He is board certified in Public Health and Preventive Medicine as well as Clinical Lipidology.

Dr. Hopkins has been involved in efforts to promote greater understanding and prevention of premature, familial coronary artery disease (CAD) with the Cardiovascular Genetics (CVG) group since 1978. He has been a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Investigator for numerous NIH grants focused on the genetics of CAD, hypertension, lipids, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Dr. Hopkins is currently Co-Director of Cardiovascular Genetics at the University of Utah and Director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Clinic.

From 1998 to 2004 Dr. Hopkins was International Chair for the MEDPED program (Make Early Diagnoses to Prevent Early Death), started by the late Dr. Roger Williams to find, educate, and help prevent premature CAD in persons with FH. Dr. Hopkins served as an NIH grant reviewer and continues to be a reviewer for numerous medical journals. He teaches at the University of Utah School of Medicine, is an active lecturer, and serves as a statistical consultant for the Center for Clinical and Translational Studies statistics group at the University of Utah.