Elliot Friedman

Understanding Unfolding Lives: The Integrative Science of MIDUS

Elliot Friedman is the William and Sally Berner Hanley Professor of Gerontology in the department of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University. He earned a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed postdoctoral training in Neuroimmunology at the University of California, San Diego. He has additional training in population health through the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars program. His current research focuses on how social and psychological factors affect health and the biological processes that may act as mediators. He is particularly interested in various dimensions of positive psychological functioning and their connections to favorable profiles of biological function, optimal health, and greater longevity. Dr. Friedman has been working with the MIDUS study for 15 years, publishing studies linking psychological well-being to myriad health outcomes, including inflammation, multimorbidity, disability, cognitive function, and longevity. He is also interested in the social patterning of health and health determinants, including sleep and inflammation. He has published his research in leading scientific journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, American Journal of Epidemiology, Journals of Gerontology, Health Psychology, and Psychosomatic Medicine.