Julie Kathleen Silver (born 1965) is an American medical researcher who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. Her research considers

musculoskeletal disorder Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the human musculoskeletal system, including the joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back. MSDs can arise from a sudden exertion (e.g., li ...

s and

cancer rehabilitation Cancer rehabilitation has been defined in the scientific literature as a distinct field of medicine that focuses on reducing or eliminating side-effects of cancer treatment and improving survivors' strength, ability to function and quality of life ...

. Silver is involved with several initiatives to improve gender equity in medicine. She is the 2022 recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal.

Early life and education

Silver grew up in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Silver earned her bachelor's degree at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. She was initially an engineering major, and whilst she enjoyed mathematics and science, Silver eventually studied medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and graduated in 1991. Silver has said that she enjoyed being in Georgetown because of the diversity of patients and medical conditions. She was a medical resident at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the early nineties. During her training she witnessed the impact of the gun violence and

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

on public health. In 2003 Silver was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

, and following acute treatment, she recognised that there was not enough rehabilitation for patients recovering from toxic cancer therapies. She founded Oncology Rehab Partners in 2012, an organisation which delivers oncology rehabilitation services to cancer centres and hospitals .

Research and career

Silver concentrates her research on pre- and rehabilitation from cancer. She founded the Survivor Training and Rehab (STAR) programme certification, an evidence-based education scheme that looks to support physicians and healthcare workers with protocols to provide quality care for recovering cancer patients. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Silver wrote an article for ''

The BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'' outlining how prehabilitation could be used to protect people during the outbreak. She made use of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

to communicate recent coronavirus research findings with the public. Silver designed a guidelines on how to conduct telemedicine appointments during the pandemic.

Academic service

Silver became interested in gender equity in medicine when she was appointed associate chair of the Department of Physical Medicine at the

. She makes use of data to document the disparities experienced by women physicians, including analysing how differences in how men and women are valued. Silver has investigated the rates at which men and women were honoured for their work, and found "a zero or near-zero" representation of women amongst the award winners. She directs a medical education course in women's leadership, where she discusses core competencies and equity. Silver has analysed how often women and men are mentioned in the newsletters of a medical professional society, and identified that over a five-year period, whilst men were mentioned in 100% of the newsletters, women were not mentioned in one third.

Selected publications

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Personal life

Silver is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver, Julie K. 1965 births Living people American medical researchers Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni Harvard Medical School faculty University of California, Davis alumni