Donna Hitt

Donna M. Hitt, PhD, is a Clinical Professor in Arizona State University's College of Health Solutions, Clinical Exercise Physiology MS Program Director, and Affiliate Faculty member in the ASU School of Medicine and Medical Engineering. Her work bridges clinical exercise physiology, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, chronic disease management, medical education, and learner-centered curriculum design.

Dr. Hitt prepares graduate students for applied clinical practice in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise testing, ECG interpretation, chronic disease care, and clinical internship settings. Her teaching emphasizes translating physiology into patient-centered decision-making: helping students move beyond memorization toward the clinical judgment, communication, and evidence-based reasoning required to care for complex populations.

Within SOMME, Dr. Hitt contributes to foundational sciences education through Homeostasis I course development, active learning, case-based instruction, and the integration of medical education platforms including Lecturio, Osmosis, ScholarRx, and Case Creator. She brings to this work a long-standing commitment to building courses that are rigorous, humane, accessible, and grounded in the realities of clinical practice.

Across her academic leadership roles, Dr. Hitt has led curriculum coordination, academic program review, assessment planning, graduate admissions, student mentoring, faculty mentoring, clinical placement oversight, and cross-program collaboration. She has mentored graduate and undergraduate students in research, honors thesis work, professional presentations, comprehensive exam preparation, and clinical career development.

At the center of Dr. Hitt's work is a practical and human question: how do we prepare health professionals who can connect science, clinical judgment, compassion, and action? Her teaching, mentoring, and curriculum work are organized around that question.