Ellen Kovner Silbergeld (born 1945) is a leading American expert in the field of environmental health.

Background

Elizabeth Kovner was born in 1945. Her parents were

Joseph Kovner Joseph Kovner (c. 1910–1994) was a 20th-century American lawyer and government official, best known as assistant general counsel to Lee Pressman for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1930s and 1940s and then attorney with th ...

, a lawyer (then with the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

) and Mary Helen Gion. She has two siblings. After graduating from Vassar College

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1967, she earned a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University in 1972.

Career

She is a professor at the

Bloomberg School of Public Health Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

at Johns Hopkins University and used to be on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Before that she worked as a scientist for Environmental Defense. She was editor-in-chief of the journal '' Environmental Research'' she serves on many other editorial boards She is an authority on the toxicological manifestations of lead and

mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

, having done some of the first research on how lead affects the central nervous system. Silbergeld has also been involved in public policy and raised public awareness of the dangers of lead. Her current research focuses on the role is food animal production in the selection and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. She has written a book on this topic, ''Chickenizing Farms and Food'' published by

Johns Hopkins University Press The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

in 2016. In 1993, she received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship ("genius award") from the MacArthur Foundation.

Works

References

External links

Papers, 1968-1994.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silbergelld, Ellen 1945 births Living people Johns Hopkins University faculty Vassar College alumni MacArthur Fellows Johns Hopkins University alumni American toxicologists Academic journal editors