of Clinical Unit in 2014, was awarded Associate Professorship in 2016, and full professorship in 2021.

Dr Cox is the convenor of the Paediatric Surgery course for undergraduate medical students at the University of Cape Town and trains and supervises both General and Paediatric Surgical trainees in basic and complex paediatric surgical procedures as well as their research and M. Med degrees.

Research topics include research on clinical aspects of paediatric tumours as well as burn wounds, their prevention and healing and multiple aspects of general paediatric surgery.

She is a co-author of chapters in various Paediatric Surgical texts on surgical site infections, surgical aspects of HIV infection in children, bilateral Wilms tumour, atresia’s of the bowel and burns.

She is involved in all aspects of Paediatric Surgical care and has a special interest paediatric surgical oncology and neonatal surgery.

Sharon is currently the Africa representative on the World Federation of Associations of Paediatric Surgery (WOFAPS) executive and also serves on the International Pediatric Surgical Oncology Society (IPSO) Executive and IPSO Education Committee, and is the chair of the IPSO program committee.