Reproductive risk factors across the female lifecourse and later metabolic health.
Nichols AR, Chavarro JE, Oken E.
Cell Metab. 2024 02 06. 36(2):240-262. PMID: 38280383
Links
Overview
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, nominee
Harvard Medical School Department of Population Medicine
The University of Texas at Austin Outstanding Dissertation Award, nominee
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin Graduate Studies Fellowship
The University of Texas at Austin
American Society for Nutrition Emerging Leader in Nutrition Science Abstract Recognition Award
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation scholarship
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Nutritional Sciences Professional Development Award
Tyrell E. Flawn Graduate Fellowship in Nutrition
The University of Texas at Austin Dean's Prestigious Fellowship
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Nutritional Sciences Professional Development Award
American Society for Nutrition Predoctoral Fellowship
AAAS/Science Program for Excellence in Science, awardee
The University of Texas at Austin Recruitment Fellowship
Johnson & Wales University Outstanding Faculty Service Award
Bibliography
History of Infertility and Midlife Cardiovascular Health in Female Individuals.
Nichols AR, Rifas-Shiman SL, Switkowski KM, Zhang M, Young JG, Hivert MF, Chavarro JE, Oken E.
JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jan 02. 7(1):e2350424. PMID: 38180761
Weight Loss, Stability, and Low Weight Gain during Pregnancy among Individuals with Obesity: Associations with Adverse Perinatal Outcomes: An Observational Study.
Widen EM, Nichols AR, Harper L, Cahill A, Davis JN, Foster SF, Rickman RR, Xu F, Hedderson MM.
Am J Perinatol. 2023 Dec 23. PMID: 37967870
Associations of Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Exposures with Offspring Adiposity and Body Composition at 16-20 Years of Age: Project Viva.
Zhang M, Rifas-Shiman SL, Aris IM, Fleisch AF, Lin PD, Nichols AR, Oken E, Hivert MF.
Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Dec. 131(12):127002. PMID: 38054701
Highlights From the American Heart Association's EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2023.
Wallace AS, Ogungbe O, Sattler ELP, Aidoo E, Allen TS, Bernard L, Chen Y, Du S, Formagini T, Gaye B, King B, Kwon S, Larbi Kwapong F, Liu T, Makarem N, Mendez-Rodriguez H, Metlock FE, Moukaled S, Nichols AR, Ozkan B, Trivedi R, Turkson-Ocran RA, Wang FM, Wang C, Xu Y, Yin CY, Zhang M, Alonso A, Hivert MF.
J Am Heart Assoc. 2023 10 17. 12(20):e029894. PMID: 37804204
Prenatal Weight Change Trajectories and Perinatal Outcomes among Twin Gestations.
Nichols AR, Haeri S, Rudine A, Burns N, Rathouz PJ, Hedderson MM, Abrams SA, Foster SF, Rickman R, McDonnold M, Widen EM.
Am J Perinatol. 2023 Jul 11. PMID: 37164320
Novel approaches to examining weight changes in pregnancies affected by obesity.
Nichols AR, Burns N, Xu F, Foster SF, Rickman R, Hedderson MM, Widen EM.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 05. 117(5):1026-1034. PMID: 36878431
Prenatal weight and regional body composition trajectories and neonatal body composition: The NICHD Foetal Growth Studies.
Widen EM, Burns N, Kahn LG, Grewal J, Backlund G, Nichols AR, Rickman R, Foster S, Nhan-Chang CL, Zhang C, Wapner R, Wing DA, Owen J, Skupski DW, Ranzini AC, Newman R, Grobman W, Daniels MJ.
Pediatr Obes. 2023 03. 18(3):e12994. PMID: 36605025
Breastfeeding, socioeconomic status, and long-term postpartum weight retention.
Foster SF, Vazquez C, Cubbin C, Nichols AR, Rickman RR, Widen EM.
Int Breastfeed J. 2023 01 05. 18(1):1. PMID: 36600252
Body Composition Trajectories During the First 23 Months of Life Differ by HIV Exposure Among Infants in Western Kenya: A Prospective Study.
Rickman RR, Lane CE, Collins SM, Miller JD, Onono M, Wekesa P, Nichols AR, Foster SF, Shiau S, Young SL, Widen EM.
J Nutr. 2023 01. 153(1):331-339. PMID: 36913469
News
Metabolic disorders like diabetes linked to female reproductive factors
Certain female reproductive characteristics may be risk factors for developing metabolic disorders like diabetes later in life, according to a new study led by Harvard Chan School.
Infertility in women linked to worse cardiovascular health later in life
In women who have given birth, a history of infertility may be associated with poorer cardiovascular health in midlife, according to a study co-authored by Harvard Chan School researchers.
