Merrill Elias

Emeritus Professor of Psychology
mfelias@maine.edu
207.581.2051

Biography

Merrill F. Elias, Emeritus Professor of Psychology. joined the UM faculty in 1975. His previous appointments included Duke University School of Medicine and Syracuse University.

Professor Elias retired in 2018 but is still active in research in the biomedical sciences. He affiliated with the the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2007 and is affiliated with the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, representing neuropsychology and epidemiology. He is a Lifetime Fellow in the American Heart Association.

His research support has come from NSF, NIH, and NATO. He is currently director of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS).

Education

  • Purdue University, Experimental Psychology, MS, PhD (1963)
  • Duke University Center for Aging and Human Development, post-doctoral (1971)
  • Allegheny College, BA (1960), Boston University School of Public Health
  • Biostatistics and Epidemiology, MPH (1996)

Research Interests

Professor Elias’s research combines interests in cognitive functioning, dementia and cardiovascular disease. His major research activity focuses on the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS). 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.

Selected Publications

Elias, M.F., & Brown, C.J. (2023). Medical foods for lowering homocysteine in hypertensive patients. Journal of Clinical Hypertension. Jan 25(1):111–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.14608

Elias, M. F & Brown, C. (2021). New evidence for homocysteine lowering for management of treatment-resistant hypertension. America Journal of Hypertension, Dec 22:hpab194. doi:
10.1093/ajh/hpab194. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34935029.

Wade, A.T., Guenther, B.A., Ahmed, F.S., & Elias, M.F. (2021).  Higher yogurt intake is associated with lower blood pressure in hypertensive individuals:  Cross-sectional findings from
The Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study.  International Dairy Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2021.10515

Elias, M. F. (2021) Reclaiming the importance of homocysteine as a marker of cardiovascular and neurologic disease. Letter to the Editor. Journal of Internal Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13305

Elias, M. F., Goodell, A. L., & Davey, A. (2021). The perils of automated wrist-cuff devices and dental chairs in opportunistic blood pressure screening. American Journal of Hypertension.  https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpaa216

Elias, M. F. & Goodell, A. L. (2020). Human errors in automated office blood pressure measurement: Still room for improvement. Hypertension, 77(1), 6-15. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.120.16164

Ahmed, F. S., Wade, A. T., Guenther, B. A., Murphy, K. J., & Elias, M. F. (2020). Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with lower blood pressure in a US population: Findings from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Journal of Clinical Hypertension. Online ahead of print.  doi: 10.1111/jch.14068

Henderson, V. A. & Elias, M. F. (2020) Leisure activity for dementia prevention: More work to be done [Peer-Reviewed Editorial]. Neurology, 95(20), 895-896. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000010962.

Elias, M. F., & Goodell, A. L. (2020) The need for accurate data on blood pressure measurement in the dental office. American Journal of Hypertension, 33(4), 297-300. doi:10.1093/ajh/hpaa023

Wade, A. T., Elias, M. F., & Murphy, K. J. (2019). Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with cognitive function in an older non-Mediterranean sample: Findings from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Nutritional Neuroscience, Aug 21, 1-12. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2019.1655201

Elias, M. F., & Goodell, A. L. (2019). Setting the record straight for two heroes in hypertension: John J. Hay and Paul Dudley White. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 21, 1429-1431. doi:10.1111/jch.13650

Crichton, G. E., Bogucki, O. E., & Elias, M. F. (2019). Dairy food intake, diet patterns, and health: Findings from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. International Dairy Journal, 91, 64-70. doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2018.12.009

Elias, M. F., Torres, R. V., & Davey, A. (2019). Carotid artery blood flow velocities and cognitive performance: Forecasting cognitive decline [Commentary]. American Journal of Hypertension, 32(3), 237-239. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpy184

Ahmed, F. S., Bogucki, O. E., Dearborn, P. J., & Elias, M. F. (2019). Obesity, cognitive functioning, and dementia: A lifespan prospective. In: Watson R. R. and Preedy V. R. (Eds.) Omega Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health 2019. Elsevier Science.

Please see www.mslsperspectives.net for a complete set of references from 1975 to present.