Award

Hofmann honored for her contributions to the field of protein lipidation

She received the ASBMB's Avanti Award in Lipids
Mark Stewart
By Mark Stewart
March 1, 2014

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Sandra Hofmann at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas the winner of the Avanti Award in Lipids.

Sandra Hofmann

I am honored to have received this award and am grateful to my colleagues for the nomination and to Avanti Polar Lipids for their support of this award. Lipid enzymology is a difficult and rewarding field pioneered by a number of courageous individuals and it has been a privilege to continue to work in this great tradition. It is particularly exciting to see protein lipidation being recognized. The potential for new discovery in this area is enormous. It would not surprise me to be treating future patients with cancer or neurological disorders with protein palmitoylation inhibitors in the same way that protein kinase inhibitors are used today.

—SANDRA HOFMANN


 Hofmann, a professor in the internal medicine department at UT-Southwestern, focuses her research on fundamental questions in lipid metabolism and protein lipidation, which has led to novel insights into the treatment of human diseases.
 
When Hofmann set up her own lab at UT-Southwestern, the enzymology of palmitoylation, which is the attachment of fatty acids to proteins, was unknown. Hofmann’s research led to the purification of palmitoyl protein thioesterase, or PPT1, an enzyme that removes these fatty acids from proteins. This was the first enzyme identified with a role in protein palmitoylation. The PPT1 gene eventually was mapped to a region in chromosome 1p, which also had been linked to infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, or INCL, a devastating neurodegenerative disease in children. Her training as a clinician-scientist helped her make this link and discover that deficiencies in PPT1 cause INCL.
 
“Hofmann’s research is a superb example of how tackling a fundamental basic science question can lead to discoveries of great clinical significance,” explains Maurine Linder of Cornell University, who nominated Hofmann for the award.
 
Hofmann later developed the first mouse model of INCL. That mouse model allowed her to develop enzyme-replacement therapy. The addition of intravenous recombinant PPT1 has led to modest improvements in mice and provides the basis for further studies.
 
Robert Deschenes of the University of South Florida says that “Hofmann’s work is a model of translational science at its best” and that he even uses her work as an example when teaching graduate and medical students.
 
Hofmann earned her B.A. in chemistry with the highest distinction at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She proceeded to earn an M.D. and Ph.D. at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis under the mentorship of Philip Majerus. In the Majerus lab, she made seminal contributions to the enzymology of phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis. That work provided her experience in the isolation and characterization of novel enzymes. She left Washington University to pursue postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Nobel laureates Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein at UT-Southwestern. Hofmann has since remained at UT-Southwestern, where she has risen through the ranks to professor.
 
In recognition of her research, Hofmann was inducted as a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians. She also chairs the Scientific Advisory Board for the Batten Disease Support and Research Association, which allows her to have a sustained influence on the field of disorders of the nervous system.
 
Hofmann will receive her award in San Diego at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting, where she will deliver an award lecture. Her lecture will be at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 30, in Room 6A of the San Diego Convention Center.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Mark Stewart
Mark Stewart

Mark Stewart is a Ph.D. student in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s cancer biology program and works in the pathology department.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

Meet the 2025 SOC grant awardees
Outreach

Meet the 2025 SOC grant awardees

Aug. 15, 2025

Five science outreach and communication projects received up to $1,000 from ASBMB to promote the understanding of molecular life science.

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins
Profile

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins

Aug. 13, 2025

MOSAIC scholar Katie Dunleavy investigates how Aurora kinase A shields oncogene c-MYC from degradation, using cutting-edge techniques to uncover new strategies targeting “undruggable” molecules.

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond
Profile

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond

Aug. 12, 2025

Ileana Cristea, an ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar speaker, presented her research on how viruses reprogram cell structure and metabolism to enhance infection and how these mechanisms might link viral infections to cancer and other diseases.

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus
Profile

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus

Aug. 11, 2025

Ray Blind, an ASBMB Breakthroughs speaker, presented his research on how lipids and sugars in the cell nucleus are involved in signaling and gene expression and how these pathways could be targeted to identify therapeutics for diseases like cancer.

In memoriam: William S. Sly
In Memoriam

In memoriam: William S. Sly

Aug. 11, 2025

He served on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Council in 2005 and 2006 and was an ASBMB member for 35 years.

ASBMB committees welcome new members
Society News

ASBMB committees welcome new members

Aug. 7, 2025

Members joined these committees: Education and Professional Development, Maximizing Access, Meetings, Membership, Public Affairs Advisory, Science Outreach and Communication, Student Chapters and Women in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.