Alan Frederick Hofmann, MD, FAASLD
The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) acknowledges the passing of an esteemed member and fellow who made significant contributions to our field. Alan Frederick Hofmann, MD, FAASLD, passed away on September 7, 2021. Dr. Hofmann was a gastrointestinal physiologist, biochemist, and clinician notable for his extensive basic, translational, and clinical research on bile acids and lipid digestion.
Dr. Hofmann served as a National Foundation Research Fellow from 1959 to 1962 at the University of Lund, Sweden. This inspirational experience established his lifelong work in bile acids and lipid digestion. After relocating to California, he served as a professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at University of California, San Diego from 1977-2002. He obtained professor emeritus status in 2002, and reviewed until 2009, enjoying a 50-year research career.
Dr. Hofmann made many advances in the chemistry and biology of bile acids, helping understand and treat various liver, biliary and digestive diseases. His research includes many aspects of lipid digestion and absorption, bile acid evolution, pathobiology, pathochemistry, bile secretion, cholelithiasis, biliary physiology and pharmacology, and the diagnosis and treatment of various digestive and hepatobiliary diseases.
Throughout his career, Dr. Hofmann influenced and mentored many researchers with his groundbreaking ideas, knowledge, and support. His work earned him many awards including AASLD’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1997. The Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Gastroenterological Association in 1970, and the Horace W. Davenport Distinguished Lectureship from the American Physiological Society in 1996.
Dr. Hofmann had been a member of AASLD since 1966 and served as the association’s president in 1986. He was also an AASLD Fellow. On behalf of our members and staff, AASLD fondly remembers Dr. Hofmann. We honor his legacy, life of service and immeasurable contributions to the liver community. A more complete profile of Dr. Hofmann’s life will be forthcoming in HEPATOLOGY.
James Heubi, MD
The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) also acknowledges the passing of an esteemed member and renowned expert in the treatment of children with liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. James Heubi, MD passed away on August 4, 2021.
Dr. Heubi joined Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1975 as a fellow in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. He developed a passion for clinical research and became the director of the Clinical Research Center in 1988, as well as the associate dean for Clinical Research at UC. He went on to administer the NIH-funded Clinical Translational Science Award as the director of the Clinical Center for Translational Science and Training (CCTST)—a collaboration between the university, Cincinnati Children’s, and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center.
A leading researcher in the field of bile acid defects, Dr. Heubi worked for many years in conjunction with Kenneth Setchell, PhD, FAASLD, to develop a treatment that allowed children to avoid the need for a liver transplant to survive their condition. That new drug, called Cholbam, earned U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2015.
Throughout his notable 46-year career, Dr. Heubi earned various honors and awards. In 2011, he received the Daniel Drake Medal, the highest honor awarded by the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He also received Founders Awards from the Midwest Society for Pediatric Research in 2006 and the Cincinnati Pediatric Society in 2010.
Dr. Heubi served as president of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) in 2016. He also served as a councilor of the NIH-Center for Research Resources.
He was a member of AASLD from 1988 until the time of his passing. On behalf of our members and staff, AASLD fondly remembers Dr. Heubi. We honor his legacy, life of service and immeasurable contributions to the liver community. A more complete profile of Dr. Heubi’s life will be forthcoming in HEPATOLOGY.