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Karen J. Hofman MD
Director of the Division of International Science Policy,
Planning and Evaluation (DISPPE)
Fogarty International Center, NIH

Dr. Hofman has served as DISPPE Director since December 2002 and came to FIC in March 1999 as a Science Policy Analyst. She is a board certified pediatrician and geneticist.

After completing postdoctoral studies at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she joined the faculty and served as Acting Clinical Director at the Center for Medical Genetics. Dr. Hofman has consulted for the Pan American Health Organization on Non Communicable Disease, NIH ( NICHD and NHGRI) and the Child Health Policy Unit at the University of Cape Town.

She graduated from the University of Witwatersrand School of Medicine, South Africa, completed an internships in Internal Medicine, Surgery and Pediatrics. She was a Resident in Pediatrics at Penn State University School of Medicine. Dr. Hofman’s publications includes authorship of manuscripts and chapters on clinical, molecular and policy-related research linked to her experience in global health, pediatrics, genetics, and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

As Director of DISPPE, Dr. Hofman is responsible for analyzing social, economic and public health polices related to international biomedical research with an emphasis on disparities in global health. DISPPE is responsible for developing the FIC congressional justification.

In addition this office generally takes the lead in providing strategic guidance for new initiatives, organizing workshops and colloquia that inform FIC and potential funding partners regarding key research gaps and training needs.

This office also evaluates ongoing FIC programs and others of national and international importance that are relevant to the Center and that complement the research activities of the NIH categorical institutes.