Summary
Amy Fitch joined the School of Public Health faculty in 2008 after working in clinical research and in state and local health departments. She teaches both in-person and online courses in the undergraduate program and especially enjoys introducing students to the field through PBH 101: Foundations of Public Health. Her teaching also includes courses on the built environment and health, as well as injury and violence prevention. She served as the school's director of undergraduate studies from 2019 to 2022.
In recognition of her teaching excellence, Fitch received the university’s F. Donald Tibbitts Distinguished Teacher Award in 2020 and was the University of Nevada, Reno finalist for the Nevada Regents’ Teaching Award in 2021.
Fitch’s current research focuses on the health effects of heat waves, particularly among populations most vulnerable to extreme heat. Her work combines epidemiologic and spatial analysis methods, using tools such as ArcGIS Pro and GeoDa for spatial data analysis and mapping. She is an active member of the campus community and has served on several committees and panels, including the Campus Affairs Committee, the Non-Tenure Track Promotion Committee, the Core Curriculum Board and the Academic Integrity Board.
Research interests
- Extreme heat and urban heat islands
- Built environment, active transportation and green space
- Physical activity, injury prevention and air quality
Courses taught
- PBH 101: Foundations of Public Health
- PBH 340: Built Environment and Health
- PBH 446/646: Injury & Violence Prevention
Selected publications and presentations
- Fitch, A., Huang, M., Strickland, M. J., Newman, A. J., Kalb, C., Warren, J. L., Zheng, X., Chang, H. H. & Darrow, L. A. (2025). Preterm and early-term delivery after heat waves in eight U.S. states: A case-crossover study using the High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID). Environmental Health Perspectives, 133(8).
- Fitch, A., Huang, M., Strickland, M. J., Newman, A. J., Kalb, C., Warren, J. L., et al. (2025). Heat waves and early birth: Exploring vulnerability by individual- and area-level factors. GeoHealth, 9, e2025GH001348.
- Newman, A. J., Kalb, C., Chakraborty, T., Fitch, A., Darrow, L., Warren, J. L., Strickland, M. J., Holmes, H. A., Monaghan, A. J. & Chang, H. H. (2024). The High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID) daily for the conterminous United States. Scientific Data, 11, 1321.
- Fitch, A., Huang, M., Strickland, M. G., Newman, A. J., Kalb, C., Warren, J. L., Kelley, S., Zheng, X., Chang, H. H. & Darrow, L. A. (2024, June). Heat waves and preterm and early-term birth: Effect modification by maternal- and area-level vulnerability factors [Conference presentation]. Society for Epidemiologic Research Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.
- Fitch, A., Huang, M., Strickland, M. J., Newman, A. J., Kalb, C., Warren, J. L., Zheng, X., Chang, H. H. & Darrow, L. (2023, June). The effect of heat waves and preterm and early-term birth in three western U.S. states [Conference presentation]. Society for Epidemiologic Research Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.
- Hoeper, S., Granner, M. G. & Fitch, A. (2020). A natural experiment examining park activity before and after renovations: Baseline results [Poster presentation]. Nevada Public Health Association Annual Conference (Virtual).
- Rahill, K., Oman, R., Fitch, A. & Lu, M. (2020). Environmental factors, exercise behavior and fitness of U.S. airmen. Health Behavior & Policy Review. Advance online publication.
- Linden, H., Fitch, A., Emerson, A., Hoeper, S. & Granner, M. G. (2020). Maybe next time: Perspectives on community from Bike to Work Week non-participants. Health Behavior & Policy Review, 7(2), 110-119.
- Kelley, S., Klenke, C., Fitch, A., Bergrin, N., Hacker, A., Bean, L., Aguilera, M. & Krek, C. (2019, January). An assessment of bicycle commuting activity using STRAVA and implications for developing infrastructure [Conference presentation & poster]. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
- Linden, H., Fitch, A., Granner, M. & Dobbs, M. (2018, September). Formative research to inform program development and reduce food insecurity: Findings from Washoe County focus groups [Poster presentation]. Nevada Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
- Linden, H., Fitch, A., Emerson, A. & Granner, M. (2018, September). Maybe next time: Perspectives on bicycle commuting from Bike to Work Week non-participants [Poster presentation]. Nevada Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV. Fitch, A. (2013). Public transit and health [Invited presentation]. Transit Connections Summit, Regional Transportation Commission, Reno, NV.
Education
- Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Health, University of Nevada, Reno
- MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley
- B.A. in Psychology, University of Texas, Austin