Michael Robbins, PhD

My research interests are to investigate biological, psychological and social
correlates of cognitive aging. Since 1981 my major research activity has
involved collaboration with Merrill F. Elias on the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal
Study (MSLS). Beginning at Syracuse University in 1975 and moving to the
University of Maine in 1977, the MSLS continued uninterrupted for more than
33 years thanks to support from the National Institute on Aging (NIH) and the
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH). This community-based study
offers students and faculty opportunities for archival data analysis focusing on
relations among newly recognized and traditional risk factors for
cardiovascular disease and cognitive performance across the adult lifespan.
Some examples of variables in the data base are as follows: blood pressure,
diabetes, blood glucose levels, adiposity, depression, anxiety, stroke,
cardiovascular disease, homocysteine, lipids, ApoE e4, arterial stiffness
(indexed by pulse wave velocity), smoking, alcohol consumption, vitamin B12,
vitamin B6, folate, functional disability, activities of daily living, stroke and
dementia history. The MSLS offers longitudinal and cross-sectional data on
these risk factors and an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests.
Collaborators have included faculty at the University of Maine, Boston
University, the University of Virginia, the University of Southern California,
Oxford University (UK), the University or Birmingham (UK) and Australian
National University.