[1] She graduated in 1990, before moving to Columbia University to complete a master's degree in public health.
[citation needed] She remained at Columbia for her graduate studies, where she investigates the health of migrants.
[3] She studied the social forces that impact health inspection of migrants and disease surveillance and privacy.
[5] She looked at the impacts of fear-based public health campaigns, such as Michael Bloomberg's efforts on tobacco use, obesity and HIV.
[7][8] After twenty years at Columbia, Fairchild returned to Texas A&M University, where she served as Associate Dean and Vice President for Faculty Affairs.