Education

BA Biology, Whitman College, 1999
ND Medicine, Bastyr University, 2005
PhD Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 2017

Contact

fyfejohn@uw.edu

Bio

Amber Fyfe-Johnson, ND, PhD (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the College of Medicine at Washington State University and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her work is centered at the intersection of social determinants of health, outdoor nature-based exposures, and pediatric health equity. Trained in pediatrics and cardiovascular disease epidemiology, Dr. Fyfe-Johnson prioritizes evaluating the influence of exposure to nature on health behaviors, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and other physical and mental health outcomes in pediatric populations. Her work has three primary objectives. First, to explore the biological and social mechanisms by which early life adversity influences physical and mental health, and how exposure to nature acts as a protective factor. Specifically, how nature-based built environments and community contextual features influence stress, accelerated biological aging, and resilience in youth facing adversity. Second, to test interventions targeting pediatric health equity, specifically nature-based interventions that improve physical and mental health in youth facing financial instability and youth communities of color. Third, to inform policy decision-making to promote equitable access to nature, and the benefits thereof, for all children. Ultimately, Dr. Fyfe-Johnson’s research centers on social and environmental justice to optimize health equity in underrepresented youth and pediatric populations facing adversity.