Josephine Hoh

Josephine Hoh is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) and of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the Yale School of Public Health. She holds a primary appointment in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology and a secondary appointment in Ophthalmology at Yale University.

Dr. Hoh received her PhD in Mathematics from Rutgers University in 1998 and her BS from National Tsing Hua University in 1989. She was trained in mathematics and theoretical statistics under Professor Zhiliang Ying and the late Professor Herbert Robbins. As a research assistant professor at Rockefeller University, she worked with Jurg Ott on linkage analysis for genetic factors of human disease, developing computational methods including SUMSTAT and p53MH that remain widely used.

Her research focuses on elucidating disease pathophysiology, particularly how genetic factors interact with environmental exposures to influence disease development. Her work spans multiple disciplines including genetics, genomics, epidemiology, and ophthalmology, with a particular focus on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in developed countries.

Dr. Hoh led the first successful application of genome-wide association study (GWAS) approaches to AMD, representing a major breakthrough in the field. She has also investigated other complex traits including carcinoid cancer, scleroderma, asthma, and longevity through collaborative efforts with national and international research groups.

• Environmental Exposure
• Environmental Health
• Ophthalmology
• Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics
• Toxicology

Dr. Hoh maintains active collaborations with researchers at the National Eye Institute (Drs. Emily Chew and Rick Ferris) and internationally (Dr. Calvin Pang of Hong Kong University). Her interdisciplinary approach combines mathematical, statistical, and biological methods to understand the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors in disease development.