Divya Prasad – Victor Dahdaleh Foundation Scholarship
Email: divya.prasad@jesus.ox.ac.uk
Programme: DPhil, Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Biography (IN ENGLISH): Divya Prasad is a third-year DPhil student and Clarendon Scholar in Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry. Raised in Brampton, Ontario, she completed an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree at McMaster University, which fostered her appreciation for diverse perspectives and sparked her interest in psychiatric research.
Following this, Divya pursued an MSc in Neuroscience at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Benicio Frey, with research focused on women’s mental health across key reproductive transitions. For her thesis, Divya investigated borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms during the perinatal period, a space that was underexplored despite the interpersonal challenges of BPD and the intense relational demands of motherhood. Divya also led a systematic review examining suicide risk in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, finding that this condition confers significant risk for suicidal ideation and attempt. Her MSc work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and cited over 120 times.
After graduating, Divya worked as a research analyst at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, where she interviewed patients undergoing a novel remote alcohol withdrawal management program. For Divya, these conversations offered firsthand insight into the challenges that patients faced within the Canadian mental healthcare system and deepened her curiosity about how to improve the accessibility and efficacy of psychiatric treatments.
In 2022, Divya began her DPhil in Psychiatry after receiving the competitive Clarendon Scholarship and a departmental studentship. Under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Reinecke and Dr. Amy Gillespie, her current research explores the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) – typically known for regulating blood pressure – in cognitive processes relevant to psychiatric disorders. Using experimental medicine trials, Divya administers either losartan (a safe RAS-modulating drug) or placebo to healthy participants before they complete cognitive assessments. This approach allows her to establish foundational knowledge about how the RAS influences key processes relevant to mental health, including memory, cognitive flexibility, and emotional processing, which could help assess this system’s potential as a novel therapeutic target for psychiatric intervention. In 2024, Divya designed a novel trial investigating the impacts of losartan on social processing, for which she received the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre’s Pump-Priming Award. Since beginning her DPhil, she has presented her research at international conferences from Toronto to Seoul.
Beyond her DPhil, Divya has made several meaningful contributions to the Oxford community. She currently serves as a Junior Dean at St. Hilda’s College and has previously served on the undergraduate admissions panel at Jesus College. Further, Divya has tutored for several undergraduate psychology and neuroscience courses at Oxford, in addition to guest lecturing at Jesus College’s annual Seren Summer School since 2023. Divya’s interests in research and student engagement serve her two overarching career goals: enhancing quality of life for patients suffering from mental illness, and encouraging interest in psychiatry through mentorship.
