Rachel A. Silverman, PhD, ScM earned her doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle, WA and master’s in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. Her experience includes, but is not limited to, study design and implementation, survey development, disease surveillance, randomized clinical trials, observational studies, data cleaning, statistical analyses, mathematical model design and parameterization, health economic analyses, manuscript preparation, grant writing, and DSMB reporting. Broadly, she applies her epidemiology expertise to prevent, minimize, and interpret biases in quantitative health science research. Prior to joining the CBHDS, she worked with the Center for Public Health Practice and Research (CPHPR) contributing to quantitative program evaluation and summary reports for local community health organizations in the New River Valley, in addition to teaching and conducting independent epidemiologic research in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Virginia Tech. She has prior experience in global health research, applied epidemiology at state and local health departments, and as a consultant conducting systematic literature reviews. She is interested in disease prevention and harm reduction to inform evidence-based guidance, especially relating to health disparities and marginalized groups. Her research has focused on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and reproductive and maternal health.
Johnson J, Howell BR, Silverman RA. Trends in Low Acuity Emergency Department Visits Among Women in Southwestern Virginia During the COVID-19 Pandemic. [In preparation]
Johnson J, Silverman RA, Howell BR, Motley M. Healthcare Utilization and Barriers to Care Among Black Appalachian Women: A Qualitative Study. [Under review at J Appalachian Studies]
Silverman RA, Short D, Wenzel S, Friesen MA, Cook NE. COVID-19 related messaging, beliefs, information sources, and mitigation behaviors in Virginia: a cross-sectional survey in the summer of 2020. PeerJ. 2023; 11:e16714. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16714.
Cook NE, Wenzel S, Silverman RA, Short D, Markwalter T, Jiles K, Friesen MA. A mixed methods investigation of how young adults in Virginia received, evaluated, and responded to COVID-19 public health messaging. Virginia Journal of Public Health. 2022 Aug;7(1):46-67. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/vjph/vol7/iss1/6.
Silverman RA, Ceci A, Cohen A, Helmick M, Short E, Bordwine P, Friedlander MJ, Finkielstein CV. Vaccine Effectiveness during Outbreak of COVID-19 Alpha (B.1.1.7) Variant in Men's Correctional Facility, United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022;28(7):1313-20. doi: 10.3201/eid2807.220091.
Silverman RA, John-Stewart GC, Beck IA, Milne R, Kiptinness C, McGrath CJ, Richardson BA, Chohan B, Sakr SR, Frenkel LM, Chung MH. Predictors of mortality within the first year of initiating antiretroviral therapy in urban and rural Kenya: A prospective cohort study. PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0223411. Epub 20191004. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223411.
Silverman RA, Katz D, Golden M, Bell T, Spellman D, St. John L, Manley Rodriguez E, Levin C, Barnabas RV. Sexually Transmitted Disease Partner Services Costs, Other Resources, and Strategies Across Jurisdictions to Address Unique Epidemic Characteristics and Increased Incidence. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2019 Aug;46(8):493-501.
Milne RS, Silverman RA, Beck IA, Mckernan-Mullin J, Deng W, Sibley TR, Dross S, Kiarie JN, Sakr SR, Coombs RW, Chung MH, Frenkel LM. Minority and majority pretreatment HIV-1 drug resistance associated with failure of first-line nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor antiretroviral therapy in Kenyan women. AIDS. 2019 May 1;33(6):941-951.
Silverman RA, Beck IA, Kiptinness C, Levine M, Milne R, McGrath CJ, Bii S, Richardson BA, John-Stewart G, Chohan B, Sakr SR, Kiarie JN, Frenkel LM, Chung MH. Prevalence of Pre-antiretroviral-Treatment Drug Resistance by Gender, Age, and Other Factors in HIV-Infected Individuals Initiating Therapy in Kenya, 2013- 2014. J Infect Dis. 2017 Dec 19;216(12):1569-1578.
Kanthula R, Rossouw T, Feucht UD, Van Dyk G, Beck IA, Silverman R, Olson S, Salyer C, Cassol S, Frenkel LM. Persistence of HIV-drug-resistance among South African Children given Nevirapine to Prevent Mother-to- Child-Transmission. AIDS. 2017 May 15;31(8):1143-1148.
Chung MH, Silverman R, Beck IA, Yatich N, Dross S, McKernan-Mullin J, Bii S, Tapia K, Stern J, Chohan B, Sakr SR, Kiarie JN, Frenkel LM. 2016. Increasing HIV-1 Drug Resistance among Antiretroviral-Naïve Adults Initiating Treatment between 2006 and 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. AIDS. 2016 Jun 19;30(10):1680-2.
Rousmaniere H, Silverman R, White RA, Sasaki MS, Wilson SD, Morrison JT, Cruz YP. 2010. Husbandry of Monodelphis domestica in the study of mammalian embryogenesis. Lab Animal (NY) 39(7):219-26.