Mervyn F. Silverman, MD, MPH
Areas of Expertise: Epidemiology & Public Health
Dr. Silverman has worked in the field of Public Health and Preventive Medicine for over 50 years, with involvement in public policy, community and government relations, and the media, on local, state, and international levels.
While Director of Health for the City and County of San Francisco (1977 to 1985), his Department launched a citywide program to combat the growing AIDS epidemic – a model program that has since been replicated nationwide. Other directorships include: the Office of Consumer Affairs for the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Community Health, Wichita, Kansas; the Robert Wood Johnson AIDS Health Services Program; the East Asia and Pacific Regional Medical Office of the Peace Corps; Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Kansas.
Among his various academic appointments have been faculty positions at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Hawaii School of Public Health. He served as President of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and has been an active Board member since its inception.
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Dr. Silverman was the Director of Public Health for the City of San Francisco when I arrived there after working in a military medical system. He was an inspiration to me. If you get this note, Dr. Silverman, just know that life is strange. I've thought about you since I used to read of your work in 1981-82 while living in SF and participating in a "ride along" for a week with the Dept of Public Health. I never spoke to you in person but saw you in the City Hall when I prowled there looking for experience in public health.
— Posted by Don Billings
Mar 2020