John Kopchick Explained

John J Kopchick
Birth Date:2 November 1950
Field:Biologist
Work Institutions:Ohio University
Alma Mater:Indiana University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas, MD Anderson
Known For:Growth Hormone Research
Prizes: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 and spent the first four years of his life with the "groundhog". The family then moved to a small coal-mining town: Ernest, Pennsylvania. His father and both grandfathers were coal-miners. 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

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, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 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 worldwide for the treatment of patients with acromegaly, a chronic disease caused by excessive GH secretion. Royalties from the sales of Somavert has yielded ~$120M to Ohio University which has led to a Translational Medicine Doctoral Program.[4] 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.[5] Dr. Kopchick has an h-index of 80, has advised more than 35 Ph.D., 14 M.S., 45 Post-doctoral fellows and over 350 undergraduate students. He has also published more than 400 scientific articles, issued 17 patents (11 patents pending) and serves or has served on the Editorial Boards of Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, GH & IGF-1 Research, Pituitary, and The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

In 2022, a newly discovered dinosaur Yuxisaurus kopchicki was named after Dr. Kopchik in recognition of his contributions to biology and the IUP science building.[6]

The John and Char Kopchick Awards

In 2014, John and Char Kopchick committed to giving a $2 million donation[7] 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.[8] Also, the Kopchicks endorsed other two student oriented awards. In 2017, John and Char Kopchick gave a $10.5 million gift to fund up to 15 student fellowships at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center-UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.[9] In 2018, John and Char Kopchick gave a $23 million gift to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for the construction of a new facility that will be the home of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.[10]

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Faculty Biomedical Sciences: John Kopchick, Ph.D. . Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
  2. Web site: Curriculum Vitae . Kopchick . John.
  3. 18058724 . 2007 . Berryman . DE . Palmer . AJ . Gosney . ES . Swaminathan . S . Desantis . D . Kopchick . JJ . Discovery and uses of pegvisomant: A growth hormone antagonist . 58 . 4 . 322–9 . Endokrynologia Polska.
  4. Web site: STUDENT RESEARCH & CREATIVITY SYMPOSIUM . Ohio University . May 20, 2024.
  5. 1997PNAS...9413215Z . 10.1073/pnas.94.24.13215 . 43567 . A mammalian model for Laron syndrome produced by targeted disruption of the mouse growth hormone receptor/binding protein gene (the Laron mouse) . 1997 . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 94 . 24 . 13215–20 . Yihua . Zhou . Bixiong C. . Xu . Hiralal G. . Maheshwari . Li . He . Michael . Reed . Maria . Lozykowski . Shigeru . Okada . Lori . Cataldo . Karen . Coschigamo . Thomas E. . Wagner . Gerhard . Baumann . John J. . Kopchick . 9371826 . 24289. free .
  6. Web site: A new early branching armored dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of southwestern China . . 2022-03-15 . 2022-03-17.
  7. Web site: With over a year to go, OU passes its $450 million 'Promise' fundraising goal . . 2014-04-30 . 2015-05-06.
  8. Web site: New Kopchick awards support OHIO scientific and medical research . . 2014-12-09 . 2015-05-06.
  9. Web site: 2017-06-23. John & Charlene Kopchick Gift for Fellows Texas Medical Center News. 2021-05-25. TMC News. en.
  10. Web site: Indiana University of Pennsylvania receives $23 million gift for math and science - IUP in the News - IUP News - News and Events - IUP. 2021-05-25. www.iup.edu.
  11. Web site: OU-COM professor earns honorary degree . . 2011-09-21 . 2012-10-02.
  12. Web site: Kopchick awarded British Society for Endocrinology's Transatlantic Medal . . 2011-08-30 . 2012-10-02.
  13. Web site: John Kopchick named 2012 Distinguished Professor . . 2012-06-08 . 2015-05-06.
  14. Web site: Endowed research chair named in honor of John Kopchick, Ph.D. . . 2012-01-24 . 2015-05-06.
  15. Web site: Kopchick elected president of Growth Hormone Research Society Ohio University. 2021-05-25. www.ohio.edu.
  16. Web site: College has new associate dean for research & innovation. 2021-05-25. archive.constantcontact.com.
  17. Web site: Medicine. Author Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic. 2018-12-17. The research odyssey of John Kopchick. 2021-05-25. Ohio University Medicine. en.
  18. Web site: 2019-01-16. Meet the 2019 Laureates: John J. Kopchick, PhD. 2021-05-25. Endocrine News. en-US.

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