Julie K. Silver, MD
Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Julie K. Silver, MD is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Silver has held numerous leadership positions and is a former start-up company founder. She was named the Top Innovator in Medicine in 2012 by The Boston Globe, and the same year her start-up company was listed by Bloomberg/Businessweek as one of the most promising social enterprise companies.
Dr. Silver’s research and clinical work has focused on improving gaps in the delivery of healthcare services. She has published many scientific reports and is well-known for her ground-breaking work on “impairment-driven cancer rehabilitation” which was initially published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians–a high impact factor oncology journal that is published by the American Cancer Society. Impairment-driven cancer rehabilitation was subsequently incorporated into the American Cancer Society’s Facts & Figures. Dr. Silver co-founded the Cancer Rehabilitation Group for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine—a research focused interdisciplinary professional society. She has been a subject matter expert in cancer rehabilitation and prehabilitation for the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American College of Sports Medicine and World Health Organization. Dr. Silver also developed a best practices model for cancer rehabilitation care that hundreds of U.S. hospitals adopted.
In 2020, Dr. Silver received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for her cross-cutting work on workforce and patient care disparities with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Silver has published many studies and reports in high-impact journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The BMJ, and multiple JAMA Network journals. Her work cuts across all specialties, and she has published reports in many specialty journals including PM&R, American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Dermatology, Pediatrics, Neurology, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, and The Journal of Infectious Diseases. As a nationally recognized expert, Dr. Silver has been invited to give keynotes and workshops at the American Psychiatric Association, American Association for Clinical Endocrinologists, American Academy of Neurology, Infectious Disease Society of America, American College of Cardiology, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, and numerous other medical societies. Dr. Silver has also been an integral part of the development of the Spaulding Research Institute.
Dr. Silver has also authored/edited many books, including the Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation which is now in its 4th edition and Easy EMG which is going into its 3rd edition. She has led numerous high impact national strategic initiatives such as the Her Time Is Now Campaign, Be Ethical Campaign, Need Her Science Campaign, and the Walls Do Talk Challenge. She directs the Harvard Medical School CME accredited course titled Career Advancement and Leadership Skills for Women in Healthcare—that has trained thousands of physicians and other healthcare leaders throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Dr. Silver’s work has been featured in many media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The London Times and NPR. She has also appeared on numerous TV shows including the CBS Early Show, The Today Show, Fox News, and ABC News.
