Quick Facts
Biography
Albert Hofman MD PhD is a Dutch clinical epidemiologist. He is currently the Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health and the chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Hofman was born in 1951 in Hardenberg, The Netherlands. He attended medical school at the University of Groningen, University of Leiden, The Netherlands and graduated in 1976 with his MD. He later went on to complete his PhD at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in 1983.
His Research fellowship was completed within the department of Community Medicine at the University of Groningen, 1975; and his clinical residencies were completed in the departments of Internal Medicine and Academic Hospitals Groningen and Leiden, 1977. He also went on to complete a second research fellowship within the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA USA, in 1982.
In 1981 he became an Assistant Professor at Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1984, and to full Professor in 1988. In 1988 he became chairman of the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in which he served until 2016. He has also served as the science director of the graduate school Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES) since its inception in 1990 till 2015. Dr. Hofman is serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Epidemiology since 2000.
Dr. Hofman is the initiator and principal investigator of two population based, prospective cohort studies in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands: the Rotterdam Study and the Generation R study. Data-collection for these studies started in 1990 and 2002, respectively. These cohort studies have in common that they target multiple common diseases, have a very extensive and state-of-the-art assessment of the putative determinants of these diseases, and employ as much as possible new technologies to be applied in the setting of epidemiologic population studies.
The study of a multiple outcomes, in particular neurological, cardiovascular and endocrine diseases, has enabled the investigation of the interrelations of those diseases, and thereby of the co-morbidity and co-etiology of various diseases with a large population burden. This has made the findings in these studies generally useful for public health purposes as well as for clinical medicine.
The new technologies for epidemiologic studies include the genome-wide assessment and large-scale imaging of whole cohorts. The Rotterdam Study was one of the five founding cohorts of the very productive CHARGE consortium which has performed many successful genome-wide association studies that found a large number of genes involved in common diseases. The Rotterdam Study also pioneered new population imaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging since 1995.
In addition to contributing to over 2,000 publications during his career he is also the faculty director of the Clinical Epidemiology program within the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School.
Honors and distinctions 04-06-1983 Promotion, cum laude [with honors]. Dissertation: Blood pressure in childhood. Epidemiological probes into the aetiology of high blood pressure. Promotor: Prof. H.A. Valkenburg. 04-23-1992 Inaugural lecture at Erasmus University: On patients, populations and the Hippocratic epidemiology. 2002- Member Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. 11-08-2007 Honorary promotor Dr. Barry Bloom, Harvard University. 06-18-2012 Folksam Prize in Epidemiologic Research 2012, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 11-04-2013 Honorary doctorate, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Publications
- Kavousi M, Desai, CS, Ayers C, Blumenthal RS, Budoff MJ, Mahabadi AA, Ikram MA, van der Lugt A, Hofman A, Erbel R, Khera A, Geisel MH, Jockel KH, Lehmann N, Hoffmann U, O'Connell CJ, Massaro JM, Liu K, Mohlenkamp S, Ning HY, Franco OH, Greenland P. Prevalence and Prognostic Implications of Coronary Artery Calcification in Low-Risk Women A Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016;316(20):2126-2134.
- Adams HHH, Swanson SA, Hofman A, Ikram MA. Amyloid-beta transmission or unexamined bias? Nature. 2016;537(7620):E7-E8.
- Kavousi M, Leening MJ, Nanchen D, Greenland P, Graham IM, Steyerberg EW, Ikram MA, Stricker BH, Hofman A, Franco OH. Comparison of application of the ACC/AHA Guidelines, Adult Treatment Panel III Guidelines, and European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention in a European cohort. JAMA. 2014;311(14):1416-23.
- van Dijk FS, Zillikens MC, Micha D, Riessland M, Marcelis CL, de Die-Smulders CE, Milbradt J, Franken AA, Harsevoort AJ, Lichtenbelt KD, Pruijs HE, Rubio-Gozalbo ME, Zwertbroek R, Moutaouakil Y, Egthuijsen J, Hammerschmidt M, Bijman R, Semeins CM, Bakker AD, Everts V, Klein-Nulend J, Campos-Obando N, Hofman A, te Meerman GJ, Verkerk AJ, Uitterlinden AG, Maugeri A, Sistermans EA, Waisfisz Q, Meijers-Heijboer H, Wirth B, Simon ME, Pals G. PLS3 mutations in X-linked osteoporosis with fractures. N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 17;369(16):1529-36.
- Jonsson T, Stefansson H, Ph DS, Jonsdottir I, Jonsson PV, Snaedal J, Bjornsson S, Huttenlocher J, Levey AI, Lah JJ, Rujescu D, Hampel H, Giegling I, Andreassen OA, Engedal K, Ulstein I, Djurovic S, Ibrahim-Verbaas C, Hofman A, Ikram MA, van Duijn CM, Thorsteinsdottir U, Kong A, Stefansson K. Variant of TREM2 Associated with the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:107-116.
- Rietveld CA, Medland SE, Derringer J, Yang J, Esko T, Martin NW, Westra HJ, Shakhbazov K, Abdellaoui A, Agrawal A, Albrecht E, Alizadeh BZ, Amin N, Barnard J, Baumeister SE, Benke KS, Bielak LF, Boatman JA, Boyle PA, Davies G, de Leeuw C, Eklund N, Evans DS, Ferhmann R, Fischer K, Gieger C, Gjessing HK, Hägg S, Harris JR, Hayward C, Holzapfel C, Ibrahim-Verbaas CA, Ingelsson E, Jacobsson B, Joshi PK, Jugessur A, Kaakinen M, Kanoni S, Karjalainen J, Kolcic I, Kristiansson K, Kutalik Z, Lahti J, Lee SH, Lin P, Lind PA, Liu Y, Lohman K, Loitfelder M, McMahon G, Vidal PM, Meirelles O, Milani L, Myhre R, Nuotio ML, Oldmeadow CJ, Petrovic KE, Peyrot WJ, Polasek O, Quaye L, Reinmaa E, Rice JP, Rizzi TS, Schmidt H, Schmidt R, Smith AV, Smith JA, Tanaka T, Terracciano A, van der Loos MJ, Vitart V, Völzke H, Wellmann J, Yu L, Zhao W, Allik J, Attia JR, Bandinelli S, Bastardot F, Beauchamp J, Bennett DA, Berger K, Bierut LJ, Boomsma DI, Bültmann U, Campbell H, Chabris CF, Cherkas L, Chung MK, Cucca F, de Andrade M, De Jager PL, De Neve JE, Deary IJ, Dedoussis GV, Deloukas P, Dimitriou M, Eiríksdóttir G, Elderson MF, Eriksson JG, Evans DM, Faul JD, Ferrucci L, Garcia ME, Grönberg H, Guðnason V, Hall P, Harris JM, Harris TB, Hastie ND, Heath AC, Hernandez DG, Hoffmann W, Hofman A, Holle R, Holliday EG, Hottenga JJ, Iacono WG, Illig T, Järvelin MR, Kähönen M, Kaprio J, Kirkpatrick RM, Kowgier M, Latvala A, Launer LJ, Lawlor DA, Lehtimäki T, Li J, Lichtenstein P, Lichtner P, Liewald DC, Madden PA, Magnusson PK, Mäkinen TE, Masala M, McGue M, Metspalu A, Mielck A, Miller MB, Montgomery GW, Mukherjee S, Nyholt DR, Oostra BA, Palmer LJ, Palotie A, Penninx BW, Perola M, Peyser PA, Preisig M, Räikkönen K, Raitakari OT, Realo A, Ring SM, Ripatti S, Rivadeneira F, Rudan I, Rustichini A, Salomaa V, Sarin AP, Schlessinger D, Scott RJ, Snieder H, St Pourcain B, Starr JM, Sul JH, Surakka I, Svento R, Teumer A; LifeLines Cohort Study, Tiemeier H, van Rooij FJ, Van Wagoner DR, Vartiainen E, Viikari J, Vollenweider P, Vonk JM, Waeber G, Weir DR, Wichmann HE, Widen E, Willemsen G, Wilson JF, Wright AF, Conley D, Davey-Smith G, Franke L, Groenen PJ, Hofman A, Johannesson M, Kardia SL, Krueger RF, Laibson D, Martin NG, Meyer MN, Posthuma D, Thurik AR, Timpson NJ, Uitterlinden AG, van Duijn CM, Visscher PM, Benjamin DJ, Cesarini D, Koellinger PD. GWAS of 126,559 individuals identifies genetic variants associated with educational attainment.
Science. 2013 Jun 21;340(6139):1467-71.
- Den Ruijter HM, Peters SA, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker JM, Eijkemans MJ, Engstrom G, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Hofman A, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kavousi M, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Koffijberg H, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O'Leary DH, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CD, Witteman JC, Moons KG, Bots ML. Common carotid intima- media thickness measurements in cardiovascular risk prediction: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2012 Aug 22;308(8):796-803.
- Schrijvers EM, Koudstaal PJ, Hofman A, Breteler MM. Plasma clusterin and the risk of Alzheimer disease. JAMA. 2011 Apr 6;305(13):1322-6.
- Solouki AM, Verhoeven VJ, van Duijn CM, Verkerk AJ, Ikram MK, Hysi PG, Despriet DD, van Koolwijk LM, Ho L, Ramdas WD, Czudowska M, Kuijpers RW, Amin N, Struchalin M, Aulchenko YS, van Rij G, Riemslag FC, Young TL, Mackey DA, Spector TD, Gorgels TG, Willemse-Assink JJ, Isaacs A, Kramer R, Swagemakers SM, Bergen AA, van Oosterhout AA, Oostra BA, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Hofman A, de Jong PT, Hammond CJ, Vingerling JR, Klaver CC. A genome-wide association study identifies a susceptibility locus for refractive errors and myopia at 15q14. Nat Genet. 2010 Oct;42(10):897-901.
- Lp PLASC, Thompson A, Gao P, Orfei L, Watson S, Di Angelantonio E, Kaptoge S, Ballantyne C, Cannon CP, Criqui M, Cushman M, Hofman A, Packard C, Thompson SG, Collins R, Danesh J. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) and risk of coronary disease, stroke, and mortality: collaborative analysis of 32 prospective studies. Lancet. 2010 May 1;375(9725):1536-44.
- Ikram MA, Seshadri S, Bis JC, Fornage M, DeStefano AL, Aulchenko YS, Debette S, Lumley T, Folsom AR, van den Herik EG, Bos MJ, Beiser A, Cushman M, Launer LJ, Shahar E, Struchalin M, Du Y, Glazer NL, Rosamond WD, Rivadeneira F, Kelly-Hayes M, Lopez OL, Coresh J, Hofman A, DeCarli C, Heckbert SR, Koudstaal PJ, Yang Q, Smith NL, Kase CS, Rice K, Haritunians T, Roks G, de Kort PL, Taylor KD, de Lau LM, Oostra BA, Uitterlinden AG, Rotter JI, Boerwinkle E, Psaty BM, Mosley TH, van Duijn CM, Breteler MM, Longstreth WT Jr, Wolf PA. Genomewide association studies of stroke.
N Engl J Med. 2009 Apr 23;360(17):1718-28.
- Newton-Cheh C, Eijgelsheim M, Rice KM, de Bakker PI, Yin X, Estrada K, Bis JC, Marciante K, Rivadeneira F, Noseworthy PA, Sotoodehnia N, Smith NL, Rotter JI, Kors JA, Witteman JC, Hofman A, Heckbert SR, O'Donnell CJ, Uitterlinden AG, Psaty BM, Lumley T, Larson MG, Stricker BH. Common variants at ten loci influence QT interval duration in the QTGEN Study. Nat Genet. 2009 Apr;41(4):399-406.
- Dehghan A, Köttgen A, Yang Q, Hwang SJ, Kao WL, Rivadeneira F, Boerwinkle E, Levy D, Hofman A, Astor BC, Benjamin EJ, van Duijn CM, Witteman JC, Coresh J, Fox CS. Association of three genetic loci with uric acid concentration and risk of gout: a genome-wide association study. Lancet. 2008 Dec 6;372(9654):1953-61.
- Vernooij MW, Ikram MA, Tanghe HL, Vincent AJ, Hofman A, Krestin GP, Niessen WJ, Breteler MM, van der Lugt A. Incidental findings on brain MRI in the general population. N Engl J Med. 2007 Nov 1;357(18):1821-8.
- Meurs JB van, Dhonukshe-Rutten RA, Pluijm SM, Klift M van der, Jonge R de, Lindemans J, Groot LC de, Hofman A, Witteman JC, Leeuwen JP van, Breteler MM, Lips P, Pols HA, Uitterlinden AG. Homocysteine levels and the risk of osteoporotic fracture.
N Engl J Med 2004;350:2033-41.
- Vermeer SE, Prins ND, den Heijer T, Hofman A, Koudstaal PJ, Breteler MMB. Silent brain infarcts and the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:1215-22.
- Veld BA in ‘t, Ruitenberg A, Hofman A, Launer LJ, Duijn CM van, Stijnen T, Breteler MMB, Stricker BHC. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:1515-21.
- Uitterlinden AG, Burger H, Huang Q, Yue F, McGuigan FEA, Grant SFA, Hofman A, Leeuwen JPTM van, Pols HAP, Ralston SH. Relation of alleles of the collagen type 11 gene to bone density and the risk of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:1016-21.
- Hofman A, Ott A, Breteler MMB, Bots ML, Slooter AJC, Harskamp F van, Duijn CM van, Broeckhoven C van, Grobbee DE. Atherosclerosis, apolipoprotein and prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The Rotterdam Study. Lancet. 1997;349:151-4.
- Will RG, Ironside JW, Zeidler M, Cousens SN, Estibeiro K, Alprovitch A, Poser S, Pocchari M, Hofman A, Smith PG. A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK. Lancet. 1996;347:921-5.
- Duijn CM van, Knijff P de, Cruts M, Wehnert A, Havekes LM, Hofman A, Broeckhoven C van. Apolipoprotein E4 allele in a population based study of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Nat Genet. 1994;7:74-9.
- Hendriks L, Duijn CM van, Cras P, Cruts M, Hul W van, Harskamp van F, Warren A, Innis Mc MG, Antonara SE, Martin JJ, Hofman A, Broeckhoven C van. Presenile-dementia and cerebral- hemorrhage linked to a mutation at codon-692 of the beta-amyloid precursor protein gene. Nat Genet. 1992;1:218-21.
- Hooft IMS van,Grobbee DE,Derkx FHM, Leeuw PW de,Schalekamp MADH,Hofman A. Renal hemodynamics and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the early phase of primary hypertension. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:1305-11.
- Walter HJ, Hofman A, Vaughan RD, Wynder E. Modification of risk factors for coronary heart disease. Five-year results of a school-based intervention trial. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:1093-100.
- Hofman A, Hazebroek A, Valkenburg HA. A randomized trial of sodium intake and blood pressure in newborn infants. JAMA. 1983;250:370-3.