Heather J. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Heather Janel Hoffman is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
- Phone: 202-994-8587
- Fax: 202-994-0082
- Email: sphhjh@gwumc.edu
"Exhaustive research, coupled with diligent experimentation, provides an abundance of data, but it is the interpretation of this knowledge that gives it a sense of purpose," says Professor Heather Hoffman. And it is in the realm of interpretation, perhaps as principal statistician in a study that one day leads to a new drug or medical procedure, where she hopes to make an enduring contribution.
Prior to joining SPHHS in the summer of 2006, Dr. Hoffman accumulated a stellar list of academic accomplishments. As a doctoral student, she taught a graduate-level course in biostatistical computing, earned a 4.0 GPA as well as numerous scholarships, and was featured on the cover of her alumni magazine. As part of her biostatistics dissertation, Dr. Hoffman developed a tool for multivariate analysis. She is particularly interested in environmental epidemiology, especially the relationship between air pollution and mortality, and pharmacoepidemiology, notably the long-term effects of drugs and devices.
Education
Bachelor of Science (Mathematics), Christopher Newport University, 2001
Doctor of Philosophy (Biostatistics), Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005
Teaching
PubH 6249: Use of SAS for Data Management and Data Analysis, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
PubH 6260: Advanced Data Analysis, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
PubH 6268: Advanced SAS, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
PubH 6099: Survival Analysis, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Research
For her dissertation research in biostatistics, Dr. Hoffman developed an algorithm that provides the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) of mean and unstructured (co)variance parameters corresponding to a multivariate (log) normal distribution in the presence of left-censored and missing values. She also devised a more efficient bivariate MLE tool with comparable accuracy.
During her first two years at GWU, Dr. Hoffman conducted type 2 diabetes research at the Biostatistics Center in Rockville, MD. As part of the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS) team, she analyzed the long-term effects of an intensive lifestyle intervention and metformin on diabetes incidence in high-risk adults. She is currently working on a manuscript that examines whether the DPP dietary changes achieved between baseline and 1-year post randomization were sustained for a total of five years post-randomization, as well as whether demographic characteristics were significantly associated with sustainability of specific dietary changes.
In addition, Dr. Hoffman conducts HIV/AIDS research at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). During her visit in Swaziland, she participated in a study that aimed to maximize the number of HIV-positive women who received ARV prophylaxis in health facilities with maternity services, thus preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. She is currently working on projects evaluating infant feeding and nutrition counseling for children born to HIV-infected mothers in Cote d’Ivoire and Rwanda.
Furthermore, Dr. Hoffman acts as the biostatistician and data manager for The GW Cancer Institute. She is currently working on the DC Citywide Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP), which aims to evaluate whether Enhanced Navigation combined with Standard-Concrete Navigation is more effective than Standard-Concrete Navigation alone in decreasing the time from suspicious finding (abnormal screening mammogram) to diagnostic resolution, as well as in decreasing the time from diagnosis to treatment initiation. Of primary interest is whether progression-free survival is affected by these diagnostic or treatment delays by health practitioners, and whether these diagnostic and treatment delays differ between African-American and white women with and without some type of health insurance.
Finally, Dr. Hoffman acts as the biostatistician for the Public Health-Academic Partnership for HIV Epidemiology and Surveillance in DC with the DC Department of Health (DOH). She assists in analyzing epidemiologic trends and risk factors for hepatitis using the DC DOH Hepatitis Surveillance database.
Expertise
- Biostatistics
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer
- Multivariate Normal Distributions
- Nondetected Data