by Kevin M. Sanders
Dec. 21, 2007
John J. Kopchick, Ph.D.,
Goll-Ohio Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Ohio
University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio,
recently received the Riland Medal for Research from New York
College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM) of New York Institute of
Technology (NYIT). The Riland Medal is
given to individuals who have made significant contributions to
the improvement of the health care work force, medical
education, health policy or osteopathic philosophy, and who have
served as a community advocate.
Kopchick is an internationally
recognized leader in the growth hormone (GH) field. Since 1987,
he has held the Milton and Lawrence H. Goll Eminent Scholar
Professorship in Molecular and Cellular Biology and directs the
growth/obesity/diabetes section of the Edison Biotechnology
Institute at Ohio University. In 1989, Kopchick and his group
were the first to discover and characterize the molecular
aspects of GH antagonists, an accomplishment for which he and
Ohio University were awarded several U.S. and European patents.
He was instrumental in founding a company, Sensus, which applied
his laboratory discovery to the development of a drug to treat
acromegaly, a chronic disease caused by excessive secretion of
GH by a pituitary adenoma. The drug, Somavert, is available in
the United States and Europe and is marketed by Pfizer. Somavert
also is expected to be useful in treating diabetic retinopathy
and nephropathy as well as breast and other types of cancer.
Kopchick has published more than 240 scientific articles and has
served on the editorial boards of several journals including
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Endocrinology, Molecular
Endocrinology and GH & IGF-1 Research.
He is a graduate of Indiana
University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Penn., (B.S. biology and
M.S. biology-chemistry) and earned a Ph.D. in biomedical
sciences from University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical
Sciences in Houston, Texas.
Also receiving Riland Medals at
NYCOM’s annual convocation was Darrell Lynn Grace, D.O., for
osteopathic philosophy; Arthur A. Gianelli for his work as an
advocate for the community; and Judy H. Angelbeck, Ph.D., for
academic service. The Riland Medal is
named for W. Kenneth Riland, D.O., the founder of NYCOM’s board
of governors. NYCOM, founded
in 1977, was the first osteopathic medical school in New York
state and has grown to become the second-largest medical school
in the nation.
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