Dr Elisabeth Williams is a senior lecturer in applied biomechanics at Swansea University in Wales.

Dr Williams’ current research interests lie in head impact biomechanics in contact sports, with a particular focus on female athletes and rugby union. Current projects include the quantification of head impact magnitudes using instrumented mouthguards to develop effective training strategies for the promotion of athlete wellbeing. She is a co-founder of a traumatic brain injury research network and principle investigator of the 2020 Women’s Rugby Union Global Survey, which received almost 2000 responses from 62 countries, in nine languages.

Dr Williams was the scientific lead in the development of an instrumented mouthguard for rugby union, which is now being used commercially. Her research background is in forensic science, with a particular focus on the biomechanical aspects of crime scene reconstruction in relation to bloodstain pattern analysis and other evidence. Dr Williams hails from Papakura, New Zealand and is a former New Zealand track cycling representative