Skip to Main Content

Faculty Directory

Back to
Faculty Directory
Sandra Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D.

Sandra Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

School
Medical School
Department
Internal Medicine | Molecular Genetics
Graduate Programs
Cancer Biology

You have reached the Academic Profile.

For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile.

  • Biography

    Sandra L. Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of the Division of Hematology and Oncology.

    Dr. Hofmann earned her medical degree and a doctoral degree in molecular biology at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also performed her residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology and oncology. She received advanced training in molecular genetics through a postdoctoral fellowship at UT Southwestern.

    Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Hofmann joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1989.

    Dr. Hofmann’s research interests focus on the metabolism of proteins that are modified by lipids. Her laboratory has conducted pioneering work that has led to a greater understanding of a group of hereditary brain disorders known as the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL, or Batten disease).

    She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Society of Hematology.

  • Education
    Medical School
    Washington University in St. Louis (1983)
    Internship
    Washington University in St. Louis (1984), Internal Medicine
    Residency
    Washington University in St. Louis (1986), Internal Medicine
    Fellowship
    Washington University in St. Louis (1986), Hematology Oncology
  • Research Interest
    • Batten Disease
    • Protein Lipidation
  • Publications

    Star Featured Publications

    Massive palmitoylation-dependent endocytosis during reoxygenation of anoxic cardiac muscle.
    Lin MJ, Fine M, Lu JY, Hofmann SL, Frazier G, Hilgemann DW Elife 2013 2 0
    Intravenous high-dose enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant palmitoyl-protein thioesterase reduces visceral lysosomal storage and modestly prolongs survival in a preclinical mouse model of infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.
    Hu J, Lu JY, Wong AM, Hynan LS, Birnbaum SG, Yilmaz DS, Streit BM, Lenartowicz EM, Thompson TC, Cooper JD, Hofmann SL Mol. Genet. Metab. 2012 Sep 107 1-2 213-21
    DHHC5 protein palmitoylates flotillin-2 and is rapidly degraded on induction of neuronal differentiation in cultured cells.
    Li Y, Martin BR, Cravatt BF, Hofmann SL J. Biol. Chem. 2012 Jan 287 1 523-30
    DHHC5 interacts with PDZ domain 3 of post-synaptic density-95 (PSD-95) protein and plays a role in learning and memory.
    Li Y, Hu J, Höfer K, Wong AM, Cooper JD, Birnbaum SG, Hammer RE, Hofmann SL J. Biol. Chem. 2010 Apr 285 17 13022-31
    Human recombinant palmitoyl-protein thioesterase-1 (PPT1) for preclinical evaluation of enzyme replacement therapy for infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.
    Lu JY, Hu J, Hofmann SL Mol. Genet. Metab. 2010 Apr 99 4 374-8
    Functional biology of the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) proteins.
    Kyttälä A, Lahtinen U, Braulke T, Hofmann SL Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2006 Oct 1762 10 920-33
    Thematic review series: lipid posttranslational modifications. Lysosomal metabolism of lipid-modified proteins.
    Lu JY, Hofmann SL J. Lipid Res. 2006 Jul 47 7 1352-7
  • Honors & Awards
    • Avanti Award in Lipids
      Amerian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2014)
    • Fellow
      American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013)
    • Javits Neuroscience Investigator (MERIT) Award
      NINDS, National Institutes of Health (2004-2011)
    • Charles E. Culpeper Foundation Scholar in Medical Science
      UT Southwestern (1991)
    • Alpha Omega Alpha
      Washington University School of Medicine (1983)
    • Sigma Xi Award
      University of Virginia (Chemistry) (1977)
    • Phi Beta Kappa
      University of Virginia (1976)
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • American Association for Physicians, 2002
    • American Society for Clinical Investigation, 1997
    • American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    • American Society of Hematology