Sharif Hozoori is originally from Afghanistan and holds PhD in international relations from the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament (CIPOD) in the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and a master's in international relations from South Asian University in New Delhi.

Cornell Chronicle: For Afghan Scholar, Cornell is a Step on a Longer Journey

He taught both undergraduates and graduate students in Afghanistan, and he was the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Afghanistan before leaving the country in August 2021.

Currently he is an IIE-SRF fellow and visiting scholar at the Einaudi Center's South Asia Program. His area of research is Afghanistan politics and foreign policy, ethnic identity, South Asia politics, cultural studies, and conflict resolution and peace. Hozoori is a 2022–23 Global Public Voices fellow.