Arthur M. Silverstein is an American immunologist and science historian who has written extensively on the history of immunology. He is

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of Ophthalmic Immunology at the

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

, where he spent 25 years on the faculty in the Department of

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and was also affiliated with its Institute of the History of Medicine. Silverstein took a break during his Ph.D. studies at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and worked as a technician in the laboratory of

David Pressman David Pressman (b. 1977) is an American diplomat and lawyer who served as the United States ambassador to Hungary from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs and r ...

, where he first became interested in the subject of immunology. He returned to his studies and received a Ph.D. in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

in 1954. After finishing, Silverstein entered military service and was assigned to the

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) (1862 – September 15, 2011) was a U.S. government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. Overview It was founded in ...

, where he found a mentor in then-Scientific Director Ernest Goodpasture and studied the development of the immune system. Silverstein ultimately spent around 10 years at the institute before joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins. Silverstein served as the president of the

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (abbreviated ARVO) is an American learned society dedicated to ophthalmology and other Visual perception, vision-related topics. It is based in Rockville, Maryland, Rockville, Maryland. Ov ...

in 1987-88 and received the organization's Special Recognition Award in 2000 for his administration of the organization's Fight for Sight grants program.

Publications

Silverstein has authored several books and articles on the history of science, including ''A History of Immunology'' and ''Paul Ehrlich's Receptor Immunology''.

References

American immunologists American historians of science Johns Hopkins University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{scientist-stub