Meet Our Faculty: Dr. Henry Silverman

CUNY SPS is immensely proud of our hardworking and talented faculty members, who dedicate themselves tirelessly to their teaching, research, and students. To learn more about our faculty and what they do, we have invited a few to chat with us about their work.

Today, we sit down with Dr. Henry Silverman, an acclaimed professor, doctor, and researcher from the School’s MS in Research Administration and Compliance (RAC) program. In this Q&A, he discusses his teaching and research, his longstanding international training programs, and what it’s like to teach online.

Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. I received my MD at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and my MA in Bioethics at Georgetown University.

Originally, I started out as a physician in pulmonary and critical care at the University of Maryland but transitioned into the field of medical and research ethics after being motivated by the issues I confronted in the intensive care unit. For the past 20 plus years, I’ve also been the chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee at the University of Maryland Medical Center, dealing with a variety of ethical issues that occur when delivering patient care in the hospital setting. Additionally, I am the program director of two Fogarty/National Institutes of Health (NIH) training programs focused on building capacity in research ethics in the Middle East and Myanmar. I’m also a senior editor of the multi-author book Research Ethics in the Arab Region, which is based on my experiences in the Middle East.

Q. How did you end up partnering with the NIH? What do you offer in your training programs?

A little more than 15 years ago, because of my background in bioethics and clinical trials, I had the opportunity to apply for an NIH grant to establish a training program for individuals in Egypt and several other countries in the Middle East to learn about ethical issues involved with research. In 2005, I began offering a two-year program to participants in those countries, with the goal of enhancing the ethical review capacity of research ethics committees and investigating issues involved with the responsible conduct in research, which includes plagiarism, data fabrication, and conflicts of interest. In the first year, participants complete an online certificate program in research ethics at the University of Maryland. In their second year, they complete a research project investigating ethical issues in their countries. During this time, I work closely with them, both online and in person, to teach them research methodology, critical thinking, and scientific writing. Faculty from the University of Maryland and myself mentor the participants throughout this two-year program, which includes the publishing process.

Participants’ research projects have predominantly included interview and survey studies. For example, we completed a survey study investigating the knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices involving plagiarism. We also did an interview study among investigators regarding the concept of privacy, which is interesting because different societies have different concepts of privacy. Another of our interview studies involved patients and their notions of trust in researchers and medical providers. We’re also studying the challenges to publishing in academic journals that investigators from the Middle East might encounter. We are looking into whether there’s an academic bias within the peer-review process.

I also direct a similar training program in Myanmar, which we began in 2015 as an effort to build capacity with the institutional review committees in this country. As part of this, I helped establish a diploma program in research ethics at one of the institutions in Myanmar. I also work with several international NGOs to develop a training program in conducting research involving health equity, which has garnered a lot of excitement because there are tremendous health inequities in the country. This is brand new and we’re offering it to participants totally online.

Q: In addition to the NIH programs, what other research ethics teaching efforts are you involved in?

A: Well, for the past 9 years, I’ve run an online certificate program in research ethics at the University of Maryland. It’s a 12-credit program that consists of courses in research ethics, ethical theory, research integrity, ethics of international research, and the ethics of regulating research. Similar to CUNY SPS, this graduate program is fully online since it’s intended for working professionals who might also have competing family and work obligations.

Q: You have taught the elective course RAC 651 — Ethical Issues in Clinical Research at CUNY SPS for over five years. How did you get involved with the CUNY SPS RAC program?

A: Several years ago, I was contacted out of the blue by the former head of the RAC program, who had heard of my program at University of Maryland. We developed a professional relationship — she often gave lectures to my participants in the NIH training program — and then she asked me to develop an online course in research ethics for CUNY SPS.

I personally already felt a connection to CUNY since I’m a New York boy and went to City College of New York (when Lewisohn Stadium was still standing), so I was happy to come aboard!

After starting in the RAC program, I also discovered how much I enjoyed teaching at CUNY SPS. In addition to our amazing students, I also found the programs to be very well organized. The school offers many resources for faculty, which really help faculty effectively develop their courses online, and hosts many faculty presentations and events, which help us see each other’s perspectives and teaching styles. I have learned a great deal from my CUNY SPS experience.

Q: You’ve taught online for years. How have you adapted your teaching style to this format?

A: Well, it really is a different ‘beast’ teaching online — it takes a different set of skills to engage your students.

For my research ethics classes at CUNY SPS and University of Maryland, I find the topic has largely remained the same, although I have introduced more aspects of social behavioral research. My teaching methods for this material keep on changing, since I’m always experimenting with ways to help students engage more with me and their peers.

One thing I’ve realized about online education is that students often learn more from their peers than they would in face-to-face classes. This is especially exciting given that graduate students in our online programs often come from different professional backgrounds, and everybody brings a different perspective to the table. And I find I learn a lot from them too.

One strategy I use to engage students more is through the discussion forum, where I give a prompt question. It’s not a factual question that you could look up and get the answer — it’s more open-ended so it requires the students to think critically and analyze the issues. I also have students work in groups, since I want them to tackle a problem together.

Q: Given your extensive career as a doctor, researcher, and teacher, what would you say is the most fulfilling part of your work?

A: Definitely when I see my students advance in their careers, including getting published — that’s a concrete deliverable. Or they get a promotion or reach an important position. For example, I was very proud of the fact that I had three trainees in Sudan — who were all women — apply for and received a large European grant. There’s a lot of gender inequality there, so seeing my trainees overcome these types of barriers and advance was hugely rewarding.

Learn more about Dr. Silverman and other faculty in the CUNY SPS Research Administration and Compliance program here.