Medical mycologist. B.A., University of Puerto Rico, 1936; worked for several years with Arturo L. Carrión at the Columbia University School of Tropical Medicine, San Juan. Ph.D. in Botany, Harvard, 1952. Silva-Hutner began working at the Medical Mycology Laboratory of the Dept. of Dermatology of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1950. She was Director of the Laboratory and Assistant Professor of Dermatology, 1956-1981. For additional information, see finding aid.

The collection includes both the official records of the Medical Mycology Laboratory of the Dept. of Dermatology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the personal papers of Silva-Hutner. They document both the Laboratory in particular and the field of medical mycology in general during the latter half of the 20th century. Included are correspondence, annual reports, lectures, manuscripts of articles, and biographical materials relating to Silva-Hutner, Rhoda Williams Benham, Arturo L. Carrión, and William H. Weston. For additional information, see finding aid.