Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NeuroscienceThe Ape-Heart Connection Lab
Patrick R Hof · New York, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Patrick Hof's lab is focused on understanding how cardiovascular health impacts brain health as humans age, particularly in comparison with great apes like chimpanzees and gorillas. The research aims to uncover why humans are more prone to cognitive decline and specific heart diseases than our closest relatives. By studying the differences in brain and heart aging between these species, the lab hopes to provide insights into how we can promote healthier aging in humans.
cardiovascular healthbrain agingcognitive declinegreat apesneurovascular healthAlzheimer's diseaseheart diseasechimpanzeesgorillasevolutionary biology
Research Aims
3AIM 01Evaluate the effects of aging and cardiovascular disease on brain health in humans and great apes.
AIM 02Identify age-related vascular risk factors associated with cognitive impairment in great apes.
AIM 03Examine how cardiovascular health influences cognition and motor function in chimpanzees compared to humans.
Skills the Lab Values
stereologyelectron microscopymultiplexed immunofluorescence imagingMRI scansechocardiographybiomarker analysisdisease pathology assessmentcell density measurementdata analysisbioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications996top 3% of dept.22nd of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations79ktop 3% of dept.20th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.