Amy R. Nichols, PhD, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Science from Colorado State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nutritional Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. Building on her extensive experience in clinical and community maternal and child dietetics, her interdisciplinary research focuses on the nutritional, biological, and social aspects of the preconception period through the first 1000 days with a translational emphasis on modifiable determinants that affect the lifecourse. Leveraging data from Project Viva, the focus of her fellowship is to examine the extent to which evidence of impaired fertility and reproductive risk factors will be associated with body composition, bone health, and cardiometabolic outcomes among females in midlife. Previously, her doctoral work utilized advanced trajectory modeling to investigate effects of prenatal nutrition exposures on short-term maternal and neonatal outcomes in high-risk pregnancies. This work was partially funded by the American Society for Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
PhD, Nutritional Sciences
The University of Texas at Austin
MS, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
BA, Anthropology, English; Minor: Biology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Department of Population Medicine Gordon Moore Award for Excellence in Mentoring, nominee2023
Harvard Medical School Department of Population Medicine
The University of Texas at Austin Outstanding Dissertation Award, nominee2023
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin Graduate Studies Fellowship2022
The University of Texas at Austin
American Society for Nutrition Emerging Leader in Nutrition Science Abstract Recognition Award2021
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation scholarship2021
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Nutritional Sciences Professional Development Award2021
Tyrell E. Flawn Graduate Fellowship in Nutrition2020
The University of Texas at Austin Dean's Prestigious Fellowship2019
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Nutritional Sciences Professional Development Award2019
American Society for Nutrition Predoctoral Fellowship2019
AAAS/Science Program for Excellence in Science, awardee2019-2021
The University of Texas at Austin Recruitment Fellowship2016
Johnson & Wales University Outstanding Faculty Service Award2015