Associate Professor Emerita
Frances Silverman (BSC, MSc, PhD) is Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, and the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and is a Scientist at the Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St Michael’s Hospital as well as the Research Institute at University Health Network. She and her team have over 45 years of experience in inter-disciplinary research on health effects of air pollutants and the role they play in the development of inflammation and disease, using measures of cardiac, cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, biochemical markers of inflammation and epigentics, as well as exposure assessment and ambient air quality. The multidisciplinarity of her work is reflected in the authorships of over 250 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, reports and abstracts. She is recognized internationally for her innovative work on controlled human environmental chamber (clinical) studies. Dr. Silverman has established productive collaborations with many groups, including Harvard School of Public Health, University of British Columbia, University of Michigan, University of California and the University of Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Dr. Silverman developed and was the first Director of The Collaborative Program in Environment and Health at the University of Toronto and has trained graduate students, postdoctoral students and research fellows. She also developed and taught the award winning course “Seminars in Environment and Health”. Both were developed to stimulate graduate students to integrate their discipline-based research into a broader context related to environment and health by introducing them to methods and concepts from other disciplines. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and academic units including: IMS, environmental studies, geography, urban planning, public health sciences, psychology, anthropology, engineering, clinical biochemistry, OISE etc.
Her work has led to recognition in the scientific literature, by the United States and Canadian Governments. She also acts in an advisory capacity to government agencies including the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Health Canada, Environment Canada, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. She serves as a reviewer for scientific journals and for granting agencies and serves professional committees (American Thoracic Society).
