Associate Research Professor, Social Work, School of Education
Faculty Associate, Aging Studies Institute
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies
Biography:
Maria Brown is an Associate Research Professor in the School of Education Social Work Program, and a 2008-2010 John A. Hartford Foundation Doctoral Fellow in Geriatric Social Work. She earned her Ph.D. from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Her dissertation, entitled, “Psychiatric history and cognition trajectories in later life: variations by sex, race and ethnicity, and childhood disadvantage,” examined the relationship between psychiatric history and cognitive function in later life.
Brown is co-Investigator of “Embedding the Early Identification of Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults into the NYS Office for Aging Service System,” funded by a 2024-2026 grant from the New York Health Foundation and the Health Foundation of Western and Central New York.
Her research has been published in various journals, including the Journals of Gerontology: Series A, The Gerontologist, Innovation in Aging, Journal of Applied Gerontology, International Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aging and Mental Health, Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, Supportive Care in Cancer, Women & Health, the Health Education Journal, Family Process, Family Relations, and the Journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy. Dr. Brown is co-editor of, and co-author of two chapters in, Religious Change and Continuity Across Generations: Passing on Faith in Families in Six European and North American Nations. She has authored book chapters on LGBT Lives and Military Service, Chronic Illnesses and Conditions in Gender and Sexual Minorities (with Jane. A McElroy), Addressing Behavioral Cancer Risks from a LGBT Health Equity Perspective (with Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen and Charles P. Hoy-Ellis), and Gerontological Social Work (with Deborah J. Monahan).
A social gerontologist who uses the life course perspective to research the later-life experiences of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, women, and racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, Dr. Brown is also interested in intergenerational family relationships, dementia caregiving, the long-term care experiences of cognitively disabled older adults and their caregivers, and the treatment and survivorship experiences of breast cancer patients.
Publications
Early Identification of Cognitive Impairment: Utility of the Mini-Cog in Non-Clinical Settings
Maria Brown, Sharon A. Brangman, and Nancy H. Smith
Relationship Between Accelerated Biological Aging, Race, Perceived Discrimination, and Limitations in Activities of Daily Living
Maria Brown, Miriam Mutambudzi, and Nai-Wei Chen
Does Religiosity Reduce Mortality Risk Over the Second Half of Life Among Southern Californians? A Multidimensional Model Within a Hazard Modeling Framework
Maria Brown, Wencheng Zhang, Woosang Hwang, and Merril Silverstein
Identifying Interventions to Address Triggers of Decline in Vulnerable Older Adults
Maria Brown and Kara Williams
