Adam
P.
Spira
,
PhD

Professor
Adam Spira

Departmental Affiliations

Mental Health
Primary

Center & Institute Affiliations

View Current Courses

Adam Spira, PhD, MA, studies how healthy sleep can protect against poor outcomes in later life, including cognitive and functional decline, and Alzheimer's disease pathology.

Contact Info

624 N. Broadway, Hampton House 794
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        
410-614-9498
410-614-7469
aspira2@jhu.edu

Research Interests

Aging; Sleep disturbances; Alzheimer's disease; Cognitive decline; Functional decline; Anxiety; Depression
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
West Virginia University
2004
MA
West Virginia University
2001
BA
State University of New York at Stony Brook
1998
Overview
Adam Spira is Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Faculty in the Department of Mental Health. His research is focused on: 1) disturbed sleep as a risk factor for poor health outcomes in older adults, including cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, and functional decline; and 2) psychopathology and its links with both sleep and cognition in older people.
Honors & Awards
Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Student Assembly, May 2018 Fellow, Gerontological Society of America, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, May 2015 Insomnia Section Investigator Award, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, June 2013 Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Student Assembly, May 2013 Barry Lebowitz Early Career Scientist Award, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, March 2013 International Junior Investigator Award, International College of Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology, June 2009 JHSPH Faculty Innovation Fund Award, 2009-2010 Licensed psychologist in Maryland (# 04619, expires 03/31/2023) Admitted to National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program, July 2007 Completed National Institute of Mental Health Summer Research Institute in Geriatric Psychiatry, July 2005 Higher Education Research Fund Fellowship, West Virginia University, 2002, 1999 Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, State University of New York at Stony Brook, June 1998
Select Publications
Recent publications:
  • Alfini, A. J., Albert, M., Faria, A. V., Soldan, A., Pettigrew, C., Wanigatunga, S. K., Zipunnikov, V., & Spira, A. P. (2021). Associations of actigraphic sleep and circadian rest/activity rhythms with cognition in the early phase of Alzheimer’s disease. SLEEP Advances, 2(1), zpab007. eCollection 2021.
  • Rojo-Wissar, D. M., Wanigatunga, A. A., Simonsick, E. M., Terracciano, A., Wu, M. N., Zipunnikov, V., Schrack, J. A., Hossain, S., Ferrucci, L., Costa, P. T., & Spira, A. P. (2021). Personality and insomnia symptoms in older adults: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. SLEEP. Epub ahead of print: Apr 1.
  • Tzuang, M., Owusu, J. T., Huang, J., Sheehan, O. C., Rebok, G. W., Paudel, M. L., Wickwire, E. M., Kasper, J. D., & Spira, A. P. (2021). Associations of insomnia symptoms with subsequent health services use among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries. SLEEP, 44(5), zsaa251.
  • Owusu, J. T., Doty, S. B., Adjaye-Gbewonyo, D, Bass, J. K., Wilcox, H. C., Gallo, J. J., & Spira, A. P. (2020). Association of sleep characteristics with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among adults aged 50 and older with depressive symptoms in low- and middle-income countries. Sleep Health, 6(1), 92-99.
  • Spira, A. P., An, Y., Wu, M. N., Owusu, J. T., Simonsick, E. M., Bilgel, M., Ferrucci, L., Wong, D. F., & Resnick, S. M. (2018). Excessive daytime sleepiness and napping in cognitively normal adults: Associations with subsequent amyloid deposition measured by PiB PET. SLEEP, 41(10).
See all publications by Adam P. Spira
Projects
Poor Sleep Altered Circadian Rhythms and Alzheimers Disease (R01AG050507; PI: Spira)
Stress, Mental Disorders, Accelerated Aging, and Dementia: a 35-year Cohort Study (U01AG052445; MPIs: A. P. Spira & W. W. Eaton)
The ARIC Study of Midlife Sleep and Late-Life Brain Amyloid (RF1AG050745; MPIs: A. P. Spira & R. F. Gottesman)
Actigraphic Assessment of Sleep Quality in the A4 Trial (R01AG049872; MPIs: P. B. Rosenberg & A. P. Spira)
Waking up to Climate Change: Cool Roofs, Sleep, and Health in Baltimore City
Energy Expenditure, Physical Activity, and Alzheimer's Disease in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging