Michael Silva-Peñaherrera is a postdoctoral researcher at the UPF-IMIM-PSMar Center for Research in Occupational Health, is an associate professor at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and has taught at the SEK International University in Quito since 2008. He has a doctorate in biomedicine from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona. He has a Master's degree in Occupational Health and Safety and a Master's degree in Environmental Management in Industry. He is a member of the Technical Commission of the Ibero-American Observatory of Safety and Health at Work and of the Expert Network on Surveys on Working Conditions, Employment and Health (Red ECoTES)

In 2016 he received the first award for academic excellence "Felipe Segovia Olmo" at SEK University, and in 2022 the General Council of industrial relations and labor sciences in Madrid awarded him the gold medal for professional merit in industrial relations and work sciences.

His research focuses on the study of social inequities and the impact of occupational risk factors on the health of the working population, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.