In early November, the team at Ageing Well will be saying haere rā to our long-serving colleague Assistant Research Fellow Dr Lizhou Liu, who is leaving to take up another role at the University of Canterbury.
Dr Liu has been with Ageing Well since 2019 and has been an integral member of our tight-knit team.
“Dr Liu has been an indispensable part of our Ageing Well whānau and has expanded her role well outside the expectations of an academic research fellow,” said Ageing Well Director Professor David Baxter.
“In her time with the team, Lizhou has demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement and development, leading the adoption and establishment of our SmartSheet database to streamline reporting and management of our research projects, and has led numerous projects such as the Year in Review publications and preparing manuscripts for publication,” he added.
Originally trained as a physician in China, she came to Dunedin to complete a PhD at the University of Otago. Her primary research interests include acupuncture and integrative medicine, rehabilitation, gendered health, and knowledge translation. In the area of integrative medicine, she draws on conventional medical approaches, as well as complementary and alternative medicine, including acupuncture, tai chi, and photobiomodulation.
She was appointed by the Minister for Health as a Council Member of the newly formed Chinese Medicine Council under the umbrella of Te Whatu Ora, as well as a member of the New Zealand Acupuncture Standards Authority and the New Zealand Pain Society. Beyond this, she is a Registered Acupuncturist in New Zealand and a Registered Chinese Medical Doctor in China.
In recent years, Dr Liu’s role at Ageing Well has developed into a more advisory position, specifically for research and contracts, and she has stepped up and learned many new areas to round out her extensive expertise. She’s been an invaluable member of our team and her indefatigable work ethic and good humour has always brought sunshine to our office.
Dr Liu will finish up her role with Ageing Well in early November.
Professor Baxter added: “While we are incredibly sad to be saying goodbye to Lizhou, we look forward to keeping in touch, recognising that this next step will be a wonderful opportunity for Dr Liu to continue on her career journey and we wish her all the very best.”