Rate My Professor Divya Adhia

Dr. Divya Bharatkumar Adhia is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Otago's Dunedin School of Medicine, part of the Faculty of Medicine in the Health Sciences Division. She earned her Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) and Master of Physiotherapy (MPhty) in Manual Therapy from Manipal University in India, where she received multiple distinctions and awards, including Best Outgoing Student and Best Poster Award at the All India Physiotherapy Conference in 2008. Adhia moved to New Zealand and was awarded the University of Otago International Master’s Award in 2010 and PhD Scholarship in 2011, completing her PhD focused on neuromodulation research. As an early career researcher, she has progressed to leading projects as principal investigator, co-supervising students, and securing competitive funding such as the Health Research Council Emerging Researcher First Grant ($209,995) in 2020 for a pilot study on novel non-invasive neuromodulation for chronic low back pain. Additional funding includes contributions from Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust and DSM Dean’s Bequest Fund in 2019. She serves on the committee for the Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours Programme at Otago Medical School and acts as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Audiology.

Adhia's research centers on non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, including neurofeedback and transcranial electrical stimulation, to treat thalamocortical dysrhythmia disorders such as chronic pain (low back pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, musculoskeletal pain), tinnitus, mood disorders (anxiety, depression), stroke, mild cognitive impairment, early Alzheimer’s disease, and obesity. She employs electroencephalography (EEG), machine learning, and hyperscanning to identify cortical targets and analyze brain activity. Key publications include 'EEG connectivity features associated with fibromyalgia revealed by machine learning' (Li et al., 2026, Frontiers in Pain Research); 'Investigating the feasibility and safety of transcranial infraslow gray noise stimulation as a potential treatment for generalized anxiety disorder' (van Sleeuwen et al., 2025, Scientific Reports); 'Machine learning-based identification of abnormal functional connectivity in obesity across different metabolic states' (Yue et al., 2026, Communications Medicine); and 'Authors' reply: Bridging neurofeedback and structural connectivity in chronic pain' (Bialostocki et al., 2026, JMIR Research Protocols). Earlier awards encompass the 2014 University of Otago Postgraduate Publishing Bursary Award ($7,500) and various academic distinctions from 2002 to 2014.