Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Amy Phelps is an Associate Professor of Practice in Statistics at the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business. She coordinates the multi-section, two-semester sequence of Business Analytics required for all undergraduate business majors. 

Dr. Phelps strives to ehance the instruction of Business Analytics by seeking methods that provide students with practical skills and real-life applications. This is achieved through the use of statistical software and her dedication to service learning. This allows her students to see applications of statistics first-hand while helping local non-profit organizations assess their programs.

Dr. Phelps' research background is specialized in biostatistics. She consults with the anesthesiology department at Magee Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh and is widely published in journals, including International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia, Journal of Clinical Anesthesia and The Journal of Pain.

Education

  • Ph.D., Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
  • M.S., Statistics, Ohio State University
  • M.S., Physiology, Ohio University
  • B.A., Mathematics, Ohio University

Research Interests

Dr. Phelps' research focuses on two diverse areas of interest. The first area focuses on finding and providing the best instruction for teaching applied statistics to a general audience. Business students seldom major in statistics but need to be able to understand and apply evidence-based research to make sound business decisions. The continual quest to use realistic and applied problems as a fundamental pedagogy to learning statistics has led naturally toward the implementation of service-learning projects in the classroom.

Additionally, in response to concerns that students are not able to use statistics in higher level courses, Dr. Phelps is revising and assessing new curricula to improve student learning. Therefore, her current statistical education research focuses on service learning pedagogy and case studies in applied statistics.

Her second area of interest leans into her roots of academic instruction in biostatistics and public health. For over 10 years, Dr. Phelps has been consulting with the anesthesia department at Magee Womens Hospital, exploring a variety of ways anesthesia can provide an improved experience for laboring woman while also reducing the risks and incidence of adverse neo-natal and maternal outcomes.

Outcomes studied through this varied research have included periodontal disease as a risk factor in pre-term births, the use of nitrous oxide in reducing anxiety, continuous versus patient controlled analgesia, factors reducing maternal fever, and the use of ultrasound in reducing failed placement of epidurals.

School

Palumbo-Donahue School of Business
  • Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2017-2018

External
  • Research Grant, The Hillman Foundation, 2020-2021
  • Natalia Morone Pain Research Challenge Grant, The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), University of Pittsburgh, 2017

Articles in Journals

Beidler, E., Bretzin, A. C., Schmitt, A. J., & Phelps, A. L. (2021). Factors Associated with Parent and Youth Athlete Concussion Knowledge. Journal of Safety Research, 80, 190-197.

Hannah, D. C., Scibek, J. S., Carcia, C. R., & Phelps, A. L. (2021). Bilateral Asymmetries of Humeral Retroversion in Junior and Collegiate Tennis Players. Journal of Athletic Training, 56(12), 1-6.

Polaski, A. M., Phelps, A. L., Smith, T. J., Morone, N. E., Szucs, K. A., Matthew C. Kostek, & Benedict J. Kolber (2021). Integrated Meditation and Exercise Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Pilot of a Combined Nonpharmacological Intervention Focused on Reducing Disability and Pain in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain. Pain Medicine, 22(2), 444-458.

Carroll, L. A., Kivlan, B. R., Martin, R. L., Phelps, A. L., & Carcia, C. R. (2021). The Single Leg Squat Test: A. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 16(2), 360-370.

Cacolice, P. A., Carcia, C., Scibek, J., & Phelps, A. L. (2020). Ground Reaction Forces Are Predicted With Functional and Clinical Tests in Healthy Collegiate Students. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(2907), 1-20.

McGovern, R. P., Martin, R. L., Phelps, A. L., Kivlan, B. R., Nickel, B., John J Christoforetti, AHN (2020). Conservative management acutely improves functional movement and clinical outcomes in patients with pre-arthritic hip pain. Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery, 1-8, doi: 10.1093/jhps/hnz075.

Polaski, A. M., Phelps, A. L., Szucs, K. A., Ramsey, A. M., Kostek, M. C., & Benedict J. Kolber (2019). The Dosing of Aerobic Exercise Therapy on Experimentally-induced Pain in Healthy Female Participants. Scientific Reports, 9.


McGovern, R., Martin, R., Kivlan, B., Phelps, A., & Christoforetti, J. (2019). Evidence for Inter-Rater Reliability and Validity of Functional Performance Testing in the Evaluation of Non-Arthritic Hip Pain. Journal of Athletic Training, 54 (2) ., doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-33-18.

Polaski, A. M., Phelps, A. L., Kostek, M. C., Szucs, K. A., & Kolber, B. J. (2019). Exercise-induced hypoalgesia: A meta-analysis of exercise dosing for the treatment of chronic pain. PLOS ONE, 14 (1) , 1-29, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210418.

Polaski, A. M., Phelps, A. L., Szucs, K. A., Ramsey, A. M., Kostek, M. C., Benedict J. Kolber (2019). The dosing of aerobic exercise therapy on experimentally-induced pain in healthy female participants. Scientific Reports.

Hannah, D. C., Scibek, J., Carcia, C. R., & Phelps, A. L. (2018). Reliability and Validity of a 1-Person Technique to Measure Humeral Torsion Using Ultrasound. Journal of Athletic Training, 53 (6) , 590-596, doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-213-17.

Phelps, A. L. & Szabat, K. (2017). The Current Landscape of Teaching Analytics to Business Students at Institutions of Higher Education: American Statistician.

Phelps, A.L., Attaallah, A. F., Elzamzamy, O. M., Ranganthan, P., & Vallejo, M. C. (in press, 2016). Improving Operating Room Efficiency through Electronic Medical Record Quality Improvement Analysis. Journal of Perioperative Practice, 26 (5), 106-108.

Phelps, A.L., Provenzano, David A. Provenzano A., Deer, T., Drennen, Z. C., Thomson, S., Salim M. Hayek, Samer Narouze, Maunak V. Rana, Tyler W. Watson, Asokumar Buvanendran (2016). An International Survey to Understand Infection Control Practices for Spinal Cord Stimulation. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, 19 (1)., doi: 10.1111/ner.12356.

Phelps, A.L., Kivlan, B. R., Carcia, C. R., Clemente, F. R., & Martin, R. L. (2015). The effect of Astym ® Therapy on muscle strength: a blinded, randomized, clinically controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 16 (325)., doi: 10.1186/s12891-015-0778-9.

Phelps, A.L., Cacolice,, P. A., Carcia, C. R., & Scibek, J. S. (2015). The Use of Functional Tests to Predict Sagittal Plane Knee Kinematics in NCAA-D1 Female Athletes. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 10 (4), 493-504.

Phelps, A.L., Ranganathan, P., Golfeiz, C., Singh, S., Shnol, H., Paul N, Attaallah AF, & Vallejo MC. (2014). Chronic headache and backache are long-term sequelae of unintentional dural puncture in the obstetric population. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia.

Phelps, A.L., Chamsy, D. J., Louie, M. Y., Lum, D. A., & Mansuria, Suketu M. MANSURIA M. (2014). Clinical utility of postoperative hemoglobin level testing following total laparoscopic hysterectomy. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 211 (3), 224.e1-7.

Phelps, A. L. & Spangler, W. E. (2013). Customized versus Standardized Exams for Learning Outcomes Assessment in an Undergraduate Business Program. American Journal of Business Education, 6 (5), 521-530.

Phelps, A.L., Kivlan, B. R., Carcia, C. R., Clemente, F. R., & Martin, R. L. (2013). Functional Performance Testing For Hip Dysfunction in Dancers. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 8 (4).

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M. C., Cobb, B. T., Steen, T. L., & Singh, S. (2013). Maternal Outcomes in Women Supplemented with a High Protein Drink in Labour. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 53 (4), 369-374.

Phelps, A.L., Singh, S., Wirth, K., Badve, M., Shah, T., Neera Sah and Manuel C. Vallejo (2013). Epidural Catheter Placement in Morbidly Obese Parturients with the Use of an Epidural Depth Equation Prior to Ultrasound Visualization. Scientific World Journal, 2013 (Article ID 695209), 6 pages.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M. C., Best, M. W., O'Donnell, J. M., Sah, N., Richard P. Kidwell and John P. Williams (2012). Perioperative Dental Injury at a Tertiary Care Health System: An Eight Year Audit of 816,690 Anesthetics. Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, 31 (3), 25-32.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Ibinson, J., & Barnes, L. (2012). Aprepitant Plus Ondansetron Compared to Ondansetron Alone in Reducing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Ambulatory Patients Undergoing Plastic Surgery. Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 129 (2), 519-526.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M. C., Steen, T. L., Cobb, B. T., Pomerantz, J. M., Steven L. Orebaugh and Jacques E. Chelly (2012). Efficacy of the Bilateral Ilioinguinal-Iliohypogastric Block with Intrathecal Morphine for Postoperative Cesarean Delivery Analgesia. Scientific World Journal, 2012 (107316), 1-6.

Phelps, A. L. (2012). Stepping from service-learning to SERVICE-LEARNING pedagogy. Journal of Statistics Education, 20 (3).

Phelps, A.L., Dusi, J., Borello-France, D., George, S., & Somers, D. (2012). Assessing physical therapy outcomes for women with urinary incontinence. Journal of Women's Health Physical Therapy, 36, 78-89.

Phelps, A.L. (2011). The Influence of Heel Height on Sagittal Plane Knee Kinematics during Landing Tasks in Recreationally Active Collegiate Females. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 6 (3), 186-198.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Singh, S., Orebaugh, S., & Sah, N. (2010). Ultrasound Decreases the Failed Labor Epidural Rate in Resident Trainees. International Journal of Obstetrics Anesthesia, 19(4).

Phelps, A.L., Chaudry, S., Singh, S., & Vallejo, M. (2009). A 5-Year Audit of Accidental Dural Punctures, Postdural Puncture Headaches, and Failed Regional Anesthetics at a Tertiary-Care Medical Center. Scientific World Journal, 1 (9), 715-722.

Phelps, A.L., Mantha, V., Vallejo, M., & Ramesh, V. (2008). Studying Student Benefits of Assigning a Service Learning Project Compared to a Traditional Final Project in a Business Statistics Class. International Journal of Obstetrics Anesthesia, 17 (2), 123-129.

Phelps, A.L., Mantha, V., Vallejo, M., & Ramesh, V. (2008). The Incidence of Maternal Fever during Labor is Less with Intermittent than with Continuous Epidural Analgesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Obstetrics Anesthesia, 17 (2), 123-129.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Ramesh, V., & Sah, N. (2007). Epidural Labor Analgesia: Continuous Infusion vs Patient Controlled Epidural Analgesia with Background Infusion vs without a Background Infusion. The Journal of Pain, 8 (12), 970-975.

Phelps, A.L., Sah, N., Vallejo, M., Finegold, H., & Mandell, G. (2007). Efficacy of Ropivacaine, Bupivacaine, and Levobupivacaine for Labor Epidural Analgesia. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 19 (3), 214-217.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Sah, N., ODonnell, J., & Romeo, J. (2007). Desflurane vs. sevoflurane for laparoscopic gastroplasy in morbidly obese patients. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 19 (1), 3-8.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Sah, N., Romeo, R., & Falk, J. (2006). Preemptive Analgesia with Bupicacaine for Segmental Masectomy. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 31 (3), 227-232.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Shepherd, C., Golebiewski, K., & Kaul, B. (2005). Nitrous Oxide Anxiolysis for Elective Cesarean Section. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, (17), 543-548.

Phelps, A.L., Kaul, B., Vallejo, M., Ramanathan, S., & Mandell, G. (2004). Induction of Labor with Oxytocin Increases Cesarean Section Rate as Compared to Oxytocin for Augmentation of Labor in Nulliparous Parturients Controlled for Lumbar Epidural Analgesia. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 16 (6).

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Kaul, B., Adler, L., & Craven, C. (2001). Chorioamnionitis, Not Epidural Analgesia, is Associated with Maternal Fever During Labor. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, 28 (11), 1122-1126.

Phelps, A.L. & Weissfeld, L. (1997). A Comparison of Dependence Estimators in Bivariate Copula Models. Communications in Statistics-Simulation and Computation, 26 (4), 1583-1597.

Phelps, A.L., Fine, M., Singer, D., Hanusa, B., & Kapoor, W. (1993). Differences in Length of Hospital Stay in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Prospective Four-Hospital Study. Medical Care, 31 (4), 3771-380.

Phelps, A.L., Fine, M., Hanusa, B., Stone, R., & Kapoor, W. (1990). Heparin in the Initial Treatment of Venous Thrombosis (II). New England Journal of Medicine, 323 (12), 830.

Phelps (Luginbuhl), A., Dudley, G., & Staron, R. (1984). Fiber Type Changes in Rat Skeletal Muscle after Intense Interval Training. Histochemistry.

Phelps, (Luginbuhl), A.J., Dudley, G. A., Staron, R. S., Murray, T. F., & Hagerman, F. C., (1983). Muscle Fiber Composition and Blood Ammonia Levels after Intense Exercise in Humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 54 (2), 582-586.

Chapters

Phelps, A.L., Attaallah, A., Elzamzamy, O., & Ranganthan, P. (2016). Using AIMS to Predict OR Scheduling Errors. Anesthesiology News, 42 (4), 6-13.

Phelps, A.L., Vallejo, M., Attaallah, A., Cifarelli, D., & Elzamzamy, O. (2015). Comparison of Continuous IV Phenylephrine vs. Norepinephrine Infusion in Prevention of Spinal Hypotension During Caesarean Delivery: Assessment of Hemodynamic Parameters and Maternal Outcome. European Journal of Anesthesiology, Volume 32 | e-Supplement 53 page165.