Background
Hoffman was born in Saint Louis, Missouri.
chemist radiologist university professor
Hoffman was born in Saint Louis, Missouri.
He earned a Bachelor of Science chemistry from Saint Louis University in 1963, his Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Chemistry from Washington University in Saint Louis in 1970 and completed postgraduate work in nuclear chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.
Hoffman, with Michael Phelps, developed the Positron Emission Tomography scanner in 1973. In 1972 he joined the faculty of Washington University’s School of Medicine, where he and Doctor Michael Phelps began developing what later became known as the Positron Emission Tomography scanner, used to detect cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. In 1975, Phelps and Hoffman moved to the University of Pennsylvania.
Starting in 1976, Hoffman was a professor at University of California, Los Angeles medical school in the Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology and Radiological Sciences.
In 1999, he authored a book that reviews the biochemical basis of alternative medical treatments for cancer. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Transactions on Nuclear Science.
He died of liver cancer in Los Angeles, California.