Dr. Randi Silver
A noted physiologist with expertise on the renal and cardiac systems, Dr. Randi B. Silver has been named associate dean of the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University. She is currently an associate professor of physiology and biophysics and will assume her new position on Sept. 1.
"Dr. Silver has been on the faculty at the Weill Cornell Graduate School since 1991 and she has done a great job as a member of the faculty. She is highly committed to graduate education and now a career in graduate school administration. I am looking forward to working with her on a daily basis," said Dr. David Hajjar, dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and the Frank H.T. Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Genetics.
"It is an honor for me to assume the position of associate dean of Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Cornell University and a privilege to work with Dean Hajjar, our students, and our joint Sloan-Kettering Institute and Weill Cornell faculties," said Dr. Silver. "As an academic scientist I have always enjoyed my role as a mentor to the members of my lab and students," she said. "I am excited by my new role in part because of the chance to prepare young scientists who train at Weill Cornell for the 21st century."
Dr. Silver received her bachelor's degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and her Ph.D. from Brown University in Providence, R.I. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Silver completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell Graduate School for Medical Sciences. She subsequently accepted a position as an instructor at the Medical College and rose to the position of associate professor in 1997. She is also currently a faculty member at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.
Dr. Silver's research work focuses on the role of potassium and hydrogen ions in the renal system. She also explores therapies that block mast cell renin release which could lead to the formation of angiotensin in the heart; the object being to limit cardiac arrhythmias. Specifically, Dr. Silver's work provides a better understanding of the physiological basis of potassium conservation to be used in therapies for disorders of K+ metabolism; therapeutic approaches for the management of cardiac dysfunction associated with myocardial ischemia; and ischemic arrhythmias associated with pathologic norepinephrine release.
She is a member of the American Physiological Society, the American Society of Nephrology, the Salt and Water Club and the Society of General Physiologists. She is currently on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology–Renal Physiology and has published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Silver's research support currently includes three grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); her previous research support includes grants from the NIH, the American Heart Association, the the Mellon Foundation, as well as several other foundations, and industry.
Photo by Amelia Panico.