​Michelle Pannor Silver is a Professor at the University of Toronto and Chair of the Department of Health and Society. Dr. Silver’s primary areas of research include: 1) Retirement and Work Identity; 2) Health Information Seeking; and 3) Perceptions about Aging and Health. Her first book, Retirement and Its Discontents confronts the mismatch between idealized and actual retirement for those with a strong work identity. Her second book, Aging with Agility examines how perceptions about aging influence exercise habits.
 
Dr. Silver also holds cross appointments in Sociology, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health/IHPME and the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto. Her research has been supported by grants from multiple funding agencies including the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Connaught New Researcher Award, and the Mitacs Accelerate Program.

She received a BA, BS, and MPP from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD from the University of Chicago.