John Kopchick

John J Kopchick
Born (1950-11-02) November 2, 1950
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Residence Athens, Ohio
Nationality American
Fields Biologist
Institutions Ohio University
Alma mater Indiana University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas, MD Anderson
Known for Growth Hormone Research
Notable awards British Society for Endocrinology’s Transatlantic Medal (2011)

John Kopchick is a molecular biologist and co-inventor of the drug Somavert (Pegvisomant), which has improved the lives of acromegalic individuals around the world. He is currently the Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Molecular Biology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.[1] Dr. Kopchick's groundbreaking work in the field of growth hormone has helped shape the study of endocrinology.

Early life

John Joseph Kopchick was born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1950 to Peter Kopchick and Kathryn Gabster Kopchick. He spent the first four years of his life in a small coal mining town: Ernest, Pennsylvania. He then moved to Indiana, Pennsylvania with his parents and youngest brother, Bill, where he attended Indiana High School. There, he varsity lettered in baseball, was in the national honor society, and played trumpet in the school band and orchestra. John later attended The Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he met his wife, Charlene Kopchick. They were married on June 26, 1976.

Education and Career

John Kopchick

John Kopchick moderating a session at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting, Boston 2011

Dr. Kopchick received his B.S. in biology in 1972 from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). While attending IUP, he was a founding brother of a social fraternity Chi Alpha Sigma, which is now a chapter of Delta Tau Delta. In 1975, he received his M.S. in biology and chemistry from IUP. The title of his M.S. thesis was ‘Catabolism of alpha-amino adipate by Pseudomonas putida p2’.[2] He went on to attend the University of Texas, MD Anderson Hospital, Houston, Texas and received his Ph.D. in 1980. His dissertation described the biosynthesis of Rauscher murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase. From 1980 to 1982, he continued his research training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley, New Jersey. He then accepted a position at the prestigious Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research where he conducted and facilitated research from 1982 to 1986, first as a senior research biochemist and later as a research fellow, and finally as a group leader of Molecular Biology at the Department of Animal Drug Discovery. During that time, he developed a system built around cloning and expression of growth hormone (GH) genes.

In 1987, Dr. Kopchick started as Director of the Growth, Diabetes and Obesity section at the nascent Edison Biotechnology Institute (EBI) of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. During his time at EBI, he discovered and characterized the molecular aspects of GH receptor antagonists. This discovery was further developed into the drug, Somavert[ (Pegvisomant for Injection).[3] It has been approved for use in the USA, Europe, and Japan along with 12 other countries for acromegaly, a chronic disease caused by excessive GH secretion. Another notable accomplishment of the Kopchick laboratory is the generation and characterization of the world’s longest lived laboratory mouse, the growth hormone receptor knockout mouse.[4]

The John J. Kopchick Awards

In 2014, John and Char Kopchick committed to giving a $2 million donation[5] to support scientific and medical research programs at Ohio University. The donation funds three newly established internal award programs at Ohio University, The John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)/Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) Faculty Support Fund, Research Fellowship Award and Undergraduate Student Support Fund.[6]

Awards and Fellowships

Selected Publications

References

  1. ↑ "Faculty Biomedical Sciences: John Kopchick, Ph.D.". Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
  2. ↑ Kopchick, John. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF).
  3. ↑ Berryman, DE; Palmer, AJ; Gosney, ES; Swaminathan, S; Desantis, D; Kopchick, JJ (2007). "Discovery and uses of pegvisomant: A growth hormone antagonist". Endokrynologia Polska. 58 (4): 322–9. PMID 18058724.
  4. ↑ Zhou, Yihua; Xu, Bixiong C.; Maheshwari, Hiralal G.; He, Li; Reed, Michael; Lozykowski, Maria; Okada, Shigeru; Cataldo, Lori; Coschigamo, Karen; Wagner, Thomas E.; Baumann, Gerhard; Kopchick, John J. (1997). "A mammalian model for Laron syndrome produced by targeted disruption of the mouse growth hormone receptor/binding protein gene (the Laron mouse)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 94 (24): 13215–20. Bibcode:1997PNAS...9413215Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.24.13215. JSTOR 43567. PMC 24289Freely accessible. PMID 9371826.
  5. ↑ "With over a year to go, OU passes its $450 million 'Promise' fundraising goal". Athensnews. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  6. ↑ "New Kopchick awards support OHIO scientific and medical research". University Communications and Marketing. 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  7. ↑ "OU-COM professor earns honorary degree". Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  8. ↑ "Kopchick awarded British Society for Endocrinology's Transatlantic Medal". Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  9. ↑ "John Kopchick named 2012 Distinguished Professor". University marketing and communication. 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  10. ↑ "Endowed research chair named in honor of John Kopchick, Ph.D.". Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
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