Rate My Professor Bo Melin

Bo Melin is Professor of Work Psychology at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, where he was appointed in 2007 and holds a senior professor position. He earned his Docent title from Stockholm University in 1997. Leading the Cognitive Epidemiology research group, Melin's work investigates causal relationships between cognitive and emotional abilities and their links to health outcomes, mortality, and social mobility within a biopsychosocial framework. His research demonstrates that cognitive ability, measured by psychometric IQ tests, is a strong predictor of various health outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, mortality from violent causes, and alcohol-related mortality. A pronounced gradient in mortality risk exists across IQ score groups, with risks increasing from high to low scores over 30 years of follow-up. Adjustments for socioeconomic position and poverty attenuate but do not eliminate this gradient. Emotional abilities, such as low neuroticism and high extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, are associated with longer life, while high neuroticism relates to higher mortality risks. Risks from psychological factors can be modified by interactions between cognitive and emotional abilities. Melin's ongoing projects explore stress, work, and health, including increased stress from new mental tasks and cognitive-emotional abilities in relation to health.