Silbergeld, Ellen K.

Environmental toxicologist and research scientist Ellen (Kovner) Silbergeld was born in Washington, D.C., on July 29, 1945. She has degrees from Vassar College (A.B. 1967) and Johns Hopkins University (Ph. D. 1972). Silbergeld has been a professor of Epidemiology and Toxicology at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland, an adjunct professor of Health Policy and Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, an affiliate professor of Environmental Law at the University of Maryland Law School, and a senior toxicologist with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). She is also the author or coauthor of over 200 scientific articles, book chapters, and abstracts, and has served on editorial boards of biomedical journals and more than thirty national and international scientific and expert panels. Her research interests have focused on mechanisms and epidemiology of lead poisoning and on mechanisms of other evnironmental toxicants, including dioxin. Areas of research include cardiovascular risks of arsenic, lead, and cadmium; immunotoxicity of mercury compounds; and health and environmental impacts of industrial food animal production. She also serves on numerous national and international scientific advisory councils and was recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in 1993.

From the description of Additional papers of Ellen K. Silbergeld, 1982-2001. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 659787220

Environmental toxicologist and research scientist Ellen (Kovner) Silbergeld was born in Washington in 1945 and has degrees from Vassar College (A.B. 1967) and Johns Hopkins University (Ph. D. 1972). Her professional interests include neuropharmacology and toxicology, and environmental risk assessment. In particular, Silbergeld has studied lead poisoning and the effects of dioxins and PCBs on humans.

While working at the National Academy of Sciences in the late 1960s, Silbergeld became an activist, reacting to the war in Vietnam and to the Catholic Church. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins, however, Silbergeld's career closely followed her scientific interests. She worked at the National Institutes of Health for nearly ten years (1975-1984).

In 1982, Silbergeld became director of the Toxic Chemicals Program and chief toxics scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in Washington, leading EDF's scientific effort to end human exposure to lead and dioxins; since 1992 she has held the Environmental Health Chair. She also teaches at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, and at Johns Hopkins University's School of Hygiene and Public Health.

An advisor to both national and international organizations and advocacy groups, Silbergeld has been influential in determining policies relating to environmental hazards. She received a MacArthur Foundation grant in 1993, was nominated for a Living on Earth Award, and received the Edward K. Barsky Award of the Physicians Forum of the American Public Health Association.

From the description of Papers, 1968-1994 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122407959