Michael Silverstein, MD, MPH, is a Clinical Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health.  For eight years prior to assuming this position in January 2005, he was the Assistant Director for Industrial Safety and Health with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.  This included responsibility for the state’s occupational safety and health program.

Dr. Silverstein originally came to the state of Washington in 1990 to work for the State Department of Health as State Health Officer and State Epidemiologist.  He then spent two years in Washington, D.C. as Director of Policy for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and returned to the state in 1995.  Prior to these government positions, Dr. Silverstein was Assistant Director for the Occupational Health and Safety Department of the United Automobile Workers Union in Detroit, Michigan.  He worked for the UAW for nearly 15 years on a wide range of issues.

Dr. Silverstein also has practiced family medicine and occupational medicine in Michigan and California.  He holds degrees from Harvard University, Stanford Medical School and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.  He is board certified as a specialist in occupational medicine.

Dr. Silverstein is the author of numerous journal articles and textbook chapters on occupational epidemiology and occupational safety and health policy.  He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.  He is an active member of several professional associations and from 2004-2005 was the Chair of the Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association.  He has been a member of several National Academy of Sciences committees, including those on the Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers, the Health and Safety Implications of Child Labor, and the NIOSH Hearing Loss Research Program.  Dr. Silverstein has also received awards recognizing his professional accomplishments, including the Alice Hamilton Award from the American Public Health Association and the Francis J. Perkins Award from the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.

Read Michael Silverstein's draft paper "Getting Home Safe and Sound? OSHA at Thirty-Five" (now available for comment)