Rae Silver

Rae Silver is a Canadian behavioral neuroendocrinologist and neuroscientist best known for her research on the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus in generating circadian rhythms, the role of mast cells in the brain, the physiological mechanisms of parental behavior in ring doves. Currently, she is the Helene L. and Mark N. Kaplan Professor of Natural & Physical Sciences as well as the Chair of the Neuroscience Program and Professor of Psychology at Barnard College. In addition, she is jointly appointed as a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University and in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology with the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In 2015, Silver was awarded the Daniel S. Lehrman Lifetime Achievement Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, an award named in honor of her doctoral advisor.

Silver is currently a receiving editor for eNeuro, an open-access journal of the Society for Neuroscience, and is also a section editor for the European Journal of Neuroscience.

Research In her early research, Silver investigated the hormonal mechanisms of parental behavior in ring doves, which exhibit bi-parental care. Her early studies focused on the neural and hormonal mechanisms of behavior in male ring doves, in particular, as well as the sharing of parental responsibility and coordination between the male and female. She documented a number of changes in both members of the pair across the reproductive cycle, including in steroid hormones, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Her interest in changes which occurred in the brains of ring doves during reproduction and parental behaviors, such as the timing of egg incubation bouts, led her to pursue questions related to circadian rhythms (daily cycles of activity and sleep). She and members of her lab then performed a number of fundamental experiments demonstrating on the mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms in both birds and mammals, including a series of experiments demonstrating that a hormonal signal from the SCN sustains circadian activity rhythms in golden hamsters. She has also conducted research on the role of mast cells, part of the immune system, on brain vasculature, hormone production, neuronal transmission, and behavior. Her current research areas focus on sleep-wake cycles and their neural bases, and on immune-nervous system interactions in the brain.

Awards and recognition Society for Research on Biological Rhythms Directors Award for Mentoring, 2018 Daniel S. Lerhman Lifetime Achievement Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, 2015 Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), elected in 1997

Media Appearances Silver appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart in 1997 She has spoken publicly about the challenges of being a woman in science, including as a TEDx speaker in 2015.

Notable publications