Joseph Frederick Hoffman, the Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), has left a $9 million bequest to the school.
Hoffman, who passed away on May 19, 2022, was a central figure in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology for nearly sixty years and held an impressive list of accomplishments. As a renowned scientist who studied red blood cells, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1984. He continued publishing scientific papers well into his 90s, using new scientific techniques to revisit his old scientific questions. His discoveries about ion transport across red blood cell membranes are taught to biology students around the world and remain important to this day.
“Joe landed in the perfect place for him, which was Yale, and he flourished there,” says his nephew Richard Hoffman. “Joe was very devoted to Yale. It was everything to him.”
Hoffman’s bequest will establish several funds, including the Elena Citkowitz Professorship of Internal Medicine for a lipidology expert, the Joseph F. Hoffman Professorship of Physiological Sciences, the Peter N. Herbert Professorship of Medicine, the Joseph F. Hoffman Fellowship Fund to provide financial aid for graduate students in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, the Joseph F. Hoffman Ophthalmology Fund, and the Joseph F. Hoffman Endowed Fund for Medicine. Hoffman’s gift also includes support for the Medical Historical Library.
“We are grateful for Dr. Joseph Hoffman’s extraordinary bequest,” says Nancy J. Brown ’81, the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of YSM. “His contributions to the field of physiology and passionate support for Yale School of Medicine will continue to impact future generations of students, researchers, and patients.”