Danielle Salmon
Research Associate
Dr. Danielle Salmon is the Head of Global Research at the International Rugby Players Association and an Injury Prevention Research Associate with the SHRed Concussion team at the University of Calgary. Previously, Danielle served as the Concussion and Research Manager at World Rugby, where she led the landmark Rugby Return to Play (RREP) Study—a pioneering, multi-system project aimed at optimizing players’ recovery and safe return to the game after concussion. She also spearheaded cutting-edge research initiatives including the Instrumented Mouthguard (iMG) and MicroRNA Saliva studies during the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Danielle contributes her expertise as a member of both the World Rugby Concussion Working Group and the Women’s Player Welfare Working Group.
Before joining World Rugby, she worked with New Zealand Rugby as a Concussion Research Scientist, where she developed and delivered a national community concussion education and management strategy through RugbySmart, implemented injury surveillance programs for Super Rugby, and coordinated the Otago Rugby Head Impact Detection Study.