Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
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
Research Interests
Aging; Sleep disturbances; Alzheimer's disease; Cognitive decline; Functional decline; Anxiety; Depression
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Experiences & Accomplishments
Adam Spira is a Professor in the Department of Mental Health, jointly appointed in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Core Faculty in the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health. His research is focused on: 1) disturbed sleep as a risk factor for poor health outcomes in older adults, including cognitive and functional decline and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers; and 2) psychopathology and its links with sleep, cognition, and aging-related health outcomes.
Honors & Awards
Completed Johns Hopkins University Leadership Development Program, 2022
Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), Johns ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Student Assembly, May 2013, 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
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 03/31/2025)
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:
Callow, D. D., Pettigrew, C., Zipunnikov, V., Wanigatunga, S. K., Albert, M., Bakker, A., Soldan, A., Spira, A. P., & the BIOCARD Research Team. (2025). White matter microstructure statistically mediates associations between circadian rest/activity rhythms and cognition in older adults. SLEEP Advances, 6(2), zpaf027.
Spira, A. P., Liu, F., Zipunnikov, V., Bilgel, M., Rabinowitz, J. A., An, Y., Di, J., Bai, J., Wanigatunga, S. K., Wu, M. N., Lucey, B. P., Schrack, J. A., Wanigatunga, A. A., Rosenberg, P. B., Simonsick, E. M., Walker, K. A., Ferrucci, L., & Resnick, S. M. (2024). Evaluating a novel 24-hour rest/activity rhythm marker of preclinical β-amyloid deposition. SLEEP, 47(5), zsae037.
Gottesman, R. F., Lutsey, P. L., Benveniste, H., Brown, D. L., Full, K. M., Lee, J. M., Osorio, R. S., Pase, M. P., Redeker, N. S., Redline, S., & Spira, A. P. on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Council on Hypertension (2024). Impact of sleep disorders and disturbed sleep on brain health: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Stroke, 55(3), e61-e76.
Short, N. A., Austin, A. E., Wolfson, A., Rojo-Wissar, D. M., Munro, C. A., Eaton, W. W., Bienvenu, O. J., & Spira, A. P. (2022). The association between traumatic life events and sleep disturbance among men and women: Results from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area follow-up study. Sleep Health, 8(2), 249-254.
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).