Epidemiologist Albert Hofman knighted by the Netherlands

André Haspels-Carmela-Hofman_Bert Hofman_Maite Suarez
L to R: Dutch Ambassador André Haspels, Albert Hofman's daughter Carmela, Albert Hofman, and Hofman's wife Maite Suarez

August 2, 2021 – Albert Hofman of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has been named a Knight of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands for exceptional service to the community. The Order of the Lion is the oldest and highest civilian order of chivalry in the Netherlands.

Hofman, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology, was awarded the honor by Dutch Ambassador André Haspels at a surprise ceremony in Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on July 26, 2021.

“I feel very honored by this royal appointment from my native country, and so very appreciative that the ambassador from the Netherlands made a special trip to Boston to present the knighthood in person,” said Hofman.

The most highly cited scientist in the Netherlands, Hofman is an internationally recognized scientific leader in the epidemiology of common neurologic and vascular diseases, in particular dementia and stroke. He initiated pioneering studies on the role of vascular factors in the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and has launched genetic studies of complex diseases in large populations.

He is the initiator and principal investigator of large cohort studies in the Netherlands—The Rotterdam Study and the Generation R study—that continue to provide new insights into the development of disease and the prevention of illness.

Prior to joining Harvard Chan School in 2016, Hofman had served since 1988 as chair of the epidemiology department of the Erasmus Medical Center/Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He was also science director of the graduate school at the Netherlands Institute for Health Science from its start in 1990 until 2015.

Karen Feldscher

– photo courtesy Dutch Embassy

Read a press release from the Netherlands: Prof. Bert Hofman appointed a Knight of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands