Rate My Professor Liz Liu

Liz Liu, PhD, is a lecturer and researcher in the School of Physiotherapy within the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Physiotherapy from the University of Otago in 2017, with her doctoral thesis titled "Acupuncture for the management of low back pain." Prior to her PhD, she completed a seven-year combined Bachelor-Master program in the Clinical Discipline of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2012.

Liu's academic interests focus on evidence-based complementary and integrative therapies, including acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine for pain management, musculoskeletal disorders, and rehabilitation. Her research encompasses chronic low back pain, breast cancer rehabilitation through Tai Chi and low-level laser therapy, acupoint sensitization, men's health, ageing well, and supportive care needs for prostate cancer patients, addressing ethnic differences in New Zealand. She has authored over 50 research outputs, accumulating more than 800 citations and 7,500 reads. Key publications include "Acupuncture for Low Back Pain: An Overview of Systematic Reviews" (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015), "Acupuncture for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled feasibility trial comparing treatment session numbers" (Clinical Rehabilitation, 2017), "The effectiveness of tai chi in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis" (Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2020), "Complementary and alternative medicine - practice, attitudes, and knowledge among healthcare professionals in New Zealand: an integrative review" (Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2021), and "Acupoints sensitization in people with and without chronic low back pain: A matched-sample cross-sectional study" (Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 2023).

Since 2014, Liu has held positions at the University of Otago as a research assistant and acupuncturist from 2016, alongside serving as a Research Fellow at the Ageing Well National Science Challenge until 2023. She has supervised doctoral students and contributed to acupuncture reporting standards such as STRICTA.