Grants and Awards

I have been priviledged to receive awards and grants for my collaborative research work. 

Each award is a representation of the hard work, dedication, and commitment, of many hands and communities.

Previously, I led the Division for the Research and Methodology of PsySSA and was awarded the Most Active Division Award for 2018-2019 based on our engagement with the mentorship of emerging psychologists and students. In 2017 my groups PREDAC group poster was selected to be presented at the New Academics Regional Colloquium. Currently, I am working with colleagues from WITS, UWC, UCT, and UJ on a Research Methods textbook which will be published in 2025. I am an external moderator for most of these universities as well as an external examiner for theses.

In 2019-2023 I was the first South African recipient and graduate of the VLIR-UOS Global Minds PhD Scholarship at KU Leuven, Belgium, and the first South African to receive the Springer Nature Award for Inclusive Health Research in July 2023 in Brazil. In September 2023 I also received the Cochrane Thomas Chalmers Award in London for my innovation and methodological work of introducing storyboarding as a method of synthesis in QES. I am involved in the International AIDS Society as a mentor and have been invited to Germany in July 2024 to participate in the mentorship programme with mentees in attendance.

My work's social impact is recognized through numerous awards and research grants from prestigious bodies such as the VLIR-UOS, Springer Nature, Cochrane, MRC AI Grand Challenges Gates Foundation, Microsoft, and Gilead Sciences. In 2024 alone I have secured R4,5 million in research funding. These accolades underscore the innovation and relevance of my research in addressing global health challenges. My work has resulted in 22 peer-reviewed journal publications and contributions to books and policy-related publications with more forthcoming in 2024. I currently support colleagues on Wellcome Trust, NHI and Global Fund grant applications. I was awarded an internal Social Impact grant in 2021 and again in 2023. In 2023, I was also awarded the Next Generations of Social Scientists in Africa PhD Completion Fellowship. Still, I had to turn it down as I completed my joint PhD in Social Science and Public Health early.

This prize is awarded to psychologists working in any area of clinical specialisation, health services provision, or consulting, and services provided to any patient population or professional clientele in a community setting. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significant potential to transform healthcare around the world. But as AI technology continues to advance, there is an urgent need to position low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to lead on the design and co-creation of AI-enabled technologies – thereby helping to improve the health and well-being of their women, children, and vulnerable communities. Through this call for proposal, we are emphasizing AI solutions that are locally driven and owned hence more relevant to address the needs of people they intend to serve and more likely to be accepted and used by local communities. Responsible global use of AI entails a safe, equitable, transparent, reliable, and beneficial process that is adhered to with a high level of accountability. As the world rapidly moves to seize AI's opportunities, it is imperative to monitor and mitigate the safety, ethical, equity, and reliability dimensions of AI deployment. This will allow the enormous resilience, creativity, and commitment of researchers, scientists, and policymakers to capture the full capability of AI for lasting good. Grand Challenges (GC) partners including GC Brazil, GC Ethiopia, GC India, GC Senegal, GC South Africa, and GC Africa (pan-African), along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and the Pasteur Network, have jointly discussed the need for an equitable and responsible approach to the use of AI and specifically Large Language Models (LLMs) in LMICs. This call by the various GC partners is a follow-up to the initial call by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation representing collaborative steps towards identifying, nurturing, and catalyzing the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated in solving specific challenges in their countries and regions through LLMs. We are optimistic that this family of related AI RFAs will provide a platform for potentially transformative solutions to improve the lives and conditions for numerous vulnerable communities.

The Microsoft Research AI & Society fellows program aims to catalyze research collaboration between Microsoft Research and eminent scholars and experts across a range of disciplines core to discussions at the intersection of AI and its impact on society.

Microsoft recognizes the value of bridging academic, industry, policy, and regulatory worlds and seeks to ignite interdisciplinary collaboration that drives real-world impact. Through a global, open call for proposals targeting a specific set of research challenges, Microsoft will facilitate strategic collaborations, catalyze new research ideas, and contribute publicly available works to benefit scholarly discourse and benefit society more broadly.

Generative AI (Gen AI) models, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, hold the potential to transform how we access information across applications including healthcare, agriculture, education and the future of work. These models, however, are deeply rooted in the Global North – from the companies that develop them, to the data and metrics used to train and evaluate them. This leaves an open question as to how they well they will serve the Global South, with the significant risk that they will widen the digital divide and existing inequalities. 

This research challenge aims to move toward more geographically equitable Gen AI models and applications through a deeply socio-technical study of these models in Global South contexts. The selected Fellows will work alongside a multi-disciplinary team of Microsoft researchers toward the following 3 objectives:

• To systematically analyze the current robustness of Gen AI models for the Global South, based on the study of specific applications, communities, and people. 

• To design and validate approaches to create more robust and inclusive experiences for diverse, global users of Generative AI. 

• To create a multi-year research roadmap that identifies the key challenges and opportunities to deliver equitable AI-infused applications that serve the Global South.

Microsoft Fellows Announcement 2024 

The 2023 Cochrane Colloquium's closing plenary featured the presentation of the award by Ian Saldanha. We interviewed Lynn afterwards to gain insight into her thoughts on the significance of this prestigious recognition.

The Thomas C Chalmers Award was initiated by Tom Chalmers himself and further supported with individual donations from friends and family to celebrate and recognise Tom's interests and achievements. The prize is awarded to an early career investigator presenting on methodological issues at the Cochrane Colloquium. The presentations must demonstrate originality of thought, high-quality science, relevance to the advancement of the science of systematic reviews and clarity of presentation. 

Can you tell us a little more about what made you decide to enter for the award and the process involved?
When submitting my abstract to the Colloquium, the form asked whether I would like to submit the oral presentation for the Thomas Chalmers award. I went onto the website to look at the eligibility requirements of being an early career researcher and presenting innovative methodological synthesis work, and realised that my work was eligible for consideration. So I happily ticked the box. At the colloquium, I had completely forgotten that I had entered and did not realise that there were guests in my presentation from the awards committee. Only after receiving the award, did I realise the processes that were at play at the colloquium!

What does this award mean you, personally?
This award is particularly special to me because the work was inspired by my desire to make synthesis work accessible to my own community. The Thomas Chalmers Award has given me a chance to reflect on the work and reinforces my commitment to using art and visuals to make synthesis transdisciplinary, accessible, and inclusive. As an emerging researcher from the South, it means a lot to me to know that the global Cochrane community believes in my ideas too.

What’s been the impact to you, and your work, winning the Award?
The acknowledgement from the Cochrane community of the emerging method of storyboarding as synthesis inspires me to continue this trajectory of work. It means that others see the potential of using art and visualisation as a means of synthesising findings. We use visualisations in quantitative research through charts and figures and dissemination through infographics all the time, but in qualitative work, we are still cracking the code. I have always been a methodologist on the primary level and the thought of bringing art to life in the realm of evidence synthesis both excites and challenges me.  It is not about the recognition, it is about acknowledging that we are onto something new that others can relate to. I hope that this work inspires more experimentation and innovation using art in the different steps of syntheses.

What would be your message to other colleagues, Cochrane collaborators, who may consider entering for this particular award in the future?
If you are eligible, believe in your work and its potential to inspire others, then tick the box the next time you submit an abstract. The Thomas Chalmers Award offers an opportunity to make a positive impact in your chosen area. It's a chance to celebrate your achievements and inspire excellence.

Winner of the 2023 Thomas C Chalmers Award - Best Short Oral Presentation: Lynn Hendricks 

The Inclusive Health Research awards have been established by Nature Awards in partnership with Takeda to celebrate those who are driving a more inclusive approach to health research and, in doing so, promote a future of greater health equity globally.

The Inclusive Health Research awards aim to:

• Uncover innovation and best practice in inclusive health research that has been influenced by engagement with affected communities and their expert representatives.

• Recognize, promote and support institutions and individuals who are contributing to a diverse, patient- and affected community-inclusive research ecosystem.

• Build a library of case studies to share — and encourage wider adoption of — new ideas and best practice in the co-production of research to advance global health equity.

More than a pill

Submitted by Lynn Hendricks from the Stellenbosch University in South Africa, research took place in South Africa. More than a pill is a community led documentary and artistic exhibition co-designed to spark inter-stakeholder conversations about how environments could be enabled for young women living with perinatal infections of HIV to thrive. Life and growing up surrounded by treatment and stigma are complex – through these works we share our stories.

The co-production team comprised of young women, academics, policymakers, health care workers, and artistic curators from Cape Town, South Africa.

Winners of the Inclusive Health Research awards 2023. 

Global Minds PhD scholarships are awarded to outstanding proposals that address a development-related research topic, preferably linked to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals.

After obtaining their doctorate at KU Leuven and home institution, the doctoral candidates are expected to mobilise their expertise at the university in their home country in order to contribute to strengthening the capacity of that institution.

My PhD research focused on enabling environments for adherence to antiretoviral treatment for young women with perinatal infections of HIV from a new materialist perspective. 

PhD Global Minds Scholar Lynn Hendricks