Dr. Fiske received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Stanford University, her Master of Arts degree in social psychology from San Francisco State University and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology with a focus on aging from the University of Southern California.  She completed an internship at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.  She completed postdoctoral work and a visiting faculty appointment at the University of Southern California.  She joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University in 2005.  

Dr. Fiske’s primary research interests involve the etiology of depression and suicidal behavior in late life and the implications for prevention. One focus is the interface between cognitive impairment and late-onset depression and suicide.  Another emphasis is on the role of physical illness in depression and suicide among older adults.  A current project is examining genetic and environmental influences on suicide in the Swedish Twin Registry.  Graduate student projects in her lab currently include investigations of depression and Parkinson’s disease; predictors of medically-serious suicide attempts in older adults; disability, social support and depression in older adults.

Representative Publications: 

Fiske, A., O'Riley, A. A., & Widoe, R. K. (in press). Physical health and suicide in late life. Clinical Gerontologist. 

Fiske, A., & O’Riley, A. (in press). Late life depression. In J. D. Hunsley & A. J. Mash (Eds.), A Guide to Assessments That Work. New York: Oxford University Press. 

Fiske, A., & Gatz, M. (2007). The Apartment Test: Validity of a memory measure. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 14, 441-461. 

Fiske, A. (2006).  The nature of depression in late life.  In S. Qualls & B. G. Knight (Eds.), Psychotherapy for Depression in Older Adults (pp. 29-44). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 

Fiske, A., Gatz, M., & Hannell, E. (2005). Rural suicide rates and availability of health care providers. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 537-543. 

Fiske, A., Gatz, M., Aadnøy, B., & Pedersen, N. L. (2005). Assessing age of dementia onset: Validity of informant reports. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 19, 128-134. 

Fiske, A., Gatz, M., & Hannell, E. (2005). Rural suicide rates and availability of health care providers. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 537-543. 

Fiske, A., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2003). Depressive symptoms and aging: The effects of illness and non-health related events. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 58, P320-P328. 

Fiske, A., & Arbore, P. (2000-2001). Future directions in late life suicide prevention.  Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying, 42, 37-53.

Current Grant Funding: 

Older Adult Suicide: Genetic and Environmental Influences. 

NIH R15 MH080399.  Amy Fiske, P.I. 

Project Description. Although there is strong evidence of genetic influence on fatal suicidal behavior, little is known about exactly what it is that is inherited and the extent to which these genetic factors may be implicated in suicide among older adults.  Our long-term goal is to understand key factors that predispose toward fatal suicidal behaviors in older adults, in order that more effective preventive strategies can be developed and implemented.  The objective of this application, which is the next step toward that goal, is to identify factors that moderate or mediate the expression of genetic influences on fatal suicidal behavior in late life.  Our central hypothesis is that fatal suicidal behavior is influenced by genetic factors that will be more prominent in late life and that are, in part, independent of genetic predispositions toward personality traits or psychiatric disorders.  The rationale for the proposed study is that a delineation of specific genetic factors that influence risk of fatal suicidal behavior in late life would both provide a conceptual framework for more focused research in the future, and provide a basis on which at-risk older individuals might be identified for preventive intervention.  We plan to test our central hypothesis and accomplish the overall objective of this application by pursuing the following two specific aims:  1) Identify key factors that influence expression of genetic risk.  2) Identify mediators of genetic influence on fatal suicidal behavior.  We will apply univariate and multivariate structural equation twin models to data spanning three decades from the Swedish Twin Registry, linked to data from the Swedish Inpatient Register and the Swedish Death Register.  At the conclusion of the proposed study, we expect to have established the magnitude of genetic influences on suicide, whether genetic factors vary as a function of age or sex, and the extent to which genetic influences reflect genetically-predisposed neuroticism, depression, alcohol abuse, cognitive dysfunction, or as-yet-undetermined factors, providing the knowledge needed to narrow the search for specific genes or environmental factors that may increase the risk of suicide in older adults.