Hans Strijdom grew up in the city bowl of Cape Town where he attended Jan van Riebeeck primary and high school. He matriculated in 1986 and commenced his medical studies at Stellenbosch University in 1987. After completing his first year, he went to Europe for a gap year and explored different countries and cultures on the backpacking trail. In 1989 he returned to South Africa to continue his MBChB studies at the medical school in Tygerberg. In 1991, Hans was selected to do the Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSc) degree, which he obtained at the end of that year with distinctions in physiology and pharmacology. He resumed his MBChB studies in 1992 and graduated in 1994. After completing his internship in Ngwelezana Hospital on the North coast of Kwazulu-Natal, Hans spent almost 2 years in the UK as a medical officer in various hospitals. He returned to South Africa in 1997 and joined the medical emergency unit of Karl Bremer Hospital in Bellville until June 1998, when he was appointed lecturer at the Division of Medical Physiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences (Stellenbosch University). He has since completed his PhD (2006) under supervision of Prof Amanda Lochner and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2007.

Hans enjoys his role as lecturer thoroughly, and is very popular amongst the students. He has also been successful as a basic science researcher, despite making a rather late entry into the world of research at the "ripe" old age of 30. He has developed a special interest in the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the heart, and has recently embarked on a major project looking at endothelial dysfunction in the heart, together with his team of postgraduate students, for which he received substantial NRF funding. In his free time, Hans is chairman of a non-profit youth exchange program, Youth for Understanding South Africa, which encourages intercultural understanding by means of international youth exchange.