Dan Silverman, MD, PhD, obtained his first doctoral degree in Biological Chemistry at Harvard University, and postdoctoral research training in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. He then earned his M.D. from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, subsequently completed post-M.D. training at UCLA, and obtained certification from both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.  

Dr. Silverman’s positions as Professor of Translational Theranostics, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Head of the Neuronuclear Imaging Section of the Nuclear Medicine Division at UCLA Medical Center, faculty member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and Nuclear Medicine physician of UCLA Health, represent roles and affiliations well-suited to serve as resources in working towards overarching aims of First Descents.  He has over two decades of experience with performing and overseeing a wide variety of methods used in imaging analyses, especially as applied to projects focused upon cancer and upon neuropsychological health, and in developing software-based methods for rigorous quantitative and statistical analyses of regional brain PET data that assess changes in cerebral function.  In particular, he served as first author of the first paper identifying specifically altered patterns of regional cerebral metabolism in cancer patients who had been exposed to systemic chemotherapy, has served as key investigator overseeing all functional neuroimaging aspects of several controlled clinical trials of drugs aimed at preserving or restoring cerebral function, and is recognized as an international thought leader in the use of neuroimaging tools to document changes in brain tissue associated with cancer and cancer therapy, including serving as the co-author of the first book devoted exclusively to helping cancer survivors experiencing associated symptoms, Your Brain After Chemo, and a founder of the International Cancer and Cognition Task Force Neuroimaging Working Group.