John Kopchick, PhD

Education:

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania, BS, 1972
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania, MS, 1975
• University of Texas, PhD, 1980
• Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1982

Expertise:

• Molecular Endocrinology
• Growth Hormone
• Growth Hormone Receptor Antagonists
• Transgenic and gene disrupted mice
• Growth Hormone and longevity
• Growth Hormone and Cancer

Summary of Work:

John J. Kopchick is an internationally recognized leader in the growth hormone field. Since 1987, he has been the Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology in The Edison Biotechnology Institute and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio University. Dr. Kopchick attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and received his BS and MS degrees in Biology/Chemistry. He received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He then performed postdoctoral studies in molecular virology at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley, NJ. Following that, he was a group leader in molecular medicine at Merck & Co. in Rahway, NJ. Dr. Kopchick and his group were the first to discover and characterize Growth Hormone (GH) receptor antagonists, an accomplishment for which he and Ohio University were awarded several US and European patents. He also was instrumental in founding a company, Sensus, which applied his research to the development of an FDA approved drug called Somavert (Pegvisomant for injection), which is marketed worldwide for patients with acromegaly who benefit from treatment. Substantial royalties from the sales of Somavert has led to a Translational Medicine Doctoral Program at Ohio University and supported other university research programs. Dr. Kopchick has published more than 430 scientific articles and serves or has served on editorial boards of Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, GH & IGF-1 Research, Pituitary, eLife, and The Journal of Biological Chemistry. He is Past-President of the Growth Hormone Research Society and currently an ad hoc member of their Counsel. Dr. Kopchick has received numerous awards including the British Endocrine Society Transatlantic Award (2011), the Endocrine Society Laureate Award for Outstanding Innovations (2019), and the title of Ohio University Distinguished Professor. He has advised 33 PhD, 4 DO/PhD, and 14 MS students along with 45 post-doctoral fellows, several visiting professors, and more than 300 undergraduate students in molecular aspects of growth, diabetes, cancer, and aging.