MARTEN HOFKER

His love for science connects people
And enters up landscapes
Puts enthusiasm on the map
By researching the field,
The one who knows the field
And what’s known.

Hans Mes – 2022

In his portrait of Prof.dr. Marten Hofker for the Marten Hofker hall in the ERIBA building of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, sculptor Hans Mes did not want to limit himself to the physical aspects of his face. In his view, portraiture also includes the portrayal of Marten Hofker as a human and as a scientist. Marten was someone who could connect both people and research. At the same time, he was able to open up new areas within his field, genetics and molecular biology and beyond. In it, he not only developed a new test model of mice with a human gene, but also excelled in the application and bringing together of this transgenetic research in various fields such as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and their prevention. Marten Hofker has continuously managed to enthuse people within the European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging (ERIBA) and the Molecular Genetics group. Also outside the university, at conferences, even at home, once called Hotel Genetica, he was a heartwarming personality, full of ideas and with a clear vision. In his portrait he is shown with that open, purposeful look; warm and engaged. The shoulder and lapel of his jacket are made up of a concatenation of skin cells, platelets, stem cells, chromosomes, telomeres and DNA. In doing so, they symbolize the depth, but also the diversity and stratification of his research. A mouse sniffs at his shoulder as a sign of the breakthrough in transgenetic research of which Marten Hofker was the founder.